Ken Dryden

I know that jazz authors rarely sell enough books to spend their own money on proofreaders. If I ever get around to writing a book, I probably know enough people in the jazz world who would be willing to proofread a chapter or two. When I offer to proofread a book, it is as a favor, not to seek compensation. Even the best proofreader will still miss a typo here and there. I don’t look at proofreading as “setting the author” straight. When I have volunteered to help it has been because I am a fan of the author and the subject, in addition to having sufficient knowledge of the subject. I am not about to offer to proofread a bio of Cecil Taylor or Ornette Coleman, as my knowledge is insufficient when compared to some of the artists I have collected extensively for decades and maybe interviewed several times.

Doc Severinsen is 94. Toshiko Akiyoshi is 92.

Dick Hyman is still around at 94 though he may not be performing, I am unsure. I saw him at Dizzy’s in 2019 with Ken Peplowski and Bill Charlap.

Publishing houses used to have in-house editors who worked on books. Jazz authors would benefit from asking fellow jazz journalists to proof read their work. I have done so unofficially for two jazz biographies. One author was surprised when I submitted two pages of corrections the morning after I obtained the advance draft. I did this while being out of town without access to my resources at home. Double-checking names, dates, song titles, songwriters and record labels is bound to find errors that the author missed. This remark is not intended as criticism, anyone who has rewritten numerous drafts of an extended piece finds it harder to spot errors after awhile.

Out January 14, 2022. An enjoyable trio session...

Thank, hope you enjoy the music...

I have uploaded two sets of Jaki Byard, recorded solo, with a quartet and his big band The Apollo Stompers, recorded for NPR's Jazz Alive! at the Public Theatre in New York City on Odtober 19, 1979. Commentary by Dr. Billy Taylor and an interview with Jaki Byard by Michael Cuscuna are included. Note: For some reason, the first set uploaded as FLAC files and the second set as WAV files. https://archive.org/details/Jaki-Byard-Public-Theatre-NYC-October-19-1979

Here is a link to a broadcast I uploaded that was recorded during a December 1996 concert at Lincoln Center. This broadcast includes commentary and interview excerpts. https://archive.org/details/Kenny-Barron-Lincoln-Center-December-1996

My cot is due tomorrow…

I was having fun doing a phone interview with German-American bassist Martin Wind when I got confused about how to pronounce W in German, in spite of 5.5 years of studying the language. We had a good laugh.

Mostly clothes, no music. I'm at the point where my wife would more likely purchase a duplicate of something I had.

I have an extensive McCoy Tyner collection and the only real disappointment for me was the Columbia LP Looking Out, a dud compared to the rest of his discography. I feel like the Milestone years were particularly strong, especially the live albums.

I finally got the files uploaded. If any Toshiko Akiyoshi expert can identify track 3, please let me know its title. I have a lot of her LPs and CDs, but haven't had any luck so far. https://archive.org/details/Toshiko-Akiyoshi-Las-Vegas-May-25-1992

Eastwind Import is having a 50% off sale through January 3, here is the link. http://www.eastwindimport.com/product-info.asp?CategoryName=Venus+Records&PG=5&ProductID=353 I have been very satisfied with my purchases from this mail order importer.

If you still have interest in Christmas jazz, here is a link to a program that I aired on December 19, 2021. All of the music is taken from compilations/anthologies. https://archive.org/details/timeless-jazz-12-19-21-christmas-jazz

Enjoy the music, glad to share it.

This program is hosted by Gary Larson and features special performances by Laurindo Almeida, Jim Hall, Bill Frisell, Charlie Byrd, Mark Whitfield and John Scofield, all recorded especially for this broadcast. I think it is NPR sourced, but I don't remember. The songs were recorded in 1994 and 1995. I located the CDR of this satellite feed that I taped in December 1995. The is a rtf file with song titles and track credits labeled AJC2.rtf. Sorry for not having the songs labeled, but they can be downloaded as wav or mp3 files. For some reason, a few of them also appeared as FLAC files. Enjoy and Merry Christmas! https://archive.org/upload/?identifier=A-Jazz-Guitar-Christmas-2 I would love to find a copy of A Jazz Guitar Christmas No. 1...

I am in the process of ripping a cdr to upload to archive.org. I will post the link when it is available. If I have time and locate A Jazz Guitar Christmas 2, hosted by Gary Larson, I will share it, too.

For something a little off the wall...

A terrific final chapter by the pianist.

I am hoping for a replacement cd that works to avoid that step.

I recently purchased the Sunnyside CD Todd Cochran TC3: Then And Again, Here And Now. I've had an issue with an extraneous skipping like sound in tracks 12 & 13, not sure if it is a mastering defect or a manufacturing defect. The replacement sent by the label had the identical issue in the same spots. Has anyone else noticed this problem?

When I got Neil Swainson to sign my copy of the original CD, he said, “Oh, you’re the one who bought it!”

CTI was never a label I explored in any depth, the dominant music on the label just didn't interest me. I have never been a big fan of electric piano, in most cases, I feel like it is a poor substitute for a grand piano. Bob James' electric piano in the Mulligan/Baker Carnegie Hall Reunion is a major disappointment for me. But there are times where the softer sound of an electric piano fits the song or arrangement better. But then again, when I started reviewing jazz, I didn't review CTI stuff, even if some CD reissues were sent to me. I always thought of a review as something to help me decide whether or not I wanted to check out the recording, nothing more. I am not expecting somebody to write 1500 words to describe a single disc, though I used to get a laugh out of those worthless one incomplete sentence AMG reviews by their first jazz editor ("Trio recording live at the Village Vanguard") that were worthless. Norman Granz quoted Freddie Hubbard in a conversation they had at an English jazz festival where the trumpeter mentioned that he wanted to record with Oscar Peterson, "To get back to playing some real jazz and not this shit I'm into now," as it appears in the liner notes to the Pablo albums Trumpet Summit and Alternate Blues, all music from a session on March 10, 1980. The rest of the musicians included Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Ray Brown and Bobby Durham.

My copy arrived today and I am nearly through reading it. I am glad that Joe finally completed it, I’ve enjoyed it.