Big Wheel

I think to fully appreciate Lenny Bruce you had to really hear him in his own time. I've got the Carnegie Hall concert and while there are some parts that are amusing, there's nothing really laugh-out-loud funny for me in it. I've owned the set for about 3 or 4 years at least and still haven't made it all the way through both CDs in one sitting. Seems like the key to really getting Bruce is to understand just how uptight most of America was in the 1950s, because much of his shtick just seems so tame today. George Carlin borrowed a lot of ideas from Bruce, I think. The reason he's more laugh-out-loud funny is partly that he has a more coherent theme to his act and partly delivery--Bruce's jokes tend to hit you in kind of off-kilter way, and there are few punch lines to grab on to. Even on his early albums Carlin was a master at using his voice to keep the audience focused on whatever story he was telling, getting the setup just right for the punch line.

I think Dan is talking about Wendy Liebman.

If she is who I think then she is about 22-25. She went to LaGuardia High School in NYC. I remember she was a very good player who carried their whole big band, though it sounds like she's gotten more tasteful than she used to be. That was about 6 years ago.

Inspired by both the recent rocksteady threads and Hans's exhaustive classic blues list, I thought it would be good to have a similar thread for Jamaican recommendations, perhaps categorized by style. My collection is sorely lacking in this music--I think its sum total includes 2 Bob Marley CDs, plus a smattering of Skatalites mp3s on my PC. Other than that I've got a passing familiarity with dub and listen avidly to the great local public radio reggae show when I go home for breaks from school, but that's about it. Part of the reason I haven't jumped in headfirst is that the jazz listener in me is wary of compilations, which seem to be everywhere in the reggae and ska sections of the record stores. So, what should I not be living without?

More bizarro worlds... Lebanese Jazz Forums

Features Charles Mingus and Marquis Foster, on Roost. Sounds like a nice date--does EMI still control the masters?

179-MD-CD Atlantic New Orleans Jazz (4 CDs) $64.00 1 $64.00 174-MD-CD Tristano, Konitz and Marsh $96.00 1 $96.00 My own moratorium begins tomorrow.

Thanks Jim and Harold. The way I see it, the guy who's hiring isn't an asshole or shady; he just doesn't know the proper protocol for these things. Based on the circumstances, my guess is that the guys who got this gig aren't making any less than than we would have made ($50 a person). Everyone involved in this deal is an undergraduate student (the gig is an opening night reception for some student-run play or something). What I think was going through his head was something like "These musicians can be so unreliable--better cast as broad a net as possible in case one of the guys can't get a group together by Thursday." I'm just wondering if there's some way to tell him nicely that this is not how he should be arranging these things in the future. (I have doubts that my roommate is assertive enough to do this himself).

Yesterday this guy puts out an email bulletin on a local community discussion list looking for people for a gig this Thursday. So my roommate emails him back saying he'll play and gets back a reply asking if he can get a trio together, specifying time, bread, etc. He gets me and someone else to play and then emails the guy back saying we're all set. Everything is arranged in less than 24 hours. Then the guy emails him back saying, "oh, we already found some other group to play...sorry to put you through the trouble, though!" Did anyone do anything wrong here? For some reason, this situation just rubs me the wrong way. The money wasn't great, but still...

Is 1) comprised of complete sessions, or is it a compilation as the name implies? These are certainly tempting if the CD Baby sale is still going on.

Didn't buy anything today since I had an early morning flight, but yesterday I picked up 4 old Bethlehem titles for $2.50 each: Betty Roche's Take the A Train, Charlie Persip's Jazz Statesmen, Teddy Charles's Salute To Hamp, and Claude Williamson's Round 'Midnight. Unfortunately, the bag containing the CDs got mixed up with some other stuff in the car and my grandfather ended up taking them across the state before I realized what had happened.

Looks OK to me. Interestingly, you can "pause" the rolling eye smiley by highlighting some text and holding down your mouse button. Maybe something like that happened to you?

Am I the only one who thinks he looks and acts exactly like Gollum?

Let me third the recommendation for Katz's. Those sandwiches are damned good.

And to think that from the thread title I assumed that this was a misplaced thread about Armitage, Rice, and the 9/11 commission...

Definitely consider the Jazz Standard if an act you might like is playing there. Of the NYC clubs I have been to (Blue Note, Birdland, and Smoke are the others--still haven't hit the Vanguard) it was the one I had the best time at. They don't put you through a lot of the BS many of the other clubs do (like with drink minimums), and are extremely friendly.

Oops, you're right--AFAIK this is Dukes's only appearance with both Benson and the Doctor. Idris Muhammad played on the other records I had in mind (like ALLIGATOR BOGALOO). I haven't heard much out of the McDuff/Benson/Dukes team but I'm sure that one's bad, too.

IMO, the Lonnie Smith/George Benson/Joe Dukes rhythm section is just about as groovin' as it gets. I know it's heresy, but I think they were a cut above even Green/Patton/Dixon. A pity they didn't record more often!

Listening to Live at Club Mozambique right now. The Turbanator is the High Priest of the greaze!

Ouch! Several decades ago one of my dad's cousins hit a moose. His car was totaled, too. There are signs all over Maine and New Hampshire warning drivers to watch out for moose. I think they cause quite a few fatalities (of the people, not just the moose). BTW, glad you and your daughter are ok.

There are all the post-Blue Note albums as well, of course. The ones with Woody Shaw on Prestige might be a good place to start...

I voted for Peckin' Time also, but I just finished listening to the Mosaic box all the way through for the first time, and I gotta say that quintet session with Farmer is a SWEET one. What was it about Farmer that seemed to make everything he was involved with in this period so much better? I'm thinking specifically about the Curtis Fuller/Farmer Blue Note session, which is probably my favorite on the Fuller Mosaic box. Must pick up more Farmer...

As a matter of fact he did...I made the mistake of listening to the sound samples. Has anyone heard those Teo Macero albums? I'd be interested in hearing opinions, especially of the Mingus tribute.

Nice sale. Am definitely mulling over picking up a few things...that Eric Person disc sounds real good. On the other hand, there's this guy... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jessmills

Up--is anyone planning to catch this?