JSngry

I love it when people wave!

Myles Munroe Kalin and Myles Whoever These Guys Are, I Don't Speak French

Hope she's not still rockin' that Janis Joplin look, that would be distracting, and on top of that, I don't like Janis Joplin, I think I like this more. But, still we hear with our eyes, that's what everybody says, so it must be true.

But not in a documentary like The Blacklist! Currently midway through Season 5 of Mission Impossible, the one where Lesley Warren plays Dana, It's either Doug or Willy and the battle for world domination continues to be waged with parts from Radio Shack.

But maybe the mail itself would've been less hip.

Without his invention, I might have had a normal life. So...thanks? I guess?

Well see, that's the difference between us. I had a spell put on me once that I had to go to a chango to get lifted. And I spent the night once debating with Satan after oversmoking some really good hash. But I've never seen Megan Boone run around in her drawers, except on TV. So I think my choices speak for themselves - pretend versions of real-life experiences, or cute booty in panties. Real booty, real panties. With those as the options, my mind 's made up before I even think about it!

Very familiar with Hemmingway/Braxton, somewhat familiar with his own recordings of the time you mention. I prefer him with Braxton, just because...I prefer Braxton. Not a knock at all on Hemmingway, always enjoy him. Just that Braxton, that's a whole 'nother plane, period. Not just of music, but of life-view.

This guy?

I bet it was Miles & Mel Cooley on the grassy knoll. I like this Nardis stuff though, clean lines, immaculately cut. Crisp and clean, like a Harmon mute dream.

Case in point - love The Blacklist. Hooked on that shit waaay against my better judgement, becuase it seems like if there is any such thing as "reality", then this is most likely it. So, ok, good. I'm set. But now they come along with this new show that's "from the producers of the Blacklist", and UH-oh, it looks to be a LOT like The Blacklist, and then I have to consider, is The Blacklist REALLY reality, or is it just a cleverly done combinations of plausible constructs manufactured in such a way to get me to watch both this and that? Because I'm not watching this new thing, why bother, I'm already watching The Blacklist, and that's reality, correct? So why bother duplicating reality, that's not even mathematically possible, is it? But The Blacklist, Reddington (or as his character is called, James Spader), him with the nearly always-tilted head, that's about as close to cute as that shit gets. Well, that and Megan Boone running around in her drawers, but that's done to make a point. Sorkin could take a lesson about how one nearly always-tilted head renders cuteness unnecessary when demonstrating rightness of purpose. Dude, that's the beauty of it - I don't have to watch that shit at all! I just get a 5-10 second portion of a Newsy clip on Roku news and BAM, that's all I need to know. In, out, instant expert, dick still dry. Reality, uncomplicated, Mostly Other People Do The Caring. And it's free. What is reality if not free? You gotta pay to keep reality from hitting you!

I dig smart, it's cute I can't stand, especially when it's used as a debating tactic, which anytime you're advocating for a certain "rightness of purpose" is what you're doing. As far reality goes, I use TV to engage it. Otherwise, all I'm left with is this weird shit I see in my mind, out my window, and on my streets. Ain't no way THAT'S real! Honey Boo Boo's mom putting her in the hands of a known sex offender, now THAT'S reality - and it's all over TV (Q.E.D.!!!)...but they're all cute by the minute, but not smart, so I remain indifferent, extremely, although the cute thing has me leaning towards fuquitousness about the whole thing. Nevertheless, although Sorkin makes me cringe far more often than I'm slippers-and-pipe-and-Astroglide comfortable with, I'm eagerly awaiting the new season of The Newsroom. Go figure.

Same thing happening on so many commercials these days, happyearnestsmug people saying all this intelligent/witty banter with diatonic sunshine perking about relentlessly but quietly in the background, gee, how could you not but into that lifestyle, eh? Oh, I'll tell you how... Show me some sober-ish wino with only partially healed scabs stumble-talking about how, I'm barely makin' it, but thanks to XYZ, I almost think I am, probably, at least for now, hopefully. Convince me about that product, ok, because I don't vomit on that like I do on cute, you might have a chance of gettin' me onboard here, with that.

I like the show precisely because of it politics, but Sorkin...he's a really smart guy and yes, his dialog is quite tight, but if people start talking like that to me in real life, like everything they say is supposed to elict a hug, a tear, a BRAVO, or a knowing wry chuckle and/or wink, I get the hell away from them ASAP. It's just too cute for me, like, how can you disagree with anything said that well? Not necessarily style triumphing over substance, but style offered to disguise substance, or at least distract from it, not trusting the meat, so putting sauce all on it. And this coming from somebody who damn near always agrees with the substance. But I just as damn near often get the willies whenever "cute" comes into it. Good meat don't need no sauce. Still, the show has dealt with some pretty real stuff in a very intelligent manner, so if they use often insufferably cute writing (and acting) to do that, well, hey, it's TV. I don't have to watch it, but I do, so that's on me.

That's the hungry right there, making me.

Yeah, I'd go with that one. Funny, on that Period side I posted above, I just noticed how Thad's phrasing sounds a lot like Don Cherry only with a brassy sound. Real "bursty". He was playing coronet a lot in those days, wasn't he?

That Period album with Sonny on one side, and a group of Thad group on the other has some excellent playing by both leaders. The Sonny cuts are out there in The Freelance Years, but the Thad cuts are a little more orphaned. Discussed here, sorta I still like the stuff with Mingus as "Oliver King". Thad was handling all that bitonal stuff with a perfectly straight face, a quality he would maintain for as long as I can tell, so I guess he was hearing like that before, during and after. I love it, there's a color that comes from it that you really don't get out of anybody else's playing, especially with that real bright tone of his thrown into the mix. Ok, this is probably all written (except for, perhaps, the ending tag, which if improvised would be all the more telling), but still, delivered with full understanding, purpose, and conviction.

Yes, Happy Birthday to Organissmo's own Mr. Happy Birthday. Hope it was a good one!

Somebody (maybe here?) mentioned once that Ben Sidran boasted that "Nardis is Sidran spellec backwards", and of course it is, but apprently Sidran was saying that Miles wrote the tune for him or some such, and of course, ha ha ha. But nobody's ever put forth a credible explanation of what the name might otherwise mean. So, tonight, I see this: and I figure, ok, I'll bite, hand me the internet. Found this article http://flashbackdallas.com/2014/04/03/nardis-of-dallas/and this quote: Apparently, Nardis of Dallas was pretty high-end shit, a known quantity, no slouches. Can't tell if they had a men's line or not, but no matter. Miles knew fashion well enough, and I wager that the odds of him knowing the name "Nardis" in that regard are better than the odds of him not. Maybe even Miles knew the company owner or their NYC rep personally. Who knows? But at least the Nardis/Sidran/Miles thing makes a little more sense now. Maybe. Now, pivot to Zapruder... It's complicated, but there's a pretty in-depth connection there, regardless of any conspiracy theory theories, and they are documented here: http://quixoticjoust.blogspot.com/2011/06/close-up-of-abe-zapruders-employer.html So there. Nardis does appear to have made nice stuff though, for real. etc.

Not as much as you'd think outside of Basie orb, but he was in top form on Monk's 5 by 5 by Monk. That's an album that is a bit "underrated", imo. Also, his early work with Mingus (as "Oliver King") and under his own name on Debut is sometimes shocking in its harmonic invention. Thad was one helluva player. In fact, a lot of the early reviews I've read of the Thad/Mel band lament that thad's charts were excellent, but they didn't quite reach the inventiveness of his improvisation. So go figure that.

Yeah, that's a 20 buck show, easy. But/And seriously, that Kodaly is indeed a cool piece of music.

A Bird In A Gilded Cage A Stranger In A Strange Land A Voice In The Wilderness

I'd cautiously claim that the only truly "significant" Monk Columbia album was Underground. But the big band one is worth it for me because Overton's charts were a little better thought out than his earlier ones for the Town Hall gig, and mainly, beacuse Thad Jones is just freakin' brilliant every time he opens his mouth. You don't generally get genius-level trumpeting on Monk records (with fullest possible props to Ray Copeland & Idrees Suleiman, strong personal voices to be sire), but on this one, you do. Also, Frankie Dunlop was a big band unto himself, unlike Art Taylor, who was Art Taylor unto himself. However, Sam Jones cannot be replaced..

Ok, here's what I like, the solo concert is $25 (or just $20 if you subscribe to the series, like we have just done did): http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/engage/event?id=147 OR.... you can hear her featured with the DSO, playing just one piece, and pay about $100 (a little less if you want not so good seats): https://www.mydso.com/season-tickets/subscriptions/14-15-ti-classical-series/productions/alisaweilerstein.aspx# I understand, different economic models involved, and probably the DSO booking made the solo gig feasible for all concerned, but still, hey. This Soundings series at the Nasher http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/engage/2014-2015-soundings-seasonseems like it might be "iffy" (if anything called "Yellow Barn" doesn't raise at least part of one eyebrow, nothing will...), but part of "iffy" allows for maybe pretty good, or better. It's not like you can go into a club for drinks and Schoenberg on any given night. And it's not like the DSO programs with one eye on reinforcing the status quo and the other on.... anything else. Good band, but...it is what it is as far as that goes. But anyway...about Weilerstein herself, anybody else besides David (and I thank you for that, sir), have any impressions, or even actual opinions? I don't care if Moms himself stomps on in and calls here a monument to the eternality of vapidity, the money's already spent, we're definitely going, I'd just like to go with some sort of real time perspective in place, not just oooohhhh, great cellist, great music, AWESOME. Because I don't need it to be awesome to be worthwhile, although that's never bad. I would, however, prefer to experience the performance in something besides a total vacuum, dig?

Win-win, right?