Milestones

R.I.P. That comes as quite a surprise. Ken played tenor (and some alto), but mostly clarinet. He will be remembered for the clarinet. His approach was conservative, but he produced a lot of enjoyable music. I particularly enjoy It's a Lonesome Old Town.

I suppose they can still unearth good things by these great artists. The Miles Davis bootlegs offered some good stuff, and I was quite pleased with Coltrane's Both Directions at Once and Blue World. One can't expect anything mind-blowing (at least I don't), but perhaps some more satisfying recordings (probably concerts).

R.I.P. I liked her fairly brief but funny spot in Scorsese's After Hours (a highly underrated film).

Let's not forget his contributions to the John Abercrombie Quartet (basically late 70s). R.I.P.

And now the severe cold. I teach at a community college, and Tuesday will the be second day of cancelled classes.

You should stay on the cruise for another 2-3 weeks!

It must have been a foot or more over here. But things have been cleaned up fairly well. I was out on the roads once. I've seen people playing in the snow! Plenty of school and college closings on Monday.

Looks like about 6" so far, and it is snowing heavily.

We are waiting for it here in the Cleveland area. Today has been calm and peaceful, though quite cold. Still going around and doing things, the last being dinner at a German restaurant.

Are there really many people who underrate Crescent? I find it to be a masterpiece, and I thought that was the general view.

It strikes me as odd that it's such a mystery, given the deep research on Coltrane's life and work.

Dub, I just read that same article earlier today. But no mention of who Lonnie might be. Guy, I'm not sure if Lonnie Johnson seems at all likely. Or maybe Lonnie is a fictional/poetic creation of Coltrane's.

I've been thinking about just who is Lonnie from Trane's "Lonnie's Lament." Of course, these days one tries AI. The answer there is that it is Dr. Lonnie Smith, which strikes me as extremely unlikely. Smith would have been only 22 when the song was recorded, and the piece has a feel that is like nothing you would find in Lonnie Smith's work (or just about any organist). Yes, Smith later recorded a Trane tribute record. But I don't think Coltrane wrote a tribute to him. So who is Lonnie?

R.I.P. to a master. I particularly liked his duo sessions, such as those with Gary Burton and John Abercrombie.

Music is about unity and beauty and harmony.

Never heard of tis particular noir.

I came pretty late, all things considered--the year 2012. Somehow I got wind of this forum. It's been a great place all these years.

I have been heard a long time, but I don't think that far back. My first favored jazz forum was Jazz Corner.

If anyone questions you about political content, say, " I don't recall."

The Kennedy Center is no more.

Hitchcock--suspense, humor, romance, and some very deep (and dark) currents from time to time. The man had full mastery of shots and editing. I'm a fan in general of classic cinema, so add Frank Capra, William Wyler, Fred Zinnemann, John Ford, and Billy Wilder.

I've always thought the record with Ornette should be better known and more acclaimed. But it would have been nice if Ornette had played at least some alto on the album.

I read the piece on DeJohnette in the December Downbeat. He's just been elected to the Downbeat Hall of Fame (Readers). As I recall, it seems like an awful lot of musicians go in during the year of death. In fact, I am wondering if you have to be alive to elected--in many cases, alive for a portion of the year. But in this of Jack, there is no acknowledgment of his death in the article or anywhere in the issue. He had been interviewed, which contributes to most of the content. Anyway, it's a nice feature, and I don't think I'd heard before that he briefly played live with Coltrane.

Definitely some mixed reactions. I get that.

What's up with Jan Garbarek in recent years? Limited research shows he has not really been recording for about a decade. Admittedly, I have not collected much of his work. I liked him in the trio with Haden and Gismonti, as well as with Jarrett's European quartet. Some of his own early solo worked sounded good--pretty different from the later low-key stuff. He has had one of the longest runs ever on ECM, and it is a highly diverse output. I have sampled rather than explored. I do like several tracks on the live album Dresden. Whether one is a fan or not, it has been a major career. He appears to be one of the most important European jazz musicians...ever. I am just wondering what he has been up to lately, and who here has been keeping up with his work.