JSngry

Rick Derringer Pistol Pete John Malkovich

A good bump is nothing to sneeze at...

i don't think that critics, producers, etc. influence the creation of the music, not usually. But let's face it - as the ones who control the means of distribution (be it of product or information), they can't help but influence the way the music reaches the public, which in turn can't help but influence the way that some musicians go. John Hammond definitely had an "agenda", as did Norman Granz, Albert Lion, you name them. Chuck Nessa didn't record the Art Ensemble or Warne Marsh by pulling random names out of a hat, if you know what I mean. Getting that stuff out, and getting it talked about and played, reached people, and once that happens, hey, "influence" is under way. If the neither Basie nor the AACM never recorded, how would I, in lonely Gladewater, Texas, ever have heard them? And if critics had never written about them, how would I ever even have known about them? This isn't intrinsically evil or anything, it's just the way stuff works in our society. It's also why so many musicians have expressed interest in having their own labels. Unfortunately, the skills needed to market product and to create it seldom reside in the same individual(s), so... What I do have a problem with is an over-simplification of "agenda". Saying that some in the non-performing end of the business have used their position of influence to promote and act out on their own socio-psychological "issues", as some revisionist writers have been claiming (and no. I don't remember names) is probably true, but it's only partially true and it's probably not even the main truth. But that's what happens when you try to build your being on corpses - the obvious is already claimed, so you gotta go poking around for the minor shit that ain't nobody found yet and holding it up like a newly found treasure. Is it "illuminating"? Yeah, sure. But is it revalatory? Uh....I don't think so. Not usually.

Dionne's not a jazz singer, to be sure, but her musical director/husband at one time was drummer Bill English, and her classic interpretations of Bachrach/David songs were not totally uniformed by a jazz sensibility. Still, point well-taken.

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Martin Abraham John

This will be a great show!

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Congrats, John. The first disc was a good'un. I am, however, confused about how anybody can do "posthumous work". I mean, I'm as big a believer in the infinity of existence as anybody, but...

I was unaware of his facility as a lead player. That's a serious skill, of which the "general public" is totally unaware. And I hear you about the overall Russian/Eastern European vibe. There's definitely a soulfulness there, and its got a flavor of its own.

Peter Nero Caesar Frazier Claudius Johnsonus

Mr. Tooth Decay Muhammed Ali James Clay

Them Storyvilles are great. I love Charles Tyler.

Well now, that's another thing I was wondering about. His arrangements for Monday are totally beautiful, wholly modern, and not at all concerned with conventionality. I was wondering if he brought the same audacity to his writing for his own projects.

Wayne Johnson Warne Marsh Smashmouth

Skip's a trip nowadays, but he used to be pretty sharp. He was predicting Landry's decline and fall when everybody else still thought that he'd put together another winner, and he was just about the only cat in the world who predicted Montana over Marino back in Super Bowl Whateveritwas. But that was a loooooong time ago....

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I saw contact and a closed fist. The velocity of the contact is a bit less than I'd consider a "punch", though. Looked more like a shove to me. but a closed fist is a closed fist, I guess.

Yeah, he's Monday Michiru's husband, and yeah, he writes some freakin' great arrangements for her, and yeah, his playing on her sides sounds really focused and interesting, but what about his own stuff? His resume ain't too shabby http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&s...qhuh6j8871t0~T4 I see he's got more than a few sides on Criss-Cross, which is not nearly the "endorsement" for me that it is for some. I'm wondering if he's really a "distance" player, or if the format of Monday's stuff plays to his strengths. I really like what he contributes there, dense, busy-yet-ultimately-lyrical lines that aren't at all "commercial", yet enhance the the vibe of the songs by the fact that they aren't. If anything, they enhance it, bringing out the "advanced" nature underlying so much of hwr music. Yet I wonder if the surface "distance" in his playing is engaging over a more stretched out jazz session. I like "warmth" of some variety, no matter how far beneath the surface it lies. It lies none too close to the surface when he's playing with/for his wife, so I'm wondering if that's just how he always is. I'm willing toi listen to the opinions of those who have heard him. So speak away.

I dunno, man, looks like the potential for some hot monkey love is definitely there...

Got it a few weeks ago, haven't listened to it yet. Love Pope, but his other Saxophone Choir sides have been kind of a mixed bag for me. No matter what, it's good to see Odean getting the profile that haveing Lovano and Brecker on his side will undoubtedly bring. That cat's been in the shadows far too long.

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The only cat I knowby name from Gangstarr is Guru (who is cool enough, if not uber-hip, for my tastes) What's the deal with DJ Premier? Truthfully, I hope she brings he whole modern hip-hop production bag tothis project, and I hope that the songs are nice and meaty. That would be really cool for what I'm wanting to hear these days. But DAMN the chick oversings. And that's not what I'm wanting to hear these days. Never was, and never will be. I for one am not dismissing the prospects that this might end up being an interesting Pop album until I hear it. It's probably going to be a "producer's album", and if she uses good, hip producers, hey - there's hope. But I'm not preordering ti by any stretch of the imagination...

Interesting to me that the title cut of the Cannonball album is a Staples Singers "social commentary" song from the time before that group reached pop stardom.

Surely somebody can.