jeffcrom

I had never consciously eaten parsnips before, but this thread intrigued me, especially this post. Last night I roasted parsnips, carrots and onions with olive oil and an Italian seasoning blend instead of salt and pepper. (The onions were suggested by a lady at the farmers' market. But I think onions make almost anything better, anyway.) Delicious! So thanks Jim & Philly. Of course, I had to remember to search for "parnsips" to find this thread.

Okay, look it, y'all... I don't assert myself around here that often, but why are we still talking about this? Didn't y'all see post number six? There seems to be a lot of confusion of melody with chord changes, or with the interaction of melody with chord changes, or rhythm, or particular recordings. That's not the question here - it's about pure melody, and which is the most beautiful. I've already answered that question - it's Roscoe Mitchell's "People in Sorrow." Now you kids get off my lawn!

A little more here, from Offbeat magazine.

Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry - At Carnegie Hall (Folkways mono)

Those Varsity Seven records are on my want list. Tonight, all my Rev. J. M. Gates 78s: I'm Going If It Takes My Life/I've Left This World Behind (Paramount, 1926) Baptize Me/Dying Gambler (Regal, 1926) - recorded for Paramount Where Will You Be Christmas Day?/Will the Coffin Be Your Santa Claus (Okeh, 1927). Jolly Christmas messages from Rev. Gates. The California Kidnapping/Are You Bound for Heaven or Hell? (Okeh, 1927/28) You Midnight Ramblers/Dead Cat on the Line (Okeh, 1929) It struck me today as odd that my three favorite recording preachers are all Atlantans: J. M. Gates, Jasper Williams, and Johnny "Hurricane" Jones. Then it struck me as even odder that I have three favorite recording preachers. I went from Rev. Gates to some black vaudeville - not really that big a leap. Butterbeans and Susie - I Can't Use You/A Married Man's a Fool (Okeh, 1924) Butterbeans and Susie - Cold Storage Mama/Bow Legged Papa (Okeh, 1925) Miller and Lyles - Fourth of July in Jim Town/Election Day in Jim Town (Okeh, 1922). The writers of Shuffle Along perform two routines from the show. The humor is pretty cringe-inducing now, but this was an important show at the time.

Steve Lacy - Hocus-Pocus (Lome Armé/Les Disques Du Crépuscule). Book "H" of Practitioners, Lacy's collections of etudes he wrote for himself. He said that the idea was for them to be the kind of thing he usually wrote, but harder. As a saxophonist who pulls these off the shelf to practice every once in a while, I can confirm that they're tough.

It's from two months earlier - March 15, 1976 at the Shaw Theater in London. I don't know if these gigs bookended a long European tour or whether they were separate trips.

Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh - London Concert (Wave) Rev. Johnny L. "Hurricane" Jones - If Loving You is Wrong (Jewel)

People in Sorrow

Naftule Brandwein: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBLDT4TTmA

(Hope you've got Freddie Roach's 'Brown sugar' too.) MG Yes, sir, I do.

Johnny Hammond Smith - Higher Ground (Kudu). I've been on the lookout for this album since The Magnificent Goldberg posted his Johnny Hammond survey, and I found a copy today. I'm not sure I'll ever like it as much as he does, but any album with a Joe Henderson solo on every track is a good thing.

Clark Terry's Big Bad Band - Live at Buddy's Place (Vanguard)

John Coltrane - Live Trane: The European Tours (Pablo); disc seven.

Today I spun my newest brass band CD, the latest (2012) release by the To Be Continued Brass Band. This young band continues to really impress me - this is the third album by them I've heard. The three trumpets and three trombones make for a really fat sound, and they're strong players. Most of the tracks have guests, including New Orleans trumpeters Terrell Baptiste and Shamarr Allen and rapper Bossman Superior. I don't remember who said, earlier in the thread, that clarinetist Michael White ruined every album he plays on, but whoever it was is going to hate this one - Dr. White guests on three tracks. I kind of like his playing. On the negative side, I got tired of the self-promoting vocals - stop yelling "TBC" already! And this band still seems a little unreal to me, because I've never seen them live. I don't know how often they play New Orleans clubs, but I've never come across them on my visits.

I use Nero Burning ROM - part of the Nero suite of audio/video programs. The whole suite is kind of expensive (more so than when I bought it), but I use it almost daily. It quickly saves files from CDs (or CDrs) in almost any format you want. No need to play the disc in real time. You can try Burning ROM free for 15 days here.

To an extent, you're right. There are probably 30 or so brass bands in the city playing in a similar, Rebirth-derived style. They vary in quality, and the better ones have enough individuality to keep me interested.

Ahmad Jamal - Extensions (Cadet)

After midnight, and listening to Straight From the 6th Ward on the Tipitina's label. From my flying visit to New Orleans last month, I got the impression that it's back in print - I saw it in the racks at the Louisiana Music Factory, so you should be able to order it from them. If I'm mistaken about that, there some cheap-ish copies available from Amazon vendors. This album is ten years old now, but is still a great representation of current New Orleans brass band music. There are two tracks each by four great established bands - plus an all-star bonus. This isn't an anthology of previously-issued recordings; all the tracks were recorded for this album. The bands are: Lil Rascals - This is trombonist Corey Henry's band, equally adept at traditional tunes and funk. (They play only the latter here.) Corey's great, and the tuba player is Jeffrey Hills, who I would rate only after Matt Perrine and Kirk Joseph in the pantheon of New Orleans tubists. Rebirth - The best brass band in the city - now, 10 years ago, and 20 years ago. The incredible Derek Shezbie is on lead trumpet; he has been with the Rebirth off and on since I saw him playing with the band in 1990, when he was 15 or so. Treme - The most genial, fun, traditional, and "down home" of the groups here. The late, much-beloved Uncle Lionel Batiste was their bass drummer; they have carried on since his death last year. They still do funerals and second-line parades, but when they play "sit-down" gigs, they often use a guitar or banjo. Carl LeBlanc, who has played guitar with Sun Ra and banjo with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, is in the band here. New Birth - Only a step or two behind the Rebirth. Trombone Shorty was playing trumpet in this version of the band. But the highlights of this excellent album are the two tracks by the 6th Ward All Stars, consisting of some of the best musicians from all of the above bands. Trombone Shorty and Derek Shezbie form the downright scary trumpet section, and both Jeffrey Hills and Philip Frazier, the leader of the Rebirth, are on tuba. Kermit Ruffins shows up to sing "Didn't He Ramble." It's all pretty awesome. Ten years old, but still one of the great contemporary brass band albums.

Sacred Harp Singing with Dinner on the Ground (Sacred Harp Publishing). The fourth of six LPs of Sacred Harp singing recorded and issued by Sacred Harp Publishing in the 1960s and 1970s. I've also got the third LP, Sacred Harp Singing at the Old Country Church. That one is in mono; this one is stereo, and it's stunning. Sacred Harp music is full of haunting melodies and strange, open harmonies (with no third in the chord). The singers were apparently chosen from the best Sacred Harp singers in Alabama and surrounding states, and they're both "authentic" and extremely accomplished. No picture on the web of this obscure album. Later: just found a picture: Apparently, if you want a copy of this record, you can get one from an Amazon vendor for $149.

Wadada Leo Smith - Mass on the World (Moers). Could this be Dwight Andrews' best recorded performance? (Dr. Andrews now teaches theology at Emory University, at the other end of my street.)

That perfectly states how I feel about certain places. I do not believe in ghosts or spirits in any literal sense, but I feel the "ghosts" in the air every time I visit New Orleans. I showed some bandmates around the city when I played there last month, and some of them "got" it and some didn't. One of them instantly felt the significance of Congo Square, and understood exactly what I meant when I mentioned the ghosts in the air. Avebury, on your island, also affected me like that.

Ralph Sutton/Bob Wilber - The Night They Raided Sunnie's (Blue Angel Jazz Club)