Guy Berger

Horrible

If the US is extremely lucky, the number of COVID deaths will be in the low 6 digits. Keep in mind that some of the factors for the China undercount are likely to crop up here too.

It’s hard to know what to make of this. Presumably people in Wuhan were dying of other things during this period that couldn’t be buried. (Maybe even more than usual due to overloading of the healthcare system.) There were also probably people who died before they could get tested. Unfortunately, even if there was undercounting of Chinese deaths from coronavirus, the true number is likely to be much lower than the eventual count here in the US.

The impact of SARS was much smaller - it was less contagious. Fewer people got it, fewer people died, the public health response was much more effective.

I now know one person who definitely has it (a “serious” case, in the hospital), and another who probably has it.

Hey all... hope you are doing ok, or at least as well as possible under current circumstances. Glad we have this community.

I think it’s worth reading up on prior flu pandemics. I know it’s sometimes a little Pollyannaish to say “we’ll get through this” but... we will, even if there are hard times ahead.

Jim, 1) Most people (80%) will have flu-like symptoms and then recover. 15% require hospitalization (more serious than the flu) due to difficulty breathing, but will also recover. 5% are critical cases - need to be in the ICU. This is much more serious than the flu. 2) We have really limited ICU capacity in this country. If we blow through that (and it's a real risk), then we start facing the scenario encountered already in Wuhan and Italy. It ends up cranking the death rate way up, from 0.5%-2% to 3%-5%, because a lot of those ICU cases can't be treated. Doctors and nurses will also get sick and miss sleep. 3) The "not yet a killer on the loose" claim is incorrect... because we have been massively undertesting, the true number of cases is way higher than the official count and doubling every ~7 days.

Randy, you're making the right decision. I really hope the festival planners consider cancellation given the growing public health risk. A lot of transmission of this illness relies on close contact which is inevitable in large public gatherings. I also hope people reconsider "the flu is a greater risk" (which seemed possible earlier when there was a chance this would be contained to China)... this is a much more dangerous illness with higher mortality rates and no immunity in the US population. Those at risk should be extra careful; those that are less at risk (younger, healthy) should follow public health measures to slow down transmission.

"I Fall in Love Too Easily" was included in the August 1969 studio performance of "Sanctuary". After that, the two were paired regularly in concert. But I'd be curious why Davis specifically paired "Sanctuary" w/IFiLTE rather than another ballad. (It was genius IMHO...) IMHO we're suffering from at least some selection bias on the 2nd quintet recordings. Davis would have been more inclined to play a semi-fixed setlist on European tours (where fans hadn't seen him for a long time) than in the US. I think the performances of "RJ" and "Seven Steps to Heaven" at the 1966 Newport Festival, or the performance of "Dolores" in Berkeley during the spring of 1967, or various "oddball" standards like "Yesterdays" and "Who Can I Turn to?", suggest he was open to wildcards. (Also, think of the performances of "Footprints" and "Paraphernalia" at the Fillmore West in the spring of 1970.)

IMHO, yes, a lot of the larger events at the very least be cancelled, and there may be eventually be a need to limit use of indoor spaces. This is a very contagious illness; the danger here is lots of people congregating in large numbers, contracting it, then reinfecting a bunch of other people. Even if you can't fully contain it, there are big public health gains from slowing the spread. The "everyone should stay in their homes" comment is a straw man. Clearly there is a vast difference between being in close proximity with 10,000s of people and walking around outdoors.

IMHO this was the right decision.

I think the fact that Columbia recorded both of these around the same time highlights why the 70s was such a great era for jazz. Love them both. The Inner Mountain Flame had a huge impact on my transition from a rock listener to a hardcore jazz listener.

I’m really enjoying the November 1971 Swiss gig on this box. The absence of Jack DeJohnette is felt in a big way but Ndugu plays “good enough” and the rest of the ensemble is awesome

I love the McGregor album. A nice combination of experimentation and tradition, African American and South African music. The Ellington is imho very good, though it tails off in quality after the first 3 classic tracks. The Getz is nice but not a favorite.