JSngry

Elaborate -- I've never even heard of this guy. Guy http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...topic=22525&hl=

Well, "runs" has been a highly variable quantity... But yeah, Shaq has used his size at the expense of developing his finer skills. Look up "finesse" in the dictionary, and if you see a picture of Shaq, you'll know that dictionary came from Planet Bizarro. But so what? He gets results, and results are the ultimate yardstick of an athlete's career.

I'm not sure, but I think there was a little period where Lateef & Barry Harris were on that band together, so... I'm probably wrong on that.

Johnny from Vegas Stakes DJ Mbenga MC5

Stern & Jackson are both gay pimps. They rule over that which they have not even a dark claim. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Yep. And Yusef Lateef.

Have you checked out Steve Coleman's later work? Or Henry Threadgill's? Or Jonas Kullhammer's? But I gotta ask - what do you mean by "swing"? Because there's the school that looks at that word as a quality that comes in many forms, and there's another that looks at it as a more or less specific "style".

"Ward, I'm worried about the Eager Beaver..."

Congratulations indeed! It'll be 23 for us in a few weeks, and the one thing I've learned is that marriage, as hokey as it sounds, really is a life journey. We could've easily divorced 2, 3, possibly 4 times by now (and almost did), but luckily we've always been able to find that core of oneness before it was too late. Right now, we're deeper and more passionately in love than we've ever been. It ain't always easy, and it damn sure ain't always fun, but afaic there is no higher joy in this life than for two to become one and stay one in a state of grace and love. None.

Well, yeah, that's part of what I'm saying... Guess what I'm really saying is that "blues" as it exists in life is a maturally occrring phenomenon (like a herd of cattle), and that "blues" as a musical form is a packaging of that force for commercial consumption (like meat in a meat market). And like a herd of cattle, this phenomenon can be found in many different forms in many different places throughout the world. And please note that I'm an omnivore, so the notion of "meat markets" is in no way a negative one for me. But then again, a Big Mac & a fine filet mignon, though both meat, aren't identical, so...

Do you mean "modern" as in stuff that's got the past 50 years in it, or "modern" as in stuff that's still basically like the 50s, only a little dressed up? Bit of a difference...

And if you're watching TV Land, you're watching modern television. "Modern" & "timeless" aren't the same thing, and the overlap between the two (in either direction) is not always a given.

But I still like those chances.

Well, then, that's a good reason.

K...K...Katy Su...Su...Sudio My baby that they call Patty, but whose real name is Linda Lu.

Blues form is to blues feeling what a meat market is to a herd of cattle.

Matt Pinto The Itallian Stallion Clydesdale Stubblefield

Even in the unlikely event that the MAvs come home and win two, this team has a lot of soul-searching to do. Thgey were up by 9 in the 2nd, and could've easily opened it up by the half. Miami was cold and a little disoriented. So waht do the Mavs do? Fritter it away with stupid shit like lane violations, moving screens, blown shots, all the things that say "hey, we don't need to work to win this game". Dirk's reverted to Mister Meek & Mild when he needs to be going Gonzo on everybody's ass. The missed free throws towards the end are the work of chokers, simple as that. Devin Harris suddenly (and repeatedly) forgets how to take a charge. Piss poor guts on this team. They still don't understand what it takes to make that final step. And hey - even Avery choked. The signal to Howard for the timeout could've/should've been handled verbally, not visually. and even more to the point - eight seconds left in regulation and you're up by two. Miami's ball and Shaq's on the floor. Why the hell do you not foul him and send him to the line rather than let the clock run down while they get it to Wade, who does understand what has to be done to take that final step. Worst that happens is that Shaq makes both FTs with the clock stopped, and you get the ball back w/almost 8 seconds, not 2.8. (check that - worst that happens is that Shaq makes the first, misses the second, Miami gets the reboud and puts it in for the win at the buzzer. But geez, better that than exposing your team's gutlessness in the agony of overtime...) Best that happens is that Shaq tanks one or both. But no - you dare the man who's been kicking your ass all night to kick it one more time, when it really counts. And of course, he does. This is a great team that has come a helluva long way under a great coach, but sorry - they ain't there yet. Even if they miraculously win the last two, they ain't there yet. "Great" is not automatically synonymous with "champion". Champions don't forget, and this team has forgotten damn near everything that got them here. A trophy don't mean shit if you don't get it the right way, and the fact that this series is going to have to go 7 for the Mavs to even have a shot to win tells me that they ain't doing it the right way. Totally unnecessary. Can't say that I've ever felt that a championship by "my team" has ever felt wrong, ever, but this one would. Not that I'm worried about that coming to pass...

Dude - Van Horne's a junkie. Can't you tell by the eyes?

Hey, it's all good. Enjoy this as you seem to be doing, and maybe the later stuff will eventually resonate more. Or not.

Dude - truth be told, I'm sick of "jazz for the sake of jazz", if you know what I mean. I'd rather hear good somethingelse than mediocre jazz, and I'd rather hear great something else than good jazz. I mean, I've got a personal relationship with jazz that I don't have with any other music, but like any other personal relationship, if you don't keep it meaningful, it degrades the original nature of the relationship. After a while, as I know that you know, it's really all just music, and it all gets judged/appreciated accordingly. Anything less is just cheap.

Nathan East Felix Frankfurter Oliver Wendel Douglas

Just curious - how much later are we talking about? Atlantic? ECM?

It's Fathers Day, so I get to do whatever I want. Which, right now, is to get to this BFT Bonus Disc. This is my first listen, so comments are first impresions only. Usual thaks and disclaimers firmly in place. TRACK ONE - Verynice Neo-Impressionistic(?) composition. Not really sure if it reaches me, but that's a flaw of mine that I have with a lot of "classical" music. I've spent a lifetime in other musics where the line between source inspiration and performer is more direct, so this specific concept of "interpretation" is one I've yet to even semi-fully grow into. My loss, I know. But I do appreciate the merits of the composition and the precision of the execution. TRACK TWO - Reminds me of the solo side of Bobby Hutcherson's Contemporary album, but I've not listented to that one in decades, so if this is or isn't from that, I can't begin to speculate. Probably not, as that was overdubbed, and this sounds more like an ensemble performing in real time. Whatever this is though, I like it. Love the tonal quality of the bass marimba (if that's what it is), and of all these instruments. Also love how the tempo changes are fully organic, not at all self-conscious or telegraphed. A very satisfying piece of music. TRACK THREE - Can't tell if this is a through-composed "classical" piece or a theme & improvised variation, and liking the fact that I can't. Either way, it's a credit to the performer, imo, that he/she is able to blur that line so effectively. Goes to removing the distance between source inspiration and performer that I spoke about earlier. Couldn't spend a lifetime immersed in this type thing, but couldn't spend a lifetime devoid of it either. Much pleasure and satisfaction here. TRACK FOUR - Geez, I think I might have played this piece back in college... French, right? The altoist isn't strictly "French" in interpretation. The French school of "legit" alto calls for a much less "bright" sound than this. Never got into that, myself, but it is what it is. This is a very good reading of the composition. "Classical" saxophone in general, and alto particularly is an interesting sub-genre. A lot of good literature that gets too often played by people who don't want to deal with the saxophone as a saxophone, if you know what I mean. Then again, what it has come to mean to be "a saxophone" is not at all what Adolphe Sax origianlly envisioned, so who's to say what's right there? Besides, studying legit sax gives you a very good grounding in what all is entailed in things like embochure and breath support, and those are things that you can take with you elsewhere to be modified as needed. Anyway, this is very enjoyable. TRACK FIVE - Whole tone scales used to sound so "exotic" to me, now they're just another color/device. Familiarity might not breed contempt, but it does breed jadedness... I hear a line between source inspiration and performer that is halway between #s 1 & 3, and I'm not as taken with the composition here as I am with either of those, so, good as it is in "intrisic" terms, I gotta give this one a respectful yawn. TRACK SIX - Initial impression is of Gary Burton, which is far from an automatic "Yippee!" for me, so let's see what happens... Not much, I'm afraid... Sorry. Has a little bit of Jarrett-ism in the changes of the middle part. No matter who it is or isn't, it's good musicians playing well, but what they do is just not something that grabs me. Would like to know the "prepared" technique he used on the vibes about halfway through. That's a neat sound. TRACK SEVEN - Natural temperment, I'm assuming? Makes a huge difference, that's for sure. The overtones come more into play as to the color of the instrument, and you end up with an overall fuller sound, even if some of the individual notes sound kind of "off" by the standards of what we're used to hearing. Whole 'nother world, that of non-well-tempered pitch, a world that's full of possibilities and surprises. Now, as far as the composition itself, hey, it's one of many, right? TRACK EIGHT - Well...jazzfolkrock. This kind of thing is outside of my experientiality, so all I can say is that it certainly seems sincere and expressive of its intent. Doesn't move me, but it doesn't not move me either, so I guess the best thing to say is that it exposes a shortcoming in what I've been exposed to so far. But geez, the piano sounds like it was recorded at Van Gelder's, as do the drums and bass, so that opens up a very intriguing line of speculation that I'm wholly unqualified to make! TRACK NINE - Wow, that's a helluva bass sound, very full-bodied in every register. Oh, more "folk" elements, vaguely suggesting Oregon or some such unit. Again, outside of my personal experience. But even at that, I gotta say that this one is less interesting to me than was the previous cut. Would be interested in knowing who the tenorist is, as he/she sounds like somebody coming to this music with more than a little jazz influence under their belt. I could guess Jim Pepper, but that would be a generic guess not at all grounded in any real knowledge. TRACK TEN - Very proficient arco work from the bassist. Shows how lacking many jazz bassists are in this skill, although, granted, the ends are different, and therefore so are the means. Once again, I "appreciate" this more than I "like" it. TRACK ELEVEN - Interesting textures. Whoever charted this was definitely thinking outside the box. good for them! Oh, there's an accordion, no wonder! Hey, Zawinul says that it was his roots on accordion that got him so intrigued by sythesizers, and that makes sense to me. Can't say that anything on this one grabs me too much outside of the textures, but interesting textures are nothing to take for granted. TRACK TWELVE - Now, this is working for me! Keep the beat, but leave the space around it open, no need to delineate it manually, let it speak and breathe for itself, and let everything else do the speaking and breathing, each element in its own way. Let harmony be a function of melody, not the other way around, and let melody be a function of the need to fill a space with a meaningful statement, free to expand and contract as that meaning dictates. I hear the ancient seeking sanctuary in the future, and blessing the present with a glimpse of the mission. Yeah, this is definitely working for me! TRACK THIRTEEN - Sounds like the Bonzos immigrating to Germany for the post-digital millenium, and I mean that in a good way. Besides, I've always felt that coughing as a musical device is one of the few under-utilized expressive tools left. Seriously. TRACK FOURTEEN - Roll over, Beethoven, and tell Landowska the news! Wow, that was an interesting set of music, Mike. Certainly exposed a lot of holes in my knowledge/tastes, but I dig it when that happens. Kudos again!