Hot Ptah

If you are into vinyl, the Blue Notes "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" albums are great.

Miller's "Children of the Future" and "Sailor" are quite a bit better than all of the rest of his output, in my opinion.

I have always liked this earlier Benny Goodman collection--is this an example of the pre-1934 playing you like?

WTF is THAT??? Watch the movie. Once. That sounds like a dare... I saw the trailer often as I took my daughter and her friends to other films. It looked like a "historical recreation" of the late 1960s, with Beatles songs done by others as the soundtrack--but all of the characters, who were supposed to be living in the late 1960s, look like young fashion models of today. It did NOT appear to be a gritty, realistic look at the turbulence of that era, to put it mildly. Did the trailer provide an accurate window into the film?

All I can say is, if you think that the music discussed here is the worst album ever, you have not heard enough third rate punk rock, or current teen pop. Compared to many of the songs in those genres, the songs mentioned at the beginning of this thread are musical masterpieces.

It strikes me--why don't we have extensive discussions like this about jazz?

Suzy Parker Fess Parker Professor Longhair

You might say the same thing for Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starr. Save for "All Things Must Pass", none of the individual Beatles' solo material were consistently good, IMO. There were a few fantastic tracks scattered around, but nothing to make anyone think they would have done any different had they stayed together. IMO of course. Of course. But there's nothing there to make you certain that it wouldn't have been different had they stayed together. Not the point though. Music is music, and each individual listens to what he/she deems worthy. Obviously, if nothing else, the Beatles tend to polarize public opinion greatly. Not so when they were together. Everyone loved them (except the old folks who did not like any of "the kids' music.')

Gram Parsons' "Grevious Angel" is better. The Velvet Underground's "Loaded" is better. Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is better. Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" is better (his last studio album finished before his death). The Band's "Northern Lights Southern Cross" is better. The Beatles have a swan song, unlike many groups, because of their legal battles against each other, which prevented the use of the group name after Abbey Road. Many groups continued on and on with one or zero original members, releasing pedestrian albums under the group name, which by some point was only a legal entity.

Happy Birthday! Someone is bringing a birthday cake for you:

I had an identical experience when I heard this one from my parents' collection, for the first time in many years: The performances are part of my DNA, I think. Every note brings back very early, deep memories.

When I saw that band, the song "Illinois Enema Bandit" was introduced, and as Zappa read the news story about the actual Illinois enema bandit, Estrada was dressed like the bandit. He kept playing his bass the entire time. So a wool stocking cap that covers the face, with just little eye, nose and mouth holes was placed over his head, a hot water bottle was strapped to his side, and a long plastic tube was put in his mouth, among other wardrobe enhancements. Estrada was a very large physical man and it was very odd to see him decked out like that, as he kept on playing his bass as if nothing was happening. I remember that Napolean Murphy Brock sang lead for much of that concert and you couldn't make out many of the words because he sang with such highly exaggerated emotion in his voice. It was annoying. Norma Jean Bell was supposed to sing too, but she had a tiny, shy voice, which did not work very well for the material. She played a very good soprano sax solo though, I remember.

I had read about Frank dumping the original group and his opinions about their technical shortcomings. So I was surprised when I saw Zappa live in November, 1975, and Roy Estrada was back in the band on bass. This was much more of a jazz/rock fusion group, with an emphasis on extended improvised solos. The band members were Andre Lewis, Norma Jean Bell, Napolean Murphy Brock and Terry Bozzio, in addition to Estrada and Zappa. During that concert, Estrada fit in well and did not seem to struggle at all with the fusion music. Zappa scornfully introduced a solo by drummer Bozzio with "here is your new hero, your new Alphonse Mouzon on drums!" Zappa introduced his own extended solo by saying, "and here is your hero, John McLaughlin, on guitar!" again, in a scornful voice. There was quite a negative vibe from the stage--several people commented on it to me after the show. The vocals were weak and Zappa did not seem happy at all onstage. So by 1975, Frank seemed to be tired of the jazz rock fusion scene, and to not value instrumental chops much. In 1969, he spoke negatively of his sidemen who did not have chops. Who could win with him?