The Jams

On my recent trip to New York, I killed an enjoyable hour at Bleecker Street Records. I'll tell you, if you're an analog record maniac like me, New York is something of a Mecca. I managed to pick up two absolutely killing slabs of vinyl. I could easily have drained the bank account. Seriously, my weakness for records is second only to my weakness for gentleman's finery.

Firstly, "The Complete Yusef Lateef", released on Atlantic Records in 1968:

The words "mellow" and "cool" spring to mind, but don't do this record near the justice it deserves. Think of it this way: If you were a "real swinging" bachelor in the late sixties/ early seventies, and your house had a room in it that looked like this (I wish), then this would be the record to put on in the wee hours when you've brought a lady home for a nightcap of brandy and whatever else.

I tried to find some footage of Yusef circa late sixties. Best clip I could come up with was this Bossa Nova jam from when he was with the Cannonball Adderly sextet, which is really nothing to complain about either:

Second, "Ornette Coleman/ The Empty Foxhole":
Ornette's always been one of the most "out" dudes around...just read his liner notes or poetry. Add his ten year old son, Ornette Denardo Coleman (Denny) on drums, with Charlie Haden on bass holding things (sort of) together, and avant garde jazz reaches a new level for its time. Mrs. G. and the kids can't stand this stuff. I'll be the first to admit it can be a bit abrasive, so it will be the rare occasion that I get to listen to it. But damned if it ain't a good one.

Unfortunately, again, footage directly related to this album was hard to find, but watch this instead:


Sure, it's more than a little jazz dork-ish, but what can I say?

$25 for the two slabs. A fair price by any measure.