sgcim

Recorded in the pianist's living room: Straight from the pianist's living room Here's another thing we recorded in the pianist's living room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NgpHC1FGpc&feature=youtu.be I finally convinced the pianist to check out some of the great tunes that Raksin wrote in some of the films he scored. This one isn't as well known as "Laura", but is more sophisticated melodically, harmonically and rhythmically. A casual listener might think it's a cocktail piano tune, but a more attentive listener might appreciate the unorthodox contour of the melody, the irregular harmonic rhythm, and the skillful use of counterpoint. In Raksin's autobiography (available only in electronic form), he relates the time he played it for Andre Previn, before it was scored for the film. Previn reacted very negatively to it, saying something like, "What the hell is that? You're not going to use that for the film, are you?" When the film came out, Previn heard the melody again, and fell in love with it. Raksin told him it was the same tune he played for him that day in his house. It's been recorded by a number of people, Charlie Haden, Barry Galbraith. Urbie Green, Bill Evans, and others, but it's never really caught on as a 'standard'. It was sung by Mark Murphy and Finestein, but I'd rather not think about that now... Hopefully, can get it together enough to make an album of Raksin's tunes(instead of the same old standards our fearless leader insists on playing) I've transcribed from the films, and some other rarities by film composers like Goldsmith and Williams, but it's his Yamaha Grand and recording equipment, so we're pretty much at his mercy.

Phil Woods playing Hawaiian music? This might even be worse than Greek Cooking! No wonder he split for France. Kenyon used to use him on all his movie, TV and jingles work.

In an interview for The History of Rock & Roll documentary I used to play for my students, they have a segment on DD living out in the desert with his lions, and he talks about Gene Krupa being the biggest influence on his style of guitar playing. RIP to a very cool guy. That Bobby Fuller version of The Miserlou was great!. There's a website about dead musicians named after him called "Fuller Up".

I just found a Cornerstone CD on ebay that EB did back in 1999, that wasn't released until 2013 for some reason. It's the same group as the "Live at the Senator Club" CD, with just guitar, bass (Steve Wallace) and sax (Mike Murley). It's called "Test of Time". All different tunes other than "I Should Care" and "Golden Earrings". The clips sound great, with a lot of interplay between Bickert and Murley.

I just got back from following your link, thank you by the way, and on the good side, they have an unbelievably great concert of Ed, Lorne, Neil and Terry at the Ontario Science Center from 1984, which you introduce. All the players are at their best, and every cut is just phenomenal! On the bad side, the 'interview' with Ed that they have is from 1981, and they cut out the interviewer (which I presume is you), and just have Ed's short answers to three questions!!! At least they include your questions in the transcript, and the third question is a great one, asking him about Jimmy Raney and Tal Farlow's influence on his playing, which he acknowledges, along with Johnny Smith, Kenny Burrell, and Jim Hall.

Yeah, Joey Goldstein told me about that situation. He said it was a huge blow to jazz radio in Canada.I don't even want to think about what the person's sensibilities of what is "essential" is today.They'll probably tie it in to hip-hop...

As a little kid, I never thought that was a guitar, but I remember that music. Thanks for posting that.

Hey Ted, I read that you did an interview with Ed in Coda, 1984. Are there any links to it? Thanks.

The Giants need an offensive line that can block. As great as OBJ was, he missed 21 games, threw temper tantrums that divided the team, and the Giants turned into a losing team. If they don't get a good offensive line with the first round draft choices they're getting from Cleveland, I'm going to turn from being a life-long Giants fan into a Jets fan.

Yeah, I think Shelly kind of regretted not getting into that circle like Earl and Hal. He called up Hal and asked him why he was getting so many more calls than he was getting.

He started out as a jazz drummer, and even went on the road with Basie. When he came to LA, Shelly Manne was the top studio drummer, and Shelly turned down all the rock dates he was called for, because he thought they were beneath him, and gave them to Hal. Next thing you know, Hal played on every hit record of that time. In the 80's, drum machines took over the studio scene, and HB wasn't as busy as he used to be. His sixth wife took everything he had in a bitter divorce, and HB would've been broke if not for his Union pension. RIP.

Huh?

Yeah, he was a real character. Reminded me of Fats Waller. The fact that he hung with the homeboys in his community at the local jazz club made him extra cool.

8 No need to confess my son.We are all victims of the Great 'Tonal Cleansing' alluded to in the 60 years too late article by Thomasini. Other direct victims included John Lessard (who defected after suffering the panic of being left out) Koechlin, Hanson, Harris, Persichetti, Schuman, Walton, Cowell, Ruggles, Chavez, Villa-Lobos, Crumb and many others.

Hale was a cool guy. I first met him on Lawnguyland when he accompanied Billy Mitchell to a rehearsal of his chart on "I Remember Clifford" which was being played by a jazz big band I was in. Then I met him a few years later, when I used to sub for a pianist at a great club called The Steer Inn, where they only featured bebop players. One night Jerry Tillitz, the trombone player was playing there, and he told us he wanted this arrangement of a tune of his to go into a dixieland section for a few choruses, and then back into a bop feel. When we went into the dixie section, the owner of the club shot out from out of nowhere, and started yelling at Jerry for playing dixieland in his club! "You don't play no dixieland jive in my club", he told Jerry, and Jerry profusely apologized. I met Jerry years later in Mike Stern's club, 55 Grand St., where Mike was playing with Steve Sleagle. I went up to Jerry and told him about the dixie incident at The Steer, and he vehemently denied that it ever took place! He then left the place, and left his wallet and keys at the table. he took off for Europe shortly after that. Anyway, I met Hale hangin' out during the daytime at The Steer, and I freaked out and said , "Holy schlitz! You're the famous black composer, Hale Smith!" (I was still in my teens at the time). He got all over me for that idiotic comment, and went into a diatribe about how he was a black composer because he filled up the paper with a lot of black notes, while a white composer like Hindemith used a lot of whole notes and half notes, etc... i apologized for the stupid comment, but he just kept going on to teach me a lesson. I saw him that night in his famous derby, smoking his omni-present cigar, as he got up to the mic and started scatting some great bebop choruses. Like I said, cool guy.

"Burning"(2018), first film by Lee in eight years.

Anthony Thomasini wrote an article in last week's NY Times about a topic I feel strongly about: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/arts/music/american-composers-leon-botstein.html

1) Charles Koechlin- Les Bandar-log Op.176 (RCA Victor Red Seal) David Zinman 2) Howard Hanson Symphony #2 "The Romantic" 3) Arnold Bax- Elegiac Trio for Flute,Harp and Viola 4) Bernard Herrmann- 'Symphony' conducted by Herrmann Unicorn records 5) Francis Poulenc- Sextet for Winds and Piano 6) Paul Hindemith- Mathis Der Maler (DG) 7) Arthur Honnegger- Symphonies 2,3 and 4. Three Symphonic Movements for Orchestra 8) Wallingford Riegger- Sextet for Winds and Piano (3rd Movement only). 9) Billy Jim Layton- String Quartet in Two Movements (First Movement only) CRI 10) John Lessard- Concerto for Wind and String Instruments (CRI)

I was in his Free Jazz Ensemble at Nassau Community College. It was fun, but he took that shit a little too seriously. He told me once that I could "hear around corners". I told him I couldn't make a rehearsal, because I had a 'club date', and he started yelling at me, telling me that I was prostituting myself, and kicked me out of the Ensemble. A blues guitar player friend of mine took his Jazz Survey course, and kept asking him one day in class about Bird's use of the pentatonic scale. Hakim kept ignoring him, but my friend kept asking him. Finally, at the end of the class, my friend went up to him, and tapped him on the back, asking him, "How did Charlie Parker use the pentatonic scale in his solos"? Hakim turned around, and punched him so hard that he knocked out a bunch of my friend's teeth! He sued Hakim for about 20K, and they kicked him out of the college.

Wallace talks about the flimsy, cheap gig bag Ed kept his Telecaster in, which I confused with him having no case or gig bag at all. From the way Wallace describes the 'gig bag', it was probably the closest thing to having no case or gig bag at all!

She's probably an alien from some advanced planet where every note they sing is perfectly in tune, without using too much vibrato, like the people from this planet. I want her to have my baby, or if she's too old for that, we'll have to clone her!

I think I was trying to convey the sense that some outward force was controlling her career, but now that I read that interview Larry linked, it seemed it all had to do with the fact that she wasn't comfortable with live performance. I liked their discussion of the distasteful use of vibrato in both classical (opera) music and popular music. Here's that phenomenal thing she did with Lyle Mays:

I couldn't believe it, but I read once that Ed used to just take his Telecaster and throw it in the trunk of the guitar, WITHOUT a case! From looking at that picture of it, that story may be true!

Bonnie Herman had a weird solo career outside of the Singers Unlimited. She tried to launch a pop career with the John Simon prod., but then went into jingles. Then she did some religious stuff like this: And this: Then she somehow wound up on ECM on a Eberhard Weber album: Then did a Windham Hill album with Fred Simon, and somewhere along the line recorded some cuts on an Interfaith record, where she sings about Muslims, Christians and Jewish people. After that, she recorded a thing with Lyle Mays called "Moses the Lawgiver" and finally was driven into retirement by Gen Puerling's death.

This one really hurts. I'm sure Ted is involved in the funeral proceedings. My favorite guitarist, and probably the epitome of what a jazz guitarist should be doing just passed 2/28. No words can express my admiration for the man and the music he made. RIP, Ed...