Milestones

Miles did what Miles wanted to do, and that's perfectly fine.

Miles is my favorite artist, and On the Corner is probably my least favorite of his records. Not just least favorite, but a work that fails to provide any pleasure to me. Just saying....

It is only fitting to have this centennial celebration. I'm interested. I intend to play a lot of Mingus and Mingus Big Band in the time left of 2022.

I confess that I have no idea.

I would like to get some recommendations here. It seems that in the big band era the guitar almost never had a solo spotlight. Even Charlie Christian appeared mostly with Goodman small groups. I guess Gil Evans eventually used guitar a lot, though I've never been drawn much to his later work. I know CTI and other labels featured a large band behind Kenny Burrell. I'd rather listen to Kenny with Gerald Wilson (for Kenny's 75th birthday). Dave Stryker has done two big band projects, 25 years apart. I don't think the format will be something I greatly enjoy, but more a change of pace (taste).

I like the video. Bruce looks ancient, but he still sounds good.

I will definitely check it out.

Regarding #8, it's always wonderful to hear Sonny Rollins from this period. Earl Coleman is OK; the track is pleasant enough.

I have been checking out Bob Mintzer lately. I had a thread going on The Hudson Project, which I greatly enjoyed. This is my first listen of one of his big band albums, and it's a nice effort all the way around.

Evans was clearly important, but I imagine there are other reasons. It's standard for artists to perform old (and even relatively new) tunes with partially and sometimes totally different bands. Look at all the versions of "So What" by the Second Great Quintet (or the quintet with George Coleman).

I have been listening to Kind of Blue and reading up on it as well. It is properly one of the most discussed albums of all time. I'm thinking about the many releases of Miles in concert, especially from the early 60's, and it seems to me that Miles never gave live performances of three of the tracks: "Freddie Freeloader," "Blue in Green," and "Flamenco Sketches." It's a bit odd, given that "Blue in Green" has been covered by many artists and "Flamenco" is, to my ears, among Miles' greatest tracks ever. I have not looked too hard to see if it's really true that these three tracks were not in the live repertoire; I'm going by the extensive amount of Miles Davis in my collection. But if not, it seems to say something about how unique Kind of Blue was/is.

Sad news. I Imagine she must have been well up there in years. It seems fitting she would die in Charles Mingus' centennial year.

I really enjoy the combination of Tyner and Hutcherson. There was one with only the two players--the relatively obscure Manhattan Moods. I think there were just two in the quartet format: Time for Tyner and (much later) Land of Giants. Hutch appeared a few times in larger Tyner groups.

I always point to "If You Only Knew" as evidence that Oscar could and did play beautifully. Not a hint of the vulgarity so many are harping on. There are several versions; I think the best is on the Pablo album, Live.

We will now discuss jazz performances on Sesame Street.

The average listener would certainly prefer Bill Evans over Oscar Peterson when it comes to "Waltz for Debby." But what about Oscar's duo record with Ella from 1975?

I have enjoyed what I've heard of Booker Little, and I'm inclined to think he would have turned into a major figure had he not died at the ridiculously young age of 23. I have heard him quite a bit with Max Roach and of course the Five Spot concert with Dolphy, which means he was part of some serious jazz history. Still, I don't really think of individual performances. I'm looking for folks to list or talk about some remarkable and/or expressive Booker Little solos. Thanks.

If you have not heard pieces where Peterson plays with delicacy and subtlety, then you have not heard a lot of Peterson. Those pieces are out there, and it's not like they are 1% of his output.

His practice and warming up sound similar to Coltrane!

He's eclectic for sure, and for me that's a huge part of the appeal. On the other hand, Pat doesn't sound quite as fresh these days. It's not like Side-Eye is such an innovation, and he seems more reliant on playing older music. Nothing wrong with that. Almost all musicians are largely doing that by the time they reach his age (or long before). Metheny is eminently listenable, and one of my misfortunes is that I have never attended one of his concerts. So the next album will feature all new material?

My go-to records for Joey are Live at Yoshi's with Pat Martino and McLaughlin's After the Rain (which has Elvin on drums). Guitar/organ/drums doesn't get any better. Concerning his work as a leader, I favor Reboppin'--a generous 14 tracks and covers of Miles, Trane, Monk, Shorter, Silver, plus originals. You'll also hear his trumpet playing. Put it on a blindfold test and most would guess it's Miles.

They are worth hearing, though they strike me as inconsistent. Some of the performances just don't work very well, but there are some great ones: "Once Upon a Time," "I'm a Fool to Want You," "That Lucky Old Sun."

Bob is so expressive on "Once Upon a Time" from just a few years ago. I never thought he could do a vocal like that, especially so late in his life.

Dylan is almost always interesting to listen to, and often he is quite moving as a vocalist. And since I don't care for opera, I'll always take Dylan over Caruso.

More evidence for those who say Reed couldn't sing. I would probably agree, but in rock (and punk and rap) music you don't necessarily need even modest singing ability. You do need a distinctive style, and Lou certainly had that in his best work. His voice, for being the lead, is unusually low in the mix.