Christiern

Why does she need that specific version of Word? I probably have it somewhere--I'll look.

Thank you Jim and Alison. I wish I could have spent more time with you, but I really enjoyed meeting both of you and our walk. Today the sun is out again, but it is very cold--you timed that trip perfectly.

You mean toilet, as in "head"?

Some sessions that eventually wound up on Black Lion were originally issued on Fontana--that includes 4 albums sold by me to Alan. BTW: Don't deal with him, if you can avoid it. Apropos that, Alan was attending a Sun Ra gig at Slugs, many years ago. At one point Sun Ra moved between the tables, swinging into the air a golden vessel from which there emanated a church-like incense. It was all very Pop-ish, Alan told me. When Sun Ra reached Alan's table, his head swooped down to the level of Alan's ear and, without missing a move of the incense, he whispered, "Where the fuck are my royalties?" I've told this story before, possibly here, so I apologize to those who have already heard it. I just noticed that Chuck has explained Alan's deals quite well--thanks Chuck. And, Allen, you were not too far off--this Bates was a bit of an actor, too.

I, too, met with them (Tuesday) and all is well. They should be back home today.

The inaugural orgies sapped up taxpayer money (security, etc.) while Christo's project is bringing in money and will not cost the tax payer a single penny. Besides, there are sadly valid reasons for finding fault with a man who creates a frivolous war, then dances the night away to raise funds for the destructive party as the death count rises and hundreds of young Americans (those who are not in a box) return home crippled for life. Add to that the thousands of innocent Iraqi lives this hero of yours and his henchmen so readily dismiss from whatever conscience they might have. IMHO, your analogy is as meaningless as so many of your posts have been.

I was right, Ludmilla just e-mailed me from Montreal, where she has opened a mail-order pill business. Her closet residence is empty--she even took her Bush dart board and Cheney pin cushion! Sorry, Weizen, she would have done a bang up job on your aging Mercedes.

And to think that it was only yesterday, on a warm, sunny NYC afternoon, that I assured Jim (B3-er) and his wife that the board was running smoothly in their absence, without name-calling, etc. Guess "lp" proved me wrong!

I never figured out what Kofsky's problem was, but he had a huge one (problem, that is ) Somewhere in one of my dust-gathering piles of "keepers" is a series of truly venomous postcards he sent me--all because I had reviewed a John Handy trio album and admitted in the review that the bass player (a local SF guy) was a new name to me. This produced an incredible series of letters and cards urging that Stereo Review drop me. The more we ignored Kofsky, the more he foamed at the mouth until he finally sent me a death threat. By that time, I had, admittedly, sent a letter to his boss at UCLA, questioning the wisdom of having such a hateful madman teach young people. I included a couple of choice Kofsky cards. One thing Kofsky wrote in his text tirades was that my Bessie Smith biography was a fabrication from beginning to end. Imagine my surprise, several years later, when I came across his web site and saw that he had aimed his venom at John Hammond, using statements from my book to support his accusations. I dropped him a note only to discover that he had, himself, dropped--dead. Kofsky's deranged hatred seems to live on in a cyber trolling entity that calls itself "lp."

Don't forget that Johnny Hodges recorded an album with Welk. And did you know that Welk recorded for the Gennett label in 1928? The tunes are: Spiked Beer (from beer music to champagne music?) Shanghai Honeymoon Doin' the New Low Down (as opposed to the Down Low?) Are You Makin' a Fool of Me? In 1931, he reorded for Broadway, including a tune called "My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes"

Not surprising. If the music industry can't fill a couple of hours a year with anything of substance, I think they might as well pack up their Grammys and go into the hamburger business. If one didn't believe that the pop music biz has hit a sorry treadmill, all one had to see (and, aaagh! hear) was that sorry gathering of "singers" doing a Beatles song for the Tsunami victms. It was downright embarrassing, and that included Stevie Wonder. Then, too, think about the album that was given 8 Grammys, the worst album Ray Charles ever made. What do these people stuff into their ears, one wonders. I think last night's show may have contained 5 to 10 minutes of worthwhile sounds--the rest was frightful fluff. IMHO

Sad to say, Billy didn't get a chance to do anything--the focus was on Bonnie Raitt and if he was identified, I must have blinked. At least it's good to see that he is well enough to do this--he was in pretty bad shape not so long ago.

That, believe it or not, was Billy Preston.

Allen speaks the truth.

sorry, the ladies of Desperate Housewives are on.........I gotta watch that! With the exception of one or two decent moments, I think you have made a wise choice, Greg.

He is mostly remarkable in a non-musical sense. Not every Messenger rose to greatness, but Art's batting average was high.

I have been watching the Grammy Awards for a half hour and wondering why the line between it and American Idol becomes blurrier each year. The set is probably the worst I have seen, the opening was crappy, the music and production was sadly lacking a trace of creativity. Even Queen Latifa, who I like, looks bad--this does not bode for a memorable evening. I wish they had thought of Art Blakey when he was still around and opening doors for remarkable players. Anyone agree with me?

Death? That's an easy, but, IMO, not convincing explanation. John Hammond (who admitted to "discovering" Christian after Mary Lou Williams pointed him out), often spoke of having recognized his "genius" immediately. Well, John also had the power to do something about it, besides placing Christian with his brother-in-law. Why didn't he? Why did he not give Charlie Christian sessions of his own? I once asked him about this and he hemmed and hawed before giving me some lame explanation that had to do with the difficulty of interesting a record company in an unknown artist. That, of course, was a lot of BS. Christian was o the NY scene for some two years, which would have given John (or someone else) ample time to recognize his uniqueness and give him the prominent role his artistry deserved. Sorry Aric, I did not mean to sidetrack your thread, but you asked a question, it was answered, and I did not see a great future for the thread. Mind you, there isn't much more to be said about Charlie Christian's permanent relegation to sideman status, so we may simply have hit a dead end. BTW, I think we can agree that Wes and Christian both deserve a thread dedicated to their work.

Now that we have established the fact that Wes did record as a sideman, perhaps we might wonder why Charlie Christian only recorded as a sideman.

Look at it this way: It gave hundreds of people a paid job, it gave some U.S. manufacturers a sizable special order, and it is attracting thousands to New York, where they will spend money. All this, and it doesn't cost the city a penny--besides, it will go poof! in a couple of weeks. As I say, it looks like a giant construction job from my windows, but I think one has to experience it before making a judgment--so, I will be crashing the gates with my camera in the next few days. I'll post some results here. Weizen, my scullery maid, Ludmilla, does not lower a bucket--she was an industrial engineer/designer in the old country (Rumania) before fleeing there, sans diplomas, to escape a brutal dictatorship. She has actually modified the old family Nilfisk to suck up the water from a nearby lake. She then runs it through a purifier of her own making (I had wondered what became of my lava lamps and Cory coffee pot). BTW, I have a feeling that Luddie is preparing for another escape--I saw a pile of Canadian brochures in her room, and I know they weren't there back in the days when it seved as a closet.

And one last one for today... BYW I see a steady stream of people walking through the gates--far more raffic than usual, especially in cold weather...

This may be a better view, turning my camera northward (close, BFrank, I'm at 104th). Tomorrow I'll get some closeups. Jeanne-Claude made much of the fact that the cloth (woven for this project in Germany) changes colors in the sunlight and in rain--we'll see, I hope so.

I have no idea how long that takes, Weizen. I'll ask my scullery maid, and get back to you.

Now that they are up, my first thought is one of disappointment. You are absolutely right, Noj, orange was a very poor choice--it really does look like a big road construction job, Christo's sketches were far more interesting, they had a more yellow color and sun-like glow to them. Well, perhaps it will look more interesting when I go down and walk through these gates. In the meantime, here's a photo I just took--again from my windows.

The unfurling begins....took this one at 9:15 this morning...