Michael Fitzgerald

Apparently he got a quintet that included a rapper, which wasn't what he booked. I'm running out of whatever energy is required to argue Joe Segal's point, especially since I've never met him and can't even imagine walking in his moccasins. But it sounds to me like he's got firm ideas of what he wants in his club - and it's his club. Did he communicate his view in the "friendliest" manner? Probably not - but maybe that's his way. And while maybe Buster was expressing himself, Joe was certainly expressing himself. Mike

If someone books a quartet, he has a reasonable expectation that he will get that quartet. Anything else is not acceptable - this isn't a jam session and it's not an open mike. I wonder if the contracts stipulate such things. Mike

We're obviously not getting the entire story (either side of it), but I could see the fact that someone from the crowd was onstage might play a part in this. "What is that? *Who* is that? I never booked that!" Mike

One album by Rouse that I never see mentioned is the co-led one with Paul Quinichette. Titled "The Chase Is On" on Bethlehem from 1957. I have this on an old Bethlehem CD and remember enjoying it quite a bit - I'll have to spin it again. Rouse appeared on another Bethlehem album from this period, by Cleanhead Vinson - never heard that one. Mike

FWIW, here it is: NYT April 10, 2005 To Be Young, Gifted & British - How a London-based group of mostly black musicians is redefining what European jazz can be. By Ben Ratliff The United States used to be the big leagues for the mainstream of jazz: it was the land of paradigms. But not so much anymore. In the past decade, information from the entire history of jazz's development has been swirled around the Earth by the Internet and the rise of academic jazz education. A result has been an aesthetic widening of the genre that has penetrated not just the music's fringes but its core language. One of the new paradigms comes from a circle of mostly black London-based musicians, cohering around the bass player Gary Crosby and the record label Dune. Since the late 1990's, a lot of good music has come from this group, through a smart jazz-reggae band called Jazz Jamaica; the young saxophonist and part-time rapper Soweto Kinch; the tenor saxophonist Denys Baptiste; the New Orleans-born trumpeter and singer Abram Wilson; and Mr. Crosby himself, a bandleader well known as an incubator of talent. So what do these new players have? The first answer is a British Afro-Caribbean identity. The second is a movement. They have come together around several guiding ideas: swing, blues feeling, the historical relationship of reggae and jazz, and a commitment to improving stereotypes of Afro-Caribbeans and black Britain in general. The third answer is summed up in a term that's become fairly widespread among these musicians, as well as the English press: black British jazz. The phrase is jazz-criticism shorthand meaning that this is music derived from an African-American jazz tradition, with an emphasis on swing. But Mr. Crosby and his colleagues really do talk in terms of race and class; it's their key to understanding what British jazz has been and can become. In January, I visited a London studio where the new Jazz Jamaica album, "Motown Reloaded," was being mixed. (The album features rearrangements of Motown songs for jazz improvisers over reggae rhythms.) Gary Crosby, Soweto Kinch and Abram Wilson were three of the musicians there, and we broke off from the control room to talk. Mr. Crosby, 50, is the affable spokesman for the group. English-born of Jamaican parents, he is the nephew of the ska guitarist Ernest Ranglin. About 15 years ago, he sensed that a black jazz scene in Britain wasn't just going to explode on its own. In the 1980's, he had been a founding member of the saxophonist Courtney Pine's collective organization and big band, Jazz Warriors, which, he said, "used to provide an outlet for a lot of young black musicians wanting to play the music." "There wasn't any other environment or framework to develop from just being a musician to playing jazz," Mr. Crosby said. "Practically every black player - or I suppose you could use the term 'urban' player, because there were a lot of working-class white kids who got involved - didn't feel that the academies would suit them." Jazz Warriors splintered, and from it, in 1991, Mr. Crosby formed Tomorrow's Warriors, another collective that held organized jam sessions. Mr. Crosby used it as a farm team, feeding various members into his own working band, Nu Group, as well as the Jazz Jamaica band. In working with younger, less schooled players, he found himself forcing an emphasis toward swing. "In the Jazz Warriors, we'd be playing world music," Mr. Crosby said, "and there were all kinds of battles to make the band more commercial. But when I started this session at the Jazz Cafe, every Saturday afternoon, we just created a nice buzz there, know what I mean? It just caught people's imagination: an all-black, British-born group playing bebop." Granted, this was 1991. But from an American perspective, it sounds upside down. Of course all-black groups would play bebop - or all-white groups, or mixed. Talent in the United States is abundant, and the shared musical language well mapped out. But Mr. Crosby's young charges faced greater obstacles. In his story of the emergence of black British jazz, various "politically minded" people stretched the system open so black players could have their chance: an educator who started a jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, an early owner of London's Jazz Cafe who "used to create situations where you'd get young black and white musicians working together," and so forth. Mr. Crosby kept up his weekly sessions, at the Jazz Cafe and then at a new club called the Spice of Life. Mr. Kinch is 27. The son of Don Kinch, a Barbadian playwright, he graduated from Oxford with a degree in modern history, and practices an alto saxophone style that links bebop with modern players like Greg Osby. And true to the community-building ethos of his colleagues, he has started his own arts organization, Nu Century Arts, based in Birmingham, where he grew up and still lives. "The vision is very much for the African-Caribbean community in Birmingham, where it's not encouraged amongst our people, really, to go to the theater," Mr. Kinch said. "Some of the best hip-hop I've listened to, certain forms of community theater in the West Indies - these are part of an African-Caribbean tradition." he said. "At the moment, this urban tag of what people perceive as black is about being garish and loud and instant-gratification. But my parents' generation, my father and myself and some other people, see our people differently." Back to black British jazz. Most of us don't talk about black American jazz. If we're talking about black-identified jazz, we mean jazz based in blues and swing, which is its mainstream. But now, in the United States, the rise of jazz education argues that jazz is for anyone. Anyway, so many important Latin players have come along in the last decade that talking about the music in black and white terms is dated. But the fact is that British jazz has mainly been thought of as white jazz. Among the important exceptions are the saxophonist Joe Harriott, who died in 1973, and Mr. Pine. Mr. Kinch, trained in history, goes a little deeper. One of his recent songs, "Snakehips," is about Ken (Snakehips) Johnson, the Guyanese-British bandleader, who ran the West Indian Orchestra, London's most popular swing band in the 1930's. "Deep down we're all into swing," Mr. Crosby said. "We're black Europeans, and we're not really part of the Eurocentric jazz music." Mr. Kinch added: "There's this phrase that's bandied around in the States: European jazz. Everyone talks about it like it's a unified idiom. I don't know if we want to be included in that." "Forget the word," snapped Mr. Crosby. "The meaning of European jazz, it can only come from us. We're the only community in Europe that, racially, has no restrictions. It can only be us." =========== Mike

BTW, Bev - big article on Soweto Kinch in yesterday's New York Times. Mike

I'm glad they got the right date on this. Mike

It's been said that anything that people claim is "killing jazz" is actually a good thing for jazz. Mike

You *can* cut and paste single sessions from Lord in text format - are you using the latest CDROM? Mike

His court, his rules. People start crying "censorship" when it's nothing of the kind. You want to work in that club, you toe the line. There's nothing preventing those who don't like the rules from going elsewhere to find a gig. Mike

May I advise that either (or both) the Bruyninckx or Lord CDROMs be your next purchase? Both these have the information that you requested and one or both should be in the library of anyone who asks as many of these kind of questions. Mike

Someone is slightly confused. Für means "For" in German. However, it's the "Elise" which is not what we've been taught. The piece was dedicated to Therese von Malfatte and apparently the Therese was misread as Elise. http://www.xs4all.nl/~ademu/Beethoven/#n21 Mike

Well, Badal Roy is probably coming from East Brunswick, NJ....... Mike

Jackie's Pal is the third of the two McLean/Philly records. Mike

Here's the Sam Most part: Date: December 3, 1954 Location: New York City Label: Vanguard Sam Most (ldr), Sam Most (f, cl, arr), Marty Flax (bar), Barry Galbraith (g), Bill Triglia (p), Aaron Bell (b), Bobby Donaldson (d), Quincy Jones, Hall Overton, Ronnie Woelmer (arr) a. Blues Junction (Quincy Jones) Jazztone LP 12": J 1256 - Doubles In Jazz (1957) b. Everything Happens To Me (Matt Dennis, Tom Adair) c. Give Me The Simple Life (Rube Bloom, Harry Ruby) d. Just Tutshen (Sam Most) Jazztone LP 12": J 1256 - Doubles In Jazz (1957) e. My Old Flame (Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnston) Jazztone LP 12": J 1256 - Doubles In Jazz (1957) f. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To (Cole Porter) Jazztone LP 12": J 1256 - Doubles In Jazz (1957) g. Open House (Ronnie Woelmer) Jazztone LP 12": J 1256 - Doubles In Jazz (1957) h. Skippy (Ronnie Woelmer) Jazztone LP 12": J 1256 - Doubles In Jazz (1957) All titles on: - Vanguard LP 12": VRS 8014 - Sam Most Sextet (1955) Quincy Jones (arr) on b only. Sam Most (arr) on d only. Hall Overton (arr) on f only. Omit Ronnie Woelmer (arr) on b, d, f.

For those of you with the Billy Bauer - start playing track 1, then hold down rewind. Mike

Uh oh - flip that photo! What would Ouzer say?! Mike

On the subject of low-A and low-B-flat baritones, actually, the low-B-flat is in particular demand because jazz ensemble (and indeed music for horns as opposed to strings) is written in flat keys, so the possibility of a ringing, resonant, lowest B-flat (concert D-flat) is much more appealing than the same note played on a low-A baritone. This information courtesy of Danny Bank. And, yes, if you're playing with a soul/funk band with electric guitars, having the low-A baritone is more useful. Horses for courses. Mike

I think I've got all the data I need already thanks to another generous soul. BTW, if anyone ever comes across this item for sale, I'm interested. Mike

Considering Burns's concern for historical accuracy in other photos used in the series, probably not. It seems doubtful. But I really can't say because you're asking me to remember something I saw once on TV over four years ago (and like most people I've talked to, I was falling asleep during it) and have been trying to forget ever since, then compare it to someplace I saw once..... Mike

I've been to the location on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford. It's a tricky place to navigate and I can easily see how someone could easily blow it, particularly with poor visibility. Mike

I say you offer the hair salon chicks the album cover (in return for putting up with your noise). Come on, all the guys in the band sitting in the seats under the big hairdryers? What do you say? Mike

Do you think all this (plus Bouncing With Bud and Along Came Betty, and one more unknown title?) is from the same date? The only Messengers Bouncing With Bud I know is the one where Bud sits in. Date: November 15, 1959 Location: Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, France Label: (television broadcast) Art Blakey (ldr), Wayne Shorter (ts), Lee Morgan (t), Walter Davis, Jr. (p), Jymie Merritt (b), Art Blakey (d) a. 01 Close Your Eyes (Bernice Petkere) RCA LP 12": 430054 - Paris Concert b. 02 What Know [aka Goldie] (Lee Morgan) RCA LP 12": 430054 - Paris Concert c. 03 Ray's Idea (Dizzy Gillespie, Walter 'Gil' Fuller) RCA LP 12": 430054 - Paris Concert d. 04 Lester Left Town (Wayne Shorter) RCA LP 12": 430054 - Paris Concert e. Blues March - 08:56 (Benny Golson) Moon CD: MCD 071-2 - Are You Real (1995) f. Are You Real - 10:31 (Benny Golson) Moon CD: MCD 071-2 - Are You Real (1995) g. A Night In Tunisia - 08:53 (Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli, Jon Hendricks) Moon CD: MCD 071-2 - Are You Real (1995) Mike

The RCA album has: Close Your Eyes Goldie (aka What Know) Ray's Idea Lester Left Town If I had a copy of what you've got I am sure I could identify the unknown tracks. Mike

I got a winner here! Statesmen of Jazz, rec. 12/20/94 Benny Waters (1/23/02) - 91 Clark Terry (12/14/20) - 74 Joe Wilder (2/22/22) - 72 Al Grey (6/6/25) - 69 Buddy Tate (2/22/13) - 81 Jane Jarvis (11/?/15) - 79 Claude Williams (2/22/08) - 86 Milt Hinton (6/23/10) - 83 Panama Francis (12/21/18) - 76 * Average = 711/9 = 79 I find it remarkable that three of these guys share the same birthday. Mike