Christiern

The following link will take you to a N.O. musicians status report. N.O. Musicians Status Report

I wonder if the Jaffe Plantation (aka Preservation Hall) survived.

I detect none of Giuliani's Fascist traits in the mayor of New Orleans, and I bet you that Giuliani would never have the guts to speak frankly and off the cuff like the Mayor did.

When I saw Brown (live) alleging that he had not know about the Convention Center mess, I had already known for some time. I watch C-Span, the BBC and CNN more than I do the regular U.S. networks--that may account for it.

GA Russell: "Now why FEMA and Homeland Seccurity are so slow, I don't know, but it doesn't surprise me that no one in the New Orleans govt informed FEMA that thousands of people are at the Convention Center." They didn't have to inform FEMA, it was all over the TV and radio--only people with their head in the sand could be so ignorant of the situation at the Convention Center. FEMA fool Michael Brown's excuse is pathetic. He and the other Michael (Homeland Security) need to be fired and, perhaps, tried.

IMO, the Mizells never contributed anything to jazz--quite the opposite. The fact that their crap is often used for sampling would help to support my contention that their work is, at best, borderline.

You just don't get it, do you, Eric. We are talking about poor people, many of the ill--the government should have made it possible for them to leave--in most cases, it was not their choice to stay. What is so difficult to understand about that? Well, I guess it just doesn't matter when we are talking about indigent black people. Sorry for being so cynical, but your attempts to blame the victims just does not wash.

It would appear that this poor, pathetic Bush cling-on can't crawl out of his/her sand box.

Face the facts, Eric, it has become impossible to divorce Katrina from politics. Live with it.

He has been found, apparently in ok shape, but his family may be another matter. Welcome back, Harold!

Yes, Cafferty was spot on.

Editorials Raise Questions About President's Response to Katrina--and Lack of Preparations By E&P Staff Published: August 31, 2005 10:30 PM ET NEW YORKAs the truth sinks in--this is the worst natural disaster in the nation's history--editorials in a wide range of newspapers have now raised critical issues about the lack of preparation, the effects of so many National Guard sent to Iraq, and the response of President Bush to the tragedy this week. One of the most stalwart conservative newspapers in the nation, the Union Leader of New Hampshire, today blasted Bush's response to the great Gulf Coast hurricane. "A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead, and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free of disease," the editorial declared. "The cool, confident, intuitive leadership Bush exhibited in his first term, particularly in the months immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, has vanished. In its place is a diffident detachment unsuitable for the leader of a nation facing war, natural disaster and economic uncertainty. "Wherever the old George W. Bush went, we sure wish we had him back." On Thursday, after the president returned to Washington, The New York Times mocked his speech: "George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom. In what seems to be a ritual in this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed. He then read an address of a quality more appropriate for an Arbor Day celebration: a long laundry list of pounds of ice, generators and blankets delivered to the stricken Gulf Coast. He advised the public that anybody who wanted to help should send cash, grinned, and promised that everything would work out in the end." The Washington Post, meanwhile, called for a close look at what should have been done differently, saying "it will be extremely important to better understand the causes of this long-predicted disaster and to determine what, if anything, could have prevented it. This administration has consistently played down the possibility of environmental disaster, in Louisiana and everywhere else. The president's most recent budgets have actually proposed reducing funding for flood prevention in the New Orleans area, and the administration has long ignored Louisiana politicians' requests for more help in protecting their fragile coast, the destruction of which meant there was little to slow down the hurricane before it hit the city. "It is inappropriate to 'blame' anyone for a natural disaster. But given how frequently the impact of this one was predicted, and given the scale of the economic and human catastrophe that has resulted, it is certainly fair to ask questions about disaster preparations. Congress, when it returns, should rise above the blame game and instead probe the state of the nation's preparation for handling major natural catastrophes, particularly those that threaten crucial regions of the country." The Albuquerque (N.M.) Tribune asked: "Like the National Guard, is FEMA itself being stretched too thin by the number and increasing intensity of natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires? That's not to mention the potential for earthquakes, including the so-called 'Big One' in California."

CNN just reported that snipers are shooting at hospital vehicles in N.O>, and Jack Cafferty went off on the administration's neglect. The very conservative Union Leader carries a strong editorial that is highly critical of Bush. The tragedy of what these people are going through is compounded by the neglect.

Faux hipness is no hipness at all. IMO, Elling sounds better than Mark Murphy ever did, but both try too hard to sound cool--and neither succeeds.

There are also numerous New Orleans artists who are unaccounted for, including Irma Thomas and Fats Domino. Allen Toussaint ("Lady Marmalade,: etc.) is reported as being in the Super Dome crowd, the Neville's are safe in Memphis, but their houses are gone. Anyone know of other victims whose names we are familiar with? I just noticed that this has been mentioned on another thread--sorry for the redundancy, but it won't hurt to keep it here, I guess.

Out of curiosity, I did a search of my text files to see if I had ever mentioned Mizell in a review or article. The following popped up, a review I wrote for Stereo Review in 1976: GARY BARTZ: The Shadow Do. Gary Bartz (alto and soprano saxophones, synthesizer, vocals); other musicians. Winding Roads; Mother Nature; Love Tones; Sea Gypsy; and four others. PRESTIGE P-10092 $6.98. Performance: Commercial chaos Recording: Good I was happy to see a new Gary Bartz album because I think he is an extremely talented musician, but then I noticed the producer credit: Larry Mizell. Anticipation turned to apprehension. I placed the disc on my turntable, and, sure enough, Mizell has done it again, turned a good jazz musician into a drowning popularity-seeker. Drowning, that is, in gimmick-ridden arrangements cluttered with synthesizers, sound effects, and meaningless vocals. Unfortunately, this tasteless miasma will probably have sufficient appeal to encourage encores, but Bartz had better enjoy whatever benefits this sort of thing may bring him now, because there is no longevity in it. I suggest some of his early Milestone albums are a sounder investment.

Katrina scatters a grim diaspora By Will Walden BBC News, in Baton Rouge, La & Memphis, Tn Many families who made it out have no place to stay Returning south is no longer an option The only certainty here now is uncertainty. Across the south hundreds of thousands of Americans have been unceremoniously dumped: displaced by Katrina in rest stops and hotel lobbies; among strangers in shelters and in hospitals. And for most there is no going back, for weeks, and more probably, months. They sleep where they can. The lucky ones, and they are indeed the lucky ones, have hotel rooms. Entire families crowd into one room with little information, power that comes and goes, and no air conditioning. For some, who thought initially Katrina wasn't as bad as the authorities had predicted, fate has dealt them a cruel hand. Having checked out for the long journey home, they now find themselves back in hotel lobbies across the state pleading to have their rooms back. The rooms of course have been filled with others seeking refuge. Doubles In one hotel, the only TV that works is in the bar, so the barman is doing a roaring trade in doubles, and strong doubles at that. Little money appears to be changing hands. People can't watch the big American TV networks as there is no cable, and no one to repair it. So instead, they watch the local news stations - stations offering just a snapshot of the worsening picture in Biloxi, Gulfport and in particular New Orleans. And that's where the doubles come in. Most people in Baton Rouge are from the suburbs around the Big Easy, and every now and again they'll let out an audible sigh as they recognize their own community and presumably their own house, submerged at best, but in many cases, simply not there anymore. At this point most reach for the cellphone in the hope that those who stayed are safe. But there is no dialing tone, just a recorded message that says "Sorry - all circuits are busy - please try again later". It is the new norm. These people have nowhere to go. Airport focus At Baton Rouge airport they have been sleeping on the floor. Tourists, victims, people who are simply stuck. They are smiling, but the smiles are tired, worn and very, very battered. In the case of those who have lost homes, and there are many, it is a case of waiting for flights that will take them to relatives across the United States. All this takes place within earshot of the constant clatter of rotor blades. The men and women of the Louisiana Air National Guard are busy loading food, water and medical supplies onto Blackhawk helicopters. There are many helicopters, landing and leaving like a bizarre scene from Vietnam portrayed by the Hollywood studios. Only this scene is real. At the airport there is cable TV. So no-one talks, they just sit and watch. Not since the aftermath of 9/11 does it seem America's airports have been so quiet or so focused on one thing. No road south And in Memphis, Tennessee, they are 400 miles north but they have much in common with that other famous American city of music, New Orleans. This is not least because Memphis, functioning normally with power food and running water, is now home to many from New Orleans. Today, less than 36 hours after initial relief turned to horror, they are packing their cars again and heading off. Normally they would be heading south - back home to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. On Wednesday I watched one young couple packing their smart VW Golf. They had two suitcases and a couple of backpacks and could have been starting a road trip or a holiday. They are not, of course. They are headed to Florida and the safety of mum and dad. What they have with them is all they have left. Typically they are smiling, but the smiles are tired, worn and very, very battered.

Sometimes, even if it bothers one's sensibilities, politics enters into an issue without being forced there. This is one such case--sorry, but it only seems to bother people of one political persuasion. Do we really have to change forums every time Bush's name crops up? Why not simply skip posts/threads that don't deliberately hide certain facts? Clearly, the focus of this thread is the tragedy that hit the Gulf Coast region. I think it was inevitable that someone would begin to look into how ill prepared New Orleans, for example was. That, in a very natural fashion, leads to such important details as pre-Katrina funding (or lack thereof). Also relevant is the possibility that global; warming played a part in creating the birth of Katrina. Now, just because a couple of you guys deem any criticism or hint of criticism of Bush to be a personal attack on your politics, I don't think we should need to don blinders and soft shoes. I don't think there is a need to labor the point here, for it has already been made. I suggest that further discussion of the perceived Bush involvement in this tragedy deserves a thread of its own, but not the moving of this thread to spare the exaggerated sensibilities of a few. It's called reality--live with it

As compared to spending billions invaiding a country that had nothing to do with slamming airplanes into US buildings? Thus saving bin laden-- a sworn enemy of Saddam-- the trouble of toppling him. ← Thanks for setting that Bush-level rationale straight, medjuck.

The Mizell guys and their "music" are best forgotten.

Great. Let me take a look at some reels and give you an idea of what I have.

1/4" @ 7 1/2 and 15 ips

Thanks, Dan--it will be returned, so please re-send with a 3 before the @ Jim, thanks for the offer--let me think about it for a couple of days. In the meantime, I will try to post a small audio file as a sample.

I have more in the closet, this is just what happened to fall to the floor when I opened the door the other day. One problem is that DEEP doesn't have a 10 1/2" reel machine, and much of my stuff is on those reels. There are also numerous interviews in the bunch--so far I have found Jimmy Rushing, Lil Armstrong, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Russell Procope, Archie Shepp, and Ornette. Somewhere, hiding in the dark, is an interview I did with Billie Holiday in 1959. I am in the process of setting up a web site, so I think I will be able to upload some of these sound to it and give a link. In the meantime, I'll figure out how to post a modest sample. I don't want to eat up Organissimo's space, but someone--Dan, I think--asked about the sound quality; the answer is that it varies, but I have heard a lot worse on reissues. I checked out the site, RDK, but it seems dedicated to Top 40 airchecks.

As some of you know from reading my posts, I have a lot of old stuff in my closets (particularly one in the hall) and I sometimes excavate and post little things that I have dusted off. Thanks to my friend, DEEP, who transfers them to disc for me (I no longer have a working reel-to-reel), I have been able to enjoy some of my old broadcasts or, rather, the live music I featured. From my days at WHAT in Philly, I have on air sessions with Lonnie Johnson and Elmer Snowden, and from my WBAI days and 5 or 6 am session with Walter Bishop, piano, Frank Haynes, tenor, Eddie Khan, bass, and J.C. Moses, drums. This group was playing at Minton's at the time, they came straight from the gig to the tiny studio on East 39th Street. The session continued at daybreak with the Clifford Jordan Quintet, Jordan on tenor, Roy Burrows, trumpet, Ronnie Matthews, piano, and Khan and Moses. The sun was out when my co-host, A B Spellman introduced Ronnie Matthews with bassist Michael Fleming, and Moses on drums. The WBAI tapes are from the 1965 Fourth of July weekend. There is also a Scranton PA concert that I will never forget, because Eura Bailey (Pearl's sister) talked me into drinking straight bourbon on an empty stomach (we left NYC at the crack of dawn, in a snow storm, thinking we would have time for breakfast. Unfortunately, I was the MC--fortunately, the entire band made the same mistake, but the guys were used to it--they handled it well. It was an off band: Herman Autrey, trumpet (you may remember him from countless Fats Waller sides), Budd Johnson, tenor, Ray Bryant, piano, Elmer Snowden, guitar/banjo, Tommy Bryant, bass, and Jo Jones, drums. Eura did some vocals. By the end of the concert, I was totally out of it--haven't been that drunk before or since. On the way home, Ray--who was driving--literally carried me into a roadside diner and filled me with black coffee. Wish I could share some of this music here. There is a lot more in that closet, including Herbie Hancock's first encounter with an electric piano--he was accompanying Joe Williams.