BeBop

Thanks all. Appreciate thoughts and suggestions. Really tired. Hope I can catch a little sleep.

Good weather. Would like a nice sunset. Fingers crossed for that. It's interesting that this is where I come at this moment. Nice bunch of people here. No one likely to sh*t on me right now. That's why going to some unfamiliar chat room didn't appeal.

I'm talking to myself here. What I say really isn't appropriate in the place. But I feel like I need to talk. I'm not looking for a response from anyone. Send a positive thought, if you wish. My wife of 25 years is dying. I'm her caretaker. The oncologist said the end was likely to come like this: "She will sleep more and more. One day, she just won't wake up". She's 47. Brain tumor. Well, she's been sleeping for a full day. Before today, it was seldom over nine hours. Now it seems like... So I'm scared. As I say, I'm alone. Obviously can't go anywhere. Up the stairs. Back down. Looking out the window. But the house is full of memories, even though it wasn't a place we lived together, what with my travel schedule. Hey, it could be nothing other than an unusually long sleep. But...well, you can imagine. I'll post this and see how it makes me feel. Maybe I'll delete. Seems like it may be a good idea. I'm just a bundle of nerves. Please don't "quote" this post. That way, I can make it go away, if I decide.

Thanks, Blue Train. You know, I think I could listen to Blue Trane right about now. Funny, I'm not much of a trombone guy. But those beautiful harmonized heads with Fuller, Trane, Lee Morgan. Yes. It's on. And I'm still writing gibberish (here and on the paul secor-inspired writing project.)

Thanks, JSngry. Your suggestion may be an excellent one soon. Right now, I'm in a house I can't leave. When I can leave, I'll probably walk my feet off. Walking and exercise: good for the soul.

Since I'm alone (effectively), I can't talk to or watch anyone. But writing is an excellent idea. Really. I think that will hold me for a while. Thank you sincerely, paul secor.

--------UPDATE - November 24, 2013 ----------------------- Lisa, my wife of 25 years has died. Just 47 years old. Brain tumor. Fought for 12 years. Never said "why me?" I'd started this thread when I was seeking distraction, thinking that the end was near. She hung on until last night, so we had more time together, but she also suffered longer. And so it goes. I thought I'd resurrect the thread under a new Topic to say thanks to people who helped me find those much-needed distractions (even without knowing why I was asking), including kind thoughts and ideas received by PM. This group (organissimo board) is probably the only one I'll tell. I don't plan to mention to my coworkers, my social groups, distant family. But I needed to say it out loud. Tell someone. And now I have. Make a good thought for Lisa, the best thing that's happened to me. --------- ORIGINAL POST ---------------- I'm going stir-crazy. I'm in a very tough moment in life, and I'm all alone. I can't listen to music; I'm too restless. I can eat....and eat and eat... (Put down the fork, Bebop). Almost as dangerous as shopping. I tried the only chat room I ever visit, and it's really dormant. Random web surfing isn't doing it. No way can I pull together the attention to read right now. I don't do TV or videos. And I've no one to phone that I haven't already talked to...several times. The best I've found is an article on macroprudential supervision of systemically important financial institutions. I know I haven't left much "room" for suggestions. But any serious suggestions welcomed. Please, no attempts to be funny. I'm not kidding here. Thank you.

I considered him to be one of the more individual/distinctive voices out there in "modern times". I'm pretty sure he was on the one Organissimo "blindfold test" CD I received (years ago, perhaps Jsngry?) and it was immediately obvious who was playing. I'll cherish his legacy and be saddened that he didn't survive to create more.

Seems like some people selling CDs make a big deal out of 'em: "Includes OBI strip!"

Thank you for the link, King Ubu

Have a happy one, Leeway!

"Box Set Sale" at DeepDiscount.com. I don't shop or know any prices, though deepdiscount has done alright by me in the past, when I was buying. So I'll post the link. It could suck. But y'all will be better judges: Link

15% Off Everything on Amoeba.com Apply Promo Code at Checkout: OCT1513 Valid October 17th through October 20th, 2013

Chuck Nessa may have inspired this discussion, but now seems to be no more than a voyeur. How 'bout it, Mr. Nessa?

Holy Birthday, Happy Ghost. Or wait...try that again.

$20 gift certificate for $10. Brick and mortar stores, this Sunday (20 October) for just an hour 5:00PM - 6:00PM. Free money, kinda. But a narrow window likely to draw crowds. But just FYI... Link

I made some minor contributions to the research on this article, and, I think, posted a link at the time. Link

Former neighbor, casual friend, great drummer and nice guy. I spent many hours enjoying his work in Bay Area clubs. Thanks, Donald.

Expect additions later: I started piano lessons at four, and saxophone lessons at eight. By junior high (age twelve) I was playing (badly) in the stage band. The usual stuff: Neal Hefti arrangements. Sammy Nestico. My first exposure to "jazz". At this point, the revelations begin. Count Basie - Straight Ahead - Wow, that's what these charts are supposed to sound like! And swing. I wish we could swing. Maybe someday. But I really like that feeling: swing. Maynard Ferguson - Early 70s stuff - M.F. Horn - "Dad, what's an M.F.?" Well, these albums defined it for me . Basie swung. Maynard soared. Or rather screeched. But it was impressive as hell all the same. Hey, I was twelve. Anthony Braxton - For Alto - That's a saxophone? An alto like I play? (Still twelve years old at this point.) No swinging here...at least not like Basie. I really don't get it. But I can't stop listening. I guess it was a little like picking at a cut in your knee: painful, but irresistible. All these years later, I'm still working to fully "get it". I met Braxton when he was working at Mills College. I just chatted with him a bit. But I also tried to look into his eyes - into his soul - with the hope of fully getting it. For Alto was also important because it was the focus of many meaningful conversations with two alto-playing friends. We talked about it, analyzed it, alternately "accused" one another of liking it and hating it. Both friends have done well with their lives. I think of them and thank them (spiritually) often. Charles Christopher "Yardbird" Parker - Dial sides - He's God. I call him by his full name. Yes, I think I heard Bird for the first time after For Alto. It was another revelation. I wanted to be Bird. I wanted to fly. I knew I never would, so I hocked my alto (just like Bird!) and I moved to tenor. Chickensh*t. But who didn't marvel, the first time hearing Bird? My cynical answer would be "kids these days". I do encounter a lot of people who - having heard many technically proficient alto players who mimic Bird - don't give the original the respect that is due to him. Bird Lives. Buddy Rich Big Band - Live Concert - This was my first live concert. (...followed by...Jean Luc Ponty?!). I suppose the revelation here was the live energy. It was a dynamic band. Pete Yellin, Bob Mintzer, Steve Marcus. Not his best band ever, but it was the roarin'. Time Check. I can still hear it. My head spun. Stan Getz - Groovin' High - This one's more a story than a revelation. I'd heard of Stan Getz. Everyone had heard of Stan Getz. Even people who'd never come close to hearing Stan Getz had heard of him. So I'm at the flea market. Black and white cover with Getz. I'm thinking: yeah, I should buy this. Couldn't have been more than a quarter - just within my fourteen year old's budget. So I take it home and really like it. So I go buy another Stan Getz. It's okay, but it's not - like - as good. So I pick up another. And another. They're all fine. Even the weird bossa nova ones, but, they're not as good as the first one: Groovin' High. Well, as some of you have probably figured out, this was a "Crown Records" casserole of appropriated material from everyone but (probably) Getz. The tenor player that I loved I eventually identified as Wardell Gray. Jones-Smith, Inc. - Swing almost too delicate and perfect to touch. Pres' Lady Be Good remains the absolute finest improvisation I've heard, but it's all a source of never-ending bliss and joy. KJAZ radio later had a show featuring "The Lester People", Pres' disciples. I listened to them all. None came close to the original, but some gave glimmers of Pres' perfect composition. I couldn't stand to listen to Paul Quinichette. Go figure. Hot Fives and Sevens - They're naked. Every man (and Lil Hardin) utterly exposed. Showing whatever they have. Masculinity, sex, pain, joy, bit of anger. This was it, before the whole jazz thing got big and "refined". Louis did it best. He could talk - tell a story. (Bonus Choice: Louis and Earl Hines) Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch - I'd grown accustomed to "hearing" the sax player, so Dolphy's unusual (to me, at age fifteen or so) style caught my ear. Or, for a while, fought my ear. But I always recognized its uniqueness. Pres, Bird, Trane, even Hawk had their imitators and disciples. Dolphy was almost the beginning and end of his thing. (Ornette had the same effect on me.) What really "got me" about Out to Lunch was Bobby Hutcherson. That vibe sound. Not like Lionel Hampton or Red Norvo - my vibe touchstones at that point. Not like Milt Jackson. A sound like a high-pitched, tuned gong. Archie Shepp and Nils Henning Orsted Pederson - For Bird - At this point, I was playing mainly duos with a guitar player (RIP, Pierre) and a pianist and, once in a while, a bass player. I was exploring how much could be done with just two people. Could I "comp" on saxophone for the guitar playing single-note lines? Shepp showed me more. I played better duos. I went on to like Shepp in many other contexts, but still, the duos are the best - Parlan, Richard Davis, Tchangodei. And that grew to a much larger interest in duo play. Still on my "controlled obsession" list. (see Braxton, Anthony) Bud Powell and Johnny Griffin - Idaho and Perdido - The duo thing looped back to my piano hero, Bud Powell. Johnny Griffin I'd heard several times at the Keystone. I liked him. A lot. He was technically impressive and played well. He didn't often really "touch me", but when he came to town, I was there. But the stuff with Bud just worked for me. Bare bones recording had a lot of immediacy and energy. I'd play that cut over and over. After hearing the Paris recordings, Griffin became my link back to Bud. Griffin humored that odd kid. Thanks. 　

Wishing you another year's "birthday best"!

I've been around a long time and heard a lot of albums. (H*ll, I own 12,000 plus) I don't think you'd find my list interesting. I would be interested in your "final" 100. Much of my list would be Ellington. It's one of my "secret shames" that there isn't more Ellington on my list (assuming such a list existed). Loved the Bubber Miley, Art Whetsol period...up into Cootie Williams, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, and Jimmy Blanton absolutely without reservation. Genius. Really enjoyed small groups. Hodges' best period, IMO. The extended works, I simply never warmed to. Or, better-said, never warmed to as jazz. Jazz has lots of forms and facets. So I'm not suggesting the extended works weren't jazz, but just not my ne plus ultra, touch my heart form of jazz. (Also in this category: Bud Shank/Bob Cooper oboe/flute West Coast.) The extended works I appreciate more when I'm in the mood for orchestral/"classical" (hate that term - "european tradition"). Those extended works are really a cornerstone of the Ellington legacy. And I wish I appreciated them more. And I don't care for vocals, probably a less-important but still important part of the Ellington legacy. Ivie Anderson Mood Indigo just doesn't do it for me. My level of sophistication is probably closer to a Basie band's simple riff. There's my confession. Seven "Hail Louis".

I've been around a long time and heard a lot of albums. (H*ll, I own 12,000 plus) I don't think you'd find my list interesting.

Thanks. Yes, that was my reaction. I'd probably heard of/heard 90 of the 100 albums. I'm interested in the other ten, and I'm interested in listening again to some of the 90 with a bit more "focus".

I think that, in many ways, you may triumph over most of the rest of us. I'll certainly be the Champion of washing underwear in the hotel sink.

Link Yeah, it's another list. Top 10 this, Greatest 99 that. I did find some of the choices interesting, and the rationales thought provoking (if not terribly controversial).