bertrand

A little birdie told me that copy protection on U.S Blue Notes is still a ways off, but seems to be coming down the pike eventually. They are working out the kinks (!). So I think the Monk/Trane is safe. I don't know if I'm going to get this yet - I have so many Monk CDs Bertrand.

I have almost the entire Tina Brooks discography on my iPod, except for a couple of tracks with Sonny Thompson and the Ray Charles stuff. 80 tunes in all - not nearly enough. Live shows would be indeed be a find, but there must not be any since he hardly ever gigged at all. The most likely would be the gig at Yale with Herbie Nichols and Roswell Rudd mentioned in the Nichols Mosaic booklet. I did call Yale a few years ago to see if there was anything, but no luck. This being said, I didn't pursue it very far. What a find that would be. Bertrand.

Yotam told me he is not from Jerusalem - the Monk bio was wrong. He is from a city near Tel Aviv. Bertrand.

One of the semi-finalists at this year's Monk guitar competition, Yotam (have to look up the last name later) is from Israel. I really liked his playing - real nice guy too. Bertrand.

That's one big collective arse! Bertrand.

(Before I start, I want to stress that there is no right or wrong answer to the questions raised - there is no single 'correct' way to play a Wayne Shorter composition). During the rehearsals for this year's Thelonious Monk guitar competition, one of the semi-finalists (Scott DuBois) chose 'Pinocchio' for his preliminary program. During the run-through, Terri Lyne Carrington said she was a bit thrown off because his lead sheet showed an 18-bar head, but she was used to 20 from playing it with Wayne (not on record, alas). She said that with Wayne they played the 'fusion' version. So they rehearsed the 20-bar, but later Scott said he was more comfortable going back to 18-bars, which is what they did during his set (he did not make the finals, but I don't think that had anything to do with it). Terri Lyne asked Wayne later, and he said 18-bars is the 'kiddie version' However, Bob James (the pianist on the date) came much closer to what could pass for an answer. He downloaded both the Miles 'Pinocchio' and the Weather Report version into iTunes and put it on his iPod (insert hosannas for Apple here). Bob thinks that the Miles version actually fluctuates between and 18 and 20-bar structure, depending on who is soloing and which statement of the head they were on (recall that they re-state the head after EVERY solo in this version as if it were the chorus in a pop song, for a refreshing change). As we all know, this band was never chained to rigid structures. Bob said the Weather Report version was even less clear, but I can't remember how many bars he though there were. I thought this discussion was so fascinating I brought it up to several musicians there, mainly during the many receptions. Several people mentioned 'Masqualero' as another open-ended form. As an interesting coda, the ultimate winner, Lage Lund also chose 'Pinocchio' for his final program (and made this choice long before he knew that Scott has also used it). He had assumed 18-bars as well; I don't know if there was a debate during the rehearsals since I wasn't there. So, the question up for debate: do you agree with Bob James that the form goes back and forth from 18 to 20 bars? And what about the other two version of 'Pinocchio' that Bob did not listen to: the completely different alternate from Miles, and the 1992 Tribute to Miles version? Discuss. I'll check the copyright deposit next time I'm at the Library of Congress. Bertrand. P.S. Each contestant prepares a preliminary program of three tunes (at least one Monk song and one ballad, which can be the same) for the semi-finals (15 minute total) and two or three tunes (no restriction) for the finals (10 minutes).

Was that 'America' as in 'America, tssk tssk' or 'Only in America' or 'God Bless America'? So I got to talk to Wayne last night for a few minutes at the Monk competition. I gave him the Grachan CD, and he spoke to me and some woman about how Monk and Miles and Coltrane and others saw the 'mission' in the music, but some others do not (I'm loosely paraphrasing, it was hard to hear). Wayne cracked us all up - he had to introduce one of the finalists, and he made a point of making it obvious that he was reading from the teleprompter ('Good evening - it's great to be back at the Kennedy Center' etc.). We were in stitches. He only played on one cut, 'Footprints', with Pat Martino, Bill Frisell, Herbie, James Genus and Terri Lyne Carrington. (James and Terri Lyne were the rhythm section for the evening, and Bob James handled most of the piano duties). It was a very loose version, but with no real solos, kind of like the Super Nova stuff, all very unresolved. He used the soprano at the event, but rehearsed on tenor. The rehearsal version (which was completely improptu) came off somewhat better, which proves once again that Miles was right. The winner of the competiton was Norwegian Lage Lund, who did do a great set at the finals. The other competitors were also excellent. They were all very young though, so I wouldn't quite claim that any of them has found his true sound yet. From a musical point of view, a very good year for the Monk competition. For once, I got to attend the rehearsals, and it was eye-opening. More on the musicians forum. Bertrand.

No copy protection, I assume? This one is LONG overdue. Bertrand.

All Wayne upcoming gigs can be found at www.imnworld.com, click on tour dates. He's doing another free thing in D.C. on 10/1 on the Mall. He's in D.C. tonight for the Monk competition; he's playing with Bill Frisell and possibly George Benson at the Kennedy Center tomorrow. I'm volunteering at the rehearsals tomorrow, so I should see how that's going to go down. I have a copy of Grachan's new CD for him that Mark Masters gave me. Bertrand.

Bought the Lincoln tonight with a Borders coupon. The Roach seems elusive, however. This is the only Candid CD which I always have trouble finding. By the way, a minor comment for the Abbey Lincoln discography: 'Freedom Day' is the same composition as 'Liberte' from Parisian Sketches. Bertrand.

As I was putting together my Booker Little playlist on my iPod, I realized that I own most of his sessions! One I'm missing is Abbey Lincoln's Straight Ahead on Candid. Is this mostly a feature for Abbey, or does Booker get prominent solo space (as well as the other musicians)? Also, is We Insist! slated for CD reissue anytime soon? I only have a Columbia vinyl. Thanks, Bertrand.

A quick question: are the Eric Dolphy compositions 'Far Cry' and 'Out There' the same? I don't have the latter album, which is why I can't check myself. A Booker Little discography I found on the web seemed to imply this. Thanks, Bertrand.

John confirmed my suspicion that it was a problem with the specific date. Certainly doesn't deter from buying the box, but this way you know what to expect. Get this box. Verve will never put all this stuff out separately, only one or two dates. Bertrand.

I was just listening to the crappy cassette the other day. Fortunately, I also have the Collector's Choice CD, but I only have a tape deck in the bedroom. Love it, as I do all Mobley Blue Notes. Probably not in my top five, though. Bertrand.

Yes and Yes.

As long as the Jazz world keeps producing musicians like Booker Little, I will keep thinking there is still hope for our civilization. Bertrand.

Did anyone notice any sonic problems on the Quiet As It's Kept session? The balance seems wrong - I can barely hear Stan The Man. I almost thought my CD was defective, but things sound great as soon as Parisisan Sketches kicks in. Some of the material is simply breathtaking - for example, Booker Little's arrangement of 'There's No You'. Bertrand.

I noticed on iTunes that the CD called Timeless by Mingus (which is actually a reissue of the Savoy album Jazz Composers' Workshop) has a bonus track 'O.P' which I can't find in discographies, at least under the Savoy dates. The sound clip sounds like a big band thing, much larger ensemble than either Savoy session. Where is this track from? Does it belong there? Thanks, Bertrand.

Two of the 6 LPs in this set have yet to be issued domestically as single CDs: It's Time and High Frequency. It's Time has been available on CD in Japan; High Frequency nowhere. Bertrand.

I'm pretty sure the two Mike mentions are the only ones so far. The Fred Jackson track could have fit on the reissue of Hootin' And Tootin', but it didn't happen. Bertrand.

Also, I'm pretty sure that 'Tears' from Sing Me Softly Of The Blues and 'Tears Come From Heaven' from Basra are the same composition. Did he really record nothing between 1967 and 1997? I know he was driving a cab and working as a lawyer, but I didn't realize he had completely quit Jazz. Bertrand.

He also was responsible for the pathetic 'Blue Note hits a new note' campaign in the 70s which resulted in the release of some unbelievably crummy records. 'Blue Note hits a low note' would have been a better slogan. Didn't he also produce some of the weakest mid-80s Miles albums? We should make a laundry list of all of the ills the good doctor has inflicted upon the Jazz world. What misguided institute of higher learning awarded him a doctorate, anyway? Bertrand.

A couple of quick comments for the discography after a rapid perusal: The Jackie McLean composition 'Minor Apprehension' from New Soil (5/2/59) is the same tune as 'Minor March'. Also, 'Formidable' originally appeared on the Vertigo LP in the LT-series to flesh out the Vertigo session which was a bit short. Bertrand.

Happy Birthday! Bertrand.

The first Old And New Dreams on Black Saint is fabulous; the last one called Tribute To Blackwell is 'only' very, very good. Bertrand.