Guy Berger

And for what it's worth, I guess it's pretty cool to have a critic who gushes about something unapologetically once in a while. I mean, isn't that part of what loving music is all about. I'm not a huge fan of all his writing, but I've always enjoyed his liner notes to Bitches Brew. Very cool. Guy

I started working through the Chico Hamilton mosaic yesterday -- I've had it lying around since Aug '03 but only unwrapped it recently. I've only touched the first disc -- interesting stuff but nothing's really jumped out at me. The live stuff is a bit more exciting than the studio material. "Blue Sands" would make an entertaining blindfold test! Guy

Good news: US boosts tsunami aid to $350M

He's on at least one Mingus album (Mingusx5) and, IIRC, Y Lateef's Live at Pep's. Guy

He said that he was working with Ornette, Haden said Jarrett needed a saxophonist, he auditioned, and "I got hired, I think". He then said something about how Ornette's music was very free while Jarrett's involved a lot more playing of Keith's compositions. To which Haden added, "but Dewey was playing very freely in that band." Dewey also said something about playing percussion and musette. Don't remember what else. Guy

Downloaded it today from easytree. (If the seed came from this board, thanks a lot!) Very interesting to hear the guy talking about music. I'd never seen any videos of the guy playing and that was interesting in itself. The footage of the Lloyd quartet and (especially) the American group were the best parts. The interviews were also illuminating. It was interesting to hear Dewey Redman and Charlie Haden give contradictory opinions on the American group. I thought the Chick Corea segment ("I'm going to have to practice really hard!") was very funny. I wish they'd gotten Charles Lloyd, Paul Motian and someone from the Cellar Door band to contribute. And it sure would have been interesting to have someone from that '65 Blakey band (which didn't get mentioned, unfortunately) offer their opinion of young Keith. Anyway, highly recommended! Guy

Interestingly, there was a recent blindfold test where Bley heard Jarrett's performance of "Prelude to a Kiss", lamented the trashing of the Ellington tune, and upon discovering the performer said "Keith Jarrett? I'm sorry to hear that." Guy

There's an interesting symposium on the Nation from 1982 responding to a "controversial" speech Sontag made. Interesting though the whole thing is a little nutty. Guy

Good call, Marty. I remember hearing a Mingus track from 1959 and thinking the avant-garde altoist was Dolphy, but it was Handy. Guy

isn't all of Fort Yawuh on the Impulse box?? I meant to say that part of the the box will be duplicated.

I think this one is a little better: (Though if you eventually decide to spring for the Impulse box set, some of it will be duplicated.)

I've been a fan of these guys for a few years -- the album Gateway is one of my favorite ECMs. A nice mix of fusion and outside playing with interesting compositions -- Conference of the Birds meets "The Noonward Race". Gateway 2 isn't quite as good, I like Homecoming (though not as much as the first album), and In the Moment sounds like new age noodling to me (but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise). The bootlegs (from 75 and 95) I've heard are good. I also saw them at Yoshi's in 2002, and they did a burning version of "Jumpin' In". Guy

FYI -- For those interested in discussing the politics of the tsunami, Maren just started a thread in the Politics forum. Guy

Though obviously Sri Lanka, Indonesia and other areas in SE Asia were by far the worst hit, there were also victims in eastern Africa. Guy

Well, that's Chris's choice. I encourage every other thread participant not to follow his example. Guy

Can we keep the politics out of this discussion, please? It's too bad that people have to turn a human tragedy into a political football match so soon after the fact. Guy

Just got back from a Warriors game with my dad and brother; they (barely) beat a crippled Nuggets team. With this latest three game winning streak they creep up from awful to respectably bad. Guy

For people who wish to donate money, there are some links here. Guy

Happy birthday, Mark. Guy

I suspect the post-disaster death toll might be even worse than the initial count. This is the kind of thing that breeds humanitarian disasters. Bangladesh in particular is vulnerable because the country floods very easily. Guy

By the way, I eventually picked up More Party Time -- a great CD! I have mixed feelings about Bobby Timmons's playing but he's terrific on this album. Guy

An amazing site. Guy

Thanks for posting that, Brownie. Always interesting to read interviews with "Mr. Weird". Guy

And finally, where I live now. A snowy day in New Haven, about a year ago:

Sorry for the low quality photos... I'm fulling around with my photo editing software for the first time. Here is the sun rising at my friend's condo in Santa Barbara: