Hot Ptah

Gee whiz, before this thread I thought that everyone liked Colbert! Live and learn!

This topic is also fun for me because I started buying jazz then too. I am struck by the many excellent albums that came out in that decade, especially toward the end of the decade. The media and certain jazz artists sometimes refer to the 1970s as a bleak period for jazz, a down time, etc.--but there was actually more exciting music being released than in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s, in my humble opinion. The 1970s music did not have the benefit of high priced, high powered PR spin behind it, though. The lists on this thread seem to me to underrepresent the swing and mainstream bop releases of that decade, and the most popular fusion releases as well.

"After The Morning" on the West 54 label is another really good Hicks album. I do not know if it has come out on CD. I bought it on vinyl after seeing Betty Carter in January, 1979, with a backing trio of John Hicks, Cameron Brown and Kenny Washington. Two nights later I saw Roscoe Mitchell play two sets of solo alto saxophone. Those were the days.

I chose Lester because in my humble opinion, the work of both Lester and Colbert is based on a self-conscious humor within a tradition--in a good sense, with both of them.

Well, it's kinda like saying (as I used to) that Stan Kenton was the white Woody Herman... Are we talking about the same Dennis Miller and Colbert? Matters of personal taste do not have to lead to agreement. I have usually been able to follow your thoughts on any topic, but cannot do so here. Whether or not someone likes Colbert, I see him as more like Lester Bowie to Dennis Miller as Wynton Marsalis.

I have had no intention of dismissing him. I can't tell if I disagree with him. I don't understand what he is saying much of the time. He is evidently quite intelligent and knowledgable, yet chooses to write in a deliberately obscure style, a sort of breezy shorthand which sometimes goes over my head. I find it unusual.

Am I the only one who wonders--Who is Clementine, and why does Clementine write that way?

Allen, Will you let us know when Vols. 3 and/or 4 are available for our purchase?

But Nick seems to have no knowledge of jazz--or no interest in it.

MG, I have certainly learned a lot from your posts about soul jazz, and have picked up some great albums based on your recommendations--maybe we can all return the favor here.

John Lennon's song "Jealous Guy", from his "Imagine" album, began its life in 1968 as a song considered for, but not used, on the Beatles' White Album. It had totally different lyrics then, and was entitled "Child of Nature". There are several imports available of the early acoustic demo sessions for the White Album, which contain John's vocal/acoustic guitar version of "Child of Nature". To me, this is a gem.

Yes, I have thought of a few more: Zoot Sims--Hawthorne Nights Lew Tabackin--Rites of Pan Ronnie Matthews--Roots, Branches and Dances Chick Corea/Gary Burton--Crystal Silence Duke Ellington--The Ellington Suites (not released until the 1970s)

In 1979, I saw Oscar Peterson play a solo piano concert, and he played "I Love You Just The Way You Are", introducing it as "one of the best songs of the Seventies." That is the only good version of a Billy Joel song I have heard played by another, to date.

What does this mean? I know who Rusty Warren is and have seen her Knockers Up! album at the local used record store. How does this relate to the previous posts?

Regarding truth to power, did you see the footage of Colbert at the Correspondents Dinner, with Bush sitting a few feet away? I agree that he wasn't going to get fired from an Administration post for what he said, but in my humble opinion, he showed more guts than anyone else has, in attacking this President to his face. If you didn't see it, it is different than you seem to be imagining it to be.

I have experience being around many autistic, schizophrenic, epileptic, and otherwise severely disabled people with neurological problems. Tom Harrell is brave just to get up on a stage. When I have seen him live I have seen him fighting off the tell-tale signs of a person with a serious neurological problem on the verge of going into a seizure or an out of control agitated episode. I have literally held my breath because I have seen many disabled adults go into blowout episodes moments after behaving just the same as I have observed in Tom onstage. How he keeps it together for the entire concert is beyond me. If he fumbles on some notes--that's nothing--it's amazing that he is literally still standing and still conscious. Since some nights he is better and is able to play quite well, my perspective is that we have to cut him a lot of slack. He has a very serious illness.

I said in my earlier post on this thread that I should list 50 more. I still have not had time to go through my records to come up with a comprehensive list, but here are some I am thinking of--in addition to the ten I posted earlier in the thread: Duke Ellington--New Orleans Suite (I have just read that this album was released in April, 1970. It should be #1 on the list of 1970s albums, in my opinion). Sam Rivers--Waves Sun Ra--Unity Eddie Jefferson-The Main Man Carla Bley--Escalator Over The Hill Carla Bley-Dinner Music Carla Bley-European Tour '77 George Adams--Sound Suggestions George Adams--Paradise Space Shuttle Chico Freeman--Spirit Sensitive Ricky Ford--Manhattan Plaza Charles Mingus--Changes One Charles Mingus--Changes Two Charles Mingus--Let My Children Hear Music Charles Mingus--Cumbia and Jazz Fusion Randy Weston--Tanjah Count Basie and Oscar Peterson--Satch and Josh Dexter Gordon--Stable Mable David Murray--Holy Siege On Intrigue Roscoe Mitchell--Nonaah Art Ensemble of Chicago--People in Sorrow Art Ensemble of Chicago--Fanfare for the Warriors Art Ensemble of Chicago--Live at Mandel Hall Art Ensemble of Chicago--Nice Guys Art Ensemble of Chicago--Full Force Stan Getz and Jimmy Rowles--The Peacocks Stan Getz--Gold (Happy 50th Stan) Charlie Haden-Closeness Charlie Haden--The Golden Number Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan--Goin' Home Richard Davis--The Philosophy of the Spiritual Richard Davis--Epistrophy and Now's The Time Arthur Blythe--In the Tradition Heath Brothers--Live at the Public Theater Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter--Carter, Gillespie, Inc. Joe Pass--Portraits of Duke Ellington Bill Evans--You Must Believe in Spring Jess Stacy--Stacy Still Swings Dave Burrell--Windward Passages Mahavishnu Orchestra-The Inner Mounting Flame Mahavishnu Orchestra--Birds of Fire Jaco Pastorius--Jaco Pastorius McCoy Tyner--Echoes of a Friend Chick Corea-Light as A Feather Keith Jarrett-The Koln Concert Keith Jarrett-Belonging Cecil Taylor--Silent Tongues Anthony Braxton-Creative Orchestra Music '76 James Newton--Paseo Del Mar Mary Lou Williams- Free Spirits Betty Carter--Now It's My Turn Paul Desmond--Pure Desmond Rahsaan Roland Kirk--Bright Moments Abdullah Ibrahim--Ode to Duke Ellington Kenny Wheeler--Gnu High I am sure that I will think of more soon.

I found Colbert's performance at the correspondents' dinner to be side-splitting funny--he spoke truth to power as it has never been done with this Adminstration, and got off many humorous lines, in my opinion. Humor is very subjective and personal though. We certainly don't have to agree on what is funny. I find his entire show to be very funny--to conceive of an entire nightly show as a parody of Bill O'Reilly, and then to execute it well a surprisingly high percentage of the time--that is quite an achievement, I think. Plus, he just makes me laugh quite often. To compare him to Dennis Miller-- I don't understand the comparison.

Dizzy Gillespie and Machito--Afro Cuban Jazz Moods Sun Ra-Cosmos Air-Air Lore Jack DeJohnette--Special Edition Arthur Blythe--Lenox Avenue Breakdown Johnny Griffin--Return of the Griffin Art Ensemble of Chicago--Les Stances a Sophie McCoy Tyner--Trident McCoy Tyner--Supertrios McCoy Tyner--Focal Point There are about 50 more I should list.

Jim, You do realize that the photo posted right above your Elvis Costello post is a photo of Woody Allen, not Elvis Costello, right?

They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. You forgot Chuck Nessa, not to add to your anxiety or anything.

IF? I already have a piggy bank filled with the money to buy the next two volumes!

I do know who you mean, having acquired a good sized chunk of my collection at Schoolkids. It was a great store. Before that, it was the advice of clerks at Discount Records and Record World in Madison. A clerk at Discount Records picked out 25 or so jazz classics for me in one memorable visit which started my entire jazz loving adventure. Chuck Nessa had managed the Discount Records a few years before and must have trained this guy. I would love to know who he is so that I could thank him--in the mid-1970s he had longish black hair and beard.

Both volumes are fantastic, and a steal at the price quoted here.

I have read Yanow's trumpet book and Latin jazz book, and saw them as a way to get acquainted with a lot of artists at once, to make lists for possible CD and LP purchases at the used music stores. I did not think I was reading in-depth reviews, but found them useful for the purpose intended. It did not occur to me that he should be considered in highly negative terms. I was a little bit surprised when I saw the strength of the comments about him on this board, when I started reading it about a year ago, but chalked it up as one of those interesting things that you come across when you read a new board--one of those new perspectives on things that make a board intriguing. I guess I was taken by the sudden emergence of the "coot" comments and others like them, as I turned 50 this year, and it is also the year when my 10 year old daughter changed from seeing me as nearly infallible to seeing me as a very annoying creature who needs to be told to shut up as often as possible. Deference and respect can be such a thin veneer, with so much lurking beneath the surface.