John Tapscott

Happy B 'day Slide-Man! Just don't slip on that Apple Honey! All the Best.

Happy Birthday Wes! Thanks for the Mosaic chat. Hope a nice package arrives for you today from Stamford Ct.

A tough choice, since they're all great. I voted for "Ask Me Now". I also like "Green Chimneys".

Received Hi Voltage today. I'm now listening to this music for the first time ever, and man oh man, this is GREAT stuff. Beautiful sound, solid playing, everything just right. Heartwarming and soul stirring.

I had read some of the mildly negative comments about this CD, and so bought it with a bit of trepidation and lots of curiosity. FWIW, I personally didn't notice anything amiss with this session. I think it's excellent, far better IMHO, than the earlier H. Jones/E. Jones collaboration "Upon Reflection" which was AOTW not too long ago. If there's any sesne of "roughness" on "Autumn Leaves" it's a positive kind of tension which really brings the music alive.

I pulled out the CD and listened to it tonight. It is even better than I had remembered. Not as much Gil Evans influence as I had imagined and perhaps a bit more Shorty Rogers. But Nimmons is his own man. Some of his originals are quite astonishing, ranking among the very best ensemble jazz being written in that '56-'59 period. This music often swings like mad and is very creative and interesting. Nimmons gets a very full sound from the 10 piece group. The sound quality is pretty good, too. This is great jazz, plain and simple. If you see it somewhere, don't hesitate.

Oh yes, I forgot about that one. It is EXCELLENT.

Two good ones on the Sackville label from Canada Reg Schwager and Don Thompson - Live at Mezetta's (I REALLY LIKE THIS ONE). Ed Bickert and Don Thompson

The Verve CD includes all the tracks from one those albums and perhaps 2/3 of the tracks from the other.

I have this CD, but haven't heard it for 4 or 5 years. Nimmons is a decent clarinet player, and always plays with lots of swing and spirit. But I think his greater skill is as a composer/ arranger. He's always been fairly progressive and creative. As for the Canadian Scene, it has a sound like you would expect from a ten-piece group of the mid- 50's. It's actually fairly full and really swings in places. Good tunes and arrangements with lots of interweaving line and so on; touches of Gil Evans (Birth of the Cool) and Marty Paich here and there. The playing is excellent, recording quality OK, if not state-of-the-art for the time. The solos are generally concise. Don't be put off by the accordian in the band. It adds a different and very enjoyable sound to the ensemble. In the late 60'sr Nimmons 'N Nine became Nimmons 'N Nine plus Six. This is the group I prefer and they made a mid-70's album for Sackville called "The Atlantic Suite" which I think stands up as one of the finest Canadian jazz albums ever made. Nimmons at his best, IMHO.

I don't have those particular recordings, though I have one Coe Quartet Cd (can't even remember the title or label right now, collection's getting too big) made around 1971. To be honest, I really like Coe in the context of the Clarke-Boland Big Band but on this particular CD his tenor playing sounds very much like Paul Gonsalves'. (I like Gonsalves, but you know the story, "If I wanted to listen to Paul Gonsalves...")

Yes as well. Played as a kid and in a couple of adult leagues since. I think it is a great sport to play and watch in person, but I understand that not everyone feels that way. Apparently the players and owners do not share this understanding. As you can imagine, Canada is in a state of national mourning today. Dave's assessment of what's wrong with the game is right on! One of the best summaries I've read, actually. Hockey CAN be a good game to watch (perhaps the best for sustained flow and action). But with so many teams and so many mediocre players and the larger goalie pads, much of the fast-paced, high scoring excitement has been drained from the game. Far too often, the games are now low scoring, dull affairs. I am usually pretty neutral in labour-management negotiations, and just wish they had been able to work something out. It didn't take a genius to see the compromise, but neither side was willing to make the move. But the truth is that over the last few years the players have made a killing. Salaries have skyrocketed. The average salary is now $1.8 million, probably 1 mil higher than 10 years ago. There is no doubt that has to slow down, and the players did make significant concessions. What the players apparently failed to understand is that the NHL's final offer, while hardly what they had hoped for, is FAR better than anything they will get offered in the future.

This thing is getting beaten to death, but in this case, I feel it's not so much "Blame La Roca the musician", as "Blame La Roca the lawyer". This is a typical legal move. Let everything take its course, have everyone spend time and money, and then at the 11th hour, use some legal objection to bring everything to a grinding halt. The big question is "WHY DIDN'T HE RAISE HIS OBJECTIONS 6 OR EVEN 3 MONTHS AGO?" I still think BN should have told La Roca to get lost, especially at this late date.

Ok, the Basra thing is absolutely ridiculous. I think BN should have told La Roca to go fly a kite, but they didn't, and we'll probably never get that one. But does anyone have any of the others yet? And if you do, can you kindly share your impressions? I ordered the Brooks, Mobley, and Coles, but won't have them for a few days. The latter two are new to me, though I know what to expect with the Mobley. I have most of his other recordings, but somehow missed out on this one. I have no idea of what to expect with the Coles, though I enjoy Johnny's playing elsewhere (especially on a fine record he made for Uptown with Frank Wess some twenty years ago).

I agree. If people on this Board (who have had a thing or two to say about the war in Iraq) don't make an immediate connection, then who will? And besides, how many people are browsing in Pete La Roca bins in the record (or on-line) stores? 90% would be people who already know the CD and its title. Surely very few (if any) people who look at the CD or contemplate buying it would be offended by the title. The bigger surprise (or offense) would be to see it renamed. I say BN should just forget it.

I don't care who wanted the change. This is near the top of the list for overly sensitive stupidity. Gee, the title is what it is and was - so get on with it as it, is or forget it altogether.

cheap-cds.com shipped the new RVG's yesterday. Their website now lists the release date for Basra as 12/31/06.

I too, am surprised at sidewinder's comments. I have lived in the Canadian cities of Toronto, Halifax, and Mississauga. No problem is getting Coda in any of these cities, as long as you know where to look, mainly bookstores and newsstands with large magazine sections (not your average corner store, for sure). I had subscription problems 25 years ago (they stopped sending me renewal notices), so I just started to buy it at the newsstands. I really enjoyed the magazine when John and Bill were in charge. You could somehow sense the "labor of love" aspect of the magazine and you had to enjoy it just for that. But there were also excellent articles and reviews covering a broad range of "jazz" (which I am interested in), and "improvised" music (not really my cup of tea). But there was generally enough to satisfy fans of both genres. I must admit that I rather lost interest after Warwick took after. I felt that even then it started to take on a "glossy" look, though it's content didn't change all that much. I suspect that the government support for Coda (from the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council - freely acknowledged by the magazine on its index page) was both blessing and curse. Those grants probably kept the magazine alive for years, in spite of its relatively low circulation, but perhaps allowed the magazine to get a bit sloppy in terms of administration and customer relations. I'm sure that the loss of government funding is at the crux of the magazine's current problems. Whether or not tax dollars should be used to support "The Journal of Jazz and Improvised Music" is a rather controversial matter, of course. But it was good for us while it lasted.

Got to give for those Timeless Dates, "Jazz Poet" and "Beyond the Bluebird." One of Tommy's last recordings: "Sunset and the Mockingbird" (Blue Note). Tommy was great right to the end. And that recent Great Jazz Trio Cd "Autumn Leaves" with Hank Jones, Richard Davis, and Elvin Jones is especially fine. Haven't heard the second one they did, but I'm sure it's just as good.

Nate: I haven't heard of this one or seen it yet, but I like Bill Mays. What are the details? Thanks

Well, I'll go from what I know and what what I remember reading in Steven Harris' massive "Kenton Kronicles." I believe Gioga was a California native and was hired by Kenton for his first rehearsal band in 1940. He stayed with Kenton until just before the European tour in the fall of '53. I think illness forced him off the road. Kenton introduces him on Johnny Richards' 1952 "Prologue - This is An Orchestra" by saying "He has been a part of every sound this orchestra has made." Gioga retired from music after leaving Kenton. He and his wife bought a small farm in California (a lemon-tree farm, I believe) and ran that for the rest of their lives. Gioga died within the past 3 or 4 years (at age 90 or so) but had suffered from Alzheimer's for a few years before that. But until the disease set in he took part in panel discussions (thouigh he didn't play) at various Kenton tribute events. Jim's right - he wasn't a soloist, but a solid section player. He must have also been a pretty good reader. When you think about it there was some pretty incredible stuff going on in those years with Kenton - the Progressive Jazz Band, the Artistry in Rhythm band, the New Concepts Band, the Innovations Orchestra, the Graettinger stuff, and the earlier Lunceford-styled band. You might hate it all musically, but there were some great musicians on the band in those years - Pepper, Rogers, Cooper, Ferguson, Candoi, Konitz, Rosolino, Getz, Winding, Musso, Safranski, Bernhart, Manne, Levey, etc., etc.

Leaving Frank Rosolino off any list of bop trombonists is a major omission. He was active in the late '40's, which was about as close to the bop pioneers as you could get. Not that he was a bop innovator, but if you limit your list to only the innovators you'll have a very short list. I wonder if Carl Fontana is on Yanow's list?

I will go on record as saying that for the most part, I really dig Buddy's band. I think in the late 70's/ early 80's he played a few too many funk charts for my liking, but otherwise, his book was very deep with many strong charts by excellent writers. I have to respectfully disagree with several of the points marcello makes: About keeping soloists: Pat LaBarbera for 7 years, Steve Marcus for 12, Andy Fusco for 4, Barry Kiener off and on for nearly 10. Not bad. Ballads: Every set Rich played included at least one ballad. Here are several which come to mind and which have been recorded: "Alfie" featuring Art Pepper; "'Round Midnight" featuring Marcus: "Lush Life" featuring Rick Stepton; "If You Could See Me Now" featuring Andy Fusco; the middle section of "Channel One Suite" featuring Don Menza and later Marcus. In fact, every one of the big suites Buddy played (Channel One, West Side Story, Tommy, Good News) included a slow ballad section. If you are interested in the artistry of Buddy Rich the recent DVD "Live at the Montreal International Jazz Festival 1982" is a must-see. There is a remarkable chart by Joe Rocissano called "Brush Strokes" in which Buddy plays soft brushes throughout with the band (not just the trio); plus the aforementioned "If You Could See Me Now".

There is at least one other Kiener recording. I know because I have it. I'll have to dig it out tonight, but I think the name of it is "The Barry Kiener Trio" from around '77 with Tom Warrington on bass and DEEP on drums. Haven't heard it for a while. It covers a bit of ground stylistically but is centered around some very rapid bop pieces. I believe it's on a label called Phoenix. Also Barry can be heard on Buddy's "The Best Band I Ever Had" LP/CD, as well as on Buddy's "Plays and Plays and Plays..." LP (some of which was reissued on a Novus CD).

I figured NE would win, but that was a pitiful display by the Colts.