Rooster_Ties

Had forgotten all about the strings on "Glass Onion". Sweet!! And you know, come to think of it, most of those 'John' tunes on The White Album were pretty amazing. I say "come to think of it" cuz it's probably been well over 15 years years since I've heard The White Album (maybe even closer to 20). Just long enough that when I look at the track listing, I still think I know what they all sound like, even if I really don't so much any more.

Going on three years later, I still think Disc #3 is uber fantastic. Warts and all. Woody's playing on that first date slays me every time. Absolutely serious, disc #3 is one of my personal "all time top 20" favorite BN discs EVER, and that's really saying something. What are people's thoughts on this set? -- three years after many of us have had the chance to take it all in.

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I'll do something about the Schoenberg issue real soon. Berg can wait... Berg can wait??? The hell it can!! If somebody can find a reasonably priced copy of this on-line (used or otherwise), 7/4, I will personally buy this particular recording for you. Seriously... Alban Berg Quartett, CDC 5 55190 2, © 1994 EMI Records, recorded in 1991 and 1992

Stay at home yesterday, did ya?? (29-FEB-2008)

I've heard Wynton's Octoroon quartet, and I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I'd expected to. If I ever see a used copy really cheap, I might even get it. More generally speaking (not just of string quartets), I really don't care much for Webern (though I love Berg and Schoenberg). So, now practically everyone here should have at least something to vehemently disagree with me about.

Pressed for time this morning, but had to mention Zemlinsky. He kind of bridges two centuries (his first quartet is from 1896), but the rest all date from the teens, 20's, and 30's. Thorny, meaty stuff. Very rewarding. Trivia: my wife and I had the scherzo from his first string quartet played at our wedding!! (His first quartet is tuneful, late-Romantic fare -- a wonderful work, IMHO.) All of his subsequent quartets (2-4) were serial, or thorny enough that an uneducated rube like myself might confuse them with being serial (after not having listened to them in a couple years).

FYI...

Pitty he never knew how while he was still alive.

HELL YEAH!!!

If David Weiss (or Bob Belden, for that matter) happen to see this thread, can either of you comment on ... 1) the Jackie McLean date with Woody and Tyrone (be still, my beating heart!), or... 2) the Grant Green date with John Gilmore?? Assuming, of course, that you've heard either of them. Many thanks, David, for your earlier comments about The Trainwreck™. I've long thought that we should start some sort of letter-writing campaign, to get it released as bonus material on a domestic Conn of "Natural Essence". If so, David, would you mind if one or two of us quote your reflections on the date?? -- meaning in some communication with Michael Cuscuna (the target of such a campaign). I have studiously avoided quoting you (to him), not wanting to create that shit storm which you alluded to in your original post. I imagine that bonus material on a Conn of "Natural Essence" would drive a fair number of "re-sales" to people who already own the TOCJ. And a LACK of bonus material would result in nearly zero "re-sales". I think many of us would happily pay Conn prices to finally hear The Trainwreck™ (hell, I'd pay import prices!). There is so very little material by Tyrone -- it really should be released if there are others (meaning people on the inside, like David and I'm assuming Bob Beldon too) who've heard the material, who's opinions are respected, and see value in it. (I'm trying to meet some sort of "Chuck" threshold here, by arguing for the material based on its merits - and not simply based on our desire to hear it.)

I was about to say: "Yeah, I was thinking that too!!!" Probably more the case that this perspective resonates strongly with me too. It seems clear to me that Wynton is also a revivalist -- but beyond that of course, he's also a fetishist -- (fetishist: definition #3: blind devotion: a fetishism of sacrifice to one's children.) -- and an ideologue (a person who zealously advocates an ideology). So as much as Wynton (himself) annoys me -- but yes, his music annoys me too -- it's that lethal cocktail of revivalism, fetishism, and ideology that REALLY gets my ire up. So where does Wynton stand purely on revivalist grounds?? I don't think very well, but it's hard to be objective about such things. All I know is his shit (the music itself) usually gives me the willies - I do know that.

Yeah, and vice-versa.

Here's what little is known around these parts (at least first-hand) about the Tyrone and Wayne dates. (I posted this previously in a thread about Tyrone.) Here's more info about the 'trainwreck' than probably any one here has ever seen (or heard). (Weiss also talked about an unreleased Wayne Shorter BN sessiontoo.) The quote (below) comes from this thread on AAJ, but I thought I'd preserve it here too, since threads can occasionally be deleted, posts edited, etc...

evil

Being from Kansas City (since 1994, at least), I see and/or notice this 1986 "Impulse!" album in the bins from time to time... And the last time I saw one, it gave me the thought that yes -- I know the Blue Note story since 1970 pretty well (all the re-issue programs in 70's, and then the revival of the label issuing NEW material in the mid 80's). But I really DON'T know the more recent history of "Impulse!" -- or other labels that were notable and active in the 60's. When did the Impulse! imprint get revived for new releases, and did it go dormant again? (Because I presume it's dormant now, actually, come to think of it). And are there any other labels worth mentioning that were active in the 60's (and maybe into the early 70's), which then went dormant, but were LATER revived?? And if so, what artists were on those "revived" versions of said labels?? Yes, there is room in this thread for bitching about the tarnished reputations for said labels with some/all of what they were releasing under them in the 80's, 90's, and beyond (if any). But also, what are some overlooked gems on said labels during the same timeframe. Surely the glass is at least half-full for at least a few things released in this manner in the last 30 years or so.

I'm about to replace the computer that was stolen from our house back in December, and I'm going to get XP pre-loaded on it, for sure. Prior to Vista, I had the misfortune of having Windows ME running on the machine we purchased back in late 2000. I was and am pretty used to XP from the machines I use at work. Vista reminded me of Windows ME, if that's any indication. Mostly hated Vista, here.

Some recycling centers might possibly take videotapes. Several in the Kansas City area do, along with other electronics media (cassettes, CD's, CDR's, DVD's, etc...)

How do we get "Roots" released on CD?? I know there's an LP repressing out, but I've always assumed it was less than legit (anybody know?). It was on Perception, and there's at least ONE "Perception" LP that's been released on CD -- Larry Young's "Lawrence Of Newark". Has anything else on Perception ever been issued on CD?? The answer to this is YES, based on this Dusty Groove search (label search on "Perception" - limited to CD's)... http://www.dustygroove.com/browse.php?labe...1&format=cd Looks like Castle and Sequel (both in the UK), and P-Vine (in Japan) have issued Perception stuff on CD (though the P-Vine thing is a compilation). The LP re-issue of "Roots" (on Dusty's site) doesn't give another label name (like they do with all the other Perception stuff). Interestingly, all the LP reissues of Perception stuff are all priced 8.99, and none give a co-label in the listing -- so if "Roots" ain't legit, I'm guessing none of them are. Does anybody here own one of the recent "Roots" LP reissues?? Any clues there?? "Roots" is twice the album that "Do Right" is. I'd pay $25 (even $35) for a legit CD issue (in other words, expensive import prices), in a heartbeat. I think a few other people would too. How can we get this to happen?? Any chance Dusty could/would reissue it?? - since they have reissued a handful of things themselves on their own label (as I understand it). Discuss...

Always wondered if it was worth getting the RVG. The earlier issue with the air-checks is amazingly interesting, and I wouldn't be without it. Guess I gotta put another title on my want list. (And thanks, Alexander, for the idea of putting them both in a 2CD jewel box.)

I've done some searches, and maybe the discussion I know we had predates the Big O board (in which case, it might have been an old BNBB topic). What was the pop (rap) tune from some 6 or 8 years ago that sampled some BN trumpeter (Blue Mitchell, I think). And somebody like Microsoft (or some huge mega-corperation) picked it up for a TV advertisement -- and as such, Blue's widow suddenly netted a few hundred dollars in royalties -- unexpectedly, of course. Maybe several hundred thousand (anybody know how much?) I remember seeing an article or two about it in some on-line news sources (non-jazz related), but can't seem to find anything out it on-line for the life of me. What was the tune?? Was it Blue?? Any links to any threads about it here?? -- or elsewhere?? Thanks!!

Oh, and much as arrangements of things could be good too, I'm really looking to commission some original music here. (Or arrangements of original music -- tunes you may have already written!!) Of course, we can't survive on musical heads alone, so there'd have to be some newly written "development" sections. Or theme and variations. But I do have access to a couple good arrangers here in Kansas City (though more would be welcome). But what I'm looking to get into now are some original things. I'm looking at local resources for original music too. I figure a good two commissions per year would fill about 25% of my music needs per year. PO: That said, if anybody wants to take on some arranging -- I'd be all up for that too!!

The sky's the limit. The group plays about 6 or 7 times a year (about once every 6 weeks). About half the time we play, there's some heady high-minded topic that doesn't particularly lend itself to music that's tightly programmed (thematically). Say something like Existentialism, or Emerson and Transcendentalism, and the like. (The bell choir gets on the schedule only after the VOCAL choir has already picked their services to sing (they sing about twice per month). And with them having to program music with words -- they rarely choose the topics that have no obvious musical programming choices. I was kinda toying with having all modal music on the same Sunday sometime. Or something that harmonically approximated a lot of the early 70's jazz I like so much -- what Dusty sells to high heaven as being "spiritual" (in their specific definition of the word). Or something that used a lot of chords in 4th's (my technical terminology is limited here (and probably wrong) -- I'm talkin' McCoy Tyner-esque chords). But I could even be happy with music that otherwise -- in other circumstances (on other instruments) -- would probably be border-line "New Age". Not as "un-busy" as New Age, but harmonically similar. Other options to consider... Bells don't just have to be played ringing them all pretty (the usual way). They can be rung "into" the table-padding, making a "thump" sound. Or rung into the table, and then lifted up immediately -- getting both the thump, and the sustained ring at the same time. Or bells can be played with mallets -- in which case the lower bells sound quite a bit like marimba, and the upper bells sound a lot like vibes (with the vibrato thingy turned off) -- because usually the bells are on the table padding when played with mallets. There are some other techniques too -- but often the group can figure out which ones to apply where (to which lines within the piece) after it's been written. We also have access to borrow "handchimes", which sound kinda ghostly, and ethereal. They have a less percussive quality, and can bring out a melody line quite nicely (or leave the melody on bells, and have most of the accompaniment play chimes). I can send copies of some bell-choir music so visually people can see how busy things are. Lots of stacked chords, and homophonic writing can be good. Patterns (riffs) especially in the lower octave can be good. It's best to have lines (riffs) made up or two or even three parallel lines -- so if a bell is missed somewhere (as can easily happen), then you still get the sense of the line because the other parts of the parallel line do usually get rung. Sparse writing is prone to exposed sections that can easily crash and burn if just one or two bells are missed in performance. I imagine the writing riffs (as if for big band) would be a skill that would translate well into writing for bells. Again, I can send some hardcopy examples of music that match a lot of these goals. I'll have an ongoing need for music for years to come -- so there's not a real hard deadline here. But I'd love to debut something this Fall, and maybe something else early next Winter.