John Tapscott

My thoughts are that if you are only going for one, go for the Hodges. I don't have the set, but have much of the music. It's sublime. I have the Wilson and it is generally very good, (even the pop material is good) but over the long haul I think the Hodges will really prove its timeless value (agreeing with Paul Secor).

Happy Birthday, John!

Generally, enough for a couple of Cd's per month from websites , a couple from local retail outlets, plus $5-10 monthly put aside for Mosaics. But I almost always spend more than I intend. I am a jazz lover and I have a problem....

I know it can throw you off, but "Mary Lou Williams" was apparently one way Woody referred to Nat Pierce. Not quite sure what the inside joke was there. But my understanding is that it's Nat soloing there, not Mary Lou.

It hit us in southern Ontario last night and this morning. The people close to the west end of Lake Ontario received 50 cm of snow. A little further north and east where I live, closer to 25 cm. The worst thing right now is is the wind which is whipping the snow into all kinds of weird and wonderful shapes. That also means that we might as well wait 'til it stops until we do the heavy shovelling. It's a snow day here which means schools closed, and lots of people off work. My wife and daughter are both home. I am going to have a quiet afternoon in my office catching up on paper work (with jazz playing, of course). One needs a day like this sometimes.

Ellington did some great things after Strayhorn's passing, too.

Mance's Sackville recordings are very good. Here's two I really enjoy - Jubilation (solo) and Milestones (trio).

Today - Sonny Stitt - Discs 7-9

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!