Michael Weiss

I was at both of those concerts. Mingus at SMU - We were probably two out of maybe a total of twenty people there in the whole auditorium, which probably seated at least 2,000. I remember Mingus stopping in mid-tune and walking off stage. Dizzy - I remember him playing Olinga. Roker, Ben Brown, and Al Gafa, IIRC. My first concert was a triple bill at Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, 1972: Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dr. John, Allman Brothers Band.

Jackie consented to have me record "Walter Davis Ascending" on a SteepleChase date in 1998. After he heard the melody in his head the night that Walter died Jackie called me for me to notate the tune while he played it on his horn over the phone.

Wednesday, August 23 @ Blu, Milwaukee, 8:00p - 11:00p Friday & Saturday, August 25-26 @ Andy's, Chicago 5:00p - 8:30p

Oh fuck. What a great human being. Had a few wonderful phone conversations just over the last several months. Damn. Love watching Dizzy and Clifford over his shoulder.

You should upload the photo on the back!

Sun Ra transcribed Gil Evans' arrangement of "Gone" off the Porgy & Bess album, and even went so far as to transcribe Miles' solo and have the Arkestra play it in unison. We know about him playing Fletcher Henderson, etc. But this is the only instance I know of Sun Ra doing something like this - transcribe an arrangement from a new recording and Miles' solo! https://youtu.be/f_csUEu7z18?t=15m59s

Thank you.

Are we getting closer to one ever-elusive video of Hank?

I know by the late 70s early 80s it was 10:00, 11:30 and 1:00. But in the 60s weren't there frequently double bills?

Jim Wilke broadcast from the Penthouse back in the day. When I was in Seattle with Griff in 1987 Jim played me a set of Griff and Jaws at the Penthouse from 1962 with AT, Buddy Catlett and Horace Parlan that was smoking.

I've had this for a while. I have the tenor credited as Teo Macero. Not that I would know what Teo Macero sounded like well enough to identify him, it surely ain't Hank.

"Somewhere in the Night" is the shit! Go Sonny Red!

The Masquerade is Over

NYTIMES 9/23/16 53 Down "Pianist McCoy _____________, member of the John Coltrane Quartet"

Posted about this on FB today, but from direct experience i can tell you that he had a mic (wrapped in felt? not sure) not stuffed inside, but directly over, maybe by an inch, one of the center holes in the sound board plate. That close miking had a lot to do with it. I heard he put mics up there.

I used to play at Greene Street, a restaurant in Soho, solo or duo, in 1986. The restroom attendant seemed to be familiar with the tunes I was playing. To my surprise it was none other than Ed Lewis. Now that I actually had someone in the club to play for, I played all the Dizzy big band music I knew – Tadd, Gil Fuller, etc. More information here.

Coltrane's piece, "Trees."

Lush Life was on the corner of Bleecker and Thompson Streets. I worked there with Jon Hendricks in 1982 and sat in with Chet around 1983/1984 when Hod, Dennis Irwin and Leo Mitchell was the rhythm section.

The BN trio record is a classic as are all the others. But if I were to pick a favorite - for the whole band, the arrangements, the spirit.. this is the one: In the early 80s Tommy used to sit in with us at the Star Café. he played a little trumpet, but mostly sat in on piano - quite deftly too. Around 1986 there was a benefit for Barry Harris' Jazz Cultural Theater one afternoon at the Village Gate. One band had a front line of Tommy, Jimmy Heath and Slide Hampton. I remember they played Our Delight. Wow, those were the days...

I worked with the band 1983-1987. Leroy was usually on drums.

Sorry to hear this. I played with Paul a lot in Bill Hardman & Junior Cook's group. Fine musician and quite the ladies' man.

http://www.npr.org/event/music/476905488/vanguard-jazz-orchestra-50-years-of-mondays

I like this: Yeah, I went to [Coltrane's] house and the first thing he did—he had one of those upright wall pianos—he opened the lid and then he did like this, made a tone cluster, “GRRRRUNGGGH,” kept the foot on the sustain, “GRRRRUNGGHH,” and we had our horns out, and he asked me, he said, as the tone was still going, he said, “See how much of this you can catch. Let’s see how much you can catch.” And I heard the “GRRRRUNGHH” so I wasn’t messing around, trying to loop center tones and not so centered and all that stuff, and he asked me to do the same thing to him and I did “WRRRRRUNGH,” and he got his horn and he was all over the place, [mimes rapid playing] really soft because of neighbors and all that. He had a towel in the bell. [mimes rapid playing again] Then we’d do it back and forth on the piece that holds the music, the lyre or whatever, there’s a harp book there and I was checking the book out and it had the [rapid playing sound] and I said to myself, “Sheets of sound.” [laughs]