bertrand

I was being facetious about McCoy not remembering the Wayne session. I didn't expect him to, but I did want to ask since I had a unique opportunity to be face to face with him. Rooster, apparently Herbie does not even remember his compositions form back then. Bertrand.

Any reviews? How about the Miles Isle Of Wight? The Mingus is on sale at Tower for $10 and I have a $5 coupon for the Miles. Thanks, Bertrand.

Could the 'something strange' in her throat possibly be a blood clot? Just a thought to pursue. I really wish I could be more helpful. Bertrand.

How much does he remember? I asked him about the rejected October 1970 Wayne Shorter Blue Note date just a couple of weeks ago, and he has no memory of it He said something about 30+ years being a long time. Bertrand.

For anyone who has the Hancock CBS box My problem is simple. I want to buy any track from this box on itunes that meets all of the following criteria: 1. Wayne Shorter is on the tune 2. I cannot get it elsewhere (i.e., it is not on any of the VSOP CDs currently available in the states or France) Looking at the itunes listing, I've narrowed it down to: 1. Introduction to Maiden Voyage 2. Maiden Voyage 3. Diana 4. Finger Painting 5. Eye Of The Hurricane 6. Red Clay 1 and 2 must be from the 1976 VSOP record (from Newport), so I don't have that. 3 must be from Tempest In The Colosseum, so I have it. 4 might be from V.S.O.P Five Stars, so I don't have that. I suspect I have 5 on the new Live Under The Sky, and I think someone told me 6 is not available anywhere else. Of course, the booklet probably gives all the answers. Anything I'm missing with Wayne? Thanks a zillion, Bertrand.

Jim, We are all thinking about you in this difficult time. I am absolutely no medical expert, but it seems to me that you cannot wait until Wednesday. One thought I had is that it could be an aneurysm. Perhaps that would explain why they wrote something about an abnormality in the brain. I would try to see a doctor today, either the emergency room or possibly a week-end physicians' office center (there are such centers in DC). I can't believe the MSU didn't call you back. Good luck, Bertrand.

Wasn't Bruce near death not that long ago? Bertrand.

What do they say the source for 'Excursion' is? Thanks, Bertrand.

Quick question - gotta run. Is there any one centralized Count Basie archive somewhere out there? I'm looking for scores and arrangements rather than memorabilia. The Library of Congress does not have one. Thanks, Bertrand.

Off the top of my head, 'Excursion' is the only song title that is not familiar to me. Anybody know where this comes from? Thanks, Bertrand.

I highly recommend Schnitter, especially if Roker is with him. I saw him in DC last week-end and it was excellent, especially 'Inner Urge'. One warning: he decided to sing 'Bye Bye Blackbird'. That was the low point of the night. Bertrand.

Sorry I can't go on 11/13 - I have a wedding to go to that night! I went to see McCoy Tyner at Blues Alley last night. It was an absolutely last-minute decision - I found out just the day before that I could get a discount on the admission. They also discounted the second set, so I saw two sets! It was fantastic - Eric Gravatt is just getting back into the music, but it's like he never left. He told me he hadn't played with McCoy in 30 years! McCoy was in a very high-energy mood in both sets - he only did one ballad. Most of the stuff started mid-tempo only to go ferociously up-tempo. Although he didn't announce most of the tunes, I think they were mostly originals - you can sort of tell which ones he wrote. They did a fantastic 'Passion Dance' in the second set. I highly recommend this gig- not cheap, but well worth it. Bertrand.

I need to listen to that LP again! I didn't notice about the bridge substitution. Bertrand.

Another question I had is whether the 5 tracks on the mystery rejected session from 10/70 were completely improvised in the studio (as their sketchy titles seem to suggest), or whether written music was present at the session. I asked McCoy about this last night at Blues Alley, but of course he could not remember the date. It was a shot in the dark, but always worth a try! Bertrand.

Excellent question, which I will eventually have to resolve for this Wayne discography I am working on. I had always assumed that Alan only played on his composition, but standard discographies were never clear about this. There are some unresolved problems that this assumption raises: 1. Does Alan play on this track instead of Freddie, or is this a five-horn arrangement? 2. David Weiss pointed out to me that wo trumpets are audible on 'Genesis', which would lead me to think that perhaps Alan plays throughout. I have not listened to this is awhile - clearly I need to revisit this album. I wish I had a more musical ear - I could probably pick these things out. I will add this question to the list of questions I want to ask Wayne if ever I get enough nerve to ask for a formal interview (as opposed to throwing one or two quickies at him when I see him backstage at the Monk competition every year). Bertrand.

Leaving in five minutes to see McCoy with Charnett Moffett and ERIC GRAVATT (!) at Blues Alley. I'm psyched. Bertrand.

Hope to see some of you at the movie tonight! Bertrand.

Who plays Grachan Moncur III? Bertrand.

RDK, My point is not that Hackford does not like Monk. In fact, he probably has never heard any Monk. He only has heard the old cliches about his music being far out and Monk being crazy, and he chooses to perpetuate these cliches in a major newspaper. And it does have every thing to do with the film - how on earth can he do a tolerable Ray Charles biopic when he clearly has no understanding of music. He says in the same article that Charles loved jazz the most above all music. Then how can he dismiss Monk and claim that he just made a movie that probes the mind of his subject, if he shows so little respect for something that was important to the subject of his film? It looks like he just did not get Ray at all. Hope this makes more sense. Bertrand.

The Connection movie features complete performances of all 7 Reddie Redd tunes from the BN date with the exact same band. That's the closest we'll ever get. Bertrand.

Leeway, Yes, I will be there Monday. I missed the Elvin/Lacy thing also. On 11/8, there is something with M'Boom - I plan to go to that one. Bertrand.

The following quote from an interview in today's Washington Post with the director Taylor Hackford has decided me to stay miles away from this film. Apparently Charles was trying to challenge Foxx (who was learning to play piano), first by playing some funk, then some blues, then: 'All of a sudden, Ray breaks into Thelonious Monk. There's no rhyme or reason to Thelonious Monk. People thought Monk was mad'. I'll tell you what makes me mad - assholes pontificating about jazz who haven't got a clue about the history of the music. Bertrand.

I got my four-year old hooked on Woody Shaw and the Jefferson Airplane B-) Bertrand.

Coda: You can reserve your seat for the Library of Congress film by calling 202-707-5677. Anyone interested in Schnitter? How is he playing these days? Bertrand.

Jim, You wrote: 'My copy arrived yesterday. I may never get off the john'. Are you there now? Are you viewing organissimo from a laptop? Bertrand.