Hot Ptah

What I have always wondered about DiMeola--was he really in the same room with this model when the photos were taken for this cover: I saw Return to Forever live twice in 1975-76. They were pretty good live, certainly quite energetic and cohesive. The crowd went wild each time. Corea tended to showboat on his massive bank of synthesizers. playing simple things and acting as if he was doing something amazing. Clarke played very fast, dazzling solos on electric bass. If you like that sort of thing, you liked what he was doing. Di Meola struck me then as a reasonably skilled hard rock guitarist. There was not the jazz "something more" in his playing that one got from Coryell and McLaughlin at that time, although they were similarly amped up and playing rock oriented material at their concerts.

I have just started to skim thrift stores' inventory, at the suggestion of a fellow member of this board who has reportedly found great things at them. The pickings have been slim, but occasionally there is an amazing jazz gem. There is a shock of recognition in reviewing what this guy has. Thrift stores everywhere seem to have about the same stuff. I have found that Al Hirt is far from the worst of the common artists there.

How many times can they peddle this same stuff to make big bucks off of it? Unless these remasters reveal very significantly new sonic pleasures, why is this a big deal? I can just imagine that in the year 2309, the big news will be: "1,892nd Remaster of the Beatles Albums Scheduled for the Fall!!!! Promises to Be More 'Real' Sounding Than the 2304 Remasters!!! Previously Unheard Snippet of John Lennon Singing Six Seconds of a Song From Mary Poppins to Himself On An Elevator The Highlight of the Set!!! Stereo, Mono and New HyperReal Versions of This Mary Poppins Snippet Available on the Deluxe Version of This Set For Only $25,000 More!"

I have heard Beck's version, which I think is on Wired. I wondered if there was something lacking in his interpretation from a technical, musical standpoint, such as not knowing the chords, or something like that, something which would bother a great musician like Mingus. Otherwise, I can't hear what is so very terrible about it, from my admittedly untrained ear.

I wish that there really was a thread about Chuck Nessa. In fact, I wish that he would write his autobiography, so that we could read more about his early days with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the other artists he recorded, and the Chicago scene in the 1960s. If Chuck wrote it, it would be a hell of a good read.

I think that Jeff Beck can be very good in a sideman role, such as his solo on Buddy Guy's "Midnight Hour" on his "Damn Right I Got The Blues" album, and his contribution to Stevie Wonder's "Talking Book." Not all of the 1960s rock stars are able to fit in with someone's else's album. At the time that Charles Mingus recorded "Three or Four Shades of Blues", he made some negative comments about Beck's recording of "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" on "Wired". Can any of the musicians explain what there is about Beck's version which could lead to negative opinion?

I would like to contribute a Blindfold Test, and have written out draft lists of what I imagine to be great cuts to include on it. However, I am hopeless with technology, and have no idea how to get the music from my CDs to the members who would receive the Blindfold Test. My 12 year old says that I am a dinosaur with computers. She is right. If anyone could give me a private message lesson in how to do it, I would like to contribute a Blindfold Test.

The story of my life....

Richard Davis plays some notable solos, especially on "What's New". At that time Sun Ra did not always have a bassist in his group, and had not had a master bassist for some time. So it is striking to hear Davis play in the ensembles at times. "At times"--that seems to be my operative phrase about this set. It is inconsistent, to my ears.

All star lineup. Wonder if the music lives up to the names - hope Chuck gives an opinion on this one. I have it. I don't think it lives up to the names, although it is quite good in many places. I don't think that some of the all star soloists were used to their best advantage.

Reginald R. Robinson--The Strongman I found this Delmark CD, in mint condition, at the bottom of a pile of CDs in a thrift store.

I saw Terence Blanchard with his quintet on Saturday night. He has grown as a musician in the past ten years. Some of his solos were deeply moving. Some of the performances entered avant garde jazz territory. His young band members play with a lot of energy, and Blanchard has become a much more intense and interesting player since the time I saw him live in 1996, for instance. One can no longer fairly call him a mere member of the 1980s Young Lions. He has transcended that--a pleasant surprise.

The cassette I taped from the radio of the Mingus Dynasty band at the 1979 Ann Arbor Jazz Festival, which a friend begged me to loan to him. He lost it, or taped over it, or something. He never returned it and was silent when I attempted to discuss it. I probably would have listened to the tape about five times over the years, but its loss means that I have a memory that some of the most amazing music of all time was played in that set.

According to online sources, he will be 79 in September of this year.

Gerald Wilson (90) George Shearing (90) Yusef Lateef (89)

Eddie Bert (86) Toots Thielemans (86) Marshall Allen (85) Don Shirley (82) Here are some jazz musicians who are 79 years old, or will turn 79 this year: Ornette Coleman Richard Davis Ronnell Bright Muhal Richard Abrams

Street Team.

Here's a recent blues song by a white artist which touches on this topic: MY FIRST NAME AIN'T MUDDY MY LAST NAME AIN'T KING THEY DON'T CALL ME LIGHTNIN I DON'T HOWL WHEN I SING I WASN'T BORN IN MEMPHIS OR DOWN IN MOBILE WELL I AIN'T GOT NO GUITAR NICKNAMED LUCILLE BUT OF EVERY TYPE OF MUSIC THIS IS WHAT I CHOOSE SOMETIMES I WONDER AM I TOO WHITE TO SING THE BLUES? WELL I LIVE IN THE SUBURBS DRIVE A TOYOTA VAN I GOT MUTUAL FUNDS I AIN'T NO HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN WELL I AIN'T GOT NO MOJO OR BLACK CAT BONES WELL I LIKE THE BEATLES WAY MORE THAN THE STONES BUT OF EVERY TYPE OF MUSIC THIS IS WHAT I CHOOSE SOMETIMES I WONDER AM I TOO WHITE TO SING THE BLUES MY WOMAN AIN'T LEFT ME WELL I AIN'T GONE BLIND I AIN'T GOT NO CROSSCUT SAW JUST THE SEARS CRAFTSMAN KIND I AIN'T BEEN DOWN TO THE CROSSROADS BY NIGHT OR BY DAY IF I SELL MY SOUL TO THE DEVIL IT'S GONNA BE ON EBAY BUT OF EVERY TYPE OF MUSIC THIS IS WHAT I CHOOSE SOMETIMES I WONDER WELL AM I TOO WHITE TO SING THE BLUES Words & music by Joe Medeiros, BMI, Midair Rose Publishing, 2005

Billy Taylor (88) George Russell Buddy DeFranco Bill Dixon Lou Donaldson Jymie Merritt Frank Foster Horace Silver Bill Holman Lee Konitz

Red Holloway Jimmy Heath Dave Brubeck (88 years old) Marian McPartland (91 years old)

I think that the situation described by Cash is really true for blues music. The rural South which produced the acoustic blues musicians of the late 1920s, and the urban scenes of the 1945-64 period which produced the seminal electric blues artists and recordings, seem to be gone. In their place, you have suburban white kids with their father's Lynyrd Skynyrd albums, trying to boogie like they did in 1973, calling it "the blues". There are some exceptions to this at today's blues clubs and festivals, but not that many.

I liked Elling when I saw him live last year, in a theater.

The Price Chopper grocery store at 75th and Metcalf in Overland Park, Kansas, plays surprisingly hip background music. I have heard several different James Brown singles from the 1960s, including "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." The only drawback is that in the middle of the song, suddenly an employee blasts out "We have a special on fresh strawberries in the produce section this week only!!!" I have noticed that after the announcement, the song will pick up right where it was stopped for the announcement.