JSngry

Paul Prudhomme Kathy Boudin Bernadette Devlin

Upon further reflection, I believe that the commercial was for the Las Vegas Jazz Society.

Alvin Queen John Patton Grachan Moncur III

Hey - it's all "The Way Look Tonight". Sorta.

I've looked around for more info on Reed and can't find any. Agreed, a very grabbing player.

You Them Us

And played sunny solos... And their hearts were full of spring. And whatever else was in the bloodstream at the time.

Will Penny Ethan Frome Phil Heaven

Correct.

David Ruffin Jimmy Ruffin Kermit Ruffins

Don't remember much, but iirc, the story was recounted by Red in the liner notes to a Muse album he put out in the 70s. Really wish I could remember more, but... Not a surprise, really. Most of the old school cats were much into singers, songs, lyrics, the whole thing. They were wise.

Y'all laugh, but on one of the bit-torrent sites there was briefly (very briefly) available a private tape of Monk running through "Yesterday" and commenting on how it was the same changes as "Confirmation".

I was playing a gig in Vegas in 1981 and saw a TV commercial that Tony Bennett did for the Chamber of Commerce (or something like it). He was backed by his usual trio, but added to the group was Harold Land, who played quietly under Bennett's reading of the script. I guess that Harold did that gig for a little while.

Perhaps, but not necessarily...

Rene McLean Dollie McLean Melonae McLean

The plot thickens... An exceprt form the AMG REVIEW OF THIS CD: Hmmm...

Oh, yeah - Let me save Jim the trouble of posting the Obligatory CDU Link.

Check it out- on The Chronological Classics Blues & Rhythm Series disc The Chronological Charlie Singleton 1949-1953 , there's a session dated New York, c. late 1949 for the Star label (Star 719, to be precise), and the personnel is given as: Lowell Lewis-t Charlie Singleton-as "Chan"-ts Jackie McLean-bar Gildo Mahones-p Martin Rivera-b John Godfrey-dr Linwood Sutton-v None of the saxes save Singleton solos, but besides this probably being McLean's recording debut (if only as a section player), what are the odds that "Chan" is actually Bird? When did him & Jackie first hook up? BTW, the personnel on this disc includes cats like Lou Donaldson, Lucky Thompson, Ray Copeland, Herbie Nichols, Jesse Drakes, Buster Cooper, Pee Wee Moore, Charlie Rouse (also on bari!), Ram Ramirez, & Jimmy Cobb, but the music itself is very "par for the course", and, iirc, only Donaldson has a single solo spot. Everybody else just plays parts, and pretty basic ones at that. Talk about wasted opportunities! Any further info and/or speculation would be welcome, especially how a somewhat mediocre talent like Singleton seemed to always get such top-shelf players on his records on labels like Star, Lee, Atlas, and Saturn (from 1950, so not the Sun Ra label). As always, thanks in advance!

Judah Maccabee Linda Ellerbe Linda McCartney

Leslie Gore Quincy Jones Jack Klugman

Conners himself is a decent enough trombone/vocal talent who stays in the "bluesjazz" bag with perhaps too much insistence, but GOOD GAWD what a supporting cast he has on these two 1976 sessions recorded in Paris. Besides Lockjaw, you got Wild Bill Davis, Billy Butler, and Oliver Jackson on one date, & Arnett Cobb, Eddie Chamblee, Milt Buckner, & Panama Francis on the other. Tommy Tune could sound convincing with backing like this. Fortunately, Conners doesn't have to worry about bringing convincing to the table, even if he does, to my ears, sound as if he's maybe coming to this groove out of "commercial" ends as much as anything else. No matter, he's "close enough" to not cause any consternation. But again, the real action is in the bands assembled behind him. This is some of Lockjaw's nastiest playing on record, and those of you who know how I feel about Lockjaw ( x Infinity) know that I wouldn't say this lightly. As for Cobb & Chamblee, hey - they sound freakin' great. Cobb's a known quantity, but I've found Chamblee to sometimes (sometimes...) be a little superficial in his earlier recordings. No such issues here - his playing is meaty, totally devoid of "devices", and soulful as it can be. The drummers both keep it in that special pocket where you're reminded that at the root of all "swing" is the dance impulse (no matter what kind of dance it is). this stuff moves the feet as much as it does the rest of the body (including the mind and the soul). The organists, and Butler, are right in there with them too, which should really be no surprise, considering the people. The Lionel Hampton connection is strong here, and Conners himself (of whom I'd never heard before) seems to have come out of the Johnny Otis orb, so that should give you some sort of an idea of the vibe here - one of no-nonsense playing and equally no-nonsense rocking that soothes the mind by making the body feel good. And when those two are satisfied, how can the soul resist? You can certainly find more "headier" music to listen to, and you can certainly find a more "dynamic" frontman for a session of this type, but if you can find better end results for this type of music, please let me know.

Annie Sprinkle Rain Pryor Brewster McCloud

Surely this company/site/whatever is a dark joke, but I'm at the point in my life where I no longer feel an obligation to be amused by such things, even "in theory". So, simply put - No. But that's just me.

Thank you both. I'll be ordering it!