Ken Dryden

I can't believe that this thread has detoured from Terri Hinte to a discussion of whether or not there were sufficient African-American artists on the Concord Roster during its heyday. I never knew that there was supposed to be a quota system for jazz labels, let alone band personnel, composers of songs recorded or played on a set, etc. Carl Jefferson hardly ignored African-American artists, though he may not have recorded them as frequently as others. From what I've heard talking to artists who left Concord, Jefferson was somewhat like Norman Granz in that he recorded some artists regardless of potential sales, though he evidently was also so abrasive that he drove away several of his key artists. Other Concord leaders twho haven't been mentioned in this thread include: Art Blakey, Hank Jones, Jeannie & Jimmy Cheatham, Stanley Cowell, Art Farmer, Jon Faddis, Harold Land/Blue Mitchell, Carmen McRae, Ernestine Anderson, Joe Newman/Joe Wilder, Dennis Rowland, Marvin Smitty Smith, Mary Stallings, Maxine Sullivan, Rufus Reid (TanaReid), Billy Taylor, Clark Terry, Frank Wess, Frank Foster and Gerry Wiggins Then there is the Maybeck series with Jaki Byard, Sir Roland Hanna, Kenny Barron, Kenny Drew, Jr., George Cables, James Williams, Barry Harris, John Hicks, Ellis Larkins, Cedar Walton, plus some of the others listed above. Also don't forget that the young saxophonist Jesse Davis made six CDs as a leader for Concord, Ricky Woodard a few as well. I didn't even begin to look over my list of Concord LPs and I'm sure there are others represented there. At its peak, Concord was putting out 5-6 new releases a month, plus a reissue or two, even in the month of December, far more than any "major label" you can name.

She didn't get a "nice severence check." Trust me...

Dave: I'm not an attorney, but I believe that Concord simply eliminated the Fantasy Jazz publicist position, a way that a number of organizations get aroung "firing" someone. The idea that Terri Hinte did anything to merit a dismissal is laughable to those of us who have worked with her for years, or in many cases, decades. Isn't that also a method of getting around a wrongful dimissal lawsuit? I have worked for several employers that have used the elimination of a position as a way to terminate an employee. That way there's no damage to the person's reputation and obviously does not necessarily imply that there was a reason for letting go of the employee. So, in a sense, I believe that Terri may not have been "fired" but a victim of "reduction in force." In either case, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

I think I have the original LP at home, which has the photo cover. The CD cover as issued in the US is pretty bland...

I spoke to Terri not long after the Concord/Fantasy merger was announced. I think she saw the writing on the wall but decided to hold on, as her job wasn't immediately in danger and it is very difficult to give up a good paying job with 30+ years invested. Still, three days notice and the dinky severance pay that they probably gave her is an insult to any valuable employee. I'm well aware that many employees are hired "at will," though in some states and organizations, it is easier to take legal action to achieve a better settlement offer or reinstatement. I imagine that Terri is probably better going out on her own, just imagine the depth of her rolodex file for musicians wishing to reach jazz critics!

Dan, I understand the reasoning used to eliminate Terri Hinte's position, though I think it showed extremely poor judgement. Tossing out Terri's experience, knowledge and goodwill to save some money may not produce the payoff expected.

I'll have to argue with Dan Gould about his justification of Concord's dismissal of long time Fantasy publicist Terri Hinte. She was far more knowledgable and accessible than any jazz publicity head whom I've dealt with as a writer over the past 18 years. I have a feeling it was simply a matter of salary for the parent company; keep the cheaper, less experienced people in place and let go of Terri. No one in the jazz publicity business at Concord is likely to have the connections and rapport with as many writers as Terri Hinte. You have to wonder how long it will be before the excellent Telarc jazz publicists, Mike Wilpizeski and Amanda Sweet, face a similar fate. I will second the motion that Concord has done an extreme disservice to jazz fans by focusing too much on pop, while curtailing new jazz releases, reissues and first time issues of undiscovered treasures from their combined holdings. Fantasy's new offerings were put on hold for around 8-9 months after its purchase by Concord, while their output has never returned to its previous level. While I understand that some of these pop offerings have been very profitable for the label, why do jazz fans have to be shortchanged in the process? Terri Hinte will do fine as a writer and publicist on her own, but I'm sure that writers who have dealt with her over the years are as outraged as I am by her firing.

I like all 14 of the Tom Harrell CDs I own, plus the LPs that haven't made it to CD. I would like to point out that there are two different Tom Harrell CDs titled Sail Away. The poll probably refers to the Contemporary/OJC title, while the import released by Musidisc and out of print is a 1991 date with pianist Kenny Werner, bassist Paul Imm and drummer Andre Ceccarelli. The songs: Yestedays; Sail Away; Graititude; Glass Mystery; Coral Sea; Buffalo Wings; Sticky Wicket, with all being Harrell's songs, except for Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays" and Kenny Werner's "Sticky Wicket." It's a strong release as well.

Don't most organizations include some awards for its members' contributions? I don't think that JJA devotes that much time or money to member awards, though I have been reluctant to vote in some of the member categories; for example, I don't listen to jazz radio on-line, as I simply don't have the time. Also picking a "Lifetime Achievement for Jazz Journalism" winner is much easier than "Jazz Journalist of the Year." In fact, a journalist or broadcaster is not required to be a JJA member to be honored with an award. I'm pretty happy with the way the awards turned out, though Concord is hardly the "Best Jazz Label" nor is James Carter worthy of "Best Baritone Saxophonist," in my opinion. I am very pleased that Doug Ramsey's Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond won "Jazz Book of the Year."

I pretty much have most of what you listed in the earlier thread including all 9 of the Eubie Blake Music LPs. When his death was announced in 1983, I rushed to order the remaining titles not already in my collection, figuring they would all be out of print quickly. I was right. Did I overlook these four titles? Eubie Blake: The Wizard of Ragtime Piano (20th Century Fox, later reissued on LP by RCA Victor-France) Eubie Blake: The Marches I Played on the Old Ragtime Piano (20th Century Fox, later reissued on LP by RCA Victor-France) William Bolcom & Joan Morris, with Eubie Blake: Wild About Eubie (Columbia LP) This is mostly a series of Bolcom/Morris duets, though Eubie has one solo and plays a number or two with Bolcom. Bolcom and his wife are/were on the music faculty at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, though I haven't checked to see if they are still there. Eubie Blake/Frank Tanner (Harrison LP) vintage orchestral recordings from around the 1930s, one side devoted to each leader, though Blake doesn't play any of his compositions.

I've always liked The 86 Years of Eubie Blake, though it has never appeared on CD in the U.S. I finally found an LP copy of his 91 Years Young, an RCA Victor France release, purchased from a Canadian dealer. If you enjoy his music, pick up the live anthology Jazz Piano Masters from Chiaroscuro, though Blake misintroduces his own "Troublesome Ivories" as "Tricky Fingers." Great solos by Claude Hopkins, Dill Jones and Teddy Wilson are also on this CD.

It's been awhile since I read Footprints, but I found Mercer's research and writing style to be a bit shallow. Her attempt to compare the output of Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter to that of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn is laughable, not only did the latter pair put out a great deal more music but it has also made much greater impact. The funniest thing was the bungled description of the musicians backstage following the San Francisco Jazz at the Opera House concert, issued as a 2 LP set by Columbia. Lew Tabackin and Jaco Pastorious, standing on either side of Charlie Haden, are listed as "unknown" and Denny Zeitlin, standing behind Toshiko Akiyoshi, is listed as Lew Tabackin. If Mercer owned a copy of this record, she would have known this, but all it took was to send a JPEG of the photo to a few jazz journalists and broadcasters and she would have had this information. Like I said, it's been quite awhile since I read it. At least it was far better than Sharony Andrews Green's rotten bio of Grant Green.

Dave Brubeck told me that there are at least two unissued sessions in Columbia's vault featuring clarinetist Bill Smith in Paul Desmond's place. One was tentatively titled "Witches' Brew" (long before Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew") but it never was released. I would love to see a thorough series of CDs covering 1930s Duke Ellington and Count Basie sessions.

I can't understand why anyone would feel the urge to climb over a wall to "get a better photo," though I'm sorry the woman fell to her death at Yellowstone. I visited the old Miami Serpentarium years ago and noticed that the retaining walls were low enough on which to sit above a poisonous snake pit and also a crocodile pit. A few years later, some father and his son sat on the latter wall, throwing berries at crocodiles, when the kid fell and was immediately attacked and killed by a croc. While I'm sure that if this produced a lawsuit, the plaintiff's attorney claimed it was an "attractive nuisance," but anyone with common sense would have kept their distance and avoided sitting on the wall. Another memory from my teen years was an unsupervised child sitting on a balcony rail some 30 + feet above the lobby of the Ringling Mansion in Sarasota. Although no accident took place, you have to wonder where the parents were and what the hell they taught their kid.

I don't have kids, but if I did, the only computer on which they would have access to the internet would be located in a family room, with plenty of supervision and knowledge that their web traffic would be checked, for their protection. Cyberspace has opened doors for too many sick people who need to be put behind bars.

Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Center knows what he's doing. He must have a lot of international traffic bidding up the prices of vintage vinyl. $2000+ for Tommy Flanagan's Overseas? Whew!

Of the new batch, Lou Blackburn's The Complete Imperial Sessions is the one that got my attention. Great stuff with Freddie Hill on trumpet and Horace Tapscott on piano.

I don't know whether or not Michael Cuscuna actually likes The Three Sounds and Les McCann or not, but I think he has to consider whether or not such a set by either Harris' trio or McCann will sell enough copies. I think the earlier edition of the Three Sounds is far better than the later groups, as the change in drummers definitely gave the group too commercial a sound. McCann's music has never been of much interest to me, though I imagine that his stuff would sell if they would reissue his Pacific Jazz titles.

Reminds me when Amazon had a blooper in the listing of a CD by a Japanese jazz pianist, listed as Crapping Music instead of Clapping Music...

I dunno, I'm not familiar with those guys so I'm not going to completely dismiss the very notion of bowed bass. It's possible it's just him. Then again, I'm not too crazy about any bass solos... except very very short ones. You're not familiar with Milt Hinton (probably one of the most recorded bassists in the history of music)? Or Michael Moore (known for his work with Gene Bertoncini, currently with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and also on a fair number of other recordings)? You really should check them out, as their work is far superior to any Paul Chambers' bowed solo.

I just imagine a cartoon with this caption: "And this wall of shelves is for my Mosaic jazz boxed set collection, that's why there isn't any furniture in my house..."

Thanks for sharing the 20% discount code for DeepdiscountDVD.com. I just saved $105 on my order.

The ladies might give him too hard a time!

It took awhile to nail down a final time for my interview with Geri Allen, but she was working on the final stages of recording and remixing her upcoming CD. I had no problems talking with her, she seemed very friendly. I'm sorry that I missed a recent opportunity to hear her at the Atlanta Jazz Festival. I don't know how to access Paul's interview with her.

Updated with additions. Please note that the list is also updated as items are confirmed for trades. Not all items requested in this thread have resulted in trades, so if you see it listed, it is probably still available.