Kalo

One major factor here is that Columbia kept Miles's albums in print continuously and Sony continues to. You could and can find them in just about any store/record club, etc. Then there's the fact that for the media and thus for the general public, there's only one jazz "name" at a time (Wynton, anyone?). Also, recording techniques had advanced by the time of the classic Miles albums so that their sound quality is acceptable to most of today's listeners. Which is not true of the greatest recordings of other great jazz names like 1940s Ellington or 20s/30s Armstrong. For as long as I've been around, Miles has always been either the token jazz album in anyone's collection, or one of the gateway albums to the world of jazz. My parents, not otherwise jazz listeners, had Sketches of Spain and ESP(!). Kind of Blue was one of the first five jazz albums I bought back in the late 1970s, and the others were on Columbia, too: Brubeck, Mingus, Monk. And, of course, Miles made some great records. Whether they would be as widely hailed as they are without the factors mentioned above and throughout this thread, is another matter.

This is a great DVD. Time to watch it again.

Looking forward to this!

Hope's ballad, "Mirror-Mind Rose," is very beautiful. I hear the Hill parallels, too. Bolton is like a cross between Clifford Brown and a flame-thrower. I'll have to listen to this twice in a row, because once is not enough.

Hilarious!

How was it? Have you read Charles Sharr Murray's Crosstown Traffic? It's excellent, though more of a critical study of the music than a biography..

Cool! I've never seen that before. What a great album! Harold, Dupree, and Elmo playing some truly "tuff ass" jazz..... Time to pull this baby out once again.

She was fine! I don't think she appeared in any other films. Are you saying that chicks don't dig bald, bespectacled guitarists? As a bald, bespectacled guitarist, I resemble that. I mean resent that.

Robert Griffin is a sight to see... And a sound to hear. He takes a potential gimmick and turns it towards a substantial musical effect.

Circular breathing is just like any other technique... only as impressive as the musical result. If Kenny G circular-breathed in the woods and nobody heard him..... Would he still suck?

Not exactly sure what I want to say here, except... I LOVE BASS CLARINET!

way to commit myself...

I'd submit this thread as evidence that jazz is, just maybe, underintellectualized... Or would I?

Go for the piano!

Wow! I'd love to see this.

Another innovator gone. RIP Luc. Your legacy was both "Presque Rien" and anything but.

The man invented a new instrument. That's a claim to fame in any era, no matter what you think of the results. RIP Bob Moog.

TWO bass clarinets! Having just one in my band would be a fantasy fulfilled. I'm becoming more and more interested in klezmer. We've got some great bands in Boston. I'll try to check out you recommendations. I need to hear more Erlich -- and I dig Wollesen

I'm always happy when that ol' bass clarinet makes an appearance. Dolphy's the man, of course. I Like David Murray's way with the instrument, too. Ballads for Bass Clarinet is a favorite among his records. I love DeFranco/Blakey Blues Bag. Pity he didn't pursue the instrument. I like his playing on the orthodox clarinet, but it can get a bit tinny... I just saw Don Byron in Boston and he unleashed the bass cl to good effect. Louis Sclavis, Gianluigi Trovesi... Finnish born, New York bred Paul Austerlitz is an old cohort of our own Allen Lowe. He's on some of Allen's records and has his own: A Bass Clarinet in Santo Domingo and Detroit(X Dot 25), where he dabbles in Dominican music (Gonzalo Rubalcaba guests), as well as essaying Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz" and Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady." Which reminds me that Harry Carney was a master of the instrument, too, as he demonstrates on the same tune as rendered on Masterpieces by Ellington(Columbia/Legacy).

I was just given a copy of this. Seems he focuses primarily on Germany. I'll report back when I've swallowed it. I'll rely on you guys to correct my perceptions, as most of this is new to me, though I do like much of the Euro-jazz I've heard.

Wittgenstein?

Great thread. One that I love that I've never heard anyone talk about nor seen anyone write about is Django's amazing turn on "I'se a Muggin'." A bit far afield, (though she did record with Lucky Millender), one of my favorite solos of all time is Sister Rosetta Tharpe's guitar solo on her "Don't Take Everybody To Be Your Friend." It kills me every time. That gospel gal invented rockabilly! Another one that knocks me out is Ocar Pettiford's bass solo on "Caravan" from Monk's Plays Duke Ellington. He sounds like he's grabbing handfuls of chords -- perfect complement to Monk's style. And on the same album's "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart," Pettiford's solo is the epitome of melodic poise. He's great all over this joint. With Kenny Clarke is on drums it's one of the greatest trios ever and a very under-rated album, IMHO.

Where's the Twizzler when we need him? I'm sure he could find something in his collection of old newspapers/magazines that says the exact same thing about Little Richard, Chuck Berry, etc. ← "Repetitive and primitive with pretty much no sophistication..." Aren't those their strong points? (I loves me some 1950s R&R!)

Yes, but is Classical yesterday's Jazz?