JSngry

Shipp seems to have gotten very adept at working the the "get out of my way, jazz superstars" persona. He's a worthy talent, and it's his way into broader name recognition, so good for him with figuring out how that shit works. Glad to see Joe Sample getting some props as well. I know this probably isn't what Shipp had in mind, but this type of "out there" MOR-Jazz is not something that just any chump could make work at all, much less make it work this well. Jarrett? Does he play as well as he gets paid? Really, who does, in either direction? Trying to reconcile Art with Commerce in a way that is Ultimately True And Fair is ultimately a sucker's game, I think. Pick one and go for it, and hope the other keeps pace. If not, reconsider and then proceed accordingly to the ensuing decision. And if you get lucky, hey, carpe deims(s). As with a big-money athlete, if the market will bear it, he's worth it, and should he ever stop being worth it, he'll stop getting it.

I'd like to see a mock-up of the Redd Foxx Mosaic cover.

Especially tasty in a horseradish cream sauce! And yet, the unfamiliarity of many eaters perplexes.

Letterman took it out there last night as well.

Sounds fine to me too. But I seem to recall some talk that it does not sound like the Verve LPs sound, because of some Eicher "touches". I've got neither LP, nor the funds/interest to seriously pursue them, so whatever Eicher did is fine by me. But I guess I would like to contrast/compare just once.

Interesting critique. I have vague recollections of that show and have always thought I would like to see it again. There is a fanbase here: Paladin might now well be my favorite TV character ever.

Shuttlecock. It's an open invitation.

He's on a Dave Burns Vanguard side as "Herbie" Morgan.

Talk about leaving a void...scantily recorded, but such a personal voice. RIP and thank you.

Ok, the issue was orchestration, then, not notes? Because, as you know, some of those Ellington/Strayhorn voicings kinda defy "logic". if you know what I mean, and figuring out which note (or two) is in there that gives it that sound can really bend your ear.

Wow, that seems sudden...I always enjoyed his work, particularity how he cursed without it sounding vulgar. "Natural" would be the word I'd use, and as somebody who enjoys the "poetry" of that type of language when properly executed, I was a fan. Of course, that's not all he did, obviously. Nor was it all that I appreciated in his work. But as much as I hate it when actors curse in an artless manner, so do I appreciate it when they do so artfully. RIP.

It's time for a Redd Foxx Dooto Mosaic now, right? Or even better, a Bear Family Dooto party records set. Who among us will live to see the day? You think gospel's been underlooked...

Did not Eicher also use some post-production to turn the original LP sound into something more "ECM-ish"?

Would very much like to know what the "answer" to those puzzles were, if you can remember them. Otherwise, all I really know is the Russell stuff. But guys who are ready for anything, people with a broad skill set, those guys are getting to be fewer and farther between, it seems. Anytime any one of them passes, it's a change in the fabric of the overall music world. Won't say "loss" necessarily, but definitely a change, as "what is" slowly becomes "what was". RIP.

Alex Sipiagin is playing very well these days, although I don't know of any record that's caught the true fullness of his tone.

Leslie Nielsen Christian Doppler Walter O’Reilly

Aaron Copland Hank Aaron Erin Moran

Around here, it used be that trios were for weeknights, quartets/quintets for weekends. Now it's solo piano on weeknights (where there are any) and trios on the weekends. Not that there haven't been some great piano trios, or even some great piano trio records made by not necessarily "great" trios, but jeez, "piano trio" in and of itself is past cliche these days. But they keep coming anyway, and really, how much more can be done? And why do it, except that there's a market for a familiar product that is easily/cheaply produced, easily marketed. and more or less indiscriminately consumed. Yes, Budweiser. But - The Three Sounds were much better than that. Much better.

It's a comment on the economic reality brought about by the aggregate indiscrimination of the consumer population. Just as there's always Budweiser, there's always piano trios, because both are cheap to present and both will always sell. You'll always be able to get a Budweiser, and you'll always be able to get a piano trio,. Now, unlike Budweiser, there is a wide range of interest and satisfaction available in the world of piano trios. But that was not the focus of the analogy.

Lee Underwood Lee Greenwood Lee Hazelwood

"Piano trios" are the jazz equivalent of Budweiser, everybody's got it and they'll do when there's nothing better around, and some people just don't know the difference in either direction, so to find one as consistently thoughtful in their arrangements and as deeply empathetic in their execution as The Three Sounds is a treat for me.

We had a can of this goopy stuff (might have actually been called Goop) that you could buy at any industrial supply shop. Get a little dab outta the can, lave, and then wipe it all off with a rag. All gang trucks had rags aplenty, and all gang tucks had a bigass can of waterless hand cleaner, because if you're out on some lease miles from nowhere getting into some sweaty nasty shit and luch time comes, hey, you gonna eat, and you gonna do so with clean hands. Ask Dan Morgenstern if he ever waded into a stock pond to clean up a pipeline leak with hay, wade into the water, throw out the hay, mop it all over the pond with a rake, bring it to shore, keep on doing that over and over until you get all the oil off the water (all this done after the leak is located and fixed, btw, it's a full day's work by the time it's all done). I was one of the lucky ones who didn't come out with leaches, but I did have crude oil all over my non-wader-covered parts, but by god, when lunch time came, I had me some clean hands, thanks to waterless hand cleaner and rags.

I've dug a ditch, swung a sickle, cut and threaded pipe, and preformed other tasks while working as a roustabout in the East Texas oil fields for three summers, and I've got three words - waterless hand cleaner. Wonderful, wonderful stuff. Ask Dan Morgenstern about waterless hand cleaner.

Max speaks in Notes and Tones. Worth a read.