Guy Berger

Boo frickin hoo Guy

Agreed. I was looking at ESPN's predictions and they seem to be seriously underrated as far as the eastern conference championship goes. Guy

Fisher was one of Mullin's worst moves. Foyle's contract might have been worse, but I distinctly remember telling my brother at the time that I couldn't understand why the mediocre Fisher was getting so much money. I wouldn't worry too much about one preseason game. We'll see how they do over the relatively easy schedule of November. My brother was joking that as long as Biedrins manages to play more than 10 minutes without fouling out, we'll see a major improvement. Keep in mind, the guy is only 19. I think we'll see major improvements from him this year. Big man with outside shooting. We shall see. Other guys that need to step up big this year: Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Pietrus. I think the Warriors could handle some moderate Murphy layoffs -- it'll push Diogu, Zarko and Biedrins up the learning curve. But Baron and Jason's health (less worried about Jason) is absolutely essential for their playoff chances. I'm kind of hoping that they trade Dunleavy for Nene, but that probably won't happen. re the Lakers: We've already had the joy of seeing them in the lottery. This year I'd rather they made it to the playoffs as a #8 seed (as long as they don't edge out the Warriors of course) and get crushed by the Spurs, losing by an average margin of 25-30 pts. I'd love to see the looks on Kobe and Phil's faces. Guy

As far as favorites in Miles's 70s bands, I probably have to go with Gary, followed by Dave and then Sonny in a somewhat distant 3rd. Guy

Grossman was a member of Miles's live group from March or April of 1970 though he "auditioned" on some earlier studio sessions. According to Tingen, Miles reconvened the Cellar Door band briefly in the spring of 1972. Presumably Gary would have been part of this group. Dave was a member of Miles's from '73 onward. As far as Lon's comments about Grossman -- I remember finally hearing one of his rare tenor solos with Miles and thinking, "Wow, this is a much better guy than the soprano saxophonist!" Guy

My sentiments exactly! They were FUN to watch last season (especially after Baron arrived). I'm looking forward to watching them again, whether they get close to the playoffs or not. ← If Baron stays healthy for almost all of the season, I think they're going to the playoffs. Finally! OTOH Lakers are probably heading back to the lottery! Guy

This is a gig from the spring of 60: Miles, Trane, Wynton K, Mr. PC and Jimmy Cobb. This tour is legendary because of Trane's playing, so those of you who haven't heard any of the recordings should pick it up. Guy

I hope Schwartzenegger applies clemency in this case. The guy isn't innocent by any means and committed four horrific crimes, but it seems that he's done enough good works to merit a life sentence. Guy

Different strokes for different strokes, but I have a fundamental disagreement with the "already somewhere other than where his band is" claim. Maybe once Trane started adding more drummers and horns to his band, Elvin and particularly McCoy started losing touch with the music. But on the quartet recordings from 1965, these guys are 100% engaged in the music that Trane was creating. You can hear it all the way up through Sun Ship and First Meditations -- they're exactly where the music demands. I mean, listen to "One Up One Down" -- this might even be a more milestone performance for Elvin than for Trane! Second, and a point worth emphasizing -- a listen to any of the longer +25 minute versions of "Impressions" and "Mr. PC" from the 1963 European tour (look at discs 5-7 of the Pablo box) show that this music was not exactly unprecedented. Trane was pushing his music pretty far out even back then. Intense, avant-garde duets with Elvin on those tunes were the order of the day. Yeah, the Half Note and Antibes performances are further out, but not MUCH further out. Very much another step on the same path. Guy

It doesn't seem like you are listening carefully. Guy

FWIW, I don't think the Vanguard "Impressions" was released until '63 (on the album of the same name), and that was the first version of the tune to appear on record. So I imagine the name changed sometime between the Vanguard engagement and the release of the album. Guy

The comparison re: KoB is right-on, though on the compositional complexity spectrum it's coming from a totally different place (and yet mood-wise, as you say, ends up in a place that's not so far away). Alright, time for my comments. If you are just coming into what will probably be a very long thread and want to sample the "greatest hits", I recommend starting with JSngry's post on page 1, Michael Fitzgerald's on page 3, and Epistrophy's on page 4. For me those were the most thought-provoking. A few random thoughts: 1) Despiting crediting their version of "Hoedown" to Aaron Copland, ELP's version of that tune also quoted the first theme from Oliver Nelson's. A pretty hip thing to stick into a millions-selling rock album. 2) In Ashley Kahn's A Love Supreme book, Kahn writes some interesting stuff about Creed Taylor's role in making this LP. Nothing humongous, but I think he did pick the title (somebody correct me if I'm wrong), which is part of the album's mystique. This was one of the 1st four albums on the fledgling Impulse! label. 3) Any thoughts on the relative merits of this album vs. Straight Ahead (on Prestige)? I've heard a few people suggest that the Prestige record is actually the better one. Guy

Woah -- just started reading this thread, so I don't know whether anybody else choked at reading this completely unmerited diss at "Hoe Down". I completely disagree! Guy

Assuming that yourmusic (and BMG) are part of a market segmentation strategy, what you just said makes sense. Guy

I think Kalo's suggestion of smaller ensembles is right on the money -- in chamber ensembles or solo performances, there's less of the "bombast" that MD wanted to avoid. Guy

It's a great book! Szwed did his homework and does a very good job of explaining Sun Ra the person, which is no easy thing given the person in question. My favorite part is when Sun Ra discusses Star Wars: "It's very accurate!" Guy

Hmmm, good recommendation, though it applies to sonatas 5-10 (especially #9 "Black Mass") and less so to the first 4. Guy

Works by Bartok (String quartets might be up your alley) and Stravinsky (Rite of Spring, other major ballets) are the most obvious recommendations. You might also like Beethoven and Haydn's minor key works. Guy

Somebody recently seeded a Keith Jarrett trio show from July 1999 (Copenhagen) with the tune "Zardees '58" (yeah, I know that's not the same spelling as the 50s LA jazz club). One individual wrote: Another individual noted: Anybody familiar with this tune, this recording, or any other recordings of this tune? Guy

That's the one that made it onto the official release. Guy

Which one, Lon? There's a 7 minute incomplete version that ends the 4/2/65 broadcast (this is the broadcast with "Creation" & "I Want to Talk About You") and the 13 minute incomplete version that ends the 3/26/65 broadcast (following "One Up, One Down"). Also, to toss more fuel onto the OUOD fire, when I started the "greatest Coltrane solos" thread, I quoted someone else saying:

BUT... once the prize gets big enough, the expected value of a Powerball ticket might actually become positive. Guy

This thread made me dig out some of the Quartet's gigs from the summer of 65. WHITE HOT. Guy

I forgot what it looked like! Guy