ValerieB

i'm surprised that Jack Russells weren't mentioned within the 10 smartest.

it seems just like the day before yesterday that they were celebrating the 50th anniversary with a great concert here in l.a.!!!

thanks so much for sharing something negative with us, Horny. it was obviously important to add the above to this RIP thread.

i sure wish i could attend but 3,000 miles are standing in my way, unfortunately.

very sadly, Ozzie passed today after a long illness.

oh, dear, i'm now hearing "Yah-Yah" in my head!!! i think THAT is it but you can now see how much you can rely on me!!

this is "nah-nah" with a broad "a". i easily could be incorrect but i'm going on how i've heard Gerald pronounce it. admittedly my memory these days doesn't always serve me well!

i believe it's "nah-nah".

wishing you a happy and healthy one and many to follow.

she's doing real well, i hear, although still in the hospital.

Obviously there are many great jazz artists who were less-than-stellar human beings, but the music they create presents a sense of the fragile/intense/sentimental aspects of their personality. I think of Freddie this way as well as Miles. I've met many of my idols who were less than friendly, although I often attribute this to the circumstances of the moment and not necessarily that it was an accurate reprsentation of their personality. After learning about the dark side of people like Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Frank Rosolino and others I'm not going to stop listening to their music because IMO that was often some of the only beauty that existed in their lives. I don't mind that some don't like Freddie. But I grew up listening to his music from both the Blue Note and CTI eras, and it still makes me smile. So scratch away! guess you misunderstood: i love freddie and his music and i have for a very long time!

I think that's true of many of us. I think only women grow up. MG and then only some of us do, MG!

i was scratching my head about free for all's quote re freddie's "humanity"!! i do, however, care a lot about him, in spite of myself. have known him since he was an immature boy in the '60s and he hasn't really changed very much at all!!

i'm planning on seeing him a week from tomorrow (if he shows up)!!! the musicians scheduled to play with him are well worth seeing even if he doesn't!!

i remember Billy well as i was living in Boston and a Red Sox fan in the '50s.

i think ralph "buzzy" jones who is still in l.a. deserves a mention here as a member of "eternal wind" and a comrade of charles moore's, yusef lateef's and kenny cox's. he's still very much happening as a graduate of ucla's ethnomusicology department and a vibrant musician in these parts with impeccable credentials.

i applaud you for being the winner of the "half full glass of water thinker award"!!! i wish . . .

were you at the Yahoo taping, RDK? if so, do you know what time on April 1st it will stream?

your humor (as you call it) usually is accompanied by a knife when it comes to your comments about or to me, Chris. makes it a bit difficult to laugh at. and, interestingly, i've never been accused of not having a real good sense of humor or being too serious. i suggest you call our mutual friend and find out how he's doing for yourself. he's been through a lot.

it's beyond my understanding, Chris, why you keep hitting me up on this! you have made this comment, in various forms, time and again about me. i am a bit younger than you but i happen to have lost many, many close personal friends through the years and of course it is accelerating in recent years. and because of my years and my life activities, i am affected often by the passings of public figures as well. and i do read the obits in the l.a. times on a daily basis. and, quite unfortunately, there's hardly a week that goes by when i don't know, or know of, the names i read. this week it's been wilfred middlebrooks and ivan dixon. why must you continuously make fun of me for this? i do not choose to stick my head in the sand. must i be open to ridicule by you for this? you and i happen to have a mutual friend who has been going through some serious medical issues lately. is that amusing to you as well? your behavior is extremely perplexing to me.

we shall not see his kind again. a treasure for the ages.

i was fortunate to hear Mr. Middlebrooks many times while he was "subbing" for Larry Gales in a Santa Monica restaurant/piano bar duo. this may have been in the '80s. the place is no longer even there. sorry to hear about his passing.

Ivan's passing makes me extremely sad. He was an incredibly special man and talent. I had the privilege of being in his company quite a few times since the '70s, most recently a few years ago at the Director's Guild and also at a mutual friend's 90th birthday about five years ago. He was always warm, friendly and gentlemanly. I always think of him as a Gentle Giant. My heartfelt prayers go out to his family and friends.

mingus and max were the "kings"!!