JSngry

Depends on who's there.

Last Of The Blue Devils is a classic. 'nuff said! If the Criss thing is the same club date with Teddy Edwards and Sweets Edison (sic) that I saw some video footage of, it's freaking AMAZING. The Elvin thing is kinda short but very sweet. The Jacquet thing is quietly eloquent. Very nice film, and fully recommended. Have yet to see the Evans thing, but those in my circle who have speak of it in the highest possible terms. If Rhapsody is converting to DVD, wacht for Raise The Bandstand, a documentary about Steve Lacy. Great, GREAT stuff!

Thank you, Dmitry.

As some of you might know, I am currently working for "a major mortgage company", as the game show contestants of yore would have put it. We service the entire United States, and as a result, we see many "unusual" names, some of which are not really unusual, just unfamiliar (ie - non-Western) and with unintentional humorous implications when spoken in English. But last night, I came across a payment coupon from a gentleman in NYC w/the first name of "Semen". Thinking that this might be a typo on the part of the coupon vendor, I asked to see the accompanying check, and sure enough, this guys first name was Semen. More than that I cannot and will not reveal due to customer and company confidentiality issues. I will say, though, that the man had a rather common "Jewish" last name, so I ask in all seriousness - is "Semen" a traditional Hebraic first name used in other cultures than that of the West, or did this guy's parents just have a really warped sense of humor? Again, this is a totally serious inquiry. I know that the usual suspects (of which I'm often a part, I admit) will take this and run with it, but I really would appreciate a straight answer from somebody. Please!

Sorry, I missed in the opening post that this was a Continuing Education class. But check out that Lees essay anyway for possible inclusionin your reader - it in many ways cuts right to the quick of "Big Bands in American Popular Culture" .

So what would you call the merger between Nippon & Nipper anyway? His Master's Six Eyes?

A Masterful Example of the Art Of Singing, May 21, 1999 Reviewer: A music fan For those intrested in the TECHNIQUE of Sinatra's singing, this album is revelatory. Sinatra functions as what Sun Ra called a "sound scientist" in that every line, word, even SYLABLE of each song is sung deliberately nuanced and inflected, both lyrically and melodically. The amount of DETAIL in the singing here is stunning-even by Sinatra's own standards. Of course, none of this would matter if the music lacked feeling. Don't worry-this is probably Sinatra's most consistently soulful singing since the "Nice & Easy" set and arguably his most emotionally mature work ever. Two bummers, though: 1-short playing time, but don't let that stop you; and 2-the depth of the work done here makes you ponder, with not a little sadness at what could/should have been, the emptiness of so much (but by no means all) of his later, post Capitol work. No worry here,though-this one is infinitely deep and majestically real.

I hope you jammed that horn up his ass! (for purely musical reasons, I hasten to add!)

Come on, Jim. For purely musical reasons only, which one would be your least favorite??? Sorry, but that does not compute. Really. I'm a total geek for this stuff, all of it, and there is not one that interests me any less than any of the others. The one that had the fewest musical "surprises" for me was the 2nd 5tet box, but even then, the chronological/session sequencing puts it all into a whole 'nother light. Listening to the box is different than listening to the individual albums, and that holds true for all of the sets, at least for me. Different "intent", if you will, and none of them "fails" me even slightly. Again, sorry.

That is a VERY good side. If they offer it for sale at the gig, buy one!

Oh - try this one on someone you love: You: "I just hear the FUNNIEST knock-knock joke! Wanna here it?" SYL: "SURE! Sounds great! Let's hear it!" You (already laughing because it's so funny): "Ok...(chuckle)....you....(snort)... start it...(guffaw)" SYL (by now eager to join in the fun and starting to giggle their ownself): "Ok....Knock-knock." You (immediately stopping all laughing and with a tone of TOTAL seriousness): "Who's there?" Works every time, and REALLY cements those bonds of trust!

Not since I started taking Yojimbo Bark before logging on!

Well, I do, and Goold is nothing if not that. Ned Goold is a new name to me, but I find that he's been recording since the late 90s, and that his "straight" gig is as MD w/Harry Connick, Jr. In fact, this album is made up of performances culled from a Connick tour that Goold's trio (Ben Wolfe - b, Ron Steen -d) served as the opening act for, which speaks highly of Connick's faith in his audience, because this music is as unpredictable as Connick's is cliched. The obvious comparison is with mid-50s Sonny Rollins - pianoless trio, bright tempos (mostly), full swing, and improvisations that leave plenty of room for full trio interactivity. But a closer listen reveals a tone indebted to Charlie Rouse (and Steen's Frankie Dunlop-ish drumming really brings this out), a love of the angular phrase not dissimilar to Benny Wallace, a better-than-normal understanding of the cross-rhythms employed by Sonny Rollins in the 1960s, a harmonic rhythm akin to Lockjaw Davis' more lunatic moments, and a compositional sensibility that shows more than a little familiarity with the inner workings of Monk's more difficult pieces. If that sounds like a complicated and heady stew, well, yeah - it is. And I'm not sure that Goold's dish is ready to be served to the full room yet - I think the ingredients can, and eventually will, blend into a unique and unified whole. But like I said, the ingredients in the recipie that Goold is working on are not ones that you can just "heat and serve". This guy's onto something different, something that if and when it ever comes together is going to be REALLY interesting. Consider this a taste from the pot, a reward for (and from) hanging out in the kitchen. This album is a very tantalizing view of a "work in progress", I think. It will be much to the liking of people in this forum who like their music "inside" but with a twist or two(thousand ), I should think. I have no idea what Goold's previous recordings sound like, or to what extent, if any, his gig w/Connick is effecting/will effect/has effected his "jazz seasoning" in terms of the life experience that the best players inevitably bring directly into their music. But no matter - what's here NOW is more than a little interesting, and I hear more interesting things with every listen. Time alone will tell if Goold goes on to put it all together and come out with the total mindfuck of a style that he so copiously hints at here. But even if he never does, this album is enough to make me keep an ear open for his future work, as well as being a quite satisfying listen entirely on it's own terms. Check it out! http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/nedgoold

I'm confused... What should we do, insult people with words that flatter their gender-specific traits? I mean, basing an insult on any kind of gender-specific notion is a bit "below the belt", so to speak, but the notion of insult is based on the direct hit, and that's about as direct you can get. And don't tell me women don't play the same game. They do, and quite well, and I don't think it's as a result of being conditioned by living under male domination for so long. It's human nature to get angry and go for the direct hit, not just male nature. But in keeping with your thought, if you want to call me a "well hung reservoir of life seed" and my wife a "warmly moist, softly curvaceous keeper of the life force", well hey - we'll make sure to be HIGHLY insulted! (and none of this to mock the very real effects of male-dominated culture, btw. I just don't think that primal human nature is in fact one of those effects.)

I bet there's more to it than just the meaning of the word. I think it probably has something to do with the sound of the word - short, abrubt, stunted even. It's a totally un-"feminine" SOUND, which adds to whatever literal insult comes with the usage of the word, and perhaps is the root of the repugnancy of it. It's like calling a guy a "pussy" and drawing out the vowel tone and the "ss" - that just reeks of "femininity" and bumps the insult meter up more than a few notches. I do think that there is more to the power of language than just the words themselves. Sound itself has power too. Think of how many profanities have sharp, biting sounds to them. The sound itself is "agressive", and maybe expressing those sounds verbally is a crude but effective form of releasing pent-up tension through, not just emotional, but physical means. Certainly anthropological studies about the non-literal communication effects of the sounds of words have been done?

Which remonds me of when North Texas State Univerity changed its name to The University of North Texas. Everybody wondered if the school's radio station would change its call letters from KNTU to, well, you know... They didn't.

Victoria's Secret is SO 20th Century. The Babe Thread is where it's at now!

I'm wondering if that "Tin Pan Alley" the same one Little Milton did?

WHOA!!!!!!!

After which, Anka brings Big Bill Broonzy out to kick EVERYBODY'S ass!

None of the above - love 'em all, if for different reasons. However, my least favorite annotation (a huge reason why I spend the bucks for these boxes) has to be the JACK JOHNSON set. Bob Blumenthal again gives us radio play-by-play when we've already got the picture in front of us. Competent, sure, and possibly informative for those who have had little or no exposure to the music and/or the people making it (although one has to ask if those are the main audience for these sets. I think they shouldn't be - all the "ephemera" is better appriciated (usually) if you've had the time to become intimate w/the original albums). But compared to the tremendous amount of anecdotal and/or analytical information in all the previous sets, this one was a real letdown to me.

I dunno, beer is sorta surrogate water-sporty, if you get my drift...

I've used up all my other lifelines, so don't let me down, folks. PLEASE!

No, it's STOPPING them that does it. And then I'm too weak and ill-tempered to write in no stinkin' DIARY (a diary made all the more stinking by the diaryah, I might add!)

Microdots and moonbeams, all around my bug-screened nose.