Soul Stream

I LOVE the Coltrane, Rollins, Basie, Witherspoon/Webster and Art Farmer shows from Jazz Casual the best. Really looking forward to seeing them all. Also love the vocal shows as well...McCrae, Torme...and want to see the Lamberts. Woody Herman too. ....well...hell, ALL of them!!! PS...also, watching further the Art Pepper show. The 2nd number was MUCH more successful that the first. Kind of an Ornette-style blues. But the overall sentiment is that Pepper is just trying something that isn't natural to him to be "hip." Like Allen said. However, I do give him points for trying some wild shit on national television. He exposed himself to say the least and I'll give him a thumbs up for that kind of behaviour any day!

I going to wait for it to be released by Coca-Cola.

All great points ben*diks. I actually agree 100%. You're analogy to "Stormy Monday" is a good one. I guess it's really the intentions of the performer that matter most. Hearing B.B. King perform "Stormy Monday" live is one thing...hearing it at a blues jam is another. And I'm actually not against hearing a whole set or whole night of originals by a jazz band. But usually, the writing just isn't all that great or original enough to merit not doing at least a few well chosen and/or reworked standards. Plus, I do think it's nice for the listener when they know the melodies you're trying to improvise on at least every once in a while. I know I do.

Great to hear some other good reviews from people that actually saw the movie. Anyway, part of the reason I enjoyed the film is Cruise's charactor's relationship with his children. He's not pictured as a very lovable guy throughout most of the picture. Thought it was nice not to have the super-lovable dad saving his kids as you'd expect from a blockbuster such as this. Also, the special effects were awesome to my eye. That combined with great acting and a unbelievable story....wow. And this in the context that I absolutely hate 90% of the movies I see.

Gleason's interview is curiously strained... The band have just finished playing a tune called 'The Trip' and Ralph's first question is "what does that phrase mean to you?" Which is either the dumbest question ever... or the smartest! ← Yes, I found it to be the worst interview of the JC shows. Gleason seems almost to be taunting Pepper at times. Do you REHEARSE this kind of music? Why do you play this kind of music? Stuff like that. You can tell Ralph ain't diggin'.

...and maybe it's just his personality when he's talking to Gleason...but Art's speech sounds, and the band all LOOK pretty strung out imho...although it's not based on anything but speculation.

thanks for the tidbit.

I like Tom Cruise as an actor. Thought he did a great job in this movie. I don't let the media frenzy concerning his personal life affect what movie I'm going to watch.

True enough. But originals are like "angry young men" that one rarely ever sees again cuz the band breaks up, you avoid them, or they're forgotten about by the band members themselves. Standards-we'd-rather-not-hear-anymore are like "angry-young-men" that have not suffered infanticide and thus grown into being "angry-old-men" that have poisoned those around them for a real long time! ← I find that many bands that avoid standards do so because they would should the lacking musicianship in the band. Standards are just that....

Just saw "War Of The Worlds" tonight. Run, don't walk, to your local theatre. GREAT flick. Blew me away. The first half hour or so is some of the most spine-tingling scary stuff I've ever seen at a theatre.

nice to see you're dieting...

...if they're from this same period...maybe you shouldn't be looking for them.

As long as we're talking songs we'd rather not hear....how 'bout so many of those lame "originals" that go nowhere we're subjected to....

Just got the Jazz Casual episode featuring Art Pepper. Is this just me, or does the music and group seem odd. It's from 1964 and it seems that Art is trying to fall somewhere between Coltrane and Jackie McLean, but it's a very bad attempt it seems. Like REALLY wearing someone else's drawers! I mean the whole band just plods along. Frank S. on piano trying to play a Tyner-type piece, he even quotes something so romantic as "While My Lady Sleeps" amidst it. Seems like he'd rather be playing almost anything than what Pepper's making him play. And the bass and drums...the most timid stuff imaginable. It's like the Coltrane band with all the life drained out. I don't know much about Art from this era in his life, but this seems a far (and unsuccessful) cry from Art Pepper meets the Rhythm Section.

Maybe you're just tired of bad musicians. Not bad tunes.

Any chance this is the Love Supreme Suite performed at a festival and filmed for european television? Any word on WHEN this DVD is going to make to the shelves? Can Kevin Bres. get any word on this? Looking forward to this a lot.

Turned it on.... Brad Pitt lecturing us on giving... Madonna singing and holding, I guess, an african lady's hand and dragging her around the stage in a show of "unity" while she sang one of her pop hits with a choir... Seemed super contrived. I guess it's heart is in the right place, but it didn't have that feeling that Live Aid had. I don't think people care that much about africa right this minute, we're kind of pre-occupied with the middle east sad to say.

Thanks for all the advice.

The Dr. Lonnie Smith CD on Cellar Live is a KILLER. Best version of Mama's Got A Complex he's done on CD...super funky. Ian Henderickson Smith is just top-notch...flying just under the radar in NYC except at Smoke it seems. His time will come, he's amazing. A hard bop hero.

Saw Eric on BET Jazz last night. A full hour of a group with him, Louis Hayes, Kenny Barron, Peter Bernstein and John Webber. They were killing. And Eric in particular was on fire. He did a coda on Skylark that sent people into euphoria.

Yes, great organ sounds on Palmetto.

Just checked the Jazzmatazz site and notice a handful of CDs that look good that I had no clue came out already Javon Jackson w/Dr. Lonnie Smith "Have You Heard" Terry Gibbs w/Joey Defrancesco and Eric Alexander "Live in the Studio" Melvin Sparks....new one, forget the title Cedar Walton "Underground"

Tommy Flanagan, to name a name....but honestly, we're throwing around names of GIANTS. They're ALL master compers.

Not one of my faves. I'm not a huge fan of the Lonnie/Kudo period. Pretty low on the Lonnie list for me, but others may differ.

I haven't picked this up yet, but will. I think Eric is the best young tenor player out there (O.K., I said it...shoot me for commiting ). Anybody got this one yet?