Larry Kart

"Dynamite!" is the one with Don Menza's "Sambandrea Swing," which is quite something IIRC.

Oh, yeah -- he's my role model.

I'm told that Katchen was so close to death (from cancer) when he made this recording that he had to be lifted onto the piano bench. You'd never know it from the performance.

Hmm. I'll think about that, though the T-shorts I wear do extend down below the belt line. Are you thinking that you end up (so to speak) sitting on the tail of the T-shirt, and then this mind of holds everything in place?

I may have more Lee Konitz albums than I have of any other artist, but these two with the trio Minsarah (Jeff Denson - bass. Ziv Ravitz - drums. Florian Weber - piano) are ... well I keep them around for documentary reasons only. Lee is in faltering shape at times, and Minsarah should be drowned in a mikveh.

Seem to be in a mainstream bag. "For Basie" is great; its successor "Basie Reunion", with much the same people, is not even close. For one thing, Jack Washington was out of sorts on the latter. For another, Walter Page, in superb form on "For Basie," died in the seven months between the two dates.

Pres at or near the end of his rope; the potent frontline of "Ben Webster and Associates" (Ben, Coleman Hawkins, Budd Johnson, Roy Eldridge) is sabotaged by the trance-like comping of Jimmy Jones (who can be perfectly fine). Ben Webster & Associates.webloc Here it's the comping of Oscar Peterson that sabotages "Gee Baby." Compare it to "Sweets" with the same front line and (on that day) a near sublime rhythm section (Jimmy Rowles, Barney Kessel, Joe Mondragon, Alvin Stoller). Attractive lineup (Braff, Pee Wee Russell, Benny Morton, Dick Hafer, Nat Pierce, Steve Jordan, Walter Page, Buzzy Drootin), but something went wrong.

The Hawes set has many fans, and I'm a Hawes fan otherwise, but these have always struck me as near lifeless, rhythmically logy performances. Never have been able to figure out just why, but I think it has something to do with Jim Hall's role or mood on this occasion.

When I wore suspenders I felt like a fake lumberjack. Also, if you do order something from Butt for You, be aware that their products are not returnable once you've worn them -- which is reassuring, I suppose. Order one pair in a size that you think will fit; if it doesn't, lesson learned, move on.

but this may be of use. I'm 75, and about ten or more years ago, I began to notice that all my pants -- slacks, jeans, you name it, and whatever brand or style -- were falling down in the course of a normal day. I tried tightening my belt until I could hardly breathe -- forget it, same problem. At one point I tried suspenders; they worked, but my first name isn't Clem or Lem. I could have stationed my belt just below my armpits, but my name isn't Seymour or Irving. Eventually I realized that the problem was that my ass pretty much had disappeared; whenever I bent over or sat down (especially while driving), there was nothing to prevent the rear end of my pants from incrementally sliding/moving downwards; and unless you keep hitching things up (and even then), there ya go. Also, though it didn't weigh heavily in my thinking, there is the cosmetic factor -- a man with almost no ass wearing pants that are made with the assumption that the purchaser has a normal ass tends to look sort of silly. Finally, I thought that there must be well-made underwear for men that had a reasonable amount of padding in the rear (there is for women). I investigated, and indeed there is; the brand that looked the best to me (after sifting through complaints and comments on lots of brands), was one with the apt and lovely name Butt For You. The pads (which come in two depths; I got the smaller size) are sturdy foam inserts that you remove when washing the otherwise normal (except for the slots in the back) 95% cotton underwear. They're not cheap -- $29.95 a pair IIRC -- but they do the job; my pants stay in place now. Further, the padding means that when I sit for a while on a hard surface, like a wooden bench at a football or basketball game, my butt doesn't begin to ache. My wife says that the cosmetic results are good -- perfectly normal, no protruding Merv Griffin effect. (Remember Rick Moranis doing Merv on SCTV?) In any case, my contribution to the well-being of the group. Don't thank me all at once. http://www.buttforyou.com/

If it hasn't been mention before -- "Red River." (It has.)

Deleted at his request

The Solal-Griffin album makes a nice contrast with the Solal-Toots album I mentioned yesterday. Interestingly, they both begin with versions of "You Stepped Out of a Dream." Both Griffin and Solal are in fine form, but the pairing with Toots leaves more room for interaction on Solal's part. The Bob Zurke story is a sad one. Dead of alcoholism at age 32, apparently, aside from his piano playing, he was no prize while among the living -- a compulsive womanizer and gambler (unpaid bookies reportedly had one of Zurke's legs broken and promised to break the other), his lack of hygiene was notable, and he regularly asked Bob Crosby bandmates for loans that were never repaid. When Jess Stacy replaced him, no tears were shed.

Kubelik's "Midsummer Night's Dream." Marvelous.

The first female scat singer I like. I'd do her in a minute. Jim, you're a regular Milton Berle.

A perfect pairing. At one point (on "What Is This Thing Called Love") Toots is so knocked out by Solal's off-the-wall inventiveness that he momentarily breaks up laughing through his harmonica. And Toots himself is no less inspired. Beautifully recorded too, and Solal is playing a fine instrument. The first female scat singer I like. I'd do her in a minute. (I mean the one above, in the dotted dress with the necklace.)

Bream had quite a range of colors at his command. Superb recording of the Symphonies of Wind Instruments by the U.S. Marine Band. Van Dam, from 1988, is in fine voice. Interesting to hear Les Nuits d'Ete in the original piano version and with a male voice.

I like those latter-day Powell tracks too. In fact, they're not that far removed from how he played on some tracks from his Roost albums.

Bunky's best album, I believe. The aspects of his approach that had a big effect on Steve Coleman and Greg Osby and Rudresh Mahanthappa are clear. The bassist is Eddie Gomez, what steps can anyone take?

"Nasally?" I would say "throaty" --- but certainly not "gargly". Might be somewhat akin to Rouse circa 1960, when Rouse made that nice quartet album for Epic "Yeah!" or "Takin' Care of Business" (Jazzland). Later Rouse, I don't hear it. Speaking of Rouse of that circa 1960 vintage, whatever happened to Seldon Powell? An excellent player, around then he shared half of an Epic album with Rouse. This compilation of Powell's Roost albums is quite good: https://www.amazon.com/Go-First-Class-Complete-Sessions/dp/B000I2KJOW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1506037661&sr=1-1&keywords=seldon+powell

John posted this the other day on Facebook: "www.goodbaitbooks.com is going to vanish in 4 days. This may be your last chance to read the essay on the state of jazz in the 21st century. And the part of my autobiography that tells about my trip to heaven. And "The Buddy Bolden Case" and the essays about Herbie Nichols, Lester Bowie, Bernie McGann, and the Henry Threadgill review." Some terrific writing here.

My old Felsted LP sounds great.

That Michael Moore always has been a bassist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moore_(bassist) It's not Michael Moore the reedman. Oh -- I get it now. It was early in the morning for me.

That Michael Moore always has been a bassist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moore_(bassist) It's not Michael Moore the reedman.

I like them better than any speakers of just about any size I've ever auditioned. To me they just sound like "music." BTW, while I was waiting in Music Direct's listening room for them to check out my amp yesterday, I was listening to, I think, some George Benson played though Wharfedale Diamond 250 Tower Loudspeakers, around $2,600 a pair. Just awful IMO, trashy and brittle.