John Tapscott

There are many Scott Hamilton CD's I enjoy (Jazz Signatures is one that comes immediately to mind, as do Radio City and Red Door, and the one with Gene Harris.) I can't recall that he's made a poor CD though a couple have seemed a bit indifferent (Live in London). I agree with the point that it would be good to hear him as a soloist in some different settings, perhaps as the main soloist in a mini-big band or at least with two or three other horns. One good Hamilton Cd that comes to mind is "Groovin' High" with Spike Robinson and Ken Pepowski as front-line partners. I do think Scott often sounds inspired by the presence of another horn soloist. I have heard that Scott does not read music, which may account for the lack of these types of recordings and perhaps for the fact that he doesn't write much original material. (OTOH, I sometimes take it with a grain of salt when I read that a certain jazz musician doesn't read music. It was rumored that Art Pepper didn't read music. Yeah right, that's why he was able to play tough charts in bands like Stan Kenton, Shorty Rogers, Don Ellis and Buddy Rich).

Shorty Rogers Volume 1:1946-1953 (JSP) Disc 1 & 2 Today; 3, 4 & 5 over the next couple of days. Prime stuff, always sounds fresh to my ears.

Great choice. I hope some members will take up the opportunity to order this. This has some smokin' big band music for sure. It's ranked as one of Maynard's best by Maynard experts. I have the music as part of the Mosaic set and look forward to giving it another listen. The last time I listened to the Ferguson Mosaic set was right after Maynard died in summer of 2006.

Had the chance to listen to this a couple of times over the past couple of days. I think it's pretty good, at least as good as I had remembered and better than I had expected. The first couple of tunes drag a bit, but once track three hits, the music picks up steam and swings pretty hard. Not "memorable" tunes really, but interesting enough as you listen to them. Some pretty neat voicings, especially with Wycliffe Gordon adding the plunger sounds. The soloists, notably Wes Anderson on alto and Herb Harris on tenor are very effective. Roberts plays some nice block chord solos and "E. Dankworth" (Wynton) sounds pretty happy as he swings through the closing track. Well worth your listening time, I would say. 3.5 stars (at least).

I have it - thought it was pretty good at the time. I probably thought more highly of Wynton and his associates back then than I do now - it's been a little hard to avoid all the negative talk associated with the Wynton School. I'll admit there may be a point to some of the criticism, though I think it often goes overboard. I think that Marcus' recordings on Novus were pretty good, especially the first one with Charlie Rouse and Elvin Jones. I'll have to listen to this one again and see what I think of it today. IMO one excellent recording from this period and this "school" (perhaps the best of all) is Delfayo Marsails' "Pontius Pilate's Decision."

It was a great game. Incredibly some sports reporter types are saying it was one of the worst Super Bowls ever. I can't understand that. It's all in the ending really and the ending couldn't have been better. I've got to admit that I was hoping for the Giants to beat the arrogant Pats (and Belichick - looks good on him, sorry Pats fans). Mentioning the obvious, but it was the Giants pass rush that made the difference. It might have been Belichick's arrogance that prevented him from making adjustments to his game plan. Only once or twice did I see Brady move sideways out of the pocket to throw downfield. That's one obvious way to bear the pass rush, scramble a bit, move the pocket, or move out of the pocket to make throws, which Manning seemed to do better than Brady. (CFL fans like GA Russell and I are used to seeing what scrambling QB's can do). Maybe Brady's ankle was bothering him more than they let on. Wow, I never thought I'd say it this year, that Brady would be outplayed by another team's QB. And the Giants' defense was rock-solid on third and short .

I sometimes hesitate to buy Lonehill releases too, but you're right, this one isn't likely to be put out by anyone else (which is the real dilemma when it comes to Lonehill and Gambit and all the rest. If you want the music, what are you going to do? ) Anyway, I bought this set over a year ago and really enjoy it.

John, didn't the Ottawa Senators have difficulty finding a new owner after they went bankrupt? And let's not forget that the Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets were sold to Americans. I guess I was thinking of last summer's fiasco when the Canadian owner of RIM (which makes the Blackberry) Jim Balslille offered a premium to buy the Nashville Predators NHL team and bring them to Hamilton, Ontario (where they would no doubt do very well). But of course, the deal fell through for a variety of reasons and the team is staying in Nashville (for now, anyway). With the Canadian $ at par now with the American $ an NHL franchise would almost certainly succeed in Winnipeg, and most likely in Quebec. In fact, there's talk of Winnipeg being an expansion or relocation site. The big problem is that the NHL Board of Governors doesn't want any more than six franchises in Canada. They'd rather have them in marginal American cities than in places like Hamilton. The Ottawa Senators are now owned by Canadian pharmaceutical billionare Eugene Melnyk and are doing very well.

... there is no shortage of Canadian millionaires, only of those who don't want a sports team. Actually that's not true - they want an NHL franchise! I personally think the CFL would survive just fine without a team in Toronto.

That is exactly my impression too, I failed to make this point clear enough. The contribution of Nat Pierce's composing and arranging for the band was absolutely crucial, he defined the sound of the Herd. I just thought of something else I read in one of the Herman books. Nat not only did the bulk of composing and arranging for this band; he actually started it. Apparently Woody was in a bit of funk in the early 60's, between bands and not really sure what to do next. So Nat got the core of this band together in Boston, filled it out, provided the charts, and did some rehersals. He knew the band was hot, and figured that once Woody heard it, he would want to step in and lead it. So it happened and Woody got charged up again. Now Woody's leadership was crucial and the band wouldn't have sounded as good without him at the helm, but it was actually Nat's band in the beginning. I think Nat was band manager, as well. Oh yes, that reminds me that Nat "lost" the band's payroll one night at a Vegas gambling house and had to stay on the road a year longer with Woody than he had planned in order to pay it back.

Tommy T. You've nailed it all. Besides your comments about the rhythm section and Jake Hanna one point I would particulary underline is # 2 - the contribution of Nat Pierce as composer/arranger to this band. The original LP's were not always clear about who wrote and arranged the various charts, but the Mosaic set makes clear that in terms of composing and arranging this was Nat's band. What a great writer he was, absolutely perfect for the Herd.

But somebody knows the story and who the mystery pianist is (I'll admit I'm grasping at straws), and they're not saying (unfortunately). Probably if it got out who the mystery pianist is, it would cost Storyville some $$$$.

Having listened to this CD once more this morning (and it is very enjoyable listening) I believe now that it is most likely not Tommy, but another pianist on tracks 12-19 (I hold out for Tommy on track 20). I even have a name to suggest for the mystery pianist, a pianist whose work also appeared on Storyville - Ralph Sutton (there are a few trademark Sutton licks & phrases, though I also have a nagging suspicion that it may not be him, either.)

I think "OBVIOUSLY" is too strong a term. Take track 20 for example, "All the Things You Are". It is very Flanagan-like. (The sequence around 1:30-1:40 is pure Flanagan). So whoever the mystery pianist is, he/she was doing a pretty good imitation of Flanagan, at least on this track. The one track that raises major questions for me is "Rosetta." But it's interesting that with the exception of this track all the other questionable tracks are tunes which appeared (sometimes frequently) in Tommy's live and recorded programs. Here are two other points worth mentioning: Ted O Reilly (whose knowledge I respect a great deal and on whose radio program I cut my "jazz listening teeth") mentions the difference in piano sound between Tommy's tracks and the "questionable" tracks. Actually the sound also varies a bit on the definitely authentic tracks. There is a noticeable sound difference between track 1 "Parisian Thoroughfare" and track 2 "Wail" .The other point we shouldn't overlook the ability of master jazz pianists to sometimes play in style different from their accustomed signature syle. It has been said that when the mood struck him, Bill Evans could play down-home swinging blues in the style of Milt Buckner. I'm not dismissing the "other pianist" theory, but until Storyville tells us who the pianist, is, I am not prepared to use the term "OBVIOUSLY." One thing I will say is that it is an EXCELLENT CD.

Not me. I don't think I've received a "promo" copy of anything in about 7 years, and that was only second hand from a friend in the "biz" who was representing/promoting some jazz labels at the time. But Chuck, if you have any spare Uptown "promos" to give away, well, I think you have my address...

I got it a couple of weeks ago, and have listened to it once. It's a very good one, if you like this group (I do). Keith's obligatory "rant" is edited out, so all you get is music (though he does a fair bit of complaining in the liner notes).

The Herman arrived today!!! Now half-way through disc 2. This is one SMOKIN', ON-FIRE big band!!!! What FFA said about Jake Hanna is right on.

RIP, Pete - who graced many of the fine West Coast big band sessions of the 50's and 60's. He was a mainstay of the 1st Herman Herd (I think he was the guy who wore the Superman uniform) and later, the Shorty Rogers big band. Back in the day, there was a saying on the WC that when the music was really tough, Pete was the first guy you called.

There have ony been two Mosaic sets I've preordered - the Mulligan concert band set and this one. I wasn't disappointed in the Mulligan and I'm sure not going to be disappointed with this one. I love this band and this music!!!! Now checking my mail-box hourly! Mosaic has done a great job with Herman reissues.

Yeah, I think a few of us have it.... ... welcome to the party!

Almost daily, the world P.D. James envisioned in "The Children of Men" gets closer to reality.

As I stated in the RIP thread, I am firmly in the Peterson camp. There are reasons to mourn his passing, but quite frankly, the fact that he can't make any more recoridngs is not one of them. In fact, I'm kind of glad he can't make any more since his playing declined quite noticeably over the past few years. I'm not referring to the time after his stroke in '93, because after coming back from his stroke OP made a couple of fine records for Telarc (one with Clark Terry and Benny Carter, another with Roy Hargrove and Ralph Moore.) His playing had changed, but was still pretty strong and he seemed stimulated by the sidemen, especially drummer Lewis Nash. But over the past 7 or 8 years, OP's playing changed further and lacked the strength and security of even these recordings. The most recent OP recording that I know of is the DVD/CD "A Night in Vienna" from '03 with the Quartet. OP swings hard and struggles gamely through two sets before an adoring crowd in elegant surroundings. But quite frankly, OP's playing is quite sloppy at times and is a bit painful to watch and hear. It was not a great ending to his recorded career, I'm afraid, and probably shouldn't ahve been released

Ordered the Herman - can hardly wait! I suggested this set to Mosaic around '93 or '94. They finally came through!

I was the second person to post the news of Oscar's death (after Robert J). It's interesting that both Robert J and I live quite geographically close to Oscar's home. About 10 minutes from my home in Mississauga, a new public elementary school opened last year bearing Oscar's name. I think Oscar appreciated the honor. Anyway, I posted the news without any comment because I knew just how controversial Oscar is among Board members. I figured some kind of musical row would erupt and I didn't want to be part of that. But I will say that Peter's comments above summarize precisely my thoughts and feelings about Oscar the pianist.

You beat me to it, Robert. Sad, but not totally unexpected after a few years of failing health and cancelled concert appearances. RIP, Oscar. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/12...rson-oscar.html