The first thing I did when I got to Nate's site was to click into "If you like pans there's possibly the harshest thing I've ever written HERE." Irresistible. It's a review of the Bill Dixon / Tony Oxley / Cecil Taylor recording from Victo 2002. I don't read Cadence, in which the review was originally published, but I somehow managed to read the review somewhere shortly after the disc's release. And I went ahead and got it anyway, despite the bad press. And I must say that I disagree with it! Perhaps it's that I wasn't at the event, and so didn't come to the performance with extraneous baggage, but I find it to be a masterful performance; in fact a favorite recording by any of the participants. Certainly, it's not a characteristic performance for Taylor, and that is part of the appeal for me... his restraint here creates a very powerful, pregnant atmosphere. Oxley is pinpoint-present. Dixon's focus is positively menacing. As to Nate's comment: "On the evidence of this CD his abilities as a trumpeter have dwindled to almost nothing," I also couldn't disagree more. Dixon's capacity for subtelty is second to none. His technique is certainly unconventional, but, I think, flawless and his expressiveness on this date is extrordinary. So I can't understand the reaction to this set in the press -- I think it must have to do with disappointed expectations.

In any case, I'm looking forward to looking further into Nate's site.

James

James--thanks for the comments--well, that's why I provided a few second opinions! I've tried to do that with some of the nastier pans.... in part as a nice gesture, in part because sometimes the positive reviews strike me as entertaining ludicrous (the Jurek piece on Ware's Threads in particular).

The piece in the online version is a little nastier than the print version. Bob Rusch thought the comments on the music were fair enough but thought that bringing in too much anecdotal stuff about what happened around the event (in particular, Dixon's splenetic behaviour at the press conference) was irrelevant to the CD review itself, so it got cut. That was probably the right decision, but I figured I might as well put the alternate version of the piece up, because no-one would otherwise see it.

Nate, the Second Opinions feature on your site is a nice touch. I was already familiar with the Rubolino interview and Couture review, but just went through the others.

As far as "Threads," I gave it a couple of spins a month or two ago, and enjoyed it more than you did, but, uh, not quite as much as Thom Jurek. I'd have to listen to it again, but I remember it as texturally refreshing and bold. The odd pacing seemed more than novel to me -- it created and sustained an unusual atmosphere. I didn't feel like the concept was a put-on, so to speak, but I think it was 'experimental' in the sense that Ware was perhaps feeling for his concept as he went, and everyone else certainly had to do some serious stretching to try to get there. I think it was perhaps a happy accident that it turned out as well as it did. I have no information about what the sessions were like, however, this is just speculation.

Enjoyed your review though. I like the bulleted list.

Oh Threads......! I just get tired of reviews that say "an interesting departure" or the like when it really means "failed experiment". As with the Taylor/Dixon/Oxley I figured that there oughta be one take-no-prisoners piece out there since most reviews were likely to be more circumspect....

Just rejigged the site slightly to give it a little better appearance & some nicer titles, & also added a few more reviews. Nothing too substantial there but I did toss on one of my more studiously damning-with-faint-praise pieces, on Matt Lavelle's first disc (on CIMP). A slightly weird piece because the truth is I didn't think it was much good, but felt that jumping on the guy's very first disc would be uncalled-for. Despite my efforts to keep my distaste in check, Lavelle went ballistic when it was published (I've never received such vehement correspondence in my life). I guess I don't blame him, given that my distaste for the disc shows through anyway despite the veneer of trying-to-be-nice. Anyway, there's an OTT thumbs-up by Mr Astarita (discussed elsewhere on this site...) & a similarly unenthused piece by John Chacona linked to on the page for the sake of comparison.

So THAT'S what you look like.. :))))

Yes--I think that must be a crop of a photo taken by Tom Raworth outside the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork. (Thank the Irish weather for the weird hair.)