Soul Stream

Great show! Lonnie's the man. What a storyteller and positive spirit he is!

Alright Organheads, fasten your seatbelts...Rhonda Hamilton is having Dr. Lonnie Smith as her guest today at noon EST (that's 11 a.m. Central) on WBGO out of Newark which is on the web.

...just another thought...every time I move the hammond/leslie it's the worst.

Well, 2 personal worsts for me.... The first is when loading into the gig, my bandmate dropped the organ on my foot and dislocated 3 of my toes (yes, I still played the gig) and went to the emergency room afterwards. Ouch, they had to reset those bastards, and THAT hurts too. Second. I rented my organ out for a Jimmy Smith gig at a club I used to play at. No problem. Only in the meantime, the club changed locations and the new club was up 2 very rickety flights of narrow steps. THAT move was a biiiaaatch. (and yes, JOS still yelled at me about my sh*t organ, got it comin' AND goin' on that rental...ps. that was the last rental I ever did, turn them down now all the time).

That's honestly some of the funniest stuff I've seen on the ol' Organissimo board (Sorry Chuck, I'm laughing with you on this). I just love the music biz..."who the f are you...oh, that's our new manager!

Mo Greens Please mediocre? Damn, I guess I didn't realize how much more fulfilling Michael Brecker is, the whole time I thought Freddie Roach was cookin'.

Wow. Always amazed at how gracious the giants are. I know lesser musicians who would have scoffed at that. Beautiful. At the same time, I'd love to be naive enough to ask Pat Martino for a song request!

What's the Jazz Showcase like as a club to go SEE people play? I've never been there but would like to go. What's the seating like. Do they boot you out after every set and milk you for as much bread as possible? How liberal, homey-feeling is it? WHERE is it in Chicago, how's the neighborhood? Near hotels, ect?

I actually like the varitone. On some songs Sonny got a not-so-good violin-type sound which wasn't happening. But Lou Donaldson and others sound nice on it, as did Sonny on some, not all, things. It's a nice change of pace for me and blends with the organ well imho.

I like this session a lot. Stone Cold Dead In The Market is a particular favorite. I just love the relaxed vibe of the session. This is my favorite "era" of Jimmy....not the flashy Jimmy we get on Organ Grinder Swing or Smalls. This is Jimmy keepin it really, really, really in the pocket and letting the tone of Rudy's beautiful C3 be heard. As far as TONE goes, the Hammond has just never sounded better than on these sessions imho. Some dismiss this and Rockin' the Boat as throw-offs to fulfill Jimmy's BN contract. I don't know what that situation was..but "I almost Lost My Mind" doesn't sound like anybody treading water. LOVE the tambourine on this stuff too. The new liners say it was Big John Patton, don't know if I believe that, but it's a good story.

Wow. Great set list. Can't wait for this to come out. Haven't discovered NEW Patterson in years. Was this originally on Delmark or another label?

Could you tell me what songs are on it? They don't list but 2 songs at CD Universe.

Thanks for the info Jim. I'll keep that in mind. A friend actually has a PR40 he doesn't use, maybe I'll hit him up for it. I know they aren't used much so a lot of them are around for cheap. Might be fun, but don't really have the room right now.

Ummm...a drag. And yours FFA?

Like every musician, I've thought many times about quiting the game of music. However, one thing has always been stuck in the back of my mind. And that is, many times I've seen musician friend who has quit...only to see them several years later looking older, and maybe less full of life. Maybe music is the spark that keeps many of us going. No matter what the scene is (the money, club owners, ect), quitting the game may really get to be a drag. Any insight from those who have quit? Or quit and come back? I could be wrong, just a thought.

It's too hard. Rhythmic precision like that is a bitch, phrasing, looping. It's easier to hitch a ride to harmoinic wonderland than to play like Bird. Just my guess.

Back from the gig...so to speak. B-)

I listen to my music via itunes on my computer almost all the time. Unless it's a CD I don't have loaded onto my ipod. Doesn't sound GREAT, but it sounds good and I'm not an audiophile anyway, just a musician listening to the cats play.

Unless you're willing to pay the orig. owner a fair market value, you'd have to pay that kind of bread. So really, you'd have to rip someone off.

You get these, for the most part by running ads in local, rural papers that say "I buy Hammond Organs, call _______". Then they go out and give the original owner next to nothing and haul off the gold. I know this because I know a dealer in Dallas that does this as him MO. Anybody can do this, I just don't find it all that moral.

What's a drag when you see these things is that whoever bought it from the original owner paid next to nothing and then it's $5000.

I'm jealous. But, good for you Jim.

Other than they both play trumpet. Two completely different musical minds. However, BOTH very, very soulful. Just taking two different paths to get there many times. I don't buy the argument that Lee is bluesy and has soul and Freddie is technical and cold. I'm not buying. Both are beautiful.

Let's face it, the people that go to these concerts are for the most part rich, old white people (sorry, that's the plain truth)...nothing wrong with that of course. However, I get the feeling many go to these events w/o any idea of what the event is. Many are season ticket holders for these centers (last night it was the Culver Center). I had the same, even more drastic experience at the Ornette show. It's really embarrassing to think that these masters still have to endure an uninformed audience that is constantly streaming for the doors throughout the show. I also think a little talking/banter/info. from the stage would go a long way toward keeping some of those on the fence interested. It was almost a competition between Brecker and Hargrove as to who could run off stage faster after their respective solos. There was so much running on/off stage it was distracting. No one said a word until almost 2 hours into the show when Brecker came out by himself and said a few nice comment and showed some humanity. No to say that this wasn't great playing at the highest levels of musicianship, no doubt. But Miles had panther-like stage charisma that was a show unto itself. Felt nothing like that from Herbie, so a few words on the mic could have kept the audience with him more imho. The computers also added distance with some of the normal folk I think. However, not to get distracted from the music... all said a wonderful night of musicianship. Well over 2 hours, they never wavered. Herbie flew in his own piano, computers and surround sound system. The sounds from his computer were really wild, flying around the auditorium. Playing-wise from the computer, Herbie had some nice horn-type sounds blending with Brecker/Hargrove at times. Other than that, Herbie seemed to do a lot of knob twirling and not a lot of playing at points. Although several times he really, really burned on the piano. Hargrove made me a huge fan last night. He just sounded so fresh. I was blown away. I could go on, but let's just say "see the show" if it comes your way.

Saw this show in San Antonio tonight. For my money, Roy Hargrove made everyone else onstage sound like second place. Not that it's a competition, but at this high level of musicianship...Roy connected EVERY time like a prize fighter connecting a left hook. His ride on the heavily deconstructed Dolphin Dance was one of the best solos I've ever heard in my life. And that was just the beginning. The band sounded like Miles 60's stuff. No complaints, but a little goes a long way sometimes for me here. When Brecker pulled out his breath computer controller for a solo showcase sans band and started a 20 minute romp through virtual Disneyland (replete with gregorian chants and jimi hendrix faux guitar licks) my mind wandered and I never got it back. Roy Hargrove and Terri Lynn stole the show for me at least.