The next batch of LPs in my alphabetical listening project is a pretty broad ranging one: 

• Celia Cruz – The Winners – Ok, I was really worried during the first track.  I don’t really remember this record, even though I know I listened to it.  The first track suffers from 1980s pop production stuff; it’s thin and drum machine-ish.  But the rest – wow.  Willie Colon rules.  Oscar Cartaya is the bassist, and man, wow.
• The Cure – Standing on a Beach: The Singles – I tried.  I really did.  I had a good run at this.  I always wanted to like them more than I actually do.  I have Disintegration on CD and probably some other stuff on CD, and I had heard all their work from the early days through the early 1990s and the truth is that I always really wanted to like them, but I just…
• Ted Curson – Tears for Dolphy – Now, this is a record!  I love this album, and I obviously need to listen to it a zillion more times…just like those Stanley Cowell records from last post.  I used to play “Kassim” a lot with Russ Gershon in a trio of his called the Intimate Ensemble.  Love that tune.  But seriously, this album is amazing.  It’s a must-own.
• Kenny Davern – Unexpected – The title tells us a lot about this record, especially the band.  This is Kenny Davern (who I know of as a Trad.-stylist), Steve Lacy (former teacher of mine; total Genius…MacArthur-style), Steve Swallow (amazing, incredible, unbelievable bassist), and Paul Motian (abstract expressionist drummer).  These four, together, are…unexpected.  Lacy composed several pieces for this record, and his tune “Loops” predicts the hip hop generation to come.  It’s not my favorite Lacy record, but it’s a truly adventurous LP.
• Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis – Montreux ’77 – A fantastic set from Lockjaw & Co., starring Oscar Peters, Ray Brown and Jimmie Smith.  Strangely, the drum solo at the beginning of this record sounds like the drum solo at the end of the Kenny Davern record, but the second Smith goes into time, it’s clear that they are polar extremes.  What can I say about this record?  I mean, it has legends on it and they deliver exactly what you would expect.  It’s burning, masterful, and sounds exactly like Jazz.

Ok, on to the next batch, but there’s a tiny problem.  Remember my Coltrane problem?  I had a LP-sized CD boxed set?  Same deal here.  So, the Complete Miles Davis on Prestige is actually a CD-boxed set.  Brace yourselves…here we go…

Best, R.