Dave James

As long as we're just wish-listing, here's what I'd like to see. The format can be of Mosaic's choosing, i.e. either the full meal box n' book deal or a Select. I used to call this grouping my ABC's, but the "C" has been taken care of by the annoucement that Mosaic will release the Concert Jazz Band material sometime later this year. Georgie Auld - A tenor player who could do it all. Big band, bop, post-bop...you name it. An absolutley gorgeous tone. He recorded prolifically, so it's not like there's a dearth of material from which to choose. Considering how obscure he's become, I wouldn't think obtaining the rights to his music would be all that difficult. Earl Bostic - Art Blakey once said if you think Bird knows his way around a horn, you should spend some time with Earl Bostic. I know a lot of his recorded output puts down on the R&B side of the fence, but he's another guy who recorded so much that it wouldn't be hard to isolate a reasonably significant selection of straight up jazz material. Up over and out.

I just heard that Bob Hope passed away yesterday. Not that that should come as much of a surprise. I have mixed feelings about the guy. While I love his '40's films, especially the "Road" series, I never cared much for him as a comedian and I never liked his politics. Regardless, you can't help but respect all he did during his career for the soldiers and sailors of the armed forces overseas. No matter what you may think of him, you absolutely have to respect his commitment to that cause. Up over and out.

A dealer who apparently purchased 30 unopened Mosaics, i.e. they were still in the cardboard shipping boxes, from an estate has listed a bunch of them on e-Bay. Lots of early hard-to-find stuff including the CD version of the Hardee/Quebec. Worth checking out. Up over and out.

I have subscribed to both Downbeat and Jazz Times for many years, so I'm pretty much on auto pilot when it comes to re-upping every couple of years. That doesn't mean I haven't noted that the costs are increasing, especially for DB. I wonder if in their case, the recent escalation may at least in part be attributable to the reengineering of their format. DB has recently gone to a Jazz Times type layout, with (not sure what the technical term is here) a more substantial spine, i.e. it's no longer held together with staples. That's got to hike up their production expenses. And, as is usually the case, these costs get passed along to you know who. DB has added some things over the last couple of years I do like, most notably the Vinyl Freak column and the separate section devoted to reissue reviews. One thing I've noticed about both DB and JT I don't like is that they have both apparently made a decision to try to be all things to all people. I realize that jazz is an evolutionary music, and you need to keep up with the changes, but I think I'm gonna dial Earl the next time they do a story on Joni Mitchell of one of those flavor-of-the-month hip-hop outfits I couldn't listen to if you held a gun to my head.. Call me a moldy fig, but what I'd like to see are more articles like the excellent Cannonball Adderley piece DB ran a couple of months ago. I think when you made a decision to move away from the "roots" of the music, you may alienate as many people as you will attract by trying to be more contemporary. In that respect, they may end up shooting themselves in the foot. Another complaint about both DB and JT is that they spend way too much review space on current releases. When the market for jazz is as limited as it is and a substantial portion of that market is occupied by the lunatic fringe, meaning folks like us who love reissues, why can't there be at least an equalized bias for the the old and the new? When it comes to reissue reviews, what I'd really like to see is the original review that ran in either DB or JT juxtaposed with a current review from one of their in-house critics. That would be fun. Frankly, I've often wondered if there's space out there for a magazine that directed at the reissue marketplace. Wish I had a clue how you make something like that happen. Up over and out.

Agree 100%. Unfortunately, another jazz guy who put his cue back in the rack way too soon. If Kamuca hadn't ever done anything other than the Manne Blackhawks, I would still hold him in the highest regard. Those 5 CD's are among my very favorites. Not sure I've ever heard a live date that's captured any better than this one. Speaking of his Concord recordings, how is it they haven't been released on CD? I was holding out hope, what with Concord celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, that they'd have occasion to look in their vaults and see what's lying around. It's a travesty that these have never been spiffed up and reissued. Up over and out.

Not sure how many board members took advantage of Chuck Nessa's pre-release offer on the Allen Eager Uptown, but for those who did not, here's one person's enthusiastic endorsement. Eager is a person most everyone has heard of but whose recorded output is limited in the extreme. Kudos to the folks who brought these recordings to light. The material consists of both private recordings and live material. Players include, among others, Charlie Parker, Serge Chaloff and Buddy Rich. Sound-wise, it runs the gamut from very good to, in one case, borderline unlistenable. But, it's not just the music that makes this package so interesting. It's the booklet that's the real coup de theatre. Between the music and the supportive documentation, what you have is a window into the world of a second tier jazz musician in the halcyon days of mid-life bebop. Simply fascinating text and pictures. It puts me very much in mind of a two disc set that came out in limited edition a couple of years ago that chronicled the '50's loft-jazz scene in New York City. I think it was called David X. Young's Loft Jazz or something like that. Anyhow, I highly recommed the Eager recording. Many thanks to Chuck and Uptown for putting it together. Up over and out.

Played baseball in high school. Ice Hockey in local leagues for about 15 years. Softball for 25 years. Serious tennis for about six years. Now it's nothing but golf. The hardest thing I've ever tried to do. I know lots of people don't even think it's a sport, but just try doing it even reasonably well. Very frustrating. Especially for someone with a fairly volatile personality. Up over and out.

Oops. Up over and out.

Here's an interesting little factoid from the filiming of Gone With The Wind. In order to stage the burning of Atlanta, many sets from earlier movies were gathered together to be torched. If you look closely, you can see the gate the natives of Skull Island used to keep the great ape at bay from the 1933 movie, King Kong. Up over and out.

Speaking of an "Idiot's Guide", how about the Damon Stoudamire handbook? Here's a guy who's already been busted for pot two different times within the last year, but who still thinks it's OK to carry a lid wrapped in aluminum foil into the Tucson airport. When he empties the contents of his pants pockets into the little bowl they provide before you go through airport security, they ask him what's in the foil. Displaying no obfuscatory pretense whatsoever, he responds, "you know what it is." My God, this guy has to be dumber than a sack of hammers. Or, as our local rag, The Portland Tribune, put it on their front page headline, "Damon and Damoner". The Blazers, who are in the midst of trying to restore even a semblance of credibility with their local fan base, react by suspending Stoudamire (like in the middle of the Summer it matters) and fining him 250 large. Pocket change for someone who will earn $24 million over the next two years. If the NBA thinks it doesn't have an image problem, they couldn't be any more wrong. I'm shocked that so many people continue to pay attention. Up over and out.

I'm not a bike rider or a fan of any kind of motor sports nor a gear head by any stretch of the imagination. If NASCAR vaporized today, I wouldn't even know it was gone. In spite of that, I've gotten hooked on American Chopper. LIke others, I sometimes wonder how much of the tension between Jr. and Sr. is real and how much is just for show, but it's the craftsmanship that keeps me coming back. This is truly an art form. I watch this show for the same reason I watch Norm Abram's New Yankee Workshop. I couldn't build a box if you held a gun to my head, but I love watching people who have the ability to make things from scratch. Up over and out.

I always thought the picture of Grant Green on the cover of Grant's First Stand looks like Tiger Woods will probably look when he's in his mid-40's. Up over and out.

Berigan - Great story from Mr. Osborne. Thanks for sharing. After I'd read the career/personal retrospectives that accompanied the notice of her passing, I couldn't help thinking of the song "My Way". While far from a favorite, it succinctly sums up the way this extraordinary gal lived her life. I have always had enormous respect for Hepburn as an actress, but even more for her "my way" way of living. This is a person who attacked life on her own terms... asking no quarter and giving none in return. An American original. She will be missed. Up over and out.

EBrew - IMO, the key to getting anyone interested in jazz is to start with music that's heavy on melody. Most people who dismiss jazz will complain that it's music without melody. While all of us know that's not the case, a newcomer is looking for something they can hang their hat on. That's the grounding that melody provides. It also won't hurt if you initially expose them to music with which they may already be familiar, albeit in a passing manner. I'm talking about standards. Artists that come immediately to mind in a melodic/standard context would include Ben Webster, Lester Young, Wes Montgomery, Coleman Hawkins, Red Garland and the aforementioned Bill Evans. Ballad retrospectives are always a good idea for starters. The key is to set the hook gently and in as non-threatening a manner as possible. Then as their tolerance increases, you can begin to introduce them to material that's a bit more challenging. Up over and out.

I try to keep several books going at once. Mostly non-fiction. Some heavy...some not. That way, I can choose according to what kind of mood I'm in. My biggest problem these days is falling asleep about ten minutes after I start reading. Of course the fact that I tend to read in bed may have something to do with that, i.e. it isn't necessarily a bad thing. At any rate, here's my current "bibliography": Zen Golf - Mastering the Mental Game The Fall of Berlin - 1945 City of Nets (history of Hollywood in the '40's) Fast Food Nation Deep in a Dream The Paperboy Teammates Some of these I've been working on for awhile. I'd really like to read a lot more and spend less time watching the idiot box. I think I lack any semblance of mental discipline. Up over and out.

I don't watch too much boxing these days, but the fact that this was available as a "freebie" on HBO drew me in. A very strange fight. I'm not sure if these two guy's styles were just so antithetical that they couldn't find any kind of groove or if it was simply Klitschko's awkwardness that made the whole thing look more like a street fight. I'll tell you one thing. The next time Lewis decides he doesn't have to train for a fight, they just need to break out the films of this one. He was completely gassed by the second round. When guys start breathing through their mouths that early, you know they haven't worked very hard. All the pre-fight hype led you to believe that Klitschko was the tomato can but it almost turned out to be Lewis. Serves him right. Not sure what to think about the cut. I know sometimes they can look a lot worse than they really are, but I don't recall seeing anything quite like that. Even when Carmen Basilio used to get beaten like a rented mule way back in the 1950's, I don't remember him looking like that. And of course HBO had to bring it up close and personal by showing one closeup after another. All things considered, I thought stopping the fight was the right thing to do. That's because you have to take the long view. Klitschko is 26 or 27 years old and he has to use that eye for the rest of his life. Who knows what might have happened if Lewis had dropped a couple of more shots right on that eye. Not sure I'd want to find out. BTW, if Lewis had lost, the contract called for an automatic rematch. As it turns out, he doesn't have to fight him again unless he wants to. Seems to me that's a no-brainer and a helluva payday. There would be a ton of interest in a rematch. For all of Klitschko's obvious flaws, you gotta love his toughness. The crowd sure did. Up over and out.

ghost of miles; Yeah...these are CD reissues. I checked Dusty Groove about an hour ago and they still had both in stock. Downside is they're Japanese and cost too much. Jim; Thanks for the additional info/thoughts on Caliman. Hopefully someone will get around to issuing more of his recordings. Based on what I've heard so far, I'd like to hear more. And you're right, the date with Elvin Jones kicks some serious butt. Chuck; Indeed. My friend's have a second home up on the Columbia River at Cathlamet and that's when they hooked up with Mr. Caliman. I thought they told me he'd relocated, but I could be wrong. Up over and out.

Hadley Caliman was a name I was not familiar with until a couple of years ago. I became aware of him though some good friends of mine whose son was a pretty fair high school tenor player. He took some lessons from Mr. Caliman over the course of several months. After learning of him, I began keeping my eyes peeled for examples of his work, but with little success. The only place I found him was as part the sax section on some of the recordings on the Gerald Wilson Mosaic. Fortunately, the good folks at Dusty Groove have recently taken care of this by offering two of Caliman's 1970's recordings, "Celebration" and "Projecting", both on the Japanese Catalyst label. This is pretty good stuff. Caliman has a tenor sound that's similar to Coltrane's and he's that rara avis who can actually play the flute in a manner that doesn't make you want to run screaming into the next room. Nice straight up post bop. Is anyone aware of anything else he has out as a leader? Opinions? Up over and out.

I think Doby's relative obscurity went hand in hand with the fact that he wasn't the first African American to make it to The Show. Most people tend not to remember the second of anything no matter how notable an accomplishment might otherwise be. For what it's worth, Doby may have had as tough a time in his own way as Jackie Robinson, but for entirely different reasons. First of all, the story goes that he was openly shunned by a number of his teammates. Just like Jackie Robinson. But, unlike Robinson, there was no Pee Wee Reese to help him pave the way to acceptance. BTW, if you're not familiar with the the Reese / Robinson relationship, it's one of the great humanitarian stories in sports. At any rate, Doby was pretty much on his own. Also, at the outset, he was forced to play in the infield, when he was a natural outfielder. Lastly, again unlike Robinson, he initially struggled at the plate and in the field so his value to the team and to its fans was not immediately established. As we all now know, Doby went on to enjoy a fine career, a real mainstay of those great Indian teams in the late '40's and early '50's. A truly deserving member of the Hall of Fame. Up over and out.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Twardzik OD while he was in the midst of recording the Paris stuff with Chet Baker? While we can all easily produce an inventory of jazz musicians who never realized their full potential, I think you absolutely must put Twardzik at the very top of any list. He is truly a one-off...no one has ever sounded quite like him. In that regard, I have no trouble placing him in the rarified atmosphere that's occupied by the likes of Thelonious Monk or Don Pullen. For anyone who doesn't have the Freeman/Twardzik Pacific Jazz recording, I can't recommend it highly enough. Up over and out.

I guess I never thought much about Ammons in terms of spirituality. I just kept being overwhelmed by his huge sound. I used to do a jazz show on a local radio station here in Portland and I never remember backannouncing an Ammons' cut without referring to "the big sound of Gene Ammons." A cop from one of his Prestige dates, but right on the money. The tune that stays in my head is "Someone to Watch Over Me" which, BTW, is included in the soundtrack from the not-too-bad movie of the same name starring Tom Beringer and Mimi Rogers. I was cruising my local Border's the other day and came across an Ammons' release on the Ocium label. It's called "My Foolish Heart" and brings together recordings cut for the United, Chess and Decca labels between 1950 and 1953. Supporting cast includes Sonny Stitt (suprise, surprise), J.J. Johnson, Johnny Coles and Junior Mance. I was a little concerned about the sound quality, but it's quite nice. One worth looking for if you're an Ammons afficionado. Up over and out.

Got this one yesterday. Definitely worth the time it took to search it out. A couple of other posts have referred to Edwards' tone. After listening to this a couple of times, I still can't quite put my finger on that sound. I guess if anything, I'd describe it as considerably rounder than Mobley's... absolutely no rough edges. And it's not like he's perfect, there are some flaws, but I think that's part of what makes it attractive. Also, let's not forget the guys down in the engine room, Richard Wyands in particular. I also noticed that there is an Edwards' CD that accompanies the recent DVD career retrospective, "The Legend of Teddy Edwards". Didn't get it, but if anyone is interested, it's out there. Up over and out.

Chris, I think the "ballad heavy" Jimmy Smith you're referring to may be "Jimmy Smith Plays Pretty Just For You". I have this one. Not a good date. Sounds very harsh to my ears, although the tune selection is fine. "Cherokee" is another Smith date I can live without. Although I have the Smith Mosaic, that's one that doesn't see the light of day very often. I realize that's probably as close to Blue Note blasphemy as one can safely come, but I just can't get into this one. I am a fan of "Standards". Great Burrell. Up over and out.

The local public radio jazz station here in Portland (KMHD) has this in heavy rotation. I'm planning on picking it up. Also, don't forget that Mr. Edwards shows up on a DVD release from the Steve Allen produced '50's TV show, Jazz Scene USA. His group plays a handful of Edward's compositions, one of which is "Sunset Eyes", a tune I consider to be a minor jazz classic. What makes this DVD doubly appealing is that he's splitting the bill with Cannonball Adderley. This is the Zawinul/Lateef version of the Adderley band and they are really on fire. The sound is very good. Well worth picking up. There's one other Edwards DVD that's also available. It's a career retrospective called "The Legend of Teddy Edwards." I haven't seen this one so I can't comment on it, but I have read a couple of complimentry reviews. Up over and out.