JSngry

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernie Henry Hank Aaron

I think I share this basic opinion, I I used to kinda feel bad about it, but you know, I've started going to bed really early lately, and have discovered old Bud Collyer-era To Tell The Truth shows on Buzzr, replete with the supposedly original commercials left in. It's taken me 61 years to notice how fucking BIZARRE Bud Collyer could be, he'd be all normal bowtie politeman and then all of a sudden - OUT OF NOWHERE - just drop a phrase or two that make NO logical sense whatsoever, NONE, and then be right back in it, not one microsecond break in his reality, just everybody else's, and between that and thinking about Tom Poston ending up married to Suzanne Plushette and being asleep by 9 PM, I figure I should probably just stay away from movies right now, probably forever. I had lost interest a while ago anyway, and now I have this, you know, quit while I'm ahead.

Has she got anything of his time with Buddy?

Mode is a really worthwhile label, too. I guess they have a few other "jazz" type things, but I'm not familiar with them. I got into them for their modern classical library and their one-man operation, kinda dug all that. But specifically, this is a good record, well-planned, well-produced, nothing cheap or common about it, nor anything too "arty" in the bad, reverse-slumming kind of way. Can't say I was really "surprised", but I did not know what to expect and I like what I got, so, yeah, I'll go with feeling "rewarded". That works.

I really don't make the claim lightly. Really, I do not. That is indeed one of the highest of high bars. But - There is just so much mastery on it, consistent, sustained, advanced mastery...beyond "virtuosity", metaphysical shit, like, I don't know that the tenor saxophone should be able to do some of those things, I don't know that time should be able to do some of those things. Obviously they can, here is the proof, but...you know, can't just any badass tenor player do THIS, ok? Can't just any badass HUMAN do this. We're talking physics, how matter is behaving when occupying time/space. Honestly, I think the way Sonny plays at his peak is going to become a "lost art" because I don't know how many people with that deep a "traditional" background/training are even thinking about applying it in the type of metaphysical ways that Sonny has, it's just not something that people DO these days, you know, people are either all about the abstract or all about the literal, Sonny is like, oh well, that's a dichotomy that is imposed from within and from without, let me set about erasing it from both places, let me master both, and let me do it while nobody's looking so I don't get distracted. Why not? As far as 4 being the most consistent, I think there's a possibility that Sonny didn't want to go full frontal with the live stuff as long as he thought he might still go touring again...Not to say that he's "given up" on a return to live performance, but otoh, you gotta think he's not naïve about it either. One of the things he's been weird about over the years has been the notion about not wanting to have to compete with his past recordings, I kinda think that's why most of the Milestone albums have one, sometimes two, killer cuts and the rest sort of hold back. After a while, it got to be obvious that most of these records were not looking to scale the peaks, so to speak, they were just looking to have decent-enough product in the marketplace to whet the appetite for the live experience. That's totally contrarian to any "logical" jazz (or business) philosophy, but that's the only explanation I have, and it does kinda sync up with Sonny's repeated insistence that for him, the magic is in the moment, that improvisation itself is a process, not a performance, and that the "end" is to get to that zone in real, fresh time, not through "presentation" of planned solos. You can hear that on the best live things, it's not so much that he plays anything "new", it's how he's putting it together, his rhythms, inflections, little micro-details. I mean, I guess we'd all love it if sonny Rollins got there every time on every record and on every gig, but then it would not be Sonny Rollins we were experiencing, at least not as how I think he sees it. It would be Sonny Rollins presenting an idealized Sonny Rollins. Now, it might be that he's thinking, no more of that, no more worries, time to let it out. It's some pretty intense music, mentally, spiritually, hell, physically. Just idle speculation, nothing more. I don't always think, but when I do, I often think about Sonny Rollins.

1-3 are less consistent, imo, but the highs are really high, and I can go there with Sonny, through the lows to get to the highs. Been doing it for years now. But 4...I've listened to that thing in blocks of days, just listening to it all day for 3-5 days non-stop, have done this three times so far, and it continues to deepen. 1-3 have not compelled me to go that deep. Not much music does these days, so....yeah. For me, 4 is in a league by itself. I'm advocatin' here, so proceed accordingly, but I try to know when I'm advocatin' and when I'm just pimpin'. YMMV.

The 4-CD retrospective?

Yeah, right? But seriously, they're all strong, all good, all worth a spot on your shelf if you want to hear any of this type of thing. Having said that, I really think that this last one, 4, is one of the all-time great Sonny Rollins records, period. And I listened to it a whole, BIG lot before deciding that, it's not a statement I make casually or out of fandom. It's the one that is consistently WTF? ish on every cut, you know, he just played WHAT????? There's a cut where it takes a while for that to happen, but once it does, it stays happening. Everything else is pretty much straight-through with it, and it seems like there's less room given to the bands, which is ok, even if there's some good bands on there. You got sonny firing on all cylinders on there at the same time and nothing tops that, nothing, sorry band, you just let the man do his thing, you can play out on some other tunes on some other nights. So really, imo, start with 4. It's the one I'll not live without.

The morning after the election, I had a dentist appointment and then went to work. Last Friday, I didn't have a dentist appointment and was going to take a sick day, but had to take some time off the week before to deal with our dog dying, that was - and remains - a real blow. Since it's only just January, I don't want to use too much sick time too soon, so I went to work and kept the headphones in most of the day. As far as what I listened to, hell if I remember. If you really want to know, I tend to post in the What Are You Listening To NOW?!?!?!! threads. I pretty much listen to what I listen to without having the selection being influenced by worldly affairs. I got three or more buttloads full of backlog, and still go on artist-specific binges, which only makes the backlog worse. I mean, when Sonny Rollins dies, yeah, that's going to cause a reconsideration of things, since I will probably listen to Sonny Rollins for a few weeks solid. But as far as this other thing, hey, never mind "that time of the month", it's That Time Of The World, so proceed accordingly at every viable opportunity, not just when it comes time to play records.

Wandy Rodriguez Jimmy Rabbit Sir Topham Hatt

Late to the party, sorry, kind of an "eventful" month. But here were are, the usual thanks and disclaimers firmly in place, so let's play! TRACK ONE - Son (or grandson) Of "Bijou". A very Woody-esque sound to the chart, except there's altos. If that's a working band, they're really together...I don't know that it is, this sounds like it comes from the time when all the older working band players had become studio players and already knew how to play like a working band. The drummer is kicking like it's Tiny Kahn, almost...only Tiny never lived to get that quality of studio sound. A Chubby Jackson band, maybe? I hear chatter during the piano, Mister Cheerleader? Anyways, it's got spunk. TRACK TWO - "Ill Wind". KD-ish trumpet, Jordan-ish tenor (tonally, anyway, otherwise, pure Bird). Gorgeous arrangement, the solos get a little arbitrarily double-time-y for my taste, but a gorgeous arrangement, and the melodies are all played just right. I like it. TRACK THREE - That's nice. Doesn't really seemed to be geared towards "listening", so I think I'd probably enjoy hearing it more in a room with people dancing, but hey, you take what you can get these days. I never could dance worth a damn myself, so I always enjoyed being in a band where people could (band and audience alike!). TRACK FOUR - I'll take "Warm Valley" and stop the guessing there! That's nicely fluent and coherent from start to finish. Sounds like somebody who needed the bigger horn to not get silly with the chops/licks. I mean, they come close, but that big horn keep 'em real! And the pianist is soooo tasty! a-HA! Seek and ye shall find: http://www.allmusic.com/album/roamin-with-richardson-mw0000177242 I'll stand by the comments about the bigger horn. Jerome has always been a great player, but his definitely matured with time. TRACK FIVE - Chico? Nah. "You Go To My Head". I'm kinda funny about that tune, it's perfect as is, one of those standards that don't need any real help. Leave it be, it can handle it by itself. This version seems kind of neo-Shearing in intent as it goes along, only it's the guitarist's date. Can't say that I'm really feeling this one. Kudos to the drummer, though, for the mallets chops, he/she know how they work, not all do! TRACK SIX - No idea. I really dig that tenor player. Everybody else, hey, they don't fuck up the tenor player, so they can stay. TRACK SEVEN - Again, no idea, but I really like the way the composition develops. Sounds like some mid-60s Polish stuff, maybe. Soloing nicely, if sometimes barely, avoids Modal-y Impressionistic Wandering, and much happiness about that. Nice. TRACK EIGHT - I Dig Rock & Roll Music. And I love to get a chance to sing (and play) it! Ok,, soling begins, that's better. MUCH better! But you know, if they really say it, the radio won't play it. So they have to lay it be-tween the lines. TRACK NINE - Well, that's some bass. Can't say that it really does avoid Modal-y Pastoral Wandering, but there was a time when that was all the rage, and for there to be all this bass doing it, I'd guess it was from that time. TRACK TEN - Well, this I recognize. They weren't really in the studio at the same time, were they? For Miles, it must have seemed like a return to Jack Johnson, for Hooker, it must have seemed like a return to the bank after the check came. I like it if I don't try to make it mean more than it means, because if I do that, I'll stop liking it pretty soon. But, you know, it's Miles and Hooker doing movie music, that's means what it means, and really, ain't that enough? TRACK ELEVEN - Bass flute? I never could understand how anybody plays those things, I mean, I had enough of a hard time getting past the hyper-ventillating when learning regular flue, never mind one of these ginormous tube things. But this is very, very nice. And again, exquisite piano playing, that seems to be a recurring theme of this collection, TRACK TWELVE - Sounds like John Klemmer with a David Murray vibrato. And then he growls! Mind if I pass? TRACK THIRTEEN - whoa....Elos, sloe/slow/sole/soul, damn. DAMN. That last cut, the Duke, that's truth. I enjoyed almost everything else, but I will lay down my eternal soul for that Duke cut without a moment's hesitation or doubt. Thank you, sir, for that one.

Bebe Rebozo CeCe Wyans Dede Westbrook

Polka Dottie Poison Zoomack Mr. Deetle Dootle

If you like Oliver Nelson, it's a great way to get a lot of it. None of it is his really lowest-tier/hack/deadline work, and a good amount of it is outstanding - IF you like Oliver Nelson's writing. I love Oliver Nelson's writing, so I bought it more or less when it came out. Keep in mind that I love listening to different big bands as orchestral music, the inner parts, the ensemble/section work, all the things that come with performing written music. I've had occasion to play a few of Nelson's arrangements, so I tend to listen to the waaaay inside parts and LMFAO, it's so good what he does, the choices he makes. Not everybody listens to big(ger) band music like that, though. If you tend to hear Oliver Nelson's writing as sounding more or less "all the same", then it's still a great way to get a lot of it, but what the "it" of it is might not be the same for you as it is for me. So....proceed accordingly, I suppose. all I can tell you is that Oliver Nelson was a baaaaaaad man.

Listening to this a few times today, and am finding it quite engaging. Eric Mingus is no slouch, and David Amram is first-hand. The obvious antecedent here (for me) is Weary Blues, and I think this new release is a lot more fully realized as "jazz poetry" (whatever the hell that is?)...it should be, time has passed. Anyway, I bought out of curiosity and feel rewarded.

I'd be tempted on the Clooney, that kind of organ sound is not unfamiliar to me, from all sorts of late 40s/early 50s "white" pop, and I'd love to hear her sing good songs unfettered by Mitch Miller's ideas about what would make them more sellable, she was a really fine singer when left to her own devices, but...I gotta get the Hines & the Lunceford first. And in the end, I guess you can find all kinds of singers doing all kinds of versions of all kinds of those songs, and I'm not really looking to go there right now. However....seems like it should be a really fine collection of good songs well sung, and I think I'd like it if it was free or something like that.

These dudes be trippin'!

Better back than down.

I'll be listening to the band, no matter if there's vocals or not. I'm thinking that it's time for me to deal with Jimmy Lunceford, period.

See what you think: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/lord-invader-sly-mongoose-information.html

Kill the animals! Kill the clowns! Eat them all! But leave the cotton candy alone. That shit'll rot your teeth out.

Nathan East Paul West Harvey Gulf

I've enjoyed maybe more than my fair share of disco, is that post-rock?

Charles McPherson!!!!!!! These are usually lecture-only, and the questions are usually student-level, but you never know...and occasionally there is a little playing. Sam Rivers played a little when he did his.