My thoughts as well regarding Frisell. Bill’s later works and releases have been underwhelming to my ear. As you say it is a matter of taste. Maybe it is a Denver thing as both are currently rooted in Denver. I do like this from 2006 more than Ron’s work with Bill:
Ron Miles Stone / Blossom
Stone: Ron Miles: trumpet; Rudy Royston: drums; Kent McLagan: bass; Eric Gunnison: piano. Blossom: Ron Miles: cornet; Rudy Royston: drums; Greg Garrison: bass; Roger Green: guitar; Erik Deutsch: piano, Rhodes Piano; Eric Moon: organ, accordion, keyboards; Glenn Taylor: pedal steel guitar.
One of these were reviewed positively via Daily Audiophile and from High Fidelity (Poland) publication. If I had realized how many hands were in the pot I’d have purchased more Japanese discs by the time I paid Worldshopping and DHL I doubled the cost.
The Sinatra’s Sinatra has caught me off guard. The soundstage puts him on a chair in front of me. Once I got over it and decided that this is the way it was miked and left as is by the production team. It’s interesting to have Frank in my room.
Yes Frisell’s guitar sounds better in fusion, smooth jazz, and blues. In this recording, it is louder or as loud as Moran’s piano! Probably would have been better to have 2 guitars.
First time listening to this RSD 2021 release and enjoying every bit of it.
The Discogs write-up for the release summarizes it nicely:
Contains previously unissued live recordings of unsung tenor saxophone hero Harold Land from The Penthouse in Seattle from 1962, 1964 and 1965 with stellar musicians including Hampton Hawes, Carmell Jones, Buddy Montgomery and Philly Joe Jones. Released in partnership with the Harold Land Estate, the deluxe limited edition, hand-numbered, 180g double LP set is mastered by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. The remastered audio was captured from direct transfers of the original Penthouse’s tape reels. Westward Bound! includes an extensive booklet with rare photos; essays by jazz historian Michael Cuscuna, co-producers Zev Feldman and Cory Weeds, and pianist Eric Reed; plus interviews with tenor saxophone giant Joe Lovano and the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins.
Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style; often rivalling Clifford Brown’s instrumental ability with his own inventive and whimsical solos. Born in Houston and grew up in San Diego he started playing at the age of 16. He made his first recording as the leader of the Harold Land All-Stars for Savoy Records in 1949. In 1954 he joined the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, with whom he was at the forefront of the hard-bop/bebop movement. He moved to Los Angeles in 1955 and played with Curtis Counce, led his own groups, and co-led groups with Bobby Hutcherson, Blue Mitchell, and Red Mitchell. From the '70s onwards his style showed the influence of John Coltrane. In the early '80s through to the early '90s he worked regularly with the Timeless All Stars; a group sponsored by Timeless jazz records. The group consisted of Land on tenor, Cedar Walton on piano, Buster Williams on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, Curtis Fuller on trombone and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes.
Over his career he was a sideman on albums from Roy Ayers, Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, Freddie Hubbard, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, Donald Byrd, Dinah Washington and countless others.
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