All of me (Lee Kontiz) (LP 2227 -2228)

Lee Konitz  Very Cool (Vinyl, Not Now Music, originally on Verve 1957) ****  

Lee Konitz  Motion (Vinyl, Not Now Music, originally on Verve 1961) ****  

Genre: Jazz 

Places I remember: The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: All Of Me

Gear costume: I Remember You

Active compensatory factors: I am not that familiar with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz's work. These are the only albums I own by him. 

They came on a two disc CD set - I took a punt on it because I love the alto sax sound and the presence of Elvin Jones on Motion grabbed my attention.

Elvin Jones has freakish talents on the drums so I knew that was going to be worth investigating. Sure enough - he raises the bar. All Of Me is a standout - Lee is fluid and his tone is smooth, Elvin sounds possessed - he's all other the kit and even has a solo mid-way through it to great effect. Sonny Dallas on bass is also terrific. They gell well as a trio. 

Very Cool is also of high quality. So much great music came out in my birth year. This one has Lee's alto sax joined with piano and trumpet. It sounds great to me! 

Where do they all belong? An excellent addition to the jazz catalogue. Next up is Jackie Mclean in the jazz section.

My favourite things (John Coltrane) (LP 185)

John Coltrane Afro Blue Impressions (Vinyl - Pablo Records, 1977) ****

Genre:  Jazz

Places I remember:  Marbecks Records. Roger imported a lot of stuff on Pablo Records at that time. I wish I'd got more then, but you can't always get what you want. 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Cousin Mary




Gear costume:  My Favourite Things, Naima

Active compensatory factors:  Recorded in 1963, this set has the classic Coltrane quartet blasting through their current repertoire and they are each in blistering form.

Cousin Mary is especially amazing as it focuses for a lengthy period on McCoy Tyner's breathtaking piano with Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass - all three are locked into a great groove. And then Coltrane drops in. And the energy levels head into the red zone. Sheer brilliance!!

Sidebar: Far away and long ago (Ramelton Road days so the early seventies), I used to have a double album on the Impulse! label called John Coltrane - His Greatest Years Volume 2. Unfortunately, one day I left it on the turntable and the sun got to it. A harsh lesson. One that I learned well - since then, I always put the record safely away!

I tried everything to try and straighten out the vinyl but the roller coaster look remained. With a killer version of Greensleeves on it (from the Africa/Brass album), I have missed it!

Luckily I found a replacement in Real Groovy last week - for $10!! And Greensleeves is as great as I remember it. 

Where do they all belong? Coltrane is a major figure and I have most of the landmarks so stay tuned.