Rooster_Ties

At least the results appear not to be as disastrous as that of the Glasgow School of Art, the loss of which I mourned pretty heavily too. My wife and I spent our honeymoon in London, and Glasgow in 2001 - and we stayed just 2-3 blocks form the School of Art - and saw every one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's buildings in and anywhere near Glasgow on that trip (8-9 major projects in all). Here it is shortly after the fire, and in all it's glory before (down below)...

Didn't Branford play with Miles for a minute in the 80's? Couldn't remember, but I'm finding this. It's the only thing in Plosin's database, so he must not have ever played live with him (or nothing that got caught on tape) -- or am I forgetting something else? http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/Sessions.aspx?s=830910 September 10, 1983 (3 items; TT = 25:35) Record Plant Studio, New York NY Commercial for Columbia 1 - Decoy (R. Irving III) 8:32 2 - Code M.D. (R. Irving III) 5:55 3 - That's Right (M. Davis) 11:08

I haven't seen Branord's quotes in context, but I suspect he's both a little off base, but that there's also some truth to what he's saying too. And if it's a print-interview, there's no telling what sort of tone he was delivering these 'vendictives' in either. I've never seen Branford as being anything even remotely as 'judgemental' as his better known brother, although now that I'm thinking of it, didn't he (Branford?) talk shit about Cecil Taylor at some point? - maybe in the Ken Burns thing? (I can't remember - but somewhere.) I suspect Miles learned and gained as much from his sidemen in that 2nd Quintet, as they got from him. No secret that that's how Miles operated for several long spans in his career.

Compassion is especially underrated, and pretty hard (or at least pricy) to get on CD. With the great and (imho also underrated) Nathen Page on guitar (and no piano).

Not seeing anything on mobile, or is this something I need to have a Facebook login to see? (I think my wife has a Facebook account, iirc, that she hasn't really ever used.)

OK, this ISN'T a compilation -- but I only just realized today that these apparently AREN'T all the same release?? I kinda, sorta knew about the earlier 1983 Strata East version, but I thought it was actually the same thing as the 1986 one (which I have the Evidence release of). But "Such Great Friends" isn't the same as "Great Friends" -- who knew???? Is the earlier '83 Strata East date as good as it looks on paper? If so, then I gotta track this one down, sometime. Which is apparently entirely different than THIS (below, both of these are the same thing)...

Every one of those AHBN Phase 2 dates has something going for it, far as I'm concerned (different things, for different sessions clearly). I was about to try and detail them all, and what stands out to me on each one -- but based on a quick glance, there's literally 2 or 3 really standout things about each and every one of them. Some of the most off-kilter contexts you'll ever hear Lee Morgan in, to some of Woody Shaw's most fiery and angular playing of his entire career*. To Charles Tolliver, certainly in a context that pushed him as well. (Clearly I love trumpeters playing like they do with Hill.) The vocals on the two Lift Every Voice sessions take some getting used to, but those dates are so ambitious -- and I still can't fathom if they did the vocals live with the band, or if they were (perhaps?) overdubbed. String quartets, and that rare piano-trio session from the select. And those two later dates with Sam Rivers (one of which also has Woody Shaw) -- OMG! The one with Woody and Sam from Oct 31, 1967 -- even more than a bit under-rehearsed -- is still one of my all-time favorite sessions out of the entire Blue Note catalog (from the Hill BN Select, disc #3). And Passing Ships, also one of his very best (imho), a few warts and all. His earlier output for BN is probably the more significant, historically -- but I often find Hill's later BN output the more interesting, simply because he pushes himself (or someone pushed him) more outside of his comfort zone. (Or did Andrew even ever have a comfort zone?) *Years ago, I once made a CDR with all of Woody Shaw's solos specifically from all his Andrew Hill appearances -- just the solos, mind you -- and I strung them all together, back to back to back. I think the whole thing came to about 40 minutes, iirc. A little surreal, but it was fascinating to hear the ideas just pouring out of him that way.

Only recorded session of Hill's entire career that ever included guitar, iirc.

I've gone to a handful classical concerts where some big Mozart thing was on the second half, and my wife and I have not come back after the intermission. Same with Haydn. We used to go to a four or five weekend chamber-music series every summer in Kanas City, that invariably had some classical-era biggie as the main (last) feature on one concert in the series (and thankfully it was nearly always after the intermission) -- and we usually stayed for it about half the years. A couple of the musicians (Kansas City Symphony musicians) -- who we knew (because I was in the KC Symphony chorus for 10 years, but especially the ones we knew best were those we had play in our wedding in 2001) -- a couple of those musicians caught us sneaking out, and they were perplexed for an instant that we weren't staying, until they remembered all the wild, late-romantic era stuff we programmed on our wedding (all the antithesis of Mozart and Haydn), and I remember them realizing it was us and saying "oh, yeah, right - it's Mozart".

There's some sort of "Brick..." and Bee Gees mashup, I'm sure I've heard at some point.

I don't know that all of The Wall is equally 'dated' -- but "Another Brick..." certainly is. And to my ears, The Wall (or Roger Waters' 70% of it) is largely and substantially different than 90% of what preceded it in the band's canon. To be honest, I think The Wall mostly deserves to be filed on the shelf under 'W' with the rest of Roger's solo output, the difference is so stark musically. I barely listen to The Wall 3x per decade at this point (if that even). It's a monumental album, and Roger deserves every credit for its great success. But on musical terms, little of it does a whole lot for me -- save for the couple signature tunes that David Gilmour wrote -- but even then, I find them marred by Roger's lyrics -- which I personally think sound awkward in Dave's voice. Roger might be the better lyricist -- perhaps even by a mile -- but I find his post-Animals lyrical output something more akin to that of a playwright. The Wall, and The Final Cut, and all of Roger's solo albums might be quite interesting to hear (or rather, experience), like a good stage play -- something I only need hear ('see') every 5 or 10 or even 15 years. Whereas the music and lyricism of Dave's soaring guitar, and lovely voice - is something I'm quite happy to hear a few times in the same week (even the very same album), when I'm in the mood for that.

Any from the 60's?

Anybody else in Washington DC want to go in on a order of some CD's of this from Mosaic? -- probably save $4 each on shipping. @Spontooneous -- do you want one too? - since I'll see you back in Kansas City in December. I'm looking to put in an order by the end of April.

Wait, did I miss something?

Hey, you know that that gives me a great idea for a box set!

Yes, 24/7 trained staff on-site, overnights and weekends too. Not a skilled-nurse 24/7, but staff can jump in within 2-3 minutes in most cases, and call for paramedics, or whatever their procedures are. And the fall-detection emergency button would call the front desk, if he ever falls and can't reach one of the emergency pull-cords in his room.

Most definitely. I was thinking way more down the line, if there's some specific reason that the personal (cellular based) button/fall-detection really isn't necessary. I'm not specificly sure why, but maybe if he's either closer bedridden (years from now), and getting plenty of help getting to meals via wheelchair (or they're bringing his meals to his room). But yes, initially (and for the next several years), I think the extra emergency button around his neck 24/7 (or whenever he's not in bed) -- with fall detection -- will probably be worth every penny. It's $40/month, FWIW. My dad's the one who's cheap about everything, but if we think it's important, it will happen. We don't want to be penny wise, but pound foolish. At some point, we could look for a non-cellular button that's landline based (so it would only work in his room, and within 100(?) feet of his room. But I'm not sure the non-cellular buttons have fall detection. Those seem to be $25/month -- so the potential savings (over the $40 model) is only $180/year, which in the grand scheme of things, is nothing.

How does this early, pre-'Piper' version of "Interstellar Overdrive" float your boat, Jim?? This was recorded a good six months before the version from their first album (which I'll also include in the second YouTube clip below). But this first one (16-minutes) is the early one... And here's the version most people know (if they know any version), from Piper At The Gates of Dawn...

Dad got his emergency call button today (that that he wears around his neck now, 24/7 - even in the shower). It's cellular based, so it works if he goes out in the yard, or (eventually?) if he can get cleared to be driving again (we're going to do a LOT of careful testing to make 100% sure he can drive again, before he ever does). It also will automatically detect if he falls, even if he can't interact with the person on the other end of the line (like if he's unconscious, or incapacitated). It gives both an exact address where he is (the best it can resolve to), and his GPS location too. Supposedly local emergency people are called, like if he was 40 miles from home and fell -- the local jurisdiction's police/emergency are called. I still have yet to understand exactly how they do that, but supposedly that's the case. When he's at home (or in his home zip-code), then the first number on his call list is contacted -- which is his local police department. We would likely continue that service while he's in the retirement community, we think -- or at least unless we determine it's duplicative of any support he can get there. There will be two call-buttons (pull-ropes) in his room at the retirement center, in what will be his bedroom, and also the bathroom. Of course that wouldn't help if he fell and was unconscious. All to be worked out. In any case, he's got it now, so that's some piece of mind right there. BUSY, crazy day at work, trying to get caught up. But it was good to get my mind off my dad today.

I'm NO fan of The Wall, a couple of David Gilmour's brilliant songs therein notwithstanding. I barely listen to The Wall 2-3 times a decade any more. It's great 'aural theater' - and Roger Waters deserves an enormous amount of credit for its success and impact culturally. But I grew completely tired of The Wall after 5 short years (after I first heard it in college, in the late 80's). I do really love David Gilmour's solo output, and some of his Waters-less Floyd output too. Dave's stuff after 1978 has grown on me more and more and more (but slowly) over the years. The 1994 Gilmour-led Floyd album The Division Bell (TDB) is a good example -- I heard it in '94, but never bought a copy then (I'd moved on to jazz and 20th century classical by the early 90's). But I did finally pick up a copy of TDB in 2003, which I rather liked, but still didn't ever listen to a ton. Then when the 2014 mostly instrumental Floyd album The Endless River was announced, but before it came out, I started listening to The Division Bell again, and absolutely fell in love with it (only 20 years after it first came out). Animals is probably my single favorite Floyd 'album' (as far as album experiences go), followed by Wish You Were Here. But really, I think the early pre-Dark Side stuff is the most fascinating, and of the most interest to me overall (even if none of those earlier albums as quite as satisfying from a content/sequencing perspective. The Final Cut is like The Wall to me -- great for what it is, but what it is isn't anything I'm interested in (nor any of Roger's solo stuff). They're like a good play (straight-show, non-musical) -- something I'm more than happy to 'see' (hear) once ever decade or so, and then I'm good for another 10 years.

Yeah, if my dad wasn't already familiar with the place, I think this would be a LOT harder, maybe an order of magnatude so. My dad hates change, but at least he's known and had experience with this place, off and on, for 23 years. As far as skilled nursing, they don't have an on-site RN 24/7, but they do have another lesser level of nursing available throughout the day. I'm forgetting the details, but that is (as I understand it), the sole reason they aren't technically an "assisted living" level center. So close, but not quite. Something for me to follow-up on, though, thx. Oh, and there are two emergency buttons in each room: a pull-cord above the head of the bed, and similar in the bathroom. He's also going to have an emergency call button around his neck, with automatic fall detection, so he should be covered 24/7 that way too, even if he blacks out.

I've got one of the Dial Schoenbegs, #2 maybe? (red/red-orange color), that my uncle bought back in the day. Chamber Symphony #1, iirc. I'll have to look when I get back home. HEAVY vinyl.

An UPDATE, as I'm getting ready to fly back to D.C. Later this afternoon. In June or July (maybe late May even), we're moving my dad to a nice, small, family-owned/run retirement community [not even "assisted living", and certainly NOT a nursing home] about 3 miles from his house (so still very close to his Masonic network of friends). This is the same place my grandmother (his mom) went in 1996, when she was 99 years old, where she lived out her last 2 years. Unbeknownst to us, this place is still in business all these years, despite not really having any online presence (we looked a couple weeks ago, and their URL had been snapped up a couple years ago by some squatter when they didn't pay their URL management fee, or whatever it is), and they still haven't sorted it out. The place is very old-school, but spacious and nice in a utilitarian sort of way. It's small, private apartments, and onsite elder care services (and 24-7 staff). Nothing fancy, but very good people run the place, as best I can see. Over half their staff has been there over 10 years (some 15-20 years), and the current owner/director was new on staff there when my grandmother was there back in the late 90's. The place has only ever had 2 owners/directors (including the curent one), since it first opened in the early 80's. Both directors have also been the sole owners of the place (which I think says something). So my Dad has experience with the place, since that's where he took his mother, and he's also known close to 10 other people who've lived there in the last 10-15 years, so he's been there a fair bit to visit people. On-site dining, and the food was actually really GOOD (for what it was -- my dad and I had lunch there on Monday). So 3 meals a day, medicine management services, rides to doctor's visits (even way over in St. Louis, 30+ miles from where my Dad actually lives - and almost ALL my dad's doctors are over in St. Louis, because the county he lives in over on the IL side of the river, is one of the most litigious counties in the entire country, for medical malpractice suits). They've had any number of residents there who were in their early 100's, even one who lived to be 108(!) recently. SIDENOTE: one of the original members of the Inkspots lived his last X number of years there too, recently. They pride themselves on making it possible for people NOT to have to go into nursing homes, if they don't want to. They can handle dementia cases, in all but the worse manifestations. "In home (apartment)" hospice is also possible, and often elected. The owner/director and all the staff we talked to were super down-to-earth, total straight-shooters, with what seemed like tenacious can-do attitudes. Almost scary how decent these people seemed. Damn good people, was what I got out of all my interactions with them. And they all seemed like very caring, and REAL, no BS-people. And fun too, if you can imagine. Turns out the director and my dad knew about 25 people in common, and she figured out which exact house my dad lived in, with not much info (they still don't even have his exact address), because she grew up about 6 blocks away from where my dad lives. The place isn't fancy, but we think the place is just about perfect for my Dad, and he's fully on board with it. $1,765/month, all inclusive. We need to do some due diligence in checking other options, but it would be hard to imagine going somewhere else. Honestly, I almost can't believe such a seemingly reasonable, and already familiar place has popped up. 5 days afo(!)I didn't even know they were still in business, and yesterday he's already picked out a specific apartment, which they'll hold for 90 days for just $100 (which can be applied to his first month's rent), with just a $300 deposit once he moves in. Or if he goes somewhere else, we're out $100. And they'll even move all his stuff in for free too! This place is really old school, build in 1982, with some updates, but mostly lots of TLC over the years. Maybe 80 units? Everything is all on one floor, with WIDE halways, and lots of natural light. Blessed relief. Getting his house sold over the next year; that's the huge headache looming. But getting my dad somewhere that he's safe seems like a very near-term thing now. Maybe in as little as 7-8 weeks, or certainly by the week of July 4th. I still feel overwhelmed, but not about everything. Just the house. And not as much about my Dad, long as we can make it through the next 2-4 months.

My only issue with the Chesky date -- which I've had on CD for eons (one of the first 50 or so CD's I ever owned, iirc), is that it almost sounds TOO good By which I mean that it sounds decidedly like every musician was recorded separately, each in their own hermetically sealed chamber. The playing is undeniably great, but there's something slightly antiseptic about this date, that at least for me, is just a little too clean and perfect sounding. Yeah, yeah, "it sounds just like your in the same room" as the musicians, blah, blah, blah. But I can't help but actively hear (and see, in my mind's eye), four very separate rooms that these guys were in as the session was being recorded. I used to love this date back when I was 25, but I haven't spun it much in the last 15+ years. Anybody get what I'm saying? Or does it have to do with some extreme lack of compression used in the recording (I'm guessing?) -- and the fact I've only ever heard it on the half-ass stereo systems (decidedly non-audiophile) that I've had all these years Maybe that's it?

I'm going to see Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets band tomorrow while I'm here in St. Louis (because I'm in town to visit my dad, tickets purchased months ago). And I've got tix to see Nick Mason's group again in DC in about 3 weeks -- the only time I'll have ever gone to hear the same rock show twice in different cities on the same tour. I've been an on again, off again Pink Floyd fan (all eras) since about 1987 my freshman year of college. And I even bought that massive "Early Years" 28 CD/DVD box set a few year so ago. "Animals" might be my favorite single Pink Floyd album, but collectively I'm the most facinated by their early 67-72 output (pre Dark Side). Anyone else here dig early Floyd? And their pre-massive-fame output?