Alexander

I think it's excellent. ?uestlove actually does Willie Mitchell better than Willie Mitchell did on the last two Green releases!

Worst lyric of all time is "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole: So open up your morning light And say a little prayer for I You know that if we are to stay alive And see the peace in every eye She had two babies One was six months one was three In the war of '44 Every telephone ring Every heartbeat stinging When she thought it was God calling her Oh would her son grow to know his father CHORUS: I don't want to wait For our lives to be over I want to know right now What will it be I don't want to wait For our lives to be over Will it be yes or will it be Sorry He showed up all wet On the rainy front step Wearing shrapnel in his skin And the war he saw Lives inside him still It's so hard to be gentle and warm The years passed by and now He has granddaughters Chorus Oh so you look at me From across the room You're wearing your anguish again Believe me, I know the feeling It sucks you into the jaws of anger Oh, so dig a little more deeply, my love All we have is the very moment And I don't want to do what His father and his father and his father did I want to be here now So open up your morning light And say a little prayer for I You know that if we are to stay alive And see the peace in every eye Chorus (2 times) So open up your morning light And say a little prayer for I You know that if we are to stay alive And see warmth in every eye This song drives me nuts everytime I hear it. The tune isn't bad and Cole's voice is fine, but that lyric! It sounds like she wrote a dummy lyric and decide to leave it. "She had two babies. One was six months, one was three..." Three what? Months? This woman has a three month gestation period? Of course, it's years! How silly of me! But since when is a three year old child considered a "baby"? "In the war of '44..." I don't think I've ever heard of World War II referred to as "the war of '44." It might be the "war of '38" (starting from Hitler's invasion of Poland) or even the "war of '41" (starting from the bombing of Pearl Harbor). But not "the war of '44"! Why 1944? Because of D-Day? In the second verse, the guy "shows up all wet on the rainy front step wearing shrapnel in his skin." Not too bad. Nice imagary in that last bit. And we learn that "the war he fought lives inside him still." But then "the years pass by and now they have granddaughters." What the hell? How did we get from "shrapnel in his skin" to granddaughters? Didn't ANYTHING happen during the intervening years? And then there's that horrible first line: "Open up your morning light and say a little prayer for I." (Shudder) I don't think I have to point out what's wrong with that line. I mean, "It Ain't Necessarily So" isn't grammatically correct either, but at least some people talk like that! I don't think I've ever heard "I" used in that way...

Yeah! That Sheldon album is a killer! He's also great in the Curtis Counce group...

Whatta shock! Clem has something to say on the subject! And he name drops a bunch of other artists he thinks is worthy of more attention! THAT guy's sure not predictable! No, sir! I especially liked the part where he implies that Spalding is getting so much attention because she's light skinned. Gotta get that race baiting in there! For those who think she's too young, hasn't paid any dues, is simply yet another Norah-like product of the media machine, I direct your attention to this 2004 article that was posted on her Berklee student profile: Esperanza Spalding By Sarah Murphy Berklee.edu Correspondent April 2004 Esperanza Spalding was 15 years old when she entered the world of the working musician at a Portland, Oregon, blues club, armed with a single bass line. "Somehow I got this gig with a blues band. I don't know how. I could play only the blues in F," she says. Every member of the band was a seasoned veteran. Lead vocalist Sweet Baby James Benton had been a fixture on the Portland jazz scene since the 1950s. The trumpet player used to gig with Ornette Coleman. But they were eager to replace their bassist. Somehow, someone turned them on to Esperanza, who had only been playing the instrument for a couple of months. After that first performance, one of the musicians pulled her aside and asked her to rehearse with them "so she could actually learn something." It turned into a weekly gig and an invaluable experience that fostered Esperanza's interest in the bass and did wonders for her rhythmic feel. Within a year, Esperanza was gigging as a bassist and/or vocalist with "maybe six or seven" different groups throughout the Portland area, including two jazz septets, a trio, and a fusion group called Noise for Pretend that released two well-received albums on the independent label Hush Records. With all those gigs and a full-time job, going to Berklee was the last thing on her mind. Esperanza never much liked school, anyway. She was home-schooled for most of her childhood. Then at 14, she earned a scholarship to a prestigious high school. "It was horrible. I hated it, so I didn't ever go. It wasn't a good place for me," she says. "But the good thing is that by the end I had picked up the bass." The way Esperanza tells it, her first encounter with the bass was purely accidental. Goofing around the band room one day, she grabbed the instrument and started noodling. "At the same moment that I happened to pick it up the music teacher came in and says, 'Oh, you want to play bass?' We were both just kidding. But then he says, 'Here's a blues.' He taught me a bass line and I played it." It was that bass line that got Esperanza through her first gig. But she was miserable in high school, so she dropped out, passed her GED, and enrolled at a local university. Not much happier there, her bass teacher convinced her to apply to Berklee. She was awarded a full scholarship; still, she never believed she would actually make it to Boston, because she didn't have the money for living expenses. "It got to be June. I didn't even have a plane ticket and I definitely didn't have an apartment," she says. "A friend suggested a benefit concert. But I don't have a big ego like that, so I was like, no no no." Esperanza's friends and fans secretly organized the benefit, raising about a thousand dollars. And so she decided to give Boston a try. But after buying a plane ticket and shipping her bass, she had only $400 left. Within a few weeks that money was gone. Although she was fortunate to be living rent free with a family friend in a suburb south of the city, the commute was grueling. She had to walk two miles to the train station with her bass every day. "It was awful. I had a wheel [on the case] that was very testy, but I couldn't afford to buy another one," she says. Then in November it turned cold, and Esperanza got a taste of her first New England winter, rolling her bass through the snow. "By the end of the first semester I was so worn out from the commute and having no money, I just wanted to leave." In addition to the financial hardships, she wasn't sure if she even liked the college. Never a fan of formal academics, she found the course work confining. And, the sometimes intense competition among the student body was tough for her to accept at first. "You get these knots inside you. And you find all these places that you're vulnerable where you weren't vulnerable before. And it's all because you can't play a line as nice as somebody else. Who cares anyway?" Pretty much all musicians will say they play music for the joy of it. But with Esperanza, one gets the feeling that if it ever stopped being fun, she would quit in a heartbeat. Which is why – with so many obstacles to her personal happiness – it's amazing that she not only survived her first semester, she quickly became one of the most in-demand musicians at the school. Reluctant to take credit for her success, Esperanza claims some cosmic force was at work. "You have to understand," she says. "I'm here because somebody up in the heavens must love me or something." Executive Vice President Gary Burton, who has worked closely with Esperanza, begs to differ. A tough critic and a demanding teacher, he has high praise for the young musician. "She has a great time feel, she can confidently read the most complicated compositions, and she communicates her upbeat personality in everything she plays," he says. "She is definitely headed for a great career, and it will be soon." In fact, Esperanza's career is already well under way. At the end of that tough first semester, she was hired to tour with Patti Austin – an ongoing gig that took her to Italy this summer. She performs frequently in the Boston area as both a bassist and vocalist. She recently was chosen to sing in the college's jazz vocal series. And this past spring, she recorded one of her original tunes with a Berklee student group, under the guidance of producer Pat Metheny. Still, she's extremely modest about her accomplishments. "I make progress slowly," says the 19-year-old who, less than five years ago, had never even touched an upright bass. Esperanza likes to say it was an accident that she started playing the bass, and it was a miracle she ever made it to Berklee. It's probably an even bigger miracle that she stayed. But while fate and chance may have played a part in getting Esperanza where she is today, talent like hers is no accident. Esperanza's Top Five • God (or whatever word is used to describe the core beliefs of each person) • Mom and brother • Being with good people • Making music • Listening to music

While the initial post may be spam, she's very good. I saw her at the Freihoffer Jazz Fest in Saratoga last summer, and I was genuinely impressed. I also have picked up her debut CD and I think it's extremely well done. She's a great bassist and a wonderful singer. Just saying...

If anyone is inclined to pursue this as a career, "Jim Grunter" would make a great male porn star name!

She was in "Rear Window." You must have seen that one...

Back when I had a radio show, I used "Lonely Woman" by Horace Silver as the theme for my jazz show. My pop music show (the Art of Rock and Soul) used Joni Mitchel's "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" as the theme. When I changed the show to "One Nation Under A Groove," I used the Funkadelic song as my theme.

Why hasn't Otis Redding's estate sued? Because West cleared the sample and credited the Otis song in the liners.

Here's a new wrinkle for the copyright debate: Prince was recorded performing Radiohead's "Creep" and fans posted the video on YouTube. Prince cried "copyright infringement" and YouTube pulled the video. But Thom Yorke and the rest of Radiohead feel that it's not Prince's song to pull and they want it back up. Who should get the nod here? Prince or Radiohead? There has been a LONG thread on this very issue over on AllAboutJazz. Here's the thread in question. Anyway, as I said over on the AAJ thread, I've listened to both the Kanye and the Common songs (I own both CDs) and I honestly don't hear the Farrell samples. There is no saxophone or flute on the Kanye track at all, and the horns on the Common track come from a Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose song (credited in the liners, btw). Of course, I don't OWN the Farrell album, so I can't compare it. Wouldn't his music and his legacy be better served by his family working to get this album back into print, rather than suing people?

I always loved the way he and Tim Conway would crack each other up. Classic. RIP

Basie did some recordings on celeste, if I recall correctly. I dunno, I always liked it. I think it has a cool sound.

Funny...I love both Young AND Morrisey (although I'm more partial to the Smiths material than I am his solo work, of which I've actually only heard a little). I mean, they may be whiners, but they whine better than just about anybody...

Of all the places I've lived, Boston is easily my favorite. It's expensive as HELL, though. If I could afford it, I'd move back in a heartbeat.

I would think that home-schooling would be an ideal solution for someone with this disorder...

Just had a wonderful listening to the "Francis A. and Edward K." album. Great charts by Billy May. I'm actually surprised that Ellington's band sounds as good as it does playing non-Ellington/Strayhorn charts (Strays had only died a few months earlier) and non-Ellington material. Frank isn't supposed to be in good voice here (according to Will Friedwald in "The Song Is You"), but I think he sounds great. As much as I love the Capitol years, I've really gotten into the Reprise material in the past few years.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, Larry. I went through a similar period when I suddenly lost a job about five years back. Not only did I not want to listen to music anymore, but I actually entertained thoughts of selling the whole shebang. This sort of thing seems to accompany personal loss and trauma (I don't remember listening to a lot of music in the weeks that followed 9/11/01, either).

I'm reminded of a scene in "The Magic Christian": Youngman Grand, Esq. (Ringo): Dad, do you think words corrupt? Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE (Peter Sellers): I don't know, let's try. Agnes? Dame Agnes Grand: [looks up from the television] Yes? Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: Nipple. Dame Agnes Grand: Shh! [turns back to the television] Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: [watches her a moment] Well, there's no immediate physical change.

I listened to some samples. Her voice is okay, certainly not great by any standard. What really makes this record such a drag (and least on the few tracks I heard) are the limp arrangements. If she's going to sing everything in a low monotone, at least jazz up the arrangement!

I am interested in the fact that she chose to do an album of Tom Waits covers. As a Waits fan, I might have to check it out.

What I thought was funny was the juxtaposition of the anchor's vulgarity and the image on the screen (I think it was a cruise ship).

This is deleated? I'm pretty sure that this is what I have (I'm not at home to check. I ran a search and it certainly looks and sounds like what I have). How do I got about getting this modification you speak of?

I took my eight-year-old daughter (who has also seen all three "Lord of the Rings" films, all three "Spider-Man" films, all three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films (her current obsession. She has declared that she wants to captain a Clipper Ship when she grows up) and the Indiana Jones films) and she absolutely LOVED it. The scene in question shows Tony Stark in a (very brief) clinch with a female reporter early in the film. They kiss passionately and then fall off of the bed. The next morning, the reporter is shown alone in bed (she is naked, but is laying on her stomach and strategically covered by a sheet). I don't think it's any worse than what you'd see in a sixties Bond film. take your 8 year old to see nim's island - she will love it! I think my wife took her to see that. She did enjoy it (they both did, actually).

I certainly enjoyed the third film, but it was front-loaded with villians (the New Goblin, Sandman AND the alien costume/Venom). I was a little disappointed that they felt the need to end the Harry Osborn storyline in such a hurry. Each one of those villians could have had a whole movie to himself! The "too-many-villians" approach is one of the (many) things that marred the Batman movies of the late 80s and early 90s (besides Joel Schumaker in general). The first Batman film just had the Joker, but the second Burton Batman film felt the need to include BOTH Catwoman AND the Penguin. And when Schumaker took over, things got really ridiculous. The third film gave us the Riddler AND Two Face AND Robin AND a new love interest in the form of Nicole Kidman. The fourth film gave us Mr. Freeze AND Poison Ivy AND Bane AND Batgirl, plus Alfred gets sick...is there any time for Batman to actually...you know...appear the films the bear his name? That's what I LOVED about "Batman Begins." The movie was ABOUT the Batman, not about Ra's Al-Ghul or the Scarecrow or any other characters. "Spider-Man 3" never got as bad as the 90s Batman films (you never lost sight of Peter as the main character) but it was nearly as crowded as one of those films. Since Curt Connors has appeared or been mentioned in each of the three movies, I think it's time the Lizard makes an appearence!

My biggest quibble is probably with the "Complete Birth of the Cool" being listed over the RVG version, which sounds MUCH better. I do have the "Complete," but just for the live tracks.