Harold_Z

I think the writers are commenting (and burlesquing) on the convenience of using a highly visible group as a scapegoat.

The same excuse pops up a third time when the wiseguy crew on the no-work construction gig agree to use it when they call the ambulance for the guy who got beat up. It's a standard lick, which makes it difficult to decide if Tony B. was sticking it to Tony S. or just running the standard game.

Tony S. can't see that he's headed for a confrontation with Johnny Sack? He says to Tony B. he broke his back trying to remain neutral between Johnny Sack and Little Carmine then he proceeds to give Johnny Sack a song and dance to provide an alibi for Tony B. on the night of the Joe Peeps hit. Kind of contradictory. Might be flawed writing. If it's supposed to portray Tony's state of confusion It seems too far out of character to ring true.

I probably should have checked out my vinyl and revisited Johnny Griffin before answering this, but HEY ! We're only chatting here anyway. I haven't listened to any of these for a few years, so I'm going by memory, but I specifically remember pondering this question. Yeah...they're both great, but for me Hawk has the edge on this one. He's a ballad player supreme and he just kills it. Don't get me wrong - I dig Trane, and I'm glad both versions are here to listen to, but on the so called desert island, if I could only have one version, it would be Hawk. BTW, Hawk impressed the hell out of me on the Sonny/Hawk RCA thing too. For my money he edged that one out also.

What a little DOLL !! Congratulations and ALL the best.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE by Huey Smith and The Clowns SHORT FAT FANNIE - Larry Williams

Maybe Don Knotts.

I liked last night's episode. I was starting to get worried about this show. OK. Tony Blundetto is a cold killer and stupid too. Johnny Sack and Phil Leotardo are going to want Tony B. dead and Tony Soprano is caught between a rock and a hard place in regards to his cousin. Retribution means war between Johnny Sack and Little Carmine. I think it'll wind up with the Frankie Valli faction dead, and probably Tony B. Maybe Little Carmine.

...Or "Manhattan Special".

All I've ever bought on ebay were cds and books. I wouldn't buy any instrument or amp without playing it first. Man - the thought of that scares me. Jim , I'm very often suspicious of that "first" bid. It very often looks bogus.

Yeah...it's strange. I love the show...some of my friends love it and some won't watch it at all. Usually I hear something like "oh... I turned it off after 5 minutes."

There's a VHS video that pops up on ebay very often. It's an Eddie Condon show form around 1960 with Thelma Carpenter singing a couple of tunes backed by Willie the Lion, Cutty Cutshall, Al Hall and George Wettling. It's terrific - as is the whole show. Also present are Wild Bill Davison, Wingy Manone, Ed Hall, Vic Dickenson, Gene Schroeder, etc. Even Johnny Mercer and Sammy Davis Jr are there. The video quality is a little grainy, but hey!....know what I mean? The Ebay blurb usually has the date wrong - I think they put 1972 or 1964. It's a "Tribute To Eddie Condon" or something to that effect and it looks like somebody has a copy that they use for a master to crank out copies.

Just listen to the music. IMHO For the most part for me it's really hard to judge someone one way or the other without knowing them personally. I've known a lot of musicians with "bad reps" that I got along fine with - and some that I didn't.

I find the sound on the Classics VERY acceptable. It's not JRT Davies (first choice) but I have usually have no problem with it. There have been a few I did not like, but really I'm usually happy with the Classics. Re RCA: generally speaking I find RCA recordings from the 30s and early 40s to be somewhat shrill and that's going back to microgroove of the 50s. Fats, Muggsy, etc. Duke excepted.

You already have a large chunk of the essentials, but I'm like Lon - if it's Bechet I get it as soon as I see it. Also I'll second John L's recomendation for the Clarence Williams material (particulary the things with Louis Armstrong) and Noble Sissle stuff. Probably the easiest way to get it is on the Chronogical Classics. There's a great sounding Timeless cd called "Young Sidney Bechet 1923-25" that has a lot of the Clarence Williams stuff (and the companion band "The Red Onion Jazz Babies" - almost the same band) in the best reissue sound to date. "Cakewalkin' Babies From Home" was down by both bands and makes for great comparison between Pops and Bechet in what was somewhat of a rivalry match in two rounds according to jazzlore. There's a great session from the 50s on Vogue with Jonah Jones. I have it on vinyl, but I think it's available on cd from fantasy on the Good Time Jazz subsidiary.

Can anybody ID the bassist or pianist in that band ? the guitarist is Chuck Wayne.

I dunno...it's a few disappointing episodes in a row for me. I'm not looking for a shootout each show, but the lack of continuity is annoying me. Don't get me wrong - I still think it's the best thing on tv, but It's not living up to it's own standard - unless they deliver a super episode tying it all in. It still keeps me totoally involved. Thank the powers that be that Tony didn't make it with Polly when she sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY....as great as she looked back in the day - NOW'S THE TIME. The writers still seem to be making the point that Tony is slipping further into dissipation and lack of control. he really didn't handle the Phil Leotardo scene to well...and here is one of the major points I've been following reinforced. The scene wher Phil says to Johnny Sack with raised eyebrows ".... New Jersey ??" Johnny is the main cat Tony has to watch. In the first season he doesn't appear, but Livia mentions him in passing... "That snake Johnny Sack"...... Hmmm. It was a better episode than last week. There's a lot of psyche stuff going on with Tony, but I think it's being handled in a heavy handed manner.

I heard one track on the FM - sounded really good.

I can't remember the title for sure, but it's a Coltrane blues head - I think MR PC - and the melodic line Trane plays is a lot like Sonny Rollins take on SHADRACK.

In his autobiography "We Called It Music", Eddie Condon said that the first time he heard Bix play it sounded "like a girl saying yes". Somewhere else, I can't recall where, Eddie said that Jimmy McPartland sounded like what he thought Bix would have sounded like had he lived. If you can get a hold of a copy of Jimmy's "Shades Of Bix" you can see what he meant. Every year on Bix's birthday, WKCR usually plays at least 24 hours of Bix. At some point they play a "Bix Solo Tape". A tape where all his solos have been excerpted and strung together. It's fascinating. It goes well over an hour and is totally interesting all the way through. Bix was one of the handful of guys whose playing was so influential that it influenced people 2nd and 3rd hand. He changed the music that came after him.

Literally the first example that came to mind when I saw the thread title.

For the most part movies about musicians make me cringe. They just don't get it right. Most egregious examples being Steve Allen's Benny Goodman, Jimmy Stewart's Glenn Miller, and Sal Mineo's Gene Krupa (light up and be somebody). Really just good for laughs. Having said that, I DID like Forest Whittaker's Bird portrayal, but there is an example of a movie that came under heavy flak for various reasons, a lot of them wrong. I'd rather see footage of the real guys with as little commentary as possible.

I don't find this board overly aggressive at all. I made a personal decision when I started posting on boards to not participate in political forums. That alone eliminates 99% of aggressive attitudes. For me it's hard enough to express my Haroldist and Z-ism political opinions in person, let alone in print, so I decided to let that one go.

Where do you guys find these moving avatars ?

I don't find it offensive at all.