JSngry

Help is on the way, sorta... I've just sent a copy to martyjazz, at his beseechment, and he's agreed to "seed" the Floridain contingent. I'd send out more, but this is Christmas decorating weekend at our house, and LTB demands that time be focused. So hey... It's a start. Ya' know, if anybody else can send a copy to somebody else who can then seed a few others, we can have this puppy back on track fairly quickly. Milan's put together a great compilation, and no doubt took a hit on the postage. Let's see to it that it is not all for naught, ok?

If one does not care to explore the Gospel side of Sam Cooke, one at least owes it to one's self to get this puppy, which shows the hits played in a way that they weren't on the record, for an audience that knew better than to take those hits at face value.

Well, except for "A Change is Gonna Come." That song IS Sam Cooke. Stipulated, and gladly so. But for those who only know the hits, and get grabbed by that one, there's a LOT more digging to do!

Just a note to say that, as much of a readin' bunch as this group seems to be, that one or both of Mr. Lowe's books would, in combination w/Larry's and Dan Morgenstern's tomes, make for a Christmas Trilogy (or Trifecta, for those of a more sporting nature) that would be hard to beat.

Those who only know his Top 40 hits don't know Sam Cooke, not even slightly.

As his work on baritone horn & valve trombone has shown (as has as the late-60s small group work he did when his chops were down - some might recall the piece from my BFT), Maynard's a perfectly competent jazz player, at least in the "professional" (some might say "studio", and accurately so, imo) sense. He can make the changes effortlessly, and has a broad enough vocabulary to not repeat himself over the course of multiple choruses. Now, that's a far cry from saying that he's a JAZZ PLAYER, if you know what I mean, but labeling him as strictly a high note specialist isn't quite accurate. If the guy had to depend on "regular" jazz playing to make his nut, he'd have been in a bad way, but not horribly so. At least not in his time and place... Personally, I think his most important contribution has been as a bandleader. Not so much for the output of those bands, but just because he's consistently given a free reign to young players and writers. Never mind what those free hands have gotten up to (although, Willie Maiden is a long-time personal "quirky hero" of mine) - anybody who's done big band work at any level will tell you that the kind of freedom and encouragement that Maynard gives his people is quite rare, and certainly is appreciated long after the association ends. You'd be hard pressed to find anybody (other than maybe Jaki Byard) who's got anything bad to say about the experience.

I know Mr. Lowe primarily through his book That Devilin' Tune, one of the most fascinating book on any subject I've ever read. Not since I first discovered jazz and was enthralled by all the great jazz writers writing about music that I had yet to hear has a book so thoroughly made me want to hear (and often enough convince me that I was hearing, just throught the power of the description) a whole genre of music that I was totally unfamiliar with - so called "pre jazz" in all its forms. Love it when that happens! Allen is also a musician who's made some pretty interesting music of his own, so not only do we have a fine writer on board, we also have a fine musician. Musician and critics aren't supposed to get along (and often with good reason), but here's a man who has apparently sought to resolve the dichotomy by embracing it. HELL yeah! As well as some of the most articulate, insightful, and experienced "pure" fans that I know of, Organissimo is also home to more some of the most experienced and interesting (not always the same thing, mind you!) minds commenting on the music from "more" than a fan's perspective - Larry Kart, Chuck Nessa, Chris Albertson, Mike Fitzgerald, and now, Allen Lowe. Such people can't help but give us all, players and fans alike, food for fodder as we go along discovering ourselves in and by this great music. Welcome, Allen Lowe!

Okay, I'm outta here before this thread has time to load! See it to believe it.

Ted looks like Lester Mattox' face on Richard Nixon's head.

Flip-flopper and flyer:

FAQ says it's a firewall issue.

I get that error on the Signgenerator site!

Apparently not...

I like that Ralph Peterson trio side w/Geri Allen.

Now Porker, sitcherself down and let ol' Crockpot give you a big ol' bowl o' beans and rice. (Guy's a genius, but when he gets hungry...)

Why am I getting this?

I'll bet!

I'm up to the Bill Evans essays, which I am LOVING. My sentiments exactly. I can see why they provoked a death threat, though. The truth can drive some people crazy.

COME BACK!!!!

Daaaaaaaaaamn straight!!!! (Except for our friends in McKinney, whose son is my son's best friend!) Hmmmmmmm...tell me more....

Yeah, ovrshadowed by Bill's, perhaps, but Bill's was (and is) downright CREEPY. Don't get me started... But K-29 (all the prices ended in 29 cents, btw) had a loyal clientele of its own. They closed in 1993, I think. Landlord hassles of the mos "Dallas" variety. The ads aren't mine, btw. Rod e-mailed me a link to them on his personal site.

Besides the weekly Observer ads, they depended mostly on word-of-mouth and plugs on Roger Boykin's show on KKDA-AM (still on, btw, 3-6 PM every Sunday, 730AM on your radio dial. Do NOT miss it, as Roger puts a lot of disperate jazzical strands into "social context", although that's not what he's trying to do ). That's how I discovered it, on Roger's show.

DAKTAH!

Something's wrong with my brain - I can't see "Danny Doriz" without thinking "Doris Day". HELP!!!