Joe

Seconded. Perhaps my favorite Jordan LP, if that favorite isn't actually STARTING TIME, with Kenny Dorham, now available from Fantasy on the MOSAIC 2fer. Jordan was often superb on other people's dates. His solos on Charles McPherson's CON ALMA! are for me the highlight of that record. SPEAK BROTHER SPEAK, a Max Roach date, also has some great Jordan on it. And leave us not forget his fantastic work with the classic 1964 Mingus groups with Coles, Dolphy, Byard and Richmond.

That I do remember. God bless Dave Sim!

Though today I feel much more like:

I do believe Welty has much to teach us. And, if you are a jazz listener and have neer read "Powerhouse"... well, you should!!! The thing to remember about Flannery O'Connor, who indeed could write a Faulknerian sentence or three, is how important her Catholicism is to her. Ditto Walker Percy, perhaps the last of the truly "great" (whatever that means) Southern novelists. Anyway, O'Connor is much closer in some respects to one of Faulkner's contemporaries, and one of the first "Jewish writers" of the modern American era, Nathaneal West. MISS LONELYHEARTS and DAY OF THE LOCUST have proved to be hugely influential works, and in some unexpected ways. The name "Homer Simpson" comes from DOTL, e.g. As for Pynchon being influenced by Faulkner -- well, when he uses the word "preterite" in CRYING OF LOT 49, I firmly believe a neon sign reading FAULKNER is supposed ot go off over your head. its up to the reader to sort out the layers of spoof, homage etc. in that diction. All of which is my way of kind of shooting the wheels off this whole American regionalism thing. All these writers share similar moral concerns, even Pynchon (maybe ESPECIALLY Pynchon), when you get right down to it, no mater how similar and disimilar their "styles" appear to be. Finally, a word for one of my favorite critical works on Faulkner -- the Coen Bros.' BARTON FINK...

Another vote for the short stories. "Barn Burning", "A Rose for Emily", "Red Leaves", "The Bear", "Mistral"... And why does no one ever talk about how deeply, darkly FUNNY Faulkner can be?

GOM -- if you haven't already, you might want to check out this book: Michael Harris, THE RISE OF GOSPEL BLUES: THE MUSIC OF THOMAS ANDREW DORSEY IN THE URBAN CHURCH

Unfortunately, the record with Marchel is pretty hard to find. Though I would like someone in Ivery's circle here in town would have a copy / could get a copy. I was fortunate enough to get to see James Clay a couple of times in and around Dallas before he passed away. The times I saw him at Chumley's Coffee House (RIP), he looked very frail, and yet oh so hip at the same time. And his playing was something else, of course. He had a pretty fine band behind him on tose nights, too -- Dwayne Clemmons (sp?) on trmupet, Lyles West on bass, can't remember the pianist and drummer, but it seems they were old associates. Be sure also to track down the FRANK MORGAN CD reissue on GNP, which tacks on 5 tracks from 1956 club date / jam session by Morgan, Jack Sheldon, Bobby Timmons, Jimmy Bond, Larance Marable and Clay And: "Incomplete Clay Discography": http://member.nifty.ne.jp/mrmanri/JamesClay/

Nice review (by Luc Sante) to be found at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16478 Looks to be a promising read.

I place him in any unnumbered list I have of favorite piano players (a long list), easily, because, as Jim says, he is so personal a player. Hearing BLACK FIRE for the first time was, for me, a quite profound experience. I was and still am so impressed and intrigued by the complex interplay of emotions, light-and-sahde, and figures in Hill's playing. I agree too that he has often ebenfited from great rhythm accompanists: Richard Davis, Cecil McBee, Alan Silva, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Joe Chambers, Freddie Waits. By the same token, it takes a very intelligent and sensitive bandleader to put together bands like that! Hill's compositional craft I hold in even higher regard, and it is pretty amazing to me that not only can this guy write this stuff, but also improvise on it. I put him in the same league as Herbie Nichols, Mal Waldron, Elmo Hope, Ran Blake... I'm not sure the "Blue Note" / RVG sound really ever did him any favors, or he became a player of much greater subtlety in the 70's. The solo recitals that became a regular practice for him in that decade reveal a much more "pianistic" player than the idiosyncratic, Monk-and-Silver-inflected abstractionist (I see Franz Kline or Philip Guston) of BLACK FIRE, JUDGMENT, SMOKESTACK, ANDREW!, etc. To assuage my own doubts about this impression, I like to A/B those early works with records like VERONA RAG, LIKE AT MONTREUX, FROM CALIFORNIA WITH LOVE and even the recent LES TRINITAIRES.

Love Geri Allen's work on that one. RoyBrooksROYBROOOKSRoyBrooks!!!

Joe Lovano plays straight tenor on at least one of his recordings...

A Bb/A piccolo rotary valve trumpet Saxes! From left to right: 1. King Manzello/Roland Kirk/Key of B Flat 2. Buescher Curved Tip Soprano / Key of B Flat 3. Buecher Straight Alto / Key of E Flat 4. Lyon and Healy Slide Sax / Key of C 5. C.G.Conn Bass Sax / Key of B Flat 6. Raffiel and Husted Slide Sax / Key of C 7. Conn O Sax / Key of F 8. King Saxello / Key of B Flat 9. Martin American Professional / Key of B Flat http://drrick.com/display.html The Lyricon: http://www.jorritdijkstra.com/thelyricon.html

Absolutely. The Euphoria label has done an excelent job with this release.

Does Mitchell sound a little like Joe Henderson on this date to any of you? I find that Mitchell's playing on "J & B" in particular features some almost uncanny tonal resemblances to Henderson's...

Here's a recording that merits discussion via AOTW, IMHO:

Johnny Griffin on tenor, alto and baritone sax: Jackie McLean on tenor: John Coltrane on alto: Cecil Payne on alto: Finally, Charles Davis, who I think of as primarily a baritone saxophonist, has recorded an entire album on tenor sax:

This is the date with Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson, right? If so, a very nice record. But I happen to think the later LISTEN TO THE DAWN is Morgan's "masterpiece": Alex Henderson's AMG review

Yep, it was the only really good image of the *great* Ernie Caceres I was able to find online. It would only have been improved if he were holding a baritone sax instead of a clarinet... but why quibble?

Lon comes through.

The archetypal Dex photo. Mnytime -- I can't find the Hodges photo online anywhere, but I could swear its been reprinted in one of the Mosaic booklets, maybe the COMPLETE 1956-1961 VERVE SESSIONS box. And, you know, Illinois needed all this room... you'd best stand back... Finally, a fresh-faced and clean-cut Tony Scott:

Neil Young, Burned

Warne was almost always in a zone, you know. Indeed there is something to be said for the many live tapes of Marsh in circulation, some legit -- from Peter Ind's Wave label, or the Tristano family's Jazz label -- and some not-so legit. But if you are just getting into Warne or wonder what the fiss may be all about, bear me through a couple of studio recommendations... "Tristano school" for beginners... The rhythm section just looks on paper like a classy, comfortable one, but, with Marsh as the primary voice, they become something else entirely. Also, one of the best "sounding" Warne recordings out there. Out of nowhere...

Ko-ko or koko may indeed by a shortened form of Kokomo which had at least a couple of colloquial meanings in the first half of the 20th Century: 1. cocaine 2. any fictional "hick" town, i.e., Dogpatch "Koko" may also refer to one's coconut or one's head. Or, like konk or Hadacol, it could refer to a popular product of the time...

J.A.W. -- Iread in the latest ICE Newsletter that Rhino is bringing out the Mayfield material in their Handmade series. 2500... make that 2498 ... copies. WOW! That is great news! Didn't get that newsletter or the July 2003 issue of ICE yet - did they say when Rhino Handmade will release it? No, I've seen no release date yet. I check the Handmade website periodically, and I've also singed up for their newsletter. No word yet. Hopefully August. http://www.rhinohandmade.com/