bertrand

Dewey Redman is somewhat related to Don Redman (I forget how, but it's definitely the same family). They are most definitely not father and son Bertrand.

OK - read through the whole thread to make sure I am not repeating myself too much One thing that was mentioned was Andrew Hill suggesting to go see Wayne (at Slugs' with McCoy). All right, there's something I'd like to know more about. Hill and Shorter are two of the greatest living jazz composers. They overlapped on the same label in the sixties, with many of the same sidemen (Joe Chambers, Lee Morgan, Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard). Yet this is the first time I have ever read anything that alludes that Hill was aware of and interested in Shorter's music (beyond the obvious - of course, Andrew knows who Wayne is). I always wondered if they each existed in their own universe, but of course the NYC jazz community is tightly knight and always has been, so at some point in time they must have been in touch to some degree. But I want to know more - are they good friends, did they ever jam or practice together, have they ever discussed music or composition together? Both are highly elliptical people (but Wayne is NOT borderline mentally ill, for Christ's sake) who think 'outside the box' (to use a lame business cliche) - I wonder what their conversations would be like. I talked to Andrew briefly after a concert in Baltimore yesterday, but somehow asking him 'so, tell me about you and Wayne' seemed inappropriate. Wayne's name did come up in another conversation with Andrew a year or so ago, but it not meet with any particular reaction - I can't remember why I mentioned him at all. Bertrand.

I'll throw in a couple of points to this discussion which might help clear up my point of view a little bit. I also want to make clear that I have not read the book cover to cover yet, so I do not have an overall picture of the thing. My wariness as to the quality of this work stems from a) my own quick run through the book, and b) the errors, omissions and general shallowness described by Mike. There are many researchers I have met that have spent years on their biographies (Tadd Dameron and Bud Powell spring immediately to mind). As Mike said, they are exploring every nook and cranny, and not slopping things together in two years. It is entirely possible that a future serious biographer of Wayne's might slip in some errors, but these will exist DESPITE the author's best efforts to check all the facts and errors perpetuated over the years, and they will most likely be incredibly subtle. Something as gross as identifying Jymie Merritt as a pianist (obviously based on the accompanying photo, which has him sitting at the piano), or getting the caption wrong on the photo lifted from the Jazz At The Opera House LP, which has the correct caption, could have been easily corrected by the editor, or anyone reviewing the manuscript. The thing about Merritt can be solved without any research whatsoever - just read the personnel on the CD case! Also, as Mike stated in an earlier post, Mercer did not avail herself of a lot of information which was offered to her. She contacted many researchers, then did not follow up with any of them. Is there any reference to a 2003 PhD dissertation on Shorter's music at the University of Maryland? Since this is really the 'first book' on Shorter written (although it is not for the layman, since it is mostly music theory), I would hope it would be at least briefly touched upon. I have made some criticisms of this book so far in this thread. But if you read again, they are based on my disappointment at the shallowness of the book as described by Mike (and the gross errors). His Blue Note output needs some serious analysis - these are the records that many critics state as his most lasting work (a point that would need some serious discussion in any forum - I stayed away from the silly 'Atlantis is a stinker' thread from a few weeks ago). I have not had time to read the book in detail yet (just thumbed through it a bit), so I may very well find some positive things things to say. There are obviously some facts about Shorter's life I was not aware of (or did not have all the details), and I want to learn more. But the point is this: anything I do learn from this book, I will take with a huge grain of salt, based on the inaccuracies that Mike found quickly. If there is an event or a key date in the chronology that I was not aware of, can I be sure it is accurate without further research on my part? No, and that's what bothers me to no end. I should be able to trust the author enough. If not, than I will have to wait for someone else to write a proper book, and this one will just sit on my shelf gathering dust. Bertrand.

It's a case of another error perpetuating itself uncorrected over the years. I asked Michael Cuscuna about it a few years ago, and it is definitely NOT a Blue Note session. He suggested that it might have been recorded for Clifford Jordan's label, and to ask Clifford's widow, Sandy, about it. I did meet her years later, and I asked her about it, but she did not know anything about it (or she didn't get back to me, I forget which it was). I started investigating this, then dropped it without really reaching a resolution. I also got mixed up when speaking with Cuscuna - I thought the label in question was Strata East, but I remembered later that that was Tolliver and Cowell's label. I'm not sure which label Cuscuna was referring to, but he definitely mentioned Sandy Jordan. I asked Tolliver about it, and he adamantly denied that Strata East would have ever recorded Redman - he even seemed taken aback by the suggestion (I guess he mentally lumps Redman in with the 'avant-garde', which is a gross over-simplification in my view). This needs to be resolved once and for all. Perhaps I will ask Cuscuna again. There were also some supplementary tracks from the BlackStar session, but Cuscuna said he thought these were trio tracks (without Redman). One thing that definitely points to the existence of this session is that there are TWO copyright deposits for 'Look For The Black Star', 'PS", and 'Innerconnection', something that puzzled me at first until I found about about this mystery session(don't have the copyright dates handy - I haven't entered them in the database yet). Curiously, I found nothing for 'Apple-itis' under Redman's name (I never did check for other possible composers). Perhaps this is a group improvisation. Bertrand.

Daedalus books still has several copies of the Braith 2-fer. Bertrand.

I had the same problem when I bought it when it came out. I called Tom at Blue Note, who sent me a replacement CD (with a promo sticker). Don't know if this will work now... Amazing that defective copies are still floating around... Bertrand.

On his show Wednesday, Dave Letterman brought out some tiny thing he called the 'iPod micro'. It fits between your thumb and forefinger, and holds 1 song. Bertrand.

The family has set up a website at www.spencerdryden.com. There is a guest book with tributes from fans, and even some former colleagues (including Kaukonen). The entry from his ex-wife is very moving. Spencer's interviews in the recent Airplane DVD are the best of all the former bandmates. He seemed to be a really interesting guy. Bertrand.

Here's the lisitng from Fantasy site for the new reissue (Joe Henderson Quintet At The Lighthouse): Caribbean Fire Dance, Recorda-Me, A Shade of Jade, Isotope, ’Round Midnight, Mode for Joe, Invitation; If You’re Not Part of the Solution, You’re Part of the Problem; Blue Bossa, Closing Theme Based on your message, I think this CD contains the complete contents of this date except for 'Gazelle'. Thanks, Bertrand.

For those of you with the Joe Henderson Milestone box: Apart from 'Gazelle' (which is on In Pursuit Of Blackness), are there any tracks in the Milestone box from the Lighthouse gig which were not included in the new Joe Henderson Lighthouse reissue? In other words, if you add 'Gazelle' to the new CD, will you have the complete Lighhouse set? If there are any missing tracks, what is their timing? Thanks, Bertrand.

Matthew's current favorite tune is 'Hootnan' from Jackie's Action. He does a great imitation of Jackie when he hits the higher registers. Bertrand.

Maybe he could record an album of Cal Massey compositions. Bertrand.

Same day Roy Haynes is doing a Bird tribute at the Kennedy Center. Bertrand.

1. I've browsed the collection briefly, but have never been able to spend a significant amount of time on it (by the time it was catalogued, fatherhood took over most of my spare time). 2. The finding aid put together by librarian Lloyd Pinchbak (with help from Andrew Homzy) is excellent. Proof: a researcher came by once to look up a specific issue concerning Pepper Adams and Mingus. We had our answer in less than half an hour (including the time spent waiting for the folder). 3. As far as I know, only one researcher has published anything based on his findings in the Mingus collection: Gene Santoro. I've already said in other threads how crummy I think this book is. I would be happy to take anyone to view the jazz collections at LC if they are in town. In addition to Mingus, there is the jazz copyright collection which I started putting together in 1993. Bertrand.

She's right next to me right now as I'm reading this - when she asked for the CD, the clerk told her how impressed he was with her knowledge of jazz! It runs in the family - I have the only four-year who knows who Ahmed Abdul-Malik is, although he only identified him as a bassist (the oud will be for the next lesson). Bertrand.

I know there are some artists still very much active today who recorded in the 1940s (Roy Haynes springs immediately to mind). I'm sure there are some who even recorded in the 1930s, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. Thanks, Bertrand.

I have the day off on Monday 2/21; I may try to make the Sunday gig. Is the Institute of Jazz Studies open on President's day? Thanks for the heads up! Bertrand.

I wish there was video of the 1961 Newport Festival. Bertrand.

My mother was able to find a copy of the Alan Shorter album at the Virgin store on the Champs Elysees - it was even on sale! The sound is pretty raw on this. Gary Windo goes apeshit (as advertised by Brandon elsewhere), but I was disappointed in how little Shorter himself plays on this. The first track takes up the bulk of the CD, and he only solos for about 4 minutes. I'm glad I have it, but Orgasm is a far better record. Bertrand.

Just to make your life more difficult, the ones that are not bolded are also essential. Bertrand.

What does Dewey have to say? Bertrand.

I wasn't there, but I'm pretty sure that Lee was not shot 'onstage', but during a break. The late Leslie Gourse covers the shooting in her Blakey book, in a rather interesting interview with the reclusive Jymie Merritt. Next time I come across a copy, I'll read the passage again. I'm not sure what is meant by an unofficial after-hours hang-out. The Slugs flyer for February 1972 shows that Keith Jarrett played there the week before Lee's week-long engagement (which was supposed to end on 2/20/72), so the place was formally operating as a jazz club. According to the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz p. 902 (I believe it's the second edition), 'The club closed shortly after Lee Morgan was murdered there in 1972'. Haven't picked up my copy yet, but I'm curious about two things: 1. Was Grachan Moncur III interviewed? 2. Is Jackie McLean mentioned at all? A thing that has nagged me for years is why, despite the fact that Wayne and Jackie hung with the same crowd and used many of the same sidemen (or were sidemen for the same artists), Alfred Lion never thought to put them together. Bertrand.

In response to Mike's question from a few posts back: The passage about Lee and Wayne's Japanese-American wives sure is confusing - as Mike pointed out, Mercer seems to imply that Wayne's decision to marry Irene (Teruka) was after the Japanese tour. However, I know more about this: Lee's late brother Jimmy, who I was friends with in the early nineties until his passing in November 1999, told me that the story going around was that Lee and Wayne had met their wives in Japan and that they were Japanese. Jimmy said that this was incorrect; both were Japanese-American and Lee and Wayne had met them in the states. So, as Mike surmises, this meeting must have taken place *before* the Japanese tour. This error may come from an essay called 'The Sidewinder' in one of Al Fraser's books. He says something like: 'Lee and Wayne went to Japan with Art Blakey and fell in love with two Japanese women'. I also have spoken to Kiko Morgan (Lee's wife) a few times, although it has been several years. I'm pretty sure she told me that she introduced Wayne and Irene (who was a friend of hers). Herbie Hancock also told me two years ago that he knew Kiko in Chicago, way before Lee did. So what we don't really know is how Lee met Kiko, although perhaps it was in Chicago around the recording of Expoobident (10/13/60). I wonder if Jeff McMillan covers this in his Rutgers thesis; he interviewed Jimmy Morgan extensively. Bertrand.

For what it's worth, the often incorrect jazzdisco.org site does not mention Pastorius playing on 'Footprints'. I don't have this record, so I can't confirm this. I was going to be near a Borders' today and I was thinking about picking this up, but now I just don't know. My worst suspicions have been confirmed. How on earth can you write a bio on Wayne and give such short shrift to the Blue Note albums; that's utterly absurd. No discography or even a list of albums? No list of compositions, even though she had one I sent her she could have just pasted in? Even Leslie Gourse had one in her Monk book, for Christ's sake. When I spoke to her on the phone, I VOLUNTEERED (note the word) to do the discography - she told me it was already taken care of. Did the publisher take it out for lack of space? Mike is right in lamenting the absence of any mention of Freddie Hubbard's 1963 date The Body and the Soul. This record was very important to Wayne since it was his first stab at writing for large ensembles (he claims in a 2002 interview for Jazzman that Golden Boy preceded it, but I don't think that's right). And here's another take on this Hubbard album: one of the musicians told me that, in his opinion, Wayne had no idea what he was doing at this session. I would have sure liked to hear him elaborate on this viewpoint. As for the mistakes, of course it's a big problem. Why? Because journalists and half-baked scholars for years to come are now going to repeat these errors as if they were gospel, because they will be quoting this book (which they will probably call the 'definitive' Wayne Shorter bio). It's just like the errors in the Lord; Mercer's mistakes will be repeated as fact because no one will go back and check. I wonder if this book will turn out to be as bad as Santoro's Mingus book, which is currently my benchmark for 'bad jazz book' (with the Miles autobiography close behind). Bertrand.

Mike, I had mentioned your chronology to her and suggested she contact you - I'm sure she never did. She may have already known about it, I can't recall the conversation right now. Does this book have a composition inventory in it? How much time is spent discussing Alan Shorter? I am finding out more and more about just how much he was an influence on his younger brother. Based on the Golson and Merritt errors alone, I am starting to get very nervous about this thing. Wayne supposedly was deeply involved - wouldn't he have caught these things? Bertrand.