John Tapscott

This is generally where I stand. Time has shown shown that the extreme opinions about him are off base. He's neither the Savior of jazz nor the devil incarnate. I would hope no one would take his word or his music as gospel, though there are parts of it that I enjoy and I think have some lasting value. Take what you like and leave the rest. I do think he's more than a good trumpet player; in fact I think his trumpet playing is his greatest strength, far more so than his composing. In the right circumstances (eg. the House of Tribes CD or Live at Blues Alley, he's about as good as any trumpet player anywhere these days). I doubt many would want to get on the stand and go head to head with him. One odd thing is that for all he says about the value of swing, much of his writing never really swings freely or swings hard. On one Marsalis Cd which I really enjoy, Blue Interlude, the most swinging writing is by members of the Septet, rather than WM himself.

No doubt this is a move to make room for Casey Printers and his salary demands. I don't care who else the Argos have on the field, if they don't have a decent QB, they won't go anywhere, except down. It would be extremely foolish, in my view, to bring back Damon Allen next year. He is so slow now with both his release and on his feet. And none of the current back-ups have shown enough potential to play the position consistently. Once in a while Bishop got lucky with a bomb or two, but it seems like the Arena Football League is his niche.

Thanks Garth. I've just ordered it. It looks very good. I have lots of Pepper on LP, but not much on CD, so if this lives up to expectations, it will be a very welcome addition to my collection.

Happy Birthday, Jim!!

Sad news, indeed. I really enjoy Kenny's playing. Certainly one of my favorite clarinetists and jazz musicians. Sackville just released a new Davern CD called "No One Else But Kenny." It's a good one and I'm going to listen to it again right now. RIP, Kenny.

Yes, the Joe Henderson might be the closest of all to what I would interpret as a hard bop big band CD. And it's a good one. Danny D'Imperio's Big Band Bloviation Cd's Vol 1 & Vol 2 might qualify, too. I'll probably think of some more. Here's one. "Presenting the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis Big Band" (their first album on Solid State and IMHO, the best album they every made).

It struck me this morning that perhaps the key to Herman's leadership was not only a keen insight into what the public wanted to hear, but an even keener sense of what charts musicians loved to play. And when musicians love to play a particular chart, there is a fire and intensity to their playing which goes beyond "professionalism." I think that's what you often hear in a Herman Herd.

Just listening now. Man, this is one swingin', kick a** big band. No band could build up the way Woody's does. It's even different than Basie's in a way. One minute it's just kind of slinking through the blues and before you know it, the band is cookin' and wailin' at full throttle. Kind of sneaks up on you. Prime examples here are Greasy Sack and Woody's Whistle. It happens on standards too, like Red Roses. And Funny Valentine just smokes, as does 23 Red. A very exciting chart. Nat's chart on Opus de Funk is definitive, one of a handful of charts I would pick to show someone "This is what the Herman sound is all about." Love Nistico and and Goykovich and Rader and esp. Henry Southall on 'bone. What a wail he has on Opus de Funk. Great lead trumpet by Bill Chase.My favorite Herman drummer has to be Jake Hanna, but I'll tell you, Ronnie Zito brings his own thing which is just as vaild and swings the band just as hard. Hadn't thought of the Woodyard influence before- interesting to listen for. (For more great Zito listen to Herman's recently reissued and rather overlooked "My Kind of Broadway" - a great studio session by this same band.) Overall, this is powerfully swinging big band jazz at the zenith. I think it was Woody who really lit up the band. I don't know how he did it, but he had a competitive spirit that drove the band to the heights. The first time I saw the Herd live was at a Fest in Toronto in '74. Other big bands were there - Basie, Bellson, Ferguson. They all played fine, but Woody was taking a back seat to no one. Somehow he really got the Herd wound up for that gig. The Herd was the band that really brought the crowd to its feet and it's the one you went home talking about. That performance by the Herd over a two day festival is still the finest big band live performance I've ever heard. Paul- there's a story in Bill Clancy's Herman bio about the night Don Lamond sat in with the band for a gig in the '80's. The guys were grumbling because of this old drummer whom they feared wouldn't know the charts. But Lamond did know the new charts! He kicked the band mightly and lit up the bandstand and brought a smile to everyone's face. Just wondering if you were on the band at that time?

I bet Casey Printers will be the Argos' next QB. The Argos need him badly and he's good for the CFL.

Can't wait to get this one out and give it a listen! Great album.

I think Ellington's version of the Nutcracker is fabulous. I too, was a little suspicious of it for a long time, and really only heard it for the first time a few years ago. My appreciation for Ellington/Stryahorn just keeps growing deeper and deeper, almost on a monthly basis, it seems.

Off the Top Art Blakey at Birdland Vol. 1 Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil John Coltrane - Blue Train Hank Mobley - Roll Call Andrew Hill - Point of Departure Jackie McLean - Jacknife Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage Sonny Rollins - Newk's Time McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy Thelonious Monk Vol. 1

Yep, not even even Hillary or Gore or Obama or Pelosi will be able to save those UAW jobs. The irony is that right now the American company quality and design is pretty close to that of the Asian and European makers (apparently even better in some cases). But the reputation of the American companies is so bad that many people won't go near a dealership. Years of fat-cat, complacent mismangement by the companies and huge demands and inflexible work-rules by the unions have done it . Plus shoddy product for many years, of course - the attitude was just get 'em into the hands of the consumers and we'll fix 'em later, maybe. Using paying consumers to test your product and help you get the bugs out is a BAD idea.

I voted Dizzy for you; I think I would take the Crusaders myself, since I own none of that music in any form.

I think that a Kenton record which would fit your requirements well is Adventures in Blues, easily available on a Capitol CD. It has swing, drive, intelligence and surprise (and very good arrangements, mostly by the underrated Gene Roland). I used a track from it for my recent Blindfold test, and I succeeded in fooling almost everyone luca IMHO, the ONE Kenton CD which best fulfills the requirements is actually Kenton Live From Las Vegas Tropicana (perhaps the most "west coast" of Kenton's albums, and quite straight ahead). Rumor has it that Kenton held up the album's release because it swung so hard and sounded closer to Woody Herman than the stereotypical Kenton sound. Adventures in Blues is a very close second.

My method is to have all CD's mailed to my office (and charged to my personal credit card), listen to them there first, then bring them home at an appropriate time (in bags, pockets, etc) and slip them on the shelf. Works great, even for Mosaics (but something tells me my wife knows anyway).

I think Austin would be a mistake. He'll screw up Kenton Keith (a good running back) just as he messed up Ricky Williams and John Avery for the Argos earlier this year. All Austin can think of is the pass. I don't care what league it is - you have to have a decent running attack, something Austin doesn't seem to grasp.

My favorite Mosaic is the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis set. Didn't make the top twenty. Of coruse, much as I like it, I haven't played it much lately, either. Going to give it a spin.

I think I'd travel a distance to see this guy. There are likely a few other things you could do in NYC on the trip.

A friend forwarded this to me. Wish I had a hip dentist like Dr. Silver. I'm facing an hour in the chair on Wednesday and the only thing my dentist plays is a "Golden Oldies" station. http://www.jazzdentist.com/index.htm

Two good live Kenton CD's from the '70's are Live at Redlands University & Birthday in Britain

B.C. wins 34-24 58 points

Give Big Al a little break. I've been listening to jazz for nrearly 35 years now, and honestly when I hear a Bird tune I know it's by Bird but half the time can't identify the tune by without looking at the notes. I'm not a Bird specialist by any means, but more of a Bird generalist. I would get Groovin' High but there's lots of others I wouldn't get. I'm in the same boat with Monk tunes. Dang, I know that's a Monk tune I'm hearing but which one....????

i second that, which is no mean feat considering the historical pertinence of the music... -e- I will third that. My feelings exactly. An exceptional box set, in every respect.

Maybe he was a late comer to Braxton's 100 (or was it 1,000) tuba gig?