Justin V

That about sums it up. RIP.

I saw him twice in the last year and a half, with his FOY band (w/ David Kikoski) and Chick Corea's Freedom Band. He killed both times. He drove the hell out of both bands, but was more active with his own band. His reflexes were up to snuff both times. I dug it. I was heartbroken when I couldn't afford to see him at the last Detroit Jazz Fest.

I have a signed copy of Bobby Few's Let It Rain, which appears to be the only album released on his own label. I found it in the $1.00 bin at a used book store. It appears to be hard to find. There are a few instrumentals, two Disney tunes and a few vocal tunes. I've also found Uri Caine and Ira Sullivan autographed discs at the same store, surprisingly enough. An album that I treasure for personal reasons is a signed copy of Gene Ludwig's Duff's Blues. I drove to Pittsburgh to see him play at some loud, trendy restaurant. I think my wife and I were the only ones really listening to Ludwig playing a keyboard/saxophone duet set. Despite not being on his organ (it was a basement restaurant, and he had recently been ill), Ludwig played some nice bass lines with his left hand and was in great form (the keyboard was set to a bass setting in the lower register). When I went up to talk to him, he was a really cool guy, and seemed surprised that someone would drive from Cleveland to see him in a less-than-ideal setting. I wasn't able to make it to see him again, and he died a couple weeks before the gig we were planning on seeing him at (which ended up being canceled due to illness). The cd serves as a memento of my one chance to see a master. I'm still hoping that his album of Cole Porter tunes, which he was shopping around, comes out one of these days.

Alan Dawson - Waltzin' with Flo: I've owned it for about 5 years or so, and it took me about 6 months to find it. Although it's now available for download, I've rarely seen it for sale. There's a copy on Amazon UK for about $225 American. It's a great disc, with some underappreciated sidemen and some tracks featuring Dawson on vibes. It's also well-recorded. Hank Jones - Oracle: I'm not sure if this is available for download, but copies can be found on Amazon for close to $50. It's one of my favorite Hank Jones discs. Billy Higgins and Hank Jones make a good team on this and The Essence (a trio date with Ray Drummond).

On July 8th (born March 30, 1928). I haven't yet picked up his Savoy date, but I was intrigued by his playing on the Charlie Parker Montreal 1953 Uptown disc. I wanted to write him and find out whether he played anymore, but I never had the nerve. I still wish that I had dropped Bill DeArango a note about 7 years ago when I had the chance...

Gene Ludwig

Bill Dixon Valdo Williams

Davidson's Ten to Twelve is a decent piano trio album. Helen Keane produced it four years after encouraging him to play jazz. It's too bad that those people were able to take such advantage of his extreme gullibility or other issues.

Allen, did you ever finish the article? I would love to read it. You seem to be the main source of Schildkraut info on the net. I'm about to listen to Last Date.

The new Childs album is included in the ArtistShare 7-CD giveaway at AllAboutJazz, if anyone is interested.

Black Saint is releasing a 9-CD box of Dixon's Black Saint and Soul Note recordings on the 15th. JazzLoft is selling it for $54.95, which is a steal. EDIT: I noticed that Black Saint is releasing similar box sets of Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Paul Motian and George Russell.

I'd be shocked if she couldn't find some flute company to give her a flute in exchange for an endorsement. Did Wayne Escoffery ever get his lost saxophone back, by the way?

According to CIMP, it's coming out on CIMP "in the near future."

Good thinking. I've emailed CIMP asking about it, so I'll post their response when I get it.

McIntyre was totally new to me prior to stumbling upon this thread. After watching the documentary, I'm curious as to when the album will be released and on what label.

Any opinions on the album with Jim Hall that came out on ArtistShare a couple of years back?

I enjoy Here and Now, a Blue Note date with Steve Nelson, Donald Harrison (on a few tracks), Peter Washington and Billy Higgins.