.:.impossible

Mr. P, What exactly are you referring to? Is this an inside joke?

So, when your wife, kid, houseguest, takes a disc out of the player and sets it BESIDE its case, should she/he set it label side up or label side down?

Dennis González .:. Earth and the Heart (1989) Nels Cline (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Devices Andrew Cyrille Drums Dennis Gonzalez Piano, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals, Voices Alex Cline Synthesizer, Percussion, Drums Ken Filiano Bass (Acoustic) Mark Hewins Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar .:. Is anyone here familiar with this recording? Any comments? I have received numerous recommendations for Dennis Gonzalez' recorded work, along with the Cline brothers. I am very interested in checking them out together and separately. Cyrille!

p.s. I can't wait to see him over Christmas. He had never heard Elliott Smith's music before and I imagine he has bought all of the albums by now!

I did a trade with a friend over Thanksgiving break. In exchange for some Uncle Tupelo discs (including a collaboration with Peter Buck), the Golden Smog album, and Neil Young On The Beach, I gave him Elliott Smith s/t, the two latest Califone albums, and a Yo La Tengo album. I've been carrying the Elliott Smith s/t album around with me since then. Every time I listen to it, I'm struck by the songs just like I was the first time I heard them. This was a great songwriter people. If you have been checking out this thread, but haven't checked into Elliott Smith yet, you really ought to do yourself the favor. I can't recommend his music enough.

So sweet! Keep 'em comin'! We are digging it up here in Rhode Island.

I'll tell you what I'm looking for... the answers! Give 'em up Jim.

DISC ONE 01 "Ask Me Now." Very pretty piano intro. Had me fooled, then the band came in BIG! Nice, if a little dry. 02 I like the different styles the pianist incorporates into this, mostly stride though, right? Nice use of handclaps and I really like the rhythm. Doesn't hold up too much after repeated listens unfortunately. Fun. 03 Call of the wild! The horn riff behind the sax solo reminds me of Mingus. Parts of the arrangement sound like Mingus too, but I don't think this is a Mingus tune. Maybe some Mingus dynasty? 04 Off the bat, reminds me of David Murray Octet. I don't think that's who it is though. Electric bass? Big band rock n roll. Roll on. Triplets rock. Hey guitar man! He plays the tone well. 05 Ladies and gentlemens, from Macon Jawjah, ah James BROWN! I listened to a lot of early JB in college. Ray Charles from that era too. This was before I had to know everything about every album we were listening to. I wish I had paid more attention now, since it was all my roomates. That's my desiiiiiii... 06 Sounds like something from a Disney movie. Wow. That voice! I know I've heard it. I bet my Grandfather would know at the first breath who that is. Becky and Susan too. They love that game. Turn on the 100-disc changer and call out every tune! Ha. Some of them are terrible though... New Christy Minstrels? What the???! This is gorgeous. My generation lacks this lush melodrama. 07 Reminds me of an album of standards duets I have between Anthony Braxton and Ran Blake. "Little Rootie Tootie!" 08 Oh-gan! The tenor is very strong. The electric bass is ok. Good solo, for what its worth. I'd rather hear Duvivier soloing on upright, but... 09 Reminds me of Milford Graves, but Southern as hail! He ain't afraid to break away from the central rhythm, and some of his jibba-jabba sounds an awful lot like Milford. Voice is different, the drumming isn't as full as Milford's typically is. I can't quite make out enough of the talk, but it sounds like some sort of folk tale. 10 Good NIGHT! 11 Definitely Jim Europe. I remember hearing this for the first time in contrast to the AEC. I think I listened to this, then "Tutankhamun." AEC was obviously much more advanced, but this Jim Europe stuff had to have influenced them. 12 There you go! Ha! I'm not familiar with this tune. Still don't have the NESSA box. Jarman and Malachi are ferocious. STEP IN LINE! Chicago has so much to offer. Wow, I'm going to have to listen to that one again loud. The end reminds me of Sun Ra's drummers taking the planet Earth into a black hole. 13 Ugly beauty. A blunt lullabye. 14 ooooOOOOh. My Grandaddy would love this. Three trumpets? Two saxophones? A trombone? A clarinet? He is always so good at identifying the different big band sections. He loves to talk about the things bandleaders used to do with their horn sections. He's not much of a modernist though. Brubeck's Take Five album is crap. That drummer is a workhorse. ba-dum-baa 15 What flavor is this? Sugar-free? What do I want with sugar free cookies? Syrup. Syrup will make everything better. Sugar:Tenor's tone.

Check this out. This article reminded me of the Org.org tribute CD. Another "fan-friendly" group with similar ideas.

I've got Badu's latest. I don't know what it is, but there is something missing from here voice on Mama's Gun and Worldwide Underground that was there for her first album, and ESPECIALLY the live album. The music is also more produced. If you like Mama's Gun, Worldwide Underground may do it for you.

Somebody's got a crush! Thanks for turning me onto Jeremy Pelt RT. I've enjoyed his live mp3s and really look forward to catching Creation live in NYC sometime soon! I'm always checking his schedule.

Thanks for bringing this back up RT! I had forgotten all about this. So the benefit doesn't have to be about a tombstone anymore. As I read this, I understand that that is not really the issue though. Too bad it didn't work out. I thought this was a superb idea. -_-

I agree. I was actually considering including a cut or two from my collection that I don't necessarily understand the attraction. Get a different point of view from 30+ others. Obviously, everything included in these blindfold tests, because of the audience, is going to be at least tangential to jazz, but I don't think we really need to govern this thing.

Congratulations again on the little b-3er Jim!

Why so many rules? It's a blindfold test. It's supposed to be fun! I've listened to Jim's 1st disc a few times, so I imagine this conversation is spurred by something on disc 2. Oh the controversy. ps As long as no one puts a Charlie Parker re-mix on the blindfold test, I a say anything goes! a joke.

Its not dead, but it IS permanent. No flick of the wrist is going to change what Charlie Parker did, nor is it going to improve upon it. Charlie Parker was working outside of the restrictions of HIS time. When I say sacred, I mean please don't fuck with it. Now why are you going to go and fuck with Charlie Parker? It wasn't good enough for you? You are lessening the music this person made by assuming that it isn't enough IN ITS OWN STATE for your generation. I understand that turntablism is ALL ABOUT breaking rules, and I say GO BREAK THE RULES. I still don't see any reason to go to Charlie Parker to break the rules. Isn't that too obvious? Let's sample the Velvet Underground, or Pet Sounds. That'll get some press. I say COLLABORATE. Make music with others! That includes alto saxophonists. And alto saxophonists that emulate Charlie Parker even! I'm no moldy fig, I'm saying BE MORE CREATIVE.

That is some funny shit! errr, Arrrgh.

I own a single disc issue of INTUITION. Other than this, I don't think I've heard any other Warne Marsh OR Lennie Tristano. I remember being more interested in Warne than Lennie, but fascinated by both. This is a disc that, when I do pull it out to play, I play it all week long. What is Lennie Tristano credited for? What was his main focus in music? He seems to be a very seminal figure in many jazz histories. Hopefully, I will read Larry's essay one of these days. In the meantime, can anyone just touch on what they find unique about Tristano, the musician. Thanks.

Oh yeah! I recall a conversation between Nessa and Sangrey a few months back regarding a live recording of Bird with a BIG Sid Catlett drum solo. I can't wait to hear that! The whole story is what legends are made of. I think Big Sid Catlett was a contemporary of Jo Jones (not Philly), Gus Johnson, Krupa, Chick Webb, et al, or in that age group anyway. I'm not familiar with the other two.

Thanks John. I guess we're the real Goth crowd, eh?

The Red Norvo Trio with Tal Farlow and Charles Mingus Savoy sessions were recorded in the wee-1950s. That is a pretty popular and unusual trio preceding the Rollins date.

Whose musical ideas are we talking about here? What are they trying to present? I guess I was just against this before it even happened. I have decided that I won't support it, based on the very premise it was made on. Charlie Parker is one of the great innovators of the 20th Century, no the entire f'ing history of music. Of course it makes sense to manipulate his recordings. Sure, he'd love it. I'm sure Mingus would love it too. If Bird was a gunslinger... ROOSTER asks: If Greg Osby handed over the multi-track source tapes of a new recording of his own making, and had these remixologists do their thing, some of the results might be pretty interesting (and some would be crap). What's so intrinsically wrong with going back to earlier source material?? Or are we engaging in 'idolatry' over these Charlie Parker sides?? .:. The main difference I see in this scenario is that Greg Osby handed over the tapes. This I have no problem with. In this scenario, it is an artistic decision that Greg Osby made. I would be into that. I'm sure the results might be pretty interesting if I took a Kenny G recording and cut it up too. That is the beauty of turntablism. You can take the mundane and make it something exceptional by breathing a real, electric energy into it. Of course, I can't think of anyone who would make a Kenny G remix album. That might be too much respect. I've never heard anyone take the exceptional and make it better. I personally don't think it can be done. There is nothing better than a Charlie Parker lick IN CONTEXT. Hey, I might like some of it if I heard it, but I'm not even curious. Now, if someone were to throw some Bird into a live performance, that is a different story. On a side note, I think hip hop needs more live instrumentation. More interaction between musician and MC. DJs have advanced beyond belief, yet MCs are still laying into straight up samples and popular song remixes. I know there were have been some valiant efforts at this, but I haven't heard anything in a while. You want to bring jazz into the lives of our pop culture? A Charlie Parker remix project probably isn't even on the radar. Employ real, live musicians who are out there cutting their teeth every night. Bring the music back. Whatever happened to live interaction? [/ramble]

In my opinion, these are the types of threads that cause the tapestry to unravel. I have a hard time understanding how situations like this can become such a real dilemma with others. To use a phrase I hear often in New England, "I can't be bothered."

Steamboat Switzerland sounds promising! I followed the link and came up with a few mp3s. I am listening to a very minimalist piece right now. Sort of a Sigur Ros, or maybe a modern classical sound. My wife just called it "halloween music again." Back on task: Does anyone know the source of the name Die Like a Dog? There seems to be a recurring theme with dogs and rats. Any ideas?

I am a fan of turntablism, whether its textural, whether its a scratch contest, or its someone like Kid Koala stringing together a trumpet solo, or an entire bassline, out of a crate. Hear "Drunk Trumpet" if you are curious. Click here. Go to Drunk Trumpet. I would think most turntablists would have more respect than this. Some things are sacred. Some things should not be manipulated. Charlie Parker recordings are on that list for me. Same goes for Monk. What are they trying to present here?