Guy Berger

Yeah, I was looking out for Bertrand and didn't see him. (Too many people with beards!) I ran into Michael Cuscuna (another fan pointed him out to me) and thanked him for collecting all my money. Bruce Lundvall was there as well. It's kind of late so I don't have time for a comprehensive review, but it was fabulous to see this trio performing stuff like "Frankenstein" and "Love & Hate". (Got all three signatures on my copy of One Step Beyond. Bobby: "The sixties were a looooooooong time ago.") Grachan's chops were pretty rough early on (and it looked like there was some tension between him and Jackie in the first set -- I think Grachan was taking more choruses than he was supposed to) but he played much better on the two tunes that closed the second set ("Little Melonae" and "Blue Rondo"). Anyway, if you are in the vicinity of NY this weekend, go see this septet at all costs. Jackie's playing is as intense and stinging as it is on the 60s Blue Notes and Bobby Hutcherson is absolutely incredible. His playing on "Love and Hate" and "Freddie Freeloader" was awesome. Guy

Anybody else play? I picked Hold'em up as a hobby about 18 months ago and after a bit of a rough start it's been pretty profitable. I play mostly at brick'n'mortar cardrooms, and graduated from 2/4 to 4/8 a few months ago. Anyway, it's a nice supplemental income. Guy

And yet, the music is so amazing, perhaps because of the clash in musical personalities. This is one of my favorite Miles Davis sessions -- definitely my favorite pre-KoB. Guy

This is the only one of Jang's that I own -- what a great album! James Newton is absolutely smokin' on this record. Guy

I will be at the show as well. Guy

Seriously. McLean's playing on it might actually top that on the master. Guy

I think the '69 dates are the best, though there's plenty of amazing music from '67. Try to see if anything has been treed on sharingthegroove. Guy

In case anyone hasn't noticed, I am actually an alias of Berigan's or Johnny E's. Or both. But I'm not sure which one. Guy

Not sure if it's stupid to prohibit usage of personal electronic equipment to prevent interference with equipment including communications, navigation and flight control systems. Well, US airlines allow it, as do other airlines which do the transatlantic route. Is there any good evidence that electronic devices like CD players or MP3 players or laptop computers interfere with flight? Guy

I am flying on El Al to visit family in Israel in about 10 days and was wondering whether I could use my iPod during the duration of the flight. The flight attendants wouldn't let me use a discman last time (I've had the same problem with Alitalia) and I was wondering whether my new toy will run into the same stupid rules. Guy

So I finally picked up an iPod... Not sure whether I will use a CD player ever again... A question: I figure that the battery takes a beating with usage. Is this thing going to be usable in 2 years? Guy

riverrat, Have you listened to Ornette's The Shape of Jazz to Come? In some respects it's more conservative than Right Now. I don't think you should have any trouble understanding it. Guy

The first time I heard Elvin was on A Love Supreme over six years ago. He quickly became one of my favorite jazz drummers. He'll be missed, but he left one hell of a legacy. Guy

You know, I don't like the Lakers, but that was an awesome way to end the game. Guy

Plus, records like Other Planes of There and The Magic City weren't recorded until after the Arkestra left Chicago. How many people actually heard these records when they came out? How well distributed were they outside of NYC? FWIW, I hear the collective improvs of the Corea-Holland-DeJohnette rhythm section coming from the same place. Guy

I also (more or less) subscribe to the idea that Chick Corea's best work was recorded before the mid-70s, but I recently put on Hymn to the Seventh Galaxy and that's a great album. Some good tunes and terrific Fender Rhodes playing by Chick. Something bad happened to that band when Bill Connors was replaced by Al DiMeola. Guy

I picked this up a few weeks ago and finally cracked it open. Let's just say that all the effusive praise is deserved -- this is some of the best playing I've heard by Jackie anywhere. The band is terrific and the compositions, while more toward the blowing-vehicle end of things, do their job. This is a substantially better album, IMHO, than Jacknife. (The only other post-Destination Out album I've heard.) I can't wait for Action and It's Time to be released. Guy

What groups do you recommend? Alan, The Quartetto Italiano box (10 CDs) on Philips is quite cheap and I think the performances are outstanding. (Though I'm not familiar with other recordings, just live performances -- they could very well be botching these badly.) They have the virtuosity to pull off the more technical passages but give the music the emotional depth it needs. If you don't want the whole set, you can get the late quartets on 2 Philips Duos; but you'd be missing out on the middle and (to a lesser degree) early quartets. Guy

I discovered the Quartets about a year ago... they are incredible. I'm currently digging into Schubert's final 4 quartets. The G Major is a monstah. Guy

I'm thinking of springing for a complete set of Debussy's Preludes (I already have the Arabesques, Pour Le Piano, Children's Corner and both books of Images). Right now I'm leaning toward Thibaudet. Any suggestions? Guy

Hey folks, I am going to buy a 20Gig MP3 player this week (long flight to Israel coming up and El Al doesn't allow CD players on board) but can't decide between the Rio Karma (cheapest), IRiver or IPod. Anybody have any ideas before I make my decision? Guy

By the way, it was surprising to see Senator John Kerry... I mean John Keeler... come back into the picture last night. (Seriously... could they have made his banners look any more like Kerry's?) Guy

You know, everybody's been counting out the Kings but they were the best team in the NBA for the first 80% of the season. This series isn't over by a long shot and I still have a hard time seeing Sac beating the Spurs, but they've still got a chance at winning it all. Guy

Michael Cuscuna's liner notes to Now He Sings, Now He Sobs say I've heard this similarity mentioned elsewhere as well. But... I'm only a casual Corea fan, and a non-musician to boot, so I'm only familiar with the version of "Spain" off Light as a Feather -- a version which doesn't especially sound like the second section of "Steps-What Was". On the other hand, the section in question does sound quite a bit like "La Fiesta" off Return to Forever (though "La Fiesta" is much brighter, and has that chirpy second theme). Both tunes have very similar vamps, and they seem to use similar scales as a basis for improv. On the other hand, "Spain" has a totally different kind of groove and the melody doesn't sound that similar to either of the other two. So am I missing something, or did Cuscuna get "La Fiesta" and "Spain" mixed up? Guy

So I finally made it through all the sonatas. Aside from the final five, my favorites are the Pathetique, the Pastoral (nice mellow vibe to this one), the Tempest, and the Waldstein. But almost every sonata is at least very good. It's interesting how the first few sonatas (op. 2, 7, 49) are somewhat limited in expressive content and focus a lot on technical flash, but by the remarkable Op. 10 trilogy Beethoven's personality is firmly stamped on the music. And by Op. 22, every sonata is a totally unique creation. Guy