Milestones

Happy birthday to Mr. Towner. Another thread is discussing Gary Burton, and I must recommend the two collaborations between Towner and Burton: Matchbook and Slide Show.

Yes, what a weird title, as well as cringe-worthy.

I have at least 7 records by him (in digital format), and certainly would like to add more. I had more of his duos with Corea in older formats; I'd like to update these into digital format. I can't say I'm familiar with his work with Ozone, although I have gone in to Spotify to hear some stuff. Anyone with an interest in vibes must hear Burton, and his overall contribution to jazz is considerable.

R.I.P., Larry. I recall he had a big feature in a very recent Downbeat article. I never explored his fusion stuff in a big way, but I have certainly enjoyed a lot of the stuff he did in his last two decades.

R.I.P. I can't recall ever hearing him, but clearly he has a place in jazz history.

So it's particular paintings rather than artists? I was going to say several pieces by Jim Hall, but these are artists rather than specific paintings. Chasing Paint by Jane Ira Bloom is inspired by Jackson Pollock, but generally rather than specifically. Also of note: Portrait in Seven Shades by Ted Nash.

Let's just say I'm glad they released this 2-CD set. I've been trying to get into Weather Report all my (adult) life. I have gotten into some stuff, but a lot of it never did much for me. I came into jazz basically through fusion records, so WR was included early in my collection (albeit not a high quantity). Of the records I've heard before this one, I think I like the very first one best--possibly because of its In a Silent Way/Bitches Brew vibe (though with rather brief tracks). But this live record shows a band crackling with energy--a group firing on all cylinders. I never saw WR live, and that is certainly my loss. Here are Zawinul so inventive on keyboards, Shorter sounding like the true co-leader (lots of prominence on tenor and soprano, and killing it time and again), fine bass work (and not just Jaco), and the percussion keeping those grooves going. It's a record (2 records) to enjoy from first track to last.

Alfie--one of the finest soundtracks ever. And if one were to preserve only one Michael Caine performance, it would probably be this one.

Pathetic???

Dmitry, you are outnumbered and outgunned.

We can be sure that Gary living today would indeed have a laptop, as well as I-Pad and Kindle!

Wow.

I'm up for Vol. 4. It does seem odd, though, that this should be the best of the "Road Shows" series. Maybe there will be better ones yet to come.

Anybody with opinions on the Oscars nominations? I don't think we live in a golden age of cinema (especially when it comes tot what Hollywood honors), and I don't go to the movies very often. I did see Hidden Figures, and that was pretty good. La La Land? Well I'm skeptical of modern musicals, and I would nominate this thing for a Razzie for worst title (if there is no such category, there ought to be). Fourteen (14) noms??? Does ANY film deserve this, including the previous ones that did it?

I have checked out Vol. 4 on Spotify, and this may well be the best one so far released. The others are all in my collection, and maybe I have not listened enough; but they seem a bit hit-and-miss. The meeting with Ornette was a good idea (in my book), but it sure went on a long time; and I think they should have performed together at least three decades earlier.

I knew that was coming.

I'm curious to know what people like most on the 4 CDs of Road Shows. I have not listened all that much, and not at all to Volume 4; so really it's self-interest--getting recommendations on a manageable running time featuring the cream of the crop.

Of course Miles did a soundtrack for a French noir.

Where is the Payton's version of "Chinatown" to be found? I really like Terence Blanchard's.

You may want to add some tracks from Haden's Quartet West, especially Haunted Heart and Always Say Goodbye. I'd also recommend Bob Belden's Black Dahlia.

I will certainly say that WAR is useless to me.

To my mind, the 15 or so paragraphs of explanation (plus some equations almost no one can understand) seals the absurdity.

For one thing, I don't get who the replacement is. Is it just some generic schmuck who can't hold a candle to, say, Mike Trout?

I have never seen a baseball stat so completely silly and so completely fabricated as WAR. I am sick of seeing it come up in baseball articles--for example, an article today arguing that 5 great players don't belong in Cooperstown--principally because of WAR. I will never be convinced that there is any logic to how WAR is calculated or that it has a shred of validity. Comments?

The Cyrille sounds interesting, partly because I'm a big Frisell fan.