DukeCity

Rookie of the Year Mookie Blaylock Cookie Gugelman

Maria Riff Officer Krupke

Well, it's just that I wanted to get S.A.R. to sign my yearbook!

We used that same code in college too! Small world. Greg, I'm pretty sure we went to the same college: Go, Mean Green!

L.A. tenor saxophonist Pete Christlieb is an active drag racer. You can read about his racing team and history here. and Pete's more grown-up racing:

Keith Olberman Bill O'Reilly Satan, Lord of the Netherworld

I don't have any Urbie Green sides, but I do have fond memories: I had a roommate in college (trombonist) who enjoyed a lot of "recreational herbs", and when he was trying to make either a sale or a purchase on the phone, the super secret code was "Hey man, do you have that new "Urbie Green" record?" I'm sure that one was tougher to crack than those WWII Navajo Code Talkers! Happy Birthday, Urbie!!!

Yeah, that would be pretty brutal. But as you point out, they're playing for a constantly changing audience of tourists. In my mind, that puts it in the realm of commercial work, even though the material is usually thought of as classical/art music. It's more like a buddy of mine who plays tenor in the Les Brown Orchestra in residence at a theater in Branson, MO. Daily shows for busloads of tourists, so even when the band is swinging, they're still cranking out another performance of Leap Frog!

There's the old joke: Q: How do you get a musician to complain? A: Give him a gig. Yeah, classical musicians bitch about playing the chestnuts, especially when dealing with orchestral players. I think the issue is different when working in the arena of solo literature. A classical musician has more of an opportunity for self-expression, and playing "in the moment" when performing as a soloist, or as a member of a smaller chamber group, where issues of phrasing, dynamics, etc. can turn on a dime and one can really changes things up from performance to performance. If you're just sawing away on your part in the middle of the 2nd violin section on another performance of Beethoven V, there's not a whole lot of leeway. However, I also think that those issues change with the level of musicians involved. Taking the discussion back to the realm of jazz, you can sometimes hear guys complaining about playing a tune like "Stella By Starlight" or "Autumn Leaves" or "All the Things You Are". But those are often the guys who can't come up with any new ideas to play on those tunes. Nothing is stopping them from playing anything fresh or creative, except their own lack of freshness and creativity. Same could be said for classical musicians. Also, in the jazz (or commercial music) world, you are asked to play the chestnuts every night. An orchestra might work its way through the Beethoven symphonies every few seasons, but Artie Shaw had to Begin the Beguine at pretty much every show. Ask Free For All about how often he had to do Woodchopper's Ball! One last thought: While the vast majority of classical musicians have to work to cobble together a livable wage, in the major orchestras (Chicago, Philly, NY, LA etc) those guys are doing OK financially. So when I know that a guy is making $100K, I don't feel too bad for him when he complains about having to pound out another performance of the Nutcracker.

I have the iHome pictured above, and I like it. Sounds pretty good for a clock-radio; not as full as something like a Bose WaveRadio, but at about 1/4 of the price, I'm OK with that. It's nice to wake up to a tune of my choosing, rather than an electronic beep or some random radio idiocy.

Frank Gorshin Rich Little Fred Travalena

Mr. French Glenn Frye Mr. Potato Head

Pal Joey Joey Bishop Joey Heatherton

Here it is: Leslie video at 2:59 (edit: sorry, I didn't see that it was already posted.)

Thanks!

Aggie- who else is in the quartet besides Sco and Tain?

I was a little late to the party, but placed an order for about 40 CDs early last week. Here's my question: Assuming that some of those are out of stock, if more than ten are unavailable, my order will be fewer than 30 discs. Will my per disc price get bumped up to $3.99? And will Concord notify me before they change the prices and charge me? (I doubt that). Anyone...?

Amen, brother! Forgiveness can be awhile in coming. I spent a fair amount of time in a lot of anger, and being far from a place of forgiveness. But I firmly believe being right in the middle of those feelings, and really acknowledging them is the only way to eventually get to a good place. Eventually I got past the soul-sucking darkness, but I still remember it, and I still remember what put me there. I just had a visit with my ex (after not seeing her for 2 or 3 years), and it helped me confirm the fact that the anger isn't there anymore. That's a pretty good feeling.

Awesome indeed! When the video started I said a little prayer that EW wouldn't pick up the saxophone. Apparently, there is no God. I think the highlight for me was when he picked up the sticks to engage in the dueling Hawaii 5-O drum fills. Thanks for posting that. And yes, I vote for that entire production to make its way into the organissimo set list ASAP.

Not on YouTube, but an awesome video of a young Frank Zappa on the old Steve Allen show, playing a concerto for bicycle, electronic tape, and ensemble. Steve keeps calling him "Frank Zahpa" Zappa on Steve Allen

Paul, you and I have talked a little about this already, but I'll add that I feel for you, man! I know that things will work out for you, even if there are times when it doesn't feel like that's ever going to happen. I also know what it's like to get kind of blindsided. I got hit a few years ago when my (ex)wife finally decided that our marriage was cutting into her time with her boyfriend! Pretty dark times followed, but after weathering the storm, things did indeed get better. So hang in there, and know that there are a lot of folks on this board, and elsewhere, who are here for you and happy to talk about it any time.

Just to be clear, this festival was a series of individual concerts over a two-week span. Those headliners (McCoy, Branford, O'Farrill etc.) each had their own night a theatre in Santa Fe that seats about 800. So, several sold-out (or almost) concerts. In addition, there were other shows connected with the festival, at the Outpost (in ABQ) and at an outdoor amphitheatre (also in ABQ) that seats up to 800. Yeah, it may not be Newport '58, but it's a great thing for our music community.

Sadly, I was out of town for all of the New Mexico Jazz Festival events! But I'm pretty thankful that we have some jazz presenters here in the desert; especially here in ABQ where we have the Outpost Performance Space. The guy who runs this non-profit (on purpose ) place is an avant garde saxophonist with very eclectic tastes. He books straight ahead, avant, performance art, all kinds of stuff. The venue holds about 200, theatre style, no talking, no smoking, no booze. It's also a great venue for us local guys to get a chance to do something a little more than the typical club/restaurant gigs of which there are a good amount here. But in keeping with the spirit of this thread, Yeah! Everything Sucks!!!

Steve Swallow Robin Eubanks Walter Pidgeon

As I understand it, these are new tracks recorded by the current band, that were put underneath some vocal tracks recorded earlier by Brother Ray. I'm more than a little dubious, but guys on the band whom I've talked to are excited about how well it all came out.