Ken Dryden

I printed a photo of Serrano and put it in a cat box and let one of them crap on it, then took a photo. I wonder if I would be eligible for an NEA grant...three guesses for the title.

I retired from working in public radio for over a quarter century in 2014. While I was working, this topic would occasionally come up about federal funding. I informed people that CPB matching grants for public broadcasting were intended to be seed money and never permanent. If the organization has value and good leadership, they will find ways to make up the difference through increased fundraising and budget cuts. At least the matching funds were based on the fundraising success of the organization. The NEA hasn't helped itself with some of the questionable grants it has made over the years. Artists trying to make a political statement shouldn't receive taxpayer funding. They can test the market and see if there is any demand for their work. The NEA Jazz Masters program has funded deserving veteran artists, which is why it has avoided controversy. The local symphony president just sent out a mass email encouraging patrons to write their congressional representative to encourage him or her to fight to keep NEA grants. Of course, every time they perform an opera, it costs around $80,000 just for rental of backdrops and props. That's a lot of money for a genre that is on life support. I think there may be some cuts, but I doubt that Congress will do away with the NEA and CPB at this time.

I just interviewed Harold Mabern earlier this month and he toured Europe with Wes Montgomery in 1965. They appeared on television broadcasts for the BBC and also in Belgium. I think those may be available on grey market European DVDs.

I guess that explains the somewhat lopsided face...

Feel free to share your tune identification with me via pm and I'll do the same.

I'm so far behind in listening to new acquisitions that I never listen to radio at home or in the car, either terrestrial or satellite stations. The backlog is always 1200 or more releases, some of them boxed sets. I produced a weekly broadcast program for fifteen years, but after the first five, jazz was moved to Sundays, where listenership is scarce. I had the opportunity to interview a number of greats for my program and I think jazz on the air has its place.

I never got to hear Jaki Byard in person, though I've collected most all of his commercial releases, including the Japanese-only issues. The three solo sets from the 1369 Club date from around 1985-1988, when the club existed. I don't know who recorded them or posted them, but it is fun to try to identify all of the songs in his long medleys. The audience is very attentive, though the piano tuning is less than perfect, no surprise for a club. Here are the links if anyone is interested in hearing them: Jaki Byard solo 1369 Club unknown date (1985-1988) Set 1 #1 30:37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yNHiXNAtH4 Set 1 #2 15:37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGKrr8ZtMwY Set 2 43:48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuvuE8N8UpI

You are getting yourself a gem with These Rooms. One of Jim Hall's more obscure albums that lapsed from print far too soon.

Add these two CDs for me: Greg Abate Quintet, Monsters in the Night, Koko Jazz Records KJRCD 003 $4.00 Peter Bernstein, Brain Dance, Criss Cross Jazz 1130, $8.00 Eric Alexander

Please hold: Joshua Breakstone, Memoire The French Sessions vol 2, Capri Records 74070-2, $4.00 Scott Colley, The Magic Line, Arabesque Jazz AJ 0152, $5.00 trio w/Chris Potter, Bill Stewart George Gruntz Jazz Band ’87, Happening Now!, hat ART CD 6008, $9.00 Lee Kontiz, Joe Henderson, Rsy Anderson, Tom Varner, Kenny Wheeler ao Bobby Watson, Altos Peak, Strong Music 100, $12.00 with Gary Bartz

It was clear than Sharony Andrews Green was not very knowledgeable about jazz, as there were numerous mistakes within the text. It didn't help that a young, overly enthusiastic Grant Green fan included almost gushing commentary with every discographical listing. Some of the stuff Green recorded in his later years was pretty forgettable.

I got it a week or so ago. It's a typical Evans set from the mid-1970s, though the fades are rapid between each number, making me wonder how much music was omitted. It is in mono and there's no version of "Nardis," which seems to pop up on nearly every Bill Evans live CD. If you're a fan of his work, you'll want to get it. It is well-recorded and the pianist is in top form.

Well, I think that the label folded quickly, though some of the titles seem to hang around for a good while. I actually saw a sealed copy of the Terry Gibbs LP in the past few days. These sessions were taken from a television series that evidently aired on the west coast in the 1950s. Too bad the video wasn't preserved as well, as no supporting musicians are listed on any of the LPs.

I looked at Discogs and saw CAL 3032 available, though it may seem pricey. https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/8758099?ev=rb It seemed like Calliope was around for a very short time in the mid-1970s. I saw a smattering of their catalog in a used record store while I was in grad school in 1976-1977. I was fortunate as I picked up a number of them then and a lot more around 2000. But I am missing a few, too, including 3021 and 3025.

Nothing jazz wise is in my area until April: Judy Carmichael with Harry Allen and Chris Flory Fred Hersch solo (a 2 + hour drive) Hopefully there will be more local booking of interest next month but the rest of the acts haven't been announced.

I remember seeing snippets of "In Search Of..." but I can't say I ever made a point of watching an entire show. Since Dan mentioned Mel Brooks, does anyone remember Mel Brooks' short-lived sitcom "The Nutt House," which starred Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman? It was set in a Manhattan hotel that had seen better days. One of the running gags is that the elevator didn't always stop evenly with the floor, another was the huge prop rear end affixed to Leachman's character. It ran about 5-7 episodes before NBC cancelled it.

I was able to get a review copy of one Newvelle LP by Don Friedman. Great music, nice pressing and audio, but odd packaging. Who wants a poem in the album jacket while having to download the liner notes and musician credits? I hope their subscription system ends up working, though I feel that not everyone wants to pay a premium for all six to seven LPs in a series, they might just want one or two. I wish them the best of luck.

I haven't seen a publicity announcement. I was sent the download link for volume 2.

Beasley's interpretations were devoid of the emotion, dissonance, anguish or playfulness that Monk incorporated into his music. I think only one of the senior DB writers really trashed the CD.

I started playing the John Beasley Monkestra CD and was rather unimpressed. As soon as I heard a little bit of his dreadful smooth jazz treatment of "'Round Midnight," I promptly removed it from my CD player and trashed it. In my view it was one of the worst new releases of 2016 and not worthy of a Grammy nomination. I prefer George Russell's arrangement of "'Round Midnight" showcasing Eric Dolphy or any other worthwhile arrangements of this jazz standard that have been released over the years.

I can't say I saw the Gary Burton is retiring thread. He told me a few years ago that he was no longer touring during winter and cutting back some. I used to live close to Nova University, though it didn't exist at the time, just the experimental high school, junior high and elementary. Burton is well worth seeing with Makoto Ozone. i heard their Virtuosi set at IAJE prior to the CD release and also heard them in Burton's quartet and the Eddie Daniels-Gary Burton tribute to Benny Goodman tour, with Ozone taking Mulgrew Miller's place.

Don't overlook Willie Ruff, who recorded a number of albums in a duo with pianist Dwike Mitchell. Many of them are out of print, but a few have been issued on Collectables at a very reasonable price. His autobiography, A Call to Assembly, is also great reading and I've seen it priced very inexpensively on line, though I think it was published 15-20 years ago.

Ask Zev Feldman, he might have been given a list to review. Resonance issued a Jazz Alive! show featuring Sarah Vaughan in New Orleans at Rosy's, including extra material that was not aired. I recorded a few of them in the late 1970s but it aired on a night in my city that frequently conflicted with my work schedule. One thing that frustrated me is when Concord issued the Jazz Alive! broadcast which featured Mel Torme, George Shearing and Gerry Mulligan, they omitted all three of Mulligan's big band instrumentals. Fortunately I recorded the full broadcast and I knew the music well long before I was assigned to write liner notes years later. I think some of the Jazz Alive! broadcasts may be on Concert Vault.

I just reviewed a CD by a band interpreting his work. Parlan had lost his wife a few years ago and was living in a nursing home, but he generously gave his remaining royalties to help fund the recording. He left an impressive legacy.

I am looking forward to hearing more unissued or rare Duke Ellington. I can't say that I've ever been a fan of Tony Watkins' vocals. I've read that Ellington abruptly ended a concert in Europe when the audience reacted negatively to Watkins. "One More Time (For the People)" is easily my least favorite Ellington composition.