felser

I have it and like it quite a bit. Pullen was at his best in that period. Seemed to get a little formulaic later.

For whatever else the sixties were or weren't about, they most certainly were NOT about standing aside from the political (or cultural) spheres. The song was about the changing of the guard in society from the Eisenhower 50's, the individuals in the song were merely props to illustrate the cultural upheaval of the generations. The woman wasn't an individual, it was a mindset. The entire era was overshadowed by the Vietnam War and the draft. The same dynamic has not existed since then, and will not again any time soon. There was certainly a lot of hypocrisy and naivete, but idiocy? Look around today and compare.

Went and looked up all of the Nobel Literature winners between 1970-2015. I've heard of two of them - Toni Morrison and Saul Bellow. And have never read a full book by either of them. Whereas Bob Dylan's best lyrics were and are a major influence on me. "Voice of a Generation" thing is romanticized, but I like and carry the myth, so therefore it works for me (we live our lives on that basis a lot more than we will want to admit). And there is so much still to find in the most compelling of his songs (for instance, "Rainy Day Women" is based on a biblical proverb about complaining wives (27:15), among other things - it's not actually a drug song - and the John Wesley Harding album is steeped in Biblical imagery). I could spend a good chunk of my lifetime just exploring the meanings of the first first 10 songs on "John Wesley Harding". So while I understand some of the concerns, I will celebrate the Nobel Prize presentation to Dylan.

I was at a Dizzy Tribute concert at Penn's Landing in Philly in the early 90's, just before he passed. David Sanchez was feeling his oats, I guess, from the premature Columbia contract, and played what he considered a hot-shot solo on one tune. Veteran Mario Rivera was up next for his solo. He played Sanchez's solo note-perfect, then played a vaudeville version making fun of Sanchez's solo, then played his own solo. The trumpet section for that concert was Jon Faddis and Freddie Hubbard, each good-naturedly trying to out-showoff the other one, and Wynton Marsalis, who clearly did not approve and played very close to the vest.

If "Chimes of Freedom" and "My Back Pages" aren't poetry, I don't know what is. And he spoke to/for a (my) generation. Chimes of Freedom Bob Dylan Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched With faces hidden as the walls were tightening As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain Dissolved into the bells of the lightning Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsakened Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind An' the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales For the disrobed faceless forms of no position Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts All down in taken-for-granted situations Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute For the misdemeanor outlaw, chaineded an' cheated by pursuit An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flared An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing My Back Pages Bob Dylan Crimson flames tied through my ears, rollin' high and mighty traps Pounced with fire on flaming roads using ideas as my maps "We'll meet on edges, soon, " said I, proud 'neath heated brow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth, "rip down all hate, " I screamed Lies that life is black and white spoke from my skull, I dreamed Romantic facts of musketeers foundationed deep, somehow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now Girls' faces formed the forward path from phony jealousy To memorizing politics of ancient history Flung down by corpse evangelists, unthought of, though somehow Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now A self-ordained professor's tongue too serious to fool Spouted out that liberty is just equality in school "Equality, " I spoke the word as if a wedding vow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand at the mongrel dogs who teach Fearing not that I'd become my enemy in the instant that I preach My existence led by confusion boats, mutiny from stern to bow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats too noble to neglect Deceived me into thinking I had something to protect Good and bad, I define these terms quite clear, no doubt, somehow Ah, but I was so much older then I'm younger than that now

I consistently enjoy Eric Alexander's work (the same way I consistently enjoy Dexter Gordon's), but find my attitude about most of what has been put out since the Marsalis revolution is pretty jaded. I find a lot of it expertly played but bloodless, the sense of discovery replaced by a sense of mastery, so much "been there, done that, but we can do it too, maybe even better). I realize this is both a sweeping generalization and also a defense of my own biases, which prefer what I heard when I first discovered the music, but there it is. If I had discovered jazz through Wallace Roney and Kenny Garrett rather than through Miles and Trane, I might feel differently. And I do love Garrett's Trane album.

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Charles Tolliver - The Ringer McCoy Tyner - Sahara Jackie McLean - One Step Beyond Lee Morgan - The Gigolo

That was after it was sonically unacceptable to enjoy and appreciate the McMaster CD's. And all this stuff (RVG and McMaster) always sounds great to my old ears on my cheap stereo equipment and trusty $30ish Sennheiser headphones.

I'll be the first old, cranky guy to comment. Blue Note totally stopped being Blue Note around the time of the last good Elvin Jones album for them, and the bleeding started when Alfred Lion sold to Liberty, and became fatal when Liberty sold to UA. Even the 80's "revival" was nothing special, and it pains me to see what gets done with the brand name today.

No, never heard of that one - you're killing me! Is it

Thanks, didn't know that. The CD's weren't.

Thanks. Any guidance on the least expensive way for me to get the LP? The least I have been able to find is about $35 shipped to USA so far.

The one missing Billy Harper album for my collection is "Knowledge of Self" (Denon, ca. 1978). I don't really do vinyl anymore. I am having trouble finding this in CD or download format (I just broke my sworn stance against buying downloads, getting the Hannibal Peterson MPS album from Amazon last night. As a consumer I feel ripped off, but as a listener I feel blessed. But would have payed five times the amount for a real CD issue). Any leads on the Harper greatly appreciated, thx.

Did not reaize he wrote "Stomp" and "Masterjam".. Both excellent!

Rod Temperton will always be this great song to me above all else. Archetypal disco. And this one by Temperton and Heatwave is cerrtainly iconic of the disco era:

You're right about that, for sure.

Quality control? Who would have wanted the job of telling RVG that he was getting the Blue Note sound all wrong?

I don't have these, but have dozens of BGO sets, and they consistently have outstanding sound.

Cool!

Up with edits, 70 gone, thanks!

Well, I'll pick off the easy ones. #2 and #11 are parts 1 and 2 of Charles Mingus' "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" from 'Blues and Roots' (vinyl to boot) with some amazing Booker Ervin, and #4 is some version/edit of James Brown's "Superbad". Much of the rest sounds, er, "unusual". I certainly feel a LOT of freedom for whatever I do in December! I'll listen more and see what else I can come up with, including a unifying theme I assume is there somewhere.

Al Downing Hank Aaron Aaron Rodgers