Joe M

Try the cd by the "Jazz Networks" band (basically Roy Hargove & Antonio Hart w/ a Japanese rhythm section, released on Novus back in 1992, I think. Here's the list of tunes from AMG- 1. Beauty and the Beast (Ashman/Menken) - 5:53 2. The Bare Necessities (Gilkyson) - 5:49 3. Chim Chim Cheree (Sherman/Sherman) - 8:23 4. He's a Tramp (Burke/Lee) - 5:36 5. The Siamese Cat Song (Burke/Lee) - 6:18 6. When You Wish upon a Star (Harline/Washington) - 4:43 7. Someday My Prince Will Come (Churchill/Morey) - 5:31 8. Kiss the Girl (Ashman/Menken) - 5:41 9. Under the Sea (Ashman/Menken) - 3:47 10. Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat (Huddleston/Rinker) - 6:22 There's also a version of When you Wish Upon a Star on the album of the same name by the Drummonds (Renne Rosnes, Billy Drummond & Ray Drummond)

Yeah, these are three incredible reissues. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the Masterpieces disc, I figured it was just "another" recording of the classics, etc, but this is really something special, and excellent sound for the early 50's, heck, even for today. Festival Session is great too, I'd never heard anything about this disc before, and can't figure out why it's been so obscure and OOP for so long. You're right Jimmy Hamilton has some of his best moments on record on this cd. And Gonsalves on Copout is so full of energy and swing - wow!

Ghost - has your station thought about making this program available in some way to other public radio outlets? Joe Moore KFSR FM

Only for the use of bad grammar...

The way I see it, Blue Note today reflects of the tastes and musical direction of its boss (Bruce Lundvall) just as much as it did back in the 50's and 60's. The only thing is there's a different guy running the show now, so of course he's going to do it his way, and part of that means paying the bills. The good thing is, no matter what they put out today, good or bad, jazz or not, the legacy of the 50's and 60's output is secure, what happens today is simply a different story. Plus, keep in mind, the market is different today, it's more about who your audience is, and I think in Lundvall's mind, they typical Blue Note customer is not the hard core hard bop head (not enough of them to make it happen $-wise), but rather a well educated, upper middle class person with some disposable income, someone who is willing to spend a few dollars to buy a record rather than download it off of a file sharing site, etc. That person probably likes jazz, owns Kind of Blue and Time Out, and enjoys music by the likes of Cassandra Wilson and Norah and Van Morrison, etc. In a way, I think Lundvall is looking at the model of a label like Nonesuch, a label that can release some serious enthusiast recordings (Richard Goode's output for the label on the classical side, Bill Frissel on the jazz side) and mix that in with other music that isn't really stylistically similar but attracts the same listeners (Wilco, Caetano Veloso, etc), or at least listeners that fit the same demographic profile. As far as Lion and Wolff being upset, well, they aren't around now, but I think even if they were upset, they'd be just as happy to know that their legacy still lives on in the music, and the people who love it, regardless of the company that owns the tapes. Hey, at least Blue Note isn't trying to do what the guys at Columbia are doing with their "jazz" program. Wait till you hear their new "jazz sensation" - Nellie McKay, the sticker on the cd compares her to "two of pop cultures polar opposites - Doris Day and Eminem." (I'm not kidding - she combines the worst aspects of both!) They're trying to push it to jazz radio right now, so just be glad it's Norah that Blue Note people have to put up with and not this cabaret/hip-hop from a 19 year old white girl "piano prodigy" garbage.

Yeah, this is really nice. I wasn't familiar with the group before this cd but it's real nice, it doesn't sound like your typical bop record, yet is still in the same relative ballpark. Margitza sounds very good, haven't heard anything from him for a few years now. BTW, Sunnyside is releasing a TON a great stuff these days. Did anyone around here catch Diego Urcola's new cd Soundances? This guy is really someone to watch out for. He's listened to plenty of Freddie, but he's got his own sound and concept.

Ahhh! "Mel Lewis" that's the one. Thank you. Sounds like a very interesting album. Sundog - PM me, perhaps I can help.

You all know that Norah makes a guest cameo on the album?

Try this: Mel Lewis & the Jazz Orchestra "Make Me Smile & Other New Works By Bob Brookmeyer" Recorded in Concert at the Village Vanguard Finesse Records FW 37987 Recorded January 7th thru 11th, 1982 featuring Dick Oatts, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Jim McNeely, Bob Brookmeyer & Mel Lewis Don't know if it's ever been on cd.

BTW, Jan (and everyone else) sounds great, wait, make that GREAT on this new cd. Bev is right it is more mainstream than what Jan has been doing for some time now, but it's very good, and I think all fans of Jan's playing, old or new would really enjoy this, and perhaps even be a bit surprised at times.

Well, yes and no. The days of the big labels putting out new hard bop records by young, relatively talented young lions is over. For example, Verve wouldn't release any Harper Brothers records in this era. You have to be either a big name (Wayne or Herbie or Brecker) or have some crossover appeal, for the most part. Or be a vocalist. Still, while you may not see as large of a jazz section in stores today, from what people in the business tell me, the jazz imprints at the major labels are holding their own, in many cases far better than their pop counterparts. There's money to be made in jazz, even for the big guys, they just can't go out and start signing Marlon Jordans and Javon Jacksons to multi record deals anymore.

I just got this in the mail today from Savoy. If you thought the whole Verve Remixed thing was controversial, I guess this one just upped the ante. Just the idea of this record turned me off, and I don't consider myself to be a mouldy fig (there's some nice stuff on the new Verve Remixed 2 album). This one just makes no sense, and totally passes over the true briliance of Parker's work. People featured on the project include Me'shell NdegeOcello, Dr. John, the Kronos Quartet, Dan the Automator, Hal Willner, Hubert Laws, Ravi Coltrane, Rob Swift and others. And the record sounds as just as odd as all those names thrown together would lead one to believe. It seemed like a bad idea, and sounds like an even worse one (at least to these ears). Any thoughts on this, even the idea, if you haven't heard it?

I'm surprised no one has talked about this new cd yet. It was recorded live at Antibes last year. It's a very inspired trio set, recorded under some apparently less than perfect conditions, but all three (Peacock and DeJohnette) rise to the occasion. I think it's easily among the best cds by the group. Almost all of the material has been recorded by Keith, but it's all very fresh. Keith's solo on Someday My Prince will come also really surprised me, for at times it sounds (at least to these ears) as though he's making some very subtle allusions to Wynton Kelly's solo on the Miles album of the same name, which certainly caught me off guard. He's not quoting Wynton, but at times he approaches the various changes in a way that seems to make reference to Kelly's solo. It's also interesting to hear the trio return with a cd of standards after the last two records, they sound energized. Any thoughts?

Luciana Souza

Dave Douglas That being said, I like much of his music, but I'm just tired of hearing how "brilliant" he is! Good, but not brilliant.

Yeah, I think the last person that had been playing "pre 60's" blues and swing based jazz just quit last week, so I guess it's now officially "over". It's all just hype, "movement" or not. They never stopped playing that music, and they never will. Maybe the media just isn't going to talk about it much, just like the didn't around 1973 or so. What IS over is the era of the "young lions" on big record labels. But hard bop, bebop, whatever you want to call it is still alive and is being played by quite a few musicians, even many of those who have released "fusion" albums. For example Roy Hargrove has a new neo-soul cd, but he still has his quintet and continues to tour with both groups. BTW, add Nicholas Payton to the list of those going down the "fusion" road.

Pardon me while I go vomit... (inside joke for Harley fans)

That's cool, I stayed away from Goodman for a long time, and when the Charlie Christian box came out last year, it really changed my opinion of his music. It's almost unfair to call it the Charlie Christian box, there's so many great musicians on those sessions. Also, try checking out some Artie Shaw, I think Bluebird has but together some nice reissues/comps in their new incarnation in the past couple of years.

I know Goodman might not be to "hip" these days, but if you write him off, you're writing off a lot of excellent music. That said, maybe try some Phil Woods, though you're not likely to find more than a few clarinet cuts on any one of his recordings. He has some very nice clarinet work on Mike Melvoin's new cd "It's Always You" but he's only on a few cuts. One of my favorites is Paquito D'Rivera, who is a highly underrated clarinetist, he has complete mastery of the instrument, and has a nice modern conception. Peploski also has a recent cd out on Nagel Heyer, with some nice Strayhorn material as I recall, and a nice band (I think w/ Lewis Nash). And then there's always Jimmy Hamilton's work with Ellington!

Wayne.

A very nice disc, nothing surprising, but these guys are the real deal and know how to make it happen. 100 percent genuine. This is like a Prestige release from the late 50's early 60's - not earth shaking, but very tasty.

Yes, I was at the Monterey Concert in 2000. Here's the setlist- 9-17-00 The Monterey Jazz Festival The Wayne Shorter Quintet - w/ Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Alex Acuna Masquelero Aung San Suu Kyi Ju Ju The Wayne Shorter Quintet with the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra Orbits Angola Vendiendo Alegria

Yes, I have. It's a nice record, the tracks with Jeremy Pelt are especially good. Yoko's Delight is very cool. EJ Strickland is also becoming very quickly someone to look out for, he really sounds exceptional on everything I've heard from him.

Any more feedback on this one? I think it's brilliant. I had never really thought of Wayne as an arranger, but he does some great thing with the large ensemble. It's interesting to hear how these pieces developed over time. He performed some of them with an orchestra at Monterey in 2000, and it's great to hear them on record. It would have been nice if they had put the recording dates somewhere on the cd. Also, has anyone else noticed the peak distortion on She Walks Through the Fair? I looks like they tried to mask it with a crazy pan effect on the soprano and some reverb, but it's noticeable.

I think Jim would have been better off if he had a more experienced arranger write the charts for the strings. They sound kind of dated, though it's still a nice session, but not great. A good album to compare it to is Stefano DiBattista's new cd on Blue Note, Round About Roma. I'd put both Stefano and Jim on about the same par as players, good players, not on the level of Kenny Garrett or Jackie Mac, but good regardless. Well, Vince Mendoza did the charts for Stefano's cd, and they're wonderful (and I'm not always a big Mendoza fan). They integrate very well with the quartet and the original compositions. By comparisions Snidero's charts just seem to be lacking something.