bertrand

1) The Strathmore performance is cancelled, alas. I never really saw any movement or interest in the press or anywhere about this project, which speaks volumes about the current state of culture in the US. Unrecorded Orchestral works written by one of jazz's greatest composers (Shorter), written for one of jazz's greatest icons (Miles) but never performed and/or recorded? The Miles angle alone should have attracted some attention. 2) The music is fantastic - I'm so glad I went up to the Jazz Standard on Sunday. Drummer Kush Abadey really helped propulse the band into another stratosphere. There was a lot of interesting things that I caught that shed new light on Wayne's compositional process, but of course I would need to hear this music again and again. I hope one day there can be a recording of this that I can purchase. 3) The Downbeat article would be somewhere between 3/67 and 8/67. It's March or April, it may be an announcement of something which never took place, which would support David's theory. If it's a review of a concert that took place, that's another story. I remember the article talking about a piece of music that incorporates themes from 'throughout Davis' career'. 'The Legend' is certainly not some sort of greatest hits medley, but there are several Shorter compositions hinted at throughout. I caught 'Dolores', 'Orbits'. 'Sweet Pea', and 'Vonetta' right at the end, all somehow blended in with new material. And of course these pieces were ones Wayne was working on at the time, so it all fits in into one continuum. 'Universe' was mostly new, but I did catch a snippet of 'Condition Red' from Phantom Navigator, which was a big surprise. As Wayne had told me, 'Twin Dragon' has some relationship to the Atlantis album, but in a very interesting way - the main theme is sort of a hybrid of the compositions 'Atlantis' and 'The Three Marias'. Now I need to rethink how these two pieces relate, because the blend was seamless. 4) In any case, the 'presumed' performance of 'The Legend' would be from UCLA, 5/12/67, possibly with Gary McFarland conducting. This was part of a 3-day festival during which Gary conducted a bunch of things. including Gabor Szabo. 'Antigua' is from Berkeley in 1968. This is documented in Jack Chambers' book, again based on another DB article. Gil was the conductor. I think Bob Belden said in an interview that he has a poor quality tape of this concert. Certainly, finding this arrangement of 'Antigua' (probably by Gil?) would be a coup. Perhaps it can be transcribed from the tape? Bottom line: more info is needed on this May 1967 UCLA festival. If Miles did play, who was in the band and what did they play? The article and its author would be the next thing to get a hold of. Rooster, if you can't find it, I have another source I can go to. Bertrand.

What is the breakdown of the sets? Do you do 'Universe', 'Twin Dragon' and 'The Legend' in each set at the Jazz Standard? How about at Strathmore? Bertrand.

Going up to the Jazz Standard on Sunday, then Strathmore of course. I will have to find that Downbeat article again. I think it was a review more than an announcement of an upcoming show but I could be wrong. Of course, it would help to get the author and some of the personnel to track down the answer. Bertrand.

Any new updates? I know you've been on the road in such dreadful places as Italy and Spain. The life of a musician is rough Bertrand.

Max was working with Amiri Baraka on his (Max's) biography. This project seems to have fizzled. Bertrand.

Has it ever been on CD under the original title? Bertrand.

I liked the Hilversum sessions with Don Cherry so much I wanted to look for this other Ayler/Cherry. It seems this one is a hard-to-find on CD. $3,000 on Amazon marketplace??? Is there a reasonably priced source for this, or is the $5.94 download the way to go? Bertrand.

As part of the Washington/Baltimore Wayne Shorter 80th birthday celebration, drummer Harold Summey and his quintet will perform the music of Weather Report, and specifically Wayne Shorter's compositions for the group, today 7/18 from 5-8PM as part of the Take 5! series at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in the Kogod Courtyard (8th and F streets NW). This is a free performance. And, this week-end, the Tim Whalen septet performs the music of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at Twins Jazz. Bertrand.

That's a sammich even Lou Donaldson won't touch. Bertrand.

Those two Woody Shaws also fit into another category: album covers featuring organissimo forum members who are not performing on the album Bertrand.

Possibly my favorite album cover ever! Bertrand.

From my inventory to Michelle Mercer's Shorter bio (paperback only): The Legend This composition was performed by the Miles Davis Quintet with an orchestra conducted by Gary McFarland at UCLA on May 12th, 1967. This information was in a downbeat review. Universe The copyright deposit for this composition states that the score was composed, arranged and orchestrated by Wayne on 08/22/69, and the trumpet part was written for Miles Davis, although he never performed it. The instrumentation shown is as follows: C Flute, Alto Flute, English Horn, two French Horns, two Bassoons, Tuba, trumpet (Miles), saxophone (Wayne), electric piano, marimba, tympani, Hawaiian Guitar, Mandolin, Guitar, Fender Bass, Drums and Harp. This instrumentation is almost identical to that of the piece ‘Falling Water’, credited to Miles Davis and Gil Evans and recorded by Miles (with Wayne and the Gil Evans Orchestra) on 02/16/68. Twin Dragon This composition was written for Miles Davis, although Miles never performed it. Some sections of this piece were used in later compositions. Wayne told me this part - I'll find out on 8/3 I guess. Bertrand. P.S.: Interesting that the copyright for 'Universe' is just days before Bitches' Brew was recorded.

There will be a number of concerts in the DC area between now and the end of the year celebrating Wayne's 80th birthday, including at least two on the week-end of 8/25, his actual birthday. I am working on scheduling a few more for the Fall. Two already took place in June. The next one up is Harold Summey performing Wayne's compositions for Weather Report at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on 7/18 (5 PM). I will try to start a thread later this week-end. Send me a PM with your e-mail of you want to be on the mailing list. Bertrand.

Happy birthday!!! Bertrand.

Glad I asked - I thought there were only two volumes! All three are on order. I am going to go broke. Bertrand.

I assume that the music is great. Is there any reason not to pick these up (sonic or other). Thanks, Bertrand.

It's his last record, One For All. Bertrand.

You guys are amazing! Thanks. Bertrand.

I'm trying to sort through this. It's a bit confusing because some of the pieces have several titles. The CD Frankfurt Special on Fresh Sound shows the following (all from 1954): Simone I Anything Goes Yogi Frankfurt Special Mon Petit (I Never Knew) Blue Skies Lover Man Diagram Tracks #1-8: Recorded in Frankfurt, on April 13, 1954. Cleopatra Variations Don’t Worry About Me Ghost Of A Chance Laura What’s New Tracks #9-14: Recorded in Frankfurt, on April 24, 1954. Frankfurt Special Don’t Worry About Me Simone II Morning Fun Tracks #15-18: Recorded in Köln, on July 28, 1954. Mon Petit (I Never Knew) Frankfurt Special Tracks #19-20: Recorded Live at the Deutsche Jazz Festival, Frankfurt, on June 6, 1954. Then there is New Faces - New Sounds from Germany on Blue Note (leased session). It's dated 4/24/54 but has 8 tracks: the 6 dated 4/24/54 shown on the Fresh Sound, plus 'Blue Skies' and 'Mon Petit'. Then there is a recording called Das Is Jazz dated 6/4-6/54 with some tracks with Hipp. Then there is a CD called Cool Dogs And Two Oranges from 4/13/54 and 7/20/54. There are 12 tracks. 5 of the titles are the same as the 4/24/54 Fresh Sound session (no 'What's New'). 4 of them ('Simone', 'Anything Goes', 'Yogi' and 'Mon Petit') have the same titles as tracks on the 4/13/54 Fresh Sound session, 3 do not ('Cool Dogs', 'Two Oranges', 'Frankfurt Bridges'). Finally, the new Lost Tapes CD has sessions dated 1952, 1953 and 1955. 1) Are the 'Blue Skies' and 'Mon Petit' on the Fresh Sound dated 4/13/54 the same as those on the Blue Note dated 4/24/54? 2) Are the 5 tracks with identical titles that are on the Fresh Sound dated 4/24/54, the Blue Note dated 4/24/54 and the Cool Dogs (date unclear) all the same? 3) Are the 4 tracks on Cool Dogs that have the same titles as tracks on the Fresh Sound dated 4/13/54 the same performances? 4) Are the 3 other tracks on Cool Dogs the same as tracks on the Blue Note/Fresh Sound under different titles? 5) Am I correct in assuming that none of the tracks on Das Is Jazz or Lost tapes appear on either Cool Dogs, the Blue Note or the Fresh Sound? In other words, could there be a mix-up with the dates? 6) Am I correct in assuming the Japanese Joki Freund CD is identical to Cool Dogs? Very confusing... Bertrand.

The new Mingus box is NOT on sale, correct? Bertrand.

I can't imagine he will adapt a different tone here. I suspect he just signed up to read what is being said about him, because he's that kind of egotist. It's a bummer, because now I am hesitant to post about this informal concert series I am putting together in the DC area to celebrate Shorter's 80th birthday. Bertrand.

I am very sorry for your loss. Bertrand.

Thanks everyone! The big 5-0 - yikes! Definitely harder and harder to go to late gigs, but I am soldiering on. Bertrand.

There was some movie with Matthew Shipp where he was saying 'fuck Bud, fuck Monk'. At the screening, a piano player said that he took deep offense to that considering what Bud and Monk had to go through to get their art out there. This was enough to make me decide that I will never listen to Shipp. I know some musicians from the Tristano school and they seem to have their reservations about expressing emotion in music. They don't go around saying 'fuck Wayne Shorter, fuck Bud, fuck Monk'. Bertrand.

I wondered about the Monk competition theory as well, although I did not know this sniveling millennial punk also had an axe to gring about Osby as well who was also a judge, which seems to buttress this theory. Someone who knows him (this asswipe is from the DC area) said it's not about that. For me, the burden is on Hoffman to prove that it isn't because it sure smells that way. Until then, I will happily espouse this theory. Bertrand. PS: I'm guessing that Hoffman will not be proposing himself anytime soon for the Washington/Baltimore Wayne Shorter 80th birthday celebration.