Dave James

There's no doubt that many saxophonists felt compelled to "keep up" with the changes. For some that was a good thing. For others, like Pepper, not so much. Of course it had nothing to do with Coltrane other than the fact that he was the one creating the influence. He's not to be blamed for anything. But to say that "it had nothing to do with him" is simply not right. No one would have been influenced one way or the other if he had not done what he did. Up over and out.

Pretty much the same here. And I think Trane proved to be a negative influence on a number of other sax players. Amen to that. Can you say Art Pepper? Up over and out. Not Trane's fault, and not anything to do with him, for that matter. Paul, Would be interested in your expanding on this. Maybe I'm missing your point, but my sense would be there were precious few, if any, sax players who were not influenced in one way or another by Trane. Up over and out.

In the context of the thread Dan started about late period Coltrane, I came across an interesting blog called SDP Jazz authored by Ken Blanchard. In this entry, Mr. Blanchard attempts to create an accessibility scale that assigns a value to different kinds of jazz music. I not sure to what extent I agree with what he has to say, but it's interesting nonetheless and the first time I can recall seeing any thing quite like it. Here's the text of his blog: Jazz & Accessibility The kind of music celebrated here has never had mainstream appeal, and it never will. It may have a great influence on mainstream music, but most folks just aren't going to be turned on to Miles Davis's ESP or John Coltrane' Live at the Village Vanguard. The simple reason is that the music makes considerable demands on the listener. You have to be able to hear a lot that isn't explicitly stated, and recognize the heart of the melody even when the band is playing all around the periphery. I am not saying that jazz fans are smarter people, just that they have a taste that is unlikely to be shared by most listeners. The same is true of a lot of other musical genres, like Indie Rock. You don't hear that on the radio in South Dakota. I have written about this in an earlier post on Lee Konitz, where I compared bop to poetry, another art form that always has a small audience. But some jazz is a lot more accessible than other jazz, and the listener may well want to know the difference in order to tell whether a recording will fit within his or her own comfort zone. Otherwise valuable resources, like the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, aren't much help on this. It is as though the most dedicated Jazz listeners don't seem to be aware of the difference. I have long toyed with the idea of creating an accessibility scale, and here is my first attempt. It may be useful especially for the fan just getting into jazz. The scale is from A1 to A5, with A1 being as accessible as any popular song, and A5 being all but unintelligible to some members of the band. A1 jazz might not be recognized as jazz by some fans, but it is at least a useful boundary. Put a lot of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett here. A1 jazz will include jazz standards, but will stick closely to a melody that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who doesn't have a tin ear. A2 jazz is A1 jazz with at least some improvisation and jazz exploration thrown in. Most of Dianna Krall falls into this category. Straightforward melody is most of what she sings, while the band is allowed to get in some genuine bop in between verses. Or the singer may remain pretty close to the melody, while swinging wide now and then. Cassandra Wilson and Joni Mitchell have recorded a lot of A2 jazz. This can be very beautiful stuff, but it is not what any jazz lover would call adventurous. A3 jazz is the level of straightforward bop. The classic form begins with a melody clearly stated, and follows with a series of solos that improvise on that melody. Most of the core library of bop falls around the A3 mark, as I think it should. Miles Davis first quintet, Cookin', is a fine example, as is Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else, or almost anything by Bill Evans. Despite his well-deserved reputation for weirdness, most of Thelonious Monk's recordings are easily pegged as A3 jazz. A4 jazz is where a lot of listeners lose the drift. Here the recognizable foundations of most music, melody, chord changes, harmony, and often pretty sounds get left behind for the exploration of pure musical ideas. No figure of modern jazz is more firmly associated with this kind of music than Eric Dolphy. For example, a fine piece of A4 jazz is Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, and sure enough, there is Dolphy playing his alto. But a good way to test the distance between A3 and A4 is to listen to one of the Miles Davis Live at the Blackhawk discs, and then chase it with one of the Live at the Plugged Nickel sides. With the former, one of my favorite live collections, you can always tell that you are listening to Oleo or No Blues. At the Plugged Nickel, it often doesn't matter what the name of the song is, and you would be hard pressed to name it from anything that is going on during the number. Don't get me wrong, a lot of A4 jazz is pure genius, and I listen to the Plugged Nickel on a regular basis. A5? Well, there is Ornette Coleman, or Albert Ayler. But it is best to consider this as a boundary rather than a genre all its own. This is sometimes called "free jazz," but it often seems to free itself from music entirely. In a pure A5 document, very few listeners could tell the difference between a right note or a note rightly played, and one that is neither. I think that A5 is probably the point at which the music is disintegrating, but may only mean that the demands it makes on me are not demands that I can meet. Now, having laid this out, I am not at all sure I can maintain it. Most jazz will fall between the clear points. If Cookin' or Relaxin' are right on A3, the Blackhawk is moving in the direction of A4. But maybe this will be of more help than the traditional categories like hard bop, free jazz, or avant garde. If not, well I wasted a good hour's thought. But we'll see. Up over and out.

Pretty much the same here. And I think Trane proved to be a negative influence on a number of other sax players. Amen to that. Can you say Art Pepper? Up over and out.

I've been spending some time with Trane Whistle over the last few days and I've come to the conclusion that this may be the Davis equivalent of best in show. Sure, there's the large group aspect of this that I think may have toned down some of his "blowing" proclivities, but, regardless of the reason, this one just comes together very, very nicely. Up over and out.

Dan, PM sent on both the Mobley Savoys, Message I and Message II. Up over and out.

I am pretty excited about the potential here in Portland. If Greg Oden's knee holds up and Rudy Fernandez is half of what the hype says he is, this is going to be some kind of entertaining season. We already have Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge and Jerryd Bayless looks like he could be the pick of this year's litter. Paul Allen has the deepest pockets in all of professional sports and we have the best GM on the planet in Kevin Pritchard. Rip City baby. Bring on those Lakers. Up over and out.

Found this on YouTube. It's about 10:00 long. Several songs. Wilen solos extensively on the second. Some nice Bud on the first. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr9_62PDCzA...feature=related Up over and out.

That's her daughter Lourdes. Looks like she has a Frida Kahlo unibrow thing going on too. Looks like she'll have a lifetime of waxing multiple parts of her anatomy ... seriously, is the father some man-ape? Poor kid. Is this Madonna's adoped daughter or her love child with Ron Jeremy? Up over and out.

I'm sure Blue Note threw all of its resources behind this, and I'm sure for what it is, and if this is your cup of tea, it's fine. I just can't get around the thought that this isn't as much about music as it is about marketing. Up over and out.

Gulp! That's one that won't be making an appearance in my CD clubhouse anytime soon. Up over and out.

Thom, Agreed. The crucible that is Yankee Stadium has humbled many a ballplayer. Kenny Rogers, Ed Whitson, Carl Pavano, Javier Vasquez, Kevin Brown and Steve Kemp just to name a few. Even Randy Johnson if you compare his before and after statistics. So, how will these new guys fare? Only time will tell, but with the Yanks injury situation as bad as it is and potentially getting worse, they had to make a move to stay in the hunt. With regard to the Bucs,, as recently as two years ago, Jose Tabata was the crown jewel in the Yankee farm system. Since then, he's had some injuries, but perhaps more importantly from the Yank's perspective, some attitude problems. He could still turn out to be diamond in the rough, but in order to get something, you've got to give something up. Up over and out.

J.H. Thanks for the update. I've been looking everywhere for new information. Da Bastids have been showing this as June 24th (delayed) for weeks now. Is there a website from which this can be ordered...I mean other than Dusty Groove? Up over and out.

Yeah... the guy that pitched himself out of the American League and the guy that can't seem to hold a starting OF job. Up, over, and huh? Huh to you too.... Nady is batting .330 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs. Marte is 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings. Still sounds pretty good to me. Up over and out.

Lon, Agree 100% about Sade. Do yourself a favor and pick up the DVD called "Sade Live". Wow! Also, I would highly recommend that you check out Ana Carolina. She sings in Portuguese but boy can she sing and boy can she play the guitar. Check her out on YouTube. The cut with Jorge Seu called "E Isso Ai" is prime. Up over and out.

ESPN is reporting that the Yankees have acquired Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady for Ross Ohlendorf and three cans of corn. Now we're talking. Up over and out.

I J M B M Up over and out.

I think we need to take Allen to the woodshed for unseemly post count enhancement. Up over and out.

I used to DJ at KMHD, a local station affiliated with the broadcasting school at Mt. Hood Community College. I've thought that at some point, donating a lot of what I have to them would be a good thing to do. At least this would give the music a fair chance of actually being heard, as opposed to just sitting on a shelf somewhere. What I would have to overcome is the fact that I left the station over a matter of what I'll call artistic integrity (playlist management) that has left me still a bit bitter even after all these years. If the guy I tangled with wasn't still there, this wouldn't be an issue, but he is. Nonetheless, the idea of getting your recordings into hands that will put them to active use is the point I'm trying to make. Up over and out.

I stumbled across this clip on youtube a couple of weeks ago. It's a father and son playing two pianos with bass and drums, although all you see are the two pianos. The kid is especially good. Sure there are a few clams, but he's still off the charts. Be sure you listen to this at least through the 5:30 mark. The Dad's name is Ron Artis and his son is Ron Artis II. Up over and out.

Here's an interesting clip featuring the dueling B-3's of Rhoda Scott and Barbara Dennerlein. They're doing a Scott composition called Nova. Take note of the fact that Scott is working the pedals with her bare feet. Nice stuff. I've been a fan of Dennerlein for some time. Up over and out.

I'm holding out for Dolphy Plays For Lovers. Up over and out.

When Django's still had a shop in downtown Portland, they would pay you so much per foot. I think that served two purposes. First, it rock bottomed their cost and second, if there was any wheat amongst the chaff, they might pick off something with real value for next to nothing. I still have maybe 2,000 to 2,500 LP's in my garage. I went through them a couple of years back and pulled out what I thought might be worth something. I think that amounted to maybe 15 albums. Some of those, like fully loaded copies of The Last Days of the Fillmore and The Who Live at Leeds, I've since discovered aren't worth squick. I'm still holding out for a few of the others; the very first first ZZ Top, English copies of T-Rex (2), Nick Drake (2) and Rare Bird and (I think) a mono pressing of Marty Paich with Art Pepper on Tampa. Other than that, bupkis. At one time, I probably had between 4,000 and 5,000 records. With maybe two or three of those having any value at all, you sure can't say I collected as an investment. I fall under a fair amount of better half pressure from time to time to clear these babies out once and for all. So far, that hasn't happened. As a couple of others have said, vinyl records have real nostalgic value. Maybe not as much for the music, but as a reminder of certain times in your life. The older you get, the more important this seems to become and the less likely it is you'll ever get rid of them. Once I'm gone, I'm sure they will be among the first things to go. Up over and out.

While he's definitely not his daddy, he has his moments. He was on Austin City Limits last Friday night. There's a bit of sameness to his music, but it really can get your toe tapping. I just downloaded Suen Kuti and Fela's Egypt 80 from eMusic the other night, but I haven't listened to it yet. Up over and out.

If I recall correctly, Crown was a discount imprint. They actually put out a fair amount of jazz. As a matter of fact, a bunch of it showed up on eMusic awhile back, but I think it's stay was short lived. Never heard of Crownstar, but those records they're showing on the linked website are definitely Crowns without the star. Up over and out.