Dave James

Wanted to put in a plug for a new release that I have not seen mentioned as yet on the O.B. It's the new one from drummer Winard Harper on Savant Records called "Come Into The Light", a live date from 2003 recorded at "Cecil's" in East Orange New Jersey. If you're at all a fan of The Jazz Messengers (and who isn't) then this one's for you. Same instrumentation, drummer led etc. etc. Other than Harper, though, the players are not familiar to me; Brian Horton on sax, who has a roundness to his sound that's a bit reminiscent of Hank, Patrick Rickman trumpet, Jeb Patton piano and Ameen Saleem on bass. Like Blakey, Harper is one of the few drummers I've heard who can come close to turning the drums into a musical, as opposed to a rhythm instrument. I don't usually go too far out on a limb when it come to recommendations as they tend to get you in hot water, but I'd surprised if most of you folks wouldn't find this one to be surprisingly good. I've been playing it over and over since I picked it up on Friday. Just some good, straight up, old school hard bop. In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you there is a two minute piece towards the end of the disc that consist of someone playing the thumb piano that doesn't exactly fit with the balance of the proceedings, but that's no more than a small pot hole in an otherwise kick ass road. Buy with confidence and ENJOY. Up over and out.

I think William's 15 minutes are about up. Nice ride considering what he had to work with. Up over and out.

I first heard Legge on one of Lar Gullin's albums on the Dragon label. It's possible this is the recording brownie is referring to. Gullin did a series of five recordings for Dragon. Not sure on which of these Legge appears, but as I recall he only plays on a few of the tracks. I know I heard enough of his playing to make a mental note to keep my eyes peeled for other recordings. I did track down one other Legge led album. Got it from Early Records. I don't think it's the Vogue or the Blue Note, but I won't know for sure until I check it out when I get home tonight. I did not realize he was on Montrose's "Jayhawkin'". Guess I just wasn't paying enough attention. Montrose is one of my favorite second tier tenor players and I've often thought I need to pick this one up. Now that I know Legge is on it, I will do so at the next available opportunity. I'll tell you one thing...it's amazing to me that someone with that kind of talent never did much more than jiggle the needle on the great jazz seismograph. Up over and out.

Nothing against Fantasy, I love the way their catalog remains in print and available, but at the same time, have you ever seen any of their "Limited Edition" series CD's go OOP? Don't think there's much to worry about with regard to the K-2's. Up over and out.

Ghost - The Blakey was available from Dusty Groove as late as yesterday afternoon. Haven't looked at the DG site today. Up over and out.

I'm not too interested in autographs, but I did get Pat Metheny's after he played a gig here in Portland. I also go Jimmy McGriff's when he made a personal appearance at a local record store called Music Millenium. As far as other autographs, I have Lewis Black and Dave Attelle. Also have one from Veronica Lake, the peek-a-boo bang girl in the '40's. I was (and still am to a certain extent) a collector of Lake memorabilia. Up over and out.

I have a friend here at work who's seriously into Anthony Braxton. He told me yesterday he'd heard that Leo Records was going to release a 4 CD box set of Anthony Braxton playing standards. Has anyone heard anything about this? Up over and out.

Just about anything by The Beach Boys. Especially California Girls. Perhaps the best free publicity for a state in the history of marketing. Up over and out.

I don't have the whole Benedetti, but I do have two discs from the set that I won on an ebay auction. I also have a copy of the booklet. Given the mixed reviews this box has received, I thought that this "sampler" approach was my most prudent course of action. Then, if I didn't like it, I'd only be out $20 or so, a far cry from what I would have spent for the whole enchilada. While I would not characterize what I have as unlistenable, you have to go in prepared for some pretty marginal sound. For example, on one of the discs I have, Benedetti was recording from directly underneath the bandstand, so to say that Max Roach's drums dominate the proceedings would be an understatement. On the other hand, there are some marvelous Bird droppings to be savored. It's also quite interesting to follow along with the notes as you listen to the music. I agree with what others have said that this is probably the best Mosaic booklet ever. Just a wealth of "insider" information. I think a lot of anyone's buying decision should be driven by how big a fan you are. If you love Parker, this one's for you. If you just kind of like him, then it's not. For the record, I'm in the former category, although I admit I have not yet sprung for the complete set. That will happen, but right now, there are other things that are higher on my dance card. Up over and out.

Mule - Did you and I have the same parents? My twin brother and I used to have to go through the same drill. If something we wanted to see was on at, say, 11:30, then we had to hit the sack for a couple of hours beforehand in order to qualify. Boy, when you're 8-9 years old, some of those old movies you just laugh at now scared the crap out of me. I distinctly remember having to sleep with the light on for three nights after I saw "The Bride of Frankenstein" the first time. I was completely freaked out. Thanks for the tip on the Frankenstein book. I'll see if I can find it. I know there were some great stories associated with those old monster flicks. Up over and out.

Not sure if there are other fans of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman out there, but tomorrow something called The Monster's Legacy Collection is being released on DVD. This 6 disc set will include 13 full length films from the Universal archives; five Frankensteins, four Draculas and four Wolfmans. These are, indeed, the creme de la creme, everything from the Karloff, Lugosi, Cheney originals to the kitschsy "House Of" movies, all from the '30's and '40's. There's even one from 1946 called "She Wolf of London" starring none other than Lassie's mom and the original Mrs. Robinson, June Lockhart. I'll be the first in my neighborhood to latch on to these. I love this stuff. Up over and out.

What's wrong with "Heart of Rock n' Roll? I kind of dug that heartbeat beginning and the opening guitar riff when I was into HL&TN. I'll tell you one thing, those boys put on a helluva good live show. And come to think of it, I liked "I Want to Sex You Up" too. I feel like asking if there something wrong with me, but maybe I should reserve that inquiry for the "Stupid Questions" thread. Not quite sure why "Sounds of Silence" is on the list when Simon & Garfunkel are responsible for "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." There's no comparison between those two tunes when it comes to sheer, unadulterated lousiness. I agree that this list with but a few exceptions is heavily slanted towards more recent music. The '50's and pre-Beatle '60's were rife with bad songs. Remember Brian Hyland and "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini" or "Palisades Park" by Freddy Cannon or Bobby Vee's "Rubber Ball" or just about anything Fabian ever did? How about Lonnie Donnegan' and "Does You're Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?" Bad tunes abounded during those years. As Gertrude Stein once said about Oakland, California, "There's no there there." Agree that "We Built This City" is one of the all time worst songs although I thought Joan Jett & the Blackhearts gave it a run for its money with "I Love Rock n' Roll." Beyond sophomoric. Up over and out.

Did anyone ever ID the picture of David Steinberg? He was a very funny guy. Myself, I'm a major fan of Lewis Black. Saw him here in Portland a couple of months ago at the home of the world famous ball bearing dance floor, the Crystal Ballroom. An angry man. But a funny man as well. Anyone who can do ten minutes on candy corn and make it work is OK by me. At one point I thought David Brenner was the funniest guy I'd ever seen. One of those guys whose schtick was to point out things that are so obvious you never notice them. I loved his bit about Superman. The crooks would shoot their guns at him and he'd just stand there with his arms akimbo while the bullets bounced off his chest. Then, when they ran out of bullets, they'd throw their guns at him and he'd duck. God I love that kind of stuff. With regard to the Top 100 list, I'd have to say mission accomplished. All these things are designed to do is piss people off for one of three reasons; because your main man or woman didn't make the list, was lower than they should be or someone who is not as good is higher on the list than someone you like better. I agree with the earlier observation that they should have spent more time showing clips and less time on the panel discussion. Up over and out.

One more thumb up for Geri Allen. As seems to happen from time to time, I'll get high centered on a particular artist for several weeks and try to accumulate as much of their recorded output as I can over the course of my "infatuation". In Allen's case, I was able to obtain all her Blue Note recordings which I find in a word, "enlightening". Highly recommeded. Up over and out.

I've given this a fair amount of thought over the years and it seems to me that the best possible intro to jazz involves music that's fairly heavy on melody. Most people seem to be able to hang their hat on that hook and it tends to lessen the typical "that's just noise" reaction that harder core jazz tends to elicit. For that reason, if it were me, I'd steer clear of Coltrane or Mingus at the outset and think more along the lines of Webster, Hawkins, Prez or Duke. After someone has absorbed this kind of music, I think it's natural to move into more improvisational arenas. I think the key thing is to not overwhelm someone with music that they probably won't understand. As we all know, one must crawl before they walk and walk before they run. Up over and out.

Jim, Who cares about the music? I'm thinking $16.99 is a small price to pay for a conversation piece like this. My Lordy me..that is one serious babe. My socks rolled themselves down around my ankles all by themselves within seconds of opening up your thread. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think my S.O. wouldn't have a problem if I left this CD sitting around on the coffee table in the front room. Lord knows it beats the peewaddin' out of the CD with Buell Neidingler's picture on the insert that's been sitting there for the last couple of weeks. Up over and out.

No restrictions with regard to my ability to listen. Actually listening is another issue altogether. I put on a CD, get busy, get distracted, and the next thing I know the CD is over and I haven't heard a thing. Guess I need to prioritize my attention heirarchy. Up over and out.

I say make 'em co-rookies of the year. Believe they did that in 1970 with our own Geoff Petrie and Dave Cowens of the Celtics. LeBron and Carmelo are both terrific players. Nothing wrong with recognizing their contributions in tandem. Up over and out.

Stan Kenton and Buddy Rich Up over and out.

Count me among the receipt keepers. I suppose at some point it might be interesting to go back and look at your purchasing chronology. I also have a lock of hair from my dog's tail I cut off when she was a puppy. It's in a baggie under the plastic tray in the Larry Young box. Anyone else do this with their dog's hair? Up over and out.

That my friends was golf as good as it gets. IMO the best Masters ever if not the best golf tournament ever. You'd have to have ice water running in your veins not to enjoy that Mickenson moment on 18. Talk about getting the monkey off your back. And enough of this talk about how with Tiger struggling that Mickelson's win is somehow tainted. Sure it would have been great to see him outduel Tiger mano a mano, but who cares? This is a great win for Phil, no if's, no and's and no but's. Up over and out.

Picked up Conquistador early last week. Up to that point, my exposure to Taylor, and this by choice, was limited to recordings done prior to approximately 1965. The early BN's, one on Prestige, one on United Artist's plus the Candid Mosaic. For me, he's someone you have to be careful with, so it was with some trepidation I spun Conquistador for the first time. Preparing myself for the worst as it were. Well, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. I found it very accessible and I've enjoyed more each time I play it. I'm not sure this makes me want to dive head first into his later oeuvre, but who knows. I've been consciously trying to make my ears larger of late, so this may be something to consider. Up over and out.

Hoedown from Oliver Nelson's The Blues and the Abstract Truth. As close as jazz and country music will probably ever get. Thank God for small favors! Up over and out.

I was finally able to track down a copy of "The Greatest Jazz Films Ever". Got it from the good folks at Dusty Groove. If you're at all into jazz on film, you must have this DVD. Just one "knock your socks off" session after another. Prez, Bean, Bird, Diz, Miles, Ella, Trane are just a few of the artists represented in this collection. Included is the '40's film "Jammin' the Blues", some material from JATP (the best of which - and I had not seen this before - has Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker playing together!), the Miles Davis quartet w/ Coltrane, Chambers & Cobb doing everything from So What to New Rhumba along with the Gil Evans orchestra featuring Eddie Bert, Jimmy Cleveland and Bill Barbur. It also has some outtake audio tracks and last but not least, the entire CBS presentation of the Sound of Jazz from 1957. I'm tellin' you, this one is just chock full of fun stuff. Buy with confidence. Up over and out.

Leroy was a huge presence on the Portland Oregon jazz scene for the last few years of his life. He was in poor health, on oxygen almost all the time, but still manged to play around town with great regularity. Needless to say, he had a huge influence on the local jazz community. I saw him several times and, as the saying goes, he never missed a beat. Just a monster player...solid as a rock. I read somewhere (maybe in his obituary) that he'd been involved in something like 800 recordings. I know that seems like a lot, but for whatever reason, that number sticks in my mind. Seeing him and Jessica Williams together was a real treat, let me tell you. And, as has been mentioned previously, he was the bass player on one of my all-time favorites, Chaloff's "Blue Serge." It doesn't get any better than that. Up over and out.