sonnymax

and yes,

Ho hum, yet another rehash of the genius = madness hypothesis. I wrote a graduate research paper on creativity and madness 20 years ago after some pompous windbag in my abnormal psych class pronounced, "Van Gogh would not have been Van Gogh were he not mad!" There's even a conference on the subject held in Santa Fe every year. My research came up with some interesting findings: 1) "creativity" and "genius" are not static concepts, but have changed significantly over the centuries; 2) an artist deemed a genius is more likely to be seen as "touched by madness", and an artist's disturbed behavior tends to be viewed as a reflection of their genius; and 3) If you examine the quality of the work produced by artists suspected of having been psychologically disturbed, you are likely to discover that their best work coincides with periods of relative emotional health and stability, rather than episodes of psychological turmoil and instability. All too often, authors of these kind of papers highlight the rate of an artist's productivity to support their argument, equating quantity with quality.

Funny, when I made a similar comment to one of his previous posts, I got an angry PM and Hans deleted my post. I guess you must have... DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY!

BowleggedWoman.com?

I thought the alto clarinet was an E-flat instrument. No matter. Sabir Mateen plays one on Steve Swell's excellent Slammin' The Infinite on the Cadence label. Also, Gianluigi Trovesi has used the instrument from time to time.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. As they say, "that's what makes for horse racing."

I didn't mean to imply that the quote you cited was fabricated. I do, however, disagree with your conclusion that Cook and Morton dismiss all of post-war Prez as "a pale shadow" of his former brilliance. They certainly have some critical things to say about the particular album you mentioned, The President Plays, and yet it still receives a healthy 3 1/2-star rating. That's only one recording, however, and I think they do an admirable job of describing several of the records he made at that time and in the years to come. You're certainly entitled to your own opinion, but I can't help but think that your over-generalization about Cook and Morton is tantamount to what you're accusing them of doing to Prez.

What book are you reading from? I haven't seen 2010's The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums, but I do have every edition of The Penguin Guide To Jazz Recordings. I can't find the quote you cited in the ninth edition, although it does state: Opinion still rages about this period in Lester's career. Some maintain he was a broken reed; others insist that like Billie Holiday's his expression moved onto a new plane. We're inclined to the former view, even though flashes of the old genius do shine through. Each of Lester's post-war recordings receive a respectable 3 to 3 1/2 star rating. Although Prez's physical and mental issues are mentioned, the authors caution the reader about making assumptions about their possible impact on his playing. Regarding his solo on the song "Slow Motion Blues", they say: It would be tempting to play it as evidence of the saxophonist's mental decline except that there is a sardonic humour to its long line which suggests that something else is in play. They also offer this "advice": Not every fractured performance is a sign of incipient breakdown. Nor does a smooth legato point to mental health. I have enjoyed, although not necessarily agreed with, the writings of Richard Cook and Brian Morton for many years. Along with Max Harrison, they are among the few critics to whom I have turned when I want an informed, but certainly not definitive, perspective on some music that I'm interested in. I think their views on post-war Prez as presented in this thread have been exaggerated and are therefore misleading. That's just my opinion.

New York Times, February 26, 2011 Andy Jurinko, Painter Whose Art Memorialized Ballparks, Dies at 71 By DENNIS HEVESI There is the panoramic view toward the Green Monster, the towering left-field wall at Fenway Park, on June 8, 1950, as the Boston Red Sox are crushing the St. Louis Browns, 24-9. There is the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Duke Snider at bat in Ebbets Field in July 1955, with the Schaefer Beer sign — “A real hit! A real beer!” — above the scoreboard and the Abe Stark clothing store sign below. There is Willie Mays making his incredible over-the-head catch in deep center at the Polo Grounds in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the Giants and the Cleveland Indians. Those are among the hundreds of vividly realistic oil paintings — in reds, blues, yellows and, of course, infield and outfield greens — that made Andy Jurinko one of the foremost baseball artists, known particularly for reprising the days when fans in fedoras and straw hats filled the stands. Mr. Jurinko, a Phillies fan, died of pancreatic cancer on Feb. 14 at his loft in Lower Manhattan, his wife, Pat Moore, said. He was 71. NYT obit

Give that man a cee-gar! Denny played on the 1976 Contemporary album Hampton Hawes - Something Special.

I found the "preferences" tab is under the "iTunes" column, not the "edit" function. Not sure if this is a Mac v. PC difference.

There's a live recording of them performing Now's The Time together, along with Roy Hargrove, J.J. Johnson, Jackie McLean, Kenny Burrell, Ray Brown and Kenny Washington. The concert took place at Carnegie Hall on April 6, 1994, and was released on Carnegie Hall Salutes The Jazz Masters: Verve 50th Anniversary.

Look at how many times Fantasy reissued some of their most popular titles on CD, and compare that with how many times they've been reissued since Concord obtained the back catalog in 2004.

First off, you don't mention which Steely Dan album you found so abhorrent because of the apparent slight to Feldman. A quick look at his credits on Steely Dan's albums, from their 1972 debut all the way to Gaucho, reveals that in every case he played other instruments as well, including piano, keyboards, vibes and marimba. Of course, none of this really matters. Feldman's contributions are his, no matter what instrument he plays. And what's wrong with percussion, Chewy?

late to the party (or the wake, as it might be) stereo jacks in cambridge ma closing

Because no other label so cluelessly bleeds and rebleeds the same titles over and over and over again. There actually are some ways I would rebuy yet again some of the same music, if it were more efficiently and attractively packaged, like the three Coltrane box sets of recent years, but individual titles yet again ain't it. However, another Valentines day has come and gone, and I'm still waiting for "Prince Lasha and Sonny Simmons Play For Lovers" to be released. I agree with you, Dave. I stopped buying remasters a few years ago, and I'm often surprised by the amount of attention and discussion the latest reissues get on this board. I would have thought that die-hard jazz fans like us would already own copies of these classic recordings by now, and therefore any new reissue series would be directed at new listeners. Felser, while Fantasy/Concord certainly has reissued many of its popular titles several times, I can't think of another company that kept so many titles in print for so long, even their "limited edition" titles. I don't share your ill feelings toward them because, as I said, I never thought they were directing their efforts toward fans like me who already own these recordings.

Don't lose sight of the fact that Herbie's Imagine featured P!nk, Seal, India.Arie, Jeff Beck, Konono N°1 and Oumou Sangaré, all performing a song written by John Lennon. The Grammys aren't embracing Herbie (and mainstream jazz) as much as he is embracing them (all the way to the bank).

I just learned that actor Kenneth Mars passed away Saturday. While he performed in many other film and television roles, I will always treasure his characters Franz Liebkind in The Producers and police inspector Hans Wilhelm Friederich Kemp in Young Frankenstein. RIP. February 15, 2011 Kenneth Mars, Comedic Actor in TV and Film, Dies at 75 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GRENADA HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Kenneth Mars, an actor best known for his over-the-top performance as a German playwright in the original movie version of “The Producers,” died on Saturday at his home here. He was 75. The cause was pancreatic cancer, his family said. In “The Producers” (1968), written and directed by Mel Brooks, Mr. Mars played Franz Liebkind, a Nazi enthusiast whose play “Springtime for Hitler” is the basis for a scheme by two conniving showmen (Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) to bilk investors by putting on a sure-fire Broadway flop. Mr. Brooks also cast Mr. Mars in “Young Frankenstein” (1974) as a police inspector with a malfunctioning artificial arm who is on the trail of the monster (Peter Boyle) created by a descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein (Mr. Wilder). Mr. Mars was born in Chicago and appeared on Broadway in “The Affair” in 1962 and on television in “Get Smart,” “Gunsmoke” and other series before being cast in “The Producers,” his first movie. He went on to divide his time between the big and small screens. NYT

I tend not to use these $2 credits to buy the lowest price titles (not there's anything wrong with that, mind you). Instead, I mosey on over to my wish list and pick something from that. It's easier for me to pull the trigger on a $10.99 Steeplechase album when it's only $8.99.

I'd ask what you hang on to, but that's just wrong.

I edited my op to answer #1. I don't know about #2.

Amazon is offering a $2 MP3 credit for Valentines Day. Here’s how to redeem your code: - Head over to Amazon and go to a page offering an MP3 for sale. - Look for this and click on Redeem a gift card or promotion code. - Enter code VDAYMP3S. You’ll now have a $2 credit in your Amazon account. Use it by February 14th or lose it.

one can dream.

In this case, a picture surely is worth a thousand words: Thank you, Mr. Callas.