Michael Fitzgerald

Glad some folks were listening - had some wonderful phone calls during the show, notably one from a former student of Gigi's during his NYC teaching career and another from a musician who called to stress that Charlie Parker was a great friend of Gigi's, recalling a gig shortly before Bird's death where Bird gave a great welcome to Gigi in the club. As for availability, there haven't been too many CD reissues since the discography in the book was done. Unfortunately, some of those that are listed have been deleted - but check the used bins/websites as I still see a lot of these around. We're still waiting for CD issues of Dizzy Gillespie: The Greatest Trumpet of Them All; the Metrojazz Gryce album; and the Mercury Orch-tette album. All these are being sat on by the brain trust at Universal. Then there's the RCA Jazz Lab album. If Sony and BMG do merge, we'd have a chance to see it as well as the *entire* contents of the two Columbia Jazz Lab records, but don't hold your breath. Mike

Disclosure: I am definitely not an audiophile (as you will soon read). I am not looking for the kind of thing that will set me back thousands of dollars, nor am I bothered at all by the fact that I'm not listening to my LPs with the best equipment. I'm not buying new vinyl or $30 vintage LPs in mint condition. Here's the situation: my trusty Technics SL-QD22 turntable is dead. First the automatic lifter stopped working a while back, now something must have snapped because the weight at the back of the tonearm is pulling the whole thing up (these could well be related). Plus it could use a new cartridge. Last year a friend gave me a Philips AF-777 which at the very least needs a new cartridge (the one on it is an Audio-Technica AT100e, which I can't find anything on even at the A-T site). Suggestions? This machine has many more features than the old Technics. Am I correct in thinking that any half-inch mount cartridge will work with this? Is there more to worry about with this than on the P-mount system I'm used to? There is a dial on the turntable marked spherical or ellipt./CD4 (I think CD4 refers to the dreaded Quad) - what is this number (0-3) - can't be tracking force, right? There is a gauge marked tracking force but I haven't figured out how it works. (Obviously I didn't get an owner's manual with this.) The Technics is direct drive and the Philips is belt drive, which I've never dealt with - belts are probably an added thing to worry about and another item to be discontinued and hard to find. I don't know which of these is worth the investment. I was perfectly happy with the Technics, purchased around 20 years ago. Plays those gems I pick up for $1.99 just fine. If the Philips is some kind of great turntable that is worth the effort, I'd be glad to get the improvement - but I haven't been able to find much info on the web on this model. It does appear to be more sophisticated - but maybe it's old 1970s technology that had improved by the time of the Technics. Otherwise, I'll just get the Technics repaired - somewhere. Thanks for any advice - Mike

Heard Vijay Iyer a couple of weeks ago at Jazz Gallery with Matana Roberts, a good Chicago-born alto saxophonist/composer. I was there for the bassist, Henry Grimes, but liked the entire ensemble. Iyer played well - though the name "Andrew Hill" did not come to mind. It was leaning more towards Cecil Taylor. No electronics, it was just quintet - alto/clarinet, tenor, piano, bass, drums. BTW, Roberts is well worth checking out - apparently grew up with new music (Ayler et al) in the house and later became a protege of Fred Anderson. I believe one of her ensembles is called Sticks on Stones or something to that effect. Mike

I asked the best source I know, Erin Evans: "You have it right. Bill wrote it when (or right after) a visit in Baton Rouge for Debby's 3rd birthday party (Debby is my older sister). It was the first time Bill met his niece. I actually have some great old photos with Bill and Debby at 3 from that visit. Debby has the original handwritten sheet music." So it seems Lowe, who was indeed a very early (get it?) friend of Evans misappropriated the dedication. Mike

Whoa!!! Quite the reverse: Evans wrote the music. Lees added lyrics at a later point, upon the request of Evans. Evans composed the piece as a dedication to his niece. I guess Lees was writing more from a theoretical viewpoint since he didn't know the *same* Debby (aged 3 when the music was written). He probably did meet Debby the person. Mike

This Sunday Noal Cohen and I will be guests of Sid Gribetz on WKCR's "Jazz Profiles," a five hour show. We will talk about our book "Rat Race Blues" and will play a wide range of Gryce's music. WKCR-FM is 89.9 MHz in the New York City area, recently restored to full broadcasting power (they were very hard to get for two years following the WTC attacks). They are also available online at wkcr.org for listeners all over the planet. This is the most extensive radio show that we've done so far - please tune in. We'll have the opportunity to really get deep into the subject. No commercials, no news breaks, no underwriting announcements. Just great music and the story of the musicians who made it. Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 2-7 PM EST. All kinds of past, present, and future Gryce-related events are listed at http://www.JazzDiscography.com/Artists/Gry...yce/ggbooks.htm Mike

Two of my favorites, both of which allude to extra-musical activities:

What confuses me a bit is that I coincidentally happened to run across a copy of the originally mentioned album "Move On Over" yesterday and it DID have all the personnel right on the sleeve, in the bottom right hand corner. I recall the mention of Gerald Donavan - I think that's how it was spelled. Perhaps there are different issues of the same title that include or don't include the personnel? Mike

Bruyninckx and Lord CD-ROMs give virtually identical notes for this date: "Barry Harris claims in an article for Jazz Monthly, September 1967 that he was not present on the above session so maybe the other musicians are in doubt too." Mike

Lord CD-ROM says: Nicky Hill-ts; Eddie Buster-org; Joe Diorio-g; Jerry Donovan-d Mike

Interesting - I would have said WBGO is much more polished than WKCR (which is a college station, after all, despite the presence of a few DJs who have been there for 30 years). WBGO is way too polished for me. DJs seem to be hired for their smooth deep voices and not for any knowledge or insight related to the music. WKCR DJs are all volunteers, many are current students, and you do still sometimes find mispronunciations (saxophonist Charlie Roose). But, oh, the glorious music! BTW, don't forget the weekly 5-hour Jazz Profiles slot Sundays on WKCR. Noal Cohen and I will be on with Sid Gribetz, talking and playing Gigi Gryce - November 16, 2003 - 2-7 PM Mike

Aha - but what about the wine CD? "Live at the Jazz Standard: Days of Wine and Roses" originally sold with a case of "Maria Schneider" wine bottling (apparently it's a Riesling, specifically a Kabinett Trocken or sometimes a Halbtrocken). Now occasionally seen on ebay and other such places, but never sold in stores. It's Enja ENJ-9444-2, recorded January 2000. Maria Schneider is one of the greatest writers today. Mike

Are you sure about this, David? I find no mention of this in the Betty Carter bio by Bill Bauer. Blossom Dearie is listed on the 1952 King Pleasure record of "Moody's Mood" and listening to it (Prestige/OJC 217), I can confirm this. Bruyninckx and Lord discographies both say "unknown" for the 1960 one (which I don't own). Betty Carter does sing on the 1952 King Pleasure record of "Red Top" which is on the same OJC CD mentioned above. Mike

Sounds great to me! Thing about this is that there is a huge amount of variety - if someone tried to push a 17 CD set by the Modern Jazz Quartet from their final 25 years, I'd definitely balk. This has Mahavishnu (lineup with JL Ponty), Shakti (a few different versions, old and new), the One Truth band, a duo set with Chick Corea, the Mahavisnu band with Bill Evans and Mitch Forman (and NO drummer? No Cobham? No Gottlieb?), a duo set with Paco De Lucia (and NO Al DiMeola, thank God), two shows by the organ trio with DeFrancesco, a set by the "Heart of Things" band Apparently someone put the kibosh on the 1972 Mahavishnu Orchestra (original lineup). www.montreuxsounds.ch has all the details. I wish there were a couple of other bands - the one with Katia Labeque, the trio with Trilok Gurtu, etc. but this is still a phenomenal addition to the available McLaughlin discography. And it's legit! Sir, may I have some more? Mike

DB Yearbooks were summaries of the previous year's events. Around 100 pages, they included a limited index of that year's issues (better than nothing, but by no means comprehensive) and had photos, articles, etc. that were new. Most had big band scores or solo transcriptions. Discographies too. A lot of the articles tended to be "Looking back" or "Looking forward" type of things. Also listings of record labels, agents, etc. Dan Morgenstern told me that he pleaded to the publisher to have the Yearbook included in subscriptions (even as an optional item) but was refused. They were strictly newstand items. They are frequently overlooked sources of info but are well worth checking out. Oh - and the year on the cover (e.g. "Music 63") is the FOLLOWING year - the index included covers 1962. Mike

There was quite a bit of discussion in another Elvis thread. Mike

At points, two very different things are being talked about here - one is musicians who play jazz as well as classical music (like Jarrett doing Shostakovich), the other is jazz interpretations of classical themes. For the first, I'll mention Daniel Schnyder, Swiss composer/saxophonist who has written some nice chamber music that frequently features performers who cross the line - Mike Mossman recorded his trumpet sonata, Simon Nabatov and Dave Taylor and Kenny Drew, Jr. have also appeared on his non-jazz albums. In 1986 or so I saw Chick Corea perform a Mozart piano concerto (with his own improvised cadenzas - not strictly Mozartian), followed by the premiere of his own piano concerto. The recorded version of the Corea concerto is much more third-stream than that performance I saw. The recording has orchestra plus the Corea trio. For the second, there is a great Teddy Charles album of Russian music. And the John Kirby Sextet did some clever rearrangements of classical themes, so did the Claude Thornhill band. If I remember correctly, Bill Frisell does some Copland on one of his CDs. Also, there's a Bob Belden setting of - Tosca, I think - that was barred from being released in the USA. I think it only came out in Japan. That Fred Hersch Russian album is great. Mike

But God bless WKCR for doing *whatever* they're doing in depth and seriousness. No, I don't listen to everything they broadcast, but I never feel that they are pandering or playing from a rigid demographically-tailored setlist. Are they worried about losing listeners? No, they're very proud to be able to present all kinds of non-typical things (who else will?). The stations that are worried about losing listeners and program accordingly are the ones that have sold out - maybe to one degree or another - but sold out, nonetheless. Now, they may have sold out to *you* and only play one particular thing you like and that can be very appealing, but they've still sold out. I realize that a great deal of this probably comes down to expectations - "I turned on the radio expecting to hear a certain kind of jazz that I've become accustomed to hearing at a certain time of day and I didn't." And WKCR apologizes, as they always do when pre-empting programs. As for "is it music?" That's a question that John Cage addressed over 50 years ago. Besides, if the answer is yes, that doesn't mean it has to be "music you like." And the "I could do that" argument has often been used on artists like Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Robert Rauschenberg, Jackson Pollock, et al. Hey, great - knock yourself out! What it comes down to is establishing a new aesthetic that will let one be expressive in a very atypical format. To oversimplify - can one express love, or anger, or sadness, or joy in this new artistic style? Is one example of this style more or less appealing to someone than another? If so, it sounds like art to me. And if it's art in a sonic (rather than visual) medium, I guess we have to call it music. BTW, speaking of WKCR, I'll be on November 16, 2-7 PM for a Gigi Gryce jazz profile. We're talking depth here - in the New York area: WNYC/NPR gave Gigi 10 minutes, WBGO gave Gigi 60 minutes, WKCR will give Gigi 300 minutes. Mike

Pat Patrick actually had a band called the Baritone Retinue - 8 baritone players plus rhythm section. It started around 1972 and they made one record for Saturn around 1976 or 1977 (I think it's the only Saturn album without Sun Ra). The baritone players on the album were PP, Charles Davis, Kenny Rogers, Jabbo Ware, Mario Rivera, Reynold Scott, Rene McLean, George Barrow. I saw Bruce Johnston play maybe three years ago with a Kenton alumni band led by Mike Vax. He played some alto as well. In that band he wasn't even always the bottom of the section because they had bass saxophone there as well for some things. While I'm here - newer guy to mention: Charlie Kohlhase. Good work with the Either/Orchestra, with the Mandala Octet, and with his own quintet. Mike

It's a Jazz Messengers live recording. Now - which one? I think it's a combination of 1958 Club St. Germaine and 1959 Paris Olympia material, all originally on RCA. I think "Night" is "A Night in Tunisia." Mike

Since "Don't Fear the Reaper" was a #12 hit, it must have been available as a 45 single. If the consumer in question chose not to purchase that item and instead gambled on the entire LP, well, you pays your money and you takes your chances. Mike

I learned that this is NOT the same show. 9/19/73 was Shibuyakokaido, Tokyo, Japan. 9/28/73 was Budokan, Tokyo, Japan. Good reference tool: http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/jmweb/MOsl.html Sound on 9/19/73 is great, fwiw. Mike

If this is September 19, 1973, it is in circulation. The title it goes under is "Between Failure and Frustration." Just trade for it - never pay. Mike

A little minutia - In 1946 Coltrane played with the Joe Webb band which included an organist. Coltrane was playing with Jimmy Smith just before he joined Miles Davis in 1955. Tomorrow I'll be speaking to the guy who took his place on that gig - Odean Pope. Also, around the same time Coltrane played in a band with Shirley Scott. Alice Coltrane overdubbed organ on Coltrane stuff that had been recorded on 2/2/66. Mike

Miles has several things to say about Gordon in the autobiography. Unquestionably they played together, but none were recorded it seems. Mike