Michael Fitzgerald

Tell them that in the latest cooperative negotiation, ASCAP was awarded the rights for the white keys (thanks to Irving Berlin) and BMI got the black keys (plus C-flat). All the remaining sounds and noises were divied up among the other rights groups. So there ain't NO music that can ever be made that isn't somebody's business. While hanging out backstage waiting to play a rock gig, I once overheard two clubowner/promoter types say, "Well, you can get jazz groups to come in and play - they'll play for nothing!" And the problem is that they are right a lot of the time. And to whomever makes that true: shame on you. Shame on you for selling yourself short and also for hurting others who haven't sold themselves short. Mike

If it's not what you're thinking of, there's another: Saxophone Colossus And More (Prestige twofer 24050). It was very common to see updated photos on those things. Mike

That's an out-of-date page, try this: http://www.jazz-book.com/disc1.htm Mike

Last time I spoke with Chris he had mentioned that Mark Lopeman had transcribed some additional octet/nonet Gryce things - I'll try to make it to one or more of the gigs and hopefully they'll bring out some of those new charts. Mike

The Stereo/Contemporary situation is an interesting case of this kind of thing. See: http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Labels/stereo.htm http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Labels/contemp.htm There are also other Contemporary albums that had earlier/later titles. These are noted. Mike

And I recall seeing foreign issues of that album, title translated into Spanish as "Extasis" - still under Corea's name. It used to be a regular find in the bargain bins. I didn't buy that, but I did pick it up as part of a twofer "The Time-Wind Collection" under Corea's name (Netherlands issue). That cover has a photo of Corea mid-late 1970s. LaRoca was indeed getting screwed over - that album was all over the place and he wasn't getting any recognition, and probably wasn't getting a dime either. Mike

This is great to hear - hopefully some gigs for the Chris Byars Octet can be arranged? Mike

This helps a ton. I was able to look at a lot of the items today. The Polydors that have BOTH numbers - oh man, what a nightmare for a discographer. Institute of Jazz Studies files them under Polydor, ignoring the Black Lion numbers. All the leasing/licensing info is very good too. Mike

For example, the July 2, 1968 Charles Tolliver date I know as "Paper Man" (Arista/Freedom AL 1002) is listed in Bruyninckx (& Lord) as being issued first on Polydor 2460 139. Lord then says in the notes "All above titles also on Polydor 2460 139, Arista AL1002 (titled "Paper Man"), Black Lion BLP30117," etc. So Lord is already confused by listing the Polydor twice. Bruyninckx lists it only as the first issue, starting the equivalents list with AL1002. So if Freedom was established AFTER Black Lion as some kind of subsidiary - was this a Freedom recording? If so, why not first issue on Freedom or Black Lion? Where does Polydor get involved? If not a Freedom recording, what is the source - are there a body of similar recordings that can be grouped together? Bruyninckx (& Lord) list Stephane Grappelli [i know, not a Freedom artist] being first issued on Black Lion THEN reissued on Polydor (same series, 2460 105). Then there is the RCA connection - Art Ensemble: The Spiritual (and others) shown to be on RCA/Freedom - is this different from plain old Freedom? Number (FLP 40108) aligns with what is listed elsewhere as plain old Freedom (Ornette In Europe - FLP 40102, FLP 40103). Yeah, I know, foolish consistency, hobgoblin, blah blah blah. Are we getting into issues of distribution or was this a case of ownership/subsidiary or leasing/whatever? Mike

He definitely did, a few albums around 1967. Not mentioned yet is The Orchestra, the DC big band led by Joe Timer from the early 1950s. One album (House of Sounds) on Brunswick and then the various guest things with Dizzy and Bird and Bud that came out later. All from 1953. Mike

I've bothered Cuscuna enough on the Andrew Hill lately - he came through with some good info too. The questions certainly could be answered by him (or Bates), but probably by a European (or American) collector too. I'm trying to determine the history of the material - which label issued what first - who was involved at what point - where did the material come from (was it recorded for the label or did some stuff get brought in already recorded). Discographies seem to show Polydor as original issue for some of this - being in the U.S. I have all the stuff on Arista/Freedom, Black Lion (LP/CD), Freedom (LP/CD). Nothing on Polydor. Then there is the confusing post-Black Lion period (DA Music, 1201) but I can wait on that. Mike

"Groon" is a throwaway?! I strongly disagree. Mike

Is there any clear history that can be laid out regarding what appears to be a convoluted mess of material - The following terms would be good to see in a response: Alan Bates Chris Whent Michael Cuscuna Polydor Fontana Debut Freedom Arista Arista/Freedom Black Lion (Candid) (Strata East) Date ranges might be good too. This may be a useful reference: http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Labels/freedom.htm Thanks! Mike

"KCR is more like NPR, and that’s just not what I’m into" - what an idiot. Considering that the New York City NPR station (WNYC) does not play ANY music during daytime hours - it's all news and talk now, I don't know what the hell this person is thinking. WKCR is virtually all music (OK, OK, not counting the dj announcements/lectures). Then again, "more like NPR" I guess could mean "moving away from typical college crap" in any degree at all - so perhaps she's right. I've never listened to the Barnard College station - but if his statements are accurate, I'm on the side of Matt Herman. It's a very good option that allows WKCR to be different. In a good way. Mike

"Study score" Mike

So said the guy in the raincoat.......

Ordered two scores from the mariaschneider.com site - they are immediate downloads in .pdf format. I got the Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba and also Hang Gliding. A bit pricey, but they're long pieces (53 and 38 pages, respectively) and I know exactly where the money is going. Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba is the highlight of the new record and seeing it all laid out is remarkably enlightening. There are a lot of things that are NOT in the score (drums and percussion, most significantly for this piece - and obviously, the improvised solos). There are concepts that the score makes much clearer - such as the form, with sections repeated underneath solos - since the focus during listening is drawn by the soloist, one doesn't notice the structure as easily. I like seeing some of the directions, which are not typical but are more personal (like those of composer Percy Grainger who avoided the usual Italian and would make up his own words) - I see things like "Super soft with little accents" and "Maybe sneak in here" to show where the tenor solo in the Soleá begins - in fact, McCaslin waits two beats more before starting. Then there's the direction in the flugelhorn part "Lightly (as if an open ringing string on a guitar)" - uh, OK...... I bet no trumpeter has ever seen that before (or since). Another aspect that isn't apparent from the record, but is more noticeable from seeing the band live is how much the lead gets passed around. The score makes this plain and when following along it's remarkable to hear how smooth the transitions are where one player passes it over to another. Or the sections where a single flugelhorn (4th part) is playing with the four trombones and the contrabass clarinet is sometimes doubling, sometimes different, while bass flute and alto flute are somewhat together and all this is going on in the middle of the tenor solo. There's really nothing in the score that gives the full intensity of the amazing build in the Soleá - it would need to be explained and rehearsed, not just read. There's a lot of improvisation that isn't notated - for example, the bass is given one long held note, but ended up playing quite active fills at the end of the Soleá. The ending of the entire piece is performed differently from the score too, with no ritardando and with percussion continuing in time even past the "end". For those who can deal with reading a score, there is much to be learned here - it's fantastic that it's all being made available. Still haven't sat down at the piano with it but I will eventually. And then there's Hang Gliding - another post perhaps. Mike

Well, not entirely true, thanks to the online stores. Plenty of people can experience it even if it's not on the shelves of the local store. What I found with my book was that it was in the stores during the initial push but has become harder to find now that it's two years later. But it's always been there at amazon and BN.com - which had the better prices anyway. So if someone was looking, it was easy to point them to amazon. Mike

Which is fine - especially when you give up the antiquated printed page and deal with the nearly infinite storage of the WWW. Books are great, but discographies have been severely limited by the constraints of keeping details onto the size of one page and keeping the number of pages down to accomodate publishers/printers and purchasers. Duke Ellington is the most-studied jazz musician. But he's not the only one who should receive such scrutiny. Mike

I have to credit Ed Berger of Rutgers IJS with first telling me this, but it's been around (see link). http://www.spaceagepop.com/charles.htm First session singer: "I'm doing an album with Ray Charles next week." Second session singer: "Which one? The one who's blind or the one who's deaf?" Mike

Not true. The first recording of I Remember Clifford is by the Donald Byrd/Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab from January 13, 1957 (Columbia). For those keeping score, Gryce also had the recorded premiere of Golson's Blues March in June 1958. Mike

Include everything. Mike

Lots of misinformation in the above. Below from my Hobart Dotson and Henry Grimes discographies. Yes, Grimes is the bassist. Absolutely. I have seen the video. Correct date from Down Beat 10/21/65 p.54. Date: September 10, 1965 Location: Village Gate, New York City Label: (television broadcast) Charles Mingus (ldr), Charles McPherson (as), Hobart Dotson, Lonnie Hillyer (t), Jimmy Owens (t, fh), Julius Watkins (frh), Howard Johnson (tu), Charles Mingus (b, v, arr), Dannie Richmond (d) a. Majonet (The Arts Of Tatum And Freddie Webster) (Charles Mingus) b. Don't Let It Happen Here (Charles Mingus) Both titles on: - Ozone LP 12": 19 - Music Room Special LP 12": OZ014 This was not a live performance. Broadcast by WNET-TV as part of the series "The Arts In America." Material also exists on video. Incorrectly listed in some sources as January 18, 1966 at the Half Note. Date: September 10, 1965 Location: Village Gate, New York City Label: (television broadcast) Cecil Taylor (ldr), Jimmy Lyons (as), Cecil Taylor (p), Henry Grimes (b), Andrew Cyrille (d) a. 01 Number One (Cecil Taylor) b. 02 Octagonal Skirt And Fancy Pants (Cecil Taylor) Both titles on: - Ozone LP 12": 19 Omit Jimmy Lyons (as) on a. Omit Henry Grimes (b) on a. This was not a live performance. Broadcast by WNET-TV as part of the series "The Arts In America." Material also exists on video. Incorrectly listed in some sources as January 18, 1966 at the Half Note. I strongly doubt the existence of any Mingus-Cecil duet. Mike

Hey - there's no waiting at all. I picked up the score to Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba just moments ago. Mike

Barrow is not on any Candid issue. Perhaps you are confusing him with Walter Benton, who is on Freedom Now Suite. Mike