Shrdlu

We'll have to try to figure out a way of posting a music chart. For that composition, I would also have to doodle around on our piano to work out the chords. The piece was the kind of simple thing that Horace might have written, by the way.

Then there's the Eb contrabass clarinet described as an alto - and they argue when you point it out. (That was played by Frank Foster on some late BN sessions with Duke Pearson and Elvin.) It took a link to a French instrument website to convince a well-known reissue producer of that.

I know what you mean, SS. In my case, it was the LPs back in the 60s. Where I lived, they weren't too easy to get, and I heard very few. I took them up on their "For free catalog ... " offer, and they sent me one, in about 1967. Those LP covers were so exciting, with the oval and the rectangle, and the Wolff/Miles design. When I see a CD cover, with the original number, it takes me back to those days: "Dexter Calling", "Silver's Serenade" etc. The TOCJs recapture it all best on CD. Now, I have just about all of them that I want, and I don't even need any new RVGs and "Conns", except for the unissued sessions, and those are spoiled by McMasters' terrible sound, so they don't add much.

I worked in the Math Dept at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, from 1972 through 1976. There was a surprisingly good jazz scene in Jo'burg back in those days, and my policy was, of course, to play with anyone, no matter what their color. (I was not entirely popular with the Suid-Afrikaanse Polisie, but that was their problem, and I was never arrested, though it came close once at a blowing session in Soweto.) Anyway, in those days, there were "blows" on the university campus on Sunday afternoons, and I got to play with just about all of the best black jazz musicians except the legendary tenor Winston Mankuku, who was terrific by the way. Dollar Brand, as he was actually known to the players there, was already long gone, though I did play with his former bassist and drummer. Victor Ntoni and Barney Rachabane were regulars at these blows, but I don't recall ever meeting or hearing of any of the other names in the discography posted by King. Kippie turned up at several of those blows, and he was real nice to play with. He played piano, as well as alto. He had been seriously beaten up several years earlier (including a head injury), and I was told that he was no longer in his prime by the time that I met him. I can vividly remember the time he made me learn one of his compositions. I had not heard it, and there was no chart, so he went through it over and over on the piano, and pushed me through it on alto. I still know the tune, but not its name, and I can't write out the "dots" in this post, otherwise I would place it here with the changes. That's a treasured memory. There were also some superb white jazz musicians, such as Stan Jones (from London, England), a world-class pianist, Johnny Fourie, a guitarist as good as McLaughlin, and Tony Moore, a very lively hard-bop drummer. We also got visits by American musicians, such as Teddy Wilson, Monk Montgomery, Stan Getz, Herb Ellis and Blue Mitchell.

His later, experimental recordings are well worth a listen. He was an outstanding musician. I've never heard BG described as "cerebral" before. I've always found his playing to be full of feeling, and he was often given to growling through the horn in the best gut-bucket tradition. Benny will always be my favorite clarinet.

Bagpipes?

But there was a talking horse, of course.

Here are two that have stood the test of time for me: "Peter Gunn", by Henry Mancini, and "The Benny Goodman Story" (Mancini was also in on that film for the incidental music, but not for the soundtrack albums). The "Peter Gunn" music appeared on two LPs, both of which have been reissued on CD. The first LP, especially, is a real classic, almost canonical. The compositions and arrangements are superb, and Mancini had them make a lot of takes as he carefully crafted the performances. There are many fine soloists, such as Pete Candoli and Victor Feldman. One Johnny T. Williams, on piano, also turns out to be a very competent jazz soloist. (The tedious bombast of most of his movie scores was still well in the future at that stage.) The Goodman soundtrack was issued on two Decca LPs, and later Capitol put out two LPs which also claimed to be soundtrack albums, but weren't. This problem persists today, as there is a Capitol CD with most of the contents of the two bogus LPs, but no CD version of the Deccas. To get the real Hatfield, you will have to search for used Decca LPs - they can be found on the Gemm website. Anyway, the real soundtrack recordings are a great encapsulation of the BG orchestra's personnel and sound from about 1938, when the original stars such as Harry James and Gene Krupa were still aboard. Nearly all the guys from back then were brought back for the movie, and the band was actually made even better by adding Stan Getz (who did play in a BG lineup after 1938) and Urbie Green. There's even a cameo appearance by Buck Clayton. The original trio and quartet are also well represented. I'm pleased to say that the sax section, led by Hymie Schertzer, managed to re-create that wonderful, smooth sound that it had back in the 30s - easily the finest sax section sound ever. (Not having a baritone is a big advantage here.) You could safely describe these performances as being just as good as the originals, but with better studio engineering. This music really is a soundtrack, as what is on the LPs is precisely what is heard in the movie.

Thanks for the historical info, folks. I did not know any of this. I didn't really take much notice of the group back in the 60s. About all I heard was their hit version of "The Fool On The Hill", which I liked. What made me look into their sixties albums was the memory of our pianist regularly playing Sergio's arrangement of "Norwegian Wood" when he did a trio set. He was into Sergio a lot. That arrangement is perfect for a jazz performance, and our pianist's version was much longer than the snippet on Sergio's LP. When I spotted this 2 CD set, I thought it would make a nice sampler, which it does. The Mas vs Mais business raises an interesting point. Sometimes a mis-spelling takes over as the version - as with the famous Ellis Island corruptions of foreign names.

Podunk Hollar is where they call "SOOOEY" to get the pigs into the sty at feeding time.

The recent arrival of the TOCJ of this album at my place has made me listen to it all again several times over the last week. This album still sounds as interesting and enjoyable now as it did when I first heard the LP in the late 60s. It is the last full album by Horace's classic quintet with Blue and Junior. (Gene Taylor was also on all of them, but the drummers varied on the albums.) If you've never heard it, a treat is in store for you. It's available as a 20 bit McMaster U.S. CD, and is a comparative rarety: a BN CD that is not in any of the various series. So there's no need to fork out for an import. (I think that Ron's mastering peaked in his 20 bit days.) As usual with a Silver album, everything is perfect: it's well rehearsed without sounding over-rehearsed. Horace's LPs were usually made over two days, rather than the usual one, and it shows. It's "just right". And no out-takes, by Horace's request. With Horace, the music is kinda elusive - you don't want to zoom closely into it; rather, just let it happen. There is little by way of surface brilliance and technical display by anyone, just a great feel and groove. No-one is even very inventive when it comes to "licks". Horace mainly strings together a bunch of quotes (including "Rocking In Rhythm") but it's just done so well. Neither of the horns is the greatest on his instrument, but they are still very good. Above all, no-one else could have achieved what the guys did on this album. I think the best thing I could say is that I never get tired of hearing it. (The title track has special memories for me, as a pianist presented it to me to play long before I heard the LP. The opening chord is a minor ninth, but a major seventh was on the chart given to me! It never made any sense to me. Then, I got the LP and it all became as clear as a bell!)

Another vote for "Mode For Joe". This has been a firm favorite since I got an LP of it in the late 60s. The LP was stolen and I replaced it. The TOCJ CD sounds great. I'm afraid that the cover always makes me sad, though, considering that Joe died of emphysemia. This album has a dream lineup, and it's not a standard hard bop instrumentation. The arrangements are superb, all the solos are excellent and the session just "clicked" from the start. The title track has a haunting atmosphere that is just unforgettable. My favorite part of it is the quiet bit where Ron Carter plays a rare solo, with gentle riffs played behind him. The Bud is also a winner, as are all of his BN sessions. If you get it, you will be able to make up an RVG version of the box set, with the exception of the Roost items. I have already done this (for personal use only), using a TOCJ for this RVG-to-be. I guess this might not be easy if the new CD has that attempt at copy protection added to it. My favorite track: "Comin' Up". I would like to have heard Bud with both Paul Chambers and Philly Joe, but it didn't happen. Art Taylor makes an excellent substitute, though. I have really grown to like Art over the years, which is just as well, as he is on so many sessions.

In a hurry right now: the kids' vacation is still not over. Just go to google.com and punch in "wig wag" and it'll take you there.

I have always found it hard to track down the Capitol recordings, and I'm speaking of the LP days as well as now. (Not referring to the Riverside recordings that were taken to Capitol.) One very nice one that I did get (on LP) is "Domination", which has some delightful arrangements by Oliver Nelson. It isn't a hard-core hard bop album, but it sure sounds great.

There's also a website dedicated to wig wags! The host emailed me a sound clip, with a steam train also audible, from Gilroy, CA! I liked the old things - they were part of a day when things moved at a much less frantic pace.

Absolute madness! For that final price, you could hire Jackie and Donald Byrd to come to your house and play the pieces live.

Here is a list of the albums from which the tracks in the 2 CD set were taken. There are 48 tracks in all. From "Herb Alpert Presents ...": Mas Que Nada, One Note Samba/Spanish Flea, The Joker, Going Out Of My Head, Tim Dom Dom, Day Tripper, Agua de Beber. From "Stillness": Stillness, Righteous Life, Chelsea Morning, Cancao Do Nosso Amor, Viramundo, Lost In Paradise, For What It's Worth, Sometimes In Winter. From "Look Around" (there is a U.S. CD of this): With A Little Help From My Friends, Roda, Like A Lover, The Look Of Love, Pradizer Adeus, Batucada, So Many Stars. From "Equinox" (once again there is a U.S. CD): Constant Rain (Chove Chuva), Cinnamon And Clove, For Me, Bim-Bom, Night And Day, Triste, Wave, So Danço Samba. The whole "Ye-Me-Le" album is included. From "Fool On The Hill": The Fool On The Hill, Scarborough Fair. From "Crystal Illusions": Viola, Salt Sea, Empty Faces, Pretty World, Dois Dias, You Stepped Out Of A Dream. Sorry, but I have not loaded the Portuguese tilde into Windows. (In my math days, we used to call it "twiddles".) Thanks for the recommendation about "Primal Roots". I have not heard that one.

Thanks for your remarks, Shrugs. It seems that Lisa (our dog) has precisely what you describe. It's real sad to see this happen to an animal that has been so lively and fiesty in an enjoyable way. So far, the esopheogus problem has not shown any signs of developing. Apart from the weakness of the back legs, everything else is A-1, including a lively barking session if anyone arrives at the door. She wolfs down her food, and still wants any chocolate that we eat. We will just have to see how she goes. I don't think that she's in any pain. I did see, on a vet website, that a dog can be given 75 mg of aspirin (this is the dosage given to human heart patients who are on a course of a low dose of it) if it's in pain. Hey, I love that album cover! You can't go wrong with a German shepherd, a bass saxophone and a bass clarinet.

I'd like to listen too, but mail sent to Podunk Hollar never seems to arrive.

I guess many of you are fond of old Sergio. I think he is terrific. Not a lot of his 60s A & M recordings have been reissued on CD domestically (just "Look Around" and "Equinox", to the best of my knowledge), so I was pleased to come across a 2 CD compilation from 1997 called "The Very Best Of S.M. and Brasil 66". This has been released in the U.K. and also in Europe, I think. It is available from U.S. suppliers as an import. Normally, I avoid compilations, but this one is quite an exception. The main reason is that the 7 LP albums from which the tracks are culled all had such short playing times (the average is a rather stingy 31 minutes or so) that there is enough room on two CDs for a large percentage of all the selections. You get nearly all of some of the albums, and all of one: "Ye-Me-Le". So, this set is an excellent sampler of Sergio's A & M releases, and would be more than enough for some people. It is certainly a much cheaper option than the Japanese CDs (all the LPs have been reissued there). Nothing is said about the number of bits used for the remastering, but the sound is excellent, I think. I bought the recent 24 bit CD of "Equinox", and I can't tell the difference between it and the 2 CD set, which, by the way, has nearly all the tracks from "Equinox". The remastering was done by a Roger Wake at "Bourbery-Wake", whatever that is. Frankly, I prefer to listen to the tracks in LP order, as originally programed, but this set, with the tracks scrambled up in a rather arbitrary way, still works fine. There is a list, claiming to show which album each track comes from, but it has several errors, and I had to check listings at Amazon to clear this up. So ... recommended!

I have a German shepherd, too. She is only 9, but the back legs have gone bad (the vet says it is spinal degeneration) and I guess we will have to put her down before too long. She has been a wonderful pet. She soaks up the music, though. Her bed is behind a sofa, and is right next to the L and R speakers - they play right into her ears. She tolerates the liveliest Lee Morgan solo without missing a beat. She will howl if I play my tenor next to her. When I was a kid, we had cats and they were terrified of the sax. But my wife had a horrible cat that would hiss and scratch at you whenever you approached. However, if I played my tenor next to it, this wierd cat would rub around my ankles in a very friendly way. Odd feline!

Very enjoyable album. All the BN Hutchersons are great. I like James's flute work a lot, and it makes him much more versatile on a session than just another alto player - though his alto work is excellent and he could have gotten by with just that. On flute, he's not just one of those sax players who picked the instrument up casually but didn't really master it. This guy really plays it well, with good tone and intonation.

I always thought that that was filmed in Arizona (though Burbank, CA would have been able to do it). Assuming that this audio has not been cooked up as a gag, old Neil baby sure was daring God to strike him down, walking on God's moon (if he actually did) and cursing that strongly - this is "sailor blush" stuff. What a toilet mouth! I listened to that last interview with Pres (just before he died, and included in the 8 CD Verve set), and although that was coarse, Pres could kinda do it in a friendly way that was not so offensive (I'm just sad that he died so tragically), but this Armstrong sound byte is just sheer horrible, with no panache. Yechh!

Sorry to hear about all the health problems your Mom has been going through, Berigan. Will be praying for you all.

You put it well, Tony. You are probably right. I have never really liked the new notes on the RVGs a lot. But then, I was raised on Leonard Feather, Nat Hentoff and the rest. I still like their notes. I'm also a big fan of the backs of the old BN LP covers, and this is one reason why I like the TOCJ CDs so much. There probably isn't a big enough budget for better notes for the RVGs.