Kalo

Great suggestion! I love that session.

That about covers it here, too.

BTW, to previous posters, it's kenny WOLLESEN, only one "n' and one "o." Very versatile drummer who can rock AND swing.

Glad to be of service. I sold the Rough Trade when I scored the Artists House which was released on LP in '82. I don't know if it ever made it to CD.

Happy B-day Kenny

That's who came to mind for me.

These are the three that get the most play at my house.

Are You Glad To Be in America? was initially released on Rough Trade, with a rather murky-sounding mix. A re-mixed version was released on Artists House shortly thereafter.

Jim, you sure have a way with words!

Was this written by the love-child of Philip Larkin and Stanley Crouch? I agree that there are some valid points there, but the conclusions, such as they are, don't really follow from them. Miles may have been a lot of things, but a fraud? Some of the points read like Larkin, who found Miles's tone lifeless, joyless, and pinched. Some read like that big article by Crouch in the New Republic a dozen or more years ago, where he took Miles to task for betraying his greatness by embracing fusion, retrogressive badass racial stereotyes, and macked-out clothes. Some of the assertions in the article are downright odd: "So weak was his playing that it had to be overdubbed on his earliest recordings." Huh? And how about this one: "Furthermore, his music has spoken down the years not to black experience but to white, European lifestyles. There’s a tidy chintziness about Kind Of Blue, for instance, that leads logically to the old theme music to Tomorrow’s World or background music at Seventies Ideal Home Exhibitions." This piece is all about striking an attitude. Sometimes pieces of this sort can be thought provoking, but I think you captured the overall impression of this one, Chris, with your phrase "largely clueless."

I prefer the "raspy years," too. But for me a little Bennett goes a long way. Bennett/Berlin (Columbia, 1987) is the one I listen to when I want to hear Tony. It's a nice selection of Irving Berlin tunes. Backing is by the Ralph Sharon Trio with guests George Benson (one track), Dizzy Gillespie, and Dexter Gordon (two tracks each).

Last night: Art Farmer/Gigi Gryce -- When Farmer met Gryce (Prestige/OJC) Fountains of Wayne -- Out-of-State Plates (Virgin Records) Sun Ra -- Other Planes of There (Evidence)

Kenny Clarke if I had to choose just one.

We're Only In It for the Money is the only one I still listen to at all.

There were some pretty good comics in the 20th century. Seriously, I'm deeply into the history and evolution of the medium, so just as with jazz or films, I could never choose a single favorite era.

Just saw it. My 11 year old nephew was in town, so I went with him. He thought it was "the best film ever." I have to say that I was underwhelmed. It was more faithful to the book than the previous film in some ways, and less so in others. For instance, they used the book's lyrics for the oompa-loompa songs, but tacked on a gratuitous back story for Wonka as well as a bogus Hollywood "therapeutic" ending. Depp's performance was miscalculated in an attempt to do something different than Wilder. (By the way, Dahl's choice to play Wonka was Spike Milligan.) The visuals were garish and generally unappealing. The kids's performances were lackluster. The lyrics of the songs were borderline inaudible. And the whole thing was too damn long. They did get some things right, notably the scene with the squirrels. Not that I liked the Wilder version either. As a fan of the book, I recall being quite disappointed by the film when it was first released. Just hard to please, I guess.

On the other hand, I'm really curious to find out more about this Ray Nance and Ben Webster disc. I look forward to your reports.

I agree with that. I'm especially impressed by the subtlety, sensitivity, and nuance of Sinatra's singing on this, in an era where he was beginning to rely more and more on swagger and bluster.

Last night: my trademark goat cheese pesto, from this summer's first harvest of home-grown basil.

Oops! The secret's out.

I Googled that and it sounds intriguing: Attilla Zoller, Lee Konitz, and Albert Mangelsdorff. Sign me up for that.

Happy Birthday to an Ellington fanatic supreme!

It just struck me that Ulmer is on Arthur Blythe's Columbia album Illusions from that same era, which, along with the Blue Note plus outtakes and alternates could bulk it up to Mosaic Select length. Except that the Blythe was out recently on Koch Jazz. And the OOP Columbia Blythes would make a nice Mosaic on their own.