on my two (and pretty much only) topics around here
LibraryThing seems to have reached critical mass where lots of new features are rolling out very quickly. The newest one, series coverage, is great. This'll let me figure out which books I don't have in a series and what order they belong in.
So, if the title says "two topics" and the above is about books, this next bit has to be about music.
I recently picked up Bill Evans' "Complete Village Vanguard Recordings". Very, very good collection. I don't think I'd ever heard Scott LaFaro on bass before. (Obviously I'm going to be biased towards listening to the bass players. I have to at least act like I'm trying to learn something from these artists.) Listening to him play was, to me, worth getting the collection. Yes, Bill Evans is an excellent pianist, but LaFaro keeps the trio grooving, and when he's given the chance, he knocks out some really nice solos. That was something that also impressed me. I don't know if I could easily name another group from around that time, other than one led by Charles Mingus, that gave bass players that much room to solo and do more than just play rhythm. (I'm sure there were, I just can't think of them off the top of my head.) It was nice to hear a trio where everyone was part of creating the music and not just setting the backdrop for the piano player to solo all night long. If you haven't heard any of this trio, it's definitely worth a listen.
So, if the title says "two topics" and the above is about books, this next bit has to be about music.
I recently picked up Bill Evans' "Complete Village Vanguard Recordings". Very, very good collection. I don't think I'd ever heard Scott LaFaro on bass before. (Obviously I'm going to be biased towards listening to the bass players. I have to at least act like I'm trying to learn something from these artists.) Listening to him play was, to me, worth getting the collection. Yes, Bill Evans is an excellent pianist, but LaFaro keeps the trio grooving, and when he's given the chance, he knocks out some really nice solos. That was something that also impressed me. I don't know if I could easily name another group from around that time, other than one led by Charles Mingus, that gave bass players that much room to solo and do more than just play rhythm. (I'm sure there were, I just can't think of them off the top of my head.) It was nice to hear a trio where everyone was part of creating the music and not just setting the backdrop for the piano player to solo all night long. If you haven't heard any of this trio, it's definitely worth a listen.