Guy Berger

Good point, but if they can do Carpet Crawlers and I Know What I Like, they shouldn't have a problem with that one. Well, I have a problem with it. It's not very good. Though the live version with strings (on the Archives box) is nice. Guy

link Out of curiosity, how do these competitions work? Is this a blind test?

Thanks for all the amazing music, John. Guy

"Your Own Special Way" was actually recorded by the quartet (w/Hackett), though it obviously fits stylistically with the later material. Guy

What about "Watermelon Man" and "Canteloupe Island"? Or the funky section of "Sleeping Giant"? When people criticize the "Marsalises" (not a monolithic entity) for conservatism, it usually goes beyond the mere criticism that their music is more conservative. Presumably "Marsalises" actually means "Wynton", and the problem is not just that his music is conservative but that he thinks (or thought) that's the only proper style for jazz music. How so? Is Hank Jones's playing any less "safe" than Jarrett's? I do think that at least in the early days of the standards trio, their approach to playing standards WAS innovative. It took the art of "straight ahead piano trio playing" and developed it further. I won't pretend that this was some sort of "macro" or "major" innovation of jazz, but it was not simply a regurgitation of earlier forms. At this point, I'll agree that they are pretty much doing what they've been doing for a long time. I don't see this as being a negative or a positive. edit: A comment -- I don't think Jarrett presents his music as cutting edge or innovative, at least these days. And the "selling" and "brand" comments are unjustified, IMHO. Guy edit: Likewise, I hope I'm not being too argumentative.

Would you say the same about Herbie? Can you elaborate on this? (ALL his music?) Guy

The setlist for the recent European tour seems to be: I have to say that this is better than I would have expected. Guy

The album was recorded on two different dates; the music on the box set is presented in recorded order. They are being consistent. (Not that I think this is a good idea.) Guy

Here's the bit that suggests this article is mostly (totally?) garbage. AFAIK it's not possible to teach about WW2 without mentioning Churchill. Berigan, where did you find this article? Guy

Question -- Are any of the RoS quotes of more obscure themes within the ballet? I feel like most of those I've heard are of that one famous theme near the beginning. Guy

I admit I don't hear it, but perhaps you can give an example. (Assuming we aren't just talking about the gospel-oriented pieces.) For example, does his solo on "The Windup" (Belonging) have a 4-square approach? Guy

WTF? Apparently now Tranemonk's emotional reaction is off-limits? Guy

This reminds me of something a friend of mine from Boston once told me. He had a college professor (an African-American who grew up in the South but now lived and taught in Boston) who, in comparing "racism" between the North and the South, said something to the effect that Southerners hate the race but love the people while Northerners hate the people but love the race. I've heard these comments and always found them pretty unconvincing. The southerners were lynching and oppressing a lot of the people that they supposedly "loved". Personally, I'd rather be hated with at least some of my civil rights acknowledged (yes, I know that the non-south regions of the country were no fairy tale) than be "loved" with no civil rights whatsoever. But perhaps this is a discussion for a completely different thread. Guy

Not sure if I'd call "Europa" great -- it sounds canned to me, a slick and soulless sequel to "Samba Pa Ti". Perhaps forgettable but there are some nice things on there -- "Gitano", "Take Me With You", "Maria Caracoles". More consistent is probably right, but honestly even the best music on it would be below average on those other two albums. All IMHO, of course! Guy

I have a CD by Groove Collective (don't remember the title) where one of the musicians quotes the famous melody from the beginning of the piece. Guy

Out of morbid curiosity, I downloaded some late 70s/early 80s Santana albums. Inner Secrets is pretty bad, though not unlistenable. Definitely worse than Amigos or Festival, which I'd characterize as "good" and "decent" respectively. "Open Invitation" is hilariously bad -- I think I've heard it on the radio before, but I would've never guessed it was Santana. I really recommend listening to this track! Marathon is just awful. Easily of the worst albums I've ever heard. Really bad 80s arena rock. I'll post comments on Zebop and Oneness once I unzip the files. Guy

I have a nagging feeling that envelopes will scratch CDs (moving in and out) at a pace that standard jewel cases and spindle-digipaks will not. I have not tested this idea so I don't know if it is actually true. My dislike for digipaks has to do with the fact that once the packaging inevitably deteriorates, it can't be replaced with the artwork intact. Guy

I have to say I am somewhat sympathetic to Tranemonk's gripes. I don't think an omission of the track, coupled with a thorough explanation, would have been a "whitewash". That said, presumably we trust the maturity/intelligence of listeners enough not to censor their listening. Guy

Ideal box set packaging: Complete Herbie Nichols Blue Note Recordings and Complete Stan Getz Roost Recordings. Nice slimline jewelcases. Compact. Runners-up: Miles Davis at the Plugged Nickel (a big plus for using jewel cases, but should've used slimline), Mosaic Selects, Keith Jarrett Impulse boxes I dislike envelopes and digipaks. Guy

Racism is also a part of history, unfortunately. Guy

You'd think that at some point, laughing at the Knicks' self-inflicted misery would get old. But it hasn't happened yet. Guy

Interesting to compare the reputations and "roles" of Guaraldi and Ramsey Lewis. Guy

Just wanted to add -- if Barak/White Lightning claims that Harper said that, then Harper said that. Guy

Well, I'm cheating since one of these guys is playing alto, but I really enjoy John Handy and Booker Ervin on Mingus's "No Private Income Blues". Also, though technically not "battles", John Coltrane's recordings with Pharoah Sanders should probably be mentioned. Guy