Milestones

I saw Blakey and Messengers at what was called the Kool Jazz Festival (near Cleveland) in the summer of 1984. It was a good show, and actually Dizzy was there too (I believe he was scheduled) and played on a few numbers. It was good stuff, and yet not completely memorable. I was pretty new to jazz at the time, and I didn't have a lot of Blakey in my collection. The personnel was probably the same as what Late listed. But the festival show overall was something else. It opened with Miles, who had Bill Evans (sax) and John Scofield in the band; then Gerry Mulligan; then Blakey; then finished with Herbie H./Ron C./Tony W. with the Marsalis brothers on the front line.

Motian and Haden connected a great deal over the span of many decades, and Motian certainly had a feeling for Ornette and the avant garde. So why not Motian in Old and New Dreams?

I love Charlie Haden, but a 17+ minute bass feature?

I've heard some stuff by The Leaders, and it always seems to be a case of hit-or-miss. My favorite track by them is "Everything Changed," found on Slipping and Sliding--just gorgeous.

And some have the knack for hiring decent writers. The perfect example is Art Blakey, who had Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, Cedar Walton, and countless others. But you need to recognize the talent, plus have the clout to lure them into the band. I'm curious to know if anyone can answer this. Does it cost more to record the pieces of living jazz composers vs.deceased ones like Gillespie and Coltrane (or for that matter, the likes of Gershwin and Porter)? .

A for hating that record, two words: electric piano.

Will he be releasing any small group stuff soon--perhaps a trio with African percussion added, or a small group with T.K. Blue?

I got the sense that this was over early, once Houston scored those runs. All told, it was a pretty anti-climactic Game 7. But the Astros are a great team and fully deserving.

I've been collecting a great deal of Lovano, and I have quite a bit of Douglas. Their live record from Monterey (Blue Note) sounds good, but I've only heard it on Spotify. Yet this album is not available under the used records at Amazon, and a new one costs about $30! I have also not located it in libraries, including college libraries. What is up with this?

Randy Weston is another great musician who is past 90 and still performing.

Well, I took one year of French in high school, and it was one of my true low spots as a student.

????

There will always be Sonny! Sonny endures! I've been listening to Road Shows Vol. 4 and Sonny Rollins & Co. (from mid-60s). The latter is a real find, with Sonny doing some very interesting takes on standards (songbook and jazz), and it's good to hear more stuff with Jim Hall in the band.

Anyone familiar with this one? It's basically Diana doing the Great American Songbook, and to these ears she slides and glides right into it--lovely vocals and great arrangements. This is about as it gets for this music done by someone who is NOT KNOWN for this music. Yes, she did Billie Holiday material too, though I'm not familiar with that. I liked The Supremes, who were constantly in the air/on the air when I was a lad. But I did not know Diana Ross was capable of this record: Blue. The kicker is that Motown left this record in the can for a good four (4) decades...insane.

I don't quite get home field advantage in baseball. Didn't we just have three games in New York? That means 3 games for them to 2 for the Astros. Yes, final two in Houston, but they have to win them both--and it may take just one more game to end the series (in favor of Yankees).

Wow, some obscure stuff indeed. I've been listening to jazz for 36 years, and most of the records listed are just...obscure. How about New and Old Gospel by Jackie McLean with Ornette on trumpet? I know I had heard about this for a long time before I finally found it, and it may be pretty obscure again. There was no letdown for me. This is very interesting and enjoyable stuff.

You just can't figure out what will go on during the post-season. A short time ago, Cleveland would lose 3 games in an entire month. Now they lose three straight to the Yankees. With the bats going ice cold, the defense going to hell, and their best pitcher being godawful--I guess we were lucky to have won two games. And I'm a home town fan.

Actually, this makes me think that aren't many pianists around these days that I really follow. Plenty of good pianists, but how many are distinctive and great? I still get the most out of veteran Randy Weston.

I haven't been looking too closely at the other series in this round, but the Indians/Yankees have been quite a match with lots of dramatic and sometimes controversial stuff.

Monk is great at 100, and for that matter at any age, time, or place.

And the Tribe wins in 13 innings. A lot of work (and luck too), but it's a win--and that with their ace looking completely awful, as well as nothing from usually reliable hitters: Ramirez, Brantley (though admittedly the latter is still finding his rhythm after extended time on the DL). It's the Indians' year. It's clear the Yanks don't have a prayer.

I don't mind applause, but on the Jarrett records it seems to go on forever. Maybe it was great and the crowd clapped endlessly, But I can't recall such sustained applause on other records. It's as if he wants to present proof that he's the greatest musician on earth.

Yes, but anyone would go into a state of panic and a stampede would result...no way around it.

Very sad...must be a case of pure evil or pure insanity.

It runs nearly 90 seconds on Somewhere.