John Litweiler

I'm assuming Anthony Ortega, from the '50s, is still in San Diego and still playing.

Trouble is, here on the southeast side of Chicago (including Bronzeville) we can't get WDCB unless we live in tall buildings or have car radios. Fortunately we do have 100-watt WHPK, with 35+ hours of jazz weekly - it can be heard as far as the west-south city limits and it plays a larger variety of jazz than does WDCB.

Finally read Gopnik's thing today. Not the first time he repulsed me with his straw-men style and misreporting of facts. His conclusions are empty nonsensical hackwork that may be intended to make intellectual dilettantes think that Gopnik has smart brains.

Milestones, you're in for a treat. Coltrane's Prestiges are a fascinating trip, or trips -- each record is a journey in itself. Later recordings, after mid-1957, are about the height of his sheets-of-sound period (Traneing In, Soultrane). Coltrane made a great sideman, too, with Miles, Ammons, Dameron, etc. The Monk quartets with Coltrane and the two Wilbur Hardens on Savoy are more great music from the same period.

For some reason this reissue doesn't include the songs from the "Billy Eckstine Sings" LP on Savoy. It has gems like "I've Got to Pass Your House" and "Deep Blue Dream" from later on for the big band. Some arrangements are wow! and it would be great to find out who the arrangers and players specifically were.

My review of "The View from Here": http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD45/PoD45MoreMoments3.html

My favorite guilty pleasures are arson and burglary.

Uli, is that Czar Putin?

Heartache number 1 was when you left us.

The Art Pepper-Warne Marsh jam session download was quite a high point of 2013. (This may be the music that once made Jim Sangrey think Art sounded strange.)

keep having more birthdays

Chuck, it's better to listen to the recording.

She's fun -- thanks for the videos, Cyril.

I should be writing another obituary about a jazz musician. This fall must be a record for jazz-musician obituaries.

which is which?