Dave James

I'm a Gino fan too. Brother to Brother knocked me out when I first heard it. When was that, '74 or '75? I was going on a solo road trip about a year ago and, among other things, I bought a Vanelli greatest hits package to help pass the time. Still sounds pretty good to these well traveled ears Another '70's group I really liked was Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, the one that featured Teddy Pendergrass on lead vocals. Man, those guys could make some serious music. As a matter of fact that whole of Philadelphia soul sound...the Gamble & Huff stuff, was dynamite. Up over and out.

I always thought this guy was the best impressionist I ever saw. I mean Rich Little was good, but the thing the separated Gorshin from the pack was his ability not to just sound like his "mark" but look like him too. His face was like rubber. Remember the Star Trek where Gorshin played Beal, the half white, half black alien from the planet Sharon? That's always been one of my favorite episodes. With his passing, isn't that the end of the line for the major Batman villans? No more Riddler, no more Penguin (Burgess Merideth) and no more Joker (Ceasar Romero). Add to that the B-level baddies like Mr. Freeze (George Sanders), King Tut (Victor Bueno) and Catwoman (Eartha Kitt and/or Julie Newmar), that's about it. The part of that show that used to crack me up was when B & R were crawling up the side of a building and the window would pop open and some celebrity would stick their head out and engage the Dynamic Duo in conversation. Batman always called them "citizen". I don't know how they did that show without cracking up all the time. There must be some pretty good outtakes someplace. The essence of campy silliness. Up over and out.

I've always had a soft spot for The Dead Milkmen's "Big Lizard in My Back Yard." Up over and out.

I voted for "Breezin'" but that doesn't mean there aren't some tunes on that one that can still float my boat. As a matter of fact, this was something of a transitional album for me, one of those that helped set my course in the direction of mainstream music. IMO, it's the presence of one song, "This Masquerade", that caused the worm to turn. That it was a huge hit, I think, made Benson realize there were diamonds laying on the beach and all he had to do was reach down and start picking them up. Gold in them thar smooth jazz hills as it were. Not to mention the fact that it allowed him to flex his vocal chops for the first time, something I have to think he'd probably been wanting to do for awhile. The rest, unfortunatley, is history. Up over and out.

Ouch...caught by a dangling something or other. One of our local sports radio talk show hosts had a pretty good line the Monday following the Masters. He was referring to the reaction shot showing Chris DiMarco's wife (who looked fairly attractive to me) reacting to Woods' final putt followed by a close up of Tiger's wife. He said it looked like DiMarco had lost twice. Up over and out.

If you were married to Tiger's wife, missing the cut and having the weekend off wouldn't exactly mean you were out of things to do. Up over and out.

I want my Maypo. Boy what a bummer when this board is down. I actually have to find work to do at work. Thanks to Jim and everyone else for all their efforts. Much appreciated. Up over and out.

Just curious as to what people think of jazz without a piano. Frankly, I've struggled with this ever since I started listening to this music many moon ago. Occasionally, I'll come across something that works OK for me (Lee Konitz, for instance) but, by and large, I have a hard time warming up to it. To me, without the presence of this instrument, there seems to be a loss of momentum. I wouldn't go so far as to plant the kiss of death and accuse pianoless jazz of not swinging, but I can't deny that there's an element of that in my reaction. Also, for the musicians among us, what is the thinking behind the elimination of the piano? Is it liberating in some way, perhaps more challenging? Does is create space where there was none before. If you have a preference, what would it be and why? Up over and out.

I used to get both magazines. Now I don't get either one. Each had their strengths and weaknesses. I liked Downbeat for the Vinyl Freak column, the rated reviews and panel reviews and their column devoted specifically to reissues. Jazz Times was a little slicker, I think the writing was a little better. Giddens was good. I even enjoyed Stanley while he lasted. Downbeat had gotten to the point where they were trying too hard to be all things to all people, and that kind of soured my on them. Some of their cover stories, at least to me, had little or nothing to do with jazz. Jazz Times wasn't a turn off for any particular reason I can recall. I just decided I didn't need it anymore. What I'd really like is a magazine devoted to reissues and to guys who are mostly dead. Up over and out.

I've used PayPal for years. For the consumer, it's an easy way to transact business. I've never had a bad experience with them, although I believe there have been some glitches for others. Chuck, from your financial perspective, there's no doubt that taking checks is the best way to go. From the buyer's perspective, it's not such a good thing as there's a 7-10 day wait before a check will clear. I suppose you could assume that everyone who buys from you is good for their commitment and ship as soon as you receive an order, but all you have to do is get stiffed a couple of times and that wouldn't sound like such a good idea. Is there any way to beef up the shipping so that once a check clears, the merchandise will get to the consumer very quickly? Not sure if that would make sense from a "your cost" perspective, but it would take some of the sting out of the inherent delay when payment is made by check. Frankly, I'd go the way that's best for you cuz you're a fellow board member and by all accounts, a pretty good guy. But, given that you're most likely looking to appeal to a wider potential audience than just those on this board, I'm not sure there's really a right or a wrong way to go. Is there a minimum commitment associated with the use of PayPal? Guess if not, you could try it and see how it works. Then those who wanted to use PayPal could, but those who want to maximize the return on your investment could elect to pay you by check. Up over and out.

Bingo. Smith spends most of his air time noodling on a horrible rendition of "Walk on the Wild Side." Not his finest hour. Up over and out.

The Newborn TV appearance is part of the Jazz Scene USA package...the one hosted by Oscar Brown Jr. I have this on VHS. Not sure if it's made it to DVD as yet, although several of these have. My recollection from here at work is that he was paired with someone who should have been better than he was... maybe Jimmy Smith. During the brief interview that Brown does with each of the guests who appear on Jazz Scene it seems to me there's a discussion about Newborn's ability to play straight or play an entire song (both the right and left handed parts) with just his left hand. If that's the case, then the discussion has advanced itself beyond monsta chops to the unreal category. Newborn had a brother, Calvin, who was a fair jazz guitarist. I have an old RCA Bluebird CD with both of them on it. Now the last question. I've heard his name pronounced like it sounds, but also like Phinas. Anyone know which is correct? Up over and out.

As a matter of fact, there's even a movie about Red Nichols. It's called "The Five Pennies". Released in 1959, starring Danny Kaye. Other interesting people in the cast: Louis Armstrong plays himself, Bob Crosby, Bobby Troup, Ray Anthony as Jimmy Dorsey and, get this, Shelly Manny as Dave Tough. I've saw this some years ago. Not bad, as long as you understand just about any biopic made in Hollywood around this time was about 50% BS. Up over and out.

Paul Desmond = muzak. Sorry, does not compute. Up over and out.

The "doublers" that blow me away are people like Benny Carter and Ira Sullivan, who can play reeds and brass with almost equal facility. That's something. Up over and out.

I have this one. A nice outing. My favorite Kessel is "To Swing Or Not To Swing" mainly for the presence of Georgie Auld...not to mention Jimmy Rowles and Shelly Manne. Up over and out.

I decided to listen to some Booker Ervin this afternoon. I'd forgotten how good his two Blue Notes, "The In Between" and "Structurally Sound" really are. This is solid stuff. A great, swingin' version of "White Chritmas" on "SS". Also noticed that on "The In Between" the piano chair is occupied by a gentleman by the name of Bobby Few. I don't recall ever hearing of him before. Up over and out.

Yes, it's OK to say that. I feel shame. Up over and out.

When I think of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", I'm afraid I have Isaac Hayes on the brain. I can only hear his version from "Hot Buttered Soul." Jimmy Webb could spin a tune though. Say what you want about "By..." or "Gentle On My Mind", but both those songs contain some catchy and cleverly constructed lyrics. Up over and out.

I really like Winard's latest called "Come Into the Light". It's a live recording on Savant Records. The saxophone player in his band is a guy by the name of Brian Horton. I had not heard him before, but he ain't half bad. Nice Jazz Messengers style playing on this one. Phillip, on the other hand, hasn't led a recording session for over 10 years. Up over and out.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to recuse myself. Even if I didn't feel duty bound to do so, I'm not sure I can see clearly enough through the tears to cast a ballot. Up over and Harold.

I live in the Louie, Louie capital of the world, Portland, Oregon, home of The Kingsmen. These guys were part of a burgeoning club scene that involved bands like The Red Coats, The Epics, The Tikis and the Fabulons, Don and the Goodtimes and, yes, on occasion, Paul Revere and The Raiders. The Kingsmen weren't any better or any worse than any bar band you've ever seen in your own home town. The story behind their recording of Louie, Louie is simple. They cut the record in a ramshackle studio with a single vocal mike that was hung from the ceiling. Their lead singer, it was either Jack Ely or Lynn Easton, had to crane his neck and tip his head back to get the mike close enough for him to record. That's why the vocal sounds so strange and garbled, and why its been subject to such widespread interpretation ever since. When I was in high school, the line we all thought we could hear really clearly was "she's got a rag on, uh huh, uh huh, it won't be long for she slip it off." Yeah, right. The most remarkable thing about this tune is that it became a national hit. There's no doubt that some of its popularity was fueled by the supposably off color lyric. Up over and out.

SD, Roger that. I look at the direction Guiffre was taking as close to a one off in jazz. The closest equivalent may have been Chico Hamilton. I wish I had a better sense of how popular (and in a jazz context, the word "popular" is always used in a relative sense) this was when it was brand new. Point being, in today's even more restrictive environment, I'm not sure there's much room for music like this. More's the pity. Up over and out.

Not sure I'd go quite that far. The "parts" you speak of were a couple of pretty darn fine musicians, separately or together. Up over and out.

I like this set, but it took some getting used to. I was only marginally familiar with Guiffre's work when I took the plunge, so I can't say I was as prepared for the music as I have been with other Mosaics. I would call it an acquired taste. Guiffre marched to a different drummer. Lots of folk influences. If you give it time, it will grow on you. Do not, however, expect to be bowled over at first blush. Not sure when it went OOP. I'd guess a couple of years ago. Up over and out.