John Tapscott

Listened to my old LP last night which I hadn't heard for probably 10 years. It is a great session, very satisfying listening. In Ashley's Khan's "The House That "Trane Built", it's claimed that Oliver Nelson was supposed to be the arranger for this session, but was unavailable at the last moment. Perhaps that was providential, since I can't imagine he would have arranged like this for the band. Not to take anything away from Oliver, but I expect his arranging would have been more "mainstream," perhaps not even using this intrumentation. But what Dolphy does with the brass is quite astounding. I love those French horn shrieks. And the baritone horns are very nice. Of course, Coltrane is a powerhouse, and Tyner sounds very inspired, as well.

Act One is a favorite of mine. It is very good. In fact, I may go and put it on right now.

Friggin' cold. Last night -30 with the windchill. That's Celsius, but when you go that low there not much difference between C and F. Warmer this morning - 15 C. Just think, when we solve global warming, we'll have 3 more weeks of this to look forward to every year!

It's Ok to see the Colts win but I was surprised at how ineffective the Bears defense was. They kept on giving up 3rd and long conversions and those are a killer. The plan seemed to be not to give up the big play and it worked to a degree since they kept the Colts to field goals in the red zone. But the lack of a pass rush meant the Bears defense was on the field way too long. I was hoping for a decent game, But it was a slightly below average game at best. Also, I was kind of hoping Grossman might prove the naysayers wrong. Unfortunately he proved them right.

Probably closer to 25. The hair styles of the time probably made them look younger. Frank Tiberi would have been around 50 and most of the guys had just come out of college. Woody was never content just to recycle the old things. He was always incorporating new things into the book. "Giant Steps" (Fantasy) from 1973 is excellent, as are the last two recordings Herman made with the Herd - "50th Anniversary Tour" (1986 - Concord) and "Woody's Gold Star" (1987 - Concord). BTW I noticed yesterday in a newspaper listing that Woody and the Herd were one of the the half-time "acts" at the 1973 Super Bowl. Mercer Ellington a couple of years later. Neat.

I enjoy many Kenton albums, but this one is quite dreadful, really. Beautifully played and recorded, though, and Scott Yanow gives it 4.5 stars on amg, so what do I know?!

I don't want to come down too heavily on a new member. So welcome Acoustic. Let me just say that Tyner's "Enlightement" absolutely floored me when I first heard it in 1974 and it was one of the 6 albums that turned me on to "real jazz". I still remember the extraordianry experience of hearing that album for the first time on the radio one night. I bought the album the next day and it started to take my jazz listening down a much different road than the big band and fusion that I had been mostly listening to up to then. Tyner ordinary? Not in my book. Never.

I like P.D. James. The book is certainly very good and thought-provoking, IMO, and ends with a bit of much-needed hope (which Sal indicates has been captured in the movie.) Glad to hear that that book seems to have translated well onto the big screen. That doesn't always happen.

Another thing to mention is that I've never known really driven people to accept defeat gracefully. They just don't. I don't think Ali was very good at admitting defeat; neither were Gary Kasaparov nor Bobby Fischer in chess. They hated to LOSE. Maybe Belichick is the same. I don't think he's got any kind of a life outside of football. I'll bet Belichick is cheesed off at the Pats ownership. The Pats paid the price for being cheap at wide receiver. It would have even been worse if Vinateri (sp?) had done them in.

Thanks Jim for the link. That's a heavy solo. Hawk's best years may have been behind him by then, but man, he could still PLAY!

I generally agree with Dan's assessment. Some players might have picked up on him and extended his tenor work, but he obviously wouldn't have had the wide-spread influence that he's had to date. He would have remained a rather shadowy underground fugure (another name that comes to mind is Tina Brooks). As for the second question, I don't think jazz "styles" would be much different, but they would have a different inflection or a somewhat different color. Jazz wouldn't have the distinctive and pervasive 'Trane sound; maybe it would be more reflective of Sonny Rollins or Ornette Coleman or Miles Davis particular sound. It seems to me that what 'Trane did was to take what others did first and and extend it to its logical conclusion (or maybe to the breaking point). In other words, complicated bop was being played before Giant Steps, modes and soloing with mininal harmonic motion were being explored at length before the Village Vanguard, free jazz was around before Ascension. Jazz was already going in a certain direction and was going there inevitably and Trane grabbed the pieces and went with them full-bore. That's not to diminish his importance at all. In fact, it's incredible that he could do what he did in 10-12 years after he hit his stride. 'Trane was the person in in whom all these threads culminated, and so naturally he's the one people are drawn to and emulate (especially saxophone players to whom "Trane's technique and intensity is awe-inspiring). What I'm saying is that I think Coltrane's is a bigger influence on the sound of today's jazz rather than the styles of jazz. All the above "styles" would still be with us but played with a somewhat different sound.

After holding out for a while, I recently bought three Lonehill releases. I enjoy them all Clark Terry/Bob Brookmeyer Quintet Complete Mainstream Recordings Jimmy Cleveland Complete Recordings Miles Davis Quintet featuring Barney Wilen - The Amsterdam Concert

...Not to mention her toast! And her terrific playing. Melba's "Reverie" solo on the new Quincy Jones Jazz Icons DVD is great. A very nice, full sound.

Just got mine today. Man, this is great stuff, even better than I had expected! Sound is superb. Thanks for the recommendations. It's threads like this that remind why I so enjoy being a member of this Board.

42. I have 'em all. The last one, James Williams, was recorded just before Carl Jefferson died. There's not a poor (or even mediocre one) in the lot. One I really like is the Andy LaVerne. And don't overlook the Hal Galper.

Peter: It just occured to me that by taking along a complete set of Bird, you wouldn't be leaving out Pres altogether, since you would get a taste of him on some of the JATP sides. Just the thought of everything Billy Higgins has played on, both in scope and in number is nearly overwhelming, ditto Chambers and Flanagan. You would need a fairly large boat to get you to the desert island.

Happy Birthday, Nate, from a fellow Canuck!

Haven't received mine yet. Ordered 12/15. I've been having problems lately with missing and or late CD shipments. (usually take 7- 10 days from the U.S.) Don't know whether it's the time of year, or problems on one side of the border or the other.

Literally, I'm sure. But seriously that is a great set! Myself, I am enjoying a set on the other end of the volume spectrum - the Joe Pass. It is a fine set.

Yes, Dan, that's me. Thanks for the kind words. I don't mind being "outed", but in front of this hip crowd, I'm a little nervous about it. My reviews are not that technical. They're more for the average jazz listener, rather than the knowledgeable folk on this Board. You'll notice that I stick to bop, hardbop, big bands and mainstream, stuff I feel a little bit qualified to review. I enjoy much of Andrew Hill's music, but would find his recordings hard to review. In any case, it's something I enjoy doing when I have the time. I often find that if I listen to a CD several times, especially before I go to bed, I wake up the next morning and the review almost writes itself. That happened with the new Phil Kelly CD.

Just a heads-up if you want to pick up this CD at post-Christmas sales. I'm kind of surprised that neither of these gentlemen have been the subjects of an AOTW (at least as leaders). So now we'll get them both. Haven't heard this in a while, but I like it. Looking forward to giving it a spin or two.

Yeah, I wasn't put off by the cover at all. In fact, I thought it was Ok. In any case, the only thing that really matters to me is the music. After checking out the samples, it's on my list for '07!

I love seeing the ex-CFL'ers like Garcia do well in the NFL. And I dig those crazy boots Garcia wears. I've never seen anything quite like them. They look more like toe slippers than football shoes. Oh, it would be wonderful to see the Eagles beat the Cowboys this week. Wasn't Terrell Owens a real thorn in Garcia's side when they were together in SF? Time for a little payback.

Great British alto player. I have him as sideman on several records, especially one Jon Eardley LP on Spotlite I can think of; also as soloist with London's Trinity Big Band on their Cuban Fire CD. I don't think I have anything by him as a leader. Closely associated with Ronnie Scott. Found this: www.jazzmasters.nl/king.htm

You're right. From the website 1. I'm attempting to help Art Pepper fans assuage their guilt and correct their bad karma by paying for their collections. 2. I'm introducing truly unreleased and unheard Art to people who want to hear it. # 1 kind of bugged me. If you order the CD it's almost like you're admitting your guilt. (I am guilt-free with regard to Art Pepper. All of his music in my collection is legit and was paid for by me). However I did order it because of #2.