Christiern

Agreed, Chuck, Coltrane was big, but not "legendary." I mean, there was no special reason to tape his show above others--at least we didn't think so. Besides, he may just have talked and played records--can't recall. As for Yoko, I did not say that she was there in 1965, but I believe that she was. She was married to a man named Cox, an American poet, and she was truly so withdrawn that I was amazed when she came to me during our first fund-raising marathon and volunteered to go on the air. I do still have the tape of that one--she sang Japanese children's songs in a most excruciating way!

Greg, I don't think it's common knowledge, so don't feel bad. When I became general manager of WBAI, I decided to give jazz as much exposure as reasonably possible. One of the things I did was to set aside two hours each Saturday afternoon and hand it over to a guest host who then could utilize it in any way he or she wished. Some gave live performances, some played records and talked (sometimes with other guests whom they had brought with them), and it was always live/ I did record quite a few of these shows, but we were a struggling station, so blank tape was not always readily available. I may well have some of the tapes in my overstuffed pack-rat closet. You ask if Coltrane being on would not prompt someone to kee a copy of the tape. Remember that the legend surrounding Coltrane today had not taken form forty years ago. Also, at a station like WBAI, at that time, it was not at all uncommon to bump into famous people while making one's way down the narrow hallways of our brownstone. Ayn Rand did a weekly show, and often spent an hour afterwards in discussion with people (including our janitor, who did not share many of her throughts); Bob Dylan would drop by and do an anonymous station break from time to time, James Mason, Tony Randall, Malcolm X, Gunther Schuller (who did a weekly show), and so on. Then there were the unknowns who later would make it, like John Corigliano, our Music Director, who went on to win one or two Oscars, and his file clerk, a very shy young Asian lady named Yoko Ono. John once begged me to fire him so that he could draw unemployment and write a piano concerto--I did, and he sent me an LP of it when it was released a couple of years later. I don't recall what Coltane did with his two hours, but I will always remember that Bill Dixon spent his complaining about the station not having enough avant garde music. George Wettling brought Eddie Condon and, as I recall, Pee Wee Russell. Anyway, it was a great way to use air time. Here are a few listings I picked up from 1965-66 program guides: October 30, 1965 - Jimmy Rushing (he brought Buddy Tate with him) November 6, 1965 - Max Roach moderated a discussion with a panel comprising Jo Jones, Freddie Hubbard, and bassist Richard Davis November 13, 1965 - Toshiko Mariano (Akiyoshi) November 20. 1965 - J.J. Johnson January 8, 1966 - Blue Mitchell January 15, 1966 - Zoot Sims March 19, 1966 - Ted Curson March 26, 1966 - Quentin "Butter" Jackson April 2, 1966 - Bobby Timmons April 9, 1966 - Al Hibbler Besides this show, there were weekly ones conducted by Dan Morgenstern, Martin Williams, Ira Gitler, Nat Hentoff, Don Heckman, Don Schlitten, and myself. Dave Lambert had a 1-hour show each Friday until his tragic death (on the highway, enroute to NYC with a tape). And, of course, this is where Marian McPartland started her radio career--when I suggested a weekly show to her, she wasn't sure if she could do something like that....well? For a while we also had a weekly late evening hour devoted to live avant garde jazz, the regular participants (who often performed in a dark studio) included Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, and Clifford Thornton--I think Joe McPhee also came aboard. I'll have him refresh my memory. The jazz community really gave us incredible support, just look at some of the artists who showed up and performed on December 27th, 1965, when we held a jazz benefit at the Village Gate--so many people bought tickets that we had to open the Top of the Gate room as well, and each performed twice, first downstairs, then upstairs. The artists included: Jimmy Rushing, Thelonious Monk, Jim Hall, King Curtis, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Charles Davis, Bobby Brookmeyer, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Randy Weston, Betty Carter, Joe Williams, Dave Lambert, Roland Kirk, and Kenny Dorham. The hosts were Ira Gitler, Dan Morgenstern, Don Schlitten, and yours truly. The music was continuous from 9 PM to 4 AM and the ticket price was $4, which subscribers could deduct from their $15 annual renewal fee! So you see, there was a lot of jazz on this notorious left-leaning station!

Having experience a large scale dose of "laser rot" in my LaserDisc collection (since replaced by DVDs), I have often feared that the same deterioration might eventually hit CDs. The laser rot thing was a matter of poor lamination that allowed air between the layers--does this look like the same thing, Mike?

A few years back, I went to a highly recommended, "trendy" French restaurant in London. The food was indeed excellent, but they only served Almaden (California) wines!

Great photos, Weizen--old Europe being what it was, I felt a tinge of homesickness. The brass guy checking things out from the manhole is wonderful, I saw one very similar bit of whimsy in Stockholm. How was the beer?

Our Spam laws are too blurry...

This is Spam Donaldson...

Ummmmmmmm....Spam!

Since neither Denmark nor Iceland had Indians nor Pilgrims to take their land, I grew up without this holiday. I never cared for turkey and always hated stuffing, but I do like candied yams and cranberry sauce. Anyway, I'm staying home to work on Basie notes, count 18th century St. Croix slaves, and see if I can make it to the next Myst island. A friend just stopped by to drop off a Thanksgiving dinner from his church, so I guess I'll get a taste of this holiday, after all' Here's wishing all my Organissimo friends a happy one!

A September 2002 release, STCD 8356 Dexter Gordon Jazz at Highschool. which was withdrawn a few months later is now AVAILABLE AGAIN! Storyville just received the go-ahead to put it back in the catalog. Here, from the original press release, are the details: Dexter Gordon Jazz At Magleås High School Dexter Gordon – tenor saxophone; Kenny Drew – piano; Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen – bass; Al Heath – drums. Soy Califa The Shadow of Your Smile Society Red For All We Know Blues Up & Down This CD was recorded live in Sweden by the Danish National Radio at a high school jazz clinic for music students in 1967. The 50 minutes of music (five tunes) are being released here for the first time, and the sound quality (recorded by the National Danish Radio) is very good. The repertoire consists of three high-powered be-bop tunes – two of which Dexter recorded on BlueNote Records in the early 60’s - plus two tender ballads. As this live concert from 1967 clearly reveals, the ten years during which Dexter lived in Copenhagen (from the mid-60’s to the mid-70’s) probably comprise the strongest period in his career, where his technique, power and maturity reached their peak. The rhythm group Dexter chose for this session – one of the best in Europe, and possibly the world – was his favorite rhythm section at that time (when he performed regularly at the famous Jazzhus Montmartre), three men, led by the famous pianist Kenny Drew, who could match Dexter’s musical prowess and help boost him to the impressive artistic plateau heard on this recording.

"Wes himself couldn't understand all the attention, he didn't consider himself an "artiste" like Miles or others thought of themselves. He never sought celebrity or fame, he just happened to be a guy who had immense talent - entirely self-taught." That's the Wes I remember from my days at Riverside, a modest, super friendly family man.

No such problem here. It probably is a Hotmail change (those dastardly Gates guys, again).

If anyone got pleasure out of peeing on a frog, I would think it had to be "berigan"--n'est pas?

Chuck, can you recall the name of a black guy (they said he used to play bass) who played a major role in the decision to purchase this material? He didn't last long at CBS, but received enormous funding to start his own label--all I remember about that label is the lavish party they had to introduce it. They took over the Fifth Avenue library, sent limos to pick people up, etc. It was obvious that CBS haphazardly took him aboard because they were looking to "diversify" at that time (remember "Dr." Butler?) and I think they ran the package past this guy because he was black and played an instrument--he had to know jazz. When he saw names like Parker, Getz, and Armstrong, he said "great," not having a clue about such pesky things as rights. Ridiculous, of course, but I think you recognize the early 70s white corporate mindset.

Their loss.

Refresh my memory, Chuck, why did AAJ ban you???? I left JC in disgust when Lois started indiscriminate ass-kissing, so I don't even lurk over there--I am a better person for it! While I miss some of my friends over there, there are others whose biases and nonsense I can easily do without. This is the place to be, although I do drop in on AAJ at least once a day.

The BYG label was run by crooks, plain and simple. Here's one instance of unsavory activity that I witnessed first-hand: In the late 60s or early 70s, I'm not sure which, I received a call from Columbia Records. They had purchased some Charlie Parker material from France--several albums worth--and Robert Palmer was writing the liner notes. He was having a problem identifying some of these sessions, so they wondered if I would take a listen. That same day, via messenger, a handful of LP test pressings arrived at my apartment. I spent the weekend tracking the material down and concluded that it would be impossible for any European to actually own all this. There was material that belonged to U.S. labels, some at that time in litigation, etc. I called Columbia and told them that it was my considered opinion that they had been had. They seemed quite upset and told me that the Parkers were only a small part of a larger package that included Stan Getz, Louis Armstrong, Ma Rainey... When they got to Rainey, I told them that all her recordings belonged to John Steiner, who had taken over the Paramount material, so, obviously, no Frenchmen had any rights to sell it. Now they were really beginning to sweat, so they asked if I would mind checking out the rest of the stuff. It didn't take me long to determine that this was all a scam. I called Columbia and told them that they were ok on the Armstrong. "Thank God for that," said the guy from A&R. I added that they were only ok because they already owned it--Jacques Bisceglia and Jean-Luc Young had sold them their own material! They came t my apartment, along with someone from the legal department, I laid it all out for them and they seemed to forget that I was present, for they spoke quite freely among themselves, They had already paid Young and Bisceglia a $200,000 advance. Next, they called BYG and asked the guys to come to New York, because they needed someone to help identify the various tapes--they did not reveal that they had caught on to the scam. At CBS's request, I was present for the meeting with Young (who was the only one who heeded the call) when a meeting was held in the legal dept at Blackrock. It was interesting to note how Young's understanding of English deteriorated whenever the questions got tough. He was asked to produce proof of ownership, which he promised to send. The contracts that eventually arrived were from a Stockholm-based company called "Jazzola." There was no such company. The upshot of this was that Columbia, embarrassed by their blunder, decided to write off the $200,000 and whatever money had already been spent on production (including the rather hefty invoice I presented them with). Fortunately, none of the material was issued by Columbia--that would have generated lawsuits as well as embarrassment.

Throw in Creed Taylor and you've got it!

As far as I know, Wes was never offered a job with the MJQ--nor would that make any sense. Where did you read this?

They were all recorded in Los Angeles on April 11, 1949. BTW there are unissued takes of Bran' New Dolly and Katy

November 16, 2004 One Person Stabbed at Vibe Awards Taping By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 10:43 a.m. ET SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) -- A fight broke out near the stage at the Vibe awards ceremony as rapper Snoop Dogg and producer Quincy Jones were preparing to honor Dr. Dre., and one person was stabbed, authorities and witnesses said. Dozens of people sitting near the stage Monday inside a hangar at the Santa Monica airport began shoving each other as the show wound down about 7:30 p.m. News video showed chairs being thrown, punches flying, people chasing one another and some being restrained. It was unclear if the stabbing preceded or followed the fight. The victim, a 26-year-old man, was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition. No arrests were made. Witness Frank Williams said Dr. Dre was involved in the brawl. "I saw Dr. Dre fighting somebody,'' Williams told KCAL-TV. "I don't know if he was fighting back. But there was a guy taken out basically bloodied.'' The Los Angeles Times, citing an unnamed associate of Dr. Dre, said the melee broke out as the acclaimed hip-hop producer was sitting at a front-row table waiting to receive the Vibe Legend Award. A man walked up to Dr. Dre's table and punched him, and Dr. Dre's bodyguards went after the man, the associate said. Dr. Dre was about to join Jones and Snoop Dogg on stage to receive the award for his lifetime contributions to hip-hop. "Come on, your messing up my rap, man,'' Jones said. Andrea Ferguson, employed by a public relations firm that worked with Vibe for the second annual awards ceremony, called the incident a "disruption'' but declined to provide details. She added the show was allowed to continue but it was halted for about five minutes. "My understanding is that it was somewhat chaotic in there,'' police Lt. Frank Fabrega said in a press conference following the fight. About 1,000 people attended the event; some scurried for the exits when the melee began. The show was taped Monday and was expected to be broadcast on the UPN network Tuesday. "It's really important that we don't take a negative incident like this and do away with the awards,'' Suge Knight told reporters. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur were among the artists signed to Knight's Death Row Records during its height in the early 1990s. After leaving the label, Dr. Dre started the highly successful Aftermath Records, which has signed stars including Eminem. When Knight was released in 2001 from a five-year prison term for assault and weapons violations, Dr. Dre obtained a court order to keep Knight away from him, The Times said. It was unclear whether the order remained in effect Monday. Vibe magazine focuses on urban culture and entertainment. The awards are voted on by music journalists and ``regional tastemakers.'' R&B singer Usher led the awards with five nominations, followed by Alicia Keys, who has four nominations.

I may have--in my overly stuffed closet--a 10" tape reel containing material dubbed directly from the master tapes. I did not know that there was a commercial release--who put it out?

That album cover brings back memories--it was my rooming house room at 25 West 82nd Street until 1963, when I moved to my present apartment. I spent a lot of time in that window, looking up and down the street!

I can't verify that, but there is no reason to believe that Les Paul was not remembering correctly. He played jazz, he was highly plugged in, and he was quite hot at the time--obvious choice, I would say.

I am grateful for the the kind words. -- Thank you, Chris