Ted O'Reilly

"There is no such thing as TIME. TIME does not exist. It is a measure for the changes that we see." Gernot Winkler, Director of U. S. Naval Observatory Time Service Department. (1988) On the other hand, "Time is Nature's way of not having everything happen at once." (Anon.)

You might be interested in Winston Churchill's "A History Of The English Speaking Peoples". Interesting, if a little spotty. One reviewer called it something like 'a history of the things that interest Churchill...'

I tried doing something very similar once on my show: something like 20 versions of 'Maple Leaf Rag', from a very early acoustic recording -- might have been someone like Vess L. Ossman on the banjo -- to the (then) most recent one. It was fairly boring, to be honest, and I didn't do it again.

Well, as noted, Earl May, Jennifer Leitham and someone else I can't quite recall are lefties on the contrabass. Lots more on electric bass. I've seen a left-handed fiddler (as in country/folk music) but again, can't remember the name. Getting old, I suppose.

Wait 'til I check my calendar. Oh, yes, April 1. But maybe not -- those Brits all drive left-handed cars already, so... Now, back to our topic of southpaw bassists. Earl May, Jennifer Leitham...

This topic was introduced here last October... The book garnered a rave review here: http://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/go-little-book-way-down-that-lonesome-road-lonnie-johnson-in-toronto-1965-1970-by-mark-miller/#comments

I think he's saying that Miles was famous before either one of those guys even got started. If so he's right. The inference being that Miles should have gotten a stamp long before Elvis or MJ did. Btw, that Jack Johnson cover is my favorite photo of the man. It just oozes cool. Not to make a big deal, but Elvis was famous in 1956. In 1956, Miles was much less of a star. He was playing clubs and was known in the jazz world, but not to music audiences in general. I guess it's just Famous Names in Music. But he could have used Al Jolson, Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Lauritz Melchior, Helen Morgan, The Mills Brothers... There were LOTS of Famous Names in Music before Michael and Elvis. I suppose it tells more about Mr. Barham than about Miles.

(From that link:) "This is a fitting honor," said Lee Barham, chairman of the steering committee for the Miles Davis Jazz Celebration. "Miles Davis was one of the greatest jazz musicians and trumpet players in the world. Before Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, there was Miles Davis." I'm not quite getting the references. Does Barham think Michael and Elvis were jazz trumpeters? Or is he just throwing out Famous Names?

Fischer did a record for Columbia, "Songs For Rainy Day Lovers" that had just about the best use of a string section in jazz that I've ever heard. Truly rich writing for them, not just background pads.

I agree: Petite Fleur is a fine record. I have the LP of it, autographed to my by Edmond... I knew brother Herb Hall better than Ed -- Herb recorded in Toronto a couple of times, for Sackville. I thought there was a familial similarity in their sound, but Herb disagreed, saying they didn't sound at all alike. Hmmmmmm

AAAH, Human Resources! I never minded being Personnel, but I hated being a Resource, like They could mine me when They needed me, but just let me sit there waiting to serve Them.

I think it's Housing----Authority. Not sure what the 'R' means. It's where you go to apply for benefits. Okay. I find it strange that an Authority that's there to help people would require police frisking, but maybe they have experience with disgruntled clients. Still, it seems a LOT over the top in the first placce, and then that you received such treatment...

Joel, can you tell a North-Of-The-Border person what "HRA" is? I don't know your organizations well enough to identify it.

Sounds fantastic. Is this commercially available somewhere? Hall is by far my favourite clarinet player. No it was never released before. Never released at all, according to the definitive book on Hall, "Profoundly Blue" by Manfred Selchow. It's documented (with a different running order) on page 470, with the notation 'tape only'. It seems that you have a real gem, Hardbopjazz... Ed Hall's my favourite clarinetist...nobody was HOTTER.

It's Chuck Israels BTW. A singular player but a 'plural' name...

Yes, Isn't She Lovely (3:22) is the last track in the whole package, track 6 of CD 7 "Bonus Tracks". Dexter Gordon, tenor saxophone Mike Mainieri, vibes Leon Pendarvis, piano Steve Kahn, Cornell Dupree, guitars Bob Babbit, elctric bass Chris Parker, drums Errol Crusher Bennett, percussion String Section Arranged by Leon Pendarvis Produced by Michael Cuscuna Recorded at Columbia Studios, NYC and San Francisco in December of 1976 Originally issued in 1977 as Columbia single 3-10565 By the way, it can be confusing referring to this as a 7-CD package as there are only 6 sleeves. Homecoming (Live at The Villlage Vanguard) is 2 CDs in a single fold-out. And the bonus tracks are in a sleeve that has that great Euro-ballroom picture of Dexter that was used on the LP of Great Encounters, and it says that. But it's all bonus tracks, and there are bonuses elswhere in the box, too.

This is NOT the reason she is still in Florida!!! In a divorce situation, one parent CANNOT arbitrarily move the children away from the other parent. If Tiger had a lawyer worth his/her salt (and you know he did), this type of stipulation was written into his settlement agreement, especially since his ex is a native of another country. A good rule, I'd say. In the case of Canada, my newest grandson (adorable pictures available on request) has had his own passport since he was three weeks old, and cannot travel ourside the country with only one parent unless said parent has the notarized permission of the other. Not a problem in this particular case, as the parents are happily married, but the risk of 'kidnapping' is lessened. Said grandchild, BTW, at nine months old has already been to Ireland, India, Nepal and currently Turks and Caicos Islands. But never Scarborough. (Sorry: inside joke for Torontonians).

I agree with Peter here... But note that it should read "Montreux 1971", and Rex appears on only the Baden 1966 session. The '71 is just the Chaix group.

my box set came with a separate disc entitled "Great Encounters," which included 6 bonus tracks and that great picture of Dexter in that very fancy, European-looking ballroom. Me too... It's a fine set at a great price.

See if you can find some of Sonny Greenwich's '60s recordings...

My very good friend, and fine jazz pianist Ian Bargh died on Monday, of lung cancer. He had a short hospital stay following Christmas, and had been performing as recently as mid-November. He was just short of his 76th birthday. Ian, who had a charmingly cranky personality, often "complained" that he had to share his birthdate with Elvis Presley... Here's some background from an online bio: IAN MARTIN BARGH (pianist) was born on January 8, 1935 in Prestwick, Scotland. By the age of 17, he was playing classical piano and working with jazz groups and dance bands all over the Midlands, England and Scotland until 1957. It was then he emigrated to Toronto where he has been a vital part of the jazz genre ever since. He quickly became a familiar figure on stage and playing in jazz clubs all over the city, frequently at the famous George’s Spaghetti House. He began backing jazz greats who visited Toronto throughout the ’60s and ‘70s: Buddy Tate, Buck Clayton, Bobby Hackett, Vic Dickenson, Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vincent, Ernestine Anderson, Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison, Edmund Hall, Doc Cheatam, Tyree Glenn, and others. In the early ‘80s, Bargh began an eight-year run as the resident pianist for Jim Galloway’s Saturday afternoon “Toronto Alive!” sessions at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre, a gig which was broadcast live on radio, and showcased a non-stop parade of jazz greats who were usually appearing at jazz clubs in town that week. The list was long, including Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Lee Konitz, Peter Appleyard, Frank Wright, Scott Hamilton, Rob McConnell, Guido Basso, Ed Bickert, Dizzy Reese, and Warren Vache. The 1980s also saw Ian Bargh appearing in jazz festivals across Canada and around the world – Ottawa, Victoria, Toronto, Bern (Switzerland), Budapest (Hungary), and Edinburgh (Scotland) – and in concert appearances with Jazz Canada, an all-star group led by Jim Galloway, and featuring some of Canada’s leading jazz artists. It was late that decade, too, when he began a 15-year stint with the annual Toronto Downtown Jazz festival leading the rhythm section appearing in the Festival’s ‘host’ hotel supporting outstanding guest artists including Plas Johnson, Spanky Davis, Harold Ashby, both Allan and Warren Vache, Fraser McPherson, Joe Temperley, Randy Sanke, Jake Hanna, and George Masso.

"Remember: Nature's spelled backwards is -- Serutan!" Appropriately, they sponsored Lawrence Welk...

Stanley: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

(I love grammar jokes).

After paying for the violin (likely taking out a loan for it, or her parents mortgaging their house), a bus is all she can afford, I'd say...