Ken Dryden

I have the following CDs available for trade. Make an offer with your trade list if interested via a PM. Pianists: Kenny Drew: Undercurrent (Blue Note, non-RVG) Andrew Hill: Compulsion (Blue Note RVG) Keith Jarrett: Standards, Vol. 1 (ECM-BMG Club Edition) Mulgrew Miller: Keys to the City (Landmark) oop McCoy Tyner Afro Blue (Telarc) compilation Reeds: Charlie Barnet Cherokee (Evidence) Charlie Barnet More (Evidence) Booker Ervin: The Freedom Book w/Jaki Byard (OJC) Dexter Gordon Clubhouse (Blue Note RVG) Haze Greenfield Five For the City w/Tom Harrell (Owl) oop Joe Henderson Sextet: The Kicker (OJC/Milestone) Joe Henderson: Joe Henderson in Japan (OJC/Milestone) Jackie McLean: New and Old Gospel (Blue Note RVG) Archie Shepp Blase/Live at the Pan-African Festival (Fuel 2000) 2 CDs Ben Webster No Fool, No Fun (Storyville) Jack Wilkins Artwork Koch (not the tenor saxophonist) Brass: Louis Armstrong: In Scandinavia, Vol. 1 (Storyville) Louis Armstrong: In Scandinavia, Vol. 2 (Storyville) Louis Armstrong: In Scandinavia, Vol. 3 (Storyville) Chet Baker: Chet (Riverside 20 bit) Donald Byrd: The Cat Walk (Blue Note RVG) Kenny Dorham: Jazz Contrasts (OJC) Art Farmer: Farmer's Market (OJC) Dizzy Gillespie: Jazz in Paris-Cognac Blues (Univesal) oop Nils Landgren & Joe Sample: Creole Love Call (ACT) Jack Teagarden Has Anybody Here Seen Jackson? Jass oop Jack Teagarden 1944-45 Big T Jump Jass oop Guitar: Nguyen Le Duos: Homescape (ACT) Nguyen Le: Purple-Celebrating Jimi Hendrix (ACT) Big Bands/Large Ensembles: Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Detroit-New York Junction BN RVG Strings: Turtle Island String Quartet: A Love Supreme-The Legacy of John Coltrane (Telarc) Drummers: Art Taylor A.T.'s Delight (Blue Note RVG) Tony Williams: The Story of Neptune (Blue Note, non-RVG) Vibes: Lionel Hampton Hot Mallets, Vol. 1 Bluebird/RCA Lionel Hampton The Jumpin' Jive, The All Star Groups 1937-39, Vol. 2 Bluebird/RCA Vocalists: Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong Havin' More Fun! (Jazz Unlimited) Miscellaneous: BeatleJazz: All You Need (VideoArts)

Due out this April 1st: Kenny G Plays Monk, featuring "'Round Noon," "Straight, No Changes," "In Walked Yanni" and "Pannedonica"

Having done a few interviews over the past 20 years, I can't say that I've read every article or interview transcription of any guest. It also depends upon what the editor wants for the particular publication or website. But it I can get an artist to say "That's a really good question, no one ever asks that," it is satisfying. Having a big collection of the artist's work is definitely of help.

How about "tour de force"? That's one term I quit using not long after I got started writing reviews.

It's a shame that you've been stuck so many times. I have no use for sellers who don't regularly update their inventory, particularly the full time businesses that don't realize the inconvenience on the buyer's part. Right now I'm dealing with a seller who sent me an item that was described with totally different personnel and a song list, while the second order never arrived. And he wondered why I left negative feedback... Keep checking Cadence's clearance section on line, all sorts of things turn up there. Then again, I haven't seen that many Black Lion titles in used bins in the past few years.

They ought to call in the "Heritage and a Little Jazz" Festival. Not one jazz artist in the first ten names mentioned, pretty sad. When I was attending Tulane during the 1970s, there were artists like Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner and Eubie Blake taking part. Give me Monterey any day over this commercial, uninspired lineup at Jazzfest.

Thanks for sharing the information. I enjoyed both of Milt Hinton's earlier books and look forward to this one.

No writer is flawless, but artists, liner note writers and record labels should be 100% sure that the titles and composers/lyricists are correct before they print the CD booklet and tray card. I check them as soon as I get an advance CD, while I'm listening to it for the first time. The reviewer ought to know the music. If you don't know Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" by its composer's recording, how will you recognize it on someone else's CD? I'm not talking about obscurities, like when Marcus Roberts recorded Duke Ellington's "Shout 'Em, Aunt Tillie," but compositions that should be in a well-rounded writer's jazz collection.

I may have brought this up in an earlier thread, but when Will Calhoun's Live at the Blue Note was first issued, the final track was listed as Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance." I'm sure that most Organissimo Forum contributors, if they have heard this CD, recognized it as McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance," which hardly sounds anything like Herbie's piece. But the JazzTimes reviewer evidently didn't have much depth to his jazz knowledge and commended the performance of "Dolphin Dance." I was surprised when my sarcastic letter to the editor was printed. One of many reasons I eventually cancelled my JT subscription.

I'm always puzzled when a liner note writer takes the information provided by the artist or label without question, which makes for embarrassing results when the song titles or composers are incorrect (or incomplete), along with forgetting to list some of the instruments. One recent gaffe by a well known liner note writer on a European release: Thelonious Monk was credited with writing John Coltrane's "Locomotion." Monk's piece is, of course, entitled "Locomotive." Evidently this unnamed writer didn't know either composition well enough to catch the huge differences between them.

I'm not afraid of admitting that my first time hearing Oscar Peterson perform in person blew me away and made me a lifelong fan. His recordings will stand the test of time and he is a true "giant of jazz." RIP, Oscar Peterson.

It isn't politics but Leonard Feather above Cafe Society Downtown and told his daughter Lorraine that they referred to it as "Cafe Society Downstairs."

Clark Terry says more in one note than Wynton Marsalis can in a lifetime.

Our local Best Buy's CD selection is a joke period. Don't even get me started about their lack of valuable jazz, there's far too much crap by Kenny G, Jane Monheit and other lightweights.

I don't find it a big deal that Mosaic avoids duplicating the original covers of earlier individual releases. The sturdy packaging with mostly distinctive covers (a few not using photos have been bland), the easy to read and detailed liner notes, complete discographies and session photos when available all add to their appeal. As for Mosaic ignoring avant-garde, soul jazz, etc., Michael Cuscuna and his partners are interested in staying in business, not just catering to every single request. Some projects are deemed not feasible or can't be licensed for a reasonable price. Others may not be of interest to him, so I don't blame him any more than label owners who don't pursue styles of jazz which don't interest them. Why haven't the owners of said avant-garde jazz, soul jazz, etc. sessions gotten off their asses and done something about reissuing the music they own?

I didn't buy Lord's new CD Rom last year and doubt that I will buy any more of them. As for paying $100 per year for the right to access his database---YGBFK!

I liked The Who to a certain extent and bought most of their albums, though their output was uneven. Who's Next stands up better than Tommy, while I liked John Entwhistle's sardonic humor, especially in "My Wife." I saw the band live twice, once in 1974 in Baton Rouge (easily the loudest concert I've ever sat through, along with a disappointing effort around Atlanta circa 1987-89. Their latest effort didn't leave much of an impression, then again, not much in the way of new rock releases do.

I have purchased several of the previous editions of Lord's CD-Rom Jazz Discography, so I understand Christiern's comments. With so much data, it is a challenging task to proofread everything, so errors will inevitably creep in. Record labels and artists often don't take the time or trouble to correctly spell the names of musicians or song titles, while they sometimes get them wrong or even omit them entirely (like the notorious hidden tracks). Labels often omit one or more instruments played by someone doubling on two or more. There are also multiple versions of some song titles listed (for example, "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Green Dolphin Street," or "Oh! Lady Be Good" and "Lady Be Good") that can end up being compiled separately. Then composers often use the same title for different pieces, so before you can say there are so many versions of a particular work, you have to be sure they all are by the same composer (tough to do unless you own all of the LPs and CDs given). That said, I haven't seen any similar product that attempts to be as thorough as Lord's reference work. It was particularly helpful to me when I used to produce a radio program, as it was far more complete than any on-line reference source for jazz.

A review that first appeared at allaboutjazz.com on April 1, 2006: Monk Meets the Beatles Thelonious Monk | Sole Mountain Jazz (2006) By Ken Dryden For years it was rumored that Thelonious Monk was asked to do an album of Beatles tunes, but now we finally have proof that it was actually made. In the summer of 1971, the pianist was approached by an English businessman to make a record of Beatles tunes as a surprise birthday gift for his wife. Monk was hesitant to record adaptations of rock music, but was finally persuaded by the considerable fee offered to him, with the stipulation that only a single copy was to be pressed. Monk played approximately twenty songs at home over a two-week period, then selected twelve he felt he could adapt. During a day off while in Great Britain as a part of the Giants of Jazz tour, he completed the recording in a single session. Over thirty years after the recording was made, the Monk estate was asked about the possibility of commercially releasing this long-lost album. The master tapes, still in the hands of the session engineer, were found to be in excellent shape. After some lengthy negotiations, it was agreed that a limited edition of 5000 would be sold, though it would be issued by a European label. Unlike many warmed-over jazz treatments of rock songs recorded during the 1960s, Thelonious Monk obviously took his rehearsals of these unfamiliar songs seriously. Monk’s choice of “Birthday” is an appropriate opener, played as a brisk stride arrangement with a dissonant countermelody. The pianist has a bit of fun with “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” by initially starting off with an angular chorus of Mary Lou Williams’ “In the Land of Oo-Blah-Dee.” One of the most unlikely choices would seem to be “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” but Monk interprets it as a slow ballad, incorporating some humorous tremolos and revealing its hidden possibilities. “Yesterday” has long since become a jazz standard, though Monk’s version is both bittersweet and hilarious, partly because of his closing glissando cascading down the keyboard. The CD concludes with a whimsical take of “When I’m Sixty-Four,” followed by a single chorus of Monk’s theme song, “Epistrophy.” Track listing: Birthday; In My Life; Norwegian Wood; Octopus’s Garden; Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da; Yesterday; I Should Have Known Better; I Want to Hold Your Hand; And I Love Her; Penny Lane; Things We Said Today; When I’m Sixty Four/Epistrophy. Personnel: Thelonious Monk: piano.

Michael Cuscuna is running a business. There is no conspiracy to keep music out of print. If he thinks their is sufficient interest to produce a boxed set, the music can be reasonably obtained through licensing, plus he is likely to make a decent profit, he will set the gears in motion. Frankly, I can't imagine a huge demand for a Les McCann set. And while I enjoy the Three Sounds okay, I like Gene Harris' later work for Concord better (minus the CDs with that awful singer).

53. For rock, I'd rather listen to Zappa. Although I consider the Beatles good songwriters, I don't care if I never hear "Hey, Jude," "Let It Be," "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" or other songs that grew tiresome in a hurry to me.

Did you see the buyer's premium of 20% added on top? Even if I saw something I wanted, I'd search elsewhere.

Gee, have I missed out on some fun. I have extensive collections of both Gene Clark and Gram Parsons, though I am not much into the rating game for rock artists. I either enjoy them or I don't and shop accordingly. Watch a few folks blow a gasket: I'm over 50 and own NO Beatles' albums Let the fun begin!

If you're talking about the bottom side of the discs being green, I'd be concerned. Contact them and don't hesitate to contact your credit card company if they give you the runaround.

I have mixed feelings about reading Ratliff's Coltrane book after reading the comments. I do take exception to the number of mistakes that have crept into most jazz books these days. Don't authors have enough pride in their work to ask a fellow writer who knows the subject fairly well to look over the galleys? I do feel that when you start counting mistakes, the book needs more work and at times, lacks credibility. Doug Ramsey's Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond is one of the few that was closely checked prior to publication.