Jazz Vinyl Countdown: Archie Shepp, Impulse

When people ask me about my record collection or even my taste in jazz, I often kid around and tell them it ends in 1964. There is quite a bit of truth in that, however. My taste generally runs to bop and post-bop and, as I’m getting older, I’m finding it going more backwards into mainstream jazz than towards anything current. Anyway, this is a roundabout way of saying I recently picked up a bunch of albums on the Impulse label and am in the throes of deciding what to keep and what to sell. I put this one on the turntable yesterday: Archie Shepp, Fire Music, Impulse 86. It seemed promising: A 1965 LP with tracks such as Prelude to a Kiss and The Girl From Ipanema. The record is in beautiful condition and I’m sure it is a classic of its genre. But

as for me, well, it’s just not what I like. If you like it, you’ll be able to find this copy on eBay. It is not making the cut of the Jazz Collector Jazz Vinyl Countdown.