Larry Kart

That's interesting - listening today to the LP my impression was that the sound was somewhat flat and 'one-dimensional'. Not untypical of Atlantics - but if anything even more so than usual. That's exactly what I thought. The Discovery reissues were a big improvement.

Baby

Yeah -- of all the reviews I've ever written, that's probably the one I'd like to efface from the planet. Don't recall what got into me there. I was familiar with Fischer's writing and playing from the Pacific Jazz orchestral album with Jerry Coker as featured soloist and his two PJ trio albums (perhaps some Revelation things, too, by that time?) all of which I liked (though I thought there was something a tad precious, albeit interesting, about the reed section writing on the album with Coker). Whatever, thanks in part to the weird Atlantic mastering, the textures on "Thesaurus" seemed quite clotted to me, and I just went nuts. The glories of Warne's solos on the albm in some strange way had something to do with this, and while what I said about Perkins' bari playing was unforgivably snotty, he was in the midst of his shift from his lovely personal-offshoot-of-Pres manner to an overtly muscular-macho Rollins-Trane mode (in terms of timbre, harmony, and rhythm) that arguably did not serve him well at all for the most part (though he does get it going IMO on several late albums under Lennie Niehaus' leadership). Perkins himself would later on speak quite honestly and movingly about the whats and whys of this stylistic switch in a Cadence interview.

A comment on Fischer from the website: http://www.belairjazz.org/ of talented reedman-composer David Sherr, for many years a regular on the LA studio scene: "I think the reason Clare Fischer lasted so long with Prince is that they never met. To know Clare is to be annoyed by him. Clare never tired of pointing out other musicians’ supposed flaws but sometimes had difficulty reading parts other studio piano players seemed to handle with ease. A great jazz musician, though, and an interesting arranger." BTW, I highly recommend Sherr's own adventurous albums and a visit on his website to the sections "On the Road at 18" (great stories), "Inside Studio A" (a cornucopia of comments on the LA studio and showbiz scene and its personalities -- e.g. nice stuff about Sonny Criss, Plas Johnson, Bobby Bryant, et al, to whom Sherr was close), etc.

Don't know what "complete the date" means, unless Austin thought that "Burnin'" and "Sonny Stitt" were regarded as a single date by Argo. In any case, my ears tell me that the rhythm section on all tracks of "Sonny Stitt" (Argo 629) is entirely different than the Harris-Gant-Austin rhythm section on "Burnin.'" In particular, there's no way that the pianist on "Sonny Stitt" is Harris unless he underwent a sudden stylistic transplant, and again, the bassist sounds a good deal like El Dee Young.

Larry posted the number (229) in his post #48. Like he said it's an Argo album. Actually, it's Argo 629: http://www.bsnpubs.com/chess/argo600.html My mistake, sorry. Flat5 -- The color cover, with its catalogue number visible, is in your gallery of covers.

Larry posted the number (229) in his post #48. Like he said it's an Argo album. Actually, it's Argo 629: http://www.bsnpubs.com/chess/argo600.html

BTW, Flat5, do you know who are the members of the unidentified rhythm section on Stitt's other (IMO exceptional) 1958 Argo album (629), "Sonny Stitt," which was originally issued with the same color photo of Stitt on front and back and no liner notes? The liner notes to the 1990 MCA CD reissue say that it's "possibly" Harris, William Austin, and Frank Gant, but I'm sure that's not the case. My guess has always been that it's the Ramsey Lewis Trio, which of course was an Argo mainstay. Bassist El Dee Young is quite distinctive, for one.

You're right on about Clark's "Nobody's Angel" and "Westerfield's Chain." About the meticulous but unfussy sense of Chicago reality, while I was reading "Nobody's Angel" I happened to drive by one of its key locations, a 24-hour convenience store on Ridge Ave. on the North Side where cab drivers often congregate late at night. Gave me a bit of a jolt to realize that that was the place I'd been reading about. About the Marlowe of "The Long Goodbye" not always having learned from his prior battles, probably I should read the book again, but I recall that as something of a positive. A Marlowe who knows himself too well might not be able to function at all. Also, his whole involvement with Terry Lennox is more than a little strange, as is his eventual connection with the heiress he will marry in "Playback." Perhaps it's the impossibility of the earlier incarnations of Marlowe breathing the air of the post-war world of "The Long Goodbye" that is one of the book's subjects. I agree about the chapters at the hack writer's residence. Self-flagellation?

Yes. And Farewell My Lovely has the most diverse characters and wildest scenes of all Chandler's novels as well as perhaps less of his unpleasant personal quirks. I'm a fiend for this stuff. Re Nero Wolfe, there's quite a post-WW2 darkness and gloom about the 3 Zeck novels. Dancing Bear by James Crumley is terrific and chapter 3 is the best writing of any American crime writer. Crumley's The Wrong Case and, for much of the way, The Last Good Kiss are also xlento (Hank Mobley's word). Great plot in Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson. I like the tension of Maigret at the Crossroads by Simenon - it was made into one of Jean Renoir's first sound movies - wonderful, no English subtitles but perfectly clear if you read the novel first. Don't miss A Coffin for Dimitrios (The Mask of Dimitrios) and Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler. For that matter, don't miss the Sherlock Holmes short stories. I love "Farewell My Lovely" for the reasons you mentioned, plus the incredible jolt when Chandler links the two strands in the plot (Lindsay Marriot and Jesse Florian) that were quite separate in the two novellas that Chandler cannibalized to make up this novel. One of the things I like most about "The Long Goodbye" is that in it Chandler more or less painfully confronted many of those "unpleasant personal quirks," if I understand what you mean by that (e.g. the character's implicit prissiness?). In any case, the Marlowe of that book is a Marlowe who has absorbed all the experiences of the previous books, like an aging boxer who has taken too many punches.

Here's that Cannonball-Miles "Autumn Leaves":

Probably Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye," but competition is fierce.

Just picked up a copy of violist Lillian Fuchs (1902-99) playing her arrangements of the Bach Cello Suites (recorded in the early 1950s): http://www.amazon.com/Bach-6-Suites-Cello-Solo/dp/B00079W8PY/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1309095923&sr=1-2 Wow. Some complete movements on YouTube:

"Autumn Leaves" on Cannonball's "Somethin' Else," with Miles, Hank Jones, Sam Jones, and Blakey.

Just to be clear, in case anyone is confused -- those three books I mentioned were written by Litweiler, not me.

Make that books. There are at least three: "The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958," Ornette Coleman: A Harmolodic Life," and a novel "Mojo Snake Minuet."

Dig this response: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/20/amy-winehouse-belgrade-gig-valerie He says she's just being a jazz singer.

I'm a fan. In addition to his many Criss Cross recordings as a leader and sideman, he's in fine form on drummer-Organissimo board member Mike Melito's "In the Tradition," where his ideal frontline partner is tenorman Grant Stewart. An excellent album. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/melito3

Bud Powell's "Time Waits," with Philly Joe.

Papsrus -- sent you a PM.

Had a Cambridge Azur 640C that developed the same problem. Not a cheap unit either, damn it, as you know. Decided to replace it with another brand of player after repeated uses of a cleaning disc didn't help. Lesson learned, though I'm not sure what the lesson was, other than that the Cambridge Azur 640C I had was vulnerable. BTW, the guy at the outfit, Music Direct in Chicago, from which I bought the new player (won't mention the brand and model out of fear of tempting the Gods) said to never use a cleaning disc, that doing so might well damage the laser. Music Direct is online, BTW, at musicdirect.com P.S. I didn't try to get my Cambridge Azur 640C fixed because it was out of warranty, and I would have had to send the unit to England.

The 1951 "Go-Go" Chicago White Sox, with Nellie Fox, Minnie Minoso, Billy Pierce, Chico Carrasquel, et al., managed by Paul Richards. IIRC, they were in first place as late as July 1st but finished in fourth, 17 games behind the Yankees. Great fun while it lasted.

Not that it settles anything about his sexual orientation, but it's my understanding that Navarro's rather high-pitched voice and his girth led to the "Fat Girl" nickname.

Skimming through that lengthy column, I was surprised to see that there was quite a bit of truth behind Greene's very famous line about Sinatra having saved his life. I always found Greene to be hysterically funny, primarily when I saw him guest on Carson's Tonight Show. Wish I would have seen him in person. Many thanks for the link. Yes, but I think they got the Sinatra joke a bit wrong. As I recall, and I heard Shecky deliver it, it goes like this: "Frank Sinatra? Wonderful man -- saved my life. One night in the parking lot of the Sands Hotel three guys were beating the crap out of me, and Frank said, 'That's enough.'" There might have been an extra beat or two in there, a la "Frank Sinatra? Wonderful man, prince of a fellow -- saved my life" etc., but I'm pretty sure about the rest. And if I am right about this, I think that the rhythms and wording really matter. Yes, I guess they did get it "a bit wrong", but I hadn't really noticed. I recall it the exact same way you do, because I've repeated the story many times to various people over the years. Additionally, I think Greene mentioned that the incident happened after a set when he went out to the parking lot to take a break, the implication being once the punch line is delivered that he must have said something to irk Sinatra during his set. Yes, as the blog entry about Greene would lead one to expect, he was almost certainly talking during his set about Sinatra's mob connections. In fact, the night I heard him tell the joke at a club in suburban Chicago, he was going on about Sinatra and mob-upped L.A. attorney Sidney Korshak (originally from Chicago), who happened to be the uncle of the woman who was the publicist for the venue and one of the more powerful figures in the Chicago entertainment world. She was not amused.

Skimming through that lengthy column, I was surprised to see that there was quite a bit of truth behind Greene's very famous line about Sinatra having saved his life. I always found Greene to be hysterically funny, primarily when I saw him guest on Carson's Tonight Show. Wish I would have seen him in person. Many thanks for the link. Yes, but I think they got the Sinatra joke a bit wrong. As I recall, and I heard Shecky deliver it, it goes like this: "Frank Sinatra? Wonderful man -- saved my life. One night in the parking lot of the Sands Hotel three guys were beating the crap out of me, and Frank said, 'That's enough.'" There might have been an extra beat or two in there, a la "Frank Sinatra? Wonderful man, prince of a fellow -- saved my life" etc., but I'm pretty sure about the rest. And if I am right about this, I think that the rhythms and wording really matter.