Teasing the Korean

Actually, when it comes to Monk tunes, it's the opposite, because HE changed his own tunes. "Criss Cross" is a great example, in that he hacked 2 bars out of it between the Blue Note and Columbia recordings. Composer's prerogative. And of course, any player has the liberty to do with a tune what they will. But if you ask me who's changes/forms/whatever are "correct, Monk's or anybody else's, for me, it's Monk. I kinda differ with you on that one vis-a-vis Monk. Monk didn't write show tunes, he wrote highly specific compositions. And if he changed the specifics of a few of them over the years, they still remained specific and they still remained compositions, not show tunes or pop songs. One of my biggest musical irritants over the years has been players who play Monk tunes like they are just "songs". I mean, yeah, you can do that, but it's really pretty cheap, I think. It shows a fundamental failure to grasp what Monk was doing. Now, if somebody wants to proceed from there like that, hey, that's their prerogative as well, and lord knows even the wrongest roads can lead to some cool places. But I'm of the school that believes that no matter where you go, there you are, and if you're "wrong" from jump, then no matter where you end up, you still got that bit of wrong with you. Maybe that matters, maybe not. Maybe ignorance is bliss. But if you ain't ignorant, just wrong, ain't a whole lot of bliss there, at least not for me. I largely agree with everything you've posted here. I simply feel, though, that with tunes played in a jazz setting, the concept of "correct changes" is somewhat fluid - especially with "Round Midnight." Completely agree with you regarding the concept of approaching Monk compositions as though they are simply "songs" or "a set of changes." What prompted me to post on this subject had much less to do with what was "correct" than it did with what to expect in a real-world, real-time playing situation in which someone calls "Round Midnight." Cheers.

Actually, when it comes to Monk tunes, it's the opposite, because HE changed his own tunes. "Criss Cross" is a great example, in that he hacked 2 bars out of it between the Blue Note and Columbia recordings. Also, "correct" isn't always the underlying principle when you're on the bandstand with people you've never played with. Still, I hear what you're saying. But since so much of jazz is reharmonized anyway, it's a moot point. Few people play the written changes to Rodgers' and Harts' "Dancing on the Ceiling," even though they are more challenging than the accepted variation generally used by jazz players.

I sometimes lurk on other jazz message boards, but post only on this one. I've noticed something interesting: In terms of participants, this board has some EXTREMELY knowledgeable members, who are jazz musicians, writers, critics, producers, etc. - more than the other boards I've lurked on. HOWEVER... Despite the heavier jazz credentials of members on this site (relative to others), this board is the LEAST JUDGMENTAL and MOST OPEN to other genres of music. Also, it seems to be the most tolerant of music on the cusp of jazz. It tends to reinforce my theory that the people who are the most knowledgeable about jazz tend to be less interested in erecting boundaries and more interested in enjoying good music. HERE'S TO ALL OF YOU AND HAPPY FRIDAY!

While there are plenty of outright WRONG changes to Round Midnight floating around, there are a couple of commonly accepted variations on the bridge. Monk's own versions are one, which was correctly posted above. Miles' changes are the other. For the last 2 bars of the bridge, the Miles changes are: Bbm7 - Eb7 - Abm7- Db7 F#m7-B7 - Fm7 - Bb7 As far as which is "correct," that is debatable; but of all the variations on this tune, the one I just posted is the one that is most accepted - and the one that you're most likely to encounter on the bandstand. In playing situations where you're calling tunes on the fly, it is always worth discussing the end of the bridge for this reason.

Next... (L7) Kidding, of course. I'm a MAJOR June Christy fan and have at least a dozen of her Capitol albums. As for Frank, to each his own, but I think his reputation and persona sometimes obscure his gifts as a singer.

OOOOHHH!!! Is this the actual soundtrack or a knock-off?

Assuming you like Frank on Capitol, you owe it to yourself to check out two early Frank Reprise albums, "Ring a Ding" with the Great Johnny Mandel, and "Swingin' Brass" with Neal Hefti. These are among the greatest albums of his career, period. He also did his superb bossa album with Jobim and Claus Ogerman on Reprise. As for the June Christy, it's neither as great as you would hope nor as bad as you would expect.

You have not lived until you've heard "Think for Yourself" in mono. So I am Ok, it happens I have an original Parlophone mono copy of the record. The mono of that tune KICKS, doesn't it?

Ask Porcy which mono Beatles he needs and offer them to him!

You have not lived until you've heard "Think for Yourself" in mono.

I hear you, but I find it pretty tasteless that they don't bother to mention her name and call her simply "The Handless Organist." You probably have to read the liner notes to find her name. It's one thing to feature someone with a disability, and it's another thing to exploit him or her like a circus side show. As a side note, this happens frequently with soundtrack albums. They tell you that Shelly Hack and Telly Savalis star in the movie in big bold print, but then you have to read the fine print to find out Vic Mizzy scored it. That's been a pet peeve of mine.

Cal Tjader - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - Fantasy (stereo, brown label 70s reissue). A nice one-stop shopping collection. I think I have more albums by Cal Tjader than any other single artist. At least 30 of them, spread out over at least 5 sections of my record accumulation. De-flowered a brand new Grado stylus with this album tonight!

Positive Vibes - in both senses of the word!

There are significant numbers of kids into so-called "classic rock," WAY more than than the numbers of kids when classic rock was current who listened to music from, say, the 1930s and 40s. I say this merely as an observation. I could care less what these kids listen to.

Positive vibes.

Yes, and Richard Marx is the son of Dick Marx, who played piano with John Frigo, Ken Nordine, and others. Amazing.

HAS cheezburger.

My wife got all excited when she married me because I have all these Small Faces/Who/Kinks etc. records. Then, once she moved in, she said it was like living with a Dad who just wanted to listen to jazz records and "none of that loud teenage stuff." She has a punk/new wave radio show at the station where she works, so I told her to take all the punk and new wave records to her office. I never listened to them, and we also needed the shelf space for all the jazz, latin, soundtrack, bossa, etc. records. If it weren't for her, I'd have unloaded all the rock and pop records ages ago. But I would have kept the mono Kinks and mono Beach Boys albums. Still, it's nice to occasionally hear Terry Reid or the Blues Magoos (in mono) on a Saturday afternoon.

It all went to hell after "Wild World."

Their track "Memory Band" from their first album is AMAZING and in regular rotation when I dj.

I hear that they removed the reverb for the CD. Is this true? If so, that's too bad; The reverb sets the mood.

Olatunji - Zungo! Afro Percussion - Columbia (6 eye mono) Arrangements by Rayburn Wright Featuring Olatunji's group alongside such hipsters as Yusef Lateef, Clark Terry, George Duvivier, Montego Joe and Ray Barretto. Overall, his most satisfying album (IMHO).

Because B3s are going into the public domain next year and we'll be able to buy them for pennies on the dollar. Not sure about the Leslies though.

Martin Denny - Latin Village - Liberty (mono) Arrangements by Bob Florence and Robert Drasnin.

Jo Stafford has amazing breath control. It's astonishing sometimes to hear the long phrases she sings, over a wide note range, at such a quiet volume, and in one breath. There is something about her voice that just hits me and it's like I never want to hear any other singer again. Check out her version of the Schwartz/Dietz tune "Something to Remember You By" on the Columbia album "Jo Stafford Sings Broadway's Best." It's the definitive version of that tune. Another thumbs up for "Jo + Jazz," which came up recently in my thread about "jazz" albums by pop singers.