Ted O'Reilly

Did you miss "Paul Desmond Quartet -- Live" at Bourbon St. in Toronto, Peter? Great stuff, with Ed Bickert, Don Thompson and Jerry Fuller. (Verve/A&M 314 543 501-2)

A fine talent... RIP, Dick.

I sat and had a beer with him between sets at the Colonial Tavern in Toronto, in early November 1966. The quartet was there for two weeks and I caught them several times. They actually opened on Hallowe'en -- the flight from NYC was delayed, and the band didn't arrive until about 10:30 pm. Monk went directly to the piano (didn't even remove his topcoat) and played solo piano for about twenty minutes while the band set up. They then played non-stop to 1 am. On my second trip, I actually had the nerve to go and introduce myself and ask him to do an interview with me for my radio show, but he just sorta said "no". He said yes to a drink, though, and we sat, pleasantly. saying almost nothing for about 20 minutes, then he went back to the bandstand. I'm not sure, but I think he nodded at me when I went in again a couple of days later. And Allen's right, he was tall.

Umm, did you buy it, read it, then return it because you didn't like it? You have a very understanding bookstore -- I hope they can re-sell it as a demonstrator, as a car dealer might. And here's a thought: ask your local library, or music faculty or such to buy the Ladnier book, then borrow from them.

Just to give y'all a heads-up, Amazon (in Canada, anyway) is taking orders for the new biography of Herbie Nichols by Mark Miller. It's one I've been waiting for... Herbie Nichols: A Jazzists Life Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: The Mercury Press (Nov 15 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 1551281465 ISBN-13: 978-1551281469 I've found Miller's previous books to be great sources of original research, presented in a calm and scholarly way, without being pedantic. Most recently he has covered the internationaization of jazz in "Some Hustling This! Taking Jazz to the World, 1914-1929"; and his look into the myth and life of Valaida Snow, "High Hat, Trumpet and Rhythm" cleared up more than a few stories about that interesting artist. This is going to be a good one, I think...

The tracks are MP3s, are they not? As such, the disc isn't really intended to be played on a CD player at all, is it? It's just that some CD players do have the decoding device added, I think. I have a cheap portable CD player that will play MP3s, and an expensive component one that won't. Given the age of the Ladnier recordings, they should be well-enough served by MP3 qualilty. (I still sit and wait delivery...)

Is a piccolo bass a cello, but tuned like a bass? Sorta the opposite of Red Mitchell, who used a bass tuned like a cello, in fifths?

I've ordered it, and anticipate its arrival. The excerpts at http://www.jazzedit.org/excerpts.html show that it's a beautifully designed book to go along with the meticulous research. It's almost LP-sized, with 216 pages, so there'll have to be some shelf rearranging done...

Hmmm....inadequate medical care? Reminds me of Johnny Hodges' death in a dentist's chair. Stacey was a very fine singer as well as flugelhorn/trumpeter. And a lovely person....

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd be a little worried about the original tape masters that they keep pulling off the shelves to do yet again another digital re-master. It's The Source and in my experience every pass over the tape heads wears it down. Jeez, let the tech guys do it right once a decade with the newest technology, not have the Marketing People decide when it can resell with a New! Improved! 50% More Wonderful! sticker on the box, like shampoo or toothpaste...

A reasonable good "thrush", who was, indeed, married to Harry James, later to Peanuts Hucko. Sang with Benny Goodman's band, too. (Musta had good vibes toward clarinetists). http://www.answers.com/topic/mary-louise-tobin (edit to add the link)

Any/all of the above, as noted by Peter Friedman, plus Ray Bryant and Ralph Sutton -- there's something so "pianistic" about their piano playing.

Did he specify a Bösendorfer piano?

Amazon.ca has it even cheaper! $18.99 Canadian (plus taxes, shipping & handling, it totals CDN$27.50) Canadian dollar is about 92 cents US these days, or .63 euros. http://www.amazon.ca/Billie-Holliday-Holid...450&sr=1-29 I found it even cheaper: CDN$18.78 delivered! It's a Membran bootleg of the Columbia, of course...

Yeah, but "African Echoe"? Had they already met Dan Quayle?

The two I have not found is "I'll Remember April" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" from something called Various Artists - Jazz Club U.S.A. In Europe (No Label No Number) recorded in Europe January-February 1954. Vic ...and you have everything else? Congratulations!

Vic, I'm curious -- what are you missing? (And I'm assuming you mean commercially-issued recordings, because you never know what will turn up on someone's tape...)

None of the above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crcq3G18JLc Sorry. Doesn't connect with me. I still say it's spinach.

Okay, thanks. I never paid any attention to the Beach Boys, so I don't know them individually. Certainly not on a first name basis. Well, that's a pity. Brian was brilliant in his heyday. A terrific writer, arranger, and producer, and if the stories of his early life are to be believed, a bit of a musical prodigy. If you've never listened to "Pet Sounds," check it out. "Sgt. Pepper" was recorded as a direct reaction to it (of course, hearing "Sgt. Pepper" is what sent Brian off the rails and killed "Smile"). Well, in the mid-'60s I was already on the air doing a 6-day-a-week jazz show, so my listening time was pretty much devoted to Pres and Duke and Trane and Shepp and Bickert and Miles and Waller, and always Armstrong, and... The little I heard of the Beach Boys was pretty much callow songs dedicated to cars and surf and blondes. And harmonically they sounded like junior versions of the Four Freshmen, so that wasn't new to my ears. Nowadays, I'm too much of an old dog to learn old tricks...

Okay, thanks. I never paid any attention to the Beach Boys, so I don't know them individually. Certainly not on a first name basis.

It depends on whether you wish to buy from the Spaniards, but it's easily available (along with "Herb Ellis meets Jimmy Giuffre") on Lonehill Jazz LHJ10368.

Sorry, but if this is a reference to my post above yours, I'm confused (as usual). Forgive my ignorance, but Brian who?

I think MY pupils were strained watching the 1989 Dee Dee...

Kind of supring story because in terms of showmanship and being at ease adressing the public she probably is the best i've ever seen. Well, everyone's gotta learn, and Dee Dee learned between 1987 and 1989, as I said.

Stan Getz (and Charlie Byrd) became household names with Jazz Samba, which was a few years later. I think that would trump Concert by the Sea, don't you? Maybe, but I think the success of bossa nova also became a cage for them. Is that what Larry calls "exactly what (they) would have done anyway"? I know Charlie Byrd used to refer to "Girl From Ipanema" as "Girl From Iwo Jima"... And the only legit CD version of Concert By The Sea actuallly sounds worse than my LP version. How would it have sold in improved sound, and extra tracks added for new audiences? Maybe not Kind Of Blue numbers, but very well. (BTW, the next gig the trio did after Monterey was at the Colonial Tavern here in Toronto).