John L

It must be tough living with it, but just think of all of us who have to live without it.

Please elaborate. I have heard allegations of plagiarism leveled against parts of the book, but nothing about the "lies." Are they Miles' lies or Quincy's' lies or both?

Good post, Dr. J. Yes, I think that you are right. Part of the problem of "getting" different music that you haven't listened to before is that your ear is programmed to something else. That can cause you to focus on the wrong thing and miss absorbing what needs to be absorbed. I also find that listening to one sort of music for a long period of time can make other music sound very different, sometimes better (a refreshing change) and sometimes worse (my head is not oriented correctly).

Cecil Taylor is a whole other world of sound. You either enter it or you don't. Some people with very good ears and taste never do. As much as I love Cecil, I go through long periods of time when I have trouble entering Cecilville. Then there are other times when there is nowhere else I'd rather be. The 1950s recordings are pretty incredible as they are something like a bridge between the more familiar world of jazz and Cecilville. That is a good place to start. Even if you come to grips with that, there is still a big leap that you have to take in the early 60s to get the rest.

Thanks for the interesting discussion! I just ordered this one.

That is in Miles' autobiography. He wrote that he joked with Bill Evans to the effect that if Evans joined the band, he would have to XXXXX. Bill Evans apparently thought that Miles was serious, and and therefore expressed second thoughts about joining the band.

Who cares about Nazis, Django, or Stephane when you've got real American GIs?.

Be sure and get "Sweet Soul Music," a hugely informative and entertaining read. It is probably the greatest book by Peter Guralnick, which is saying quite a lot. "Central Avenue Sounds," the book of interviews on the L.A. Central Avenue scene (jazz and R&B), is quite nice.

Snoop Dog a talentless hack? I don't think so. Say what you will about him, but he is a true original. The stuff that he laid down with Dr. Dre in the early 90s was something close to a musical revolution. It was new, dynamic, and changed the course of popular music. Just my opinion.

Thanks for posting that, Steve.

Does anybody know what Sony's most recent plans are for the Cellar Door set?

John, how familiar are you with the later stuff? Check out Strollin' and get back to me. A lot of great players have been named on this thread. Pete: Admittedly, I have heard very little of his later work, including Strollin'. So I will indeed need to get back to you.

I had heard that he was very sick, and just kept hoping. RIP. Steve Lacy was one of kind.

Tooter: Lee Konitz not individual??? I would go back to the drawing board if I were you. Maybe Benny Golson is a better example as a bit more generic a horn player. But if I could compose like Benny Golson, I really wouldn't given a damn.

On threads like this, there is always some confusion over how people interpret the term "overrated." The fact is, it is perfectly logical to think trumpeter A is overrated, trumpeter B is underrated, and yet still think that tumpeter A is the superior trumpet player. As for me, I have never really been able to get Chet Baker. I don't hate him, but just can't understand what the big deal is.

We are losing too many giants this year. Let's continue to hope that Steve Lacy will not be one of them.

There is some nice stuff on this collection, although I don't know if it all amounts to much of a case for Nashville as being a major center for creativity in R&B. There is some dead weight, some strong performances from artists who have dubious Nashville connections, and no single identifiable "Nashville sound" through it all. That said, it is a lot of fun. I especially got a kick out of "Little" Hank Crawford's first recording and the first record by one of my true heros: Freddie Waters as lead singer of the Hytones. Freddie Waters was a true Nashville native, one of the greatest singers to come from that or any other city. These two masterpieces get VERY heavy play in my pad:

Louis Armstrong

Jazz is fusion. What happened in the 70s made sense. All of the new electronic possibilities were a novelty, funk took over the dance floor, and a lot of jazz artists dived in head first. The reaction in the 80s made sense too. Acoustic instruments still sound damn good compared to a lot of the experimental electronic mess that people were churning out. But we have only just begun. I am convinced that electronic instruments will dominate the future of jazz. It is not long before they will be able to do everything that acoustic instruments do and a whole lot more. Moreover, the instruments will be much more user friendly, requiring much less time to master, and allowing a more direct and precise communication of musical ideas. Funk and its hybrids are also here to stay. One of the primary emotional releases from music is dance. That will remain in jazz and other music. Just my opinions, folks.

I recall that we had a thread a while back on a now defunct jazz BBS with the subject "whatever happened to Pee Wee Marquette?" There were some knowledgeable participants, and nobody could recall an obituary or any such information. Is Pee Wee still alive?

I have given it some thought, but don't think that I will bite. I need to hear another good reason. I own a ton of New Orleans jazz, including 40s and 50s revival recordings on American, Storyville, Good Time, Riverside, and other labels. I also have a single disc on Atlantic with 1/4 of the material on this box set. So why do I need it?

Has French Cookin' ever appeared on CD?

Ah hah! That might explain why my buddy thought it was a Classics "box," which was a new concept to me. Classics has boxed up complete collections of 5 or 6 discs before for Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie. This would be a bit more of a stretch.

I'm sure that I would have had a very strong opinion of it if I had ever heard it.

Someone made a comparison of Jackie McLean's Prestige recordings with Coltrane's Prestige recordings. I can accept that, and sure wouldn't want to be without either.