Shrdlu

Yes, Allen, I'm postif you are right. The character Francis in "Round Midnight" is partially based on him. Brownie, you must be kicking yourself about missing that interview! It's extremely atmospheric and hypnotic, with all the rich cussing and sound effects, such as matches striking. I had to laugh when Francis didn't know about the suburb of New Orleans called Algiers.

I love both Trane and Wes, but that was a ridiculous pairing in 1961, I think. Back in 1957-58, it would have been a much better fit.

Good point, Aric. Just about all of Hank's albums are standard hard bop, and they are a bit samey. That's why I hardly ever play them. Perhaps it was thought that his sound was too light for a treatment with a lush orchestra. Most likely, though, there were no funds available.

I'd go further, CJ. "Full House" is the most exciting thing I've ever heard Wes do, and one of the best "live" albums ever.

This definitely should be reissued, or put online. After all, we got the two interviews with Prez - one by Chris, and the other by François wotsisname in Paris.

A slap in the face just for that? By the way, it's obviously, not maybe, a German name.

Scotty was an amazing bassist - probably the best ever, though my personal favorite for years is Ron Carter.

Aww. my deepest sympathy. I used to live in New Brunswick - Sackville. Fredericton is way better.

She's a fine lady, and I loved her "Piano Jazz" on NPR. But it's ages since she moved to America. But, what Empire? I hate the U.K. government and would tell them to f off if they ever tried to offer me one of those rewards. (Fortunately, that would never happen in my case.)

Lol. Bev, that stuff about the Treason Act is not a windup. The info is on a Youtube that my son found recently. I'm sure you don't like helping them to pay Jonathan Woss 3 million a year, hee hee.

That is the main point now, isn't it? We'd love to teleport back and grab them. Great Scott, where is the Delorean and some Plutonium?

All the bass fiddle players I ever played with had full-size basses. They are not rare at all. I've never seen a 3/4 size model. Face, are you interested in the electric bass (which I play)? The acoustic has a way better tone, of course, but the electric is much easier to play, and anyone with a good ear can extract a decent tone out of it. The frets make life a lot easier too. There is no way that I'm going to tackle a bass fiddle. I've often wondered how guys can remember where to put their LH fingers on them!

The bass guitar's strings are E, A, D, G, all an octave lower than the four lower strings on the regular guitar. So, if the "baritone" guitar is an octave lower than a normal guitar, then the bass does not have a lower range than the "baritone". The "baritone" is the same, with the addition of two extra strings (and the hollow body is another difference). You can get a 6 string bass guitar, but they are not very common. I think this Montgomery session is kinda boring anyways. There were a couple of boring dates in the Riverside collection, and then, of course, the sensational albums.

I wanna hear that, but I lost the sound (and the loudspeaker icon) on my computer . I think what I lost were the sound drivers for the motherboard (which has integrated sound with no separate sound card). Once the vacation is out of the way, I will drop by the store to see if they have the software. It's most annoying, Sah'b!

That is typical of the BBC. It gouges U.K. TV viewers with its compulsory tax (with a 1000 pound fine if it's not paid ) but offers f all to viewers and listeners. For decades, it has had hardly any jazz at all. But that is the case in most "Western" countries. The tax can, however, be avoided, because the BBC is funded by the E.U., in contravention of the U.K. Treason Act of 1351 and the Treason & Felony Act of 1848. (No, seriously.) [side note: one thing they did have that is well worth a watch is "World's Strictest Parents". I saw two episodes where U.K. teens were sent to stay with legalistic parents in America. It was hilarious to watch the clash between the cultures: the kids kinda hedonistic, the parents conservative shmucks, completely out of touch with the real world. It's still up on the BBC website; look under BBC Three.]

Bing Crosby yet?

They're exactly the same changes in the same key. The various perfomances might contain slight interpretive variations, but the form and chords are identical to So What. That is exactly right. It was "So What" for the original, slow version. Miles speeded it up but left the melody the same (as on the "Four And More" album), but Trane changed the melody on his (fast) versions, which are called "Impressions" on the LPs and CDs. Trane used Morton Gould's "Pavanne" for the A part of the melody (this was recorded in the mid 50s by Ahmad Jamal, whose work influenced Miles so much), and a bit of Maurice Ravel's "Pavane Pour une Infante Défunte" in the B section.

Mark, as you probably know, Moody's recordings with Diz are great. I recommend the opening track, "Umm Humm - Ode To Yard", on the Limelight album "Charlie Parker 10th Anniversary Memorial Concert" (Limelight 86017), if you have a copy. The LP shows up on eBay, and I have the Japanese CD, which has two extra tracks with Diz and Moody. (Diz is electrifying on the two tracks on the LP, by the way.) From the recordings under his own name, I strongly recommend "Smack A Mack" on the "James Moody and the Brass Figures" album (Milestone), "Darben the Redd Fox" on the "Don't Look Away" album (Prestige), and then the much later "Sweet and Lovely" album (Novus), on which Diz guests on two tracks, including one where both do some scat singing. (Moody really digs in on the blues "Darben the Redd Fox", spurred on by a fine rhythm section including Barry Harris and Alan Dawson.) If you have time, also check out the 1971 live Columbia album by Charlie Mingus. It's a huge band, featuring Moody and a lot of other top guys. You don't hear about it much. It was originally a double LP. (Two LPs for the price of two, lol.) James Moody has always been a very tasty player on tenor, alto and flute - definitely one of the best jazz flutists (and not just a doubler on it, either). A solo by him is always something to look forward to. Great idea to do a tribute.

Lidl's rules!

Hee hee, I love that pic. I stand by my comment about the sound - it's early McMaster, dull to me, and the various other versions (LP and Japanese CDs) are an improvement. When Ornette's Atlantic LPs came out, I dutifully bought them all, and made myself wade through them, but they never moved me at all. I was told about a South African DJ in the 60s who said "And now, uff you want to hearr a peegg heving uts ears torn off ..." (with a strong South African accent, you dig?). But I doo like soul, funk and organ jazz, so I am safe, lol.

'Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it.' Grrr! You don't like funk, soul or organ? I'll see you outside, lol. Dobells! That sure brings back some memories. There was also a mail-order place in New Cross that for years had sensational bargains. I even trekked all the way out there on one visit to London. Beer in the U.K. in 2009 tends to be a lot more than "just over two quid", especially in the clubs. Fortunately, Lidl's has Shepherd Neame real ales for only one pound on sale.

"The finest in jazz for 70 years", lol. I agree with what Peter said, and everyone else really. It comes out as the best of the multi-drummer Blakey BN dates, because it's more interesting. The others? Well I was curious about them, got them, played them once, and now they have a layer of dust, and maybe a spider or two, on them. [i don't remember there being a "batch of 7" CDs to celebrate anything, but I did get just about all of them. The Hutcherson date is superb, and I've played it a lot - I even like it enough to have uploaded it to my phone, to hear it while traveling. "Step Lightly" is probably the most catchy item, and was recorded on at least one other BN session.]

Thanks, MG! I have several hats, including a shallow porkpie like Prez's. Will post them if the board is modified to accept a picture gallery, like Myspace etc. The hat in the pic was stolen by a chick in a club about three weeks ago, lol. The next week, she fessed up and I told her she could keep it if she would wear it. The girls drive me mad, wanting to wear my hats in the clubs. Two stolen so far, and a couple more were hard to grab back. Why can't people buy their own hats?

In my house, the mouse was stirring on this occasion.

Thanks, MG! Farm3 didn't work, but Omploader did. D'après Prez