JSngry

Congrats, David! Will Volume 4 be about the collected wit and wisdom of jazz bulletin boards?

Anybody remember the 1960s verion of Match Game on NBC, the one w/"Swingin' Safari" as its theme song? That one wasn't played for laughs, but Jayne Mansfield was a regular (remember, there were two teams, each with a celebrety captain), so what the hell. LOVE the old game shows myself, going back to the 1950s. Watched a steady diet of them every day until I started kindergarten, and even then watched them during summers well into adulthood, GSN used to be really hip, before they started focusing on their original shows, some of which are ok, some of which... They used to show the late 60s/early 70s version of To Tell The Truth (probably my all-time fave), the one w/Gary Moore as host, and the one with sets that looked like Peter Max came in, threw a bunch of stuff out on the set from which to pick and choose, and never came back to finish the gig. GREAT stuff. Orson Bean and his customized 1s, 2s, or 3s, Kitty Carlise (who I always thought was about 100 years old. Reruns have since proven me wrong), Peggy Cass, Nipsey Russell, etc. I had a run of about 3 months where I got EVERY contestant right. Thought about getting a gig w/the FBI there for a second! The all time game show king is my man, Bill Cullen. I dig this cat so much, I wrote an as yet unrecorded tune for Quartet Out called "Polio Bill" in his honor, complete w/a "game show" bridge that goes through all the wakily incongruent yet irrepressibly sunny modulations, and a "Love Supreme-style chant towards the end that goes "Polio Bill was the game show king, Polio Bill did the game show thing", played for laughs, but serious laughs, if you know what I mean. This cat was the consummate "Golden Era" TV personality, and he had a career of staggering longevity. They don't make'em like that anymore. Also once on GSN, the Larry Blyden-hosted What's My Line, a lower budget version of the classic deal, but still plenty o'fun, I saw Dizzy Gillespie (guessed by Soupy Sales) and Duke Ellington (guessed by Jack Cassidy, whose ascots were a show unto themselves) as mystery guests, and Mel Torme was a frequent panelist. That was a fine show too, especially the older prime-time CBS version w/Bennet Cerf as a regular. Now THAT guy was a trip! Arlene Francis stuck around on WML for what seemd like forever. You can see her on the early 50s version straight throuh into the 70s. Dorothy Kilgallen, though, was not so lucky... Hope this thread gets legs and goes a while, becasue I love this stuff. Anybody remember Video Village? Henry Morgan? Wally Cox? Camoflage? I'll Bet? You Don't Say? Betsy Palmer (Mmmmmm!)? Peggy Cass? Polly Bergan (another Mmmmmmm!)? Password? The Bill Cullen-era The Price Is Right? Treasure Island? Henry Morgan? Robert Q. Lewis? Oh yeah, I love the classic game shows.

I've heard the name, but only today heard the artist. KNTU played something off her new album, "Babble On", an uptempo original with "standard"-ish changes. The head was nice, but her soloing (on tenor) was what really got my attention - a real ability and desire to play ideas, not licks, and a very free yet swinging rhythmic flow, the total opposite of the constant stream of eighth notes that is so common among today's "straight ahead" players. An attactive tone too, somewhat reminiscent of Harold Land, but not derivative or cloned. I hear a player simultaneously thinking, feeling, and, in general, just having some serious fun in a thouroughly substantive and original way. The way she varied and broke up her phrasing yet still maintained an ongoing momentum was quite interesting and impressive. And yes, again, ORIGINAL! Hell yeah. So what's the deal on Virginia Mayhew. Is she a totally "in" player, or does she do freer stuff too? Does she mostly play tenor? Was I just in a good mood, was that just a really good cut, or is she consistently this fresh in her playing? I'd like to know more. This chick sounds like she can play! (P.S. - if I can call male musicians "cats" and "dudes", I can call female musicians "chicks", so don't anybody go left on that. To reiterate, she sounds like she can PLAY, and if anybody thinks that the word "chick" diminishes the genuine respect I have to have for a player before I'll say that about them, they are truly clueless, and can BITE ME! )

Until now, I'd never made the connection between "Off Minor" & Herman Munster. Thanks, Thelonious Moog!

I agree, which is why those MPS albums always appealed to me. They DO breathe. But don't get me wrong - I love most of the Columbia stuff too (most of it anyway). The bands are SO much more into it than the earlier PJ stuff, and the brashness of players like Glen Ferris, Pete Robinson, and John Klemmer (!) is very appealing. Those guys really DO sound like they're on a mission to reinvent music from the ground up, and that kind of passion can't help but be heard and felt. Looking back on it now, the late 60s/early 70s were a kind of mini "Golden Age" for big bands. Duke, Basie, Woody, & Kenton were still in full flower, with the latter two going in a more "contemporary" direction fairly successfully, and newer bands like Ellis' and Buddy Rich's were not going unnoticed either. Gerald Wilson was putting out records, and cats like Pat Williams and Clare Fischer were doing one-offs of no little interest. Of course, Jones-Lewis and Clarke-Boland were going strong, too. The popularity of jazz-rock horn bands certainly spurred things along, but I think that the general turbulance and vigor of the times was a factor too. It was a time in which so many different things were happening in society and in music that a big band was at once a throwback to the familiarity of earlier times AND a big blast of reality, a unit of power that gave you the loudness of rock (and for those newer listeners who haven't had the opportunity to hear a REAL big band in the flesh, not just a local rehearsal band, but a real working unit of top-shelf players, let me tell you that the energy and volume might very well scare the bejeebers out of you the first time you experience it. It's a vERY visceral experience). Well, here comes Ellis, who seemingly knows no fear when it comes to volume, electronics, and general controlled chaos. You COULDN'T ignore him once you heard him! Those were good times for jazz, I think. And if I find Ellis' overall output to be uneven, I don't think less of him for that. If anything, I respect him more for it, because he seemed like the kind of guy who wanted to do everything all at once, and by god, he went for it! Very similar to vintage Mingus in that regard, even though they were coming from totally different places. That kind of ambition, musical and otherwise, is something I have a huge respect and admiration for. In theory, I'll take something like a Don Ellis "failure" over a failsafe snoozefest of predictability most any day. If I might sometimes LIKE the snoozefest more, it's the ambitious and sincere failure that I LOVE more. Who do we harass to get somebody to look into that Stanford gig and see if the tapes still survive? Now THAT'S one of the major big band triumphs of the post WWII era by any standard. I have a feeling that there's a revelation waiting to be unearthed!

A warning here, Jim. This will hardly endear you to the Metrosexual crowd. Just a friendly warning... What the hell is this "metrosexual" stuff? I strted reading that thread but couldn't figure it out!

Chubby had a groove. A BIG groove. He kicked more ass than Bruce Lee, and I enjoy the results a lot more. No contest, in fact. R.I.P., and much love.

Ellis was one og those guys who never met a gimmick he didn't like, but unlike many of that ilk, he also had a genuine curiosity and creativity. A lot of the big band stuff is just plain silly, some of it is totally wack, the kind of thing you gotta love even though you know better, and some of it sounds like the band is so wrapped up in executing that that they don't have time for letting the music breathe and live. But a bit of it is genuinely innovative, serious music, the vision of a man who definitely heard and felt things differently than the rest of us. I suspect that a lot of the silliness was a result of an inner reluctance to censor or edit for fear of missing the spark of something that could really lead to a more substantive path. A barrage of insanity and some precious nuggets of truth and beauty - I wish that the process for Ellis could have been more consistent than that, but that's just how and who he was, I guess. To that end, I remember being struck by Ellis' MPS albums, SOARING & HAIKU. The novelty had worn off for audiences, players, and I suspect, Ellis himself, and there is much meat to be had in these albums. I wish I had them... No matter, waht I'll always remember Don Ellis MOST for was the article about the avant-garde that he wrote for Down Beat (anybody having it who can scan and post it, please do!), which included the oft-quoted statement that (and I'm paraphrasing) if "avant garde" means usuing your instrument to do things it wasn't designed to so, then Henry "Red" Allen was the most avant garde trumpeter on the scene! I've always loved the perspective of that observation. Don Ellis might have been too interested in innovation for innovation's sake a lot of the time, but I give him major props for going his own way no matter what, and for not letting the gimmick become the gimmick, if that makes any since. A critical reevaluation of his work is overdue, I think, because there WAS some serious stuff going on with the guy. Mosaic, perhaps?

They "misunderstand" us? Uh, I'm almost afraid to ask, but what do they say?

Well, if my Fox thread gets moved to the Politics section, I'll not object, but honestly, it wasn't intended as such. It was more about the decline of gamesmanship as evidenced by Fox's heavyhanded one-upper to Tucker Bowtie. Now that's more of a sociological matter than a political one in my mind, but maybe I'm naive to think that such a line can, or should, be drawn. If that's the case, move it to the appropriate forum. I'm of the old school that sees "Politics" as matters involving governments and their policies, elected officals, and attempts to influence same, none of which was the subject of my post to start the thread. I'd like to think that "politics" and "sociology" are essentially different areas that sometimes, but ONLY sometimes, overlap, but hell, I could well be wrong. Especially in these times. Seems like EVERY damn thing is political!

I find it interesting how many people, myself included, heard Howard McGhee in Carmell Jones' work. If Roy Eldridge is, as conventional wisdom has it, the "missing link" between Pops and Diz, then Howard McGhee is the missing link between Roy and Diz. He's a player you hardly ever hear as an influence too much past the late 40s, really. I'm wondering if Carmell would cite him as an early favorite?

Thanks for all the input. Looks like we need to add a USB2 card. I'm assuming that USB2 is fully backwards compatable w/"regular" USB devices?

AUTUMN Not the whole album, but the two live cuts (if Columbia still has the tapes of the entire concert, what a surprise "new" release THAT would make) especially "Indian Lady", which is frightening in its intensity. Throw the usual reservations about Ellis out the door for those cuts - these guys came to rape, pillage, and plunder, and they do so with unabashed abandon. Wow. I wish BN would reissue Ellis' Pacific Jazz album w/Paul Bley & Gary Peacock. Good luck finding THAT one. How's the Prestige date w/Jaki Byard & Charlie Persip?

Aw MAN! Sometimes I keep a beard, and sometimes not. When I don't, I use an electric razor if I'm motivated to keep clean daily, an accoustic razor when I let it go for a day or 3. The electric works fine when there's not much to go through, but when it comes to a good CLOSE shave, nothing beats a fresh blade, a hot towel, and some lather. Same thing with keeping the beard borders cleaned - electric is adequate if the maintainance is regular, but if you get a few day's stubble, go for the blade. But remember - when using a electric, look for the big "L", first letter in...

If you're a child of 1950's TV (and isn't everybody everywhere? ), you'll know what I mean when I say that that last one looks like it's going to have Dennis The Menace on it...

Thanks for that advice, John. I'll tinker some today and see what happens. As for Charlie, spelling is not his strong suit, but he's a good kid and a fine trumpet player (who is JUST now beginning to warm to jazz, so no other posts from him here...). I told him that if he wanted an answer waiting for him when he woke up in the morning to ask here before he went to bed, and gave him permission to speak for himself usung my account. I shoulda told him to type it in Word & do a spell check first. Good advice for te faher as well as the son, no doubt...

first of this is not jim, but his son. i just got an ipod today becuase i didnt want to have anything less than the best. well after installing everything i go and pulg the usb plug into the port only to get the messgae on all 3 ports, " usb port not regonised then high speed usb pulg inserted into non high speed port" out webcam works when pulged into every port so i dont know what the deal is. i get a "dont unplug" yet its not being noticed. i dont know what the deal is and i would greatly appericate any help becuase i just spent $300 and i dont think i can return it either, thank you.

Which ones?

Jerry.

Stone classic. Buy it YESTERDAY.

As a subject for a Pete Turner photo, Boy George is in the right zone. And I've always though that as a singer, he was better than given credit for. but Rosie O'Donnell.... Pass.

If you're running Windows XP, you can do a System Restore to a date prior to when the virus hit you, and everything should run like it did before. If you installed new software or put shortcuts on your desktop after the restore point, you'll have to tweak that, but you won't lose any data. It's a nifty tool, that System Restore is.

If the long-term effect of this Blindfold Test and its subsequent discussion is increased appreciation of George Coleman, I'd think that Mr. Gould would be deserving of some kind of Public Service award!

Nice job, Joe, but you left out ONE little detail....