BeBop

Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle A Diary of the Underdogs: Jazz in the 1960's in San Francisco By Don Alberts

* You Got to Be Original, Man!: The Music of Lester Young, by Frank Buchmann-Moller, perhaps? (or You Just Fight For Your Life) I liked Pony Poindexter's book too. I was blessed to be able to hang out with him a dozen or so evenings, late in his life.

Jake Hanna: The Rhythm and Wit of a Swinging Jazz Drummer by Maria Judge. I can't say I went into this with high hopes. I saw it in a bookstore when I was about to board a flight without reading material. I think his niece wrote it. The perspective is about 0.2 inches deep. Lots of family anecdotes that were lost on me. The New Face of Jazz : An Intimate Look at Todays Living Legends and the Artists of Tomorrow I got the impression that author Cicily Janus accidentally stumbled into a "jazz" club one night, had a good time and decided to write a book. There's a claim that she interviewed 400 people. I can't imagine what she asked them. I can't believe that more than a few of them were what we would consider legitimate jazz artists. I don't have many recent "overview" books on jazz. The 2010 publication date was fresh when I threw my money away on it.

Happy Birthday, 2015!

Happy Birthday, my friend.

Off topic: is there a thread on the WBGO/Mos Def show? It wasn't great, but it was intriguing to tune in about two minutes after start and not know who was hosting until the end.

That metal piece, commonly called ligature, may be built into the mouthpiece or integrated with it. That would explain it, kind of. Consistent with Allen Lowe's original suggestion of poor seal between reed and mouthpiece.

Odd indeed. The other possibility is that the cork has compressed so that, when adjusted to be in-tune, there is a leak between mouthpiece and cork. But that'd be a cork problem. Or Coleman was just jiving the guy. Like the mechanic who attributes your car problem to a muffler bearing.

I hope 's a great one!

All the best, 2015 birthday, Big Wheel!

Part Two: Does it matter is it's a mint 50s Blue Note or a trashed copy of Frampton Comes Alive? I imagine most of us cringe, either one. Perhaps we can muster a shout over the Blue Note. Or a tear. I found myself cringing a little too much over that Frampton or a Saturday Night Fever.

That Twardzik is $147.50 on Amazon, used! The Nichols is $99.99. I see an arbitrage opportunity here. I haven't picked up the Farlow, but I'm tempted. I spent a day or so with him back in the early 1980s. "Interesting" guy at that point, anyway. I wouldn't judge him from that non-representative snapshot (in the context of his whole life/career). He didn't seem to be really happy about playing/traveling, especially in "large audience" settings. I suppose I can understand that. Homesick? Working at that point again with Red Norvo.

I'm "with" JSngry on basically all of what he says, but an extra "amen" on these points. I try to be careful in the lousy service situation. I don't want to stiff the waiter if someone else is to blame: a cook or a manager who expects a waiter to cover 36 tables. But I tip generously because I'm getting serviced (take that anyway you want) 24/7/365.

It depends. You're right, some places tipping is unacceptable, some places it's seen as "odd" and some places it's absolutely essential. I do a lot of research before I go anywhere. Ideally, I don't want to offend anyone. Tipping behavior gets broken down even further for me (since I travel perpetually): restaurants, valets, bellmen/women, housekeeping, taxis, airport shuttles, luggage storage, coat check, the guy who escorts you to your room and shows you how to turn on the TV...there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason, except that in some places it's a "must" across the board (like New York) and some places it's a no-no (parts of Eastern Asia).

More bios: Gordon Clarke, Lonnie Johnson, Valaida Snow A few jazz technique and theory books. Print books only. http://www.lulu.com I buy a lot from these guys and love them. Not really fast, but be patient. 30% off with code GOPHIL (all caps) Also a nice book on San Francisco in the 1960s by Don Alberts

Sunnyvale, California is Sunny.

Uber, positively positive. There are lots of places on the outskirts of urban areas where I can't reliably get a cab...to get me to an airport/flight. Uber is at least honest about whether they're coming to get you and when. Taxis, no. And taxis still run you around the long way, since that boosts the fare. Uber is GPS "neutral", so there isn't the BS. Airbnb on the other hand is too hit or miss. Privacy? Maybe. Everything in good working condition? Seldom. You do get to check out people's music and book collections, but I'll stick with cookie cutter hotels. At least you get a cookie. Zipcar and those things with their own fleets are great. But if you need a car for more than a day, rent from something like Hertz Local Edition (non airport) and save a lot of money. Driving someone's personal car scares me. Who maintains and repairs the thing?

I'm old, but doing a lot of this "sharing". I'm forced into it because I don't have a home. So I'm always on the selfish/receiving side of the share. Or I s'pose I'm sharing my money.

I don't have them in front of me, but I thought the Misterioso LPs had five takes of Twisted, seven of Southside...

This is past tense now, but I fear my pain less than my inability to alleviate the pain of people I love (wife).

Enjoying the broadcast on my fancy hotel table radio.

Living too long.

WKCR, even... I can't get past some long-term mental block against those four letters, in sequence! The sad/bad thing is that I do a lot of work for a huge, global company whose name is four letters, and I keep fouling those up. Woek this morning to less snow on the ground than we had when I went to bed. Fifth and Sixth Avenues, across 34th and 42nd, not a car in sight. No busses or trains. This was, of course, by design. Aside from the need for the snow plows to do their thing, it could be a pretty normal morning here, it seems. Same conditions cars were driving in late yesterday.

Back to my hotel. Heat. WCKR. Nice.

I guess I'm a little behind/East of you. Manhattan. Defintiely snowing here. The snow's rising as much as it's falling, if you know what I mean.