JSngry

It's all good if you ask me, with DANCING IN YOUR HEAD & TONE DIALING being major milestones in my opinion. One that slipped through my cracks (OUCH!!!) until the last year or so was Geri Allen's now OOP EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEARD on Blue Note. Ornette's just on two cuts, duets both, but they are stunning. I would give the usual "worth the cost of admission alone" rap for this one, except the REST of the album is pretty stunning too.

Howsabout the Echoes Of An Era/Griffith Park Band stuff? I know the one w/Chakka Kahn came out not too long ago, but I don't think the rest of it has.

What about the Luis Gasca album on Blue Thumb? Has that been out on CD? Jerry Rush's RUSH HOUR? Roy Haynses' VISTALITE (w/the best non-bootleg version of "Invitation"ever)? Ron Carter's ALL BLUES? Gotta be more...

Thanks for those stories, Brownie!

As karma would have it, I ordered the Walter Davis Jr Monk solo album on Mapleshade tha Dan mentioned in conjunction with the current BT from www.cybermusicsurplus.com Thursday of last week. I had forgotten about that until the shipping confirmation greeted me in this morning's e-mail. I'm greatly lookiing forward to hearing it.

I love this album. Had a buddy in college who had it and got to know it quite well there, then went about 15 years or so without a copy. Then found 2 different LPs in the used bins for under $5 each (in darn good condition, too) within the space of a year. Go figure. The thing about this side is that the programming works REALLY well as an LP - 4 songs, 2 per side, with the brighter tunes leading off. The more mellow ones follow, so it's a beautiful example of lather, rinse, repeat if you just let one side play over and over and over. Which I have done more than once... Elvin on "I Wish You Love" is just SO groovin'. You can (and no doubt should) dance to this puppy until the cows come home. If you're smart, you'll lock the gate so they never quite make it. Bobby's entrance on the title tune is one of those sublime jazz moments where ending, transition, and entry fall into perfect sync, with a flow that as natural and RIGHT as anything can be. Grant's ideas are flowing like they rarely did. He's taking his time, and all's right with the world. Larry? Hey it's Larry Young in a zone as both soloist and accompanist. If it was any better, you'd have to die. I got this on CD, but I still prefer the LP, because all 4 songs at once is almost too much of a good thing. But one side at a time, either side, is as good as music gets for me.

Horace w/Bop City executives: PRESS RELEASE DH1 Studios Signs Jazz Legend Horace Silver To The Company's Bop City Records Imprint June 2, 2003 (Beverly Hills, California) - Continuing the company's expansion in the music arena, DH1 Studios, and its associated label, Bop City Records under the direction of industry notables Al Schmitt, Elliot Scheiner and Ed Cherney have announced the signing of jazz legend Mr. Horace Silver to the Bop City Records imprint. DH1 President and CEO Steven Saxton said, "We're extremely pleased to have an artist of Horace Silver's stature join our family. He is a musical genius and tremendous performer." Also instrumental in bringing Silver to the company, Ron McCarrell, President DH1 Studios' Music Division and Managing Director of Bop City Records added "Horace Silver is a true jazz icon. He is a tremendous addition to the Bop City roster." Al Schmitt noted, "Over the years, the name Horace Silver has always been equated with musical excellence. He's not only my friend, but also an inspiration to jazz music aficionados all over the world. Horace is truly a living legend and we welcome him to the Bop City label." Silver's debut release for Bop City is entitled, Rockin' With Rachmaninoff. More on Horace Silver: Silver's music reflects his roots, as well his openness to all types of music, embracing Broadway tunes, musicals, and classical music as much as jazz, rock, blues, and folk. His mother and father were African American and Cape Verdean, respectively, and Silver grew up listening to Gospel music in the Baptist Church, though he was equally attracted to the blues, Latin rhythms, and African folk music. "It feels great to be called a legend," he admits. "It's something I never would have dreamed of in my earlier years." He started his musical studies with classical piano lessons and played both tenor and baritone sax in Norwalk, Connecticut. In later years, Silver parlayed this abiding affection for brass into an instantly recognizable trademark: for more than four decades, his quintets have prominently featured trumpet and sax to stunning effect. "It's not only that I like the horns up front in quintets: it's what we started out with, what I'm widely known for. And people love us for it. People will accept Horace Silver in other configurations," he adds, citing the seven-piece ensemble he recorded for Hardbop Grandpop (his 1996 Impulse! Debut) and his use of vocals in U. S. State of Mind (one of several acclaimed releases during his 28-year tenure at Blue Note). "I like to change up but I always return to the quintet," as he did in his 1997 Impulse! Recording, A Prescription For The Blues. Silver's powerful percussive bass lines and buoyant, almost dancing, melodic touch, propelled jazz into uncharted territory. His 1954 gospel-inspired hit, "The Preacher", recorded with his band, the original Jazz Messengers, gave birth to the "soul" movement in jazz - and established Silver as a leader in a new direction of jazz, one that took a sharp 180-degree turn away from the more cerebral bebop style then so prevalent. (That same year, he recorded the historic hardbop classic, "Walkin," with Miles Davis, and "Opus De Funk,") Two years later, leaving the Jazz Messengers in Art Blakely's capable hands, he started his first quintet. Silver is now widely regarded as one of the great composer/melodists whose beloved compositions- "Song For My Father," "Senor Blues," "Doodlin'," "Nica's Dream," "Sister Sadie," and countless others - are core jazz repertory. Through the years, he has tirelessly mentored and showcased countless new talents - Joe Henderson, the Brecker Brothers, Blue Mitchell, Woody Shaw, Louis Hayes, and others among them - and now the bright young players on Jazz Has a Sense of Humor join their ranks. Silver feels strongly about his responsibility to pass on what he knows, acknowledging the value of the lessons he learned while developing his distinctive style and gaining confidence as a performer. "I received help from so many. Stan Getz discovered me in Connecticut and got me on the road to my career," recalling the Getz trio he toured and recorded with in 1950-51. Throughout the early '50s, he was an active sideman at Birdland, where he backed such artists as Getz, Terry Gibbs, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and many others. "Miles (Davis), Art Blakely. I learned something from each one of them," Silver states. "The guys who concentrated on the small combo, they're all gone," said Silver, citing the passing of Blakely, Miles, Dizzy Gillespi, and Cannonball Adderly. "Older cats with a wealth of experience, there aren't too many of us left," Silver continues. "Jimmy (Greene) told me I'm gonna pick your brain' and I said, 'Great! It's yours to pick.' I'm glad to help these guys." In addition to the Horace Silver project, Schmitt, Scheiner and Cherney's Bop City have an ambitious slate of releases planned for the remainder of 2003. Upcoming releases by Doc Hollywood and Bop City include releases by 18 year old jazz pianist -- a favorite of David Benoit & Dave Brubeck -- Taylor Eigsti, and outstanding female jazz vocalist, LM Pagano.

I laughed until I cried. Then I cried until I laughed again.

She makes very good points (no pun intended), but is not necessarily the most, uh..."credible" spokesperson on this matter... Pamela Anderson Wants to Meet KFC Heads Oct 27, 2:58 PM (ET) NEW YORK (AP) - Pamela Anderson wants to meet with the chief executive officer of Kentucky Fried Chicken's parent company to discuss what she calls "reasonable, positive changes for KFC's chickens." The former star of "Baywatch" and "V.I.P." faxed a letter Monday to David Novak of Yum! Brands Inc., asking to talk about animal-welfare guidelines that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is recommending. Anderson, a spokeswoman for the animal-rights group, called for a boycott of the fast-food chain a few weeks ago. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and Paul McCartney also have joined the PETA-led criticism of the company. "I must admit from the outset that I can't understand why a company that claims to care about animal welfare would continue to allow chickens to be bred and drugged to be so top-heavy that they can barely walk, to be gathered in a manner that breaks their wings and beaks, and to be scalded to death or drowned in feather-removal tanks," she wrote in the letter, which PETA released. KFC spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer said Monday that executives with Yum! Brands hadn't seen the letter, and she declined comment on Anderson's request.

Britney Spears: No More Topless Photos Oct 27, 2:49 PM (ET) NEW YORK (AP) - Britney Spears hasn't exactly been shy lately. She's appeared topless on the cover of Rolling Stone and British Elle magazines and bottomless on the cover of Esquire. But after taking it all off for the suggestive pictures, the 21-year-old pop star says she plans to put it all back on - at least for now. "I did feel kind of weird after those photos," Spears tells Newsweek magazine for its Nov. 3 issue, referring to the Esquire cover on which she wears nothing but a white sweater and high heels. "I was in a moment. I had, like, eight Red Bulls and said, 'OK, let's do it.' I learned my lesson and you won't see me like that for a while. I'm kinda over it myself. Not that it's dirty or tacky, but it is really revealing and I wouldn't want my kid, at 21, to be dressing like that." Spears also says she swore off dating for a while after her very public breakup with Justin Timberlake. She says she's still not involved with anyone, despite reports that she hooked up with a married backup dancer. "There was a time when I was like, 'OK, I'm over men. They're mean,'" she says. "For like six months, not a single thing happened. Not like they weren't drawn to me, but there wasn't a single real attraction. I'm like, 'What's happening? I know I'm not a lesbian.'"

For real - I remember people hating the Yankees in the '50s, and that was already a long stretch into THEIR stretch.

The company I work for has closed their offices in Simi and is sending all the work to us until further notice, as per their "disaster plan". It's a pretty major undertaking, not without some costs involved, and defintiely not meant to be implemented unless the need was real and immediate. So things must be REALLY scary out there right now. Beat wishes and hopes to all with involvement in this matter, irregardless of the level of that involvement.

Aric, you guess is as good as mine.

Please, elaborate!

Haven't heard that record, Dan. But it's worth noting that Davis knew Monk personally, and whatever personal and spiritual intersection he had, or claims to have had, with Monk both during an after Monk's lifetime is functioning at a whole different level than as far as I'm concerned. We're talking about one life's DIRECT effect on another, a personal relationship, not the broader field of impersonal musical influence. Some might not see the need to make that distinction. I do. Yet again, to each his own. As for the issue of it being my instrument, no. That's got nothing to do with it. Although I've never heard anybody do as thoughrouh an imitiation as Allen does here on ANY instrument, that's not it at all. There are certain areas of music that I myself hold "sacred" (the infamous reaming I gave that Ron Carter Bach album awhaile back was intentionally nasty for the sake of comedic effect, but the meaning was 100% sincere). Tone is one of them. Perhaps the greatest of them. Not the general tone, but the EXACT tone. Instrument doesn't matter. Influence, sure. Very liberal borrowing, yeah, sure, if you have to. But outright "xeroxing"? Sorry, not for me. All the great players tones are their personal voice, and that voice is used to convey their unique stories. Phrases like "thejazz language", "I hear ya'", "he's really saying something", etc. are not just hip argot. At least they didn't begin as such. Some players literally put their life into their music, all aspects of it, but especially the voice, the medium used to tell that story. What irks me is not the instrument, it's the premise - that Stan Getz' life as expressed through his music has no more meaning to Harry Allen than to serve as fodder for a "tribute" album. I don't doubt that his intentions were sincere (God, I hope so), but it's really, REALLY fundamentally misguided to "pay tribute" to somebody in this manner. It's no tribute at all, really, unless "telling" somebody in effect, "Hey babe, I dug your life, your individuality, and your soul so much that I decided to make a carbon copy of it to use for myself". Misses the point of the original entirely, imo, and that's just the least offensive of the implications. A life, any life, means something, and the work of a life such a Getz' should mean a heck of a lot more to a practitioneer of the same craft than to be fodder for a novelty record. Really, if Allen REALLY "got" Getz to the degree that his imitation seems to want to lead us to believe that he has, then his own music would be full of staggering beauty, deep soul, and undeniable originality. THAT'S what Getz was all about in the end (and although I'm very ambivalent about many specific pieces of Getz' overall output, I unambiguously recognize him as one of the giants of the music becuse of those exact qualities in the overall balance of his life's work). Is Allen's own music like this? I don't know, I've never heard it, at least not that I know of. Why? Nobody's ever made noise like that. The best I've heard is along the lines of "Harry Allen? Good young mainstream type player." Well, good. Those are the type of guys I get to when I get to them, no rush, and maybe I like them, maybe not. It's not like they're either setting the stage for tomorrow or else played a role in creating what is now yesterday. They're players playing, and I can fully respect and appreciate that, but I don't think that even their staunchest advocates would claim that they're the "type" of player that sombody like Stan Getz was. Another reason that I'm skeptical as to how much Allen really "Gets Getz" is in the actual performance. Man, I was DIGGING this cut because of the overall rhythmic feel, especially the drummer. But the music had a special resonance to me becasue I was convinced that I was hearing Getz in an inspired setting playing inspired music. But it's not - it's Harry Allen's "tribute"/imitation of Stan Getz in an inspired setting playing inspired music, a life's story told in the voice of that life by somebody who has not lived it (and yeah, upon further reflection, the "tricked in a blindfold test" element DOES play a role here, not in my overall disgust, but definitely in the vehemence with which it was expressed. More about that shortly). If it were literature, it would be akin to somebody writing a tribute, not a satire, or some other gentle tweaking, but an alleged heartfelt tribute, to Benjamin Franklin in the form of writing a few "additional" chapters to his autobiography in a TOTALLY convincing manner. Of what value is that, especially if the author doesn't attempt to add something of their own to the mix? Are we supposed to be impressed by the author's literary skills? Impressed at their total understanding of Franklin? Glad to have morte chapters to a classic work, even if they're totally fraudulent, just becasue we can't get enough of the writing of good ol' Ben? No to all, afaic. Such an endeavor is frivilously misgided at best. indicative of some real neuroses on the part of the author at worst. Here's the REAL tragecy imo - Since the music was already happening at such a tight level, why didn't Allen just go ahead and play HIS thing, tell HIS story? Pressure from a producer? Lack of confidence in his own ability? Feeling intimidated by the shoes he was attempting to fill? Why not play Harry Allen? If you got the tunes and the general atmosphere, you got more than enough to make a commercially conventional tribute album from a business standpoint. So why the compulsion to run from yourself and hide in somebody else's shadow? All the answers I come up with point to either lack of understanding as to the deeper implications of making music in the footsteps of your heroes or a deepseated fear/distrust/disinterest in/of pursuing those implications. Either way, it's totally lame from my POV. I've had time to cool off a little bit since my initial posting of disgust, and all things considered, the views expressed by Tom Storer above come a little closer to the way I feel now. Knowing now that this performance comes from a tribute album and that Allen supposedly doesn't sound like this ALL the time. If I'd ahve known in advance what it was, I'd have still gotten riled, still cussed him out, and still condemned him to hell, but not as seriosuly as I did in my earlier posts. I still think that this is a seriously misguided endeavor on a lot of different levels, but coming as it does in the form of a "tribute" album, ok. The cat only gets red-hot iron rods up the ass for a fixed time, not for all eternity. And again, I can't stress enough that no matter how intensely I have expressed myself on this matter, that htese are my personal feelings ONLY. I make no claims of omnisicience or of having the inside track as to what is or isn't "good" or "right" in anything, especially music. Although I make no apologies whatsoever for my feelings on this matter and the depth with which I feel those feelings, I'm FULLY aware that it's just me, and that somebody can have quite the opposite view just as deeply and legitimately. All I was expressing was the disgust that I felt at a piece of music that offends nearly every sensibility that I have about music (except for good arrangements and stuff like that. But that's back to the "face value" trip again, and as I've said, that's not me). Strange as it might seem in a world where it seems like EVERYBODY is trying to sell you something or persuade you of something by attacking your personal adequacy and validity at SOME level, I'm content to live by my "code" for no other reason than it works for me, and to take pleasure in the fact that other people are living by their "code" for no other reason than it works for them. So if I'm somehow leaving the impression that I think that anybody who likes this Harry Allen piece is as clueless and soulless as I find him (well, ok - THIS PIECE) to be, that's not where I'm coming from AT ALL! We all got out quirks, and things that make us tick differently than each other, and this is one of mine. Simple as that. And now, I would REALLY like to not discuss the issue further (as if anybody's probably going to WANT to...), at least not "me". It really is a personal thing, and as much as I can pour out, thre is a limt of how "exposed" I'm willing to get when it comes to talking in great depth about music, and this is really, REALLY it. We're getting into "tell us about your sex life" territory here, if you know what I mean...

I find it nice to be remembered, hope you do too. Welcome!

Bucs get gut check. Cowboys get reality check. Should benefit both teams.

Dude, the whole Major "Wholley" thing just about had me in stiches!

You ask fair questions, Dan & Jim. I will attempt to address them as civily and respectfully to your sincere intent as possible. I am not offended because of the context of being fooled in a blindfold test. I am offended for reasons having to do with what I know, both through personal experience and through conversing with many other players, goes into developing a totally personal sound. Without getting too dramatic about it, let's just say that for some people, there is what, for better or worse, can be called a "spiritual" element to that pursuit. I would strongly suspect that Getz was one of those people for whom music was more than just a means to a paycheck, a way to get laid, or an inside move to the best drugs. I'm fully aware that there are many in this forum who scoff at such notions as "spirituality" in general and especially in music. Whatever - make your own music in your own way for your own reasons. And if you're not a player, feel free to adopt your own perspective of what those who play it are up to. To each his/her own. Knowing that Allen doesn't always play like this, well, ok, that's a relief. Still, it strikes me as a "clever" notion that betrays a certain cluelessness about certain things (no, I'll not elaborate. Sorry.) that tells me that this kid is of the "new school" that feels that playing "jazz" is more important (not more fun, but more important) than playing music. Big difference. I know that might sound cryptic and/or pompous, but it's going to have to do. But, yeah, I think it's evil, and that it defiles everything I hold sacred about the human spirit. That brings us back to the "spiritual" angle again, so we're back to the to each his/her own thing. Again. Yeah, I read that bio on AMG, and the one word that came to mind was "programmed". Like the son ofa football coach who never has a chance to be exposed to anything but football. The AMG bio doesn't say this though, so that's no doubt my cruel projection of the distaste I'm feeling at this item coming into play. But I gotta think that Allen thinks it cool to be able to do what he does. I don't. As for Hyman, I've heard him do his "imitation" thing in person, and it's harmless. He's a gifted player who may or may not have a deeply personal voice of his own, but the bottom line is that he does it as a schtick of sorts, as a novelty act. He's up front about that, and frankly, he although he captures the stylistic essences of the various pianists quite expertly, that's as far as he goes. He makes no attempt to capture (steal?) their souls (again, to each their own as to how "real" a concept this may or may not be). It's a carnival sideshow, Hyman's trip is, good clean fun, nothing more. The whole imitation thing is not nearly as simplistic as my gut reaction to this item might make it seem that I feel it is. Liek I said earlier, there always more to something than meets the eye or ear. For instance, there's an album where Lee Konitz & Jackie McLean play together, and for some reason, in the middle of a ballad. Lee all of a sudden goes off and starts speaking Jackie's language, and quite convincingly, with an intensity that is kinda spooky. But that's Lee Konitz, somebody who you know understands the nature and value of a personal sound more than most. So there's gotta be a reason why he's doing this other than he thinks it's cool or some other juvenile assumption. Which, if Allen doesn't play this way elsewhere, is what I think he had in mind - that it would be "cool" to do an album where he totally co-opted Getz' sound down to the finest, most personal (hint, hint) nuances (hint, hint), not because he knew Getz well and wanted to express his feeling of deep loss or something like that, but just because GAWRSH, MICKEY, LOOK WHAT I CAN DO. AIN'T I CLEVER? No, it ain't clever. You're in WAAAAY over your head, Dude. But you seem to be enjoying it quite a bit anyway. That's...the way that kinda thing usually works. You're getting the "rewards" up front, payment due at an undetermined later date. But DEFINITELY due. Always read the fine print before you sign.

Can you imagine a doobie in your funk?

#1 - Definitely. Whether they HAVE been or not remains to be seen, but certainly enough time has passed for a clearheaded evaluation of the music. Unfortunately, so many people felt "betrayed" by this music (which was entirely THEIR problem if you ask me) that it's gotten all these labels on it that do the cause of an objective musical anaylsis much harm. But the tide is turning, and now that musically astute people without the baggage of that sense of betrayal, the HORROR that it wasn't about "ching ching-a ching" (no matter HOW abstracted) any more (and Chambers falls into this camp so hard that the floor is indented where he landed), the real content of this music is now being appreciated and critiqued on its own terms. "Bout time, if you ask me. #2 - People usually credit IN A SILENT WAY or BITCHES BREW, but I tend to give FILLES DE KILLAMANJARO the nod as to where the esthetic crossed the "point of no return". I suppose the case for MILES IN THE SKY could be made, but that sounds more like a testing of the waters to me, like nobody's REALLY convinced yet. But by FILLES, all hands are on board. Now if you're talking pure electricity as far as overall sound, BREW is actually a surprisingly ACCOUSTIC sounding album to me. FILLMORE is where the electric-ness of it all comes to the fore, but that album is very much an extension of the "Lost Quintet" musically. LIVE-EVIL, even though Michael Henderson is on board, still sounds like the aesthetic is "solocentric" to some degree, so the electification of the instuments is towards THAT end, rather than that of creating an entire unified GROUP sound. Truthfully, I think that ON THE CORNER was the first album that got that groove where you felt like you were in an alternative, electric universe, and the following albums and live gigs went from there, abeit in a somewhat more conspicuously "groove" oriented manner. This is the final "electronic jungle" period, and those recordings bear, demand almost, very close listening and, perhaps, an adjustment of the listener's expectations and foci. It truly is GROUP music, and in some ways, the most "radical" music of Miles' career. #3 - From what I can gather, Miles, for reasons both within his personal control and outside of it, got sick. And tired. And sick and tired. So he chilled for a while, and just sorta went with that. Apparently Sly Stone was a role model for Miles in things other than music, but true to form, Miles got off the mat before the 10 count, and answered the bell for the next round.

I just noticed my new level, and was curious at which point it transpired. Is 7 up?

The joint was remodeled while we slept a few days ago. They did good work.

Tell Thelma to get her fine ass in here!

The Series WAS originally a best-of-9 thing, so with a little lobbying from George...