Kalo

I think he did - and he was humble enough to make no big deal about it. He may have made more record dates in L.A. than any other jazz bassist. ← That's good to hear. I just looked at that photo once more and it knocked me out all over again. Not just for capturing the man, but compositionally as well. That's a very good photograph, Dmitry. Great colors, nicely balanced. I like the way the red of the conga drum on the left is echoed by the reflection of the dining room walls on the right. And then there's that big blue mountain of a man smack dab in the center, but the direction of his head (almost exactly counterpoised to the window behind him) offsets the centering perfectly... Nice.

Yes it was the first: first one they put out and first one I bought, way back when.

Not that I don't love Bukka...

Try reading Chaucer to this melody...

Interesting. I like him on the Harris sides I've heard, as well as on your (Allen Lowe's) At the Moment of Impact... I've found his Blue Note dates to be very, well, VARIABLE. A month or so back I finally got Ivey-Divey, but it hasn't really kicked in, despite the fact that I've given it several spins. Still, I'm rooting for him; though, at times, I admit that he can be eclectic to a fault.

Why's that Chuck? Just answering questions but not selling discs? That settles it: I'll have to buy mine from you... (I've tried locally, but haven't found it.) PM to follow...

Having never been much of a guitar fan (with the exception of Christian and Reinhardt), I first tuned in to Hall on the early-'60s recordings he did with Rollins and Desmond. The "thinking man's-guitarist." I've been a fan ever since. Here's a (relatively) recent review I did for a local rag: (MUSIC REVIEW) GUITARIST, BASS PLAYER MAKE AN ENGAGING PAIR By Kevin Lowenthal, Boston Globe Correspondent | December 4, 2004 CAMBRIDGE -- Guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Dave Holland are two of jazz's finest string players. They have worked over the years with a pantheon of greats, from mainstream icons such as Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis to avant-garde avatars Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton. Today they are respected bandleaders in their own right. On Thursday night at the Real Deal Jazz Club, the two opened a rare three-night stand as a duo, presenting a set of chamber jazz tunes that were alternately thorny and lyrical but always engaging. To begin, the owlish Hall, slightly hunched over his guitar, plucked a few spare, exploratory chords. His signature muted tone gleamed like a distant bright light on a murky night. Holland, slim and elegant behind his bass, joined Hall in a speechlike musical dialogue, displaying his rich, woody, centered sound. A familiar tune emerged as Hall's guitar circled the melody of "My Funny Valentine," the Rodgers and Hart standard. Holland outlined the tune's chords with a bass figure that seemed to skip and run as much as walk. Hall's lines slipped away from the song's center of gravity. Gradually, he switched to ringing chords that became a rhythmic underpinning for a Holland solo -- an impeccable set of variations on the theme. It was a shifting, mercurial set, as each tune's melody received little more than a peck on the cheek before being left behind. Neither Hall nor Holland settled into the role of soloist or accompanist for long, maintaining a delicately calibrated seesaw of foreground and background. Hall's "End the Beguine," placed angular, dissonant guitar phrases against a static bass figure. Holland's "Blues for C.M.," dedicated to Charles Mingus, convincingly evoked the metier of that master bassist. On "All the Things You Are," the Jerome Kern standard that has inspired generations of improvisers, Hall and Holland opened with a loose, uncoordinated gait, then locked into a tight, double-time, swing feel. On "Ario," Holland's paean to Rio de Janeiro, Hall stated the melody with his patented late-night lyricism, then switched to sweetly dissonant chords while Holland played a beautiful, melodic solo. At times, Hall strummed with so little amplification that the sound of pick against strings became de facto percussion. The set's final number was Hall's 16-bar blues "Careful." Holland played long, sliding phrases, punctuated by slaps against the fretboard. Hall's theme statement was paradoxically rubbery and angular. As the two locked in and dug deeper and deeper into the loping beat, their exhilaration was palpable. When the tune came to a skittering halt, Hall maintained his wry deadpan, but Holland's face broke into a wide, satisfied grin. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.

I'd have to say that I'm also "dreadful sorry" Clementine ain't posing here no more. In fact, he's one of the main reasons I STARTED posting here, if only to disagree with him for the most part. Still, I agree with Chuck Nessa, that Clem DID provide stimulus for thought. BRAVO! I'm just hoping that he's not currently "wearing boxes with no topses," (whatever that means).

She related to Dick?

I'm glad to have the Mosaic, but I would be hard pressed to say that it's "essential." Still, at a good price I'd say "go for it." Myself, I listen mostly to the first few discs, with the "classic" All Stars Teagarden-Hines-Bigard personnel.) I'm tempted to get the "Autobography" material on the Verve reissue JUST for the introductions, if I can find it at a good (AKA "cheap") price. There's just something about Louis's voice, not to mention his powers of perception, especially when he's speaking "off the cuff." A question for those who know: does Louis sound "natural" on these intros, or as though he's reading from a script? I realize that that is a judgement call, but what do YOU think?

He looks like a king on his throne... And RIGHTFULLY so. I only hope that he knew, in his heart, how important he truly was as a linchpin in this great music we all love.

Wow! I'll have to revisit this picture. Don't forget that it also featured the great Washington Go Go band EU and their classic '80s tune "Da Butt." Plus it also featured a "Stepping" contest between the frats!

Branford also appeared in Spike Lee's School Daze(1988), about fraternity life at a historically black college. It caused some controversy at the time for airing some "dirty laundry," as it dealt with, among other issues, color prejudice between various shades of African-Americans. It's been a long time, but I remember liking Branford's performance. No sax, though, as I recall. The most memorable scene was when the bourgeois frat boys went to a "townie" fast-food restaurant and had to deal with some "real" homeboys. Larry Fishburne was in the film, too, in one of his early lead roles. I fondly remember the time when Spike Lee seemed "promising." For instance, I thought that Do the Right Thing was an amazing movie (though I haven't seen it lately). But it's pretty much been all downhill for Spike for a long time now.

Cabin in the Sky also featured the great Ethel Waters, as well as Lena Horne, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (who got to do some singing with that "multiphonic" voice of his), and an obscure trumpeter/singer named Louis Armstrong. Armstrong's big number "Ain't it the Truth," was cut from the film, but appears in all its glory on the 1996 Turner Classic Movies/Rhino Movie Music CD, along with other goodies. Recommended.

Not surprising. Virtually all movie sound is added in post. It's just the way films are made. That's why it's so ridiculous to complain about actors "miming" their instrument playing on screen. They are actors, after all, and not necessarily musicians. ← I haven't had a chance to look at The Conversation again, but at least Hackman's miming himself, which add to the verisimilitude of the performance. Not that that's any guarantee. I recall a bit in Giddins's Armstrong documentary where Louis was miming himself to ghastly effect ( the fact that he couldn't reproduce his own solo is a testament to his truly "jazzical" spontaneity, IMHO). Has anyone caught the Gjon Mili JATP short, follow-up to his classic Jammin' The Blues? Buddy Rich isn't even trying to copy his own recorded performance, which is kind of funny but also incredibly annoying; also, I guess, the reason that this flick was not initially released, as far as I know. Anyone know different? I definitely agree with Rosco about good and bad mimers. Best case scenario, of course, is that the actor CAN play: part of the success of The Buddy Holly Story and the recent Ray Charles bio-pic is the fact that the leads were not only incendiary actors, but could also convincingly play the music for real, which helped to trump the otherwise stultifying conventions of the genre.

Actually, this sounded quite interesting to me. Except that I HATE Sting. I'll make a point of checking it out.

That might be a good time for me to visit my brother in D.C.

The Conversation is one of my favorite '70s films, and easily my favorite Copolla. Great link. Very interesting about the score and Hackman's playing; I didn't know that stuff. It never struck me that Hackman was miming. Usually that really bugs me, though not being a reed player it's harder for me to tell in cases like this one. Guess I know now why I wasn't bothered in this film. I'll have to watch it again soon (I own it on DVD).

Excellent choice! I like this album a lot. This will be a good excuse to pull it out again.

Brubeck's music also makes an appearance in the current flick Wedding Crashers, where his "Blue Rondo a la Turk" provides the music for a touch football game montage.

How about Mickey Rooney as a jazz drummer in "The Strip"? There's lots of good Armstrong and the All Stars in that: Teagarden, Hines, and Bigard!

Good eye, Alexander. I didn't catch that anachronistic Miles cover. What did strike me as egregious in the same flick was Matt Damon's lame Chet Bakerish singing.

My condolences to you and your family in this difficult time.

Thanks, Mike. Honestly, I don't listen to much jazz radio, except for the Harvard Station, WHRB (got to love their orgies, where they play EVERYTHING by an artist, composer, or label--often with Jack Wolker AKA Stereo Jack's participation), and Charlie Kohlhase's stints on the MIT station, WMBR, when I get a chance. I'm looking forward to wallowing in these CD Baby discs...

I thought I was on the wagon, but I just placed the following CD Baby order: 1 of: FRANK HEWITT: we loved you ($12.97 each) 1 of: RANDY SANDKE: outside in ($15.00 each) 1 of: ORGANISSIMO: waiting for the boogaloo sisters ($12.99 each) 1 of: TEO MACERO: sampler (FREE!) 1 of: ANTHONY BROWN'S ASIAN AMERICAN ORCHESTRA WITH STEVE LACY: monk's moods ($15.00 each)