Alexander

The Michael bit is silly, but I really like that last picture! Good idea, doubling up the images of the Beatles looking over the balcony. That would make a great dorm poster!

I LOVE the Python "Cheese Shop" skit! Thanks for posting it, Sidewinder. I needed a larf. As to the question of American Cheese, I don't touch it normally, but for some reason I really like it on cheeseburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. I'd rather have cheddar, ultimately, though. It's the single most popular cheese in the WORLD!

I like Chet Baker's singing AND boxing!

I voted no because even though I consider myself a pacifist, I actually like boxing. It's the only sport I really enjoy, actually. There's SO much more to boxing than two men beating each other senseless. Boxing requires a rare form of intellegence - the ability to make quick decisions and improvise on one's feet. There's a lot of grace involved in boxing too. To that end, I think Mike Tyson is one of the worst things to ever happen to the sport. He employs no footwork, no strategy...he just hits HARD (or used to, in his prime). He's a brute, and it's quite telling that as he grows older and his ability to hit HARD is fading, he's completely lost in the ring. There's none of the elegance that made someone like Sugar Ray Leonard or Ali so much fun to watch. It's sad, because the sport really has declined since Tyson made his mark. More and more young fighters aspire to be like him. I think people flocked to Tyson in the 80s because it's fun to back a winner, but all those fights that ended during the first sixty seconds proved rather dull in the end...

I started reading the books when I was the Children's Department Manager at Barnes & Noble several years ago, and I've been hooked ever since. I think they are extremely well-written, and have the same sadistic British tone as Roald Dahl (one of my all time favorite children's authors). The point we have to keep in mind is that Rowling has not only made reading hip and fun for kids, but she's continued to challenge them. Yes, she could easily have written Harry Potter books on the same level, with the same page count, year after year. But each book gets a little longer and a little more difficult. The books grow with the readers, and that is what will make the Potter books enduring children's classics. The movies are horrible, by the way. Cheap attempts to cash in on the book's popularity. The books will go on. The films will not.

The thread on the recently released "Hulk" movie got me thinking about the upcoming "League" film, starring Sean Connery. Many people that I've spoken to were'nt aware (and probably didn't care all that much, frankly) that the "League" was a comic book series first. For those here who have never read the comic, here's a little primer: What is the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? It is the late 19th century. The British Government, fearful that the Empire is endangered, authorizes British Intellegence to form a special task force to deal with special threats. MI5 head M dispatches agent Campion Bond (an ancestor of the more famous 007) to assemble such a team. Bond contacts divorcee Wilhemina Murray (formerly Mrs. Jonathan Harker) who recruits a Hindu sea captain who calls himself "Nemo" (believed dead since the Mysterious Island affair). Murray and Nemo travel to Cario in search of former adventurer Allen Quartermain, who has become an opium addict. With Quatermain in hand, Murray and Nemo then make way for Paris in search of an English doctor who is believed to be hiding there. With the aid of one M. August Dupin (best known for solving the Murders in the Rue Morgue), they find Dr. Henry Jeckyll and his hulking alter-ego, Edward Hyde. With Jeckyll/Hyde in captivity, then then travel to a girl's boarding school (its students include one Pollyanna and a girl named Rebecca from Sunnybrook Farm) to investigate a series of supernatural attacks. The attacks prove to be the work of Hawley Griffin, aka the Invisble Man. With Griffin, the League is complete. So, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen consists of: Mina Harker (Dracula) Allen Quartermain (King Solomon's Mines) Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The Mysterious Island) Dr. Henry Jeckyll/Edward Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde) Hawley Griffin (The Invisible Man) Once assembled, the League is gathered to their secret headquarters in the British Museum, and informed that a Royal Lunar Expedition has been sabotaged. The secret of powered flight, the element Cavorite, has been stolen by Dr. Fu Manchu. Bond dispatches the League to recover the stolen Cavorite. After infiltrating the Doctor's underground lair, they find the Cavorite and return it to Bond, who then gives it to his boss, M. But M (who Mina Murray is convinced is Mycroft Holmes) turns out to be none other than the Napoleon of Crime himself, Professor James Moriarty! Moriarty, it turns out, wants the Cavorite to power is own airship in an attack on his rival, Fu Manchu. The League then finds itself caught between the two warring factions, in an attempt to save London. That was just a synopses of the FIRST six issue series. The current series has the League fighting off Martian invaders... As for the movie, I don't know if any of the comic's plot will show up. I know that Quartermain has been made the leader of the League (rather than Mina), and that they have added both Tom Sawyer and Dorian Grey to the line-up. Has anyone heard anything more? Does the comic sound intreguing at all?

To be fair, some of the things you mention above (like "Watchmen") have been in the works for over a decade, and will probably never come to light. That "Batman vs Superman" movie has been in the script stages forever, and will probably never happen. Some (like "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") are already in the can, and will be finding their way to a multiplex near you in a matter of weeks. Being a life-long comics fan, I just can't resist these comic-based movies. I've seen all of them so far, and will probably continue to do so (although I will draw the line at "Punisher." Never got into the comics). I've been hearing positive things about "Hulk," so I will undoubtedly see it. I'll have to see the movie to make a judgement, but I can't say I'm terribly excited about the actor playing Banner (except that his last name is Bana, which is kind of funny). I think that unlike Toby Maguire, who was an inspired choice to play Peter Parker, or most of the X-Men cast, Bana is just...wrong. Banner shouldn't be beefy and studly. He's supposed to be a puny scientist. Steve Buscemi would have been a better casting choice for Banner, IMHO.

I ordered a copy of this just a few weeks ago, but it was out of stock. I was able to get Andrew Hill's "Eternal Spirit" (with Greg Osby!) and Joe Lovano's "Landmarks," but the Brookmeyer was unavailable. Glad that I'll be able to get it as part of the Select!

The sexual nature of most fairy tales is far from explicit. In Little Red Riding Hood it is largely a matter of symbolism. The Red Hood is read as a symbol of menstral blood and sexual maturity. The woods are often a symbol for sexual confusion and danger. The stranger that waylays a child, in this case a wolf, is a common trope in children's literature (think of the Witch in Hansel and Gretel). The theme of devouring (the wolf eats grandma and then Red Riding Hood herself). The theme of rebirth (the huntsman cuts open the wolf's stomach and brings Red Riding Hood and her grandmother through the opening). The theme of the mature male who comes to the rescue (the huntsman). Red Riding Hood is highly sexual, without ever showing any explicit sex. And that's just one of the most obvious examples.

I second that last recommendation. I've learned a lot of standards from my Frank Sinatra collection.

I used to watch this as a kid, and I never missed it. I had a thing for Christine too, although I never wrote to her. Frankly, I think a lot of boys of my generation were into Moose for the same reason boys of my father's generation were into Annette on the Mickey Mouse Club: She had boobs at a time when we were starting to notice them!

My hope is that downloading will revitalize the market for singles. This once proud format went the way of the Dodo with casettes and CDs, but I can really see people downloading (especially at a .99 price point) the latest singles off the net, and then going out to buy the album. It would be a nice way for downloading and traditional music sales to peacefully co-exist.

Not to bash you or anything, but I assume that these are all duplicates? I mean, I own all of these albums, and I can't imagine ever parting with any of them.

I own it, but I didn't pay for it. My copy is a promo that was sent to the Music Department Manager (I was the assistant at the time) at B&N. I got it because the Manager already had a copy. I do like it, but I can't say that I ever play it. It's nice to think, when I do spin it, that it cost me nothing at all... B)

In an interview with Ben Sidran, Wynton admitted that he had never listened to Art Blakey when he first joined his band. Seems to me that Wynton did a lot of learning on the job. It fits, because Wynton definitely has the zelousness of a convert.

Actually, Rogue started out as a villian in the comic book. She was a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (under Mystique rather than Magneto) and she had a really bad attitude. She wound up having a feud with Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel, a seventies character, somewhat related to the Kree Captain Marvel, who never caught on) and aborbing her powers. Because Danvers was half Kree (an alien race) the transfer of power was perminent. She also perminently absorbed Carol's memories, which is what made Rogue into a good guy. She left the Brotherhood and joined the X-Men shortly after that. Carol Danvers did not die, and survived to have a very bad relationship with Rogue over the years.

Yes, I call Murray, Crouch, and Marsalis the Unholy Trinity, or the Axis of Lincoln Center.

Nope, that happened with me also. Simon Weil Andrew Hill has reported that the "Jazz" series put him to sleep every night it aired.

Let me address some of your observations: To begin with, Crouch is hardly the boogie man some have made him out to be. When talking about early jazz through the swing era, Stanley (and Wynton) is solidly within his element, which is why you enjoy his contributions to the program. The problems come when the series moves into the bop era and beyond. Stanley becomes quite dogmatic at this point. He sticks to his theory that jazz is: 1) Rooted in the blues, and any music that does not acknowledge the blues is not jazz. 2) Swinging. Again, if it doesn't swing, it isn't jazz (Crouch once made an outrageous statement that Bill Evans was a "punk" whose playing could "scarcely be considered jazz" because he did not swing). 3) African-American (or, to use a term that Crouch himself favors, "Negro"). Crouch sometimes likes to play both sides of the fence on this one, occasionally praising a white musician like Joe Lovano, but Crouch has gone on record stating that jazz is a Negro creation and that all of the innovators in jazz have been black. It is true that the majority of jazz innovation came from blacks, but that shouldn't exclude white musicians from making significant contributions. Crouch's writing is particularly unenlightened on this point. Is Stanley interesting? Of course. Is he knowledgable? Yes. Does he have a right to his opinion? No doubt about it. But he is also extremely conservative, and in the end I find his brand of conservatism extremely unpalatable. This may seem like heresy, but I contend that far, far too much of "Jazz" is given over to BOTH Pops and Duke. Burns subscribes to the "Great Man" theory of history, and his method is to follow these "great men" from the cradle to the grave. Sadly, Armstrong's most significant innovations were made in the 20s and 30s. By the end of the 1930s, Pops was in the rut that he would stay in for the rest of his career. Not that he didn't continue to make great music. He did. But never again would he have the kind of impact that he had with his Hot Five recordings. Seems to me that Burns could have dropped Pops in the 40s, and only occasionally returned to him in the 50s and 60s, rather than reporting his every move. I have similar feelings about Ellington. Again, no doubt that he was extremely innovative at one time, but that time did pass (he had more comebacks than Armstrong, however). Again, we didn't have to have a day-to-day account of Duke's life. Seems we could have dropped Duke by 1950, coming back to him only occasionally. This would have freed Burns up to spend more time on figures like Bud Powell, who rated barely a mention in the series. Or Stan Getz, who is only mentioned in connection with his drug addiction. He is enthusiastic, and knowledgable. And talented. But why this makes him the single most important figure in jazz is beyond me. Burns practically moved in to Wynton's house for that series! Seriously, as fun as Wynton is to watch (with his "gumbo" metaphors), he doesn't make sense half the time. His first line in the series (in fact, THE first line of the series) is "Jazz objectifies America." Nice, but it doesn't mean anything. I think he meant "Jazz EXEMPLIFIES America." I have no doubt that Wynton loves jazz, but he clearly has less love for the English language. Yeah, I like Gerald Earley a lot. He has some nice things to say. Funny that Crouch hates him so much... Absolutely he does. Brubeck is a giant. There's a lot more to him than just "Take Five!"

Greg Osby - Alto Sax Stefon Harris - Vibraphone Jason Moran - Piano Daryl Hall - Bass Terreon Gully - Drums

I think it's interesting that two of the most important Blue Notes, "Somethin' Else" and "Blue Train", were made by artists who did very little on the Blue Note lable. Neither Cannon nor Trane ever recorded for Blue Note as a leader again, yet they helped define the sound and substance of Blue Note through their limited contributions. To me, two of the ultimate Blue Notes are Grant Green's "Idle Moments", which is so much more than the sum of its parts (it doesn't sound like a Grant Green album, that's for damn sure), and Eric Dolphy's "Out To Lunch", which sounds like nothing else. While these albums didn't necessarily spawn a host of imitators, they represent the best of what the lable had to offer.

Bad news for all the straight-ahead purists. Vibist Stefon Harris has formed a new quintet called Blackout which plays funk and fusion. Harris joins Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, and Chris Potter, all of whom have released fusion albums in the last year. I know there are some here for whom words like "fusion" and "Fender Rhodes" are dirty, but I've gotta say that Blackout's show at the Egg in Albany, NY was one of the most exciting I've seen in ages. I'm really looking forward to this band's first album! Here's a review: Blackout Over Albany

I enjoy the few Pink songs that I've heard (and technically, it's not "Pink", it's "P!NK"). I have a file of crappy yet catchy pop songs that I've downloaded off of Kazaa, and both "Get The Party Started" and "Don't Let Me Get Me" are in there, as is the version of "Lady Marmalade" that Pink did with Maya, Li'l Kim, Christina, and Missy Elliot. In terms of looks, I think Gwen Stefani is WAY better looking than Pink, although Pink certainly ain't too shabby. I will admit that I've always thought that Jewel was cute even though I never dug her music. I admire the fact that Jewel has crooked teeth (in fact, I have a front tooth that's crooked in the exact same way). In terms of her sound, I had her pegged as a Michelle Shocked knockoff from the very start. And I'd rather listen to Michelle any day of the week (her CDs are finally being reissued, after being out of print for more than a decade).

I never had a letter printed in a jazz publication, but I did get one in Time Magazine. It's particularly obnoxious and deliberately provocative. Here it is: I also got one printed in American Scholar, the journal for the Phi Beta Kappa Society, but sadly they are not on-line. I still have the issue, though!

Jacknife, I'm a big Kikoski fan. Do yourself a favor and check him out. "Combinations", his most recent release on Criss Cross, is great. Also look for "The Five", which was recorded during a recent tour of Japan. Dave also plays on the two BeatleJazz albums, which are very accessable, but full of excellent playing. Great straight ahead stuff. I recently learned that Kikoski has had very bad luck with his hands. He's broken both of them during the last several years, and has recently developed a case of tendonitis! In fact, he recorded the "Birds of a Feather" album with a broken left hand! Amazing to think that he could play like that with only one good hand!