Michael Fitzgerald

Most Yardbirds fans I have met try to be completists (with varying degrees of success). There were three 2-CD sets that came out several years back. Two from Sony and one from EMI. They helped, but weren't perfect. I forget right now whether the "Roger The Engineer" album is in one of those sets. That's a must-have. Then you need the Anderson Theater album which won't be issued legally again but does circulate on the CDR circuit. The various radio broadcasts, etc. are good too. Then there was a live set with Clapton that came out quite recently - I don't have that one. The band had so many different phases in such a brief career (basically 5 years) that anthologizing doesn't really work. It just gets your appetite whetted for more. I wish someone would do the comprehensive thing, but the band recorded for different labels so it's not easy. Then there are the different mixes, takes, outtakes, etc. that have been issued over the years. Mike

Ah - thanks. So when someone spouts nonsense, there's no recourse. Glad that I haven't missed out on anything. Life ain't a soliloquy - at least it ought not to be. I don't care who you are, input from others only makes things better. Mike

Someone will have to explain to me what the point of a "blog" is - I don't see how a bulletin board or a mailing list or a newsgroup doesn't serve the same purpose and in fact, don't those do the job better? Mike

I haven't watched things like the Underdog video lately - has any of this Montreux material been seen before in excerpts? The steady mining of the Montreux archives is a wonderful thing. Looking forward to more. Mike

After Hours was actually recorded in 1996 and 1998. There are a few later things where he is not the leader. Please see my website for a comprehensive discography of Ira Sullivan. Mike

Overture to a Jam Session is indeed a Musicraft title. It also appears on a number of live recordings from the 1946-47 period. The latest edition of the Timner Ellingtonia discography does not list the Vernon label, nor does it list any of the other titles. Mike

Quite contradictory, considering A Love Supreme was recorded on December 9, 1964. Mike

Lord CD-ROM says the ship sound on Arrival In New York is a Cannonball Adderley performance of Country Preacher from the Capitol LP slowed down. Haven't tried to confirm this. Mike

I don't know when you tried it, but there is now sample data available that would solve much of the "start-up" slowness. For example, you'd never need to create a tune by Monk - they're all entered already. Same for sidemen - anyone who appears on any of the sets I listed (or who appears in any of my online discographies) would never have to be created. If you start from "scratch" - yes, absolutely there would be a big lag to get all the labels (1000+), songs (20K+), composers (5K+), personnel (9K+) entered. This is what I mean about avoiding reinventing the wheel. If another BRIAN user wants a session, I export it, email it and when that user imports the session, any new composers, songs, personnel, etc. get created in his database instantly. There are precautions to avoid duplication when he's got Ken McIntyre and I've got Makanda Ken McIntyre. I do still have to enter new compositions (almost never standards or jazz standards), but I just think that once I do that, I'll always have that in the database. Mike

Yes, I agree with Jim about the benefits. Composers are particularly wonderful to check. My BRIAN database has over 5600 composers as of now and I can instantly see all the works by a particular one. Over 20,000 songs - with composers, so you can tell the difference between Lonely Woman by Ornette, by Horace, and by Benny Carter. Mike

I suppose my Windows Media Player accesses the FreeDB database then? Gotta strongly disagree about the accuracy. It would be a monumental task to list all the problems I've found. The latest Horace Silver BN comes to mind (completely screwed up); also just this morning Chick Corea Song Of Singing CD (last two tracks listed as "unknown"); as I recall, Art Blakey Jazz Corner Of The World, too - a few that I remember among hundreds of Blue Notes that I've looked at in the past month or so. I could never rely on something that flawed. If the dreaded allmusic site uses something like FreeDB to do their "data entry" it explains a lot. Doesn't make it right, just explains it. Mike

Now, isn't October 30 the birthday of the OTHER Brownie? (1930) I always remember because it's the same date as the Art Blakey session for Moanin' (1958). Mike

Yes, the BRIAN program is designed specifically for jazz. Even outside of the rock worlds where it's commonplace, it's difficult to get the complete session info for sessions not done in the "live" way. If one could get hold of the session information (a la the Marc Lewisohn Beatles sessions book), the program could handle it, but how ya gonna get the info? It's hard enough to get date specifics for jazz sessions spread across two days. I suppose you could enter rock stuff into one session per album with a note saying so. Mike

Minor correction - the Ruppli book puts the same take on both 8677 and 8766. If there are indeed two versions, this is certainly wrong. This stuff is a typo accident just looking for a place to happen. Mike

This came as a big shock. I had just met him this past summer when he came to hear the John Handy - Henry Grimes double bill at Iridium. It was a pleasure to be able to sit with Kenyatta and Handy and hear them tell stories and talk shop about mouthpieces. He seemed in great shape to me. Mike

I have very little faith in the CDDB kinds of things. Recently I've seen how bad the data is. The Windows XP Media Player checks some kind of database when you play a CD on the computer and so much of the information is completely wrong - missing tracks, switched tracks, etc. A lot of older things have problems - but even the brand new BN Connoisseurs do too. Maybe other users aren't as picky or aren't using as much of the details - but wouldn't you want tune titles in your database, not just album titles? And how about personnel and other things? That's where the data entry work comes in. It's a breeze to type in the leader and album name only. My preference is to enter information in standard discographical format into Steve Albin's BRIAN database program (download for free - works on Mac and Windows). This program has an XML export/import feature so users can exchange data. As I mentioned elsewhere here, I have entered huge amounts of information that I would be willing to make available to other BRIAN users (over 30 Mosaic sets, for example). That would cut down on the data entry. And the data included would be much more comprehensive and accurate than what CDDB or even standard discographies include. Wouldn't it be nice to have a bunch of people each doing a little data entry than everyone reinventing the same wheel? Wouldn't it be nice to have something maintained by people who care about accuracy, as opposed to the dreaded allmusic disaster area? Here's a list of boxed sets (and the like) already entered: http://www.JazzDiscography.com/Temp/boxedsets.htm You could produce standard session listings or if you prefer to see issue contents, just run an issue index report. Tunes or sidemen indices are available too. Mike Edit to add the "h" in discography - link works now.

Here's a thought - how about an online index? If you'd like me to host it on my website, I'd be more than happy to. Mike

Nothing so far as I can tell. Possible entries in the Social Security Death Index are: 1922-1986, 1922-1995, 1922-2001, 1923-1993, 1925-1996, 1932-1982. Only the last has a residence of NYC, but 1932 would be young for someone recording in 1947. Then again, could be still alive. Don't know anything more about this guy. Mike

Thanks for your diligence. A real drag that this kind of confirmation isn't possible for everything since the LOC now allows sound recordings to serve as deposits. Mike

It was recorded over four consecutive days at Avatar Studios in NYC. But then there's mixing, mastering, (the credits also list "post-mixing and pre-mastering"), rehearsals, parts copying, copyright registrations and other administrative things - and remember, the cost of other big band sessions might not include the pressing, packaging, printing, photos and design artwork, etc. that are necessary for a completely self-done issue. I don't know it for a fact, but I imagine that MS pays her musicians very well to get them to make themselves available when needed. Could be over and above the going rate. Mike

A quick check of discographies does not turn up a John Handy trio album - bassists on mid-late 1960s Handy records include: Don Thompson, Albert Stinson, Bruce Gale. My guess would be Gale, on the Projections quintet album from 1968 (the prime period of Kofsky ranting). Mike

The Lima and Garbanzo Foundations demand equal time. The Pinto would have too, but someone rear-ended them and they blew up. Mike

Dialectics? No, man - I'm not into that L. Ron Hubbard crap. Mike

Yes. It's the real deal. It looks great and has so much stuff that I haven't seen before (the Chicago Tribune material). I'm really liking the organizational aspect - it's not just a bunch of essays, there's the grouping that helps create some meaning. I also like the fact that subjects are revisited. I think this will be a book that will really have some influence (at least I hope it will). It's not just parrotting back the liner note conventional wisdom - there's thought here, individual thought - which is not all that common in these kinds of pieces. In paging through I find so many things that are interesting - for example, talking about Donny McCaslin in 1986! I look forward to digging in this weekend. Thanks Larry! Mike

Well, sort of, but not really. The Friday listings are selected and annotated. So today has 20 pop/rock and 11 jazz events. The old Sunday listings had many many more and it wasn't so "elitist". Fridays used to have a few short blurbs similar to the new Friday, but that was in *addition* to the Sunday spread. Mike