Big Al

I probably will.

Happy birthday, dude!!! :party: :party: :party:

Here's a Roy Haynes box set that looks VERY interesting, perhaps this is the one that Dreyfus was talking about: CD Universe link (could someone who knows how to do these things fix this with the Organissimo link?) Here's a link to a better description on the Amazon website.

File this in "Weirdest Place to Hear a Jazz Song:" in a Pizza Hut in Beijing* tonight, I heard "Vivo Sonhando." It was pretty noisy in there tonight, but Stan's sax solo is so distinctive, and besides, I've listened to this song so many times, I've almost got that solo memorized. It was nice to hear it, made it feel like home. *Don't laugh; the Pizza Hut here is nothing like the PH's back home. The PH's in the states are shit. Here, the pizzas at PH are not just good, they're DAMN good! First of all, they don't slather their crust in cooking oil: it's an actual crust! It's almost like a roll! And the toppings! The last time I had a pizza with toppings this copious was at Riggio's in Niles, IL.

He engineered a great album by Red Holloway and Plas Johnson called KEEP THAT GROOVE GOIN which came out in 2002 or 2003.

I got a pair of Shures from Best Buy for $100, and they work very nicely.

Well, it took me nine pages, but I finally ordered one. I hate you guys, y'all know that, right?

"Organissimist!" I love it! There's optimists, pessimists, realists, and now Organissimists! Sweet!

RIP Ashamed to say I've lived here all my life and never went to see him. Strange/sad that, just yesterday, DFW jazz station KNTU's "Live Wire" listed an upcoming Marchel Ivery gig.

I'm listening to it right now, and I just realized there's no piano player on here. Just a guitar. I love rhythm sections like this! Why didn't I pick this up sooner?

You got that right, on both counts! When he was staring in to the plate, though, he looked like a man possessed.

As a Ranger fan, I heartily concur!!!! Seriously, congratulations Dan! Watching the look on Papelbon's face after that last strikeout was very exciting! Does this mean that Terry Fancona is the manager of the century? I would think this would cement his status as a legendary manager, doing what no other Boston manager had done for 84 years, and then repeating the same feat a mere four years later! He gets my vote, that's for sure.

I shall try!

Ditto here. If you can find Something Personal, snag it. It's almost as beautiful as Easterly Winds.

McCoy Tyner FLY WITH THE WIND on CTI..... er, Milestone.

I was just over at the Concord site. I didn't realize how much music McCoy recorded for Milestone; am glad to see it appears that it's all in print. Ah well, I didn't need that money anyway.....

I may have to reconsider that one; I forgot that was the quartet album with Hutch. They always make a nice team.

Thanks!

Apologies for resurrecting a four-year-old thread. I'll warn you now: this one's gonna be long. Hell, it took me four years to write it; whattya expect? I will go on record right now to say that there exists no more of a perfect album than Getz/Gilberto. There are a lot of albums I can put on and listen to over and over at work; this is that rare album that I actually listen to over and over at work. The opener, "The Girl from Ipanema," is about as perfect a recording as exists. The gentle humming and strumming of Joao Gilberto. His is such a voice that one can sing along with it, despite not knowing the words. I don't know the words, but I still love to sing along. Tommy Williams plays such a deceptively simple bass line, simple whole notes throughout. But the genius is that those notes are NOT simple. His playing is the literal heartbeat of the song. Then Astrud comes in. Outside of this album, I'm not much of a fan of hers. Not even on subsequent albums she did with Getz or solo. But here, on this song, she nails it. Innocently flat, angelically without range, PERFECT for this song. She magnificently transforms the perspective of the song from that of the longing and yearning young man to that of the plain-looking hidden-beauty of the envious young lady watching this "tall, tan, young and lovely" walk by attracting all the men. No mean feat! Then Stan Getz comes in and plays an understated majestic solo. One of the cool things about this section is how Milton Banana switches to the ride cymbal for Stan's solo. Gives it a more driving beat before Jobim comes in for his solo. That last strike of the ride cymbal before switching back to the hi-hat is like a smooth landing after diving off a cliff, the adrenaline rush of falling accompanied by Stan's solo, and the cool of the water accompanied by Jobim's lilting piano playing. It truly does not get any better than this, and few people have come close; the only version of this song that is in the same stratosphear is the version done with Sinatra. Other than that, no one else has come close to matching the magic that is this particular version. Nobody. Including Jobim himself. Thankfully, they didn't just leave it at that. Even a song like "Doralice," which sounds like it could be a simple throwaway, is imbued with a sense of togetherness that could only sound like it was being played by a close-knit group. I love Joao's story of "Para Machucar Meu Coracao." It evokes a sadness that was already evident in the song. Knowing the story makes the playing sound even more melancholy without being overdone. To use a word I've used a lot here, this song is perfect. "Desafinado" and "Corcovado" are definitive, the standard by which all future versions are measured, including ones by Jobim himself. Speaking of Jobim (to borrow an album title by pianist Eddie Higgins, creating a nice segueway), not nearly enough is ever said about Jobim's sparse and lovely piano playing. He uses maybe one note, two-note chords if he's feeling generous, to make his point. His solos are masterpieces of understatement, and yet they say so much more than a thousand note-jammed solos of some of the same pianists of the day (and today, for that matter). "So Danco Samba" is made even more lovely by that deceptively simple (there's that term again) piano chord Jobim plays twice before Joao starts singing. This is also Stan's hottest solo on the whole album. Jim R said it earlier that Joao's strumming may sound easy, but it ain't. Few people can emulate or imitate it properly. A lot like someone trying to sing like Sinatra. Sure, I can sing along with him while I'm driving, and I like to think I'm a good enough singer that I can hit the same notes Sinatra's hitting. But hit them the same WAY Sinatra hits 'em? I don't think so! Someone else (might've been Jim R, I'm too lazy to look) compared Joao's voice to Sinatra's, and I agree wholeheartedly. Sure, he may not be as technically gifted as Sinatra, but the gifts he had he used exceptionally. He makes you feel the song; he makes you understand the song even if you don't understand the words. "O Grande Amor" sounds like a close cousin to the earlier "Para Machucar Meu Coracao," melancholy, evocative, longing, haunting, and a whole bunch of other overused cliched descriptives. Including perfect! This is not my favorite version of "Vivo Sonhando," (that goes to the version on Jobim's masterpiece Terra Brasilis) but it is definitive. I love the way Getz's high note ends the record; it's like the aural exclamation point to the perfect melding of American and Brazilian in a way that set the standard for all future bossa nova albums. Some albums came close (Jobim's own Desafinado came close, but on a different level altogether), and even though a lot of what came after ranged from beautiful and pleasant to "Oh Lord, who let one rip in here?" most of it was good enough to enjoy. I know I have!

'fraid not. But then, I've been giving props to Fly Like the Wind, which, when you think about it, sounds like it wants to be a CTI album. Yeah, don't mean to be so dismissive of Tyner's Blue Note years, but nothing of his on that label ever grabbed me. Not Real McCoy, not Expansions, nothing. As for Sahara, the public library has a copy. Every now and then, I'll give it another chance, and every time it doesn't grab me and I find nothing to latch onto. But if I ever find it (or any of the others, regardless of spaciness) on vinyl, I'll snap it up in a heartbeat!

Sure you weren't standing on your head at the time?

Rather than ressurect a four-year-old thread, I figured I would just start a new thread. I more or less stumbled upon McCoy's Milestone recordings when I picked up a couple of his LPs at a library book sale, Fly with the Wind and Trident. I liked these a lot more than I thought I would, because they sound nice without losing any adventurous edge. Also picked up Sama Layuca in a recent trade, and I think I like that one best of all! Smokin' hot & all that! Now before anyone tells me to rush out and get it, don't bother recommending Sahara to me. I know that one is a lot of people's favorite; I could never get into it, especially the side-long title track. Too meandering to me. I haven't seen anyone mention the recent release of Horizons in the Keepnews Series; is it not that good? Seems like other titles would've been better candidates for re-release, but then I know next to nothing about McCoy's Milestone albums. I do know that I prefer this era of Tyner's solo career over his Blue Note and Impulse albums. He just seemed to find his own voice in this decade.

Even the Rockies are admitting as much.

Good heavens, 13-1 Sox after 5! So much for an exciting Series.

No kidding!!!