Kevin Bresnahan

Joe in a suit - even back then.

I got to see Charlie Mariano play at The Regattabar in 2000, shortly before his Parkinson's made it too hard for him to perform. He was still playing great that night. It would have been a better night if Ray Santisi hadn't decided to play an electric keyboard set to "Doo Wah" mode. The left side of the keyboard made "Doo" sounds and the right made "Wah" sounds. It made for an odd night at the club with Mariano wailing away and Santisi doing that weird stuff with his keyboard. I'm still glad I got see it.

I was in Hong Kong 25 years ago and there were not many CD shops even then. I doubt there are more today.

I remember when I was first getting into Jazz and was on a Dexter Gordon kick. I read the Penguin guide and saw that they rated LTD's "Biting The Apple" as one of Dexter's highest rated sessions, so I just had to check it out. I started listening to it and the drummer caught my ear - Al Foster. I thought to myself, "I have to see this guy live". I tried going to most of the gigs in the Boston area when he was in the band. About 10 years ago, most clubs stopped listing the band members, so I probably missed a few of his stops, but I still caught him live quite a few times. I need to play this again...

Damn. He was such a great drummer. I wish I had gotten to see/hear him more frequently. He always seemed to stay around NYC.

I just learned from Tommy Smith's Facebook page that pianist Brian Kellock died last night at the age of 63. I have Tommy's duet CD recording with Brian, "Whispering of the Stars" (available on bandcamp) and it's a wonderful recording. I'll have to spin it later in Brian's memory. Tommy's Facebook post: With a broken heart, I am one of many sharing the news of Brian Kellock’s passing. Brian wasn’t just a colleague — he was family, family to many. We shared hundreds of concerts together, most often as a duo, but also in many other settings. His playing was a conversation, a joy, a deep connection — and through all those years, we created something that words can’t fully capture. Hearing of his passing last night was utterly devastating. The shock, the sadness, the sheer weight of this loss has left me, and I know so many others, without words. Brian was so deeply loved — not just for his extraordinary musical gifts, but for his humour, his warmth, his generosity of spirit. His talent was immeasurable. He had a way of playing that could break your heart one moment and swing it sky-high the next. That kind of artistry is rare. That kind of person even rarer. To those of us lucky enough to know him, play with him, laugh with him — this is a grief that runs deep. He was a supremely beautiful soul, and his absence will be felt profoundly. We will miss him forever. With love, Tommy

Now playing - Paul Desmond - Bossa Antigua (RCA). This is from the RCA box set that I don't think I've listened to in many years. Such beautiful playing here. I should remember this when I'm looking for some nice mellow bossa sounds to soothe me after a long day... mowing the lawn.

If there ever was such a list, it's ancient history at this point. They released Blakey's "Just Coolin'" on CD, so I would guess that everything is fair game now.

I'm a Paul Desmond fan but for me, a 7 CD box set is just too much. I doubt that I'd ever listen to it all. As it is, I haven't spun the discs in that Desmond RCA box set in years.

Although I have not read anything official, it's being widely reported on Facebook that saxophonist Joe Ford died on May 25th. He was 78. Ford has an extensive discography, notably playing with McCoy Tyner for many years. I saw Ford play with the Fort Apache Band on several occasions. What a smokin' band that was. It seems that with Ford's passing, no one is left from that band.

Does anyone know brownie in real life? Is he OK?

Their first one, "Welcome to the Party", is already there: https://quartetout.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-the-party

I almost said "only 12" but changed it to "a few" in case I missed some. http://www.marshallbop.com/

Trumpeter John Marshall has died. He was a prolific player and even though he only had a few releases under his own name, he's on a lot of recordings out there, having played with Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Ornette Coleman, George Coleman, Buck Clayton, Mario Bauza, Dizzy Gillespie & many others. From 1992 to 2017, he was based in Cologne Germany, where he was the lead trumpet player for the WDR Big Band, recording & touring with the band. I have heard Marshall's playing on several records over the years, notably with the WDR Big Band but especially the recordings he did as a member of the Metropolitian Bopera House band, as I was turned onto them by drummer Danny D'Imperio many years ago. I really should pick up his CD with Grant Stewart, "Frisky". Looks like a good one.

Accordionist Guy Klucsevek has died after a 10 year fight with neuroendocrine cancer. He was 78. I am mostly familiar with Guy's playing from his work with Dave Douglas. I saw him perform with Douglas several times. Of the 3 CDs Douglas released with this band, I really enjoy "Charms of the Night Sky".

I know Michael once thought about doing a Mosaic set of the Three Sounds Blue Notes but I guess the sales numbers of the individual CDs he was able to release must've scared him away from that.

Even though I love the bari sax sound, I rarely play Gil Melle. I have the 2 CD Blue Note set but not this one. Is this material similar to the music he made for Blue Note?

I never did pick up this material on CD. I do have the LPs, and they'll have to do for now.

There are several videos of Jason Marsalis playing Lionel Hampton's music - everything from a quartet to a big band. I don't get "New Orleans" from either of these videos. The big band is clearly a swing band. I will say that the video of the quartet date, which highlights Jason's vibes playing, shows him to be a rather sedate soloist, which may be why the initial poster said it was bland. But just like his drumming, I've seen better vibes soloists & much worse.

I have several of Ellis' recordings but not that one. His last one, initially only available via pledgemusic, is pretty good. As is his trio recording "Heart of Gold" & his solo piano date, "Piano in E".

I have no problem discussing specific artists, except when it comes to Wynton Marsalis, which is where this thread is headed when someone posts: and it's followed up with: This looks like the beginning of a "Wynton Marsalis sucks" sidebar, which will probably digress into a all-out food fight. As someone who enjoys some of Wynton's musical output and a lot of Branford's, I hate when these Marsalis-bashing threads bust out here.

This is such a divisive topic... I would rather we don't have to weather another one of these threads. They suck. He sucks. They're great. He's great. This place is so much more enjoyable when this particular topic doesn't crop up. It's almost as bad as politics or religion. Maybe we can have Jim A modify the rules to include a ban on Marsalis threads?

There's an interesting show coming up at Scullers on May 30th. The Levin Brothers (Tony & Pete) with Pat LaBarbera and drummer Jeff Siegel rounding out the quartet. I've seen Tony live a few times when he was touring with Peter Gabriel but not as a Jazz bassist so this should be interesting. I haven't seen LaBarbera play live in decades. In fact, I thought he was retired since he really hasn't shown up on my radar in such a long time. There are plenty of tickets for both sets. I am going to the 7:00 show. 7:00 - https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-levin-brothers-featuring-pat-scullers-jazz-club-tickets/14291203

I've been trying to buy this CD set locally since it came out but none of my area's Bull Moose stores have gotten it in.

Being an engineer, I always thought that the nut was way too thin for that sized bolt.