John Tapscott

Happy Birthday, GA!! 99 eh? Well, many more!

Sounds like more than a "slight" injury to his shoulder. Get well Joe. You are truly one of the bright lights on today's jazz scene. P.S. A Lovano concert I attended nearly 10 years ago (just Joe on tenor with bass and drums for 2 hours) stands out as one of, and perhaps THE greatest live jazz experience I have ever had. And I got to talk to him after the concert. A real friendly cat. I enjoy many of Joe's recordings, but he's one of those musicians whose greatness really comes through when heard "live."

Oscar Peterson - Exclusively For My Friends - 4 CD's (MPS)

Just ordered one. I also wanted to order the new Dizzy Big Band double CD on Uptown. Sorry to learn that Chuck no longer sells Uptown.

Let me make it plain - he was fired, canned, axed, down-sized, right-sized, out-sourced, laid-off, let go, whatever term you prefer. Ferguson didn't think his chops were up to the task. A season under Bud Brisbois and Dalton Smith in the Kenton trumpet section was just was Bill needed.

I think the whole band was pick-up. I believe that at that particular moment Chase was between Ferguson (whom he had just left, under a cloud apparently) and Kenton, whom he joined shortly thereafter. Bill was not yet the player he would become just a few years later. Edited to say that on my CD, Chase is listed with the trombone section, a mistake obviously.

Herman fans will definitely want it. It's a good session, and how couldn't it be, given the musicians. Mel was a good fit for Herman. And there's Ted Richards' great blues chart "Like Some Blues Man, Like..." Good recording quality despite an overhead plane which you can hear in places. A couple of cautions, though - very short playing time - around 35 minutes, as I recall. A bit frustrating. And this was a "pick-up" band by the looks of things, not Herman's regular Herd. Does that make a difference? Yeah, maybe a bit. Not the best Herman record and not the worst either. Might fit in the top 25, but certainly not the top 10, IMO.

Just got my HINI shot at the local hospital 90 minutes ago. Since I do some work at the hospital I'm considered staff, and got priority Took five minutes. Some people are lining up 3 and 4 hours for a shot, especially since a local 13 year old boy died a couple of days ago from the swine flu.

George Shearing Live Capitol Recordings

Have a great birthday, David!

I am generally positive on Eric Alexander, but not always. I have perhaps 8 of his CD's plus some sessions on which he's a co-leader or sideman (eg. with Grant Stewart or One For All). Sometimes I really enjoy his playing; other times I can hardly wait 'til his solos are finished. His tone, though technically perfect I suppose, doesn't always get along with my head (as opposed to Grant Stewart, for example, whose tone always seems pleasing to me). Occassionally it seems like Eric's almost playing for playing's sake, if I can put it that way. Also like he's trying to cram everything into one solo and doesn't edit himself all that well - like a writer who just keeps going and going with no paragraph breaks. (Yes, I know 'Trane could be like that - but honestly, though Eric's very good , he's no 'Trane.) Now having said more negative than positive, let me say that there are some Eric CD's that I like very much - like "Dead Center" on High Note, on which the van Gelder studio brought out the warmer side of Eric's sound.

Happy Birthday! Have a great day!

I'm pretty sure this box will make you a big fan of late Pepper. Great set, great music.

Happy Birthday!!

Thanks for the wishes, everyone! No GA, I haven't been to an Argos game this year. They're really awful, perhaps the worst Argos team ever, and that's saying something. Every Toronto sports team SUCKS this year - Blue Jays, Argos, Raptors, and especially the Maple Leafs. This is a hockey town first and foremost, and Southern Ontario is in shock at how pathetic the Leafs are this year, from goaltender out they look disorganized and befuddled, the worst team in the NHL. Not one win so far. And our adopted NFL team, the Bills, is just as bad as the rest (T.O in T.O. yeah, great!)

Happy Birthday Ken!! I enjoy reading your reviews.

Sonny Rollins - The Freelance Years (Riverside and Contemporary)

Here are a few who I really enjoy (the order is unimportant except for # 1 who is my favorite pianist) - Kenny Barron, Tommy Flanagan, John Hicks , Earl Hines, Barry Harris, George Cables, Art Tatum. A couple of the more recent pianists I admire include David Hazeltine and Tardo Hammer.

I kind of feel the same way, Lon. There seems to be a certain exaggeration (deliberate?) in some of the caricatures, which makes you say, "There's a grain of truth here, but it's taken to the extreme. People are not really quite like this. Close sometimes, but there's something not quite right here." I think it may have to do, as was pointed out above, the age of the writers, who would have been very young in the 60's or not born yet at all. So they're sort of projecting backwards to the era, saying "This is what people must have been like,", taking the worst stereotypes of the era and applying it to all the characters. Again, perhaps it's deliberate. I think it's hard to really identify with any of the characters in the show. To me, they're all jerks, but that's what makes it fascinating.

Yes, I watched it. I'm usually off and on in watching "Mad Men". If the Sunday Night NFL game is any good I watch that. But Indy was running away with it, so I watched most of last night's episode. Before I read your post, my thought was this was one of the best episodes I had ever seen. I can't get the picture out of my mind of Don's smashed and bandaged up face at the end and how he walked into the office as if nothing had happened. And Betty's absolute non-reaction to his injuries as he came home, told her he had signed the contract and headed up the stairs. Leaves you wanting more.

Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings - 3 CD's (GRP) - a great set , even better, I think than the America's #1 Band set on Columbia (though I'm glad I have them both).

Dexter Gordon Select - George Cables ! for the whole set

Count Basie and His Orchestra - America's # 1 Band (Columbia/Legacy)

It would have been neat if the music on the tape had been Ayler or late 'Trane.

I can't but I'll say hello anyway. The best to you and John for a good gig! I'll play a Carl Fontana CD and think of you tomorrow night. Maybe a Rosolino CD, too. I think of John as more in that bag. Oh I know, I'll play the Uptown Trombone Heaven CD with both Carl and Frank.