JSngry

If they haven't already...

Then or now, I don't think that William Parker & Sonny Rollins would be a good fit. As anybody who's seen him live on a good night can vouch for, all Sonny really needs is to feel comfortable within himself. Then, the odds are better than even that the magic can and will happen. Being "challenged" by his sidemen is obviously not what it takes for him to feel comfortable these days (and think about it - who can really challenge Sonny Rollins? William Parker? HA!), nor has it been for quite some time. What "we" all seem to ne longing for is some, even just one, more "landmark" albums. Again, that seems to not be an especially high priority for Mr. Rollins, nor has it been for quitesome times. I read a quote from him where he siad that he now views albums as a "neccesary product" (or words to that effect) to keep one's name in front of the public. Nothing more. Given his legendary aversion to the recording process, I'd say that speaks for itself. Now, whether that attitude towards recording (and bandleading) is an act of cowardice or defiance (or a mixture thereof) is a call that everybody has to make for themselves. We've had that discussion numerous times here and on Board Krypton, and I have nothing new to add. But - there are tapes of live shows from the last 30+ years floating around, and the relatively few that I've heard range from average to spectacular to beyond, so the rumors of Mister Rollins' demise are greatly exaggerated, I should think. It just depends on where you look for the evidence.

I think we should stop now, if you know aht I mean...

To muddy the waters even further, can we safely say that people who are not geniuses per se can nevertheless have moments, or even periods, of genius? Maybe we can refer to that as a "stroke of genius." And like many strokes, it often leaves its recipients crippled for life!

The bastards had a Japanese copy for 20 bucks, but it seems to have come and gone in about a week. Leave your request here: http://www.dustygroove.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap...22&issearch=yes They'll get more. They always do.

I knew a few girls in high school to whom much the same thing happened...

Jim, Is this CD the one you are talking about? Ooooh....no. Neither one.... What is is is a thing called Cool Rock Cheesy cover that creates the wrong impression of the period covered, and hardly an "essential" Ellington item, but that alternate take of "Chinoiserie" is worth the cost of admission alone, again, especially at Laserlight prices.

Hey - I finally settled for being a bother instead, and let me tell you, I seem to be a genius at it. Just ask my wife!

To muddy the waters even further, can we safely say that people who are not geniuses per se can nevertheless have moments, or even periods, of genius?

I don't have the figures at my disposal, but everybody I knew bought that one, just as they had the previous two. I know it sold big (and produced two big hit singles), I know that. If it sold as big as its immediate predecessors and succesors, I don't know for sure, but if it didn't, I don't think it missed by much. Music Of My Mind is the one that not everybody had (no real mega-hit singles), & the one before that, Where I'm Coming From, in spite of a pretty big hit in "If You Really Want Me", sorta got overlooked, and still remains underknown, imo. That's the real "pivotal" album, right there, if you ask me. Not perfect, and not yet fully formed, but the seeds were obviously being sowed in terms of songwriting and production.

It was a good night. We had a good crowd (great, as always, to see Rod & Joe. al, my daughter's been having the sinus thig herself, so I feel your pain. Take care and get well, ok?) which hopefully bodes well for the future. It would be nice to get back into an ongoing situation. That's when the shit really starts to evolve and grow. We shall see... Whatever rustiness we had last month was gone. I told a bass player friend of mine a few weeks ago that for the guys in this band, playing this music is like riding a bicycle -you might be a little wobbly if you've not ridden for a while, but it don't take much for it to come back. Last month, there were moments of wobbliness. Last night, it all came back. You know what's really funny? Playing with Pete. I mean, this motherfucker scares the shit out of me (well, not really, but he damn sure keeps me honest, if you know what I mean). This cat tells me that I challenge him! And Dennis kicks all of us in the ass! Tell you what - I don't care who else I get to play with in my lifetime. For 10+ years, I've been blessed with the chance to play with a band. a real band, one where there's real brotherhood at all levels. If I should die right effin' now, I'll have been blessed with that, and for that I am deeply thankful. Plenty of really gifted cats go a whole lifetime and don't get that chance. Anyway... Flipside Trio next Wednesday, then we're back. If the people keep coming, we get to keep playing there. simple as that!

Inspired, but not wholly I should add. Literally, inspired means "poured in". Well, I've been inspired not to put too much faith in literalism, so...

I'll gladly take "inspired" work out of anybody, and leave the "genius" part to those for whom it really matters.

I've always been under the impression that Stevie was somewhat stung by all the negative reaction, critically and popularly, to the ...Secret Life Of Plants album. This is a pattern throughout 20th Centruy popular music - a songwriter/composer/producer/whatever gets on a popular/creative roll, bumps it up a notch, and gets thrashed for the results. Happened to Gershwin, happened to Ellington, happened to Brian Wilson, happened to Phil Spector, etc. The result is inevitably a period of "pulling in the reigns", creatively. Sometimes they come out of it, sometimes they don't. But quite often, the artist proceeds with an attitude of "well, the people don't want to hear my really good stuff, so I'll keep it to myself and just give them what they can handle", or something along those lines. How much of this is bruised ego, and how much of it is an honest evaluation and acceptance of what thier "true value" to the marketplace is is not for me to say. As great of an artist as Stevie Wonder is, to overlook the fact that "show busiiness" has been at least as deeply ingrained in him as has "art" (and I'm not one of those who finds the two automatically exclusive. Often at odds, undoubtedly. But it could be argued that most (or at least, a lot) of the significant American art of the 20th century came from the environs of show-biz). So the notion of "something for the people, something for me" is probably not something that Stevie Wonder is unfamiliar with, and, after the rebuff he got from Plants, whatever notions he had of disregarding that notion probably got shoved far aside. The guy's been in "the business pretty much his entire life, and "artist" is no doubt but one part of how he views his role. Now, my fantasy is that the unissued material is a bunch of electronic madness, sythesizer tone poems full of crazy textures and layering and all that good stuff, pieces that Wonder really did do "for himself" that he knew had no commercial potential whatsoever. That's my wildest dream. But the material might be along the lines of the instrumentals released on the EP that came along w/Songs In The Key Of Life. Or it might be some really wacky, "self-indulgent" songs that he did, again, strictly for his own pleasure. Or it might be regular songs that just didn't measure up to the released material of the time. Or it might be some, or all, of the above. Who knows? Bottom line - it's Stevie's call, and we should assume nothing until we hear it, if we ever do. What we've had given to us to date is certainly more than we usually get from any kind of popular music (and I say "popular music" only because that is the realm in which Stevie Wonder functions, so, like it or not, that is the first level of appraisal to be rendered), and for that, I am deeply appreciative.

Will he look like Joan Collins? Geez, that's a question with no good answers...

To say nothing of having the advantage of Hodges palying in the section instead of Paul Horn.

"Genius" is one of those words that...you know... ultimately don't really mean shit except in terms of IQ statistics. And even then... So many different realms and methods in and by which to be a "genius", all (ok, MOST) of them valid, but none of them necessarily relevant outside of their own immediate point of reference. Was Brian Wilson at his peak a "genius"? Yeah, in his own world and in his own way. Was Bird a "genius"? Hell yeah, but in a totally different way than was Bird, obviously. And to an old-school Eurocentric intellectual, both of them weren't about nuthin' compared to Bach. So what does that prove? Hell if I know, other than that that which means most to us is that which we are more likely to scrutinize closely and evaluate critically. Which is both a blessing and a curse... No answers here, Jack!

Which one is that, the "Was Beethoven Black?" thread?

To Part A - my guess (and a guess is all it is) is not anytime soon, as long as Stevie (probably) retains "creative control". A seperate release of vault material, though, might be possible at some point (again, strictly a guess...), and would certainly be welcomed. To Part B- Welcome to Organissimo. Shit like this is the order of the day. A Stanley Crouch interview concerning Sonny Rollins turns into a debate over the merits of the RIAA Gold Certification. And then turns into something else. Etc. Etc. Etc. You've now been officially warned!

Did you not wear jeans during the Disco era?

We live in very different worlds. Yes we do. Damn it Chuck, now you've done gone and stirred the militant independent artistic impulse. You never learn, do you...

I don't think it's unreasonable to consider "classic" Wonder alongside the "popular" Ellington. And that, in and of itself, is not insignificant. Beyond that, though, excuse me if I extricate myself from the debate to go make me a sammich.

But it musta been the right time.

Thinking in comparable pop terms - has any of the then-unreleased "prime-era" material by The Beatles & The Beach Boys proven to be of such a quality that it would enhance the original albums? I don't think so. It's cool on its own terms, and its great stuff to have and to hear for "deep" fans, but the original albums stand as originally issued, and for good reason. If there is in fact worthy-enough material from this period of Stevie's career, I'd like to see it released, but seperately from those classic albums. I do have those Deluxe Edition Marvin Gaye things, but I keep a copy of the original album as well. Those Deluxe Editions are way cool, but when you just want to hear the "real deal", hey... I do believe that Stevie probably still has at least some control over his material from this period.

America's already been Fox kidnapped...