Kalo

Excellent. Can't have too much Groucho on the board!

And Groucho, too. That was amazing, Allen. Thanks!

Jazz and Jazz, Kenny Clarke and the one by the two guys named Bernard just arrived. Spinning Jazz & Jazz now and it is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Nervous, angular, longhair. Flutes, vibes, and wordless female vocals. THANK YOU!!! You're welcome, TtK! I'm glad it hit the spot for you. I need to pull this one out and give it another spin myself.

I'm another skeptic. She has a great band, though. Here's a review I wrote of her recent Boston concert (bear in mind that the copy editors write the headlines):

Louis Opal Nations' notes state that "Little Axe" "was in in fact a man living as a woman". I've read elsewhere that it was just the opposite - "Little Axe" was a woman who lived as a man. Whatever the case, Willmer "Little Axe" Broadnax was a great singer - that's all that matters. Looking at the photo, they all have mustaches, except for the one in glasses in the top photo and without glasses in the bottom photo. Is that "Little Axe"? I went to high school with a Broadnax, whose father is a jazz musician, but there's no resemblance that I can discern. Yet it can't be a very common name, can it?

I love that chain. There's one in Tallahassee. The one in my neighborhood burned to the ground.

A big hand to the producer of some of my all-time favorite "hillbilly" music. R.I.P. Mr. Nelson.

I did, once. Tristano/Konitz/Marsh...

Same way I do it. Not uptight at all, just efficient.

I've loved this one since it was first released. Primo P-Funk.

Did you run with the Lester Young Story Columbia 2-LP sets of the late 70s? That was a priceless series! Got four volumes of those. Essential stuff. I've got all five. Priceless.

What's to apologize for? Those cats sould PLAY! I know that! Yet somehow this music sounds pretty corny and very much of its time, today (and let me add I'm too young to have been around then, so there's no nostalgia involved). ubu What's to apologize for? Those cats sould PLAY! I know that! Yet somehow this music sounds pretty corny and very much of its time, today (and let me add I'm too young to have been around then, so there's no nostalgia involved). ubu I loved them as a kid, and love them now. "Good Times" is one of the most important songs in the development in rap music. Can't tell you how often as a teenager I heard djs scratching off the instrumental break on the long version and then me trying to do the same at home. Lets not forget that "Good Times" was used for the ground breaking "Rapper's Delight" as well as "Bounce, Rock, Skate Roll". Chic was the bomb! I am unashamed to say that Chic is one of my favorite bands ever. Nile Rodgers was a major influence on my own conception of guitar back in my rock band days.

I had this in the zep reunion post, but worth another promo for you SCTV fans. Stairways To Heaven As an SCTV fan, I do indeed thank you for that, as Led Zep's lawyers did not allow that to be included on the DVDs.

One of the most disappointing concerts I ever saw was McCoy Tyner at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA in the 1980s. He played a lot of tunes that coupled static modal tunes with static latin/rockish rhythms, and the bass player played the same solo on every tune. But I know in my bones that the Outlaws/New England bill that I saw in 1979 was among the worst concerts ever given. Trust me.

Nice Beer! Seriously.

And, of course, there's always

It's certainly the best of her Decca material. Larkins has to be just about the most underrated pianist in the history of the music, and he was a perfect accompanist. Definitely prime Ella! The above is a must, along with the Complete Songbooks. The last of the Songbooks, devoted to Johnny Mercer, is an overlooked gem, beautifully recorded with superb arrangements by Nelson Riddle.

According to iTunes, my top 25 most listened to songs were all by Sloan, the Canadian power pop band. Of course, that doesn't count what I listened when I wasn't listening to my iPod, which is most of what I do listen to: This year, I'd guesstimate, Ellington, Monk, Bach, James Brown, Blue Mitchell, Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, "Lefty" Frizell, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Gerry Mulligan, "Papa" John Phillips, Frank Hewitt, the Boswell Sisters, Abbey Lincoln, Arthur Russell, Lee Konitz, Steve Lacy, The Zombies, Misha Mengelberg, Pandelis Karayorgis, Steve Reich, and Organissimo!

An old favorite. I should reread this book. Ya took the woids outta my mouth! Nice book! I've had Stewart's autobiography, Boy Meets Horn, for years. I should get around to reading it.

I missed this the first time around. Fascinating. Beat scholarship!

I've heard good things about this series of reissues. I'm inclined to trust Larry's ears, but I am definitely curious to hear other opinions as well.

In 1979, a buddy convinced me and some friends to go see The Outlaws. The opening band was the justly forgotten New England. Suckfest extraordinaire.

My "huh?" was aimed at the coupling of "Holiday's voice was near its best" with "even though her liver would fail..." It just seems kind of bizarre to me. I know the writer means something along the lines of: "though she was only a few years from her death, her voice was near its peak." But the way it's written it seems to be making some sort of odd connection between her liver and her voice.

They were the Boswells, so to speak, to the Boswell's Dr. Johnsons...