neveronfriday

I could never afford those photographs I would like to have, but there is one I would buy if I had the money and if it was available. It was taken by Charles Peterson and shows Zutty Singleton keeping time for an HRS session of Pee Wee Russell's Rhythmakers on August 31, 1938. Most of you would probably laugh because there are so many great other photos out there to be had (or not had), but being a drummer myself, that one single photo embodies everything I like about jazz. It's a very subjective thing. I can't scan it in (I hate to bend the hell out of my books) and can't find it on the Net, but here they are at least ... Charles Peterson, Zutty and Louis.

Not alpha, but ...

Yeah, I got hooked again for over an hour (the "Europe 1919-1950 section) after I posted the first entry in this thread. Getting that hardcover in mint condition from Powells for under $30 was like Christmas. Currently (this is not an invitation to start a flame war), what's stopping me from crying into my beer is Ken Burns' "Jazz" volume. Am really enjoying it again (for the umpteenth time). And, I'm having a gin tonic anyways, so crying into that would be sacrilege. Comparable to leaving out the lime. A gin without lime is like a girl without, err, you know.

*envy* I guess my postcard set doesn't compare? Cheers!

I think it jumped the shark with the, (ahem), phallic analogy. Ok, guess I misread the room. My bad, and duly noted for future reference. But... The meat of that post (no pun intended) was in this paragraph: People had been asking how much of Miles' reputation was mystique, how much of it was purely musical, and what was the basis for the mystique. I'm of the opinion that the music and the mystique are at some fundamental level intrinsically intertwined. Few artists of any medium have allowed so many (seeming) contradictions to co-exist in their work and their persona as did Miles Davis. Name any "artistic attribute" and you can find both it and its opposite in both the music and the life of Miles Davis. Perhaps I misspoke when I used the phrase "truth is found in resolving ambiguities", because Miles never really set about resolving the ambiguities. He instead seemed more than content to let them coexist, not as battling forces, but instead as opposites that peacefully coexisted as a matter of fact, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be equally yin and yang at the same time rahter than being one or the other at any given moment. Which is how most of us are. We all have our various "sides", but how many of us can display them all at once, and in a most natural manner at that? Very few people can do that, and Miles, both as a person and as a musician seems to have been one of those few. The implications of this are quite real - here is a man and a music who can more or less exemplify many different things to many different people without any of those people necessarily "getting it wrong". At the level of celebrety, this is called "charisma", but it goes deeper than celebrety - it goes to the very real possibility that Miles' appeal, both personal and musical, was based on providing us with "bonding" based on providing us with bonds of recognition of ourselves and recogniton of our "complimentary opposites". Miles' music was "masculine" AND "feminine". "sloppy" AND "tight", "tough" AND tender", yin AND yang, and not one or the other at any given moment, but everything all the time. Arguments about Miles inevitably take the tact of Point A being refuted by a "yeah, bit" Point B, as if one refutes the other by having greater weight in the overall appraisal of the situation. Although that works in a lot of instances, it just doesn't fly with Miles, I think, because both are inevitably correct. Was Miles an asshole or a warm human being? Both. Was he a trumpeter with great chops or one who found a way to make do with what he had? Both. Was he a genuine innovator or an opportunist who was not above outright theft? Both. And none of those qualities necessarily takes precedence over the other. In fact, they are often all true at the same time. How many jazz musicians, no, how many PEOPLE can you say that about? Very, VERY few, and I'll wager that those of whom you can are people with a "mystique" their ownselves. Which leads to the question - when we choose "what it is" about Miles that we like (those of us who do like him, anyway), are we choosing to ignore the very real OPPOSITE qualities that he also embodied? If we are, are we doing so because we honestly don't see them, or because it would bother us to admit being so attracted to the buzz from the positive that we are more than willing to overlook the negative? And if we are willing to admit the latter, does that not open up a whole other set of personal "quandaries" about who and what we ourselves REALLY are? What we are willing to accept in order to get what we want/need is a major defining element of our personal character, isn't it? So, placed in the context of the above sentiments, I thought that a Glory Hole analogy was not only appropriate, but genuinely relevant, especially considering Miles' rumored bisexuality, which in itself is a literal embodiment of what I'm talking about and might go a long way towards explaining his personal and musical essence. That is, if it doesn't make the "enigma" (as it appears to a hetereosexual white male SERIOUS lover of Miles Davis' music such as myself) even more complex. Because whether we like to admit it or not, it's impossible to get the "good" Miles without also getting the "bad". If we like it, he music is fellating us, to use a figure of speech, but we really don't KNOW just who or what is doing it, not completely. And for something like that, if you don't know completely, you really don't know at all. I thought it would make sense. I guess I thought wrong. Err, I think this calls for a drink. Or four. Cheers!

WTF: I'll just go for the Mosaic. You guys are gonna kill me one day. Cheers!

I completely bombed out on blindfold test #7. How about we get together, get wasted and cry into our beers? Then ... back to shopping. (That hardcover is quite something, isn't it?)

Damn. Yeah, my memory. That happens if you are too sure of yourself. Yeah, I have that one too. I should be home right now to pull out some discs. For now, I'll just change my birthday back to 1 ... maybe that'll help the memory part. [depressed] Cheers!

Need to keep it (reasonably) cheap.

You mean to say that #5 is NOT from this CD? I'm just going to step over here and kill myself for a second. I'll be back later. I suck at these BFTs. *whine*

I seem to be unable (today ... not my day) to unearth a copy of Randy Weston's CD "Little Niles". I've stumbled over so many recommendations that I wouldn't mind picking this one up. So far, I know it's on the Mosaic set (which I do not intend to buy) and that there is a Japanese re-issue which costs an arm and a leg. All too complicated. Does anyone have a source in Europe where I could get this from? Man, this is not my day.

That softcover has completely different content than the hardcover, correct? If you mean The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff (Wolff, Lourie, Cuscuna, Schnider (Contributor)), the hardcover and paperback should have the same contents. I only have the hardcover, so I can't check. [Edit: The book entitled Blue Note : Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff seems to be just another release and also identical to the others].

For people in Europe, the German edition of Claxography (with English text?) is available for Euro 40 from Nieswand Verlag: http://www.nieswandverlag.de/categories.ph...ewindex&catid=1 (3rd from top) (30 x 33 cm) Nieswand also published the Putfarcken above and has lots of really nice stuff available (Karl-Heinz Schmitt. Pieces of Jazz in Black and Colour. 24,5 x 33 cm. 55 colour- and duotones, f. ex.) Mark, I knew all the ones you listed (and have quite a few), but the Monterey Jazz Festival one I don't think I have come across yet. Sounds interesting. I'll go and check it out ... now. B) The Leonard limited edition of Jazz Memories is stunning ... but out of my price range. The standard edition I'm looking for used. http://www.hermanleonard.com/limited.htm ($495 ... ouch) Thanks!

And this is a great (Flash) exhibition of cover art, starting with Sthe Steinweiss era: http://www.eisnermuseum.org/_albums/index.html Click on begin. [Edit: There used to be a lot more. I think they reduced it. I haven't checked that link for a long time. Not really all that good anymore. Sorry.].

Some Alex Steinweiss covers: http://www.xs4all.nl/~rabruil/remcovart.html

Got it, and yes, I left out TONS of stuff. Looking forward to hearing from others regarding their recommendations. Cheers!

Muffin (left) and Basil (right)

I wouldn't mind seeing a pic. Got one? Cheers! [Edit: I mean in all his glory. Cat lovers have tons of photographs of their lovbed ones around. I know ...]

Hi everyone, these past years I snatched up copies of lots of jazz photography books whenever I saw them pop up on eBay, amazon (second hand) or in other places. I have to admit that I'm not quite as critical as some photography experts on this board, but the following I have enjoyed very much. I have a lot more, but maybe you can also add your recommendations? I might start searching for some I don't have yet and your info might point me towards. BTW: I bought many second-hand copies at powells.com. Reasonably priced and never disappointed with the quality. Here we go: 1) Album Covers: I'm a sucker for album covers and I have a ton of oversized paperback reprints, some of which are: - Graham Marsh and Glyn Callingham: 1) California Cool. West Coast Cover Art. Featuring Contemporary Records and Pacific Jazz. 2) East Coasting. The Cover Art of New York's Prestige, Riverside and Atlantic Records. 3) The Cover Art of Blue Note Records. Vols. 1 and 2. All of these are wonderful (some reproductions could have been better because the editors apparently did not hunt down mint copies of the LPs for reproduction; size: about 30cm * 30 cm), but considering the price you can sometimes find these at, it could be an idea to snatch them up, tear them apart, mount and frame your fave reproductions and hang 'em up on the wall. Something I intend to do. - Alex Steinweiss 1) Jennifer McKnight-Trontz and Alex Steinweiss. For the Record. The Life and Work of Alex Steinweiss, Inventor of the Album Cover. This book is smaller (18cm * 18 cm), but Steinweiss is certainly my fave cover artist. True art. - Eric Kohler 1) Eric Kohler. In the Groove. Vintage Record Graphics 1940-1960. Wonderful graphics, nice colours - again, true art. (about 24cm * 24cm) Unfortunately, the book on Verve record covers which was announced last year never materialized and the project was apparently shelved. Does anyone have any more info on this? I would love to get my hands on a book like that. - Michael Ochs 1) Michael Ochs. 1000 Record Covers. This one was published by Taschen in 1996 (I have no idea if this was a larger hardcover) and reprinted in 2002 (hardcover; 20cm *14cm). A wild ride spanning all musical styles from the 50s to the 90s. Great fun to browse. 2) Photography: Originally I bought a second-hand copy of a jazz photography book to also tear it up and hang some stuff up on the wall (many books display reproductions in stunning quality rivalling way too expensive photo reprints (but never, of course, reaching that quality)), but I haven't yet found the courage to do so. Some of my favourites: 1) William Claxton. Jazz Seen. Everyone with a remote interest in the subject will have this wonderful Taschen hardcover from 1999 and it is still readily available, usually at very reasonable prices. I paid under 20 for a copy in near mint condition. A must-have. 2) Frank Driggs & Harris Lewine. 1920 - 1950. Black Beauty, White Heat. A Pictorial History of Classic Jazz. This one is available as a reprint (paperback, I think, and somewhat updated, if memory doesn't fail me, but I went for a second-hand copy of the original hardcover from 1982. For me this one is the cornerstone of my collection, although the reproductions are, due to the nature of this book, not up to the quality standards of, say, books like the above-mentioned Claxton. That's also not the point. What you get is a wealth of information plus a load of vintage photos and poster reproductions that, one year later, I still pull from my shelf again and again. I think it'll take me several years to take in all the info. Highly recommended! 3) Carole Reiff. Nights in Birdland. Jazz Photographs 1954 - 1960. This book has already been talked about elsewhere on this board, but despite the lacklustre reproductions and, in the first edition, careless editing job, Reiff's photographs are some of my favourites. She got very close to the musicians and some of the shots show their subjects in seemingly very private moments. There are so many wonderful photos in this book, it's difficult to single any out. So, I won't. Check out the other thread. 4) Dennis Stock. Jazz Street (? I have a German edition entitled "Jazzwelt"). Published in the 60s, this is another classic and not easy to find cheap. I found one in excellent condition, but it took me over a year to find it at an acceptable price. The reproductions are good (in my edition, "Büchergilde Zürich") and besides some shots being a bit on the grainy side, the photos are great. You can check them out online. 5) Joachim E. Berendt and William Claxton. Jazz Life. Published in Germany in 1961. The German Jazz critic and Claxton went on a "jazz tour" through the States, capturing everything from New Orleans street parades to bebop, jazz festivals, etc. There are some shots which are also in the Claxton (Taschen) above, but to get the complete trip here is just wonderful. The reproductions are good (on cheap and rather thin paper ... meaning inevitable edge browning) and Berendt's notes are captivating. 6) Jan Putfarcken. Jazz Portraits. This small slipcased hardcover (about the size of a CD I, funnily enough, bought in the Staes (powells has this one VERY cheap at the moment) although it was published in Germany. Wonderful head shots of a whole line of great jazz musicians, also a lot of more recent ones (Garbarek, Gurtu, Metheny, etc.). For under $5 this was a real find. I could write about a lot more about these kinds of books, W. Royal Stokes. Swing Era New York. The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson (1994), Milt Hinton a. o. OverTime (1991), Tim Motion. Jazz Portraits. An Eye for the Sound (1995), Lee Tanner. Images of Jazz (1996), Francis Wolff's stuff, but maybe others want to join with some info? Cheers!

Hi everyone, just heard that from March 11th until march 24th, www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr (Columbia University) will be broadcasting 200 hours of Coltrane. Time to get the drinks mixed. Cheers!

Ahhhhhhhhhh. THAT hand. Nope, never seen it before. Sorry. Cheers!

Err, the hand? Care to elaborate? The Hand of God (June 22, 1986)? Rodin? Cheers!

Come to think of it ... let's just stay outside and have a longer go at it.

Care to step outside for a minute or two? [Edit: typo]

The only tiling I ever did was cluttering my apartment's walls with LP covers (every inch). That was, hm, 25 years ago. But Herman, which I assume is the cat, I like. Would that be "Herman, ze German?" Cheers!