AllenLowe

I can predict the past, but that's it.

a good time was had by all on Sunday; did a recording session with Matt Shipp (6 solos piano pieces, 6 group pieces) as part of a project in which Matt plays my work; Michael Gregory Jackson guested on 2 pieces on guitar. Band was me on alto, Shipp and Jackson, Chris Klaxton trumpet, Elliot Cardinaux second piano, Kevin Ray on bass, Peter McClaughlin on drums. actually recorded in the Land of the Dead, otherwise known as Portland, Maine, which I should be out of in about a year. not sure yet, but it may end up as a 2 CD set -

Sir Charles Thompson played at a hotel in Boston for many years, cannot remember which one it was, but I went and saw him a few times; sweetheart of a guy, and he loved Percy France, whom he called, to my shock and delight, "the greatest saxophonist in the world." They made one lp together for Columbia, on which Sir Charles played organ. sorry to interrupt, but I love Sir Charles Thompson's playing,

1) in the last year or so I have had significant hearing loss in the 4-6k range; prior to this, however, I could hear overtones and ambience above 25k; 2) to me the battle is not vinyl vs CD; the battle is the original method of recordings; things are way better at 24 bit, but NOTHING sounds better than a good, tape-recorded session if the tape and the recorder are good; every once in a while I hear something that was a tape original and I instantly understand that it is basically the depth of field which makes tape superior (especially without noise reduction; I also hate DBX, but Dolby S was excellent) -

I believe I have a CD somewhere with Doris Day and Les Brown.

at least he didn't stick his head in the propeller.

the brother, guitarist, Calvin Newborn, is still active, I believe.

that's the one.

I actually have a Howlin' Wolf record from Memphis in the '50s with an intro which is so boppish it HAS to be Newborn,

as for Keepnews and reissues, the story I heard is that his hearing was very gone, but he would not admit it, and so there were some sonic problems he would not admit to.

as was Frank Strozier.

that's Brubeck; he only had about 4 different solos; that's the one known as Breakfast Cereal.

there's percussive and there's percussive - the one being reflective of a non-dynamic pounding, the other very much out of the post-African approach, in which every instrument becomes a drum. Bud P. was extremely percussive, but not like OP - and so was Monk - though there are other ways; Barry Harris told me Hawkins said to him "you play it like it's a piano, not like it's a damn drum." So not everyone agrees; but Bud's percussiveness was less slick, had a resonance that created rhythmic overtones; the sound was rich and implied so much; OP made a sound and that was it. of course, this is all just my perspective.

I don't think OP was a true virtuoso because (and I guess this is almost too clichéd and obvious to state) you really cannot separate the rate/speed/intensity of expression from the depth of expression; Dick Katz used to say that OP had facility, not technique. And I know this is a can of worms that has been opened and reopened here, but I find OP offensive, just the most annoying and trite player in all of my listening experience. And I had this same response when I first heard him, and I was only 14. As for Buddy Rich, I have also tried very hard. The brittleness of his playing, unlike the brittleness of Max Roach, is thin and lacks....resonance? Rhythmic reverberation and reflection? Something is absent, though I have heard some very nice things from him (an AMAZING clip of him playing at the Playboy jazz fest with Dizzy, no idea what year; but he sounded like Dave Tough, and that may be the solution to his somewhat-aimless technical rattling around.) But I do not think it is racist if you think he was the greatest drummer ever. Tasteless, yes, but in the same way that praise of OP is misguided.

I agree; they could easily put the Jack White stuff out of business. It's easy and cheap to do, with actual CDs instead of flash drives.

there was a story where, down south, he was denied service by a waitress who said "we don't serve Negroes," to which he replied: "that's ok I don't eat them."

I love Montrose, but on that Green Dolphin Street clip, he has many problems, including forgetting the changes; he keeps playing little flurries of notes when he is at a loss for what to do. No chops. Some moments of light, but not really there. He also seems to be suffering a little bit from the Art Pepper Syndrome, as in "how do I sound contemporary?" He is way more together on the Paradiso thing, though it's a little odd.

what an intelligent thread; who started it?

I liked the Twardzik - though it is true, I skimmed anything that represented musical judgment - because he seemed to have found a significant number of people who knew Twardzik; and it was their testimony that interested me, girlfriends, relatives, musicians, parents (and his father was a terrific painter).

Jazz Masters of the '40s should have been co-credited to Dick Katz, who is quoted at massive length. and btw, I am told by someone who I trust COMPLETELY that there are a lot of errors in Schuller's transcriptions in Swing Era. Also, his homophobic statements about Pha Terrell and falsetto singing are not only disturbing, but show a real lack of knowledge of certain aspects of black culture.

I had been looking for this - Budd Johnson is the highlight for me.

no; just some memories....

AJ Albany's book on Joe is a classic, and one of the best books on jazz I've ever read. As is Sue Mingus' Tonight At Noon.

that's too bad because it really is an important book.

1) Goldberg '50s very good 2) Humphrey Littleton/Jazz - V.1 excellent; V. 2 ok but disappointing 3) I like Robin K's Monk book, though I do know Larry K had some reservations (don't remember what they were) 4) That Devilin' Tune is still available in book form; Mark Gridley said: "this is the best jazz history ever written; until That Devilin' Tune, jazz history was misunderstood." email me for copies