First posted on Mark Is Cranky:

A View From The Chair

I did something a couple of nights ago that I haven't done in about eleven months: I went up to my listening room and ingested a pile of records. Yes, records. Vinyl. Black circles. Albums. Use any description you like.

For a bunch of reasons...work, moving to a new house, getting a new dog, cognitive dissonance and the presence of one or the other stepkid at various points, I just have not been able to carve out enough 'me-time' to make it back to the listening chair.

Much of that has changed recently so I've allowed myself to wade back into the world of used vinyl exploration. The list below was purchased at a new record shop over in Brattleboro, Vermont. In The Moment records has a fine selection of jazz albums. In fact, I had to restrain myself as I like to buy only as many records as can be dealt with in one listening session.

Vive la vinyl!

Pierre Dorge Quartet - Ballad Round The Left Corner

This was a near-total crapshoot. I've never heard of guitarist Dorge, but the names Billy Hart (drums) and John Tchicai (soprano and alto sax) were familiar. This is mostly straight ahead jazz with a fair bit of angularity. Dorge's playing goes from the ethereal to way out there. He has a Jim Hall-type tone, but even less electric. Gorgeously recorded, it sounds like just a couple of mics. It sounds like you're right there in the room.

Paul Motian Quintet - Jack Of Clubs

A huge find. Drummer Motian employed two saxes (Joe Lovano, Jim Pepper), bassist Ed Schuller and Bill Frisell (before he was really Bill Frisell, if ya know what I mean). OK, that's not quite right about Frisell. He does use a volume pedal to get that attackless sound. But there's no distortion and not much in the way of those mile-long tones. Still, you can hear where he was headed. Lovano and Pepper kill on this disc. Leader Motian ties it all together with interesting compositions and supremely melodic drumming.