JSngry

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!

Mr. Sandman Sweets Edison Edison Lighthouse

Got my discs from Big Al (gracias, amigo!) early last week. Just now having some free time to listen. The usual thanks and disclaimers are, as always, firmly in place. TRACK ONE - My, what an eclectic melange of influences. "All The Things You Are" modified in a less than totally traditional way by the "Giant Steps" formula over a (one-of-many) Mingusian groove, with a little vintage 78 sampling thrown in. Good enough, but in the end I was more impressed by the "on paper" aspect of the music than how the music reached me. Still, certainly not a straightforward regurgitation. I gotta conclude that the reason I wasn't particularly moved by this was that the players and I are probably occupying parallel (i.e. - non-intersecting) zones of interest/inspiration at this moment. No problem. TRACK TWO - Certainly got a Giuffre thing going on. Might be him, but I don't think so. I hear trombone bari, bass, and cello. Very nice playing by all, very free in feeling while staying in the zone of the composition. that ain't no small feat, let me tell you... No idea as to who it is, and once again, I'm appreciating it more than really feeling it, but I've been going through some pretty strong attitudinal changes the last few months, so that means nothing as far as whether or not I thinkthe music's good. Hell yeah it's good! TRACK THREE - Well, everytime I counted, it was in 7, which is how I was feeling it, so I guess I'm finally getting more intuitive about odd meters. Nice trio, nice chamber feel. Would this be Louis Sclavis? I like the way they attacked the music, keeping it quiet dynamically, but not so in intensity. Quiet fire, that's how it feels to me. A little less quiet wouldn't have offended me, but that's cool. They said what they had to say the way they wanted to say it, and that's all that counts. TRACK FOUR - Nice, but the whole "Second Line Beat Under Modern Content" thing's become a little cliched for me anymore. I also hear some more Mingus influence, like on the first cut. Cool, but Mingus' shit always had an emotional passion that I just don't feel here. Drummer seems a little stiff, and that's a drag. Stuff like this needs to have a dance compulsion going on in order for me to feel it. This one makes me feel like I should sit down and listen to some people playing dance music for the purpose of not dancing to it. Sorry, but I'm not that advanced a human... Dug the trumpeter, though. Things loosen up a bit during the trombone solo, but not enough to convince me that these guys maybe oughta get outta the house more... TRACK FIVE - All right, now this one has that dance propulsion going on. The tune itself doesn't really do too much for me, but oh well. Pianist is travelling once fresh but by now well trod roads, staying on the trail and going where the trail always leads. Bassist seems a little more in the moment. Good for him. Drummer really seems to be the real heart of the trio. Ultimately a little light in the content, but it's got a good beat and I can dance to it. I'll give it an 86, Dick. TRACK SIX - Oh! A dissonant voicing of a traditional line. Now that's a new idea... Fortunately, he/she let go of that pretty quicly. No harm, no foul. Now we're getting into a conspicuously "African" use of cross-rhythms. That feels good, but dammit, here comes the dissonance again. Just can't let a good feeling exist w/o throwing in a little angst, eh? Too bad... Here come the drums....and it's more using of good feelings to express something other. Ok, it's good playing, and I know where they're coming from musically and emotionally, but it's just so not what I'm hearing and feeling these days. Not their fault, and not their problem. TRACK SEVEN - not all that dissimilar to the previous cut in terms of macrotools being used, but this one feels a lot better to me. Altoist sounds very familiar. I should be able to call the name. This might well be Steve Coleman, who always delivers the goods for me. Yeah, this is good shit here! Jack on drums? Gimme som more of this, please! TRACK EIGHT On my last BFT, one of the selections that didn't make the final cut was the title track from Richard Davis' Song For Wounded Knee, a trio of Davis, DeJohnette, and Joe Beck, that was very similar to this one. I really like this vibe, relaxed and "bluesy" w/o being all blatant and shit. Very "conversational", individually and collectively. Good stuff. TRACK NINE - GREAT soprano tone! Started out thinking that this was going to be another one of those "too busy thinking about what you're trying to do to actually do it" cuts like #s 4 & 6, but dammit, they caught the groove and made it work throughout. Short & sweet too. More good stuff. TRACK TEN - Sorta M-Base-y, might actually be from that orb. Loved the altoist, wasn't too crazy about the arrangement. Wasn't too bummed by it either, just seemed like early on the electronics were grafted on, and that the accoustic sound/texture of the ensemble would've been more effective if done at least partially electronically, as they were later on into it. Go figure... But yeah, this is nice, and I think that it's probably some players whose names I know and respect. The whole thing gains momentum and interest as it goes along too. This one's a keeper, all things considered. TRACK ELEVEN - Very nice. Nothing at all "new" in the tune or the soloing, but the context negates that, maybe even makes that work in its favor. Of course, this basic format is the blueprint of The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, but this is not them. Again, very nice. TRACK TWELVE - "Nuages", of course. Really could do w/o the electic bassist's string noise... Good playing other than that, but, uh... I'm not sure what difference it makes other than that it's two people who play well. TRACK THIRTEEN - Good cello playing, better than most, but again, not sure what difference it makes. Been there, done that, and w/o a rhythm section that's a little too enthusiastic. Sorry. TRACK FOURTEEN - OOOH, NICE writing and blend! "The Meaning Of The Blues", of course, a tune that Gil immortalized w/Miles and then, a few decades later, in a ElectroTechnicolor version featuring George Adams. The recording of the bass positions this as a post-60s version, and the vibist has a very Bags-ish tone, but it doesn't feel like Bags, not at all. He's much less nuanced and much less rhytmically subtle (Bag's rhythmic sense was one of the most fluid of all time, quiet as it's kept...). The arrrangement's the strong point of this one for me. Very nice. TRACK FIFTEEN - Interesting drummer, seems to be bringing some subtle Brazillian touches to an otherwise run-of-the-mill jazz waltz. Appreciated the fade, and the surprise ending insert even more! Thanks to Mike for a very diverse, (mostly) non-cliched collection (and for a few other surprises!). Didn't get a hardon for some of it, but I'd rather be non-moved by people trying something new than by people doing the same old same old. Kudos!

The Shampoo Girl At The Salon The Bird In A Gilded Cade A Fish Named Wanda

I like a Miami fan who doesn't resort to pussyphonics. Word!

Phil Donahue Oprah Orca

I like a Miami fan who doesn't resort to pussyphonics.

Not really a shot a Shocked, just a relative comparison in terms of being signed to BN. Vega's had some tangentally "jazz" related elements in her music over the years, and, to my knowledge, Shocked hasn't.

Nah, it'd be "Thank You...Falettinme...Be Mice Elf...Agin"

They'd better.

Now that was a good record! Is Rodney still in France? He's a cat I felt was just starting to get into something really exciting when he booked.

Their moniker is rightfully earned.

This afternoon, Avery announced on the local ESPN radio (the Randy Galloway show to be specific, for the locals) that he had been notified that Stack was getting a one game suspension. Un-be-liev-a-BULL. Otoh, Benga's back for Game 5, so that's 6 more fouls we can take in the middle. Who knows?

The NBA had three highly qualified officials on the floor who reviewed the foul before making the call. Would the NBA dare say that those officials are not as qualified as they're made out to be? I think not. Not even that little weaselsquirt Stern is that transparent.

Tony the Tiger Great Ceasar's Ghost The Green Goddess

Oh boo hoo. The Daddy said afterwards that his daughter hits him harder than that. Does The Daddy now need a nursemaid to look after him?

Ah yes, the classic story of how the crafty fox convinced everybody that the grapes were no good, only to come back with a ladder aqt night when nobody was looking and devour them whole. I LOVE that story!

Exactly. I don't buy into the NBA Conspiracy theories (Stern hates Cuban, sure, but big deal. EVERYBODY hates stern, so that's a wash), but geez, if this goes down, you gotta wonder just what the hell is going on.

Well, the Mavs had all the momentum for 2 games and here we are. Momentum comes and momentum goes. I still have to believe that the Mavericks will get their shit together and come out on top. That's been the story of their season, teetering on the brink of falling back into their old ways only to pull it out and up at the last second. Hell, it was just in April that we were all getting worried that this team had lost its way and was going to be ripped by Memphis. These guys refuse to just go ahead and get it done in one fell swoop, damn them. But this year, they've always gotten it done, even if it was by the most gut-wrenching means imaginable. This series looks like it's going to be no different. Having said that, Wade really is a special talent, and if the Mavs can't find a way to slow him down (stopping him is going to be impossible), he can get into a groove that this bunch of head cases is going to have to dig extra deep inside be able to deal with. Do they have it in them? We'll see. Always the hard way with this bunch, always the hard way...