Larry Kart

No, that was at Chicago Fest, where Frank's voice pretty much suddenly gave out and he sang for only about 40 minutes and got into his helicopter to O'Hare. This after we had sat in the summer sun for several hours and after Royko and Co, were ushered into front row seats by Mayor Byrne. That review almost got me fired.

One difference is that Frank's fans could almost be Elvis like. I caught him live at the Chicago Stadium in the '70s and the intensity of the female fans was extreme. I remember several young women staggering toward the stage with totally dazed expressions on their faces.

I didn't really get how great Tony was until I saw him live. The unforced immediacy was something else. Wish I had my old Tribune reviews of him. My vague recollection is that he inspired me to say some good things in a good way.

My Tony Bennett story: I had reviewed Tony several time for the Chicago Tribune with much enthusiasm, impressed above all by the emotional immediacy off his singing, I remember in particular early on he was singing "Sophisticated Lady," a song where the title words don't appear for a good while, and the performance was so spontaneously immediate that I thought for a crazy moment "Is he making this up?" Likewise, like Errol Garner perhaps, he'd often begin a song out of tempo and in a wandering rubato manner and only launch into the song proper after a while. I asked his bassist of the time, it might have been John Beal, how the rhythm section knew when to come in, and he said, "Man, it's an adventure every time." So after that roster of great reviews Tony became quite friendly and we even had dinner a few times. Then there was a performance in Chicago at the DruryrLane Water Tower Place. Tony seemed quite lost -- musically and otherwise -- it was horrible. All I could do was record what I'd heard without being nasty, but still I felt terrible. I get into work the next day and I have a message to call Tony Bennett at the Ritz. Tony answers the phone and says, "Hey Larry, I don't think I was that bad, but you had to write what you did." Clearly he was concerned about my well being. I'm thinking he's either the great guy I already thought he was or a sublime con artist, leaning toward the former. Eventually I found out what had gone on. Tony's pianist conductor Torrie Zito was going through a terrible divorce and was having a nervous breakdown that night. Tony who liked to take a toke or two before performing took way too many that night in an attempt to calm down and deal with Torrie's trauma, and by the time he began to sing he hardly knew where he was. Thus the performance I heard.

Ted Giola compiles a list of Tony's greatest jazz collaborations and somehow fails to mention Tony's sublime collaborations with Ruby Braff! WTF?

I was just pointing out an aspect of my taste in fairly young trumpeters that seemed odd to me. I never would have come to a similar conclusion about fairly young tenor players, pianists, bassists , drummers etc. and wondering why that might be. You'll have to trust me that my tastes aren't based on race, never have been.

Allison was an interesting accompanist, which must be why he was with Al and Zoot. IIRC he was particularly effective on that excellent Coral album with Cohn and Bob Brookmeyer.

Whichever one has "Willow Weep For Me" is my favorite. Sinatras reading the lyric is to die for. The way the links those vowel sounds!

Longtime mainstay and a moving force in the Chicago jazz community and a dear friend to me and many others for many years.

The book contains one of the funniest typos or outright errors I've ever seen. At one point Bob Zieff is quoted as referring to someone as "a "bone-fried bebopper." Yeah, there were a lot of those around. Try "bona fide."

Fine backup band: the drummer is a gas. This may have been Fusco's final album. a great loss.

I had fun reviewing Mathis witn enthusiasm back in the day. My recollection ia that the more or less orchestral timbres he could come up with in live performance were almost unreal.

Who did the arrangements?

Any thoughts?

It's Matana, not Mantana.

Me too

I'm afraid that it might have been Palmer whose live appearance in Chicago a few years ago with Mark Turner made me want to throw things (or throw up). On the other hand, at the time I also felt that the cardboard dreariness of Turner's lines might have infected his frontline partner.

I certainly would have mentioned Jaime Branch, but she's with the angels now, damn it!

Guess I think of those three on my list because I'm 81! I'd also like to add Josh Berman, though he plays cornet. Not a whole lot and what I heard I couldn't stand. I 'd have to listen again to say why specifically. Another guy I couldn't stand was the guy who was Mark Turner's frontline partner a while ago. Maybe he is still.

Scott Wendholt, John Swana, Joe Magnarelli I wonder why no younger African American frumpeters are on my list. My first thought is that among them there is a fairly consistent facile/demonstrative brassiness that to some degree works against the development of individuality. One finds oneself following more or less in the the footsteps of Lee Morgan or Clifford Brown and gets sort of stuck there.

Black Dahlia. Listened to it. It's something else.

got it. will listen.

I tried the Strings album and didn't care for it. It was like trying to put a petticoat around a tank. Don't know if I have the other two.

1) Gary Smulyan/Bob Belden "Biues Suite" (Criss Cross) Finally I'm all aboard the Smulyan train. Accompanied by nine brass and rhythm playing heady Belden originals, Smulyan sounds great here. BTW, what a loss Belden was. In addition to all his other good work and good deeds, he did me a great favor when he asked me to write the liner notes for the reissue of "Filles de Kilimanjaro.' 2) Bob Cooper/Conte Candoli Quintet (VSOP) Cooper just kept getting better and better until the end, which came only 41 days after this 1993 live date. He's strong like bull on the mostly boppish program ("Confirmation, "Tin Tin Deo," "Hackensack" "Ow," "Con Alma," and "Airegin") and is heartfelt on the two ballads, "We'll Be Together Again" and "Come Sunday." Also this may be the best Conte Candoli I've ever heard.

Sad news. An excellent label.