Guy Berger

Keith Jarrett -- Facing You

Also, didn't the Lakers have Shaq and Kobe for a few years before Phil came in and experienced moderate or little playoff success? Guy

I've heard that some guy in Mexico was running a "sweatshop" where the workers would play these online games all day and earn real-world money for the boss. Also, the annual real world revenue generated in such a manner in one of these games is supposedly greater than Russia's GDP. Guy

If Brown left, the Pistons would be very lucky to get Phil J. And I think they're the perfect team for a guy like him -- "championship ready". Guy

"Anyone who gives this record 1 star has got to be insane!" -- Joe Zawinul Here is a very comprehensive summary of the brouhaha surrounding this album. Here's my (really pretentious) review of this album for amazon: To add to the review -- if you approach this album expecting to hear "good music" you'll probably be disappointed, because there isn't much of it here. (Though "The Elders" is very cool.) If you approach it thinking that you're going to hear a bunch of off-the-wall studio experiments that are frequently unsuccessful but are sometimes quite interesting and even entertaining. It's fun to listen to occasionally just so you can remember what kind of crazy stuff creative people were capable of recording back in 1978. I can understand why some people, particularly those who bought it when it first came out, have strong feelings about it. I guess I was lucky enough to pick it up, out of morbid curiosity, 2 decades after the fact. (My favorite WR albums are Live in Tokyo and Sweetnighter, and I think the band's most interesting music came before Heavy Weather.) Apparently there are some people who LIKE this album A LOT -- if there are any on this board, I hope they step up and make a case for it this week.

I'm attending a friend's wedding tomorrow (not a very close friend, just a guy I play poker with and discuss sports with). For whatever reason, despite thinking about it earlier this week I completely forgot to purchase a gift and just went online to buy them a gift card via their registry. Is having a gift arrive several days the wedding a major breach of etiquette? Do I need to bring a card or something? Guy

FWIW this story is much, much crazier than the one that was just posted. Guy

The site says you are limited to 2 -- is that 2 items total, or 2 per item? Guy

I wouldn't say it's his best, but I listened to it yesterday for the first time in a few years and it's pretty darn good. Grant's limitations as a guitarist are a little more exposed than usual in this setting, but the music turned out excellent in the end. Guy

I think it's alright, not great. Guy

I was thinking the same thing... though the 1st AP movie is definitely better than AM, IMHO -- it managed to keep the craziness going the whole way through. Guy

I just started reading this biography of Jarrett, and it's even more disappointing than Carr's biography of Miles. The book isn't worthless -- the anecdotes from Keith's early life and career are interesting. (For example, Keith's disappointment at not being able to do a gig with Wayne Shorter.) And as far as I can tell, there's information here that isn't available in many other places. Given that, it's a real shame that Carr botched it. My chief complaints thus far: 1) Carr's gushiness, which makes this book more of a hagiography than a biography. I expect any writer to have their biases -- it's inevitable -- but I expect a certain critical objectivity and detachment, as well as a willing to step back and admit, "I'll be honest with you -- these are my biases." Instead, Carr's over-the-top praise of certain recordings makes for poor jazz writing. At one point, he suggests that Keith's playing on Facing You surpasses Art Tatum; when discussing Luminessence, he calls it "virtually without precedent". 2) Numerous factual errors. 3) Carr's choice of primary sources. Now, I don't know whether he was unable to get interviews with Paul Motian, Dewey Redman or Charlie Haden, but I imagine that at the very least he could have gotten Charlie. I'm also disappointed that he didn't get anybody from the Blakey band to talk about Keith's brief tenure with the group, and that the only sources about Keith's tenure with Miles are Keith and Jack. Also, given how much Charles Lloyd is trashed in the book (perhaps fairly, I don't know), it would have been nice to give him a chance to respond. 4) Carr's inability to understand the American band. Given how much he gushes about the solo concerts, European Quartet and orchestral recordings, he seems awfully ambivalent about this group. He spends more time on the anecdote behind Eyes of the Heart than on the group's other music combined. He briefly discusses "Everything that Lives Laments" (from Mysteries), but aside from that doesn't substantively mention any of the other Impulse recordings. (Has he even heard them?) 5) Excessive privileging of Jarrett's relationship with ECM. This ties into (1) and (4). I guess I recommend this due to the lack of any serious competition. But it seems like a gaping hole and I imagine that some jazz scholar could easily step in and create a far better work. I'll update this review if anything else comes up to change my mind. Also, not a complaint about the author, but Keith really missed the boat on Miles's 1969 working band. His loss.

Finally picked up a copy of this and am listening to it for the first time. Good stuff. I never appreciated how much Joe Farrell (who's absolutely smoking here) was influenced by Joe H. Guy

Just saw Anchorman. It was pretty cool... especially the melee sequence, which was hysterical, and the hilarious bear-dog conversation. Guy

The one advantage of the lottery is that to some degree it reduces the incentive to tank your season because you aren't guaranteed a high pick. That's the only thing I can think of. I'm a little surprised that the Suns didn't foul much earlier tonight. They started about 40 seconds too late. Anyway, they're in trouble. Guy

Happy b-day Jim... thanks for providing a place for us all to virtually hang out. Guy

If Miami plays as poorly as they did today, this will be a short series. I don't think that will happen, though at this point the 1-0 lead has to favor Detroit in a very evenly-matched series. The Heat were probably a little lazy after a long layoff, and maybe a little shell-shocked by a strong opponent that didn't roll over like the Nets or Wiz. In the end it might all come down to coaching -- I don't know if Van Gundy Jr. is capable of making the adjustments necessary to win this series. We shall see... Guy p.s. Was anybody actually able to sit through 4 quarters of this game? This looks like a "turn on your TV after halftime" series. I bet David Stern is having nightmares about a Spurs-Pistons finals.

Garbarek appeared (along with fellow Scandinavians of future renown) on several George Russell recordings from the late 60s. He-who-must-not-be-named started a thread on Garbarek a few months ago. Guy

I'm worried Stan Van Gundy is going to have a heart attack before we even hit game 5... Guy

The people who would be doing the real work already know. It's the suits who make the final call, however. Just a hunch - when "they" run out of "legit" product to sell, they'll start mining this lode. ← I think Jim's probably right. I'm guessing we probably won't get a box, but rather the best sounding gigs -- some of this stuff has limited fidelity. Worst comes to worst, in 2019 the 50 year whatever runs out. Guy

Trane's Kulu Se Mama The '72-'75 Miles Davis band... Pangaea, Agharta, Dark Magus Guy

I'm a broken record when it comes to this performance, but the "Masqualero" from Paris (11/3/69) is easily the best version I've heard of this tune. It might even be the best single LQ track. Miles and Wayne play exceptional solos, but what Chick does on his lengthy solo (5-6 minutes) is out of this world. Guy

Take it back!!! ← Ouch... with both of the Tonys ganging up on me, I'll give disc 2 of PG another listen. I remember a few decent songs on there. Guy

My Cannonball collection is embarrassingly small (only 6 or 7 cds with him as a leader, I think) so I have some serious work ahead of me over the next few years. Guy

I haven't seen it yet, but the recent Miles Davis Isle of Wight performance is in my queue. Guy