Michael Fitzgerald

I've already entered just about every Blue Note session from 1950 to 1970 into a database that is set up perfectly to handle discography information (named BRIAN after discographer Brian Rust). I've also entered a lot more than that - I currently have about 4500 sessions, almost all post-war jazz. I've used the best sources available - the issues themselves, the Jepsen, Bruyninckx, Raben, and Lord discographies, for Blue Note the Cuscuna/Ruppli second edition book, etc. I've checked titles with BMI, ASCAP, GEMA, the US Library of Congress. I hate to see other people needlessly reinventing the wheel, going through the same data entry, then repeating mistakes that have been already been corrected elsewhere. Here's a partial list of stuff that is already entered and could be made available free to other BRIAN users: http://www.JazzDiscography.com/Temp/boxedsets.htm Please - if you're interested enough to enter stuff into any database, surely you're interested enough to do it right - which *cannot* ever be done with Microsoft Works, I'm afraid. The BRIAN application is free - tech support by its developer is great (and also free) and since there are a number of others already using the program, sharing information through the programs data exchange feature is ready to go. More info at my website. Mike

Happened to look at this LP today - the tune in question is actually a feature for contrabass trombone. ========== The title of I Ain't Gonna Ask No More is a reminder of Toshiko's dues-paying days in New York when, after finding herself at the mercy of agents, she came to the point where this was her self-made resolution. "I decided that all I should care about is doing what I believe in, trying my best to devote all my energy to it, and letting everything else take care of itself." Tabackin adds: "Phil Teele is very proud of the contrabass trombone he owns, so Toshiko thought she would write something for him to use it on. It's a fun piece, kind of tongue-in-cheek." Notable features are Britt's [Woodman] trombone solo and a couple of choruses of blues scored for the saxophone section in spread out five-part harmony. Toshiko points to Charlie Parker as a source of inspiration. - notes by Leonard Feather Mike

I was going to paste in 500+ of these babies, but I decided against it. Mike

Well, shoot, when you called your dad did you ask whether they ever had bands down there in the basement at any point? Mike

I gotta point again to the marvelous three-parter on Lewis here (particularly the second part): http://www.furious.com/perfect/coltrane.html http://www.furious.com/perfect/coltrane2.html http://www.furious.com/perfect/coltrane3.html It does a good job of explaining why he is so well-liked and well-respected (and of course, tells quite a bit about the Coltrane book). It would be nice if there were enough time in this life to just siphon out everything that he's got in his head. I think his next book will be the biographical dictionary of jazz that he's been working on for many years. Even with the huge scope of that, there are areas that he could delve into much deeper, I'm sure. Mike

Student teaching, no matter how good the experience, is NOT the real thing. You really don't learn what you need to learn until you are out there on the job yourself, where YOU make the decisions, where YOU handle the problems. Hopefully you get a good cooperating teacher who is open to advising you after your student teaching is over - because that's when you'll have all kinds of questions. My last job was very close to a big university so I've had quite a few of what NJ calls "pre-student teachers" - observer/helpers for a total of 20 hours in a semester. I've tried to impart the fruits of my experience, distilled into tips, tricks, etc. but I have a feeling that because they hadn't been out there as teachers that many of the students didn't pick up on them then. Maybe now that some of them are out there they will remember them. Mike

That idea of old broadcasts lingering in space somewhere is great. Has anyone used that in a science fiction story? I think it has a lot of potential. Or maybe one of those forensic investigation kind of things. Mike

There are some solo analyses in the little Twain book, but it's not just a book of transcriptions. There are two Lester Young books under Porter's name, that one, and the Reader, also mentioned above. Mike

This is a reprint, not a new book. Originally published by Twain. A nice little book. Mike

The bass trombonist with Toshiko was Phil Teele. A monster. The record is called "Tales Of A Courtesan" on RCA. Mike

Discography is quite a different world than biography. I do have and use discographical materials in German, French, Italian, etc. etc. Even some things from Japan. My apologies, but I can't read German. (I can do reasonably well with French.) For my research, I HAVE and DO read articles in numerous other languages through translations by colleagues (Swedish, German, Italian, French - I recall all these for the Gryce book). But for just having on the shelf reading, no, I do not have a library of books in any other language than English and therefore don't keep up with what is published in those other languages. I've already said "mea culpa." - that's Latin, btw. Mike

Mea culpa - I do only consider what is published in the English language. Mike

Wow - if you've *never* heard any of this music, you are in for a real treat. The Jazztet had a beautiful blend of wonderful composition and arranging from Golson (and John Lewis for one album), and a real group concept, not at all just a string of solos by interchangeable players. Not to say that there weren't strong soloists - Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton, Grachan Moncur, Harold Mabern - man, everyone who went through the band. This is a set that many of us lobbied for and patiently (or not so patiently) awaited. Now that it's here (and with the fixed disc), and includes not only the Jazztet albums, but ALSO the Golson and Farmer solo records (each of which has its own special personality), it is not to be missed. You get the esoteric (some of those John Lewis things are out!) and the funky - I mean, Killer Joe, the *original* Killer Joe - with those memorable solos; the great version of I Remember Clifford; so many of the other beautiful Golson pieces (Out Of The Past, Park Avenue Petite, Blues March, Five Spot After Dark, Whisper Not, Along Came Betty, etc.) plus standards, compositions by other band members, a great mix. Look, do you like hard bop? If so, do not hesitate on this. This band is right at the top of the heap. Mike

Marty - I agree. My point about the Getz book stands - since it is the ONLY book, it's worth having, despite its shortcomings. I wouldn't mind having another book on Getz if it were written by a musician. Re: the Shipton - yes, worth getting, but in my opinion one should get and read the autobiography first. Mike

I think Jarrett's not playing might also have had something to do with the idea that he wasn't willing to "revisit" the electric period like the others did. Corea and Herbie played Rhodes (and we got a little ring modulator demo), Liebman recreated things too. I would have loved to see Jarrett back in front of a pair of electric keyboards just for a laugh. But it was not to be. (Besides, Jarrett did an entire album of Miles tribute - "Bye Bye Blackbird".) Mike

I have reservations about this. I thought Maggin's Stan Getz bio, while presenting some very worthwhile new information, glossed over huge patches of Getz's career. There was also nothing of significance in terms of musical commentary. In the case of Gillespie, is Maggin going to have anything that hasn't been printed in the autobiography or in Alyn Shipton's book (which I similarly found to gloss over much of Gillespie's career)? In the case of Getz, there wasn't another book out there so it was a welcome addition. But with Dizzy, there are already two. Sigh - yes, I'll probably buy it anyway. Mike

Would be happy to finish up a Gil Coggins discography if someone owns the rare stuff and can supply details. Lord CDROM lists 13 sessions. I have 9 entered already (all the 1950s material). Don't have the 1940s sessions with Warren Lewis and Betty Mays nor the 1990 album nor the Braith mentioned above. And of course, Lord does not have the Smalls records stuff, so if Luke can get me detailed session sheets on those, that would be fantastic. The rough draft is here: http://www.JazzDiscography.com/Temp/coggins-disc.htm Mike

Wilbur was at Reeves Sound Studios in NYC recording with Kenny Drew that day..... Mike

Bill Massey made twice as many dates as Cal (16 vs. 8), according to the Lord 5.0. All between 1949 and 1952. In addition to the Stitt, a few Bill Massey compositions appear on sessions by Gene Ammons and Matthew Gee, but the majority of his titles do not seem to be found in Lord - no idea whether they were non-jazz, or unrecorded, or what. Next "related" question: Is trombonist Eph Greenlea, whose sole recorded appearance seems to be with Bill Massey on a Gene Ammons date for Prestige in 1950 the same person as trombonist Charlie Greenlee (aka Hanifan Mageed, aka Hernitan Maseed, Majeed, etc.)? Or - could this be the same person as trombonist Bennie Green, who recorded with Ammons for Prestige the next month with an almost identical personnel???? Any chance Bennie's real name was Ephraim? Mike

BMI website shows Bill Massey as co-composer of all those tunes. Now that the dreaded allmusic site has it wrong, what are the chances it will ever be fixed? Mike

One of the best known trios of today - Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette - actually first recorded together under Peacock's name on his "Tales Of Another" album on ECM from 1977 - six years before the first Standards record. A lot of bassists or drummers with big enough names will do this - Ron Carter, Ray Brown, Roy Haynes, Paul Motian, Ron McClure, then there's that Max Roach album with Hasaan and Art Davis that we talked about awhile back. The real question is whether the "sound" of the group is still coming from the pianist - is the leader-bassist/drummer just the name on the marquee or is he contributing the personality of the band. Would the trio be different if the pianist's name got top billing? I recently listened to the first James Williams "Magical Trio" album, which has Ray Brown and Art Blakey as sidemen - both of whom are better known as leaders than Williams himself. I still kept feeling that Blakey wasn't acting "deferential" enough. Mike

Yeah - he's done that before. One of the pieces from Letter From Home was written way earlier, also the Lyle Mays piece Closer To Home was done by the band as "Mars". Which live shows have the piece you're talking about? Mike

The city of Monster, Holland is next on the list. Mike

Having read Allen's manuscript and heard him give a presentation on the subject, I'll say that there is a LOT of great music that is under the radar of most present-day fans. Hardly anyone plays this stuff on the radio - it doesn't have "hit" quality, ya can't dance to it, etc. But Allen's work just reinforces the quantity of it all. Those of us reading this thread are "in the know" but the marvelous innovations of that period have been largely ignored in the history books (and in the music classrooms, and even by the musicians themselves). And because there was so much variety in there, even when some coverage is attempted, it doesn't do this stuff justice. There are plenty of things that even Allen could write TWICE as much about. A number of these kinds of things figure into my own research - the Lenox School of Jazz, Orchestra USA, Gigi Gryce, etc. - there are aspects of the classical/jazz connection and the pursuit of musical innovation. The artists we're talking about were not content simply to replay the same chord changes in a head-solos-head arrangement (melody in unison, of course). They were seeking "What's New" - not coincidentally, the title of a Columbia album split between Teo Macero and Bob Prince. Teo reissued his half and you can still get it on cdbaby, but I don't believe the Prince half has ever seen CD issue. As I mentioned in a recent discussion of Third Stream music elsewhere, I attended a concert at Manhattan School of Music in November where a brand new ensemble debuted - the MSM Chamber Jazz Ensemble. They played Poem For Brass (J.J. Johnson); Hi-Fly (Randy Weston, arr. Cecil Bridgewater); Abstractions (Gunther Schuller); All About Rosie (George Russell). The group combines classical and jazz students and is dedicated to the performance of "classic" Third Stream music as well as NEW music in that same vein. I found this most encouraging. Mike

Bit of trivia: There's an unissued track from the second session - He Was Too Good To Me - that is not mentioned in any discography. Mike