BeBop

Completist Confessions. First, to define, I sought to have a copy of every track on which the artist performs, including alternates. I favor original recordings over others, and legit over the rest. I didn't want every issue. Keep in mind, I used to visit about three record stores a day (with a few geographic exclusions) every day, across 155 countries. 50+ years. There was tremendous joy in the search and the social interaction it brought about. (Hard to strike up a conversation with a guy three times or one-third your age in Tchad otherwise.) Wardell Gray Archie Shepp (until we wandered apart) Tchangodei Winston Mankunku Ngozi (Rahsaan) Roland Kirk James Moody (really just 20th Century)

The original LP release is among my Top (small number here) favorite albums. Moody at the peak of one of his several primes. "Much more" I would like to know about and hear too.

One of my very close friends slipped down the QAnon rabbit hole in retirement. It's very upsetting. A good guy. A smart guy.

Philadelphia Weekly A historical concert review, cum history and storytelling. I enjoyed.

In my post above, I mentioned "other stuff". I didn't want to turn the thread to motorcycling's unhappy side. My brother, a multi-dimensional motorcycling professional/expert, broadsided a car that didn't see him at around 100kph (60mph). Be careful out there. I also mention cycling. Be careful with that too. I scaled back from 22 years of 25,000km/yr (15,000mi) to only what I can do safely. Living on Africa can be the best of times, the worst of times.

When I scaled back my bicycle racing- basically when the US pulled out of the 1980 Olympics - I spent a few years riding and (mostly) racing on a Yamaha-sponsored team. I also worked at a then-fledgling California-based cycle accessory and tire chain and a Kawasaki + Suzuki dealer. Eventually, 1984 Olympics and some other stuff, I went back to cycling. The motorcycling seemed, in hindsight, to have been good for my descending abilities, but not much else.

Maybe that's the unspoken reason I was thinking about this on U.S. Election Eve. Without getting political about it, I'm distressed and angry about things going on "back home" (I'm visiting California for a few days now), but listening to, say, "Ametica the Beautiful" still affects me. Maybe it's like "Strange Fruit" in reverse. SF calls me to wish for a better future, AtB makes me sad about a past that's been lost. No, the Good Old Days really weren't all that (ref: "Strange Fruit"), but, as I sit in California, well, I don't know. I'm thinking.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to close things off. I realized that my situation and my own thoughts around "patriotic" songs meant that I could only speak to Americans directly. (In my examples.) I know a few other patriotic songs and many national anthems, but - with a few exceptions - they're just songs to me, even if I lived somewhere for eight years. "Oh Britannia" "O Canada" and "La Tchadienne" welcome. And "Strange Fruit", certainly patriotic in it's own way, hopeful toward an America one wishes for from the one that is. (I retitled the thread, minus "American", plus "patriotic" to capture my original intent, though feel free to wander.)

Okay, maybe just me. I grew up near the United States (Berkeley, CA), but have lived elsewhere for close to four decades. A decent rendering of "America the Beautiful " will trigger the emotional response for me. "God Bless America", "Star Spangled Banner", not so much. You?

"San Quentin Jazz Band" by Pierre Briançon. I grew up looking at the place across the San Francisco Bay and realizing that several of the cats I was listening to were there or had been.

My father came home to the SF Bay Area from WWII just as the "dixieland" (sorry) revival was in full... well "swing" isn't quite the right word. Dad loved Turk Murphy and Bob Scobey, that sort of thing , though there were some Bechet, DeParis and Bunk Johnson recordings in his collection. Dad played the banjo and - while knowing he wasn't going to "cut it" - tried out for a Turk Murphy band opening, just because he "had to". He was a good man.

Very sorry to hear this. I saw him a few times as a solo leader, but also caught him with Red Rodney at the Keystone Korner. I think I went four nights. Good memories. RIP Mr. Sullivan.

A loss today. A loss for a long time to come. RIP

Yes, I saw him too. Really weird, he was often over near the Wharf, and sometimes down near the old Embarcadero Freeway. It was a cool time to be in the City. As I recall, Keystone Korner survived into the early 80s.

Happy Birthday, Sonny Simmons. 1983-87, I worked at Market and (New) Montgomery in San Francisco. He used to play outside my window, sound echoing off the buildings. Such a treat. We talked briefly a few times. Back then, I was a guy in a suit; tough to convince anyone I was sincere. So glad he's had a musically productive life.