A cold morning with a light dusting of snow on the ground and cars–which was not forecast. Eerily quiet, which is on par for a Sunday early early monring.
I tried to listen to the first disc of the latest Art Pepper box set, “Everything Happens To Me: 1959 – Live At The Cellar,” but I just was not feeling Art’s intensity this morning, so I moved on to:
Bill Evans “Further Ahead: Live in Finland-1964 to 1969” Elemental Records 2 cd set, disc 1
Re-listening to this one this morning as it seems perfect to delineate a regulation tube change I made and it’s a very good album. “Body and Soul” is a real highlight here, not easy to make that old work horse shine these days.
Having settled in after my my early 2026 travels I pulled this fine box set off the sel. Enjoying Jam Session 1 and Jam Session 2 on the first of five CDs I am moving on to Jam Session 3 and Jam Session 4. This box set covers some of the best talent of Clef records. For those unfamiliar with it it is an easy recommendation. The CDs sound nice considering they are sourced from early 1950’s recordings. A nice compliment to my JATP series.
Honestly speaking I throughly enjoyed my time away and did not miss my stereo systems. The Santa Fe casita had a streaming music system that I could get by with, and in a pinch I had fair set of ear buds recommended by AL. Time in Florida went by quickly as well basically strolling the beaches, and eating some most fine seafood. Next up is Edinbrugh, hopefully my knees recover.
An hour of Chopin performed by Ronan O’Hora. I don’t recall where I stumbled on this series of budget SACDs from Membran Music, but they’ve pretty uniformly good performances and recordings.
One of the early recording in my collecting history, bought when first released as a 2 LP set more than 50 years ago, and has been a part of my listening world since.
Love this music and it sounds so good on the system this morning!
A quiet, quiet morning.Warmer today, near 50, the last vestiges of the snow from last month will disappear and the month of mud will settle in.
Starting the day off with the wonderful Abdullah Ibrahim aka Dollar Brand with Ekaya “The Balance” . . . Gearbox cd. A gentle slab of African beauty to start the day.
A hazy morning outside. Spring here in NE Ohio can be ugly. Foggy, damp, cold, windy. It gets better later, looking forward to that.
Starting off the morning with “Dave’s Picks 2015 Bonus Disc” randomly pulled from the shelves. 1972 Dead. Great stuff.
Now
Playing this one again before it goes back on the shelves. Such a great variety of music from this period of Ellington, much of it not released before this 2 LP set.
Duke Elllngton “Ellington '56/'62, Volume 2” CBS France 2 LP set, LP 1
I have a handful of versions of this classic release and this one is the one I find most pleasant to listen to, a DSD mastered reissue from Japan in 2000, Sony SRCS 9703.
It seems odd still to wake up and it’s warmer. Decided to start the day with a favorite. Discussing this album elsewhere led me to locate it on the shelves and replay it.
I think it’s masterful. Slim at the height of his powers as an instrumentalist and of course as a vocalist. The personality and the verve of this music makes me glad to be awake and alive and attentive.
“How High th Moon” is amazing here. I found myself imagining a nice big bowl of potato salad.
Moving from one silly odd recording to (IMO) another.
Sun Ra: Space Is The Place (Music From The Original Soundtrack) 4 disc set (2 cds, DVD, Blu-ray) cd 2
I bought this set when released and have hardly listened to it. My interest in Sun Ra has waned though I have continuing collecting. . . which is silly. . . sound here is certainly improved on what was released before. One of these days I need to watch the American Masters on Sun Ra, and re-watch “Space is the Place.”
