johnagrandy

I don't even bother keeping track of Wynton anymore, having gradually dwindled down to next to zero interest in his music ... but I just noticed a 2006 release 2 CD compilation of his tenure with Art Blakey that might be worth the $16 : I used to have all the Blakey vinyl with Wynton (many included Branford too) and I think those days were his best. Many of what I remember as the better performances appear to be included in this compilation. Not sure on the label details ... anyone know ? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000248R...5Fencoding=UTF8 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000248R...-3680103?n=5174

"Children of Sanchez" is an amazing piece of music. I have no idea what genre it properly belongs in ... but without having listened to it in well over 20 years I still remember the lyrics. How many songs can somebody say that for ?

It's sort of like Slash's hat. Until someone rips it from the limo outside the Grammy's, Chuck's keepin' that hat on. Baked-in funk.

The turning point was probably "High Hat". Chuck got into so much doob that things kind of went off in an unexpected direction.

When I was in High School, Chuck got more musicians interested about jazz than anyone ... including Maynard (which is strange for a HS). Not just interested in listening, but also in trying to learn to improvise. He always baked the good stuff into the brownies. Many killer players in Chuck's popular ensembles. "... and I'm Chuck Mangione and this is my Main Squeeze !"

Those of you in L.A. don't want to miss this. Sco at the top of his game. A mix of the The Older and The Newer. Some bop & Miles, suiting Eddie quite well (and looking quite well for 60 ! ). Sco caught fire on "Do Like Eddie" (from "Hand Jive") ... the hi lite of the nite for a harcord Sco-o-phile as in me self. Alternate realities grip hold. But check it out ... Bill Stewart stole the show. He manipulates that basic kit from all directions, angles, dimensions, spaces, layers, partitions ... denormalizing and refactoring it into a new instrument. The man is where it's at in skins today. Also notable, "Polo Towers" from "Uberjam" ... with Eddie doing a trippy Miles bit ... but no improv from Sco. Huh ? Guess John didn't bring all the effects and pedals. Bummer. Hey was that Dave Chappelle in the audience ? Who else would call out "Budo" as something else entirely .... ha ha ha !

I would be encouraged !

No Hieroglyphics fans out there ? I can't believe it ... This is radical, meaningful, improvised music at the highest level.

It's called "Moanin' With Hazel" on the Gambit reissue ... I jus' wanna know who Hazel was !!

Man I wish I was an NYC cat ... If you're in NYC don't miss this ! (Please.) Also, if you go please post a review here. Thanks.

What's the difference between the Mosaic Select and the Mosaic box set ? Complete subset? Partial subset? No intersection?

That's exactly it. Botti has real talent. Woody wouldn't have taken him as a student otherwise. Botti could have been the next Chet. Instead he decides to cash in on his good looks playing boring music for lovestruck females.

It's on his website http://www.daveholland.com

Have you attended any of these shows or listened to any of these recordings ? Bands like Galactic, Greyboy Allstars, 20th Congress, Garage A Trois, MMW, Govt. Mule, Critters Buggin', etc. are all about music. Some of the most talented musicians in the world play/played in these bands -- a lot of them with serious genre-hopping chops and deep roots in jazz. This is a generation of players who had the talent but not the desire to prove themselves in serious jazz circles before venturing into other realms. Some of them in fact did prove themselves (like John Ellis in the T.Monk competition), while some of them didn't bother even though they could have. They had a maelstrom of diverse influences coming up, saw how confining serious jazz had become (with every note you play over-analyzed by the critics in terms of 50+ years of historical context -- what's the point ? ), and chose to express their take on life and our world in a different manner and make an impact in a new direction. I remember seeing Hunter 12+ years ago when he was surviving off $4 gigs: he was playing Monk, Mingus, Young, James Brown, Marley, Led Zep, Nirvana ... the list is endless ... and it was all good. Commercial rap in contrast has far less to do with music as a societal force than it does with image fabrication and materialistically-based hierarchical promotion of vacuous egos to those who seek the same. In a very real sense, commercial rap has become the epitome of capitalism.

I think the problem is definition of jam ... When ropeadope's touring entourage came through SF last, definitely wasn't many rich white college kids in the audience. Avg age was above 30. Totally mixed crowd: race, ethnicity, gender, dreds, skulls, substance habits, etc. Probably highest % were Deadheads, but still a low %. But like I said, maybe that's just the SF scene. Rap ... it's a tough exercise divorcing commercial rap from money. If you're not black, and you want in on that scene, you better flaunt money (clothes, cars, jewelry, expensive drugs) ... especially if you want a girl ... so it's definitely about money. How is jam about money? You dress like a slob, have shit for wheels, smoke dope ...

It's not that bad, at least not in SF. The Greyboy Allstars couple months ago ... a decent scattering of African-Americans. After all, it's kind of Denson's band. And with the current trend of cross-pollination of Southern roots music (especially New Orleans) into jam, should see that trend continue on the rise. Yeah, most people think of jam as Dead derived: Phil Lesh and Friends (with whom Sco is playing with in May in SF), Phish, etc ... but there's a whole 'nother jam genre that does not derive from The Dead. Not at all. Derives from funk, soul, jazz, blues, roots, folk, some rock (mainly grunge).

I once e-mailed Dave Holland asking his opinion on the best electric Miles to buy. He said "It's all great. Buy them all." I just got Cellar Door. Problem is I can only listen to electric Miles at night. So here comes sleep deprivation and underperformance at my job.

Well I picked up "The Sermon" ... but this isn't a Jimmy Smith album this is a Lee Morgan album (not that I'm complaining, Lee is in top form, especially on JOS). What's a top pick for a Jimmy Smith album that features Jimmy Smith ????

On another forum, someone posted that apparently Mike is doing well enough now that he is actually playing a bit. Just EWI for now. Anyone know more ?

In terms of youth: I think rap is on a downslide. Jam bands could be the youth music of our time. Maybe it's where I live, but when the popular been-around-awhile jam bands come through they completely sell out every night. They don't play the giant venues, but the crowds are fanatically faithful long-term followers. New rap stars are minted every day and do play the ampitheatres, coliseums, etc., but most don't last long. It's like teenage girls and their crushes.

For those partial to Lee: A label called "Gambit" has just reissued the entire 12/21/1958 Blakey Club St Germaine live concert in a 2 CD pack (originally 3 LPs) : http://ssl.adhost.com/jazzloft/baskets/pos.cfm?CD=8986 $17 ... worth it? Anyone heard these sessions?

Interesting no one has mentioned Diz.

This is a very interesting observation. I've noticed that some of the older gangsta rappers have started throwing little clues at you, here and there, that it's largely an act they don't really believe in. Maybe it's because they got rich and have a completely different lifestyle than when they were coming up and now have a distaste for their original daily routine (i.e. they're just using their past as a vehicle for profits) ... ... but maybe by being immersed in a genre of music you eventually come to see it's flaws even better than detractors on the outside do. Personally, I think changes in societally destructive rap will come from within rap. There is a quite of bit of dissent in underground rap against commercial rap. ropeadope.com , despite their flaws , does a pretty decent job of publicizing these efforts. This seems to be how it always works. Despite various factions in the US government and the intelligentia trying to take credit for the crumbling of the Soviet Union, it actually was the USSR's own flawed political-economic structure and activist elements within that ultimately brought it all down. As for gangsta rap audiences ... it expands out much further than white teenage suburbia. I actually work with a software developer in his early thirties who wears Slim Shady garb to work. Remember the flick "Office Space" ... well, that stuff actually exists. I do see modern trends in rap as destructive to society, but primarily as just vacuous. In either case, commercial rap is primarily a reflection of where a large portion of mass society's soul is at right now. Gangsta rap primarily appeals to those who do not have the desire or ability to define their place in the world. They wish to cop the commercial rap style and attitude because it allows a daily illusion of living a life much more dangerous, exciting, and primally sexually-charged than their own could ever be. That's why gangsta rap is largely harmless outside of the African-American community, because the main money-flow demographic's actual actions (as opposed to thoughts) are ultimately controlled by other forces ... like their parents or their employer. Within the African-American community, I agree with Drew that gangsta rap is self-destructive in many ways. Most pointedly, it unfairly (obscenely unfairly) draws attention away from the real accomplishments of black American society, including jazz and other roots music. Of course, gangsta rap also appeals to real criminals. But, paradoxically, that makes perfect sense. I think what Drew writes needs to considered very seriously. There's a lot of awareness borne of long experience in there.

When you find them, I hope you'll share... I was checkin' out your website and saw that photo in the snow. That's a tough gig for a horn player ! I remember I saw Maynard way way back play at a college football game in the snow. He was missing notes bad. Imagine ... Maynard missing notes. Ouch. It was not pretty.

Isn't calling Eddie Henderson a "true original" a bit over the top? Guy Well practically everyone on these forums at one time or another has characterized what I have to say as "over the top" ... so what does it matter? Check out my new site http://www.overthetop.com .... To my ears Henderson has always played different. There's a well known trumpet genealogy tree I can't locate right now and the guy placed Eddie in the Miles branch (not the Fats branch) along with Roney and I forget. I hear some Miles stylizations in Henderson, but his raw musical ideas ... I find them to be rather original. The guy's a PhD shrink so doesn't surprise me he has a different angle. I remember when I first heard him on the radio twenty something years ago. I was thinking "this guy's out of someplace else". No doubt will be interesting to hear him with Sco. Sco can play well with most anyone ... but I'm hoping for some serious chemicals.