NZ Jazz: Thanks Mike!

Okay, so I'm wrapping up this series. It seemed fitting to end with Mike Nock as the series kicked off  with his then newly released Vicissitudes back in September, 2017. I decided to change things up a bit. Instead of focusing on a single album, this month I listened to all of Mike's recordings in my collection. There was no rhyme or reason, I just grabbed a the next disc on the pile. I started with Changing Seasons (trio with Brett Hirst and Toby Hall) - the groove felt right to kick off the month - and ended with Kindred (duo with Laurence Pike) - a recording with which I have mellowed out to many times since picking it up a few years ago. In between everything else got a spin or two. In comparison to some artists, Mike's discography is a manageable size (with plenty of variety too), although there are still plenty of holes I need to plug - Yusef Lateef's 1984 is the only thing I have with Mike as a sideman. I want to call particular attention to the duo works with the likes of Frank Gibson Jr., Marty Ehrlich, David Liebman, Roger Manins, and Laurence Pike - wonderful recordings.

As I mentioned last month, I'm pulling the plug on this series. I may return in the future (I still have a stack of albums waiting for me) - we'll see. Off the top of my head, some albums from the series that stood out included Jim Langabeer's Secret Islands, the two albums from Unwind - Unwind, and Orange (there's another on the way that I look forward to hearing), Mike Nock's Beginning and End of Knowing, Lucien Johnson's West of the Sun, and, more for the historical interest than the music, Jazz Concert 1950. Before I sign off the series, I just want to say "Thanks Mike!"