Ken Dryden

I can tell you that Oscar Peterson was a delightful interview, unlike Andre Previn.

I had the opportunity to see him do a solo concert but forgot the date and missed it. My favorite may be his duo piano CD with Billy Taylor.

Frank Zappa told me of his first impression of Moscow the night that he arrived. As the vehicle drove by the famous GUM Department Store, which was closed but well lit with empty shelves, as if to say, “Don’t break in, there’s nothing to steal.” He also described the food as worse than the stuff he supposedly ate on stage.

I’m not 100% sure, as that was a half century ago. I know Eric Dolphy, either Outward Bound or Last Dste, we’re very early purchases. My father gave me a copy of Duke Ellington Jazz Party.

My box showed up yesterday without warning. I had all but one of the albums on cd, but what the heck.

Funny!!!

After one too many error messages from my piece of shit HP printer, I am ready to move on to something like an Epson, where I also won't continue to get gouged for vastly overpriced cartridges. Does anyone have one and is there any need to go above the basic model that one refills ink from bottles?

Jon Jang did a powerful version of “Meditations on Integration” which is on this Soul Note CD.

The real annoyance was the addition of a statistic for each pitch as to predicted percentage that the batter would strike out, reach base, get a hit, etc. It was a case of too much data, which was pretty worthless on a pitch by pitch basis. Next time I'll listen to Braves radio network annnouncers and turn off the Apple TV+ talking heads.

I am still puzzled why Milt Jackson recorded the obvious turkey “Feelings” and made it the title cut of a Pablo LP. Most musicians I’ve known despised that inane song.

Marlins-Braves on Apple TV plus, but the announcers are the pits and the woman lead talks way too much… Stick to Bally…

I regret never interviewing him, while Scott Yanow said that he answered in whole paragraphs when he interviewed him. He remains the most impressive of the late night TV hosts in my view.

Glad you enjoyed the BFT. It’s alway fun to hear something of interest not already in one’s collection.

I definitely don't have a large collection of CTI stuff. I feel that most of the artists on the label did far better work elsewhere, though there are gems that I treasure like Pure Desmond. Everyone's musical palette is different... I am buying for my listening enjoyment, not to entertain visitors. Unlike the Group Masterpieces, the unissued tracks weren't added. I believe Terri Hinte at Fantasy told me they weren't found. The songs from Tatum's Hollywood Bowl set in 1956 are added.

I used to own the LP set, but the later CD set has the performances in the original order. They flow better in my view in that order.

Frankly, I enjoyed the Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces even more when the songs were restored to the original order of performance, Tatum wasn’t randomly playing songs but seemed like he was playing for an audience. Tatum critics like Andre Hodeir are mere footnotes in jazz, if anything, destined to be forgotten.

Must be 222, you added to the wrong thread.

Thanks to everyone who gave these tracks a hearing. I hope you found a few albums of interest not already in your collection. Track 1 Tom Varner: “The Window Up Above”, by George Jones from The Window Up Above: American Songs 1770-1998 (New World Records 80555-2) Tom Varner: French horn; Pete McCann: guitar; George Schuller: drums; Mark Feldman: violin; Steve Alcott: bass; Thirsty Dave Hanson: vocals I almost didn’t include this track because of the vocal, but it seemed like such an oddball choice to include a country song that I thought it would add some fun. I’ve long been a fan of Tom Varner. Track 2 Bob Brookmeyer & Kenny Wheeler: “Upstairs With Beatrice,” by Bob Brookmeyer from Island (Artists House Music 006) Bob Brookmeyer: valve trombone; Kenny Wheeler: trumpet; John Hollenbeck; drums, Frank Carlberg: piano; Jeremy Allen: bass This is probably one of the more obscure Bob Brookmeyer releases, but I think it is a bit of a hidden gem. Track 3 Stefano Bollani & Franco D’Andrea: “Naima” by John Coltrane from The Macerata Concert (Philology W 167.2) Stefano Bollani: piano; Franco D’Andrea: piano I’ve long enjoyed piano duos and thought this would be a fun track to share. Two underrated Italians, though Stefano Bollani has gotten greater exposure outside of Europe. Track 4 Martin Wind, Bill Mays, Keith Copeland: “Someone To Watch Over Me,” by George & Ira Gershwin from Gone With The Wind, (September CD 5116) Martin Wind: bass, arranger; Bill Mays: piano; Keith Copeland: drums I didn’t own this out of print CD (Martin’s debut as a leader) when I interviewed Martin Wind last fall, but I was able to acquire a copy a few months ago. Martin has worked a lot with Bill Mays and the CD title comes from Martin getting a speeding ticket via camera while laughing it up with the guys on the autobahn. He’s a phenomenal bassist who brings something special to any recording or live set. Track 5 “New York Attitude,” by Kenny Barron from Red Record All Stars: Victor Lewis, Bobby Watson, Jerry Bergonzi: Together Again For the First Time Victor Lewis: drums, Jerry Bergonzi: tenor saxophone, Bobby Watson: alto saxophone, Kenny Barron: piano, David Finck: bass (Red Record RR 123275-2) I was surprised that no one identified the pianist and composer, since this song was the title track of a Kenny Barron Uptown CD and it has also recorded by others. I think that both Jerry Bergonzi and Bobby Watson have a pretty distinct sound. Track 6 Zoot Sims: “The Very Thought Of You,” by Ray Noble from Live in Yamagata Vol. 1 (Marshmallow Export MMEX-143-CD) Zoot Sims: soprano saxophone, Bucky Pizzarelli: guitar Zoot Sims’ soprano saxophone playing is underrated, while Bucky Pizzarelli is in a class by himself. Track 7 Django Reinhardt “Anouman,” by Django Reinhardt from The Hot Club of France Quintet: Brussels 1947, Paris 1951, 1952, 1953 (DRG 8473) Django Reinhardt: guitar, Hubert Fol: alto saxophone, Maurice Vander: piano, Pierre Michelot: bass, Pierre Lemarchand: drums I was unaware of this song until David Grisman and Denny Zeitlin recorded it together on Dawg Duos, it is a composition from very later in Django’s career. Track 8 Bertha Hope Trio: “A Sleepin’ Bee,” by Harold Arlen from Between Two Kings (Minor Music 801025) Bertha Hope: piano, Walter Booker Jr.: bass, Jimmy Cobb: drums Bertha Hope’s discography is a bit sporadic but she is a capable pianist, with her second husband Walter Booker on bass and the great Jimmy Cobb on drums. Track 9 Ernie Henry Quartet: “Lover Man,” by Roger Ramirez, Jimmy Sherman & Jimmy Davis from Seven Standards and a Blues (Original Jazz Classics Limited Edition/Riverside OJCCD-1722-2) Ernie Henry: alto saxophone, Wynton Kelly: piano, Wilbur Ware: bass, Phill Joe Jones: drums No sooner had I submitted this BFT to Thom, JSngry started a discussion thread about Ernie Henry, so I knew this would be one of the first tracks identified. Another promising player who died far too young. Track 10 David Friesen with Clark Terry & Bud Shank: “I Hear A Rhapsody,” by George Fragos, Dick Gasparre & Jack Baker from Three to Get Ready (ITM Pacific 970084) David Friesen: Hemage bass; Clark Terry: trumpet; Bud Shank: alto saxophone The Hemage bass isn’t everyone’s favorite, but David Friesen does wonders with it in small group settings, especially in his live duets with Denny Zeitlin. He couldn’t have picked better musicians for this date. Track 11 Allyn Ferguson, featuring Paul Horn: “The Oxcart (Bydlo),” by Modest Mussorgsky, arranged by Allyn Ferguson soloist - Paul Horn: alto saxophone from Pictures At An Exhibition (Discovery DSCD-960) When I received a review copy of this CD reissue, I was delighted, though I think the arrangement of the entire suite would have been more interesting if there had been more than one soloist. Due to the number of classical threads discussed on this board, I thought this track would be identified very quickly. Track 12 Art Farmer: “D’s Dilemma,” by Mal Waldron from Foolish Memories (Optimism LR CD-5006) Art Farmer: flugelhorn; Harry Sokal: tenor saxophone; Fritz Pauer: piano; Heidi Danzig: bass; Joris Dudli: drums Another less well known Art Farmer recording, I enjoy almost anything that he played, especially with Fritz Pauer on many of his European dates. Svend Asmussen: “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” by Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields from Benny Goodman Featuring Svend Asmussen: Live in Hamburg 1981 (Stockfisch Super Audio CD 357.4085 2) Svend Asmussen: violin; Claes Crona: piano; Philip Catherine: guitar; Mads Vinding: bass; Bjarne Rostvold: drums This is a more recent acquisition, I was unaware of it until someone on the Hoffman Forum asked if anyone had purchased anything from Zaccardis. I was curious and found this Hybrid SACD set there. Benny Goodman sits out several numbers in this concert. Svend Asmussen was widely recorded in his lifetime but still not as well known in the U.S. since most of them were for European labels. Track 14 Steve Nelson: “Beautiful Love,” by Victor Young, Egbert Van Alstyne, Haven Gillespie & Wayne King from Full Nelson (Sunnyside SSC 1044D) Steve Nelson: vibraphone; Kirk Lightsey: piano; Ray Drummond: bass Steve Nelson has been around for a long time but has recorded relatively little as a leader. He’s a strong vibraphonist whom I heard with the George Shearing Quintet years ago. Kirk Lightsey isn’t well represented in my collection, but the great Ray Drummond adds beef to any record date. Track 15 Vanderlei Pereira And Blindfold Test: “ Corrupiao (Oriole),” by Edu Lobo from Vision For Rhythm (Jazzheads JH1241) Vanderlei Pereira: drums, Jorge Continentio: flute, alto flute, pífano; Susan Pereira: voice, percussion; Deanna Witkowski: piano; Paul Meyers: guitar; Gustavo Amarante: electric bass I figured that any board members who received CDs as a journalist or broadcaster might have heard this CD, though none of us have time to keep up with everything that arrives in the mail. I’ve known Vanderlei Pereira and his wife Susan for a number of years. Not long after reviewing Susan’s debut CD (Tudo Azul--she is also a pianist), we exchanged emails and I remarked that my wife and I would be in NYC. They suggested a Brazilian restaurant that was excellent (and introduced us to caipirinha) and then we enjoyed an informal set by Gene Bertoncini in a small coffee/dessert place. Vanderlei lost his vision to a congenital condition before he left Brazil, but he’s a tremendous percussionist and fine guitarist when he picks up the instrument. The group gets its name because the musicians blindfold themselves when playing the more challenging charts on gigs. I also got to hear Vanderlai perform with guitarist Paul Meyers a few years later. Recipe for the Brazilian cocktail mentioned above: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20210/caipirinha/

Sorry, yet another typo...

I will do August in 2023, if still available.

I'll have to agree with a lot of what Dan said. CTI isn't represented all that much in my collection and for nearly every release I own on the label or subsequent reissue which originally was released on CTI, the artist recorded better albums for other labels.

I'm enjoying this 1990 solo set, due out September 2 on Storyville Records:

Supposedly Warne Marsh was playing “Out of Nowhere” when he died suddenly in the midst of his set. I miss Red Trumpet, too. Is Eastwind Import winding down? They don’t seem to be restocking anything and their discount is now 60%.

I recorded a few of Billy Taylor's Jazz At The Kennedy Center broadcasts when we aired the series, but there are a lot of them that I missed. Here is a summary of guests with the initial air date, the show had a 26 week season each year: http://news.npr.org/programs/btaylor/archive/index.html Does anyone know the best place to find the actual performance dates for these broadcasts? I don't know if anyone at Kennedy Center would be interested in researching them, but maybe there is another source... Here's an article I wrote about Clark Terry's appearance on the program, which was published a couple of years after it aired: https://www.allaboutjazz.com/billy-taylors-jazz-at-the-kennedy-center-with-clark-terry-by-ken-dryden.php

If the show called most numbers, the call would go straight to voicemail due to it not being recognized.