Milestones

I like that original list a lot. I see that our interests cross a good deal. I favor most of these musicians (if not always the particular choice of record), the majority being veterans and some no longer with us. I would certainly add something by Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers or the Frisell-Carter-Motian disc. And Abercrombie, probably Class Trip.

Obviously Tom Brady never gave this a thought.

I had a listen to the title track, "Blue World," which bears inspiration from "Out of this World." It's probably the most intriguing track from the set and does sound quite good. But at this point you're not going to have any surprise factor from Trane, at least from the stuff recently unearthed.

The issue of royalties from the film and records is interesting too. I've never seen/heard Woodstock performances by BS&T or CCR. Maybe that too was a money issue. Actually, with all the talk of peace, love, etc--you'd think everyone would play for free.

Jimi and BS&T made our rather well, didn't they?

I have to say that "Angel" (The Jimi Hendrix song) is among the moving and effective closing tracks of a jazz album I have ever heard.

She was a great writer, and will be a long remembered--though there's not much respect for novelists anymore. I was close to Morrison a couple of times, first when she gave a stunning reading from Beloved at Cleveland Stat University (I was in the Master's program then) and later when she appeared at the Toni Morrison conference at Lorain County Community College, where I teach. But she was low-key there and I had no chance to talk to her or shake her hand. I have long taught The Bluest Eye, which is favored around here since it's the only one with a Lorain setting. A very good book, but not her best. I think everyone should read Sula, Song of Solomon, and Beloved. Among later novels, A Mercy is quite good.

OK, I definitely had a few of those Blue Note twofers (or brown bags), though not as many as the Prestige. The best one featured Randy Weston's Little Niles, the live set with Hawkins and Dorham, and some other stuff. By that time I had been seriously collecting Weston on CD for years, and I always wanted to hear Little Niles (given the reputation), on CD, vinyl, anything. Absolutely a great record.

Track 11...what is this? Some nice trumpet, a bit in the style of Miles circa early 80s--but he gets rather intense later. Nice singer. She can hold a note, among other things. Track 12...old-time feel with some fine playing. Maybe Ken Peplowski? Some members associated with Wynton? Track 13 has something of a smooth jazz feel, but certainly a couple of cuts above the usual stuff. No idea on the drummer. Grant Geissman or Chuck Loeb on guitar? Just guessing. Track 14, "St. James Infirmary," is pretty cool. Other than the edgy guitar, it sounds a bit in Ray Charles style, though certainly not Ray himself. No idea.

I can't recall something officially called the Brown Bag series. Was that printed right on the covers? The Prestige two-fers were a major focus in initially building my jazz collection, back in the pre-CD age. I do have quite a few of them still (especially Miles Davis), but I hardly ever play vinyl nowadays. I'm not an audiophile.

Track 1 is really nice. It sounds like old time jazz--maybe something by Fats Waller. But it's a modern, or relatively modern, player. Nice touch on the keys. Maybe Hank Jones? Track 2 also interesting--tenor/piano duo. It sound a bit like Jan Garbarek, including the shift from slow and breathy to rather overheated. I would not think he'd do a track so brief (3 minutes). Track 3 is another short one and another duo. This certainly has elements of Classical. Eddie Daniels?

Very obscure stuff to me, other than the Mingus composition. Even Woody Shaw, Louis Hayes, and Junior Cook (outside of the Silver Quintet) are poorly represented in my collection. Other stuff...not a clue!

Art Blakey is a different case (for me), as he was such a dynamic drummer, a great bandleader, a phenomenal talent scout, etc. Plus he would record the pieces of talented composers, most notably Wayne Shorter.

There are artists like Lou Donaldson and Jimmy Smith where most of the records sound pretty much the same--or so it seems to me. I can't imagine going for 30-50 discs by these artists, even though their output is huge. Probably less than 20, and the main factor would be the sidemen.

Many jazz artists record so much that it is simply difficult to keep up. And do we need to keep up on all of it? For many artists, owning 20 records is scratching the surface. Are there people here who have 20 records by Red Garland? I'll bet some do. Yet his prolific period was relatively brief. I know I don't own 20, but I have quite a few, several due to the selling point of Coltrane as sideman. But the question becomes this: what is essential?

Older style collecting presents difficulty because of the space issue. CDs (as opposed to LPs) are easier, especially if kept in jewel cases of slip covers (if that's the right term). My collections is big (I don't think I can give any kind of reasonable estimate), but it's nothing compared to some numbers thrown around here. but a lot it has gone the ways of files on the computer hard drive (much of which will never make it to CD). You can build up a nice collection that way, with no worries about space. But if we are talking about tangible items, there's a lot of difficulty and complications in being a serious collector--as well-illustrated by Ken Dyden and many others.

I don't think there is any such thing. There were just a few occasions when Lacy was in the band, which was a big band--or more accurately a mid-size band--and Lacy was not a soloist. A rather odd thing. There have been a million records of Lacy playing Monk's music, sometimes solo versions.

That is so cool. I'm actually a bit too young to have many memories of Ed Sullivan, but I'm well aware of the wealth of great musical talent that appeared on the show (the clips of rock artists continue to pop up everywhere). Apparently he was generous to jazz artists. Duke and Satchmo would be one thing--but Kirk, Mingus, Shepp, and Haynes? Good lord. Then you had every musician identified, even the man playing tambourine! What an experience is must have been to see Roland Kirk in person.

Great piece. The man certainly paints pictures of the heat, sweat, mosquitoes, and over-imbibed fans.

Cool. Who knew he was such a handsome young man? Speaking of Pass, I understand he was a mentor to Mimi Fox. I just read a piece by her (largely over my head) in Downbeat. I knew nothing at all about her, but have since listened a bit. She's an outstanding guitarist in the mainstream tradition.

Yes, I love the idea of it being played daily...always another game coming and new chance to win. In football, if your team plays like crap, you have to live with it for at least a week.

For my BFT, I had some well-known names--Ron Carter, Jim Hall, and Randy Weston--who were not as quickly recognized as I had expected.

Pim, if you do it, just avoid Miles, Trane, Satchmo, Prez, Monk, and others that most of us would recognize in 1-second-flat.

Many years ago a professor that I had suggested that baseball is most enjoyed by the very young and those of "a certain age." The youngsters probably because they played it too (though that is less common now) and the oldsters for the intricacies and strategy. Indians are on a 5-game winning streak!

I'm from the Cleveland area and a long-time fan. I think it's important to get to know the guys on the team. The Indians are a pretty talented team, especially in pitching, and there are a lot of entertaining guys and very few basket cases. We we were well-represented in the All-Star Game, despite the fact that we did lost several significant players in the off-season. It's a good team and they stand a good chance of being in the playoffs once again. Get to know the skills and personalities of the players. But of course that's much harder to do with the minor league clubs. But I know they try to get some fun stuff happening.