Michael Fitzgerald

Well, I can solve one of those issues for you right now - the latest version (4.2) has redone the personnel reporting so that players are not duplicated when they double - you now get the standard format of: James Moody (as, ts, f) This requires absolutely no change in use of the program - you take your old data and just run the new report and the listing shows up the new way. Noal Cohen just updated all his reports (hopefully I'll find the time to do mine by the new year) so check, for example: http://www.attictoys.com/jazz/TK.HTM The multiple issue situation is a bit more difficult, but be sure you at least use the option where when all performances from a session appear on a single issue that issue is placed at the bottom "All titles on:" section. There are also options in the program to identify the "original issue" and only list that, or to list only issues in certain formats (LP, 78, CD, etc.) - if that helps. The program is storing the issue information perfectly, it's just a matter of establishing the best way to print that information. There are a few ways that it could be handled, none of which is clearly superior. Mike

Excellent point regarding discographical practice. There is hope - I made this same comment to a fellow in the UK who similarly had done some great research but presented it in an issue-based document and he followed up on my suggestion of using Steve Albin's BRIAN discographical database program - which is session-based and easily handles all the issue/reissue situations. I guess it's just a matter of evangelizing. Mike

"Morgan's style has changed; it doesn't resemble Clifford Brown's nearly as much as it did about three years ago. Even before that time, Morgan was considered the boy wonder of jazz trumpeters, but now he's a more original and, if this LP is an indication, a more creative improviser. Unfortunately, he's been receiving less attention - probably partly because he's grown too old to merit the "prodigy" label. "Morgan's phrasing is more legato now. In fact, the looseness of his playing sometimes recalls Clark Terry's, a similarity that may be more than coincidental, since Morgan uses squeezed tones and certain other devices that are associated with Terry. "Characteristically, Morgan is seldom at a loss for ideas, and his solos are thoughtfully constructed. His tone is full and brassy, and he plays more economically than usual. "The tunes - all Morgan originals - are, in general, simple and catchy. Only on 'Hocus-Pocus,' though is a straight-swinging beat employed throughout. However, this doesn't mean that anything revolutionary in rhythm and meter has been attempted; the rhythm section often plays the choppy figures found in rhythm and blues or Gospel music. "This type of accompaniment doesn't bring out the best in the normally estimable Harris. Sometimes he riffs unimaginatively and utilizes tired funky intervals and chords. By contrast, however, he takes a fine, long-lined spot of 'Hocus.' "Henderson, an aggressive post-bopper, improvises competently. At this point, he seems strongly influenced by Sonny Rollins." - Harvey Pekar in Down Beat, October 22, 1964, pp. 29-30 - three and a half stars (out of five) Mike

Interesting question - I see that on the website there is mention of the "CD 3.3 upgrade" (isn't it ridiculous that this wouldn't be called 3.4 or 3.3b or something? So one user could be at 3.3 with the upgrade and another could be at 3.3 without the upgrade - that's just stupid!). I guess one factor would be whether the v.4.4 installation looks for an existing installation of v.3.3. But then again, Lord is now selling his remaining stock of v.3.3 at $199 and without the future version discount. I suspect a lot of these licensing issues have already been addressed by other software vendors such as the eternally "upgrading" Microsoft. Oh for the days when programmers wrote their code properly and efficiently and tested it *in-house* before unleashing it on the world. Nowadays we the public are just the beta testers and rather than releasing a bug fix, we get charged for an "upgrade"! Mike

Ah, but selling your original 3.3 would be illegal - you are only getting that special price because you are *upgrading*. If you bought 4.4 at full new non-upgrade price then you could legitimately sell your full price original 3.3. And why is it that the version numbers are going up like that? Prior to 3.3 was 2.2 - does anyone honestly think there was a 3.0, 3.1, 3.2? They certainly weren't available to the public. More deceptive advertising on the part of Lord - who has a history of smothering anything negative about his products. Most recently, he had some influence on the IAJRC Journal not running a review that addressed faults in his database programming (later distributed via email by the author, Sheryl Smith). And while Lord is eager to email us with the hype of reviews of the CD-ROM (often written by journalists, not serious discographers), he makes statements like "I am very surprised that a man of your stature in the jazz community would even consider writing an article about 70 Years [the Bruyninckx books which were his direct competition] when it is not commercially available and in fact has been produced in a clandestine manner." - from correspondence to Barry Kernfeld, who in a review in Notes (journal of the music library association) proved Lord wrong on his allegations. I'll try to get permission to put that amazing article online. It originally appeared back in 1994 (and also covered the Bruyninckx books). In an incredibly detailed review, the authors (Barry Kernfeld & Howard Rye) concluded that they could not recommend libraries purchase the discography series on ethical grounds ("worse than plagiarism" is a quote). (There will also be a review of the Lord CD-ROM v.3.3 in a future edition of the Annual Review of Jazz Studies, published by the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies.) Kernfeld and Rye also discuss some of the flawed reasoning that Lord was using to justify his project. In my view, it all comes down to money. And Lord certainly seems to be raking that in - his is the only discography ever to be advertising with such a media barrage. Of course, the other discographies were all done by Europeans who were too busy typing or checking the facts to deal much with marketing. Will I buy the upgrade? Yes. It's the first time in over a decade that any of Lord's information will see correcting. We'll see how many of the mistakes (many copied straight from Bruyninckx or the earlier Jepsen) are fixed. Would have been nicer if he copied from more accurate sources to begin with..... BTW, for those interested in the alternative, I am told that Walter Bruyninckx will issue the final installment of his CD-ROM (which will include updates and corrections to A-T as well as adding the letters U-Z) in May 2004. Mike

Bob Weinstock did a nice interview for the Gryce book. He talked quite a bit about his own history, the history of the label, who his favorite players for sessions were, etc. We put what we could of this into the book. Prestige actually had a hit way earlier than one might think - Moody's Mood for Love. That did a lot of good things for the label. Mike

The B side of The Sidewinder was The Sidewinder. It was a part 1 & 2 thing (same with The Rumproller, and Cornbread). Check the Cuscuna/Ruppli book for a huge list of Blue Note 45 rpm issues. Mike

Gigi Gryce is 1925 not 1927. Mike

A Nessa from the EAST? Mike (who hasn't the faintest idea what all this is about and is pretty sure he doesn't really care)

Ben Young will be presenting five hours of Jimmy Lyons not this Sunday but the following one (11/30/03) from 2-7 PM EST on WKCR-FM in NYC (or online at wkcr.org). Mike

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