Guy Berger

I'm guessing this isn't available on CD? I may have to look for an MP3 copy. How does the music compare to Kloss's two albums w/Corea/Holland/DeJohnette? Guy

Yikes. If I came across as some sort of Jarrett "fanboy" that was definitely not my intent. To summarize: 1) I have no problem if someone dislikes Jarrett's music. Different strokes and all. I personally don't like all of it, as I'm sure you can find out if you comb the archives. 2) I have no interest in defending Jarrett the person. He's a putz. 3) I do think that people's opinions of his music are affected by extramusical factors (as you can see from this thread) -- his obnoxious personality, his pretentious blatherings, his financial success, his occasionally cult-like followers, etc. That's completely human, but it needs to be acknowledged. 4) I also think that blanket "objective" dismissals of his work, dismissals of his contribution to his music (ie "group X works in spite of his playing"), or the even stronger suggestion that he's an (artistic) phony are BS. (The obvious implication of these arguments is that the many people who seem to genuinely love his music are 'wrong'.) 5) Many of the "objective" criticisms directed against his music could easily be directed at other more "politically correct" pianists or musicians. (For example, Jarrett vs. Herbie's gospellisms. Or Jarrett vs. Byard on the eclectic nature of their playing.) 6) Hopefully if any other musician came under unfair criticism on this board, I'd act in exactly the same way. Guy

Interesting. I'm obviously biased as I've only listened to the British version, but judging by the tracklist I think the US version is inferior. All IMHO, of course. Guy

First, I agree with almost all of what Clem's being saying in this thread. Second (and this is taking the thread way off-topic), I think Clem's quote above brings up an interesting topic (economics of race vs. class in the US) that I actually did some casual reading about after an online discussion. It's way outside the scope of this thread, but if you are interested in what I "discovered" then I'll be glad to PM you, with the upfront disclaimer that I'm pretty much a dilettante when it comes to this research/literature. Guy

I miss Phil Hartman. Cooking with the Anal-Retentive Chef

Damn. MG, when I saw you had posted in this thread, I was hoping to read your ecstatic review of the collected works of Winston Churchill. Guy

David, I said this a few posts back, but I think you are mis-characterizing the bulk of the contributions to this thread. Guy

Please, cite one incident when that has happened (the Washington thing). I seriously doubt it. PC hysteria has gotten out of hand in some cases, but I seriously doubt that any school has expunged Washington, Jefferson, or any other slave-holding founder. This smacks of Right-Wing hysteria. After some SERIOUS googling, I managed to find this: link edit: I see Ray beat me to it. There's also this: less north Virginia schools named after individuals Not something that I find to be particularly alarming. FWIW, here at Yale there's been some controversy over Calhoun College. (I think it's fair to say that Calhoun is a far more controversial historical figure than George Washington.) Guy

Find a computer with an internet connection. Guy

Haven't seen that one. Guy

Interesting. I think that in retrospect, they were wrong. Guy

Go see a doctor! Guy

I guess I should have read the whole thing, it's pretty clearly tongue in cheek. DOH! Guy

If it really is that "easy... for any decent jazz pianist to [do] better", why aren't there dozens of people doing it? ????? Guy Not to [do] better, to better. People don't do it [where 'it' = a pseudo-compositional, pseudo-improvisational mishmash forced through the filter of concert/hall procedure, etiquette and associated prestige] because it's a rubbish idea in the first place. Improvisers improvise with other improvisers and play off/with them, not, generally, themselves. I guess in the end it just boils down to taste. (Do you really think that improvisers shouldn't play solo concerts?) I'm still waiting for the explanation of the "doesn't like improvising, doesn't like improvisers" comment. Guy

I've heard this story before, but with a different retort: "And if you were my wife, I'd drink it." I like my version better. Which is more "accurate"? Guy

A goofy anti-Potter rant in the Washington Post: Harry Potter and the Death of Reading And also an interesting article by a critic who gained appreciation for the series while reading it with his son: Berube

If it really is that "easy... for any decent jazz pianist to [do] better", why aren't there dozens of people doing it? ????? Guy

Yup! Guy

Restrain? I think that it's a beautifull album on his on right who give an idea in which direction he was heading for a while. No soprano, shorter format pieces and a return to more structure music. From this point, I think that Coltrane would have develop his composer's talent and in the same time try, like in "Interstellar Space", unusual experiences. I also think ubu's assessment of Stellar Regions is off -- IMHO, it's a more satisfying album than Expression. I am not convinced by the argument that "in his last works, he started to come back into the melodic and clearer, simpler stuff." This is probably a bias induced by the fact that most of Coltrane's 1967 recordings were made in the studio, while his best known 1966 recordings were live. The Olatunji Concert (which post-dates most of the other 1967 recordings) makes such a comparison questionable. I haven't heard his 1966 studio recordings so perhaps someone can comment on how those compare to the 1967 stuff. As far as GA Russell's question -- all of Coltrane's 1967 studio recordings are in the free jazz style. The performances tend to be shorter than on live recordings, and Pharoah Sanders is almost entirely absent, so I can understand why some would find them to be more accessible or "melodic". But knowing your preferences, I don't think you would like them. Guy

Bobo Stenson, War Orphans

David, in general I agree with the sentiment, but... I don't think there have been "numerous white posters telling a black poster to 'get over it' " in this thread -- maybe two or three. (edit: I looked over the thread and found two.) Most of the discussion in this topic fits into two categories: whether Mosaic should have censored the track or put a disclaimer, and whether the lyrics to this song really are racist once put into historical context. Guy

Joe Smith signed with the Bulls today. I don't follow the Bulls closely, so perhaps an aging, injury-prone power forward of average ability who will (maybe) score 10 ppg is what they need. (Better than an ancient PJ Brown, I suppose.) Slow NBA news day/week. Guy

Just listened to Etudes. Fantastic album, especially the stunning performance of "Lonely Woman". Highly recommended to those of you guys that like this type of inside-outside piano trio music. Guy

Actually, they performed it at least twice during the 1977 tour. I don't know if it was the whole thing or just the abbreviated version. A month or two ago Conn and I were discussing Genesis and he told me he didn't like "Carpet Crawlers". Guy