Guy Berger

Both teams will probably slow down as the end of the season approaches. It happened to the Pistons last year and to the Suns the year before that. The Spurs always seem to go on a big streak near the end of the season, so I wouldn't put a catch-up past them. (Still, 5 games is a big gap when playing against a top team.) Houston could do some damage once Yao comes back though they are probably too far back at this point. Guy

And at this same time last year, the Pistons had a better record than everyone, including those teams this year. And look where that got them. I suppose it's possible that one of those teams will choke like the Pistons did, but I doubt that both of them will. On the other hand, the western conference is so stacked this year that every team except seed #1 will face a very dangerous first round matchup. Guy

Count me as one who has listened to and enjoyed Bitches Brew repeatedly. Records I've found to be disappointing relative to expectations: Weather Report, Heavy Weather (WR had much better records than this one) Herbie Hancock, Headhunters Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder Horace Silver, Song for My Father (very good record, but not Horace's best) Wayne Shorter, Speak no Evil Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage (very good record but I like this rhythm section's albums with Miles better) Guy

Stuff I have w/Ndugu: Weather Report's Tale Spinnin' Santana's Amigos (did he record on any more albums with them? I don't remember) Julian Priester's Love, Love Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi (or was it one of the other albums?) Guy

Jack's playing on Gateway and Timeless is fantastic. Special Edition (w/David Murray and Arthur Blythe) is a great record. He contributes very nicely to Eric Kloss's Consciousness and To Hear Is to See. Power to the People, Infinite Search... Obviously if we are talking 60s Jack's recordings w/Charles Lloyd and to a lesser degree Jackie McLean are important. Guy

There's also Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (sp?). Guy

Yes to both. Though I still think Live At Birdland may be lost on him because of the lenghty solos. Although, if any tune in the Coltrane catalog would change his mind, it would certainly be the most brilliant version of Afro Blue ever recorded that opens up that disc. I don't think there is any question that the two '64 albums are of the highest quality, but do you honestly think they are superior to the '65 output? If you love Transition, how can you not equally love Sun Ship? And I still feel that First Meditations was the absolute pinnacle of the Classic Quartet. And his very best My Favorite Things was the version that appears on New Thing At Newport. Of course, I'm not trying to challenge you here, and I hope you don't take it that way. Tastes vary, and whether you're talking '64 or '65, you can't go wrong either way. Scott, have you heard other live material from '65? It's all at a very high level. I disagree with you overall about the later material (especially the stuff from '67), though I agree that Live in Japan is somewhat hit and miss. There's the 10 minute piece, I think it's the very first one, that has some really burning collective improvisation by the saxophones. Guy

Historically, yes. Not sure if the writers will stick to that in the series. Guy

It's a long way to ... Ireland lad, Ireland. She has a nice thick Irish brogue she has. I think it's strange that we view Romans as having British accents, first with I Claudius and now with this show. Guy

I probably haven't listened to this date as much as I should have, so take my evaluation with some salt but... I think Horace sounds a little lost on the more modern bits, while Shaw and Henderson don't fit in with the more traditional material. A nice recording, but not my favorite Silver. Guy

Did you watch one of the extra features that came with season one? The actress is from Tipperary. Let's just say it'd be a whole 'nother vibe if she used her real voice in the role. Looks like I'll wait to watch when it comes out on DVD. What/where is Tipperary? Guy

Dallas has now won 8 in a row, Phoenix 14. San Antonio is wondering how they're 5 games back with a .700 record. Guy

It's too bad Finger Poppin' isn't on yourmusic -- I really want to pick that one up. Guy

I've only heard three of these, but I voted for Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers. Guy

The seeds of the break between Octavian and Mark Antony are sown. I wonder when Cicero will turn on Antony (and face his undoing). I got a real laugh out of Cicero and Servilia's conversation. The guy is a consummate politician... "Tell your son that I... no, not I... his friends in Rome... uh... look forward to seeing him again... at some point... in the near... future." Nice to see that they will be bringing the great general and architect Marcus V Agrippa into the show. Octavia is a babe! Guy

I was listening to "Tenor Madness" (May '56) earlier today and while there are glimpses of later Coltrane, there are also clearly spots where he struggles and doesn't quite get there. Still, you have to give the guy props for taking chances -- particularly when matching wits with the top tenor of the time. A lot of other musicians would have instead hunkered down and played it safe, afraid to embarrass themselves. FWIW, I also got the feeling that Sonny didn't approach this performance with the aim of "beating" or "cutting" or "outplaying" Trane. Instead the whole thing has a friendly tone about it -- very different than "The Eternal Triangle" w/Sonny Stitt. Guy

Yup! No... I think '65 is my favorite. Guy

Agreed. Once the Classic Quartet was set, the music didn't make any drastic changes. I feel it got progressively better, but not really that different from where it started out. I agree with the first half of Scott's statement in that Coltrane's music didn't experience any sudden jumps between November of 1961 and, say, December of 1964. There was a more rapid evolution from from 10/60 to 11/61 and again from 12/64 to 9/65. I think the big difference in Coltrane's music during the '62-'64 period (and I owe this observation to Ed Rhodes) is between live and studio. His studio recordings during this period tended to be more conservative, his live recordings more exploratory. Guy

If you do decide to spend time with this box, I would start with the 1963 material. It's the best stuff in the box. Guy

If you don't like Coltrane, you won't like this box. I would say that in general this box is less essential than 50-70% of the Impulse material. The Impulse stuff (even the live material) generally aimed at producing album-worthy material. The Pablo box was "just" Trane and his group exploring in a live setting. One is about product, the other one is about process. That's the key difference. Guy

Someone posted this info on the Miles list:

Is it just me or is Jack especially torture-happy this season? I thought it was strange that he would torture his own brother just to find out where their dad is. Guy

Guy

Isn't Interstellar space just a little bit too much influenced by Ayler? Just a thought. It always seemed to me that he was really under Ayler's spell on this one. Not sure about that. Just not sure. All I can say is that I hope the "too much" isn't a diss of the music. Guy

Why creepy? Are you saying that there are some things that fiction cannot handle? Or should not? Nabokov allowed us to see the world from the point of view of a pedophile. Why couldn't somebody else do the same with a Nazi? Shouldn't we WANT to understand the perspective of the socially maladjusted? I will say, right here and now, that I would read a book or watch a movie from the point of view of ANY character, so long as the book is well written or the film is well made. I would gladly read a book from the point of view of a Holocaust denier. No book is bad if it is well written. Stop with these red herrings. Your review of the movie went beyond simply "viewing from a different perspective" or aesthetic appreciation. You were ASHAMED of the American flag going up at Iwo Jima, you derived ENJOYMENT from seeing the Japanese side painted positively and the American side negatively. I'm done here. People can make up their own minds whether that's creepy or not. Guy