JSngry

I have both, and I like both. Very much, in fact. Unlike some live recordings, there's nothing revelatory in either, but they're definitely worth having - good live playing, nice and stretched-out. Don't overlook the Hubbard/Maupin either!

Yeah man, get well!

What's a "time stamp"?

I got an e-mail response from Label M back when they were in operation, and they said that they had intentions to eventually release a Mobley set from the Left Bank tapes. Not anything that's already been issued, but something elseThey mighta been blowin' smoke, but I was left with the impression that the material was available and of usable quality. So say your prayers, eat your vegetables, and keep your lawns mowed and well groomed, there's hope!

This jibes with Purcell's comments exactly. Pulled back mid-range, and jacked-up highend, which is at least as responsible for the "knitting needle" cymbal sound as the types of cymbals and sticks used.

Uh...that's actually BETTER than the original Muse cover, believe it or not... Talk about using whatever's handy! No, Jim, the Muse cover is better. Er, are you okay, Jim? Sorry, I'm not a fan of the "up close and personal, count the pores on your skin" school of photography for cover art. Especially with phones on! I don't mind those type of photos, just not on the cover, ok? Guess I got traumatised by some of the Mainstream covers of the (slightly earlier) day. But this Muse cover, when seen in full LP size, which is how I've been looking at it for longer than I care to remember, is just not good, at least to my taste. That Altschul cover is NEARLY identical to the original LP. Different type layout and stuff, but the same photo. That's a DAMN good record too!

A pinup WHAT-down?

I was totally unaware fo that "Undiscovered" disc. Y'all got me cursious now! But I dig "Manifesto". Nothing fancy, just good solid vibes. I find myself playing it surprisingly often when I want an acquiescent "feelgood" record that I'm not overly familiar with. Don't come across those all that often, and at this rate, I'll be lunatically raving about it in 20 years!

Certainly can't make anybody like what they fundamentally DISlike, and I'll not try, don't want to, but for the sake of saying something for the sake of saying something, I suppose its worth saying that all the ELEMENTS of "traditional" music are in there, they're just used in different ways. Same ingredients, different recipie.

I've got more to say than this, but "Mount Harissa" moves me to tears of simultaneous joy and awe every damn time I hear it, much less think of it (yeah, I'm getting shivers just posting this). So much truth, so much beauty, so much wisdom, so much HELL YEAH in just that one cut alone, one of those occasional moments that comes along where God (or who/whatever you want to use in God's place) looks down and says, "Yeah Duke, yeah Paul, y'all been doin' the right thing for a long time now. A little on the wild side sometimes, but y'all been cool overall. So here's a special mega-blessing for your ass. Take it and run with it. Have fun!" There's a reason that piece came at the end of Side One of the original LP - nothing could follow it without some sort of pause! 'Scuse me. I gotta stop before somebody asks me why I got tears rolling down my cheeks. Just know that in a career filled with special moments and blessings, this is one of the mostest specialist blessingest of them all. Dig it.

Hell, I got 15 sets in my closet that I was saving for party favors for the grandkids I'm sure to have someday. If I'd a'known that it was that bigga deal, I'd a'given 'em to y'all a long time ago! Why didn't somebody tell me?

I dunno, dude, theat Muse cover on SOLID gives me the willies - Woody's looking pretty sick on that one, and with hindsight... But that 32 cover! That's just STUPID!

Uh...that's actually BETTER than the original Muse cover, believe it or not... Talk about using whatever's handy!

I was hearing on the news Thursday about a hacker attack being anticipated for the weekend. Don't know it that's relevant or not.

Might already be available! http://www.fatbeats.com/MUSIC/DETAILS.ASP?...D=3158&CATID=22

Life is not fair. And all that that implies.

First found here: http://www.stonesthrow.com/now-again/ a relation to Stonesthrow records, the label that reissued that trippy little Stark Reality set. http://www.stonesthrow.com Dusty Groove (the bastards!) has it listed as mid-July http://www.dustygroove.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap...&GO.x=16&GO.y=8 Also from Now Again/Stones Throw, Roger Boykin's on this one http://www.stonesthrow.com/funky16/artists...oulseven/1.html

Ah, the men don't know, but the little girls all understand...

Getcher Mickey samples here: http://www.sandboxautomatic.com/abstract/ct102.html Soundin' REAL good to me! Don't know if this one is out yet, but it makes for a good addition to this list, if that's ok with you...

Priceless!

Chuck's passing through town Friday. I'll ask him how many copies are left.

Down boy, DOWN! :D Seriously, these are all photographs by the great Bill Gottlieb, and there is a website that has a tremendous amount of his work avaiable for on-line viewing. Here it is: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wghtml/wghome.html Sorry, no Anita that I can tell, but here's another Kenton-related shot from 47-48 that fans of BREAKING POINT might appreciate

Ok, it ain't DIPPIN'. But few things in life are, so let's move on. Confession time (parents, take your kids away from the computer now...) Ok, thanks. They can come back soon enough. I was stoned like a mofo the first time I heard CADDY, and truthfully, it was probably 6 or 7 years before I heard it any other way. But since it was almost certainly made under similar, if not exact, conditions.... I mean really, a tune like "Ace Deuce Trey", ESPECIALLY "Ace, Deuce, Trey", with that rhythm bridge modified into whole toneness literally SCREAMS "I'M HIGH!", as if the A section didn't give it away from jump street (and it does. Big time). Sorry folks, but this one is just TOO DAMN HIP to be written or played any way other than under the influence of SOMETHING. Flail away all you like, but this much I know. Don't try it at home and all the other usual disclaimers apply, but there it is. Now if all this album was was a bunch of stoned grooviness, it wouldn't be that much different from countless OTHER BN albums. But you got some really good stuff on here, stuff that rises above the norm. The Hank/Lee/Billy Eternal Triangle are in total sync as usual. Those guys weren't just on the same page in those days, they were in the same SENTENCE. It does no good to listen to any one of them seperate from the other, because they weren't PLAYING seperate from the other. Same for McCoy & Cranshaw. This ain't "soloist with rhythm section accompaniment" type jazz, it's very much a GROUP music, and the soloist is just part of the action. And pity poor McCoy - possibly the only straight cat on the date (Hank said that Lion always tried to make sure there was at least one), he had to go from playing with Elvin to playing with Billy in peak form. Does that suck, or what? Now ok, your title tune is a bit of a hohum, but there were worse. Far worse. Besides, that background riff is kinda a sly Hank-as-Dexter self-celebratory thing, a bit of overtly comfortable egotism from a guy who usually wasn't so comfortable doing such things, and the structure seems to me to defy conventon in some quirky way. Funny, but even after all these years, I've never bothered counting bars. Maybe I will someday. "The Morning After" - Oh yeah. This is the real shizzitt here. The way Hank navigates those changes is ANYTHING but routine, even by his standards, in all regards - harmonically, rhythmically, and especially texturally. Geez, all the fingering games he's playing would by themselves be enough to throw a LOT of cats off the highwire, but on top of that he's skipping octaves whilst navigating crossways to the general direction of the changes with a rhythmic acuity that is startling, to put it very mildly. This ain't relaxed music in ANY form - the tension is as INtense as anything I've ever heard. Lee's solo is actually a RELIEF! "Venus" is a breather, a good way to start the second side after the near meltdown of "Morning" ends Side One (and does anybody notice that Lion's fades on this album are longer than usual, the better to draw out Billy's, Bob's, & McCoy's - BillyBob McCoy = BN's C&W sensation! - tomfoolery? Gotta love that Lion! But "Venus", nice enough, but these guys had other things on their mind on this day. Like "Ace Duece Trey" (and all that THAT implies). I'll say it again - this is as hip as shit gets. Period. "3rd Time Around" - goin' home, fast and clean, no bullshit, TCB'in. No flies on THIS stuff! Sorry, can't realte to the remastering issue, since I've only heard this one on vinyl. But as my history with this album might imply, it is no longer vinyl that is in the best of condition, especially considering that at least once I fell asleep while side one played over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over for about 12 hours. But that's ok - it was a QUALITY 12 hours, 6 of which were spent subliminally absorbing "The Morning After". But yeah, I suppose a really good sounding digital represenatation of this date will have a place in my lifestyle too, so bring it on. I don't hear "formula" as much as I do "typical". This is the way these guys played then, plain and simple. If they all had more inspired individual outings on other dates, they certainly had less inspired ones too. And the vocabulary is about the same either way. Mediocre? How? Where? Out of tune? Please. Show me a Blue Note small group record with more than two horns, and usually with JUST two horns, that's REALLY in tune. Good luck. But it doesn't matter. Such was not the nature of this beast, thank God! Fuller isn't a drag on these tunes, either as a section player or as a soloist. Again, he's having a typical outing on all counts. Well, if it's "typical", why do I dig it so much? Simple - because "typical" for THESE guys in those days is/was better than anything has a right to expect to be. And because it's real. Cats show up, some already loaded, some no doubt waiting to get loaded, at least one's NOT gonna get loaded, get the levels, run the tunes, make a record, and book. I don't sense any tension or difficulty in this date, just the guys doing what it is that they do. And I LIKE what it is that they do. Always have and always will. No "all star" trips or "project" mentality at work like in so many of today's record dates. No meeting the band for the first time in the studio, if indeed ever! Just some friends and accquaintences getting together for a few hours to party and make a darn good record, one with more than a few high points and no REAL lulls. Nobody coasts, and sometimes some real sparks fly. A day in the life of a life that barely exists anymore, if indeed it still does. Stoned or not, you got a BETTER way to lead a life? I sure as hell don't. If DIPPIN' is a no-hitter, then CADDY is a 6 hit complete game win. Yeah, you gave up a cuppla runs, but big whoop - you E.R.A.'s still under 3.00 and we're still in first place by 7 games. Besides, you went 4-4 at the plate with a BB, one homer, a triple, and 2 RBI singles. You're in the bigs, baby, and here is where you're gonna stay. Live It & Love It - Life Is Good. And so is CADDY.

My personal favorite