BeBop

I really must add Earl Hines. He was a great player, an innovator and a nice guy. (I know others have mentioned him, but I didn't include him on my original, short list.)

Yes. Then, after one more 'bud powell', Hampton Hawes. And Count Basie, as much for what he didn't play as for what he did. And Monk, for what he did while sitting at the piano, or dancing around it.

I think I've got the Complete Organissimo on CD...

Stomp-Off

The number of CDs in your collection exceeds what your enjoyment of that artist would warrant. Or another way I think of it, "if I could trade some of what I have for what I wish I had bought instead..."

My past buying seems to have been influenced by my financial situation. I was relatively prosperous during the big Blue Note reissue boom (when internet seller promos drove down prices). So I've got a heap of Jackie Mac, Hank, Jazz Messengers. Fine stuff, of course. But jeez. I had another big buying spell when cheap LPs were coming out from Jazz Anthology and Il Grandi del Jazz. And then there was the brief flirtation with being a completist, and a short-lived fascination with Crown Records and its relatives. (These days, I'm not buying - for other reasons. So I suppose I may end up with a gap corresponding to the decline/final throes of the CD format.)

I just heard this - kind of accidentally - while listening to Poem for Malcolm (they're both Track One on my CD.) I hadn't noticed Hank on the lineup before listening. For me, it's Hank out-of-context. Vince Benedetti had played with Hank in one of Hank's own groups around this time, right? Seems like Moncur would be the link - playing with Shepp regularly and with the Blue Noters (on Hancock's My Point of View with Hank?), though I could have my dates all fouled up. Anyway, funny this thread would come up between my initial listen and actually being able to do a little research.

Good way to avoid a Breakfast Feud.

I've got an unusual assignment coming up where I have a client operating in these three Texas cities. I've got work to do in each, but some work that can be done in any location. So, I get to divide up my time, with a bias toward / away from one or more. I've been to each city at least three times, but, in the past, it's been nearly 100% work. My recollection is that Austin suited my tastes best - local book shops, local unusual food joints (vegan), live music. My latest gig in Houston (July '08) didn't leave me impressed with the city culture. Apologies to any offended Houston fans. I'm a 60s/70s Berkeley-ite by upbringing. Definitely not a straight-line thinker. My time at NTSU was challenging, though I can't say it was unhappy. Anyone care to weigh in?

Music Direct Acoustic Sounds Ring GEMM And that's about the order in which I'd approach them. Also, be aware of Record Store Day and the participants therein. More have websites.

Happy Birthday, Vibes!

Maybe funny in retrospect: I'd posted this thread under non-political. Oops.

Looking out the window. .... From Monitor Online News: At least 550 people have so far been arrested in connection to the riots that have, for three days, affected business in Kampala city and claimed 14 lives, police announced yesterday. Police also warned that the arrest the hunt for the ring leaders was still ongoing. “I can tell you that we are still arresting, this is not all, we are going to arrest more,” the Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura told journalist yesterday at the CID headquarters in Kampala, adding that 83 of the suspects have been charged in court. The Police chief also said that the rioters had retreated to the suburbs describing the mayhem as pre-planned by ill intentioned and malicious characters. “There has been orchestrated violence and lawlessness in the suburbs of Kampala this (Saturday) morning; surburbs like Nateete,Kyengera,Kamwokya and Kireka have experienced sporadic incidents of hooliganism and brief episodes of disturbances,”Mr Kayihura said. Whole Story

Apparently more news here, but the site is blocked inside Uganda. If anyone stumbles across anything of interest and could send a PM or post something, I'm trying to be a bit better informed. Thanks.

As I left the internet cafe yesterday, the counterman joined me out the door. I wasn't sure why, other than, perhaps to talk. As it turned out, he wanted to make sure that I reached a safe place; it was clear that the riots of the past few days were coming to life again. As it turned out, I was safe before the violence re-erupted. News

Thank you. Learn something new every day. I've been to both of the "Congos" (Republic of...and Democratic Republic of...) without realizing this bit of history. I suppose I find myself more attuned to today's crises than those of even a short while ago, historically speaking. But it's important not to lose history. So I appreciate the edification.

Continuing with my self-indulgence, I plant another breadcrumb. (There are other threads out there - also of no value - posted during my "Night in Tunisia" and time in Ruwenzori.) Not my first trip to Uganda, but my first to Katanga. Hard not to think of the album/song with the name of this place. Unfortunately, not on my portable music player, and a high-speed connection in Uganda is but a dream. Pretty hard-scrabble place. I guess that goes without saying, or I wouldn't be here. But the people fall squarely in the "asset" column. (This certainly isn't always the case - plenty of human liabilities out there, often in government positions.) Somehow, I can't shake the idea that someone sharing this 'net connection is - at this very moment! - e-mailing one of you about the now-deceased prime minister with 8,000,000,000 Ugandan Schillings (about a buck and a half, U.S.) in his account that he needs your help to expatriate... Coming here directly from South Africa, it's hard to miss the contrasts. No jazz. No electricity (aside from diesel generators and such.)

My former neighbor just died at 104. He was a heck of a guy who should be remembered somewhere, so...here. Anyone who lived in the Oakland/Berkeley area in the 60s and 70s remembers the old MG convertible that used to roam the streets with a replica atomic bomb - same size as the car! - pillared above the car's body and painted with various slogans that were "of the time". Or the Cadillac hearse...stretched and made into a camper with a faux Airstream body made of sheets of tin. It was a truly legendary family. I'm proud to have known them and swum in their various ponds and pools. To have ridden their hillside railroads. To have caught their poison oak. To have hung out with their visiting relatives - from Canada, even. Erling, John, Arthur, you taught me a lot. You made me the mess I am today. Thank you.

Shop around - Jazz Loft has it for US$25, for instance - but yes.

Anything like the Blackbyrd stuff?

I'm going to miss it. Drat. Couldn't get time off or work in the US. But to those who do make it, ENJOY!

Didn't that Kenny Gorelick guy used to play with Lorber? Maybe that's where the "hipness" came from. Once upon a time, I had a Jeff Lorber album that was nearly listenable. Still, it seems like "Sun Ra" would have been a typo for "Sun Ray".

I went in - like 2005? The Katrina year? Definitely enjoyed it. This year, wish I could catch Ernie Krivda.

40% off any book until 7 September. A few exclusions. B&M only.

Once upon a time, I couldn't get a drummer to show up...until I "hired" Chip. Chip was a drum machine. (Get it?) Yeah, obviously not going to work for a live gig or a recording. But it saved about a million rehearsals.