Nate Dorward

Which year did the review appear? I ask because this year McShann's gig was cancelled, which was one of the major reasons why the Montreal Bistro closed. I like Leonard's fiction, though haven't read any of it for a while. It's a little too easygoing for me, maybe (in that I tend to prefer blacker, more fatalistic hardboiled worlds--I'm sure there are exceptions but there are a lot of Leonard novels where the good guys win, the bad guys end up in jail, & the really bad guys get killed). Lovely ear for dialogue, though.

The recent Time Being w/ Trio 3 is terrific. Avoid the boring DIW My Friend Louis, though.

Chris--this example is correct, but you are looking at the wrong part of the sentence. The passive is in the second part: "...the data was inadvertently deleted" (form of "to be" + part participle of "deleted"). The first part is not, it's just past perfect again. Of course student reports are full of poor writing--I've marked papers before--but handing students a non-rule about a syntactic construction they can't identify correctly anyway isn't going to help matters.

Chris--I'm afraid neither of your examples is passive voice. Passive voice is "to be" + past participle. "had hoped" is past perfect ("had" + past participle). "...some assumptions were in error" is plain old past tense of the verb "to be".

Well, this example shows exactly why it's pointless teaching students non-rules about the passive voice: the sentence does not contain a passive construction at all. I don't think most students who aren't ESL students will know how to identify a passive construction accurately. Anyway, sorry for the nitpickiness but I just can't fathom these kinds of bizarre quasi-rules that no-one ever follows anyway.

Incidentally the Grachan Moncur III interview in the new issue is pretty disturbing--I have to wonder about the wisdom of interviewing him at all given that the other one I've seen (the Fred Jung piece on the Jazz Weekly site) is pretty hard to take too. (The Jung piece has Moncur break down into tearful inarticulacy halfway through; in the new Cadence piece he starts yelling at the interviewer at one point.)

Well, issues like the famous CIMP sound & distribution deals & so forth are different matters from the specific topic of this thread.... I don't know anything about Jim Sangrey's experience in the 1980s, though knowing him I'm sure he did not mention the experience casually/without good reason. Looking at the current magazine it seems obvious there is little relation between reviews & advertising because there is, in fact, little advertising at all compared to virtually any other jazz journal, aside from the catalogue in the middle. I don't know if you enjoy reading it--though I find that even just picking out the reviews by its best writers like Jason Bivins & Michael Steinman make it more than worthwhile--but I enjoy writing for it, as the discs from often very obscure labels & artists that get sent me are a welcome change from the zone of the familiar.

Dan--OK, here it is.

Well, I certainly hope they don't "do it", if you mean "follow those rules"! Can anyone give a rational explanation for why one should avoid passive voice or a verb like "is"? It's like telling people to tie their hands behind their back then play tennis. Plenty of useful ammo against boneheaded stylistic prescription at the Language Log site, if you're curious: e.g. http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog...ves/003380.html

Jeez, I'd been unaware until now that AAJ actually edited the reviews or had any formal policy--usually just seemed to post up whatever came in. Looking at the "Style" guidelines, I'd suggest ignoring the silly advice in #2 (omit the verbs "to be", "say", "do" and "have"--is this some sort of dumb Oulipian game?) and #3 (omit the passive voice--typical dumb style-guide advice). Though I'm not sure that anyone takes any of that advice seriously (after all that same page includes tons of instances of "to be" &c).

The October issue of Cadence has a Rusch editorial responding to Jim Sangrey's comments in this thread. I typed it all in & then a power outage intervened--don't think I have the patience to do it a 2nd time. -- Rusch makes a lot of fuss about the accusation being "anonymous", which of course is not the case (it's not like Jim's screen handle, JSngry, disguises who he is).

Since when was Ted Poor the headliner/leader of the Respect Sextet? But seriously: great drummer, & a GREAT band. I can't say enough good things about their disc Respect in You, & was lucky enough to catch them in Toronto a few months back--two blisteringly inventive sets with some hot originals, wonky improv, & neato arrangements of "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" & "Hypochrismutreefuzz".

Tom--thanks for the BFT, & the answers. Glad I nailed the Russell at least! Of the two BFTs I think the most surprising track is the John Taylor, though I have heard him play "outside" on occasion (e.g. moments on Wheeler's Music for Large & Small Ensembles).

Try Roy Nathason's version on Sotto Voce. It's great!

Aha, that's why. I forget the exact poem but it was in Words or Pieces.

Hey, Luca--any word on when you were going to add comments to the track listings? I'm curious to hear what you have to say about them.

Yeah, just got this & it's really, really good. I was initially a bit skeptical because I knew they wouldn't be "playing changes" or following the structure of the tunes for the most part, but actually they do real justice to these tunes. & "Yokada Yokada/The Rumproller" is one of the most sheerly enjoyable tracks I've heard all year. Cripes, now I'll have to get that Ben Goldberg disc.... Is the title a Creeley quote?

Yes, one excellent example of Elvin Jones in fact as the main soloist on a ballad: "A Child Is Born" on Hank Jones' Upon Reflection.

1. A Monk blues ("Blues Five Spot" I think) for piano & vibes. The Penguin Guide always natters on about how piano/vibes duos inherently don’t work, for reasons that escape me. I often get the feeling that Monk tunes encourage mainstream players to be deliberately “spacy”, & I can’t quite figure out the angle of these musicians on the tune here -- they seem to be deliberately silly/scatterbrained at points (not least the mugging for the audience) -- but I think it’s still relatively “mainstream”, not the Dada hijinks of the Amsterdam guys e.g. I don’t know, there are plenty of nice bits but I just wished it would settle in one place/groove/attitude for more than a chorus. 2. Seven minutes of my life I want back, Tom. 3. More time for this one (though I don’t like the heavily Milesian trumpet) but still not doing all that much for me. & it’s twice as long as the previous track! Agh! I just find it really hokey & predictable when this chart reaches for moments of intensity. Hm, could be Billy Harper on tenor. There seems to be a strong effort here to pay homage to the Miles/Evans collabs, though I don’t think it’s latterday Evans. Hm, the chords under the guitar solo are heavily George Russellish. Yeah, bingo! This is definitely latterday Russell. I haven’t heard the stuff in between the Riversides & Deccas and the 1980s Blue Notes, but it presumably fits in there. Truthfully, I think Russell is one of the saddest declines in jazz (the recent 80th b.day concert was painful) & this isn’t making me change my mind. This would also fit in with the links to Miles & Gil as much of Russell’s later work seems to be chewing over their work endlessly (esp. the clunky "So What" chart he keeps digging out). Characteristically long-winded too. 4. Dig that touch and that time. One of the old guys at the piano, surely, with a few nifty little passing chords skating over the surface of the tune. I don’t recognize the tune -- is it a half-tempo "I'm Going to Buy Myself a Paper Doll"? This is one nice way to treat a tune -- like a cobweb you’re spinning but don’t want to break. 5: “Delilah” for flute & organ. The flute's fine, but the organ solo's the bit I liked. 6: Great stuff, & I probably should know these guys. I initially thought it might be Getz but it’s a little too robust for him I think. 7: “In Your Own Sweet Way”, with a quirky little piano intro. I think someone’s maybe having too MUCH fun here – I kept wishing for a more straightforward approach, less cat and mouse. Anyway, once it hits the bridge of the tune it goes into a Herbie Hancock modal thing instead. I like the tenor though for the openly rhapsodic approach. I wonder how these guys hooked up – just seems such an unlikely combo of saxophonist with this pianist, do they really regularly play together? Hm, could actually be Hancock on the piano I suppose, in a very strange mood though. Pity the whole thing just stops in midstream. 8: “Darn that Dream” with a really odd pianist there who grabs the ear with those twisted harmonies much more than the OK Lestorian tenor. Maybe if I knew what the tenor guy sounded like in his prime I’d be able to appreciate more what he’s doing now with his evidently very diminished resources. 9: Red Mitchell on bass & vocals? Probably Roger Kellaway on piano. Well, the words at the end are a giveaway! Here ya go: http://www.answers.com/topic/that-was-that

1: I initially feared this would just be a cute 30s retro vibes/slap bass showcase (maybe it’s the lingering aftereffects of having had to review a Roland Guerin album) but this one really does get intense enough to get out of the novelty bag. 2: More or less a Messengers tribute, starting with a hint of “Blues March” but moving into the style of Free for All (in fact I think the rhythm is a direct lift from “The Core” or “Free for All”....). I like the tenor player a lot more than the alto -- so much sharper. Arthur Blythe on alto? Aha!!!! Unmistakably Tapscott on piano! His solo’s brilliant, the joyous push to the edge of chaos (but completely controlled). The rest is just OK. 3: No idea whether this is South African jazz or just players inspired by it – but anyway it’s an enjoyable track that sustains its length, though never really makes me jump out of my seat either. 4: I find the texture with both piano & guitar too busy so I find this more enjoyable once the guitarist & pianist get to their solos. Or perhaps I just like their solos better? 5: Got to be Steve Swallow on bass, though this is not the usual context for Swallow....! I could have lost the extra percussion, but the flute player is good, nice tone & plenty of ideas phrased in interesting across-the-form/bar ways. One of the best tracks on the BFT. 6: The pianist starts like it’s going to be “52nd St Theme” but then with the repetitions it becomes clear we’re going somewhere else. Messy opening, & in general I just can’t get with this one, the loopy drumming in particular. Most interested in what the tenor’s doing. 7: A little pop balladry with tenor & accordion! “Saving All My Love For You”? Uh, well, it’s nicely done, I’m not going to complain. 8: Evidently an edit from a longer performance (pity about the background hiss!). Hm, it’s a surprise when the drummer pulls a contemporary dancefloor rhythm out of there! No idea who it is, but nice to have this somewhat freeish track here. Weird scrapy sound on the drums – is he using those “hybrid” sticks that are bundles of thin sticks? 9: An old-fashioned soprano sound with a contemporary tune & rhythm section. I love that blue 3rd he juggles with 2 & 1/2 minutes in! & a good piano solo too. I liked this track a lot. 10: “Yesterdays”. Weirdly balanced/recorded, the soprano sounding virtually like an overdub on a very quiet rhythm section. Uneventful. I take it this is included because of the bass solo but it’s not really doing a lot for me either.

Got them this morning.

Uh, where did I say that Eugene Chadbourne gives timeless insights? I like his writing a lot, mostly for the Hunter S Thompsonesque quality -- the piece in the new issue is a great saga of the miseries of dealing with insurance companies. Anyway, "timeless insight" isn't exactly how you'd describe the virtues of Eugene's writing.... There are a lot of musicians out there with a lot of good stuff to say, & I wish they had more time/inclination to write. But there are a lot of b.s.ers out there too, or those who seem to be more worried about music-politics than music.

Try Randy Sandke's Subway Ballet. I believe Cecil Taylor also wrote a ballet.

Hey Clem: maybe try underlines for a time instead of slashes? It'd be easier on the eyes I assure you. The duo with Lloyd at the end is avoidable, everything else I've heard has been excellent. Any love for the trio disc with Teddy Edwards?

Wouldn't have been there yet, most likely--I got my copy hot off the presses from Martin just the other day.