Hot Ptah

Some of these are new to me. Thanks.

Can't win 'em all!

The Magnificent Goldberg, with his great list of 100 Inessential Soul Jazz albums, inspired me to create a list of 100 jazz albums, which are inessential, do not appear on lists of the Greatest Of All Time, but are merely enjoyable to listen to. (In my opinion, of course) Muhal Richard Abrams--Blues Forever --Afrisong Cannonball Adderley--Nippon Soul George Adams--Paradise Space Shuttle --Sound Suggestions Henry "Red" Allen--1929-36 (Robert Parker Series) Louis Armstrong--Swing That Music (1936-38, MCA) Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt--Jug and Sonny Rabih Abou-Khalil--Blue Camel Count Basie--Chairman of the Board Chu Berry--Chu The Jaki Byard Experience Art Blakey--The Big Beat Carla Bley--European Tour '77 Anthony Braxton--Creative Orchestra Music 1976 Dave Brubeck--Brubeck Plays Brubeck (solo piano) Don Byron--No Vibe Zone Sidney Bechet-- Volume 2 (Blue Note LP) Steve Bernstein with Sam Rivers--Diaspora Blues Kenny Barron--Maybeck album Mario Bauza--944 Columbus Lester Bowie--The Fire This Time Brother Ah--Sound Awareness Donald Byrd--Free Flight Dave Burrell--Windward Passages Sonny Clark--Sonny's Crib Avishai Cohen--Adama Benny Carter--A Gentleman and His Music Roy Campbell--New Kingdom Uri Caine--Toys Betty Carter--Now It's My Turn Paul Desmond--Pure Desmond Richard Davis--Philosophy of the Spiritual Jack DeJohnette--Tin Can Alley Gil Evans--Individualism of Duke Ellington--Jazz Party --New Orleans Suite --70th Birthday Concert --Historically Speaking Booker Ervin--The Space Book Johnny Frigo--Live at the 1997 Floating Jazz Festival Chico Freeman--Spirit Sensitive Tommy Flanagan--Jazz Poet Ella and Louis (all 3 volumes) Ricky Ford--Flying Colors Dexter Gordon--Stable Mable Johnny Griffin--Return of the Griffin Dizzy Gillespie and Machito--Afro Cuban Jazz Moods Stan Getz--Anniversary Benny Goodman--On The Air (1937-38) Charlie Haden--Closeness --The Golden Number Lionel Hampton--My Man John Hicks--Inc.1 Heath Brothers--Live at the Public Theater Coleman Hawkins--Meets the Big Sax Section --Rainbow Mist Abdullah Ibrahim--Ekaya --Ode to Duke Ellington James P. Johnson--Original 1942-45 Eddie Jefferson--The Main Man Keith Jarrett--La Scala Elvin Jones--The Ultimate Barney Kessel--Easy Like Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh Rahsaan Roland Kirk--Bright Moments The Leaders--Mudfoot Yusef Lateef--Eastern Sounds --The Three Faces of --Cry!/Tender Ronnie Matthews--Roots, Branches and Dances Pat Metheny--80/81 Charles Mingus--Tijuana Moods Modern Jazz Quartet-- The Last Concert Thelonious Monk--5 By Monk By 5 Jay McShann--Kansas City Hustle Bheki Mseleku--Celebration David Murray--Holy Siege on Intrigue Phineas Newborn--The Great Jazz Piano of James Newton--Paseo Del Mar Eddie Palmieri--Palmas Duke Pearson--Wahoo William Parker--O'Neal's Porch Joe Pass--Portraits of Duke Ellington Art Pepper--Today Sam Rivers--Waves Sonny Rollins--Alfie Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan--Goin' Home Zoot Sims--Hawthorne Nights Eddie South--In Paris 1929 and 1937 Jess Stacy--Stacy Still Swings Sun Ra--Cosmos --Unity --St. Louis Blues Skatalites--High Bop Ska Clark Terry--Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Arrangements by Ernie Wilkins) Henry Threadgill--Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket --Too Much Sugar For a Dime Lucky Thompson--Lucky Strikes Art Tatum and Ben Webster Cecil Taylor--Silent Tongues McCoy Tyner--Trident --Supertrios Lew Tabackin--Rites of Pan Cal Tjader--Soul Sauce Sarah Vaughan--Live at Mister Kelly's Dinah Washington--The Jazz Sides Randy Weston--Tanjah Fats Waller--Turn on the Heat Kenny Wheeler--Gnu High James Williams--Magical Trio 1 Teddy Wilson--Solo Piano: Keystone Transcriptions 1939-40 Phil Woods--Musique du Bois Mary Lou Williams--Free Spirits Lester Young Trio

Chick writes something like that, only longer, within a nearly unreadable triangle format.

I love Lester Bowie's recordings, and have heard the ones that are easy to know about, such as his solo albums, the Brass Fantasy albums, the Art Ensemble of Chicago albums, the New Directions albums, David Bowie's album, the Skatalites album, the album by the group from Poland (can't remember its name). Does anyone have examples of obscure or not well known albums that he appeared on? I want to check out more.

My copy is misfiled, so I can't find it, but I think there's an explanation in the liner notes. I found my vinyl copy of this album. There is an explanation of the front cover art on the back of the album cover. Corea writes that everything on the front cover has some significant meaning in Scientology. It is written without conventional word spacing or punctuation, in a triangle shaped "page within the page", so it is not easy to read or follow if you try to skim it, as I did today.

Nah, it's the title of a tune I wrote for Quartet Out based on a rhythm I would tap out on her stomach before changing her diaper and the little riff I sang in conjunction with the rhythm. To this day, whenever I pick her up from somehow and she doesn't see me, I do a loud "TOOT TOOT" ala Popeye's pipe (only quicker) and she knows its me. Oddly enough, of all the things I used to do that embarrass the hell out of her now, that's not one of them. It is very encouraging to read that someday all the things that I do to embarrass the hell out of my 12 year old daughter may not seem as embarrassing to her. Right now, the things I do that seem embarrassing to her include picking her up from an event with her peers, eating, talking, breathing.

Elvin Hayes Wes Unseld Earl Monroe

Side 1, Track 3 of Anthony Braxton's "Creative Orchestra Music 1976"--the march. I had not heard it for years.

Haley Mills Wilbur Mills Wilbur Wood

I would suggest that the Adderley, Dolphy, Hancock, both Hills, Hubbard, Tyner and Young are really excellent albums.

Perhaps it's too easy a target, but Rupert Holmes' "Escape" has lyrics that I can't stand: I was tired of my lady, we'd been together too long. Like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song. So while she lay there sleeping, I read the paper in bed. And in the personals column, there was this letter I read: "If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain. If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape. I'm the lady you've looked for, write to me, and escape." I didn't think about my lady, I know that sounds kind of mean. But me and my old lady, had fallen into the same old dull routine. So I wrote to the paper, took out a personal ad. And though I'm nobody's poet, I thought it wasn't half-bad. "Yes, I like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. I'm not much into health food, I am into champagne. I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon, and cut through all this red tape. At a bar called O'Malley's, where we'll plan our escape." So I waited with high hopes, then she walked in the place. I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her face. It was my own lovely lady, and she said, "Oh, it's you." And we laughed for a moment, and I said, "I never knew".. "That you liked Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. And the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne. If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape. You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape." "If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain. If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape. You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape." The entire idea that they would be happy with each other at the end, after answering personals ads designed to cheat on the other, has always irritated me. The entire song strikes me as such a false, selfish way of thinking that I do in fact want to scream when it comes on.

I have always winced at Bob Dylan's "Winterlude": Winterlude, Winterlude, oh darlin', Winterlude by the road tonight. Tonight there will be no quarrelin', Ev'rything is gonna be all right. Oh, I see by the angel beside me That love has a reason to shine. You're the one I adore, come over here and give me more, Then Winterlude, this dude thinks you're fine. Winterlude, Winterlude, my little apple, Winterlude by the corn in the field, Winterlude, let's go down to the chapel, Then come back and cook up a meal. Well, come out when the skating rink glistens By the sun, near the old crossroads sign. The snow is so cold, but our love can be bold, Winterlude, don't be rude, please be mine. Winterlude, Winterlude, my little daisy, Winterlude by the telephone wire, Winterlude, it's makin' me lazy, Come on, sit by the logs in the fire. The moonlight reflects from the window Where the snowflakes, they cover the sand. Come out tonight, ev'rything will be tight, Winterlude, this dude thinks you're grand. I just don't like the way he rhymes "dude" with "lude", or "cold" with "bold". They seem like such lazy rhymes. And then when he compares her to an apple, refers to corn, and then says they'll cook up a meal--huh? And then it's obviously set in a harsh winter climate, with heavy snowfall, and then we find out at the end that it's also a sandy area--again, huh? I just think that Dylan tossed off some images and rhymes unworthy of him, to fill out an album. As it is sung in such a romantic easy listening voice (for him), it increases the irritation level for me.

I love the cover! I have just become a patron.

MG, I will keep your quotation in mind in the years ahead. We are already on an interesting "journey" with our 12 year old daughter. "Daughters are best, daughters are best....."

I love her middle name. Rae Sangrey--it sounds so musical, like a lilting Brazilian tune.

George Duke is the last performer on Saturday night at Kansas City's Rhythm and Ribs Festival, at 18th and Vine. I suspect that his live sets may not be that interesting these days. Has anyone seen him live in recent years? Is it worth waiting around to see him live, or not?

Your prize: you get to wear the Don King Wig:

Yeah, unless you need to make 2,331 car rides between New York and San Francisco without repeating a song, how much IPod storage space do you really need?

Either go away or go all the way in Look at what you hold Come back down on a spear of silence When it flies You go on through You come on through The ridiculous no Oh no One more pair of Loving eyes look down on you Sheets and a pillow How old will you have to be before you Stop believing That those eyes will look down on you That way forever There you sit mouth wide open Animals nipping at your sides On wire wheels the four stroke man Opens wide The marching sound The constant ride On the gasket is mine All mine One more pair of Wire wheels bear down on you Gear stripping the willow How many machine men will you see before you Stop believing that speed Will slide down on you Like brakes in bad weather

Hedy Lamarr helped to invent a sophisticated scientific invention used in the defense industry! And I was impressed enough with the talent she exhibited in "Ecstasy."

Corea has never hidden his membership in Scientology. I remember that when RTF was big in the 1970s, they gave Down Beat an interview in which all of the members of the group said that Scientology had helped them solve their problems and play better together as a group--I'm summarizing longer quotes very quickly. I do not know if anyone other than Corea is a Scientologist today. It's not a secret that some of Corea's song titles over the years have referred to Scientology.

There are people who really liked, and still like, the electric Return to Forever. I have met some recently. They are real jazz lovers who just find something in the group. It's not impossible to do so. I have listened to their albums again after not hearing them for decades. I was struck by how Where Have I Known You Before and No Mystery seemed quite listenable. They are nowhere near my stack of all-time favorite albums, but they are not laughable disasters either. I found Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy to sound rather harsh and cold, and Romantic Warrior to be nearly unlistenable. Romantic Warrior is where the negative cliches about RTF are true, I think. I think that Corea never found an electric guitarist who could play what would have been ideal for the group. Neither Connors or DiMeola were good enough to act as equal participants with Corea and Clarke. I thought so in 1976 and 1977 when I saw the group with DiMeola live. I think that the 1970s fans of RTF were the same people who were getting high to Yes and King Crimson. There were lots of them back then.

Sam began the second set by announcing that as the festival is dedicated to Coleman Hawkins (it is called the Coleman Hawkins Legacy Jazz Festival), they would play "Body and Soul". Sam comped on piano as the festival's founder, Dan Kozak, a Topeka saxophonist, played the song. During the first set, Sam told a long story between songs about a time when he saw Coleman Hawkins live in Chicago. The story morphed into a longer story about how a munitions facility in Chicago blew up that night and the windows of the jewelry stores downtown were blown out. Sam laughed, in a deep, gutteral laugh, and said that he should have been downtown at the time so that he could have retired. So Sam tried consciously to mix the Coleman Hawkins connection into his sets.

In case you are serious, that's the end of Some Like It Hot.