Agreed! He is a master of notes, but can move beyond notes at the exact same time. He can also sound like two people (or more) at the same time. I’ve got the Sun Bear concerts on vinyl. Might have to give a few a spin tomorrow. Thanks for making this post!
“Wise One” immediately comes to mind. Such a powerful band playing gently, but without losing its strength.
Just about any version of “Afro Blue,” but the Birdland take sticks out in my mind, probably because I’ve heard that one the most.
The “My Favorite Things” from the Live at the 1965 Half Note gig goes into some really cool territory, especially during McCoy’s solo.
The “Out of This World” studio recording is also a crucial one for me.
If I recall correctly (and it’s been over a decade since I read that one), Zinn is quite clear from the onset about his stance. (Even the title makes it evident that his perspective isn’t going to follow the traditional USA history narrative.) He sustains his points with empirical evidence, so I would hesitate to call it prejudiced. But there are some issues with some of his sources. (I think Matthew Restall may address some of those.)
How about trying out James Loewen’s Lies My Teachers Told Me? That book explains what I think Zinn was attempting to problematize: the blind acceptance of the biases within historical texts. Loewen aims directly at the USA secondary educational system in particular. You will learn a lot about USA history and why it has been written from a specific angle.
John Coltrane’s versions of Afro Blue. Very different from Mongo Santamaría’s original. I like both approaches, but Coltrane’s recordings of it were all just so powerful.