Rooster_Ties

Just got the word that my mom passed away peacefully about an hour ago. We had all been expecting this for several days, and the news was as much a relief as anything. The family is doing well, and my Dad is doing well too. Probably not much more to say than that. Thanks to everyone here for the words of encouragement. I hope to be back in Kansas City by the middle of next week, plus or minus. Gotta go, lots to do tomorrow.

Spanish Castle Magic!!!!!!!!!!! Man, I LOVE this tune - BIG TIME. There aren't a ton of live versions, but every couple years a new one pops up. GREAT tune. I'll have to think about the other two, and get back to you.

Just a quick update... It's only a matter of time before my Mom passes away. She's not in any pain, and she is in a deep coma (and has been since the initial event). She lived a relatively long life, and was productive and happy up until the very end -- which is all any of us could ever ask for. My Dad is holding up great. Things like this are never easy, but he is one of the most "practical" people I've ever known, and -- to some extent -- is a tower of strength. My mom isn't gone yet, but we all realize that in reality, she is gone. The odds of her recovering are 1 in a million -- and being practical people, we do not bet against those kinds of odds. And, we are all comfortable with this too. Some may call this "cold" - but life is what it is, and to call it anything else would be to ignore the facts of the situation. My Dad is calmly talking about the need to look at selling his and my Mom's house, and moving into an apartment. He's not overly sad about this, or despondent - he's just looking head-long into the future, and not sticking his head in the sand about anything. We're all remembering all kinds of good things about Mom, and frankly -- about other relatives who are long since gone too, like all of my grandparents. And none of it is being done with any kind of "heavy sadness" - but, rather, with a fondness for those we are remembering. There are tough moments, here and there -- and there are surely some really tough ones yet to come (probably later this week), but 95% of the time we're all getting on with the business of getting back to normal. Or, rather, getting back to a "new" kind of "normal" - which isn't exactly like the old "normal" -- but also isn't radically different from the old "normal" either. My Dad's a hell of a guy, and I think he'll probably mostly do just fine in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. Lots of people have very tragic things happen to them years and decades before they reach 69 (my mom's current age), and my parents had 40+ years together, which is something my Dad will always treasure. I was really close to my Mom, and I know --- as I look back in the future --- that I will be glad that she lived such an incredibly full life, for 69 really GREAT years. We should all be so lucky. Peace... -- Tom

Has anybody heard their recent disc of Bach arrangements??? I was pretty darn interested in finding it, one of these days.

Hi Everybody, Thanks for all the warm thoughts. No change in my Mom's health status. She's still in a coma, which is not unexpected after an event like this. Everything's just "wait and see" at this point. My Dad's holding up pretty darn well, considering, and we think we are too (my wife and I). What else can you do?? It's not like "going to pieces" is in any way helpful to the situation, so why do that. We're not "camping out" in the waiting room at the hospital, and we're mostly just staying at home at my parents' house with my Dad, reading books, and doing things around the house that need doing. My Dad never really did laundry much before, so I'm teaching him how to do that. And I think we're maybe gonna try to make some beef stew tomorrow or Tuesday, and show my Dad how easy it is to cut some meat and vegi's up, throw them in a crock-pot, and let them cook all day on low for 8 hours. My Dad's never really cooked much before, other than making chili and maybe a couple other simple things. Time for him to learn some new skills, I guess. All in all, we're coping pretty well, I think. Still, this is all kinda scary. Probably watch the super-bowl tonight. My Dad likes football, and my wife does too --- and I like the comercials. -- Tom PS: I'll try to check-in again in a day or two. Since we're at my partents home so much, it's not that hard to check the board, although I usually try to keep off the phone-line mostly, since my Mom has dog-slow dial-up.

If this is the disc I'm thinking of (arrangements by Bob Beldon, and it's a piano trio plus vibes - with stephon harris on vibes, and maybe mulgrew miller on keys, and ron carter on bass), then I thought I mention what a great CD this is. Highly recomended. (Can't remember all the details of it, and from my Mom's iMac, I'm not gonna try to figure out how to open up mulitple windows to check the details from the AMG.) Can't believe it's out of print already -- didn't it just come out about one year ago??

Status is "wait and see". We're here in St. Louis now, and I managed to remember my Mom's AOL password. I'm sure I won't be on the board much, especially since my Mom has dog-slow dial-up, and being on-line ties up the phone. But I wanted to say a big thanks for all the well wishes, and I'll try to post an update or two in the coming days. Thanks, everybody. Just have to wait and see. They're saying it'll be probably 1-3 days before we really know very much more, at this point. Thanks again for all the well wishes. -- Tom

Just got a call from my Dad a short while ago. My mother had a very serious brain aneurysm just a few hours ago. She is only 69, and was otherwise in good health. (My dad's 76, and also in good health.) We're not giving up hope, but I'm packing my black suit, just in case. Reading between-the-lines in the phone call from my dad, it's probably very bad. Even if she survives, life probably won't ever be the same for her - or at least not for a long time. We're not terribly religious people, but I'll probably doing a lot of deep thinking that's as close to prayer as I ever typically get. As you can imagine, I'm sure I'll be off the board for several days, maybe as much as a week. (My folks have a computer, but I always had to ask my Mom what her AOL password was -- so as long as we're in St. Louis, I'm probably "off-line" from the board and e-mail.)

I have a rather large poster of this photo, that I bought in New Orleans back around 1991. Great photo, and one I've always associated with the album "Miles Ahead" for some reason, even though I have no idea if that's the session it was really taken at. But for some reason, this pic really says "Miles Ahead" to me.

With organ, Lee's on... Lonnie Smith - Think! (1968) Lonnie Smith - Turning Point (1969) Reuben Wilson - Love Bug (1969) All on Blue Note Might be something else I'm forgetting, but maybe that's it for Lee with organ (excepting the dates with Jimmy Smith and Larry Young). My favorite of these three might be "Turning Point" - but that might be because it's the one of the three I'm the least familiar with (cuz I've had it only for a couple months). I think Lee sounds half-asleep on "Think!" -- and while "Love Bug" is a groovin' date, it's a little too much groove (and not enough meat) for my taste. (But if groove's your thang, then "Love Bug" aims to please.) "Turning Point" is probably not a favorite for some around here, cuz it isn't as much of an ass-shaker as many would like -- but that's probably why I like it more. The solos are a little more nebulous, and therefore, more to my liking.

Got that right.

What is your single favorite BN release, from anything released on the label in the last five years??? (I'm talking about newly recorded material, stuff recorded within the last five years.) Me?? Without thinking about this very much, I'm temped to say... Greg Osby - Symbols of Light (A Solution) (from 2001) I'll think it over some more, and revisit this thread again in the next day or so -- and see if I think of anything else that tops "Symbols...".

You don't say???? (SOURCE)

Nothing for sale here! No, really!!

Lesson: Don't fuck with cats. Figuratively, or literally!!!

How about a general discussion about organists (here and elsewhere) and their opinions (good and bad) towards playing piano, and maybe their approach to piano??? (Even if that approach is very reluctant, at best.) I know I've read somewhere around here - maybe from b3-er? (or maybe not) - that some organists (himself included?) really dislike playing piano. That's fair. There are plenty of pianists who dislike playing organ, for all kinds of reasons -- so it stands to reason that the reverse would be true (for all kinds of equally valid reasons). And for the organists on this board who dislike piano, does that dislike extend equally to Fender playing?? And if so, why?? Or if not, why?? Also, is there any significant discussion to be had about recordings by organists, playing piano (or Fender)?? I was just listening to Woody Shaw's very first album (his demo for BN with Joe Henderson, that later came out on Muse), along with the Nathan Davis album with Woody from about the same year. Both feature Larry Young on piano. I'm not sure if I know enough to pick out anything particularly interesting to say about Larry's piano-playing, relative to his organ-playing -- but maybe some others here (with better ears than I have) can make some comparisons (significant similarities, or differences). Did any other organists ever record on piano, other than a very few sessions very, very early in their careers?? Those sides with Larry Young are all from the early to mid-60's, and are from the same time-period as several of his pre-BN days - so they are contemporaneous with some of his organ recordings. Did John Patton ever record on piano?? Jimmy Smith?? Any of the non-BN organists?? I’m guessing probably not (though Jimmy Smith might have, VERY early on – like in the very early 50’s maybe). I guess, then, are there any semi-important piano (or maybe also Fender) recordings by guys who were organists 90+% of the time, otherwise??? And another question for b3-er (and the other organists here too). If you had an offer to play a regular piano gig with decent money (respectable bread, but nothing any better or worse that you usually get otherwise), how much would you be willing to take such a gig?? Assume you’re playing with decent players in a standard piano-trio, or maybe a quartet, with one horn. (Assume also that it doesn't cut into your other gigs, so it’s not taking away from time you could be gigging on organ.)

Re: the article that started this thread... Neither of my cats will even let me touch their paws in order to clip their claws, and one of them won't even let me lightly touch her back paws (or her belly) – even for 1/10 of a second – without her claws and teeth coming out, full force. And, come to think of it, NONE of the cats I've ever had were really much different. SO, I can't imagine any cat putting up with any kind of sexual shenanigans, for even 2 seconds. So, either the "cats and dogs" aspect of the article is really "mostly dogs, plus two or three loose cats". Or, maybe (more likely) the article is simply total bullshit.

I only know "Katanga!" - but it's a 5-star disc in my book, without a doubt. I definitely plan to get this Select one of these days, for sure!!! But I'd be curious to hear about the rest of the material too. (So I'm looking foward to other responses to this thread.)

I always appreciated Tom's input on the BNBB. It was never as much as I would have liked, but it was certainly much better than nothing. I remember asking several obscure questions of him, and getting answers to most of my questions. His periodic posts are the only thing I miss about the old BNBB. Still, I'd much rather have this, than go back to that.

I have (and love) Rufus' first two albums. ("Poses" is the 2nd one, and I'm too lazy to look up the name of the first one.) I understand he also has a third album out too, just in the last few months, but I haven't picked it up yet --- but I certainly will, one of these days. His tunes are very interesting, and the arrangements are great. And, his voice is really wonderful. He sings with a "full" voice nearly all the time, and I understand he was a vocal-performance major in college. Hopefully he will have a very long career, and I look forward to hearing more for him in the future.

99.999999998% chance the "Fuchsia Swing Song" RVG is a mistake, from some post somebody made somewhere, or some "upcoming releases" that somebody goofed up on. THERE'S NO CHANCE IN HELL THAT BN WOULD RELEASE A TITLE AS A CONN, AND THEN TURN AROUND AND RE-RELEASE IT AS AN RVG LESS THAN ONE YEAR LATER.

I think this is a great session. Maybe not quite "top-5" great, but a very solid date, to my ears. The Conn has an extra tune not found on the TOCJ, so go for the Conn if you have a choice (in my opinion).

Can't say I'm particularly thrilled with the cover. (Not that the cover matters -- I know, I know - "it's the music, stupid".) I haven't heard any of this music before. Miles in the early 50's isn't the highest on the spending priorities right now, but if I saw it cheap enough, I'd probably spring for it.