duaneiac

Featuring the now late Mr. Bill Smith on clarinet. Chet Baker with the NDR Big Band. I'm so used to hearing the Chet Baker of this era (late 1980's, 1987 in particular here) playing in trio, quartet or at most quintet settings, that it is somewhat disorienting to hear him backed by a full big band. I will have to give this a second listen to really put it all together and properly evaluate it.

This is my favorite performance by Mr. Smith:

The Benny Goodman Story was full of musician cameos including Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa, Harry James, Buck Clayton, Urbie Green, Stan Getz, Martha Tilton, Ziggy Elman, Ben Pollack, Kid Ory, Babe Russin and Alan Reuss. Pete Kelly's Blues included Ella Fitzgerlad, Peggy Lee, George Van Eps, Nick Fatool, Matty Matlock and Joe Venuti. Ella Fitzgerald also appeared (singing "A-Tisket, A-Tasket") in the Abbott & Costello film, Ride 'Em Cowboy. Annie Ross was quite good in a more than cameo role in Robert Altman's Short Cuts. The most classic cameo of all time must be Louis Armstrong's appearance in the film Hello Dolly. Edit to add the second most classic cameo is probably Count Basie & His Orchestra in Blazing Saddles. And then there was this: I still gotta see that movie one of these days, no matter how awful it might be.

Discs X, IX and VIII because sometimes you get into a Basie groove and it's hard to get out -- not that I'm complaining about that!

Nick Apollo Forte, a longtime cruise ship and cabaret singer most widely known for his co-starring role in Woody Allen’s 1984 comedy Broadway Danny Rose, died Wednesday in Waterbury, CT. He was 81. His death was announced by his family. No cause of death was given, but the family thanked his doctor and staff for “many years of caring for Nick with love, respect and dignity.” More here. I only know him from that one role, but he nailed that one role. Named himself after the Apollo Theater. Who'da guessed. Rest in Peace, sir.

Disc 2 of 2. When I was a lad, Dinah Shore had a daytime TV chat show and she seemed to me to be utterly square and corny. There sure ain't nothing square or corny about this -- That's a little vocal gem, which for me, ranks right up there with the immortal versions of this song recorded by Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan.

Brother Jack McDuff (org) Red Holloway (ts) George Benson (g) Joe Dukes (dr) Benny Golson (arr, con) A1-A4 Unidentified orchestra

This is an album I have seen a few times in used record stores, but never in a decent enough condition to buy. It's cool to finally give it a listen. Sammy Nestico's charts all awing nicely

Very sorry for your loss. Parents may depart, but they remain an intrinsic part of ourselves and our lives forever. May peace be unto them and peace be with you during this difficult time.

I've always been interested in birds, although I'm not very knowledgeable about them. Just recently found this streaming cam online and have visited it for a little while almost every day. A pretty interesting mix of birds can be spotted here.

I've only been to Tower stores here in CA. My most frequently visited store was in Campbell, CA (the location is now a pet food/pet supply store), but I also often went to stores in Mountain View (that location was once a Rasputin Records store after Tower closed-- I'm not sure what it is today) and San Jose (I think it's now a Party City store or something). I also went to the Tower North Beach location (I remember especially going there after attending some shows at the nearby Bimbo's 365 Club) and one in San Mateo, I visited the Tower on Sunset Strip only once. I also remember once visiting a rather small Tower store in Chico, CA (which is also home of the National Yo-Yo Museum where one will find the World's Largest Yo-Yo, so make your vacation plans early). There used to be a Tower Outlet store in San Francisco back in the 1990's to maybe early 2000's. It was somewhere South of Market down by where the new(ish) ballpark is now located. I used to drive up there on a Sunday afternoon once or twice a month and spent lots of hours and dollars there. They had all kinds of good deals there on cutouts and such. I remember buying a lot of Muse Records cutouts there and also a lot of those "Giants of Jazz" EU compilation discs. I do remember one day shortly after the announcement of the store closings was made, I visited the Campbell store one morning to have a look-see. The place was pretty empty and the few customers that were these were pretty quiet, as though they were at a wake. As I entered their jazz room, the music that was playing in there was Scott Joplin's "Solace". It seemed more than appropriate for the occasion.

Hadn't listened to this one in years. It's just a really enjoyable album. Mustn't wait that long to play it again next time! Meh. It has some good Houston Person, but heaven knows there is plenty of good Houston Person to be found on many other recordings. Always nice to see attention paid to Johnny Lytle. He made some beautiful music but his legacy seems to get overshadowed by bigger names on the jazz vibes.

Complete with a sermon which seems ever more relevant than ever . . .

Ya gotta start with Louis

I've never seen this show or the movie on which it was based and all I know about it is the music on this CD I got from the library, but -- I know this would be unfathomable to those who cannot believe that Miles Davis found any intrinsic artistic merit in "Time After Time", but had this show come along back in the day, I could easily see record labels coming out with multiple commercial recordings of A Jazz Version of Kinky Boots, filled as it is with fairly hummable, if not exactly unforgettable, tunes. These tunes could have been adapted by a piano trio, on organ quartet or even a big band. But, if even Miles Davis gets excoriated for recording one of Ms. Lauper's better songs, lesser beings are likely averse to even considering her material.

On another day and given a different listen under a different frame of mind, I'd likely agree with you. This time around though, that track worked well for me.

This compilation includes a nearly 13 minute version of "Europa" which, A) reminds one of how beautiful a melody that is when just played "as is"; brother,if you can't get busy with that melody as your background music, then perhaps it's time to set out the "going out of business" sign, and B) is quite the showcase for Eric Alexander.

Joining Mr. Earland at this 1997 concert were Jimmy McGriff, Johnny Hammond Smith, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jim Rotondi, Eric Alexander, Frank Catalano and more. The stand out track for me is Mr. Earland's romp through his classic "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday". That never gets old for me.

Thanks for that clarification. The only info I had was what accompanies the posted video on YouTube.