Ken Dryden

He was very defensive about his lyrics. When I did a phone interview with him, an awkwardly worded question about them got him going!

Just after Christmas 2015, Nancy and I made a trip to West Palm Beach, had dinner with he and his wife Judy on Saturday night at a great Italian place, then caught him at a Palm Beach hotel playing for brunch. What was odd is that most diners chose to sit out by the pool rather than inside and enjoy the music. Unfortunately that gig came to an end earlier this winter with a change in management. John Stein & Dave Zinno Wood and Strings (Whaling City Sound). A new release, but there's no image up on their website.

Not long after it was issued, they performed at the 1990 JazzTimes Conference in New Orleans. That's where I got to meet both men and I've had a chance to hang with Bill Mays many times over the years. He even played at Hot House editor Paul Blair's memorial service in 2012. One To One Two is just as good.

I was hoping Tulane alum Micah Owings would get one last shot at the big leagues, although that's about as likely as Jeff Franceour getting a new contract.

Who said black music is ugly? I have plenty of black music, I have never had any interest in some black artists. There is no requirement for anyone to own or like an artist just because it is politically correct to do so. As to "white" music, I also own no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley nor any Bob Dylan recordings. I buy what I want to listen to and not what others dictate that I should own and enjoy. The one need I might see for a drum machine is if the demands were far too great for a live percussionist or percussion ensemble to play. Frank Zappa composed on a synclavier quite a bit in the 1980s as he claimed some of his works were too difficult for bands to play live. Yet near the end of his life, Ensemble Modern proved that they were up to the challenge. He appeared as a conductor on a few numbers as his failing health permitted. I'm not here to critique anyone's listening habits nor their music collections. But I don't consider the drum machine to be all that compelling an addition to the world of music.

Let's put it this way: Michael Jackson, Prince, Marvin Gaye, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Madonna, Eminem, Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Public Enemy, etc., are not represented in my vast collection (which does extend outside of jazz). I despise drum machines.

I've always considered the drum machine to be the Cheez Whiz of musical instruments. If a real drummer isn't used, the music is unlikely to be of any interest to me.

Is anyone else noticing a very low audio level for this live webcast? This is the pits!

Have fun!

My cover feature in The New York City Jazz Record is now available. I was lucky to catch Harold Mabern at home just after he returned from Canada and was leaving the next day for Europe. http://nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201704.pdf

Send me your updated list. Email on the way...

I only have Highway One of the four albums and I'll have to agree with HutchFan's opinion.

Please add: Tony Purrone Quartet, In the Heath Zone, Steeple Chase SCCD 31410, $7.00 Larry Willis, Heavy Blues, Steeplechase SCCD 31269, $7.00

I am looking forward to this historical release.

I was able to see Gary Burton on several occasions, leading his quartet with Tiger Oshiki, Steve Swallow and a drummer I've forgotten, with Makoto Ozone, Steve Swallow and Adam Nussbaum (though the drummer never recorded with him), during the Eddie Daniels-Gary Burton tribute to Benny Goodman tour that had Ozone in place of Mulgrew Miller, along with the duo set with Ozone at IAJE that preceded the release of Virtuosi, which featured classical music they revamped. I did a couple of interviews with Burton and he was always thoughtful and very detailed in his responses. It was a joy to hear him praise budding talents like Julian Lage and the joy it gave him to discover and give direction to prodigies. He will be missed, I hope he enjoys retirement and that his health stabilizes.

I've had very erratic service from Universal.

It wasn't about missing gossip, but some people in Golson's book seem skimmed over. It's been a few months since I read it. Duke Ellington hated saying critical things so he avoided doing so in his autobiography co-written with Stanley Dance. Mercer Ellington filled in some of the gaps in his follow up biography of his father.

Not all musicians who pen autobiographies or who are interviewed for biographies want to put down their fellow musicians or tell about their struggles with drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. Dave Brubeck's wife Iola worked long and hard on a book about his career, of which she was an important part. The family has it and I don't know if there are plans to publish it. There won't be any gossip about bad behavior in it, in any case. Golson's story was a good read but a little frustrating because of his reluctance to talk about certain topics.

Hold the following CDs for me: Jim Rotondi – Excursions – Criss Cross $5 Freddie Redd – Lonely City – Uptown $10 I'll send a PM, too.

I own a lot of these CDs and I think your prices are a bit high, given what I have seen available from some sellers elsewhere.

That is real class!

That's sad to learn. I remember meeting him during a few IAJE conferences. It was lousy the way he lost his program on WGBH.

I've interviewed Gary Burton a couple of times and think I reviewed the book when it came out. I don't remember all the negative stories but do recall the frequent discussion of his struggles with his sexual identity.