BruceH

You're right, but I try not to dwell on that, rather be thankful for all the really remarkable work he WAS able to put out during his all-too-short career. I don't like to dwell on that stuff either, but yeah he did record some fine albums in his short life. I'm having a hard time finding a copy of "My Conception." It was his "lost session" and I really would like to own a copy. Any suggestions where I might could find other than Amazon. I found it at a local independent record (music) store. Is it out of print already?

You're right, but I try not to dwell on that, rather be thankful for all the really remarkable work he WAS able to put out during his all-too-short career.

Yes. . Ouch.

Agreed, though it's probably just as well that the new initiates and just plain curious don't know that at first. I mean, heck, if someone had told me when I was 18 "You are eventually going to own thousands of jazz albums," I'd have said "What the fuck??"

Jeeze, it sure doesn't seem like ten years ago! Dang.

I hear ya! Call me old-fashioned, but I still really dig Desmond. But then, I also really like Art Pepper, Lee Konitz, and Lennie Niehaus. I even like Jimmy Dorsey a whole lot. Just to show how irrelevant the race issue can be (or how ill-informed I could be) for several years I thought Jackie McLean was white. The few b&w photos I'd seen of him made him look kind of white. What can I say, this was long before you could look anybody up on Google or Wikipedia. So I guess back in that time he was one of my favorite "white" altoists.

Yep, I was denied as well. But I called a local independent jazz record store (yep, there's actually 1 still in the area) and he's holding a copy for me. Thank God for independent stores, especially of the jazz variety.

I agree, with one exception: I think I like Rouse on Leapin' and Lopin' just about as much as McLean on CS.

Oh, that's it? Fine. I don't care about mushiness, mere nudity or general steaminess; I just don't want anything actively coital to deal with. The strategically-covered-by-a-sheet strategy in Hollywood films drives me NUTS, it's so phony. I suppose I should check out the Lord of the Rings films, Spiderman, &c.... not really a big Tolkien fan so I avoided the former at the time they came out, & Anne was too young (4 yrs old when The Fellowship... came out). The first two Spiderman films are quite good; if anything, the second is better than the first.

Is Hank Mobley really THAT obscure?

Bought Down In the Basement yesterday. Some nice stuff on that!

Smithville---Louis Smith, Charlie Rouse, Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers, Art Taylor.

Boy, he sure looked a fright towards the end...a walking advertisement against drug use.

Just got Smithville and am spinning it for the second time right now. So cool that Charlie Rouse is on this one! For the millionth time I wish that Smith had done more than two albums for Blue Note.

Quite true! And both of them excellent singers. Doris Day could have been a fine jazz singer if there'd been more money in it.

Did I post it twice? I did not know that. Sorry. Three times. Stuff happens. Schaap happens.

Today's the day!

Good stuff, Tom!

Beautiful pictures guys.

Precisely. Certainly artistic talent runs in his family. Both his brothers were artistically gifted, as well as being more mentally unbalanced than Robert. Arguably, his brother Charles had MORE talent than him, at least Robert thought so.

I've been meaning to check out Helen Merrill someday. This will provide the perfect opportunity.

Saw the film last night! A lot of fun. I have to agree with the reviewer who said that the best parts were the scenes in the middle of Stark/Downey trying to perfect the fighting suit in his home lab.

Ya gotta love Crumb. Did you see the Terry Zwigoff documentary ("Crumb")? After reading several lengthy interviews with Robert Crumb over the years (usually in the pages of The Comics Journal) I found the film fascinating.

What a crappy attitude.

Very, very sorry to hear this terrible news. My condolences.