Milestones

Here's somebody that, it seems to me, is a bit forgotten. I was reading up a bit on Charles Lloyd, and so I got some info on Michel--and realized I have some stuff in my collection, but not a lot. I always really enjoyed Power of Three, Lovano's From the Soul, and Manhattan Project. But here was a man who played with plenty of greats--Wayne Shorter, Jim Hall, Lee Konitz, Charles Lloyd, Tony Williams, Eddy Louiss, and god know who else; and, to say the least, there is ample evidence of his great ability in duo and solo settings. Anyway, Michel Petrucciani...a jazz artist taken from us too soon, perhaps not remembered enough, who needs to have a larger place in jazz collections, starting with mine.

So what is most revealing in the book?

I'm also an Indians fan, but I really like the Cubs this year. Plus I have relatives in Chicago.

Count me as among those surprised and saddened. In the long run, Phil seemed to have been under-rated, But certainly he proved what a great player he was. His recorded output wss huge, and there's not all that much of it in my collection. I need to add more. Now playing Upswing, a Tom Harrell record with Phil and Joe Lovano.

Prez: one of the greatest and most influential jazz men ever...goes without saying.

I had no clue there was such a thing, but I can see jazz guys taking a crack at it.

I don't know how legit it is. I found it on a download site some would find dubious. Some tracks are from the most renowned trio album (the one with "The Train and the River," "Crawdad Suite") etc. I'm guessing nothing is in the newly-discovered area, or even exceptionally rare--though, again, a lot of tracks are unfamiliar to me.

Not sure if this is a true recommendation, but I sampled some stuff from a lengthy CD collecting various performances of Jim Hall with Jimmy Giuffre. I'm sure most would agree that they put together a fair amount of classic stuff. Most of the tunes on this compilation are unfamiliar to me. The things with a latin feel don't do much for me, but others sound really good. Your thoughts?

Alan Young was (and is) great, IMO.

Ah, Doris Day. That would be golden age. Well, we do have people mainly identified with TV, and that's fine. Old Abe is still around! And of course Betty White who remains quite visible.

I'm just curious who would be on this list. The ones that occur to me are Olviia DeHavilland (99), Kirk Douglas (98), and Maureen O'Hara (95). It's not so long ago that we lost Luise Rainer (who made it to 104) and Mickey Rooney. Do we have anyone else cracking age 95?

I have remarkably little familiarity with Gene Harris or Ahmad Jamal. I know both were very popular at one time--though that was before my time as a jazz listener. Of course, we know that much popular music does not endure. There are so many pianists out there. Talking about favorites is probably even more difficult than talking about favorite saxophonists.

This thread has led me to go back and listen to many OP dates in my collection, Consider the Ben Webster meets Oscar Peterson record. I hardly think this meeting came about because Granz sought convenience and predictability. For those who dislike OP, just listen. He is almost entirely unobtrusive in accompaniment, and his solos are quite subtle.

My question: Why is it that OP played with a huge number of great players, though mostly from a certain generation (or in some case those with a fairly retro approach). Many great jazz players found OP anything but offensive. And as John says, if you don't like, then don't listen. ... Somehow I missed reading several posts. It's an interesting notion--that Granz wanted predictability. There could be something to that.

I'm surprised this thread is still going. It's getting pretty wild. I didn't mind diverging onto Joe Pass and Mal Waldron, both of which really stemmed from my posts (especially Pass), but lately we seem to be repeating points on what we like and don't like; what is great and what is average or mediocre or annoying; and the nature of critical analysis. And these have a place, but maybe they should be featured in a new topic. Somebody mentioned OP being omni-present (or quasi-present). That is certainly true. So here is my final question. If OP is such a bad accompanist, why was he found so often backing Stan Getz, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Clark Terry, Roy Eldridge (and the list could go on an on)?

I really like Pass' performance on Dizzy's Big 4. The records with Herb Ellis are also quite good.

Any takes on Oscar Peterson the organist? I've got some records where he plays some organ, and he seems to play it more than piano on the duo record with Roy Eldridge. He doesn't seem determined to be showy on organ.

Joe seemed to have so much potential, yet I would put so many other mainstream guitarists ahead of him--Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Wes, Grant Green, Pat Martino.

Coming back to Oscar, I wonder if there is a similar split on Joe Pass. Both had chops galore, and they met up many times. But some would regard the work by both men as too facile, too lacking in original compositions (I would say Oscar has the composition edge), too enamored of the past--working with or playing music by Duke, Count Basie, Clark Terry, Ella, Roy Eldridge, etc.

Well, Maldron probably had more cache since almost from the start he was fairly prolific as a composer. And starting around 1960 he started to show real originality. His own album The Quest is superb, and of course one should hear his work with Dolphy and Little on the Five Spot records. Later Maldron, though I'm not much familiar with it, doesn't do much for me.

When I want to hear some really marvelous Oscar, I always put on "If You Only Knew" from the album Live (1986). It's just beautiful, and no one will convince me otherwise. Also, a big thumbs up to the post-stroke record The More I See You.

I don't know. As far as I can recall, Spaulding played both alto and flute on most sessions he appeared on--and was credited for both. All I do know for sure is that A Slice of the Top is one hell of a record.

But on this record he might have the likes of Chris Potter, Uri Caine, Joey Baron.

I really liked Scofield's live album En Route (2004). The recent A Moment's Peace did almost nothing for me.

There are a lot of great long tracks by Miles Davis, particularly from the early fusion days. Anything from Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson--that is, if you don't already have these classics.