JSngry

Harriet Beecher "Who's Minding The" Stowe.

Ok, the label was DMP, and their first releases are listed in AMG as having been in 1982.

I seem to remember stuff by Flim & The BBs, Warren Bernhardt, & Bob Mintzer, all on the same label (which I can't remember), as being amongst the first "CD only" jazz releases, at least that I noticed.

Well, if the Thighmaster firms and tightens your thighs, I see no reason not to endorse, nor to be afraid of, the Snatchmaster, nor its inevitable companion, Rods Of Steel.

Make him wiser. Smarts alone don't mean schiest!

YOU, being my age, approximately, are NOT young! But you, being my age, approximately, are not old either.

Indeed...

21. That jiveass turkey of yours ain't nothin' but a Tom!

Our collective integrity prohibits us from endorsing a product in which we do not believe, and we do NOT eat chili with beans - that is supremely un-Texan! (however, a good group of pseudonyms is always a beer or two away... )

For all their infamy today as a prototypical Disco band, Chic was actually one of the more musically interesting (to say nothing of genuinely GROOVING) bands of their era. Listening to all the things going on underneath that glossy surface is VERY rewarding, and Thompson was a big part of why that was so. Rest In Peace.

Wow, it's the 70s all over again! I say that because there was this cat in Denton back then who found one of those "custom t-shirt" stores (you know, the kind that would put whatever catchy saying or slogan you wanted on a t-shirt, don't know if they still exist these days) that had the technology to xerox an album cover, turn it into an iron-on transfer, and then put it on a t-shirt. Well, this cat was a big UNITY freak, so one day he shows up wearing a UNITY t-shirt, and everybody just went apeshit. A mini-fad followed. But THESE - these look like true professional jobs. Those old ones had an annoying habit of the transfers wearing away REALY quickly after a few washings.

Now THIS is a point worthy of further exploration (even if it throws the thread off on yet ANOTHER tangent ), because I definitely think that the last 30 or so years has brought about a definite "standardization" of a large segment of the NYC jazz world, specifically the tenor players. Seems to be a codification of the language as well as the tone of the instrument, and it irks me to no end. It's mostly (but not exclusively) white guys who for whatever reason don't seem to be comfortable playing "free", but who don't want to go back into bebop to discover some rhythmic and harmonic nuances that could be applied to fresher settings because they think it's played out (which I agree it is, as a "style", But as an inspiration...). The progenitor of this whole school, in my estimation, is Joe Farrell, followed quickly by the tandem of Steve Grossman & Dave Liebman (all of whom to their credit display(ed) more of a genuine searching spirit than those who used them as role models), and on down the line, until the sound had pretty much gotten standardized and codified ("credit" for THAT no doubt goes to all the people who sincerely but misguidedly (imo) reduced Trane to theory and mathematics for pedagogical reasons). Frankly, I'm hard pressed to tell most of these players apart, even after listening VERY closely for some, ANY, hint of personal quirks. It's like individuality has been willingly obliterated in a cult-like manner (and to give credit where it's due, I think that that's one area for which Lovano deserves credit - no matter what one's opinion of him as an artist is, he at least broke the tonal and rhythmic stranglehold that that school had on the "New York Tenor" sound). Now what I'd like to get some opinion on from you, Larry (or Chuck, or anybody, for that matter) is why such rigid standardization doesn't seem to have taken place in Chicago. Surely back in the day the bar was high, and cats like Von must have had their ways to test new cats out to see if they were for real or not, but there seems to have been a greater tolerance for true individuality. In fact, it seems like Chicago has always been a nurturer of great individualists, going back to Pee Wee Russell. Possibly even earlier, I don't know. Konitz was a Chicagoan, right? Chuck spoke elsewhere about Von actively encouraging the AACM crew in their earlier days. Contrast that w/the outright hostility that the "New Thing" players met in NYC, Trane being a notable exception. Sure, some were true amateurs, but in no way were all of them such. Why do you think this to be so? Surely there's the same competition for gigs in Chicago as in New York, so the whole "jealousy" angle can be ruled out, I'd think. And I'm struck by the irony of Chicagoan Farrell perhaps being the progenitor of the "New York" school of tenor playing. Even if his ultimate approach was somewhat a codification of Trane, at least HE came up with it. The Chicago individualism stikes again, even when being overtly influenced! It seems like the NY "establishment" demand(s)(ed) a level of conformity masquerading/mislabeled as competency that their Chicago equivalent never did. I'm fully aware that NYC has a fully staffed contingent of free and/or eccentric players making wonderful music, but there seems to have always been a degree of seperation between them and the "straight ahead" players that I don't sense as existing in Chicago, or at least not to as neophobic a degree. By the same token, I'm sure that Chicago has its share of practicing Phweedleologists, but you don't hear much about them, at least I don't. So, what gives? I'd very much like to hear some ideas.

Sorry, Dude. Manilow is the composer (and performer) of the "legendary" (at least in America, guess my provencialism's showing, sorry) "You deserve a break today, so get up and get away to McDonalds" jingle. Lest we come down on him TOO hard for that, remember - it was Jackie & Roy who did the "Feelin' groovy, just had my Cheerios" spot. A buck's a buck.

Didn't seem to hurt Ann-Margaret...

Lee did have a way with melody, no doubt about that. He really understood the whole tension/release thing of knowing when to play and when not to play. I think that carried over into his soloing, especially as he matured. CANDY is a great early example of that. and "Ill Wind" from CORNBREAD is a classic, imo.

You guys are so YOUNG!!! Think jingles, think hamburgers, think what Manilow did for a living BEFORE he became such a schmuck, even before he was Bette Midler's Musical Director (and as such, earned a profile in Down Beat where he expressed his admiration for jazz in general and Gerry Mulligan & Art Farmer in particular!) Think...

Wonder Gardens Atlantic City, New Jersey August, 1964 From www.georgebraith.com Check it out.

My bad, Aggie, my bad. Braith had a web site for a while and was selling his Braith Family CD, along with the one I mentioned. A friend contacted him through the site, ordered both, and George included the item you're mentioning as a bonus at no cost. This friend passed along copies of all 3 to me to audition, but when I went to order from the site, it was closed. The confusion was all mine. However, I JUST now checked the site out, and it's back up again! So it's time to do the right thing and order REAL copies of what the man's got for sale! For those who are interested, the site is www.georgebraith.com

Uh oh.... Guess you don't know that I'm always drunk, never sleep, and only listen to the first 15 seconds of a disc before I move on to the next one.... Seriously - thanks for the compliment, and I sincerely hope you like it.

Hey, it's always a drag when a project goes sour, so I feel for the cat on that level, no matter how lame it might (or might not!) have been. Barry deserves a break today, so why doesn't he get up and get away to...

Aggie, if you like FIRST MOVES, try THE CUTTING EDGE (Milestone), a live date from earlier that same year (@ Montreux) w/the same core band (except that Bob Cranshaw replaces Perla) & Mtume is added on percussion, along with Stanley Cowell on piano. For my tastes, it's a much better performance than the one on FIRST MOVES, with the first 3 cuts almost "getting there" (and I do mean almost - it's SO close as to be at once satisfying and frustrating) to that special zone of Rollins'. The last 2 cuts are a truncated ballad and a pointless jam w/Harley that really goes nowhere fast, and takes it's time doing so. But thost first three cuts can really sink their teeth into you... BTW -does anybody know what the hell Rollins was doing touring with Harley? I just don't get it. And - whatever happened to David Lee anyway? That guy had a way with cymbals that I still find exemplary, especially what he did on "Poinciana" from NEXT ALBUM (which for me is some of the best cymbal work that any drummer's ever done anywhere at anytime). Seems like he was around for a hot minute or two w/Newk & Roy Ayers, and then vanished. Too bad.

Damn, I was just gonna look for a picture of her, but you beat me to it!!!! Dude, I used to think she was old back in the 50s. Now she's REALLY old! (still, a class act all the way) Guess when I thought she was old, she was really not too much older than the age I am now, which I guess makes me...

If I could talk to the animals...

Hello, Kitty Carlise!

Oops! I used that line too soon!