DukeCity

Just went to a concert presented by the violin professor at the college where I teach. He did all 24 of Paganini's Caprices. HOLY CRAP! He was great, and I liked the pieces. Any recommendations for recordings? I'd like to limit it to collections of all 24 on one recording. Thanks in advance.

It's Lee's tune called "Etude" Another version: BTW, I don't really know Lee's tunes; I used the Shazam app on my phone, held the phone up to my laptop speakers, and it scored! I believe Shazam is also capable of naming ALL of Monk's tunes...

Wow. That's VERY different from the Marty Feldman piano trio I was thinking of...

Wow. Waltz Without Words. Quoting my buddy Ed Petersen (when he was subjected to listening to student jazz vocalists attempting to scat and improvise), "One. Just sing one pitch that I can actually name..."

Wait, does that make you Alison's Uncle's Nephew?

I just DL'd this. Took 10 min. Thanks, Chuck!

Very sad to hear of Snooky's passing. But he had such a long, stellar career, and left us with so many great recordings, that I've been smiling a lot tonight just listening to him play is ass off time and again. Thanks, Snooky!

Just posted my own 5-star review. The putz' 2-star blather is looking more and more like an anomaly.

I dig the way Elis is sometimes sitting "in" the time (in JSngry's first video, when she is nodding her head in time), and sometimes a little ahead of the time. It adds an interesting energy to the phrasing for me. I noticed the same thing in the Astrud Gilberto video of "Ipanema" that was discussed recently. Astrud would push the time on the last part of the bridge. Cool! That phrasing a little ahead of the time thing is also one of the things I find attractive about Anita O'Day's singing. So often, vocalists are lagging behind the beat, stretching phrases, that when singers like Elis, Astrud and Anita go against the grain, it's really striking. Thanks all for posting the above videos!

Yes, indeedy! And from the "Bob Newhart Show" era:

Just like the Johnny Carson holiday fruitcake. mmmm...Carson cake!

After the Grammy's this year there was discussion about the Esperanza Spalding "best new artist" award, and I popped over to Wikipedia to see the list of New Artist recipients over the years. 1961: Bob Newhart

Could it be that the depot in your region has just the one cracked copy, and they keep sending it to you?

Chief Wahoo The Great Gazoo Mr. Magoo

Was talking with Bobby Shew the other day and sounds like he's heading out for that to play in the Toshiko/Lew Reunion band.

I always get a kick out of the fact that when you enter "anagram" in a google search, it comes back with "did you mean 'nag a ram'?"

They need to open a jazz club in it. That would turn the whole thing around!

Thanks for the heads-up. I love the fact that on the BBC R3 player, the volume "goes to 11"!

You're right. She's no Ga-Ga or Bieber...

The mezzo-soprano sax is a fairly rare instrument. But for a real oddity, check out this video of Lovano with the Aulochrome. It's some kind of wacky "double soprano".

Sight reading is included in some band competitions. And working musicians are often called upon to sight-read in performance. Most big bands that do bar gigs (or commercial/club date/jobbing bands) will frequently have substitute players who are seeing the charts for the first time on the gig. But the term "sight-reading" isn't really used much in the professional music world. When discussing a musician's skills we might talk about whether or not a player can "read" or if he's a "reader", but not use the term "sight-read." It's kind of like reading English aloud. If you handed a book to someone or asked them to read from cue cards, a developed reader could say the phrases out loud in a natural, conversational way, even the first time. A less developed reader will speak in a halting, stilted manner as he struggles to figure out the phrases. But we wouldn't call it "sight-reading," we would just call it "reading."

I have been listening to vols 1 and 2 and really digging it. No info in the booklet as to who is in her band!!! (She introduces them at one point) I find it odd/interesting that there are no piano or guitar solos (four bars of guitar on Slow Boat to China aside) on these two discs. Obviously, Lou Levy and Herb Ellis are well qualified to do some blowing. So what gives? Was this standard operating procedure for Ellla in the early '60s? Was it because of the venue? More of a "pop" gig than a "jazz" gig? Anyone have any insight or guesses on this one?

I got Vols. 1 & 2 of Ella Fitzgerald, 12 Nights in Hollywood. Really enjoying it, and getting ready to order vol 3 and 4!

Thanks!

Happy Birthday, James!