bertrand

I downloaded the George Russell when I got my ipod. They charged $10, which seems high to me, especially since you get no cover art or liners but, most of all... ...because it's defective! Here's the deal: in itunes, they put in a 2-second gap between tunes. When I import a CD, if the songs were meant to me connected (e.g., the suite from Charlie Haden's Ballad of the Fallen), or if one song flows into the next (e.g. 'Marbles' into 'Sirens' on John McLaughlin's Devotion), and you leave the gap in there, there will be an abrupt break in the ipod as you listen to the CD. The solution is simple: when I import, I choose the 'join CD tracks' option. The downside is the two songs are now connected as one, but the big plus is that they flow uninterrupted. I think this could be a problem for something like Zappa's Uncle Meat, which I suspect can only be cleanly imported as four really long tracks (one per album side), but I'll worry about that later. I'm happy with the way it turned out for the Haden and McLaughlin. For the Russell, however, I don't see a solution, because I think the six tracks were created with the abrupt halt between 'Chromatic Universe I' and 'Dimensions' (there is a second or two of 'Universe' at the beginning of 'Dimensions'). I burned it to a CD, and the break is still there. The only thing I can think of is to import the tracks from the CD I made, using the join while importing, then make a new CD. But I would have to risk wasting a second blank disk, plus I don't really want to risk over-writing the tracks I actually bought. Unless someone can suggest a solution to this problem, I don't really want to buy any more Verve downloads. I'm sorry I was too honest and spent $10 of my money, instead of just burning this OOP CD off a friend of mine. That'll teach me to get bullied into caving into the copyright police. Fuck Verve. Bertrand.

If they ever air a special on Wayne Shorter or Jackie McLean, would anyone be willing to tape it for me? I don't have cable. Thanks, Bertrand.

I have an LP facsimile Japanese CD of this. Jackie tears up 'Bein' Green', Kermit's theme song. Bertrand.

Mike, Webster Young told me that he is the composer of 'Jackie's Ghost', not Ray Draper. I'm pretty sure it was this piece he was referring to and not another, but of course he told me this in passing and I wasn't writing anything down at the time. Bertrand.

Late, I'm pretty sure that's Webster trying to calm Jackie down (the one who says 'you're making a mountain out of a molehill'). I recognize his voice since I knew him, albeit much later in life. Webster was always very soft-spoken. Jeffro, I listened to Rites of Passage again - it's even better than I remembered. 'Naima's Tone Poem' is one of those performances that make you feel good to be alive. You know the kind I mean. Bertrand.

Vincent, Good to hear from you - it's been a long time. When did Bill Massey die? Bertrand.

Forgot to check BMI. Thanks for looking. Another source for making a quick inventory of Massey compositions would be discographies, if putting composer credits were a standard procedure, which of course it is not. Thanks to your efforts, we are getting much closer. The most complete inventory that I know is still Vincent's. I'm pretty sure the downbeat obituary listed some other titles I was not familiar with. It also listed some Blue Note sessions which were unissued at the time, which I found very curious. The author must have had access to some discography, or even talked to someone at Blue Note. What else do we know about Bill Massey? I suspect he's even less recorded than Cal. Thanks, Bertrand.

A search of the Fantasy catalog shows that Bill Massey (Cal's brother) is on this record, so I suspect another AMG screw-up. Can anyone confirm this? How is this record? Looks intriguing. Thanks, Bertrand.

Ornette, Thanks for reminding me. I totally forgot about this feature. Of course, the AMG is not a super-reliable source, but I take it for what it's worth. Most of what I found on there I knew about, except for this very intriguing claim: No less than four tracks on Sonny Stitt's Kaleidoscope are allegedly by Massey: 'Blue Mambo', 'Cool Mambo', 'Sonny Sounds' and 'Stitt's It'. Can anyone confirm this claim? If so, this would make this the recording featuring more Massey originals than any others, except for his own album. Bertrand.

Duke Jordan is not the composer of 'I Should Care'. Sounds like another Blue Note typo... Bertrand.

It's fast. I do 3-4 a night. This baby will be full before I know it! Bertrand.

Based on past evidence, I believe this to be true. Bertrand.

P.S. My first post dangled a carrot - no questions yet? Bertrand.

In minutes, the box says 10,000 songs at 4/minutes/song. That's 40,000 minutes, so 800-1,000 CDs. It's also 28 days, i.e. almost a month of non-stop listening! Bertrand.

That's close to my estimate. I currently have about 90 CDs in there, and 3 gigs used up. That's 1/12th of the ipod (it seems you can't actually fill the entire 40 gigs). Multiplying 90 by twelve gives 1,080, but adjusting for CDs of various lengths (so far I mostly have 40-50 minute CDs in there), I hope to squeeze in around 900. I gotta leave some room for the stuff I wll buy on itunes! Bertrand.

Rites Of Passage is excellent as well. Also on Triloka. Bertrand.

I've been having a ball playing with my ipod that my wife got me for our anniversary. What a cool toy! I've been progressively loading it up (I have about 3 of 40 gigs full), and I've come up with some ideas for ipod projects, including the complete Jackie McLean (except Monuments), the complete Larry Young (except the Fuel stuff), and the complete Tina Brooks (I'm only missing a couple of Sonny Thompson tracks). I'm also trying to load at least one version of each of Cal Massey's known compositions, just because I think he's such a great composer, and I can't seem to get anyone interested in putting together an all-Massey concert here in D.C. I'm using my CDs, of course, plus a couple of things I bought from itunes (like 'Trinidad', from a Herbie Mann record I otherwise have no interest in). I'm trying to get a complete list of recordings of Massey tunes. As a starting point, I am using the list our friend Vincent compiled (haven't heard from him in a while - hope he's OK): http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hardbop/Massey/Massey.html Here are some others I know of: Charlie Parker: Fiesta (from South Of The Border) Archie Shepp: Pitchin' Can (from Black Gipsy) My Little Suede Shoes, if Lou Donaldson is to be believed Anyone have any other interpretations of Cal Massey tunes to suggest? Thanks, Bertrand.

What's the personnel on the Alan Shorter and the Black Gipsy (is that a Shepp session or a Clifford Thornton session?). I'm really only interested in the Cal Massey tune on Black Gipsy - I'm trying to put at least one version of each of his compositions on my ipod. Then I'll create a Cal Massey playlist. Eventually, I may start a thread in the offering/looking for section related to my ipod quests. Among other things, my goal is to have the only ipod on the planet containing the COMPLETE Jackie McLean discography. One caveat: I may leave out Monuments if I run out of room Bertrand.

Lucky dog! You got to see Butch Warren in his prime. Butch is one of the unsung heroes of the bass. It's a shame that his health problems have kept him off the scene for the last 40 years. We in DC are lucky to be the only ones to see him at all, although even that is sporadic. I was discussing the idea of putting together a tribute/benefit with some local players. I think I'll call right now and get the ball rolling. Bertrand.

Zut alors. Bertrand.

Is that Joe Maini? Bertrand.

For those of you in NYC this week, there will be a KD tribute on one night, and a Hank Mobley tribute on another night at the Jazz Standard. On both nights, it will be Don Sickler, Ronnie Mathews and Kenny Washington. On 12/7, Hank Mobley, with Eric Alexander and Christian McBride. On 12/8, KD, with Jimmy Heath and Ron Carter. You know that with Don Sickler involved, they will be digging deep into the repertoire, not just the obvious tunes. Bertrand.

Webster's one and only album as a leader is a beautiful work indeed. I had the pleasure of getting to know Webster quite a bit here in D.C. My life was enriched for knowing him. I was just thinking about him while listening to Long Drink of the Blues. The first take (with the argument) is really an eye-opener. It is Webster you can hear trying to calm Jackie down, who was obviously having a bad day. Bertrand.

What a windbag! All I know about Wynton Marsalis is this: I don't like his music because everything I've heard (except for a couple of sideman dates) sounds absolutely wretched to my ears. Not lackluster, not weak, but actually WRETCHED and UGLY. Very few jazz musicians have that effect on me (it's not like I'm picky or anything), so when I say it, I really mean it. And even if he weren't an asshole, I'd still feel that way about his music (although I'd probably feel a bit sorry for him). Bertrand.

I think T.S. Monk will eventually get around to it. Bertrand.