Big Wheel

"Che La Luna" are the first words to "Zooma Zooma", a song paired with "Angelina" on a Prima medley of the two tunes. They do "Angelina" first and then segue into "Zooma Zooma" about 90 seconds in. I'd upload my mp3 to demonstrate but the file size is bigger than this board allows.

I'm shopping for media tomorrow and there's a deal at Best Buy on "data" CD-Rs. The discs I'm going to buy will be used mainly for burning non-musical data. Is there a big difference between "music" and "data/computer" discs?

I've been using Case Logic binders since I started college three years ago, and have had no problems. The main beef I have with them is that they are so freakin' expensive! I need a third one at this point and can't bring myself to shell out $40 or more for a 200+ CD binder. Anyone know a source that carries them at reasonable prices?

That's an excellent one, but the previously unreleased version on Oscar Peterson's Night Trainis absolutely scorching. That arrangement is unbelievable.

Holy crap! I just watched the finish to the Vikings/Cardinals game. Talk about a shitty way to miss the playoffs! I wish they had shown a better angle on the beginning of the play, because I thought the Arizona quarterback might have been beyond the line of scrimmage when he heaved that pass. All the officials were looking at was the other end of the play, though.

Moose shots, eh? I can only imagine her reaction had you decided to go with the handle "JazzBeaver" instead.... In all seriousness, happy birthday!

Here's the link to the $1000 bill auction. The guy started it at a price of $1000 but I'm sure he knew he would be able to get more for it than that (and he already has). Not sure about the notion that high-denomination bills will be brought back into circulation, even if inflation leads to much higher prices. In a society that now buys almost everything expensive with checks or credit cards, I don't see such a big need for them. My main ATM doesn't even dispense $100 bills, as far as I can tell.

Hell, I might as well link to the whole "paper money" category on Ebay while I'm at it: http://listings.ebay.com/aw/plistings/list...y3412/?from=R12

Here's a $1000 bill on ebay. Yours for only....$1000!

Here's the front and interesting back of a $500 bill:

All regular US bills (as opposed to silver certificates) in denominations greater than $100 were phased out of circulation in 1946. At the time, they were: $500: William McKinley $1000: Grover Cleveland $5000: James Madison $10000: Salmon P. Chase (Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury) There is an interesting listing of politicians on US money here.

The Ref with Kevin Spacey and Denis Leary. A guilty pleasure.

Chris, it's true that not every kid at the National Spelling Bee has wacko parents. I didn't. (Well, they're wacko, I suppose, just not in that particular way). Unfortunately, a hell of a lot of those kids probably do have crazy parents, and a scary percentage of those who don't just happen to be freakishly driven on their own. One problem I have with the NSB is that it doesn't really teach a kid to DO anything of significance. Competitive sports at least teach a kid about the importance of being in good physical shape. Even the National Geography Bee promotes a curiosity about the outside world, if not also some basic knowledge of world politics, economics, religions, etc. The Spelling Bee teaches a kid to be....a proofreader? Gradually, I've come to side with George Carlin in his skepticism of these kinds of competitions. Did "Spellbound" include a sequence in the "Comfort Room," by any chance? In the '96 Bee, this was a special room off to the side of the main competition room where kids who were eliminated were "comforted" with soda and chips and brownies. It was a little bizarre: upon being eliminated in the third round, I'm ushered into the Comfort Room where there are a few kids crying and a few others looking like they're about to burst into tears. Meanwhile, I'm sitting there with a big shit-eating grin on my face. What the hell did I need to be comforted for? I had just been flown to Washington--a whole week off from school, if I remember correctly--with all expenses paid for by my local newspaper (that's how it works for everyone, I believe). For winning my local spelling bee, I had also won a copy of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica and Webster's gargantuan Third New International Dictionary, and some other nice crapola that I can't remember right now. Comfort room? Give me a break. But I'll allow that those were some damn good brownies.

I was in the national Bee in 1996. Some of those kids are amazing but many of them are also WEIRD, if you couldn't guess that from the TV coverage. When you're a 13-year-old who's home-schooled and drilled on words for hours a day, let's just say your social skills get a little impaired.

Thanks for letting us know, Vibes. I ordered 8!

Vibes, any word on what's up yet? The sale is still advertised on the main "music" page, although no titles come up if you click on the link.

Google "blindfold test" and dig the results!

Have you ever seen the dude's head before? It looks like a friggin' tuber!

These are both the CC versions with the white spines. I realize that the McLean is already re-released as an RVG but I know some don't dig the RVG sound. Postage is $1 each but I'll cover it if you take both CDs. Both are sealed and still have the "limited edition" sticker on them. Jackie McLean: Jackie's Bag $15 Lee Morgan: Delightfulee $17 Thanks! Adam

Congrats to Mike for figuring out D1T8! Rather, Brokaw and Jennings have also had their projections confirmed courtesy of my radio station library.

I think you may be right on disc 1, number 8, Mike. I'm going to check my radio station as soon as I can to see if we have that one. Haven't heard enough of the guy so I'm not sure it's him, but the drummer on that record sounds very plausible to me as the guy who's on the BT track. Was that organ player good enough to pull off some of those Jimmy Smith licks, though? That tune is driving me nuts, in the best of ways! I think I've played that one tune about 8 times more than I've played the entire rest of the test!

No, that's not it. The track is too long, for one thing, and it sounds totally different (you can check out a sound sample at Amazon.com). I thought it might be Edwards too for a second; he has a similar sound and the same degree of fluency in his playing. Pretty sure it's not Houston Person either.

Man, I've had the head to disc 1, number 8 bouncing around my brain all day. For a sec I thought it might be Marchel Ivery, but the little I've heard of Ivery has more Joe Henderson in the tone. Listening again to this guy, I hear more Dex and Rouse, with a sprinkling of Stitt. I listened to some Rusty Bryant for the first time today to see if I could find a resemblance, but didn't hear one.

Listening again to #2 on disc 2, I think there's definitely a hint of that Chicago sound in the tenor player. Maybe one of the lesser-known AACM guys, like Ernest Dawkins? He plays stuff that's kinda in this bag.

Here we go. I may add comments later, but here’s what I’ve got so far. I owe a debt to my alto-playing roommate for helping a bit when I was unsure of a player’s sound. The really interesting thing about this BT for me was that it reminded me how little I've actually heard. I've tried to focus on breadth more than depth for my collection, but this test proved to me that I don't have enough of either. Disc 1 1. Man, I heard the intro and this is just so interesting! I hear Horace, but it’s a little too eclectic to be the Horace I’m familiar with—the harmonies aren’t really Silverish. But he does have that Monk thing going that Horace has, but with flashes of McCoy in there too in the way he voices each note! Hal Galper? That gait sounds familiar, but the pianist doesn’t seem technically fluent enough to be Galper. The trumpet reminds me for some reason of acoustic Tim Hagans, lots of Freddie in the tone but Woody Shaw in some of the lines…man, here comes the piano solo and it does sound like Horace, but the left-hand voicings just aren’t quite there for me. The drums aren’t really swinging as hard as they could, I think…is this a late-70s or early-80s production, maybe? The cymbals aren’t ringing like I think they should. Maybe Don Pullen?? I’m pretty unfamiliar with his music. My roommate’s listening with me and his guess is that it’s Bob Berg on tenor. Using that info, I’m gonna guess it’s this.. 2. No clue. Professor Longhair? I haven’t checked out any of his stuff. I feel like there’s that New Orleans thing in this groove…After seeing Jim’s Andy Kaufman comment I can’t help but wonder if this is actually an early SNL gag of some kind with Paul Shaffer on piano… 3. Interesting with those Ellingtonian sax backgrounds. Someone’s trying to sound like Booker Ervin but on alto. Also some Cannonball in that sound, esp. on the entrance. Very Mingus-inspired throughout. I like this kind of motivic piano playing. Thought it was Horace Parlan at first but pretty sure it isn’t—too much chops--although I haven’t heard much post-60s Horace. A live tape of a Thad Jones group? No, that can’t be it; the writing isn’t Thad’s. I think this just might be Thad though. My roommate’s guess is that Richard Williams is on trumpet. I'm leaning toward Blue Mitchell, but am not sure at all. Williams would be a more logical choice, given his link with Thad. What about Tolliver? I dig the break too. 4. Man, what planet did that guitar sound come from? So incongruous for this bag. Whoa, that clarinet entrance sounds a little too much like Jimmy Hamilton to me for comfort, with all those little ornaments he’s doing. Normally I would think that’s crazy of me to think so, but this is Jim’s test and I’m prepared for anything wacky. No, not Hamilton. More like Russell Procope. That trombone player is playing licks that I’ve heard Steve Turre play, but I’m sure Turre got those from someone else. It's hard for me to tell who it is since he/she's using the plunger mute. Maybe this one's the Thad chart and someone's (Jerry Dodgion?) trying to copy the Procope thing. The electric bass puts it within the realm of the possible. But I don't think that's Pepper. If I had to guess it's not someone whose main axe is bari. Not at all sure of who's on trumpet here. The ending definitely sounds Thaddish, though. 5. Yeah. James Brown. He really did have such great control over his voice. I'm surprised hear a little bit of Michael Jackson’s phrasing/feel in there, but Jackson’s sound (even at his peak) ended up a caricature of this sound. No idea on the tenor soloist but he sounds a little Stittish. Not sure what year this is, but I’ll guess sometime in the mid-1980s. The guitar player hints at being a Benson devotee, but maybe he grew out of Wes like Benson did. 6. Damn, I think I know who this singer is and I can’t put my finger on it. Nice arrangement though, given Jim's affinity for him I'm guessing that this is Nelson Riddle. 7. Got the “Little Rootie Tootie” quote. The alto has that avant kind of sound, always ready to boil over, but it hasn’t quite made it to boiling yet. Hm, so now we’re playing LRT for real. Mal Waldron never really played like this to my knowledge, but he was my best guess. The sax player sounds very much like a clarinet during the quietest passages. I'm going to cheat a little and guess it's this version. I've never even heard of the guy. 8. Ok, I DEFINITELY have heard this tenor player. So why can’t I come up with his name? Heh, nice little 52nd St. Theme quote there. Very late Stitt, maybe? Only a couple of licks really suggest Stitt to me. Did Eric Kloss record much with organ? This organ player’s sound is more Smithian, but he’s using post-Larry Young voicings. No clue on the bass player. Ahhhh…he sounds like Dexter at the beginning. The organ player definitely has chops to spare—so why use an electric bass player? My roommate thought this was George Coleman. I doubt that Coleman would have ever made a record with organ and electric bass. 9. Not the foggiest clue. Like the groove though. 10. Good stuff. Based on the way he's playing the bass drum on all four beats I'll have to join the consensus and agree that it's a New Orleans cat. 11. It’s a little too early and a little too serious for Spike Jones, I think. Whoever it is, though, was definitely listening to “real” jazz at the time. 12. The beginning and end remind me a little of Sex Mob but I seriously doubt it’s them. The band’s got too many horns in it for the Mob, there’s no drummer, and I don’t quite hear Briggan Krauss’s tone. The bass player makes me think Reggie Workman but that’s a pretty wild guess. I’m going to throw out Oliver Lake’s name, but that's even wilder. Is this the new Jimmy Lyons box set, perhaps? I’m leaning away from saying it’s anyone in the AEC, although the vocal effects make it tempting to do so. This could definitely be the bass player’s record; he sounds like he’s the one holding this all together. Hmmm…that percussion (that gong!) makes more of a convincing case, but I still don’t think AEC when I hear this. Maybe James Merenda or some of the Fully Celebrated Orchestra guys? 13. Of course there’s a ton of Pres in there. Bud Shank? I think Giuffre on tenor. My roommate sez Getz, but I disagree. But there’s another clarinet player there too. I haven't listened to much Woody or DeFranco at all so I don't have a clue as to who it is. Here comes the alto player…he’s playing with the supreme confidence of Cannonball but the sound’s had the rough edges smoothed out. My roommate swears it's Cannon but I'm still a bit dubious. If it is Cannon, I'm guessing that it's this or similar live material. But that's a problematic guess, since I've never heard that leader swing so hard before. 14. Yeah, that’s Getz. Guitar sound is almost Burrell-ish but he’s picking way too hard for it to be Kenny. I wonder who’s doing that octave thing on piano. Now he’s going into the stride thing. That doesn’t always work, but it’s ok here. Piano’s recorded surprisingly hot. 15. “I Know that You Know.” A little hokey. The piano player’s capable but I don’t like the way he’s swinging here. Nice left hand, though. Definitely a pre-bebop guy...but enough chops to be Tatum? I don’t think so. The vibes player isn’t someone I’ve checked out much. Could be Hamp, could be Gibbs—the presence of Latin percussion hints away from Hamp and toward Gibbs. IMO, those bongos really hurt the music’s ability to swing the way it should. Kinda gimmicky to try that, makes me think this was late-40s or early 50s. They obviously rehearsed that ending a bit, so it’s not a straight-up jam session. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&u...l=Aj4rz288t05na Disc 2: 1. No clue who the tenor player is. Cool how they handle the accelerando there! I doubt this is Herbie on piano. This reminds me, actually, of Uri Caine’s Rhodes work. I don’t think this is Chick either. Did Stanley Cowell ever play Rhodes? The drummer is really on here. Bass solo—nice and tasteful. This is very good stuff; I especially like how the tenor player doesn’t try to do too much; instead he lets the rhythm section build intensity behind him. 2. Hm, this is a puzzle! Very “pure” sound on the tenor, very different than what you hear most doing today. I like how they tuned the drums to fit the melody, giving it a nice sense of forward motion even without a full rhythm section. 3. I haven’t listened nearly enough to this kind of thing. That opening monologue is sorta dated, but the song sure isn’t. 9. If this is Sonny Rollins, this is from sometime in the mid-1960s or later. His sound is just not the same as on the 1950s records. I haven’t heard any J.R. Monterose, but have a sneaking suspicion this might actually be him. Not sure if that applause on the end is dubbed in after the fact or if this is actually a live record…best guess: clickBut this seems too early to be right, if we’re to believe that date, and the track length is wrong. Maybe he recorded the tune again later?