pryan

Some of my friends are currently student teaching. Some dig it, some don't. One friend who's going to school in the States, liked teaching junior high bands better than elementary level music. Another friend is going to be a gym teacher. I actually may end up teaching (a certain topic I know far too much about) at a local university, if everything plays out like I hope it does...

Yeah, some of the terminology was somewhat difficult for me to understand, but overall it sent me looking for the recordings and re-listening to ones I already had. It gave me a better understanding of the techniques and nuances that Pres developed/used in his solos and that just made me dig Pres a hell of a lot more than I already did (which was a lot!). Not a big book, but lots of good stuff in there.

So, Ed, what's the word on the Dinah Mosaic? Inquiring minds need to know.

That's from the liner notes to the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis album, recently re-issued by Blue Note, right? I couldn't even read those notes all the way through they were so bad. Hilarious, though.

Is that 3-CD set of his stuff still in print? How's the sound on that?

Ah, I read too much into Joe's comment.

The Dorham one is very cool. I'd probably grab that one or the Mobley SOUL STATION photo if I was in the market for such a thing.

Could you elaborate? What do you mean by "all the classic articles"? Sounds like something I should be getting, though.

Sorry, please excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is a "POCJ"?

You're right about Canseco, Mark. I think Bonds topped that mark as well, but also had a few 30-30 seasons which, IMO, is also pretty impressive.

Yeah, Barry Harris! Great pianist, he appears on STRAIGHT, NO CHASER (the movie about Monk) and does a great duet with Tommy Flanagan. Also appears on those Sonny Stitt early seventies albums and THE SIDEWINDER, among other sideman appearances.

We may debate McGuire. There can be no doubts about Bonds. After all, McGuire didn't have a trainer accused of distribution of steroids, who distributed steroids to each client and told them what they were but {cough cough} didn't bother to tell Bonds. On top of which, McGuire was always a big man. As you say Bonds was a scrawny base stealer when he reached the bigs. I wouldn't say a "scrawny base stealer", could hit forty home runs in a season, would you? That was when 40 was a pretty damn good home run total. Andro is a pseudo-steroid and is now banned in MLB. Does that tarnish McGuire's epic season in 1998? I don't think so, but it should make one think about it a bit.

Thanks, Mike. I've read the former and would like to get my hands on a copy of the latter (the reader).

Bonds was a big base-stealer in his younger days. Wasn't he the first 40-40 guy? I know McGuire was always a home run hitter, but not 60s, 70s. Those numbers are video game numbers. He used andro, which was legal but still not something that kids should put in their bodies. Your comment about Bonds could be true about McGuire too; he had big numbers, but then suddenly he broke out with HUGE numbers. That shouldn't happen at an advanced age either, according to your thinking. Bonds is bad, McGuire is not, I don't think that argument holds much weight.

I kinda hope so, but I didn't notice any smilies indicating sarcasm. Maybe he forgot to put them there. Or not.

I like TRIO 99-00, which is the only Metheny album in my collection. My dad is a big PMG fan, however. That stuff just doesn't connect with me that much, I'm not sure why.

Whoa! Gay activity??!!!! Please, does it get any worse than what's already been related on this thread? What's next, pedophilia, cruelty to animals, etc.? I don't think I can take much more. Are you saying that gay activity is a "negative" thing? Uh-oh is right, the proverbial can of worms may have been busted open...

I guess you can muscle it out once in a while, but I don't think it's that "easy" to do as you might think. As for the hand-eye thing, I can't say I've heard anything like that, but it might be true. That would explain it a lot better, for me at least. Sure Aaron never hit 50, but when he played home run totals in the 30s and 40s were considered excellent. Today it seems you have to reach the fifty mark to be a so-called power hitter. Remember when Brady Anderson hit 50 in the leadoff spot for the Orioles; that was an aberration, IMO. Caused by drugs? Probably. I think his next highest total was something like 26. Now that's suspicious. At least guys like Bonds and McGuire were big home run guys before the "broke out". Bonds, it must said, hits for average too. He is a complete player and should enter the hall of fame.

That's a big one. Up in this neck of the woods the really big (and really old) fish are sturgeon, which tend to lurk in the depths of the Winnipeg river. Never caught one myself, but know of several people who have. I believe the record is over a hundred pounds.

Hell, no argument here - that whole tune is a masterpiece. But therein lies my point - CORNBREAD has 2 or so GREAT tunes and the rest are merely good. Nearly every mid to later 60s Lee Morgan album fits that description for me....again I listen to 'em often, long, and loud and dig 'em, but in a way it's their very UN-evenness that I enjoy. SIXTH SENSE is a good example - fun throughout, some great moments along the way, but in NO WAY a great album by any measure I can see. I would venture that "Ill Wind" is also a great tune on this superlative album. Herbie's solo is incredible, if not quite reaching the heights of say his solo on "Circle" from MILES SMILES, then pretty damn close. His classical/funky/blues/bop thing is in full effect and it all melds together into a kind of utter beauty that is perhaps unsurpassed (for that kind of soloing) to this day in jazz piano. Lee sounds great in a rare muted excursion, with Jackie and Hank filling in with some background support. The last tune, "Most Like Lee", is above-average hard-bop at the very least. This is a great album, ranking up there with Lee's best, at least in the top three or five, IMO. I think your lower ranking of CORNBREAD may also have to do with the fact that listening to a lot of those sixties BN sessions kind of spoils the listener. There wasn't too many duds and many of the albums were"classics". I actually almost consider this one a classic; it's heavy shit, give it another spin.

OK, Dan, points taken. But hitting a baseball is kind of like hitting a golf ball (note I said "kind of). It doesn't matter as much how "big" you are. I golf with a guy who is just over five feet tall, but he hits the golf ball over 300 yards sometimes. He is not on steroids or any other drugs. The swing is the thing, if you will. Hank Aaron was not on the juice and he clubbed 755 dingers. He consistently had high home run totals. It was his batting stroke, for the most part and his ability to read pitches/anticipate what was coming at him. I think we also have to take some other factors into consideration when looking at recent lofty home run totals. Number one, there are far more teams in the majors nowadays, thereby diluting the pitching quality considerably. If Aaron was facing the guys Bonds is today, would he have hit 800, 900, 1000? We'll never know, but it's worth thinking about. Maybe muscle mass does decrease after hitting that age (35), but I think if you take care of yourself well-enough then you could minimize the loss. For example, eating healthy foods, drinking lots of water, taking nutritional supplements, etc. I'm not trying to defend Bonds, but am just taking a slightly different viewpoint.

If anyone believes Bonds that he didn't know he was using steroids, they should get their head examined quickly. He tries to blame his trainer, that's a load of crap. Still, I don't think his accomplishments should have an asterisk next to them. Hitting home runs is a difficult thing to do, whether you're on steroids or not. Maybe the added muscle helps, maybe not. Hitting a baseball at the major league level has a lot to do with mental stuff, knowing the pitcher, knowing what pitch to swing at, etc. The even more amazing about Bonds is that he barely gets any pitches to hit; he set the record for walks in a season. He's definitely an amazing ball-player, even if he is a lying, pompous, jackass at the same time.

Was listening to TRANEING IN yesterday and that one really blew me away. PC absolutely tears it up; pulls out his whole bag of tricks (pizzicato, arco, supporting lines, etc.). AT and Red are on top of things too. But Trane, whoa! Grab this while you can.

Is that Porter book different from the one that analyzes Pres' solos? The title sounds different to the one that I read (can't remember the title right now).