garthsj

The obvious solution .....

I do have some Adams. I'll have to start with him. WHAT!! You have nothing by the AARDVARK JAZZ QUARTET from Lesotho!! Tsk! Tsk! (Couw .. time for one of your record covers here..) okay 3/4s of an hour later... YEAH! That's the one! Great album!

Over the years lots of moments in jazz, both live and recorded, have brought me to my knees... Among the most memorable of these are: 1. Buddy DeFranco's solo on "Carioca" on an old MGM '78. (One of my first record purchases). It made me realize that I would NEVER ever be able to play clarinet like that .. perhaps that was not such a good thing after all. 2. Oscar Peterson's 1952 JATP version of "Tenderly" with Barney Kessel and Ray Brown. My small group of 14 year old jazz aficionados would listen intently and "sing along" with Oscar. 3. Art Farmer's solos on the "Modern Art" album .. all superb inprovised compositions in their own right. This made me appreciate all of Art's work with new ears. 4. Oliver Nelson's remarkable solo on "Blues And The Abstract Truth" .... perhaps the best example of a "logical" improvised solo in modern jazz history (Louis Armstrog discovered this fifty years before.) 5. John Lewis's creative "comping" behind Milt Jackson on "Bluesology" and "Woodyn You" on the "Fontessa" album .. when I first heard this in 1956 it opened a whole new world of jazz for me ... John Lewis is like a god to me now! 6. The first time I heard the Count Basie band live at the Hammersmith Ballroom in 1958 .... WOW! So many moments ..... so little time to savor them all ...

I do have some Adams. I'll have to start with him. WHAT!! You have nothing by the AARDVARK JAZZ QUARTET from Lesotho!! Tsk! Tsk! (Couw .. time for one of your record covers here..)

The BBC last evening broadcast a concert by Diana Krall with the BBC Concert orchestra - conducted by Alan Broadbent. She also has an L.A.-based small group accompanying. It is available on-line for the next seven days. Go to this website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/listen/ Click on BBC 2 Click on Friday Night is Music Night ... Diana Krall. The full concert last 1½ hours - Diana Krall is interviewed in the interval.

Speaking of Germany, look at this film, http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/af/content/atom_909 and then go to the artist's website, www.Titler.com

Many Thanks .... I am pleasantly amazed that this list always comes through ....

Brad, I purchased the German set from another eBay seller a few months ago. I am VERY pleased with the sound. although I do agree with the complaint about the booklet. However, for this price, and unless you have the ears of an Alsatian (and I don't mean from Alsace-Lorraine) then this is a bargain in comparison to the U.S. set. I have seen the U.S. set go for anywhere between $150-190 on eBay. Now.. can someone point me in the direction of Couw's invaluable improvement on the German booklet, please?

R.I.P. BARNEY. I am an enormous fan of his. I first became aware of his talent with the Oscar Peterson Trio material in the early fifties, and then his series of great albums for Contemporary .. all of which now sit on my CD shelves. Many of his later trio albums on Black Lion and Concord are also superb. Also, don't forget Barney playing behind Julie London on "Cry Me A River" ... It will be a Barney Kessel weekend in my house .... currently playing "Music To Listen to Barney Kessel By (OJC)..." God! My heroes all keep leaving me ...... Garth.

I am very pleased you enjoyed the album, Ubu. I, too, have grown to enjoy it more as I listened to it. South African "mainstream" jazz has certainly come along way since I grew up with it. I wonder how much the influence of visiting American musicians and teachers such as Dave Brubeck's son have had an influence. But, as you we both appreciate that African "bite" is there and it makes it just that more "edgier" than American or European jazz ... BTW, watch out for your mail .... Garth.

This was a series of albums released by RCA in the mid-fifties. Basically they were marketed as something a little more experimental than the usual jazz album of the time. In fact, only two of the albums, that by George Russell and Hal McKusick were really "experimental" and these two are connected in terms of personnel and arrangers. The other albums were essentially stand-alones displaying the arranger talents of Hal Schaeffer, Billy Byers, and Al Cohn. All five albums have been reissued by RCA in Europe, and can be found on the Blue Moon website.

I can only suggest that there was so much hype and "excitement" surrounding the original release that it became a top seller (after all, I fell for the hype!). Now Blue Note are hoping that lightening will strike again ... so many newbie collectors purchase Blue Notes indiscrimanently, simply because it is Blue Note, ignoring the turkeys that exist in that catalog. I was/am as guilty of this as anyone. However, your point is well taken ... there are far more worthy projects than this one ...

"Blue Spirits" is a fine album; I enjoy it more each time I listen to it, perhaps because Freddie tries harder than usual to bring some "construction" to his solos, rather than the aimless (shameless??) show of pyrotechnics that he so often resorted to in his career. "Night of the Cookers" has to be one of the all-time Blue Note flops .. like an expensive Hollywood blockbuster that never comes together, and doesn't hold the listener's interest ("Alamo" anyone??). With that lineup the session could have gone either way, unfortunately it just never jells, and the music is formless, "noisy," and frankly boring ... almost embarrassingly bad in places. It brings to mind the question "what were they drinking?"

Late, both of those Dick Collins albums have been reissued as CDs by RCA in Europe. They are available for sale on the Blue Moon site. But then .. you probably know this already ...

See Brownie, my memory IS fading .... I should have checked. My copy of that RIVERSIDE album went in my first purge in 1991 .. when jazz auctioneer Jeff Barr bought all of my original Blue Notes, for about $17 a piece!! He also took most of my original Riversides and Prestiges ... he left the original west coast stuff which was not much in vogue at that time ... those went in the final purge in 2001! Here I am, crying over spilt milk again. But seriously folks .. I wonder if those Dick Johnson's will ever be reissued in the U.S. His later albums for Concord are not up to those early exciting efforts, although he is a very fine musician, and led the Artie Shaw ghost band for many years. Brownie ... in another thread I mentioned those Decca's with the "animal covers" .. are you familiar with those, especially the only album with Barry Galbraith as a leader?

This has definitely been a very interesting thread for me, as were the ones on the Jazz Workshop and Jazz Studio series. Well certainly, we could talk about Hal McKusick, and his work beyond the Workshop album. All of his albums, especially the Quartet album with Barry Galbraith on Bethelehem, and the two on Prestige (only one of which "Triple Exposure" - OJC-1811) has been reissued. He did not leave a great body of work, but what there is, is most enjoyable, and great improvisation. (BTW, he is still active in a limited way .. ask Mike Fitzgerald). Dick Johnson, on alto, also had two fine early albums, one on Prestige and one on Emarcy which I liked. Dusty Groove ("The Bastards") have an expensive reissue of the Emarcy available -- I need to treat myself, I think. There are other many sax players who fall through the cracks on this list .. I am amazed how little discussion there is of Stan Getz ... a true giant of modern jazz. ... and there is always the mysterious Earl Andreza .... that one album on Pacific Jazz, reissued recently, raises all sorts of questions ... which no one seems to be able to answer...

Well, to sing my same dreary song .. I USED to have all of this stuff on vinyl, and sold my entire collection. (I just knew I would not recover from this..) I just never had the time, or technology at that point, to make CDRs ... now I exist on the "kindness of strangers" if I want to listen to this material again. LATE -- what do you mean by the "definitive" edition of the Tony Fruscella Atlantic album .. didn't Koch reissue that? I have a Japanese mini-LP reissue. It wonderful album, and, of course, all of his "fugitive" material was reissued on the Jazz Factory label, including the wonderful sides with Stan Getz. (What a junkie party THAT must have been..)

This is one b/w noir that even my jaded 20 year-old students "get" and enjoy ... That moment when Kathy (Jane Greer) walks into that Mexican cafe is just cinema magic ... were films ever that good? The remake, with Jeff Bridges and James Woods has its moments too ... and Jane Greer played a cameo in that ... Brownie, you might know that Nick Musuraca, the cinematographer, also shot THE CAT PEOPLE, and the scriptwriter, Joseph Mainwaring went on to do INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. "I never saw her in the daytime. We seemed to live by night. What was left of the day went away like a pack of cigarettes you smoked" (Mitchum, voice over..) "Two things I can smell inside a hundred feet. Burning hamburger and a romance." (Bit player..) "You're like a leaf that the wind blows from one gutter to another." (Mitchum to Greer). GREAT STUFF!

Randy, your mother sounds like she was a great person to be around, and a true friend. I know you will miss her. Please accept my sincere condolences. Garth.

I know you are right, PhillyQ. Just that it would be nice to see it happen once again. I was living in Toronto when McClain did his 30 that year, and I remember the excitement. Pity about Denny and his fall from grace. Clemens was struggling a bit last night, but you could see his determination, even after he loaded the bases on walks in the first inning. He was quoted in the paper this morning as saying the he liked wins where you struggled a bit, as they were more satisfying ... we need a few more pitchers like that. The crowd was really behind him, this being his hometown, cheering and stomping on 3-2 pitches, wanting that final strike. I have never actually seen/heard anything like that before except in playoff games. I wonder how long the honeymoon will last. But, he broke an Astros record, with five wins in April!

I Remember Bebop. Thanks Pete! This group never fails me...

A quick story (which could, and has been, spun out in greater detail, believe me..). I was staying at the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami .. there for an academic conference. I planned things out so that I gave my paper the first day, and then had four days in the sun on the beach in front of the hotel. On my first morning on the beach I rented a chaise and cushion .... At one point, I went to the bathroom, and when I returned I decided to move my chair further up the beach. No sooner had I settled in with my earphones planted on my head digging the MJQ, than a beachboy accompanying a couple of guests walked past me, and stopped to "chastise" me in front of them for "stealing" someone's chair! I remained calm, tried to explain, but he kept saying "I saw what you did" kinda things. When he left I went to his boss at the hut where I had rented my chair originally, and told what had happened. He stood there with his mouth open, and I went back to my chair. About 20 minutes later I opened my eyes to discover two guys in suits and expensive shoes standing on the beach looking down at me. I wondered if I was going to disappear into the swamps, but it was the hotel manager and his assistant. Apparently something I had said to the chair boss made them think that I was about to sue their asses off! After profuse apologies, practically grovelling, they told me that in order to make it up to me they were moving me to a suite, offered me the use of pool cabana for my stay, and comped my accommodation and breakfasts (I shoulda held out for ALL meals) .... I reluctantly accepted, but was careful NOT to promise not to sue ... just to keep them on their toes. It was a great vacation. Since then I have been trying to figure out how to do that again... I was never sure what happened to the beachboy, but I did request that he NOT be fired ...

Going back into the fifties, there is a whole bunch of really good titles on the Decca-Coral-Brunswick label complex that deserves to see the light of day once more. For instance, on another thread we recently discussed the "Jazz Studio" and "Jazz Lab" series on Decca; and there is one fabulous Bill Holman big band album on Coral that has never been on CD that I am aware of. (John Norris did do a Cadence label LP of this neglected item). There are several rare Tony Scott's on Brunswick, and some fine "west coast" sessions on both Decca ("Hot and Cool") and Coral (Hal McKusick). Columbia (Sony now) has John Lewis's P.O.V. held hostage .... as well as that wonderful two-LP set of pianists ... what is it called "They Played Bebop" ??? I have forgotten the exact title .... Also ... Universal needs to delve deeper into the MGM label ... George Shearing (not anthologized.. DAMN!!). Buddy DeFranco (especially that incredibly rare big band session), Helen Merrill, Red Calender, Gigi Gryce, etc. So much to yearn for ....

Wade Legge appears with Lars Gullin on Vol. 2 ("Modern Sounds") of the Dragon Gullin retrospective series. He is on just two cuts: "All The Things You Are" (3:33) "The Squirrel" (3:10) Legge was, of course, best known for his work with Dizzy Gillespie, having started out as a bass player before switching to piano! He made one great album with Sonny Rollins .. "Rollins Plays For Bird" (Prestige 7095 - OJC 214) And, there is Mingus's "The Clown," which has aready been mentioned and the Jaz Lab recording with Gigi Gryce. Perhaps Mike Fitgerald can tell us about his early death in 1963 (in Buffalo, N.Y.).

I wonder if this truly GREAT album will ever be reisued as a CD? I am lucky to have a CDR .. but when I had vinyl I had three copies of this .. one of my alltime favorties... fantastic interplay between John Lewis, Richard Davis, and Mel Lewis ... ENJOY!