Milestones

As for Dunlop, I'm coming to a greater appreciation of his artistry. However, I think I will always believe that Art Blakey was the best drummer for Monk. Does anyone know why Dunlop retired in 1984 (and yet lived another 30 years)?

sgcim, OK, that's a serious charge. Is there anything to it besides hearsay?

I mentioned Wayne Shorter in the very first post. I'm a big fan of his soprano work.

Any idea when Blue Note started to use fades?

I'm not sure about the film analogy. I would say fade-outs and fade-ins are done for very different reasons (and effects) there. I can certainly see the thing about DJs. Seems to me fades were often found on tracks by Grant Green, Stanley Turrentine, and organ players in general...stuff that did get radio play (I assume) back in the day.

I guess this would be the place to discuss this. At one time (the prime time) Blue Note seemed to have a certain renown for the fade-out or fade. A lot of records would feature tracks that lowered in volume and faded out. For me, this is a rather odd and ineffective way to end a jazz performance. I'm curious to know if some people enjoy this, and on what tracks in particular. I'm more curious to know why this became a rather common technique during Blue Note's prime. It seems to me that fade-outs are very rare on other labels.

Maybe, but it took Marlon many years!

My apology on the word choice. It is insensitive, or worse. I do understand that Hoffman's death was accidental, or at least sort of accidental. There is, of course, a fine line sometimes. The one list I did see I'm pretty sure did not contain one Oscar winner--in fact, no nominees (maybe one).

Sad to say, two Oscar winners took their own lives in 2014: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Williams. Never a good thing, especially with the talent these two had. In the past we had George Sanders and Gig Young. That's all I can think of for now. I know I'm being morbid, but just curious about this thing happening with actors. Add some other names, if they fit. Actually, go ahead and include people besides actors: directors, writers, music composers, etc.

I have been checking more into Zoot Sims' work on soprano, and I have to say it's just wonderful stuff.

Good stuff. I've long wondered why Ray Anderson's visibility is so low, at least in this country.

I'm not sure if it counts as obscure, but I really like the album Live by Oscar Peterson, his last Pablo record and featuring a great assist from Joe Pass. This may actually be one of my favorite records from either player (technically Peterson is the leader). The 3-part "Bach Suite" is mighty fine, but the true highlight is the closer: "If You Only Knew." What a beautiful melody, and Oscar's approach is subtle, his touch tender. For all those who believe that Oscar Peterson was all about technique and pounding the keys, you need to listen to this track.

I am in the camp of those who enjoy Bob Wilber, especially when teamed with Kenny Davern.

It's interesting that some big name tenor stars have dabbled with soprano--Sonny Rollins on the Milestone JazzStars and Stan Getz on Billy Highstreet Samba.

I've heard bits of Evan Parker (not enough to really judge), but so far he hasn't do much for me.

I'm not forgetting Bechet.

I can think of countless fine soprano solos by Trane and Shorter. Other players who "double" (main axe is tenor or alto), not so much.

I am looking mainly for individual pieces that offer great soprano solos. Despite the fact that it came into some favor in the early fusion days, the soprano still seems like the most underused of the four major sax types. In terms of players who stick exclusively to soprano, I can only think of Steve Lacy and Jane Ira Bloom. Dave Liebman has certainly played a lot of soprano. Of course, Coltrane and Shorter offer much great work, but they will always be remembered mainly for the tenor. Anyway, I would love to see some recommendations.

This discussion is becoming quite reminiscent of a recent debate here on Jackie McLean--basically what the artist owes, and to whom.

Somehow I was not even aware this record had come out. Based on what I've read here, as well as the critical response, it sure sounds like it's a fine one.

I'm glad I started this thread. The overall quality of discussion was quite good and interesting--certainly outweighing the occasional unfair or off-the-wall comment.

Ok, how many sock puppets are on Sonny Rollins + 3 (1996), and how artistically poor is this record?

It's just a suggestion to end the discussion. I did start the thread, but it clearly can go as long as it wants. It seems pretty demeaning to call Sonny's band-mates nothing but sock puppets.

Sonny is who Sonny is, and that should be the end of the discussion. But I have to add that most fans have to rely on the recorded work to get our impressions. At least nowadays we can tap into a lot of concert footage, which will of course be of varying quality. And seeing a concert on YouTube is not the same as being there. I was fortunate to catch Sonny in person once, and I have to say it was as great a concert as I have ever attended.

One of my points (it really it has been discussed ad infinitum over decades now) is that Sonny largely isolated himself and could have been more in tune with succeeding generations and used more of these players on his own records. Again, the model here is Miles Davis, and many fans felt he went too much with the younger guys and was too much into the latest trends. I personally find his post-1970 work hit-and-miss, but I'm glad he did what he did. But for Sonny it is not really so cut-and-dried. As I've mentioned, he sometimes recorded with very decent younger guys like Stephen Scott and Roy Hargrove. He did have the meeting with Ornette, found on Road Shows Vol. 2. Bottom line, Sonny is who he is, and god love him for his comments on the blindfold test, which show him engaged and respectful.