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John Tapscott

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Everything posted by John Tapscott

  1. Now I know why the trumpet section had to get a higher riser when you and Fedchock were on the Herd! At least the saxophones didn't have to worry about getting beaned with a slide!
  2. Happy Birthday!!!
  3. So Mighty Quinn are "good guys?" I hope that's what you're saying, because the CD I ordered was Pepper Adams' "Critics' Choice" on MQ.
  4. The thread is getting too long to read through, so this might have been already answered. A couple of days ago I received a catalogue with a LONG list of Lonehill releases. I didn't order any (brownie points, though I was mightily tempted by the Clark Terry/Bob Brookmeyer Complete Quintets 2 CD set). However, I did order a CD on another label which I now fear may be a Lonehill clone. Can we get a listing of these labels that do this kind of thing? (I don't want to list the CD and the label I ordered yet just in case it's OK).
  5. About a month ago, I ordered a CD from a Canadian jazz musician through his website. I paid via PayPal and received a message that the CD had been sent. After three weeks no CD, so I emailed them a couple of days ago. The response I received today was more than I expected. They said they had not, in fact, sent the CD, and apologized profusely. They reversed my payment and are sending me the CD free of charge. Over and above the call of duty, really.
  6. Not at all. I understand completely.
  7. To answer the question, yes, BIG time. While the winter of '05 was fairly cold and long, this winter has been quite mild. And this is now becoming fairly typical. Hardly any snow, at least where I live. 30-40 years ago when I was a kid in this same general area, outdoor rinks could be kept frozen for at least 2-3 months of the year; there was lots of sledding and snowmobiling, and other winter sports. No more. (Hard to do in any case, because the area is now much more urban). Long term I know it's bad, but for now it's great for lowering the heating and electricity bills.
  8. Yes, some days I say that. Other days I say it was Ernie Wilkins or Thad Jones or Frank Foster or Sammy Nestico. Depends on what I'm listening to at the time. I read somewhere that the band really liked Ernie's stuff. "16 Men Swingin' " - of course that could apply to most of Basie's book. A couple of my favorites: plus "Basie at Birdland" (Roulette)
  9. Just heard it for the first time ever. Musically . I love Lee's solo on "Trapped." The sound is OK, though I think I've heard better Blue Notes. It's going to take me a few spins to get used to the sound of Higgins' drums. Sounds to me like RVG mic'd the drums too hot, then had to back them off a bit in the mix, and as a result, gave the drums a bit of a "muddy" sound, especially for Higgins. This is some of the "heaviest" (I'm speaking literally here) drumming I've heard from Higgins. Very Blakey-esque. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but a few degrees removed from the crispness I usually expect from Billy.
  10. Just ordered the new CD by Phil Woods and the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra -"Unheard Herd" http://www.jazzedmedia.com/
  11. Strangely enough I have never heard "The Gigolo" in any form, but after all the raves about it on this Board, how could anyone not want it? The RVG is now making its way towards me from cduniverse. Thanks for the discussion, but I'm afraid it's somewhat dampening my anticipation of hearing this disc. When I listen to it for the first time (and subsequently) there will be something in the back of my mind telling me that I'm not really hearing it at its best, or in all its glory, so to speak.
  12. I will admit that if that was all the response you received, you should not be pleased. Most vendors will send another order immediately if you call after a reasonable period, say a month, and tell them your order has not arrived. Very occasionally orders get lost in the mail - it's part of the cost of doing business. OTOH, "lost in the mail" is a relative term. In all my years of ordering recordings, I could only recall one time (there may have been another time) when something I ordered was truly "lost", ie. never arrived. In the case I mentioned I phoned the company and they had another CD in the mail immediately. No questions asked. Overseas orders can take anywhere from 4 days to 4 months. You never know. I know it's frustrating, but I would advise waiting until the end of February before taking any action.
  13. Ok. I'll admit - once a week at a fast food place like McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Wendy's or Harvey's (a Canadian chain, which along with Burger King has the best burgers). And you know what - I like it!!
  14. This is a Menza big band date from 2004, and all the qualities Jim describes are heard on this CD, both in Don's playing and writing. A very nice session IMO. http://www.jazzedmedia.com/
  15. Let me add my final comment. I actually think "The Freedom Principle" is that kind of book. The comment about Herman is arguable. I would certainly agree with the "eclectic" part, but mediocre? Perhaps he was occasionally, but for the most part, Herman's Herds were pretty top-of-the heap as far as big bands, (esp. road bands) go, and on one occasion in the 70's Herman's band played the most exhilrating and memorable big band concert I have ever heard to this day. But don't just focus on the Herman comment. Look at what he says about Bill Evans. Look, my point is that there is an undertying theme of "testiness" towards earlier forms of jazz and jazz musicians in that book which I think detracts from his goal of opening listeners to giving freer froms of jazz a fair listen. I am not the only one to think this. Evonce noticed it too, and said so as much in his review.
  16. OK. Here's the quote. It's on p. 297 in the chapter entitled "Free Jazz Today." Litweiler is talking about the efforts of Horace Tapscott's UGMAA group to teach music to inner-city young people. He says this kind of education is important because the days of informal jam session and music lessons are over. Then "The explosion in high school and college jazz bands during the Free era is an illusion; those bands are the heritage of the cheap thrills of Stan Kenton and of mediocre eclectics like Woody Herman."
  17. Sure. It was very good Getz for its time ( '77, I think). In the recording studio Getz was making some less than totally satisfactory (in my view) LP's for Columbia around that time. So for fans of straight-ahead Getz this was like a breath of fresh air. I just think he made several more memorable recordings later on.
  18. I have the double LP. Just another good set of music, I would say. Brackeen plays elp on some tracks. It's a good night club performance by a very good group. Recording quality is decent, though not excellent, as I recall. Sort of a middling session in Getz' discography. Not a Getz session I listen to that often. The electric piano is a drawback for me. I prefer Kenny Barron (though I do like some Brackeen recordings I own).
  19. I hear you Jim. I've read "Freedom Principle" and benefitted from some if Litweiler's insights, and listened to some music as a result. But I would have enjoyed it more and taken it more seriously, if there had not been so many (in my view) gratuitous "cheap shots' at "non-free" musicians. We should ask "Free For All" if he considers Woody Herman a "hack?" (That's not the exact word. I'll look it up when I go home and post it later).
  20. I didn't, and I don't see "the problem" as being one. Mr. Litweiller has big ears and very broad tastes. That book is a specific look at a specific subject and is best read in that light, not as a manifesto of one man's attitude towards music and musicians in general. Just my opinion. Jim, I guess you and I are going to disagree on several things today. If Mr. Litweiler has such big ears and very broad tastes, why the constant put-down of mainstream or "non-free" musicians? I think it's fine to draw attention to free jazz and free musicians, if that's your thing, but why not just leave it at that? Why was it necessary in that book to refer to Woody Herman as a 'hack" or some such unflattering term (I'll have to look at the specific reference but it's that or worse). Woody Herman made no pretense to be a "free" jazz musician - that wasn't his thing at all. Woody Herman has a pretty solid place in jazz history and didn't even need to be referred to in a book on free jazz. I think it' was pretty typical of "free jazz" proponents in the '60's and '70's to put down other forms of jazz. Why not invite people in by saying, "OK, you've been listening to bebop and big bands and mainstream and whatever. That's great. So why not give some of this a try. You might like some of it?"
  21. I really liked your review of Litweiler's "Freedom Princlple". You've nailed exactly the problem with that book. It is quite useful in helping people to hear free jazz with open ears, but unfortunately Litweiler can't excape the trap of putting down musicians who play in a different style or an earlier style. I have come to the conclusion that every musican "hears" the music differently and finds their "zone" at a particular spot along the jazz spectrum. A very few can move back and forth. To say that Dan Barrett should become like Roswell Rudd (or vice versa) is like saying a cat should become a dog. Each musician finds their own vaild place on the spectrum of jazz. And I'm not one who thinks music necessarily "evolves" to something better, different yes, but always better, I don't think so. What the free musicians did was extend the spectrum, rather than provide a direction everyone had to follow.
  22. I think you're right, but be careful. I said essentially the same thing once on the old BNBB and got flamed big time!
  23. Stan Kenton: Complete Holman/Russo Charts - Disc 1
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