AllenLowe

OP drives me nuts, as I have said many times before. His playing actually offends me; it's almost all patterns, and he drives the blue thing into the ground (online there's a version he plays of Waltz for Debbie in which he ruins this delicate melody with a string of idiotic blues phrases). And btw Barry Harris, as he told me years ago, disliked his playing. But the main reason I know what a horrible pianist OP was is that, before I had dual carpal tunnel, I could do a passable imitation of OP playing a blues. Just repeat the same basic blue runs ad-nauseum in slightly different positions. But as a jazz critic (I think Francis Davis) once said: "It's not that Peterson makes everything sound so easy, but that he makes everything sound equally difficult."

thanks guys. Will keep you advised. Hopefully all will be ready next spring.

"Every tour with Benny was like going to Russia" - Zoot Sims

I have about 5 cds coming out next spring, including one with the incredible guitarist Ray Suhy (if you don't know who he is you should check him out. I have never heard a better guitarist in any musical realm, from jazz to rock and roll). This is one cut out for preview, something I call Cold Was the Night Dark Was the Ground. I present it as my own idea of why jazz musicians usually fall on their faces when trying to dip into the deeper aspects of vernacular music, failing as they inevitably do to capture the roughness and edge of the old music. I think we succeed here in ways that others rarely do, plus I try to show how the idea of "free" playing can be focused to show how liberating those old forms are (and this particular cut is actually me on both guitar and tenor):

funny and odd story - and true - I was walking around Brookline, Mass., where I then lived - circa1977 - with my then girlfriend, and we walked past a man walking the other way on the sidewalk. I said to my girlfriend - "is that Neal Hefti?" She said, "who?" I didn't have time to explain, I turned around and went up to the guy (I was about 23 and had seen pictures of him) and asked "Are you Neal Hefti?" And it was, and he was quite shocked that someone recognized him. We talked a bit and I asked if I could interview him for a jazz mag I was working for. He was very pleased, and invited me over to his apartment in Brookline, where he was now living. I went there a few nights later. He introduced me to Francis Wayne, his wife, who was movie-star gorgeous. We had a nice interview (which never got published) and he told me that Francis Wayne had hated Hollywood, and had finally gotten him to agree to move East. They did so, and just a few months later she was sadly diagnosed with lung cancer. We talked, I left, and never saw him again, and was very upset to hear that she died just some months afterward.

if it's from the original tapes and mastered in highest resolution, that is significant. The prior Bethlehem reissues are not bad, but this would be indispensable.

well, as someone said above about Person, "he's taking the load."

if you like Kenyon Hopkins, I recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Rooms-New-York-Kenyon-Hopkins/dp/B002XMGJGC

were these tracks ever Id'd?

just to note what Curley Russell told me about the recording ban - that many labels continued to record but back-dated the recording date so they would not seem to be violating the ban.

when I knew him he was living with his daughter and driving a cab occasionally.

Curley was sorta phased out in lieu of a more modern generation of bass players, post-Ray Brown. Unfortunately. He had great time but it wasn't enough. He just wasn't that nimble harmonically. He was also one of the nicest people I've ever known.

That Sunny Side violin solo is beautiful. Somebody thinks that's sloppy? Clean out your ears. And it has a wonderful pizzicato section. I haven't a clue, the only other jazz violinist I ever heard play pizzicato like that was Nance, who I don't believe this is. It's also much better than Grapelli, who I find too slick. I really like track 11 the big band. Reminded me of '50s Sun Ra.

Just to announce a few things - late this Fall I will have a 2 cd set out on ESP called A Love Supine: Ascent into the Maelstrom And next Spring, hopefully to coincide with a May 3, 2023 appearance at Dizzy's I will have 5 CDs (a 2 set set and a 3 cd set) out, also on ESP. The 5 cd project is called In the Dark: A History of American Song (or: All the Blues You Could Play By Now if Nicholas Payton was Your Third Cousin Twice Removed) The first 2 cds are basically blues re-done; some of it is from a concert with Marc Ribot at Roulette. The second set, of 3 CDs, is something of a milestone for me, based on various odd song forms. I started composing last Fall when I could barely see the music or the piano, and I was sleeping about 2-3 hours a night. These recordings were done in several sessions featuring Ken Peplowski, Lewis Porter, and Aaron Johnson (and others of course). I play tenor on these and I am just amazed we were able to pull it off (about 40 songs). Peplowski will shock you; he plays free, he plays bebop and he is translucent (Ken is not doing well physically these days but still playing perfectly). Aaron is an alto saxophonist and I think he just may be the best saxophonist alive, stylistically nimble and fantastically creative (he is also a great clarinetist). Lewis has bloomed more and more on keyboards, and his solos are a constant delight. The rest of the rhythm section, bassists Kyle Colina and Alex Tremblay and drummer Rob Landis, is like a clean but warped machine; Rob in particular (he is a close friend and pediatrician) swings and is musically changeable, in the best possible way. All of this will hopefully coincide with a new book I am trying to finish, which is a collection of essays, notes, and commentary. I am unsure of the title, but currently leaning toward Letter to Esperanza. I'm not dead yet.

Wikipedia is pretty damn good I think. I got a lot of useful info there when I was working on Turn Me Loose White Man.

I went in to the Curley Russell entry and corrected something; I had given Phil Schaap some info on Curley that only I knew, and Phil, as was his wont, took credit for providing it. I know it seems petty, but, with due respect, this was typical of the way Phil bullshitted his way through jazz history,

I stopped mourning about 5 years ago.

This is one of those rare occasions, Larry, when I will disagree with you. His tone is so weak, he can barely intonate in the upper register, and the solo is just so bland.

Cinderella was a great guitarist; I had a few conversations with him at one point and he was a very nice man. Melle's jazz work, on the other hand, doesn't, in my opinion, hold up so well. He was not a very good soloist, to my ears. Compositionally he had more going on, and when I talked to him a few years before he died (I think he was working as an artist at this point) he was very proud of his pioneering electronic compositions. I don't know, I'd have to go back and listen. He was also an unpleasant guy, so I have to admit that that also had a negative impact on my attitude toward him. But I recently listened to some of his '50s work and I found it uninspired.

I just tried to post a nasty comment, but for some reason it did not work. Do we have an email for this schmuck? Actually here he is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gordon.skene I just send him a firm FB message, and also posted a complaint on his time line.

I liked and respected Martin Williams, but he could be a complete a-hole. Bad fingering? WTF did Martin know about playing the horn? Nothing. Dick Katz, who did a lot with Williams, told me his biggest flaw was his inability to admit he knew nothing technically about music. I began wondering about this myself when I read Williams describing the tune Woody 'n You as being "in a minor key." Wrong; it was in D flat major (and I hate when critics pull this crap; Gary Giddins described I'll Keep Loving You as being based on You Are Too Beautiful changes; complete nonsense).

that may be only the second Dexter Gordon solo I have ever liked (in his work after 1960). He's actually awake.

very sad to hear this, I recorded with Ken in April and he was magnificent. I love the guy and I hope all of this resolves itself.

if she is having true mental health problems (and it sounds like she is, whatever the cause) she needs to find a doctor/shrink who will write her out of work, who will put enough restrictions on what she is allowed to do to permit her to go on disability (I am assuming she has some kind of coverage). I did claims work for many years, and she certainly sounds like she qualifies. It doesn't have to be permanent, but I urge you to look into this asap, before the situation gets out of control.

all excellent.