Michael Fitzgerald

I just picked up a few Arabesques via amazon - 3 Art Farmer, 1 Charles McPherson - something like $1.12 each. Absolutely perfect condition and very good music. Mike

Nina did indeed precede Monk (with Pee Wee Russell) in 1963. Mike

No, Brookmeyer is not a block type of writer - I think we appreciate a lot of the same things, but I seem to be finding these in the music of Maria Schneider (who tends to connect with me moreso than Brookmeyer, fwiw). There are so many subtleties - which is why I got the scores for two pieces. The entire Bulería makes constant use of two melodic ideas: a simple descending scale segment A=(C B A G etc.) and another one that kind of leapfrogs B=(G A F G E F) - I do have the score in front of me, so it's easier for me to see. A: the alto flute at m.5, tpts 34-41 (tbns play the inverse of A at 34) and then A is used in a rhythmic accelerando, from quarter notes to eighth notes, to triplets; ww 36; ww 46; oboe 50; fl 58; fl/ts/tbn 79; alto fl/ts 84; the inverse shows up in the bass at 42 B: flute/english horn/tpt/gtr at m.19; ts 27; tbn 31; ww/tpt 33; ww 42; tpt 44; ts/bcl 74 I just played through a little of this section and discovered things I had never known about - at m.19, the B idea is voiced as a third on top of a seventh - which makes a ninth on the outside. It's basically three consecutive scale degrees but with the second one down an octave - a very dissonant sound, but it doesn't have a grating sound in this context, perhaps because of how the bass is set up. I doubt I would ever find this stuff without scouring the score. My ears are only my own, so I can't really say whether you're missing something or what, but in my judgment there's plenty of interest going on here in terms of melodic motives/development and in terms of harmony. Mike

I must not understand what you're saying, because "the weather stays the same" is so contradictory to what I am hearing in a piece like El Viento or Hang Gliding or the Pas De Deux or Dança Illusória - those pieces evolve and when they start you don't know how they're going to finish - to me, that's what build is about. Regarding melodies - I was able to find wonderful inner parts when listening last night. These are almost never written in block style with a chord voiced down from the top note, across the trumpet section. One person might have a little melody to play that isn't doubled anywhere. I wonder if perhaps that lack of the sectional approach is what you are considering to be a lack of melody? Less complex arrangers might have fewer melodic ideas that are made stronger through block voicing (is this your "coherence of working/moving parts"?). I hear a ton of melodies all working together to create the overall effect. Mike

Hmm - which Dylan tune? "I Don't Believe You"? "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know"? "Ye Shall Be Changed"? "Too Much Of Nothing"? "I'd Hate To Be You On That Dreadful Day"? "Idiot Wind"? "Million Dollar Bash"? "Neighborhood Bully"? "Nothing Was Delivered"? "Talking Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Concert Massacre Blues"? Mike

Just received some promotional propaganda from the Lincoln Center about an upcoming concert featuring music by Ron Westray. "Although musical masterpieces inspired by Don Quixote are mainstays in classical culture, Chivalrous Misdemeanors may be the first composed and arranged for the complex jazz setting." Why must Lincoln Center pretend that they are breaking any new ground when history clearly proves they are not? A 2-second search on the term "Quixote" in the Lord CDROM came up with numerous single pieces including that title, and a 1980 - that's a quarter of a century ago - recording by the Japanese band Toshi Mori and His Blue Coats, entitled "A Song Of Don Quixote" with some 16 tracks specifically matching the story. Then there's Kenny Wheeler and John Dankworth's "Windmill Tilter - The Story Of Don Quixote" from 1968 - that's over 35 years ago. But neither of these are American, so maybe Lincoln Center just has its (collective) head up its (collective) ass regarding anything done in the ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD. Just like Wynton Marsalis didn't break any new ground with the Blood On The Fields despite being hyped in the press as "finally addressing the subject of slavery" (after John Carter had already done five suites on this theme). For heaven's sake, Lincoln Center has people on staff that know about these resources - are they bothering to consult them? Oh right, they're playing it safe with the word "may" - Mike

I wasn't there, but here's the setlist from Nina Simone at Newport 1963 (she did not appear in 1964 with Getz, but followed Cannonball Adderley on Thursday, July 4, 1963) - Stompin' At The Savoy Black Swan Medley from Porgy and Bess When Malindy sings Zungo Bye Bye Blackbird The band was Phil Alondo, Al Shackman (g), Lisle Atkinson (b), Montego Joe (per). "Nina Simone, who started interestingly with Menotti's Black Swan from The Medium, had just concluded an overlong set in which her affected singing and out-of-the-academy piano playing succeeded in driving many to drink......" - Ira Gitler, db 8/15/63 p.13 Mike

Bugs. That is the answer, in case any of you were wondering, to the question "As a child, what did Scott Robinson bring to school for show-and-tell." And if you weren't wondering, at least Maria Schneider was. Apparently at least some of her recent free time was spent imagining what her bandmembers were like as schoolkids. There were several interesting tidbits of information to be gleaned at the two Sunday shows at the Jazz Standard - capacity crowd for this final night of four, btw. Another is that Maria thinks of the band as "meteors" crossing the night sky (and thinks of Robinson instead as a "satellite"). Having last seen this band six months ago, nearly to the day (and nearly to the seat), I'll point out some things that were different. Comments from last time are here: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...maria+schneider One big change is that in September, the new album was not yet a Grammy-winner! There was a lot of excitement about that. There were personnel alterations compared to the September gig - vocalist Luciana Souza was not present and bassist Jay Anderson was replaced (for this night only, it seems) by Scott Colley. Scott Robinson has added two new toys to his remarkable arsenal. The first is a replacement clarinet. His usual one was a very distinctive brown wood model. He's now using a double-wall metal clarinet - I had never seen such a thing before. It's thicker than the standard metal clarinet. So now Scott's gone completely metal - soprano, bass, and contrabass clarinets. The second new toy is a contrabass sarrusophone. He used this during Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba - in addition to the contrabass clarinet. Scott also had a battery-powered portable oscillator with him, but it wasn't used on a tune, just as a gag when he was introduced. Last September, George Flynn was introduced as playing contrabass trombone, but he told me he didn't play it - it was sitting backstage. Well, this time it was used. Man, that's a big mother. And Larry Farrell is now playing occasional bass trombone, so at a few points there were two bass trombones going. Larry soloed on bass trombone on El Viento. Set One - Journey Home - Tim Ries (alto), Rock Ciccarone Tork's Cafe - Ben Monder, Keith O'Quinn, Scott Robinson (baritone) El Viento - Ben Monder, Larry Farrell (bass trombone), Ingrid Jensen Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba - Donny McCaslin (tenor), Greg Gisbert (flugelhorn) Set Two - Concert In The Garden - Ben Monder, Frank Kimbrough, Gary Versace Three Romances: 1. Choro Dançado - Rich Perry (tenor) 2. Pas De Deux - Ingrid Jensen (flugelhorn), Charles Pillow (soprano) 3. Dança Illusória - Frank Kimbrough, Larry Farrell Hang Gliding - Greg Gisbert (flugelhorn), Donny McCaslin (tenor) The band was exceptional in their vertical precision and articulation on Journey Home. Not sure why Gonzalo Grau didn't play cajon on this as there is a cajon part on the recorded version. He only popped onstage for Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba and then left after the first set. Tork's Cafe is an unrecorded piece that I had never heard before. It was described as a "landscape" that was written as an homage to a truck stop in Minnesota where Maria worked as a waitress. We were tantalized with the possibility of a lowdown story involving prostitution, but alas, it was not to be (this was Easter Sunday, after all). The soloists arrived in order of "seediness" - Ben Monder, playing distortion guitar at exceedingly soft dynamic levels, then Keith O'Quinn, then the seediest of all - Scott Robinson on baritone, who was phenomenal, spurred on by displays of exuberance from Maria and his bandmates as well as the audience. El Viento is normally a feature for the incredible Greg Gisbert, but (probably because Gisbert was about to be featured on the last section of Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba), the trumpet solo was given to Ingrid Jensen, who started off using Harmon mute as a plunger. I far prefer Gisbert. Jensen lacked the power to really sing out over top of the band at the climax. The start of the piece again featured remarkable control by the band, with much intensity maintained at a soft volume. Scott Colley was subbing and on Concert In The Garden needed a few cues to keep straight. Mostly wonderful, and he added a different personality to things, playing a bit more actively than Jay Anderson. This piece really missed the vocals. Kimbrough was taking liberties with the piano interlude going into Dança Illusória - when last I heard this, the lead-in was just like the record, but now it's gotten freer with some different voicings. I think this piece was the most comfortable for Colley. Hang Gliding had a very different flavor during McCaslin's solo - he really was doing some high energy things, which I had never heard in this context. The rhythm section contributed. I still find the methodical approach that Rick Margitza used on the recording to really work best for this tune. There was quite a bit of odd noodling going on - high accordion parts particularly. This climaxed in the Pas De Deux where trombone, soprano, flugelhorn, and percussion were all on this chattering kind of thing. That piece had some absolutely KILLER drums. Clarence Penn was much more "on" compared to last September. The dynamic range of this band is remarkable. That's what really stood out to me about this evening - they were so quiet and so loud. Otherwise it had some faults - at times it wasn't as tight as in September (there was some hesitation before the start of the final Rumba and Luciana Souza was again sorely missed there), the solos maybe weren't as strong, but it was still a wonderful evening. The Band - Tim Ries - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, alto flute, clarinet Charles Pillow - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, alto flute, clarinet, oboe, english horn Rich Perry - tenor saxophone, flute Donny McCaslin - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute Scott Robinson - baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, contrabass sarrusophone Greg Gisbert, Ingrid Jensen, Tony Kadleck, Laurie Frink - trumpet, flugelhorn Keith O'Quinn, Rock Ciccarone - trombone Larry Farrell - trombone, bass trombone George Flynn - bass trombone, contrabass trombone Ben Monder - guitar Frank Kimbrough - piano Scott Colley - bass Clarence Penn - drums, percussion Gary Versace - accordion Gonzalo Grau - cajon (Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba only) Maria Schneider - conductor Mike P.S. - forgot about the well-dressed ranking - Clarence Penn was announced as winner, with Larry Farrell as runner-up. However, Scott Robinson voiced an objection and noted that his wife makes all his clothes (which were quite unique, with planets and stars on his shirt). So there may be more to be heard on this subject. Maria was in great spirits, particularly during the second set - these guys are having fun!!! Also - apparently there was a big article in a recent newspaper (not the Wall Street Journal one mentioned elsewhere here). I thought it was today's Newark Star-Ledger from the look, but I checked at home and didn't find anything. Title was something about "finding her audience" - if anyone knows, please tell me. Thanks!

Received this today - quick shipping, ordered on Wednesday. Just skimming through disc 1 so far. Setup is very nice with the three views (RH, LH, notation). Personality is good - it's obvious to me that John is not an experienced teacher, but he is working on presenting the information clearly. It doesn't feel intimidating or monotonous. The presentation seems to be consistent - exposition, simple example, advanced example (where the real difference is he allows some typical McLaughlin bursts of 32nd notes as opposed to the simple version which is more eighths and 16ths), then some analysis - playing back the improvisation with a few comments, occasionally stopping the playback to mention a point, etc. Each chapter concludes with a "play-along" passage where the accompaniment is played without McLaughlin doing anything. The accompaniment sounds to me like computer sequencer stuff, not real instruments. Everything I've seen so far has been a fusion-funk kind of thing. I see some problems with the notation - which I believe was generated directly from MIDI guitar input. For example, there is an exercise on the "So What" chord changes and when it hits E-flat dorian, what SHOULD happen is that the key signature should change to five flats and there should be no accidentals because all the playing is diatonic to the mode. However, what DOES happen is that the key signature of no sharps/no flats remains from D dorian and everything is written using accidentals. And what's worse is that the accidentals used aren't even the notes in the E-flat dorian mode. You see things like C-sharp instead of D-flat. Techniques such as slides, pull-offs, etc. aren't notated very well - it shows just notes as if everything were perfectly picked - now, McLaughlin's picking is extraordinary, but he does not pick every note. But I think any decent guitarist will be able to see and hear where he is sliding, etc. Apparently there are more notation resources on the website. I haven't looked into that yet. Even for beginners, the notation is very advanced with all kinds of syncopations and subdivisions. This is NOT something I would play for anyone who doesn't already have a very firm grasp on how to play. The drag is that the starting theory concepts ARE very rudimentary - playing the modes in thirds up and down, etc. We'll see how things progress. McLaughlin uses some terminology in non-standard ways that might confuse players - the Harvard Brief Dictionary makes it very clear that a triad is a three-note chord that has a root, third, and fifth - each note a third away from the previous. However, McLaughlin talks about and plays "triads" as if the term means any three note structure - so C - G - D - that's a "triad in fifths" - at one point during the triad discussion he plays a C major seventh chord. Now, I understand where he's coming from and what his point is, but others might not. I will post more on this when I watch more. I am glad that I bought it - it gives a lot of useful insight into McLaughlin's style and he's a musician for whom I have a lot of respect. Mike

Phil Schaap called him "Branford" on the air, so that must be correct. Mike

The word is that some of the folks fed Reisner some tall tales. Still probably of value. I haven't looked at mine in a while. The Ross Russell is another one that doesn't place much importance on accuracy. Mike

No need for a special thread - I'm happy to butt into any topic that grabs my attention (just try to keep me away!). Should anyone ever want an answer off-board - do NOT use the PM function, but instead send me an email. Mike

I certainly would recognize Mr. Ties, who I've known online since 1991 or so when he was running the Sun Ra mailing list and campaigning to get discounts for us on Evidence CDs - never did pan out, but the effort was appreciated.... Mike

The organissimo fund drive for May?? I am not serious. Mike

I do have more respect for the words of someone who is not being anonymous - and I think there is a difference between "not being anonymous" and "using one's real name" - but on the other hand I know the real names of four of the worst bottom-dwellers on the jazz bulletin board circuit and that does absolutely nothing in terms of improving the crap they have spewed. Honestly, unless I know someone's real name, his identity is forgettable to me. For whatever that's worth. I am infinitely more likely to remember a real name than a "handle". Sorry, but that's how it is for me. Mike

BTW, Brian Priestley is working on a Bird book. I have his "little" Bird book (part of the Kings of Jazz series) - which is still quite good as a primer. Judging by his Mingus book, I have a feeling his upcoming one on Parker will be outstanding. Mike

Woideck. But apparently one should get the paperback rather than the hardcover as some corrections were made. Mike

Start with the Pettinger - the other one isn't nearly as meaty. Mike

Not actually true. 30 seconds with the Stockholm show revealed Coltrane to be unquestionably present on the in heads of So What and Walkin' - he may be there very low on All Blues too. Pretty sure things like On Green Dolphin Street and Fran Dance were always Miles alone, so nothing to read into Coltrane's absence on those. Mike

Lead guitarist sequence is correct, but Clapton was a replacement himself, for original member Top Topham. Yardbirds issue listing here: http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/yardbird_se...iscography.html EMI history info here: http://www.ketupa.net/emi2.htm Columbia (EMI) issue listing here: http://www.chartwatch.co.uk/TopTen/labels/lab142.htm Mike

I tried that already before I posted - you can get to certain things, but I can't seem to make the site work as designed. Seems to have something to do with the frames setup. Mike

Isn't it more accurate to say they recorded for Columbia? I suspect the problem is the relationship of EMI to Columbia (which differed in the US and UK, right?) and then the involvement of their manager Giorgio Gomelsky? The recording with Sonny Boy Williamson was originally on Fontana in UK and Mercury in US, I think. All the material in the set is from the Gomelsky period. The post-Gomelsky stuff is held by EMI, and was issued on EMI CDs. Mike

Any variation in flugelhorn appearance is due to the wrap design. They are all the same length uncoiled. The only significant difference would be 3-valve vs. 4-valve. There used to be a great site called www.flugelhorns.com that had hundreds of pictures and descriptions. Alas, no longer. Mike

Yep

Gotta disagree with the recommendation of Secret Story as being somehow representative of the Pat Metheny Group - it's not a Group album at all. (I also think it's not a good album at all, but I won't get into that.) I also find Offramp to be an odd selection for starting out - my pick for a PMG startoff would be Travels, the live album (from the Offramp tour) which includes the early stuff (Phase Dance, San Lorenzo), the later stuff (Are You Going With Me), an abridged As Falls Wichita, plus a bunch of wonderful new pieces that weren't ever recorded elsewhere. Plus it has the lineup with Danny Gottlieb and Nana Vasconcelos. It brings in the Brazilian elements that were a big part of the next decade or so, but I think it does them better and with less "slickification". I'm going to see the band next weekend. Have only heard parts of the new record. I'll have to pick it up before the show. Or maybe I won't. I remember the excitement of hearing the band in 1989 on the "pre-record" tour when they played most of the Letter From Home album before it was recorded. All those tunes didn't even have titles at that point. It was quite a different experience hearing that stuff fresh without any references. Mike