Michael Fitzgerald

Well, considering that the Lincoln piece isn't about water, has no mention of "sun becomes rain" etc., doesn't have anything in Portuguese - yeah, I'd say that was definitely a WILD guess. Mike

The NYT has been in serious decline in recent years. They are trying to be "hip" and "with it" so we get dumbed-down articles by ignorant writers (not to mention just plain made-up news stories by irresponsible "journalists"). They even have a little gossip column called "bold face names" where you can read about all your fave stars - they're catering to the People magazine crowd. The loss of the arts listings is so damaging in a long-term way. Where I can go back and find who was playing in the clubs decades ago through their excellent online archive, now it will be as though today's gigs never existed. The Blue Note is pretty much the only club that can still afford to advertise in the NYT and the jazz reviews have been cut way back, so you're not going to find an ad, you're not going to find a review. The listings were the last bastion and now they're gone. The "improvement" is a smaller selection of annotated listings - which means the "big-time" shows (Lincoln Center, etc.) will get even more of a piece of the pie. They can afford to advertise, they get reviewed, they'll get mentioned in the new annotated listings. The hugely diverse cultural offerings will appear to have disappeared. I strongly encourage signing the petition. Mike

But the project's scope was dramatically altered. With Verve it was planned to include all the Impulse recordings, the Freedom Now Suite (licensed from Candid), and the never-issued outtakes from Freedom Now which are in the possession of a private collector. The Mercury LP of Roach with the Boston Percussion Ensemble would have been included too. Also, photos would have been much more varied, rather than all from one source. But after years of no activity at all, at least it's good to have what Mosaic issued. Mike

The 1962 performance is of the Howard Dietz & Arthur Schwartz standard tune. Mike

Amazon is a fine place to get anything published by Berkeley Hills. I wouldn't count on the date given being accurate, though. My advice is to place your order as soon as the website lets you and wait. When it's out, they'll get it and send it. Mike

Most's first recordings were done in 1953 for Prestige, then Debut. Mike

I think Chuck was talking about paper sleeves with rounded corners, not the abomination that is basically a clear plastic bag (rounded on one side, straight and too long on the other). Mike

The influence was acknowledged. The notes to the first album: "Serenade to a Cuckoo is this Roland Kirk one which was the first thing Ian learned to play on flute (so he says) - it's probably all right." I mean, just the fact that they include a RRK tune on the album tells me they're paying tribute. I bet RRK got some nice royalty checks as a result. Sometimes Anderson made sure to deprecate his own playing in regards to RRK: "Anyone who compares me with Roland Kirk obviously does not understand what Kirk is doing. Roland Kirk is a jazz musician who leans heavily towards blues — loose, free blues. Technically he's a master of his style and he certainly understands his instrument. Now I don't have a style; but I do have a sound. The fact that I use my voice with the flute doesn't mean I'm imitating Kirk. Really, the comparison is irksome. He's been playing flute for years — many, many years. I've been playing flute only since 1968. I don't even know the mechanics of my instrument." http://www.tullpress.com/db25jun70.htm Here, he notes that he was playing before he heard Kirk: http://www.jimnewsom.com/IanAndersonInterview.html Now, I think that Sam Most got the vocalizing thing with the flute on record before Kirk did. Can someone confirm that? Mike

I thought it might be a ploy to avoid having the LP deleted from the catalog. Snip, Snip, Snip...."Hey...." Mike

All right, next question: what about Traffic's "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" and "Shootout At The Fantasy Factory" - what's the deal there? http://www.connollyco.com/discography/traffic/lowspark.html http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=258880 Mike

This is incorrect. Anderson plays harmonica on only three tracks of the first album (Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You; It's Breaking Me Up; Song For Jeffrey). He plays flute on all the rest (6 - including Song For Jeffrey), save for the two where he plays neither (the Mick Abrahams features: Move On Alone; Cat's Squirrel). Mike

For those interested, all sessions in the following Mosaic sets are now entered in BRIAN: Clifford Brown, Monk Blue Note, Herbie Nichols, Bud Powell. Mike

The (very fallible) Lord CD-ROM lists Off The Wagon as a track on a 1966 Dick Morrissey date (w/Harry South, Phil Bates, Bill Eyden), on Mexican Green by Tubby Hayes from 1967, on the album in question, and on a live set from 1969 by Hayes. [i believe a reference to a tune of this title by Tony Martucci in 1992 is unrelated.] Change of Setting is only listed on the World Record Club issue. As expected, the (nearly as fallible) Bruyninckx CD-ROM info is identical. There is an additional 1999 performance of a tune titled "Off The Wagon" by Theo Travis live at Ronnie Scott's. Now that might be unrelated, might not. Mike

Egads - could we please check a REAL source? That crappy Goldsher book just used my information anyway. Art Blakey chronology on my website. Peterson worked in the Art Blakey Jazz Messengers big band in 1983. Also guested at two shows at the 1988 Mt. Fuji Festival (one combo, one big band. Mike

Any chance we could just leave that idiot over at All About Jazz? He's not here and that's a good thing. I like the questions that are being raised about whether the Jazz At Lincoln Center mission is a worthy one - how about asking whether a high school jazz competition is a good thing. How about asking whether Duke Ellington's music should be the ONLY music performed in this competition. I mean, yes, it's great to get those charts out to schools, yes, Duke Ellington is wonderful, but - THERE'S SO MUCH MORE!!!!! And I like even more "The Band That Reads The Blues" sobriquet. Mike

FWIW, my CD of "For Members Only" is CDCHE10 issued by Mastermix Music Ltd. Tracks are: Dear Johnny B. Finky Minky This Is All I Ask For Members Only Dolphin Dance You Know I Care Mexican Green Conversations At Dawn Nobody Else But Me Dedicated To Joy Off The Wagon Second City Steamer Unfortunately (?), I picked this up used for a pittance and the booklet was missing, so that's everything I know from the back insert. Mike

She is indeed horrible on this album. Emmylou Harris, on the other hand, is quite wonderful. I'm not overly impressed with this one. Some OK things, but I certainly disagree that this is up there with EC's best work. At the same time, I picked up Il Sogno, the EC classical album with his music for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Again, not too impressed. There are thousands of basically unknown composers who deserve a record on Deutsche Gramophone conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas more than Elvis Costello who is a rank amateur in this area. I mean, it's not horrible to listen to, but it's rather boring and noticeably "diletante" in things like orchestration. Ooooh - what about a piccolo trumpet! Ooooh! Composition majors at college get that kind of thing out of their system by the time they're done with their "student works." Another particularly bad aspect is when EC tries to write jazz. He does it a couple of times in Il Sogno. He just plain doesn't know enough. He's out of his depth. How I long for something like the Bacharach album where Costello had someone who was eminently qualified in the area of music composition, arranging, and orchestration by his side (sometimes only figuratively). Mike

I wonder if there is interest in having this information available in an improved format (with track timings and composers integrated rather than in a separate section from session info). For users here who would be willing to download the free BRIAN discographical database software (Windows or Mac), I could supply the contents of many Mosaic (and other) boxed sets - I think more than 75 at this point (including many "hypothetical" boxed sets like "Complete Jimmy Heath Riverside Sessions"). If we could find some industrious set-owners, the data for additional sets could be entered and then made available to other BRIAN users, either on a individual session basis or in a zip file of every session in a boxed set. The benefits of having it in database format rather than plain text would be significant (of course, you could easily "print" a report in html format). For sample reports, just look at any of my discographies on www.JazzDiscography.com Just in terms of Mosaic sets: Basie Live, Basie Studio, Blakey, Byrd/Adams, Cherry, Cole, DeFranco, Donaldson, Fuller, Giuffre, Green, Hill, Jazztet, JJ Johnson, McLean, Mingus Candid, Mitchell, Mobley, Moncur, Morgan, Pearson, Rivers, Rogers, Jimmy Smith. And I'm adding new stuff every day. Other BRIAN users are working on the stuff like the Commodore sets. After having dealt with the good, the bad, and the ugly in text discographies for years, I'm thoroughly sold on the database format and would love to help others see the light. Mike

As we slurp down those super-size Cokes with their high fructose corn syrup, let's please remember that Gillespie suffered from diabetes. Mike

Not faint praise, just trying to tone down my enthusiasm in the interest of impartiality. I contributed liner notes to this set. It's absolutely magnificent. Mike

Yes, I have a little love for this set. Mike

Drag was that the Betty Carter session wasn't issued at the time. It sat for 30 years. The appendix of my book has lists of all recorded performances of Gryce tunes and my co-author, Noal Cohen, maintains the additions/corrections on his website here: http://www.attictoys.com/jazz/GG.html Mike I should also mention that hearing those arrangements live is unbelievable. If you get a chance to hear the Chris Byars Octet, they have a number of them in their book.

Oh please. I have the Verve Powell set and I still think Bud Powell is wonderful. For a real reputation "ruiner" (or the reverse) - everyone should learn the subject's instrument and work on performing and improvising at that level. Now *that's* some perspective. Mike

Love does get the writing credit for GV on the Smile release. But I assume that's more a legal department thing than an artistic thing. Hearing the original lyrics is like hearing "Hang On To Your Ego" instead of "I Know There's An Answer" - a little odd. I prefer the final lyrics, not only because they're more familiar, but because they have better rhymes. But I'll live. Mike

Buddy can play, no question. He's not a faker. And there are things out there where he really does some creative things harmonically that are his and not someone else's. I used to play in a quintet with a clarinetist and we did some of Buddy's tunes. But it seems like too often he's in situations where he goes into the comfort zone and stays there. Davern takes more chances, it seems to me. Thinking about some other names mentioned - I've never ever heard Harry Allen playing clarinet. Is this recorded? Ditto Loren Schoenberg - maybe just doubling in a big band section. For Loren's big band, he gets Ken Peplowski for any serious clarinet work. And actually, Ken Pep is someone I prefer on tenor. For me, his approach to tenor is much more exciting, in a restrained way. Perry and Henry have done much since last year. Tours of Europe, more radio appearances, week at Iridium this past July. See the HG discography. Mike