kenny weir

Well, after some good news today, I resolved to spoil myself a little by ordering the Jazztet Mosaic set. But it's not listed. Nor are the Woody Herman or Tal Farlow sets. And I'm sure there's more releases than that in the Select series. I know there's been problems with this site before, but this seems pretty weird. And definitely NOT good for business.

Someone covers Iron Maiden?

I can follow all that from a strictly musical perspective, but am still a bit puzzled how smooth jazz became such rigidly defined marketing thing. Living at such a distance is undoubtedly a hindrance in this regard, but the whole thing seems to have solidified - in terms of radio, press, marketing, imagery, lingo etc - remarkably quickly.

Best Country Visited., Outside Your Own? New Orleans ('86, '88, '90, '94, '98, '99 and very much overdue for another visit)

For the past couple of weeks I've been enjoying a Gordon Brisker album called Child's Play. It's a live, straightahead session (Vierd Blues, Oleo, Invitation etc) from 2001 with a guitar-bass-drums trio. It's released in Australia on Jazzgroove Records - http://www.jazzgroove.com/ - if it has US release, I'm unaware of the label. It's a good un. Gordon blows soulfully and sweetly on a bunch of hoary old vehicles, the guitar trio giving the album the same sort of feel as Rollins's The Bridge. It's not an ambitious disc, but I suspecvt I'll end up playing it more often than either of his two Naxos albums.

Bluegrass swings: Without doubt one of the reasons I've become a jazz fan - and something I'd like to return to someday in some way.

Confusion about Bev's name/gender is inevitable (sorry Bev!), but for many of us non-US types there's confusion aplenty also. For a long time I thought Tina Brooks was shiela; and then there are fellas called the likes of Carol and Meridith and Marion ... I'm sure there are others that I can't think of right now.

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...pic=15854&st=75

I vote for Hammond organs in jazz!

Hey, I can go with the flow on this ... Forget the Small Faces. I vote for those fun-lovin' dudes who did Even The Bad Times Are Good, Suddenly You Love Me, Silence Is Gordon, Here Comes My Baby and so on. Post-Brian Poole, of course. Before then they were just another band. And speaking of Here Comes My Baby, let's give it up for Cat Stevens, composer of some brill Brit pop (pre-pre-pre Oasis) hits - not just his own Matthew & Son or I'm Going To Get Me A Gun, but also The Boat That I Row (Lulu - funny how those two have diverged so widely in terms of politics). And how about Crispian St Peters, a singer done in by the band fad? I've never heard his album, on which I believe a very young Jimmy Page plays, but Pied Piper and Your Were On My Mind are stone classics.

Small Faces for me!

Easy: Solomon Burke. I am in awe of Aretha, but actually more enjoy a bunch of other ladies and their heroic efforts to match her seemingly effortless talent: Irma Thomas, Betty Harris, Laura Lee, Doris Duke and so on.

Agree. I hope they make it.

http://www.pbsfm.org.au/

Fine. But what do you know about Melbourne or its music? Mike's points re WKCR apply equally and fully to my own station.

At risk of being a killjoy, I wonder is anyone else feeling a little iffy about this? As someone involved in community broadcasting, I heartily, passionately endorse any efforts to keep independent music - and jazz in particular - on the airwaves. And like many here, I can sympathise with this station's plight, as my own station is always in ongoing crisis mode. But I wouldn't think of posting a plea for cash here. Or does the fact I'm talking Big Apple versus far-flung Melbourne make all the difference? I think my own view would be that people should support stations in their own communities, although I accept there may be other broader perspectives.

Berigan, I know you've qualified this, but still ... I can't claim to be any expert on Rosolino, but in exploring the byways of WC jazz in the past few years I have listened to a lot of the man's music (yes, it's beautiful) and read quite a lot about him. The impression I have gained is that at least part of the reason the murder/suicide was so shocking to those who knew him was that it was so out of character. Mean spirited? Not from what I've read. The grisly end seems hard at attribute to mere mean-spiritedness anyway.

Slight tangent: In A Silent Way/In A Silent Way.

You can search on each page by using "control F".

This lifted from a Jazz Corner thread started by Scott Yanow on April 27 last year (forgive me for cutting and pasting; JC setup doesn't allow posting of a link): The 1920s Have Ended -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Violinist Claude Williams died last Sunday at the age of 96. He was the last active jazz musician who had recorded before 1930. He made his first recordings with Andy Kirk's Orchestra in 1929. Williams was also Count Basie's rhythm guitarist before Freddie Green, was in obscurity for decades and made a comeback in the late 1960s. He often teamed up in later years with Jay McShann, was a member of the Statesmen of Jazz and was active until recently. So 74 1/2 years after the 1920s were technically finished, the 1920s have now come to its complete end in jazz. As for the 1930s, here is the list I have of still-active (if sometimes barely) musicians and singers who recorded before 1940: Svend Asmussen Noni Bernardi Johnny Best Johnny Blowers Joe Bushkin Al Casey Lena Horne Franz Jackson Herb Jeffries Lawrence Lucie Buddy Morrow Les Paul George Shearing Kay Starr Gerald Wilson Snooky Young Zeke Zarchey Honor these last 17 links to the 1930s while they are still with us. Yanow subsequently posted: Sorry, make that 16. Johnny Best passed away last year.

Interesting thread! I have no doubt the considerable upsides of the fredom (for anyone) to release a CD far outweigh the downsides. For jazz musicians in a country such as Australia - isolated from the northern hemisphere jazz industry - it's a blessing. Through the '50s, '60s and '70s, Australian jazz musicians relied on the miserly largesse of the foreign-owned major labels or the recording activities of the national state-owned broadcaster. Now there are numerous small jazz labels, some - such as Newmarket - which operate as a label but where the product is financed and owned by the artist, enabling them to sell their stuff at gigs. And through the internet and online selling, Australian artists at last have the opportunity - yet to be fully realised, it must be admitted - to be more widely heard around the world. A related issue is the length of CDs. Just because you can 70 minutes of music on a disc doesn't mean you should. I could do with a lot more 40-minute new albums in my life.

You've whetted my appetite. Where can one find a recording of Mr. McGann's? http://www.air.org.au/show_artist.asp?artist_id=2211 My personal favourites are the first two mentioned - his most recent and oldest recordings, the latter with a piano, which is a rarity for Bernie. There's a new one on the way, presumbably late next year. The one simply called McGann has James Greening on trombone, and I like it a lot. Ugly Beauty is regarded as a classic. Bernie's latest band has Warwick Alder on trumpet.

Hey! Good to see an Aussie icon getting props here. Bernie's fantastic! Other altoists: Andrew Robson Gai Bryant Barry Duggan Ian Chaplin Adam Simmons Tim Wilson Bob Bertles David Rex

Complete HRS Sessions Thanks, Mum!

Gruner's, St Kilda, Melbourne. Andrew's, Yarraville, Melbourne Tangent: weisswurst, Victoria Market, Melbourne, on Saturday mornings for breakfast with mustard; hold the saurkraut, onions, cheese and all that crap.