Rooster_Ties

Yes, and no. Too many Monk tunes for my taste. Blasphemy, I suppose, but that’s my take.

Here’s a lovely remembrance of KW, by Brad Goode - contemporaneous around the time of Kenny’s passing, very shorty after. Funny that he seemed to go by Ken in his personal life, but was “Kenny” professionally. Or perhaps I’m reading into how he signed his correspondence with Brad, and Goode’s subsequent references to him in the piece. Don’t miss this... https://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2014/09/kenny-wheeler-1930-2014.html?m=1

I suspect 10-20 years from now, this tiny little unassuming newly-discovered clip of Mobley will be one of the very first “visuals” that come to mind practically every time I think of Hank, and some sort of image will surely (unconsciously) spring into my mind’s eye. And fwiw, before less than an hour ago, I suspect the first image of Hank I would have thought of (generally), would have otherwise usually been the modern (CD-era) cover of Slice of the Top (my favorite Hank leader-date). Amazing how powerful the ‘moving image’ is - even one as tiny and otherwise ‘pedestrian’ as this one.

Wow!! Damn!!! Wow!! Damn!!!

I hadn’t seen that specific article (just some short clips in the news, possibly cable news). And I appreciate you (and the other mods) not reflexively deleting the link to the article, even if discussion isn’t possible here. (Tons of news/link aggregation sources that I scan for stuff all the time, but then I miss a day, and easily miss a few good ones.)

*Love* Gary Thomas‘ playing say more often than not, so I’m in. Wish it was on CD, though - is there a CD option I’m overlooking (sure doesn’t look like it). I very seldom buy downloads, but for more Gary Thomas, I might just make an exception.

Me too. I’m good with about 70% of Zappa’s output (and 40-50% I’m really quite fond of). But the Flo & Eddie years never really grabbed me.

Didn’t Brookmeyer play piano on a few of Mulligan’s “Concert Band” sides? Super late, or I’d dig out my Mosaic liners to confirm. (Though admittedly, I can’t remember if he gets any solos.)

Serious and respectful historical question: Wasn’t Richard one of the first (was he THE first?) truly “flamboyant” performer to reach a national audience to the degree he did? (I’m NOT trying to invoke any “no true Scotsman” logic/arguments over whether any predecessors were “flamboyant enough” to qualify - just were they anywhere near as popular/famous as early/earlier than Richard’s early prominence.) For instance, where does Liberace fit in the chronology here? - not that his and Richard’s brands of flamboyance were necessarily that (or even remotely) similar. David Bowie. Prince. I’m sure plenty of others since, and probably a number I’m forgetting pre-Prince owe a great debt to Richard’s trail-blazing influence. And aside from his musical import, I’d say he was certainly “culturally” important. Not only in retrospect, but certainly to any number of folks back in the day who might have wished for the freedom to exhibit the kind (and particular variety) of ‘chutzpah’ that Richard wore on his sleeve early on, and throughout his career.

Sometime in the last year our cable system (Comcast) pulled TCM from our existing package (which we’d been on for 8 years) - which wasn’t and isn’t barebones package by any stretch of the imagination (what we have includes HBO, and like 500 other channels). And now TCM is only bundled with some souped up add-on sports package (for another $20-$30 per month more even), or some nonsense like that. We didn’t watch a ton on TCM, but I would scroll through the grid all the time looking for interesting/obscure movies, so I’ll bet we did watch maybe 6-8 per month, plus at least that many more that I might have DVR’d just to see a little bit of, to see some particular actor (usually well before, or well after their prime). Now, no TCM for us. Annoying, but what can you do?

What bothers me most is that opening back up considerably (even only half-way), with what will surely be at least some half-measures (admittedly mostly well-meaning, I’ll grant)... ...and probably further hampered by idiots who refuse to really social-distance (and/or wear masks), along with less ‘bad-meaning’ people who aren’t political about their actions, but who will unfortunately turn out in droves to beaches, and congregate in parks, and gather clandestinely for large or even just large-ish house-parties... Enough of all those bad-actors will surly result in the a resurgence of infections (is that the right term?), and a lot more deaths. All unfortunately tacitly approved of by some people in positions of real power and authority, while they simultaneously send mixed signals about what we really should be doing as a country, and as individuals - to try and reduce the impact of this virus, to reduce the number of preventable deaths. You can argue whether any particular loss was preventable (or not) - but what is not arguable is the overall number of preventable deaths (not a specific number, but a NOT-insignificant percentage, even if that number/percentage can’t be calculated with precision). I’m trying to convey my exasperation with all of this, without getting political. And to be clear, I’m not crazily worried about my own health, or my wife’s. Or our families. We’re all doing what we can to minimize our own risks, without hermetically sealing ourselves into our small 1BR apartment (of ~630 sqft). Nor are any for us buying everything on Amazon, though we’re only making grocery runs about once every 5 days. (And the ONLY thing we’ve bought on-line since December is prescription cat food - about 4 months worth, just in case supply-lines get wonky.) Too many in this country aren’t taking COVID-19 seriously enough, and the impact will be born disproportionally by those less fortunate to not be in positions where they can truly hunker down for a while (admittedly, a lot longer than most of us ever imagined). In other words, it’s pretty easy to say “open everything up” when the odds aren’t stacked against you in the calculus of who will be most affected by all this.

Carpe Diem on that On The Corner sessions box. Pound for pound, the most ‘interesting’ of all the Miles boxes (if only because the IaSW box is half the size) - imho. I’ve had one for years, that I got with a 40% off one item coupon from Border’s barely a couple weeks after release date, and then a month or two later it was already at least half gone everywhere. Carpe diem!!

In areas with serious social distancing, it clearly has an enormous benefit, with demonstrable results. Witness San Francisco and much (most?) of California, from the reports I’ve been seeing. Of course, if they “let up” to any significant degree, then they’d be on a trajectory toward NYC-like numbers within a fortnight or two. A rush to herd immunity sounds great (or the herd immunity part does, at least). But the cost in lives lost - not only to those at high risk, but also to doctors and nurses, to say nothing of mass transit workers, and those who work in high-traffic areas with jobs that disallow much social distancing (meat packers, for instance) - would be tragic. To compare some of those people to “cannon fodder” isn’t hyperbolic (if we opened up completely). But seriously, are we really OK with half the number of casualties in those areas - i.e. “half cannon-fodder” - if we “only half” open-up? Because that seems to be what the plan is. Who the hell am I to say that the world (or the US at least) has to get back to normal, come hell or high water... ...when I know full well I’m able to live a relatively privileged life that allows me to avoid the kinds of risk that hundreds of thousands (maybe 1-2 million!) OTHER PEOPLE cannot so easily avoid. Those figures (hundreds of thousands up to 1-2 million... being the potential number of casualties we’re looking at in the US alone, under different prediction models, depending on how quickly we open up, and how. All this is all an enormous and genuinely serious inconvenience to probably HALF of us. And the economic impact to the OTHER HALF of us is even more severe, requiring not just stimulus, but a shit-ton direct financial help that isn’t suppose to “stimulate” anything, but just keep people afloat. And then like 2-4% of us - when you include all the people dying of heart attacks and strokes (some Covid-related, some not, but who aren’t going to the hospitals), and cancer patients who can’t get treatment, etc. - along with all the direct Covid deaths... ...so something like 2-4% of us will die if we just open everything up to try and race for herd immunity. Maybe my percentages aren’t right, but my point is basically the same regardless. The death toll is still rising in the US, and we’re talking about getting back to a new semi-open “normal” (somehow) in a few short weeks - still without adequate testing (and not even close). Social distancing was never a “solution” - but rather, a way to buy time to implement other solutions, some which have long lead-times. But the federal government squandered a couple months, and did nothing - at least for all of February, and arguably part of March too. Forget developing a vaccine even, the idea was to ramp up TESTING - which this administration STILL is dragging its feet on. And PPE, which the fucking federal government is confiscating(!) from states and even from the V.A. - literally STEALING shipments before states and the V.A. even get them! - only to seemingly to dump then into a supply chain that goes to the highest bidder (states bidding against each other, and the federal government too). It’s beyond dystopian, and frankly unfathomable. Anyway, I’m all in favor of continuing social distancing, but fuck if know what good that does it with parts of the federal response being so woefully inadequate (which is the most polite (non-political) way I can possibly say it). And so much of this seems to go way beyond “neglect” and “incompetence” in some cases (again, something I’m trying to say politely). It boggles the mind.

Verbatim headline from a local TV-news on-line story. Michigan security guard shot and killed after asking Family Dollar shopper to wear a mask > FLINT, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Genessee County Prosecutor's office said Monday afternoon that a Flint Family Dollar security guard who was killed on Friday was shot following a dispute with a customer who would not put on a mask in the store.

I just wish there was more Mahler to listen to. Chamber music especially. Other than that one piano-quartet movement he wrote at, what, the age of 16 - there ain’t no more than that. Next best thing, I guess, are the wonderful chamber arrangements of Mahler 4 & 9, and then of course the duo-piano arrangements of Mahler 6 & 7 (all of which I have on CD, except the chamber version of 9). And I think there’s a organ arrangement of Mahler 5, iirc - which I’ve never heard more than samples of (and that was over 10 year ago). Anyway, it’s a damn shame Gustav never wrote a string quartet (or half a dozen). Or a piano quintet, or some sort of clarinet quartet/quintet - either clarinet with all strings, or piano + strings. To say nothing of a nice cello sonata, and piano sonata. Or what the heck, a piano concerto - and other concerti. I don’t listen to Mahler all the time, but I love it whenever I do. And I’d listen to more Mahler if there was more Mahler to listen. Heck, even that Uri Caine disc of wild jazz reinterpretations of Mahler is fun every now and then.

Don’t know about squirrel, but I have had rabbit twice in the last 5-6 years, and it was delicious! And I know my father (as a child and teen, back in the 30’s), and on a semi-regularly basis (or more than just occasionally) had rabbit - or rather, hasenpfeffer - for dinner and such. I’m sure the ‘meat-to-bone’ ratio on most typical wild, semi-suburban rabbits ain’t the best... ...but I know I’ve seen pics of breeds of gigantic rabbits on-line (nothing short of ‘gigantic’ would accurately describe them - easily 2.5x the weight of our beloved house cat). I’m on mobile at the moment, or I’d come up with a URL of an image I could include here. And, all kidding aside, I was shocked how tasty rabbit was the first time I ever had it ~5-6 years ago. Succulent is the best word I can think of. ‘Twas at a high-end Italian restaurant (for my wife’s birthday), and it was one of the best meals I’d ever eaten. Not ‘traditional’ Italian at all, but some sort of “modern” Northern Italian. We’re not big spenders in high-end meals out very often (2-3x per year), but this one was really worth it.

If only it were available as such, I would SO buy this *on CD*, and even pay a premium for it ($30 for a 2cd set?).

Mrs. Rooster and I just went to our regular Saturday farmers market, which is scaled down a bit (about half the regular number of vendors). We’ve decided to pay extra for meat from a ‘local’ farm (south of Gettysburg, PA - about 60 miles from DC). We are NOT crazy worried about getting Covid, but we felt like it was better not to buy meat from the usual supply lines in the grocery store (we’re not in agreement with how meatpacking workers are being treated in all this, same with poultry). We also bought some super yummy vegetarian sausage, which is normally more expensive than we would buy - but I’ve had it before (in a hotdog bun), and it was crazy tasty - so we felt like the extra expense was more a matter of putting some money in the pocket of the vegi-sausages vendor. We could certainly stand to go more vegetarian, and will probably cut our meat consumption in half during all this. We also like the boneless/skinless frozen fish options at Target, but we should look into how those industries are treating their people (workers) too. We figure it doesn’t hurt to spend money in line with our values. Not being all sanctimonious about it, so for the record I’m NOT saying everyone has to do what we’re doing (or look how great we are). As Jim Sangrey Is fond of saying, the money gotta flow, and we’re gonna exercise our right to direct our spending to the vendors and businesses we want to. Still haven’t seen more than literally *one* 6-pack of toilet paper on any store shelves in like 6-7 weeks!! We’re good for probably the whole month of May, but I’m gonna have to start making my grocery runs in the morning in the next couple weeks, and see if I can find some TP for June.

A couple of the previously released albums are on YouTube (in full) - I listened to most of one a couple days ago. What I’d love to hear, though, is a track from the night with the valve trombonist (sans guitar).

Have to confess, part of me I wishes this was only a 4-disc set (as long as one of the discs was that guitar-less disc, the one with the valve-trombone instead!). I’d/I’ve never heard any of the previously released material before today (a couple of that albums are up on YouTube). And $120+ is a bit of a chunk. But what I heard/sampled online today did sound lovley, and maybe in a few months I’ll be swayed (or whenever I can find employment again). Hard to make the case for (my) ‘needing’ 7-8 hours of this group (and two fat-boys, in terms of space), but I’d jump in a heartbeat for half as much (for half the price). I’ll *especially* be interested in reports on disc #4 with the trombone, whenever these start hitting people’s doorsteps. For the record, I’m NOT complaining about the size/price of the set. More just thinking out loud.

I haven’t seen any toilet paper on the shelves at either the grocery store or at Target in probably 6-7 weeks, though I have occasionally seen people on the street with bags that seem to include 2-3 four-packs now and then (that they’d clearly just bought). When the virus hit Australia (I think it was), I saw there were runs on TP there — this was about 10-12 days before things got more serious here in the US. So I bought a couple 15-packs, which we’re only about halfway through using. I haven’t (yet) gotten serious about hitting the grocery or Target earlier in the day (say around 9am), and all my grocery runs for the last 6+ weeks have been around 2pm or 3pm, so it could just be they sell out by Noon every day. We live in the single densest zip code in Washington DC (population density), so the turn on store shelves here would have to be fairly high generally. Sidenote: Another evidence of that is that (for years) the ATM’s right here give out $50 dollar bills automatically if you try and take out anything more than $100 - presumably so they don’t have to load $20’s so damn often. But any other ATM in the city I’ve ever used still gives $20’s (even if you get $200), which I did from time to time closer to where I used to work. Anyway, I think next week I’m gonna have to hit the grocery and/or Target up much earlier in the day several times, until I can finally get some more TP for June (I think we’re good through the end of May).

Seeing this thread just pop up, I’ve now got this going on the Hi-Fi here, even with Mrs. Rooster working across the room on her laptop... Webern's chamber arrangement of Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony #1, Op. 9 - for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano

John Adam’s conducting Germany’s ‘Ensemble Modern’ (Ives 4) is my go-to recording, fwiw. It’s an expanded orchestra-size group, and not the typically smaller chamber-size Ensemble Modern config (but the EM is at its core). A bit tricky to find on CD (I ordered mine directly from the EM website 15+ years ago), but there are download options available - though be careful, I understand some download sites only have like 15-seconds(!) of the second movement (and the free streaming version on YouTube is the same). The CD version (which I have) is just 30 minutes long - but was worth every single penny (imho). https://www.discogs.com/Charles-Ives-Fourth-Symphony/release/8369773

False alarm, it was just sarcasm. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/trump-says-he-was-being-sarcastic-about-disinfectant-and-the-virus (Note: chosen emoticon is entirely sarcastic.)

But what happens if it suddenly becomes partisan to suggest that you shouldn’t drink bleach?