Ken Dryden

I am heading to New York City to see Denny Zeitlin at Mezzrow, solo on May 1st & with his trio featuring Buster Williams and Matt Wilson on May 3rd. May 2 will be two sets by Bibby Watson's quartet at Smoke.

I saw Denny Zeitlin tonight for both sets at Mezzrow. Here is the playlist for both: Early: You And The Night And The Music Echo of a Kiss Tomas U.M.M.G. The Star-Crossed Lovers So Near So Far I Mean You Dancing In The Dark Paraphenalia Late: Dear Old Stockholm As Long As There's Music Johnny Come Lately I Should Care Deluge Isfahan The Man I Love 'Round Midnight ESP As terrific as the first set was, the late set was even better, particularly the wild versions of "Johnny Come Lately" and "The Man I Love." Spike Wilner told me that later this year monthly Smalls web subscribers (now $10 month) would also have access to archive performances from Mezzrow.

5/12's show will be devoted to Duke Ellington as well.

DennyI did a phone interview with Denny Zeitlin back on March 25 and turned it into two four hour Timeless Jazz broadcasts. He is appearing at Mezzrow May 1-4, with the first two nights being solo and the last two with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson. Denny liked the idea of my transcribing the interview to help make people aware of the performances, with so many competing clubs hosting great talent, too. I have interviewed Denny Zeitlin several times before and didn't get into his process of composing this time around, but I ended up transcribing around 50 or so minutes of the hour we talked. I'll be there for both sets on Wednesday and Friday, so I should be easy to spot, though my cat Dizzy won't be with me, stop by to say hi if you attend one of these sets. I'm still deciding who to see on Thursday and Saturday. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/denny-zeitlin-balancing-act-denny-zeitlin-by-ken-dryden.php I forgot to mention, all Mezzrow shows are webcast live at http://mezzrow.com

I am heading to New York City to see Denny Zeitlin at Mezzrow, solo on May 1st & with his trio featuring Buster Williams and Matt Wilson on May 3rd.

I have been retired almost four years and I agree that it is a challenge to catch up in my listening with all the new releases, reissues and purchases. But I'm still trying. I don't think that I have that much music originally issued on Black & White, so I look forward to this boxed set.

I've long owned all ten volumes of the Private Collection. Even though some of this music was likely recorded during rehearsals and not intended for release, I don't recall any weak tracks. Ellington sometimes liked to try out a new piece or arrangement, or focus on individual soloists. That kind of stuff has far more appeal that various bootlegs of broadcasts or audience tapes with wretched sound quality and sloppy editing.

The Paris CDR is the one I bought and it is a mess. At least one incomplete track, mediocre sound, plus the inclusion of Duke Ellington's weakest composition, featuring the worst male vocalist ever in his band, Tony Watkins, performing "One More Time (For The People)," a song Cootie Williams hated so much that he would storm off stage when it was called, according to Mercer Ellington in his bio of his father (co-written with Stanley Dance).

With Duke Ellington's 120th birthday being celebrated on April 29, 2019, I combed my collection to try to get a representative sampling of his recordings. I taped the first show and covered the early days up to the end of the Jimmy Blanton era in 1941. I tried to include a few lesser known works in addition to pieces which would remain part of his repertoire for years. I will pick up where I left off for the second show and may include music from as late as 1971. It airs live on WUTC.org Sunday, April 28th and May 5th from 3 to 5 pm EDT, with repeat broadcasts on the station's H-D2 channel on the following Wednesdays from 10 am to 12 noon EDT.

Squatty Roo has been notorious for reissuing more than a few lousy audience or broadcast recordings originally put out by bootleg labels like The Old Masters. I would be leary of anything issued on the label and would doubt that the Ellington estate is receiving any royalties. To top it off, the Squatty Roo releases I bought were CDRs with cheap, homemade single page fronts and tray cards.

Five minutes would be more than enough time to realize I didn't need to read any more...

The source tape has its share of flaws from aging, but it is a decent recording without a lot of crowd noise.

The CD, along with the Wes Montgomery, arrived today.

Just finished recording the show, we'll see what the reaction is, partiucalrly the finale... Only one vocal in the entire show...

That was one track I had already pulled, as my collection of her music is extensive.

I don"t think that will be featured, not even sure that I have it.

Marian McPartland recorded it for an Improv LP, at the insistence of the producer or owner. She said that she "hated the f---ing son..." I do, too.

My first run of Timeless Jazz lasted over 15 years (oct. 1987 to Dec. 2002) and while I enjoy focusing on individual artists, styles, instruments, etc., I never produced a show that focused exclusively on jazz interpretation of rock and pop. The April 21st show will feature surprising jazz arrangements of songs by the Beatles, Jimmy Webb, Jimi Hendrix, Sting, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa, among others. Thankfully, no Andrew Lloyd Webber, even though Dick Wellstood recorded "Superstar" at least twice. "Feelings" will also not make the cut, though a number of artists recorded it, some forced to by people who should have known better. 3 to 5 pm EDT on wutc.org, repeated on the station's HD-2 channel the following Wednesday, April 24th, from 10 am to 12 noon EDT.

I've known Bret for years and contributed a few pieces to one of his earlier websites. He interviewed me for an excerpt in one video shoot during the 2011 JEN conference, which was done in a closet...

ELP actually fired cannons at the end of their interpretation of Pictures at an Exhibition. A cameraman was near one and warned, but he hung around and kept shooting, at least until the cannon shot. There was a commercial video released of it.

We attended a concert at Carnegie Hall featuring the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the Shirley Horn Trio. Brubeck played first since he had an upstate New York gig the next day and at least a third of the audience left after his set. This was when Horn was only singing since she had recently had a leg amputated, but people who left missed some great music. I also attended a Vladimir Horowitz concert in a Jewish temple in Miami Beach in the late 1970s. People streamed for the exits after the program ended, although he did three encores. Not everyone stayed for all three numbers, evidently grabbing a bite to eat was more important than the rare opportunity to hear Vladimir Horowitz in person.

After editing the hour plus phone interview and reviewing all of the Denny Zeitlin CDs and LPs in my library, I decided to record two shows, both of which will be two hours. They will air on Sunday April 7th and Sunday April 14th, from 3 to 5 pm EDT on WUTC--FM, then repeated on Wednesday, April 10th and 17th from 10 am to 12 noon EDT on WUTC's HD-2 channel. All shows can be streamed live at wutc.org, but if someone want to hear them and misses an opportunity, I will try to make them available via Dropbox. Here are the selections from the first show: Celebration, from the Windham Hill CD In The Moment Chelsea Bridge, from the Quicksilver CD Tidal Wave Stonehenge from Cathexis (part of the Mosaic Select CD set) Brazilian Street Dance, from the Windham Hill CD Trio Quiet Now, from the Living Music CD Homecoming Nica's Dream, from his Mosaic Select CD set Spur of the Moment, from Live at the Trident (Sony Japan CD) Footprints, from the Sunnyside CD Labyrinth Anouman, from Dawg Duos (with David Grisman) on Acoustic Disc Slick Rock (the complete suite), from the Sunnyside CD Wishing On The Moon What Is This Thing Called Love/Fifth House, from At Maybeck (Concord Jazz CD) Interview excerpts are intermingled in the program. Next week will feature some of his rare 1750 Arch recordings, electro-acoustic music, more solo piano and trios, plus music from his soundtrack for the Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. Here are the playlists from both showa: Show #1: Aired April 7, repeated on WUTC HD-2 on April 10 (artist: album - song) Denny Zeitlin Trio: In The Moment - Celebration Denny Zeitlin: Tidal Wave - Chelsea Bridge Denny Zeitlin: Mosaic Select (Cathexis) - Stonehenge Denny Zeitlin: Trio - Brazilian Street Dance Denny Zeitlin: Homecoming - Quiet Now Denny Zeitlin: Mosaic Select (recorded for Cathexis, previously unissued) - Nica's Dream Denny Zeitlin: Live At The Trident - Spur Of The Moment Denny Zeitlin: Labyrinth - Footprints David Grisman/Denny Zeitlin: Dawg Duos - Anouman Denny Zeitlin Trio: Wishing On The Moon - Slick Rock (the complete suite) Denny Zeitlin Trio: Slick Rock - Every Which Way Denny Zeitlin: At Maybeck - What Is This Thing Called Love/Fifth House Show #2 Aired April 14, repeated on WUTC HD-2 on April 17 Jeremy Steig Quartet: Flute Fever - Willow Weep For Me David Grisman/Denny Zeitlin: New River - Brazilian Street Dance Denny Zeitlin: Mosaic Select (Carnival) - Labyrinth Denny Zeitlin: Mosaic Select (Zeitgeist) - The Bells Of Solitude Denny Zeitlin: Syzygy - Child's Play Part 1 Denny Zeitlin: Expansions - On Air Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (Soundtrack) - Angel Of Death Love Theme Denny Zeitlin & George Marsh: Riding The Moment - Vortex Denny Zeitlin & George Marsh: Expedition - Through The Arcade Denny Zeitlin & David Friesen: Maybeck Duo Series Vol. 8 - Signs & Wonders Denny Zeitlin & David Friesen: Live At the Jazz Bakery - Epiphany Denny Zeitlin w/ Buster Williams & Al Foster: As Long As There's Music - As Long As There's Music Denny Zeitlin Trio: Slick Rock - You And The Night And The Music Denny Zeitlin: Labyrinth - Lazy Bird Denny Zeitlin: Wherever You Go - Wherever You Go Denny Zeitlin Trio: Stairway To The Stars - There Will Never Be Another You Denny Zeitlin: Early Wayne - ESP

I thought about doing a 101st birthday tribute to Marian McPartland last Sunday, but I had just devoted an entire program to Nat King Cole. No matter, this Sunday's show and possibly the following week, will be devoted to her music. I may include excerpts from one or two of the several interviews I did with her in the second show, the earliest one being in 1988. Also in the works is a show on Denny Zeitlin, with an air date in late April. He is appearing at Mezzrow May 1-4. I am interviewing him later today.

Marian McPartland (many times), Milt Hinton and Sonny Rollins. I would have seen Dizzy Gillespie back in the 1980s but his outdoor set was rained out. I interviewed Marian McPartland, Milt Hinton, Sonny Rollins, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Benny Golson and Horace Silver. I wonder if anyone on this website ever saw Bill Crump play?

This Sunday's broadcast celebrates the centennial of Nat King Cole's birth (March 17, 1919) with a survey of his career between 1939 and 1956. Obviously a lot of the music came from the 18 CD Mosaic boxed set The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio, but I also included transcriptions, broadcasts, previously unissued live recordings that have appeared in the last 20 or so years. With so many brief songs, the sets consist mostly of 4 to 5 songs. It airs from 3 to 5 pm EDT at wutc.org or on the station's HD-2 channel from 10 am to 12 noon the following Wednesday.