AllenLowe

Walter Bolden, the drummer - From The Attic Of My Mind by Sam Most - an old Xanadu Lp

you know, I seem to recall, unfortunately, a very similar Blindfold Test, maybe 15 years or so ago, by James Moody, in which he put down everybody in a similar way. It was weird, because I remember seeing Moody right afterwards, and his playing, aside from being brilliant, was clearly reflective of all the new guys he was putting down - it's very much a generational thing, I would add. Johnny Carisi used to complain to me about all the "free" Players (to be fair, he also hated the minimalists, and found Clark Terry to be shallow). When I told him that he was related to these guys, he did not agree, I think because he was technically more schooled in the ideas he applied to some of the more adventurous things he wrote. I liked Johnny, but he was clearly from a different era.

you guys keep playing those 78s. Mine are a little slow, so I play 'em at 79.

I think it's time to euthanize jazz. or maybe organize a few death panels to go along with the usual discussion panels at all those boring and pointless jazz conferences I used to go to.

just an interesting note - Tony Greenwald, who plays excellent trumpet on the George Russell, is now a professor (psychology or psychiatry, I can't remember) at the University of Washington. When I was working on my 1950s jazz book I called him up and he was amazed that anyone knew about it and said he was basically thrown into the water and told to swim, solo-wise. Nice guy, plays great on this recording.

I have Bird's basement sessions in my basement - and I keep the Loft Sessions in my attic - the road sessions are in my car - and I only listen to Constellation when I fly somewhere. the Dial sessions are stored in my bathroom.

My collection goes from Hamburg (the Beatles at the Star Club) to Hot Dog (Lou Donaldson).

the great thing about posts being deleted is that it gives the thread a surreal aura - I find it's like reading Macbeth with every third page ripped out. In this version Lady Macbeth goes into rehab.

I'm in favor of the public option - we should ration posts - and pull the plug on Board members who are older than me -

nonsense - I know Chris well, and I know there is disagreement about what happened when he left here, which I do not wish to revisit - but there is NO QUESTION about not only his fitness and willingness but his ability to care for the kind of physical and psychological memorabilia which make up so much of what we use to document American musical history. I find any speculation to the contrary, about Chris, to be really distasteful and based on second hand knowledge of not only the man but his actions through the years and his honorable (and honorable is really too modest a word) dealings in the music business. As Larry Cohn, the former head of Sony Legacy (he did the Robert Johnson box among many other things) said to me not long ago, Chris is really one of the great men of the business and a man of uncommon decency and constant generiousity. Amen.

I did a poll to settle this once and for all: free jazz players and lovers: 76% Democrats 18% Republicas 4 % Jim Jones Followers 1% Tristano-ites 1% The Church of Nessa Dixielanders: 104% Republicans 12% Libertarians .878 % Beastialilty Party Beboppers 76% Drug addicts 22& More drug addicts 2% Sex addicts Bass Players 65% Don't Vote 35% Didn't Understand the Question

maybe as revenge I oughta pull a Joe Venuti - call all these various dumbass bassists, tell them there's a gig which pays $500 a man, and tell them to meet on the same corner - I could probably get back at at least 6 who have burned me this year - Jim, bring your left foot -

that may be a part of it - I've also wondered whether it's a local thing, a local guy who just has no real seriousness about the whole idea of music - which is, of course, similar to what Harold just said. the problem in this area, when it comes to jazz, is that there are so few real bands, and everything is a pickup gig, Green Dolphin Street, etc. So I'm determined to actual create something with a book, and a point of view. it gets to me, sometimes, though, with all this non-responsiveness. As I tell myself, I never had this problem with musicians who were much busier than these guys, and much more accomplished - Rudd, Hemphill, Shipp, Ribot, even David Murray - all always had the courtesy to respond, to say yes, no, maybe (or in Murray's case, "how much cash do you have?")

he changed my life, no kidding.

I haven't even mentioned ANOTHER bass player that I worked with briefly but whom I've given up on, as if I booked a date with him, I had to just basically call him every day to make sure he made it - he was 19 - starting to think this is a generational thing - God help us in about 20 years when these guys try to start running the country-

so here's what's been happening - I've decided to form a band and actually start playing again - also, doing some video taping for a documentary - mid summer: I have a friend, a great drummer, coming this direction from Canada for vacation - we decided to do a recording session. I book the studio. I call a bassist I heard recently - I book a rehearsal with him, and give him the date of the recording, He agrees to do it. we do one rehearsal. As the recording date comes closed I call, I email - no response - I call, I email. No response. So I cancel the whole thing, though by this time my friend the drummer is already on his way, drums in the trunk of his car. He handles it fine, we hang, but no session, the next month - I start to rehearse my new band - have a guitarist set to come - I email and call the bassist (a different one). He agrees on the time and place. The day comes, we sit and wait - one hour after the scheduled time, we give up, the guitarist goes home. Just after he leaves, the bass player calls. I don't feel like talking to the guy so I let it go - a few days later I hear from a friend of his that he feels bad because he screwed up and wasn't even in town on the day of the rehearsal. two weeks later: I've been sitting in with this very good local, but young, band. We schedule a rehearsal for a Sunday, me and the bass and the drummer from this group. The day comes (as does the guitarist again) - no show for both of them. I email - the drummer, a complete asshole, sends me a cheerful email "sorry, yeah, I shoulda called, I had another session, gee, sorry, that was dumb of me. Talk to you later" The drummer is more genuinely apologetic, but he "spaced out. I was visiting a friend." My email to the drummer was basically, "no, we will not talk later 'cause you're an irresponsible jerk." I was nicer to the bass player, but since he's a friend of the drummer, he's offended by my email to the drummer and we're pretty much through (which is fine with me) - so that's it for now, though I have a line on another drummer and bassist, am putting a book together, and I do have a great guitarist in the band, But I'm mystified by all the crap that's happening, though I chalk it up to the fact that all of these guys are barely 21-22 and extremely baby-ish, and that they see me simply as an unimportant old guy.

better lock up your dog

I'm not a Tarantino fan, though I liked Jackie Brown (was that the name it?) They seem like insider movies, for the pop culture crowd who thinks that it's enough to be self-referential and who don't read enough literature to know that his dialog is really not that great (though Tarantino calls it "my poetry"). Reminds me of what Richard Gilman once said about the cinema crowd, whose writing always, he said, sounded like Sam Goldwyn trying to talk his way in to see Immanuel Kant. that said I know I am in the EXTREME minority here and that this expressed opinion will likely result in further ostracism, and threats against my dog.

next project: rare performances of Beethoven's 10th Symphony.

I'm determined to have every recording Cleo Gibson ever made -

wait - I thought this was Broom Plays the Monkees - never mind, than -

I find her music - Sade-istic. someone had to say it......

well, a few months ago I was in our local Whole Foods, and the background music was.... Case Ace, a tune off the George Handy/Handyland album - with Dave Schildkraut. I couldn't believe it, but I listened and there it was. My wife didn't believe me.

ugghhhh

she probably wouldn't have known - but nobody wanted to take a chance -