Guy Berger

Shouldn't this be June 21st? You should wait until the previous AOTW is finished... Guy

You probably know that WW was around long before he started appearing on TV. ← I did not know that until I read the wikipedia article, actually. Guy

When did the cartoon Woody Woodpecker start running on TV? I'm asking because it sounds like Freddie is quoting Woody on the master take of"One Finger Snap" from Empyrean Isles (around 0:40-0:45). I noticed it yesterday and keep cracking up every time I hear it. ed: You can read all about Woody Woodpecker here. I didn't realize there was a "Woody Woodpecker Song" -- is that what Freddie's quoting? (Is the song the same thing as the crazy laugh? I only remember the laugh.) Guy

Jumpin' In arrived in the mail yesterday. Wow -- Steve Coleman is such a great saxophonist! (Nice quote of "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" on the title tune.) Time to dig out Extensions. I'll need to pick up more albums by this lineup, as well as other S Coleman albums.

lineup: I haven't heard this, but the lineup is extremely intriguing. Worth picking up? What does the orchestra sound like?

also nobody has mentioned it yet, but Kix is pretty good. do they still make that stuff? Guy

I mentioned it upthread -- his solo on the "Brain" is brilliant, and the Shorter '69 comparison is on the mark. (Though oddly, on McCoy's Tender Moments, he reminds me of Joe H.) That said, I don't think he could have replicated Wayne's brilliance or creativity in that setting on a regular basis. Maybe I'm wrong. Guy

Definitely an underrated player, both on tenor and bass clarinet. Bitches Brew wouldn't be the same without him. I also really like him on Chick Corea's Complete Is Sessions -- his solo on "The Brain" smokes! And of course, his work with Herbie (Mwandishi and the Headhunters) is classic. Guy

I guess I'm not sure what the proper course of action is for Microsoft. Censorship is fucked up, but my understanding is that Microsoft is merely complying with Chinese law. (If they were designing special software in order to facilitate Chinese censorship, that'd be a completely different kettle of fish.) I imagine other companies have to do the same. So it comes down to whether Microsoft should say, "Either you change the law or we're leaving." I'm not sure what the proper decision is -- we're talking about (easily evaded) government censorship, not about more horrific human rights violations. Blogs with partially effective gov't censorship are better than no blogs at all -- what would happen if western companies running blogs withdrew in protest? I think this is interesting, by the way, because it illustrates what living under a garden-variety dictatorship is like. Guy

As far as breakfast cereals I like the slightly sweet plain stuff - corn flakes, special k (or whatever the hell it's called). I've never been into the really sweet stuff -- if I want candy, I'll eat candy. Also (and this makes me really weird) I don't like milk in my cereal. I like my milk without floating chunks in it, and my cereal crunchy. Guy

I can't believe I forgot barley! Man cannot live on hefeweizen alone

somebody just upped an Ohio show by this group from a few weeks ago onto DaD. Guy

The flutist is Becky Friend, Alan Silva's then-girlfriend (early '70s). Conception Vessel is a really, really good date. ← Just listened to this a few times. I agree about the quality of the music, some very nice stuff on here. It reminds me a lot of Tony Williams's 2 albums for Blue Note. I'm looking forward to Tribute, which should arrive in the mail any day now. ed: It's interesting how Motian's compositions bring out KJ's Bleyian influences. Guy

By the way, I didn't mean to imply that if Monk isn't playing a "difficult" classical piece "properly" (which he may very well be doing -- my prior is skepticism -- but I don't have realplayer and can't download the clip) he doesn't have "technique". Just that the whole "Monk can play Chopin, of course he has technique" argument bugs me, it seems to concede the bogus argument that Monk's "regular" playing was somehow technique-deficient and that legitimacy comes only playing Chopin, or playing like Bud. Guy

I guess I don't really buy this interpretation. Lloyd's quartet made music that straddled soul jazz, free jazz, and post-bop -- nothing sanitized about that, it was just the music they were making. I agree that as a saxophonist wasn't one of the giants of the period, and that he's not in the same class as Wayne, Trane, Sam Rivers or (at his best) Ayler. But I don't think his late 60s playing is any more watered-down than that of Pharoah Sanders. I definitely agree, though, that he was overhyped at the time. The (maybe excessive) reaction against him afterward was a natural response to that hype. Guy

A question about yourmusic... I joined last night, and noticed that I can't put multi-CD sets in my queue. Is it possible to use these as monthly selections? Guy

Wheat I also like rice

I thought this article was pretty funny:

My favorite Eric Clapton on ECM is the one he did with Keith Jarrett. Guy

Chris, you're a lucky bastard Guy

That was brutal. Spurs better learn how to play basketball again if they want to win this series. Guy

Dan, This is a live CD. Assuming that Stefan has heard most of Wayne's recent live recordings (extremely well circulated), he may very well have heard the entire CD. Guy

Two of my favorites are the two Charlies, Mingus and Haden. Guy

I don't think it's Lloyd's best for ECM, but if you like the other ECMs you'll probably like this one. Some great stuff on here -- "Blood Count", the Silvio Rodriguez tunes, "Amazing Grace", the flute tune on the second disc. Parts of the second disc ramble. Guy

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