JSngry

Well yeah, it's "greasy blues" if your career's ascending, but if it's descending, then it's "bluesy grease". That's what Dr. Ottman's books said, and I believe him.

Good to see you!

Evans. Bill's father.

I'd forgotten all about that one, Randy! It's fine with me. Another one that shows Cobham in a "pure" jazz context to good advantage is Ron Carter's ALL BLUES on CTI, w/Joe Henderson & Roland Hanna (Richard tee on one cut). A really mellow album.

Oh yeah, that whole thing about the "movable A" - that's why I don't get wigged out about the theory of how to spell the various altered 9ths, or the chords that include them, or the scales that include them, because they're all 3 (Ab, A, A#) usable as 9ths at any given time, so what difference does it make? A note only functions in relation to where it goes (don't look back!), and where it goes could be damn near anywhere, depending on where YOU want to take it. Is a Bb over an E7 chord a b5 or a #11? It depends - if you're using it to say some blues, it's most likely a b5, because that's the language. If it's gonna be a #11, you gotta do something ELSE with it, because #11 is a different part of speech than b5. The theory has no real meaning detatched from the intent of the moment, which, hopefully, varies from, uh, moment to moment. But fuck me, listen to some Ornette. He's got ALL this shit figured out far better than I (or from what I can tell, even HE) can say in words.

Actually, I'm about ready to put the horse before the hearse...

Just looked it up, and, yes, having sex with cucumbers IS legal in Texas, but only in maximum security penal institutions. Compassionate Conservatism indeed! Women, however, may engage in intimate contact with cucumbers if the cuke in question is 4" or less, and can be placed inside an open Coke bottle without the application of any downward force. This is the so-called "Gherkin Proviso", and dates back to the days when the Texas Legislature was composed entirely of Caucasian males.

Yes, this is the one to which I refer. I admit to a bit of skepticism before listening, not because of a doubting of Cobham's skills, which are beyond dispute, but just because I figured he'd be "overcompensating", if you know what I mean. But I was wrong - the cat plays totally inside the music, with taste and sensitivity, and like I said, Barron is HOT! What's the one on In+Out/In-Akustik?

Here's why the whole "#9" business works for me, at least as it comes to a dominant, offered without hesitation, reservation, or apology. A little background first, if I may. I took a year of "jazz theory" at NT, but blew off the second year because the applications of it I saw around me were not relevant to the way I heard or played. Math in music is like Blair's Death Sauce in chile - just the right amount works wonders, but too much, and you want to either throw it out or throw it up. Still, I wish now that I had had hung in there with it, if for no other reason than to get an easier handle on some stuff. but that's life... Ok - if I'm playing a Bb (if I call it a Bb when "theoretically", it's an A#, that's because for me, and a lot of other tenor players I know, Bb "resonates" mentally better as an "image" than A#) over a G7, I'm usually hearing it moving upwards to a B, downwards to an Ab, upwards to an Eb, or in some direction that's going to eventually land on a G, a B, a D, or an F in the process of getting to the C tonic chord (assuming that that's what's up with the tune, which for the purpose of this discussion is what I'm doing). I'm feeling it as a note that is taking the place of the "diatonic" 9th, the A. I might even get to the Bb from the A, or go to the a on my way somewhere else. But the point is, I'm thinking in terms of the MELODY of my solo - how it's getting shaped along the way in terms of the shape of the line, the color of the harmony, and how all this shit's gonna fit together rhythmically. The Bb is going to function as an altered 9th, not a flatted third, in the overall scheme of tension & resolution. UNLESS... I'm taking that moment in time to say something bluesy or funky or wahtever, in which case I'm thinking of it as the b7 of the I chord (yeah, I play "bluesy" I shit over V chords. I'm old school that way). OR... Sometimes I'll get a bug up my butt and treat a V7 chord like a I7, and say my "blues" shit in THAT key, and then take the whole thing back into the tonic key when the time comes. That's the kinda shit that drives the "schoolboys" nuts, but, hey, they play their way, I play mine. They make the money, though, so I guess the joke's on me... To come to some sort of a point, the way I play is based on feeling the shape and color of the line first and foremost. So if I call that chord a G7#9, it's becasue that's the function that Bb/A# is serving for me in the context of the tune - a "movable 9th". Then again, EVERYTHING about jazz is "movable" to me - harmony, pitch, rhythm, tone, you name it. If it's gonna be used by me, I gotta be able to "move" it to accomodate the moment. If I can't, I'd rather not use it, or at least confine it to the parts (and even then...). To me, and to follow up on something Paul said earlier, that's where "jazz theory" has been so horribly abused, at lest in my opinion. If it were up to me, I'd not teach a whit of it to anybody until they demonstrated an ability to create interesting melodies, however "rough", without being able to "explain" the math of why they did what they did. Otherwise, you're putting the cart before the horse, I think, and you end up with the truly depressing sight of whiz-kids everywhere being able to tell you every chord/scale relationship in the book, and being able to machine-gun a steady stream of notes that go in and out of the chord in all the "right" places, yet none of it with any semblance of spontanaeity or soul. There's no "there" there, because it's all backasswards. Sing me a song, not an equation. Although there's a place for equations, it's not until later in the game that it should be examined. Make those equations be about something besides the numbers, if you know what I mean. Theory should come AFTER the fact, not before it. Theory should EXPLAIN what happened, not dictate WILL happen. This is something I firmly believe, and based on what I hear way too much of these days, I'm equally firmly in the minority. It's all about priorities, what gets stressed in forming one's perspective, and I fear that a great deal of "jazz education" has stressed numbers over meaning because it's easier to get an institutional (read: $$$ and "career security") thing happening that way. Damn near ANYBODY can do the math, that's physical & mental muscle memory more or less, but once you start stressing inner challenges of the non-concrete variety, well, your potential market share drops considerably! Sorry, that was a bit long.

Sorry, man! The board's been running slow again, and I didn't bother to go back and look at all of last night's posts. My bad! Briefcase always at the ready, Senior VP Golson is never at a loss for sales projections OR quality arrrangements!

Tough one to nail down there. So far all I come up with is Mike Fitzgerald's Jazztet discography, which states simply that "Curtis Fuller and Art Farmer play on parts of this Benny Golson album." Time for you to buy a real discography. Enough getting by with the kindness of others. In the spirit of Compassionate Bi-Partisanship (better than carbonatated bicarbonate, I'm sure...) here's the deal. This is a "concept" album. It starts with Golson playing an unaccompanied version of "You're My Thrill", and then adds a player with each subsequent selection, so that by the closing Track 10, you've got 10 players playing. I got a copy from Dusty Groove (the bastards!) last year, and have it in front of me now, so here's the rundown, with the player besides the cut # being the one(s) added: 1 - Golson ("You're My Thrill") 2 - Tommy Williams ("My Heart Belongs To Daddy") 3 - Albert Heath ("The Best Thing For You Is Me") 4 - Cedar Walton ("Impromptune") 5- Freddie Hubbard ("Little Karin") 6 - Curtis Fuller ("Swing It") 7 - Sahib Shihab ("I Fall In Love Too Easily") 8 - Shihab, Fuller, Hubbard, & Walton out, add Nick Travis, Hal McKusick, Sol Schlinger, Willie Ruff, Bill Elton ("Out Of This World") 9 - As 8, add Bernie Glow ("The Touch") 10 - As 9, add Art Farmer ("Time") Funny thing, I saw this album in a TG&Y back around 1971-72 for something like 49 cents, and not yet knowing who Golson was, and seeing the "hokey" (as it seemed then) cover, the "gimmicky" concept, the short tunes (nothing over 5:51, and I liked looooooong jams almost exclusively back then), and the photo of Golson looking like a GM executive or some such, I blew it off. Ah, the folly of youth... Here's the cover, as best as I can cheapo-webcam it:

Ok, I love Shirley, truly LOVE her, but I was listening to ROLL 'EM last night at work about 6x in a row, and about the 3rd time through, it flashed on me that you could scat her solos with Porky Pig-esque "stuttering" syllables and it would fit her phraseology PERFECTLY! I started doing it in my head and damn near had to get up and leave so I could laugh out loud. Try it at home, kids - it REALLY works!

Hey man, I had one of those MRIs a few years ago, and an EMG too. The MRI didn't bother me too much, but if it had gone on a second or two more, I'd have gone left immediately upon its conclusion. I felt like I was inside one of those cans of custom-colored paint where they mix it up in store. RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, non-fucking-stop, with just enough vibration to take the experience from irritating to unpleasant. And even with my eyes closed, I felt closed in. Nothing I'd want to go through again any time soon. And who's the sadistic s.o.b. who invented that EMG? God DAMN can there be a more tortuous procedecure that is sanctioned by the medical profession (other than filling out paperwork)? You'd think that between the Geneva Convention and the Hippocratic Oath they'd have put a stop to THAT bullshit by now. Hope all is well.

$25/hr for a handmaiden is a darn good rate!

Yeah, but I'm not sure if fucking them is.

Yeah, baby, I've been smokin' what Art's been smokin'. It's called Life, and I take it unfiltered.

In a few years, Paul Simon will dump Edie Brickell for Norah. Edie will move back to Texas and form a country-jazz combo, which will then be signed by Blue Note. Simon, wondering just what it is about those crazy Texas chicks, sends Art Garfunkel after Brickell, Edie refuses, but gets Art hooked on Bob Wills, and her skinny but sexy ass. Norah, feeling that her territory has been usurped, dumps Simon and take a gig with Asleep at the Wheel. Norah & Edie cross paths at Kerrville, a cat fight ensues which is caught on videotape and shown to Vince McMahon, who signs the two to WWE contracts. Simon, looking for a label responsive to his jazzy pop stylings, signs w/Blue Note. Garfunkel stays in Texas and writes poetry, which is set to music by Norah and released by Blue Note after she leaves the WWE when Edie is caught shoplifting Simon's CD from a Wal-Mart in Uniontown, Pa. Eventually everybody dies and nobody cares. Isn't that how it always goes?

He's THEIR Musicboy now!

Sometimes a sound is just a sound, you know?

The most amazing thing on there is a review by "Charles Davis from New York, NY". Charles Davis?

Well, Cm (Maj 7) to be precise, with the (Maj 7) in the "superscript" position, you know, up and to the right. Some guys will use a triangle instead of the (Maj 7), but that only works if their manuscript is halfway clean, which is far less than a given.

I would, yeah.

Ditto. Keep an eye on Dusty Groove. It pops up there VERY occasionally. Pay what you have to. You'll survive. A friend of mine e-mailed Alvin Queen & asked him about this one, and for some reason Queen's not interested in getting Nilva vinyl out on CD. Makes no sense to me, but that's what he told my friend.

Where does all this leave Skipper & Midge? Last I heard, they were crack-whorin' porn extras. Maybe now that Ken's free, they can get rescued from such a degrading lifestyle. He's a standup kinda guy, that Ken is, even if you have to hold him to make him so.

I really wish that Jimi & Gil could have made that album together, only I wish it would have been a few years later than it was supposed to have bee, when Gil got his electronic pallate totally happening. Can you imagine Jimi & George Adams doing "The Meaning Of The Blues" togeher on THERE COMES A TIME? Oh....My....God....