Guy Berger

Lester Young with Nat Cole and Red Callender

The Oscar Peterson trio with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown

Lon - which recordings are you talking about? Of Course Of Course has Tony Williams, not Pete LaRoca; and the tracks recorded a little later with LaRoca have Albert Stinson on board rather than Ron Carter. Anyway, this should be great and I am looking forward to it. Should be quite a bit better than most of the live recordings with Jarrett and DeJohnette, at least in terms of Lloyd's playing.

I understand where this question is coming from aesthetically but - we don't know what BB's finances are like, we don't know what his medical costs are. There have been enough posts here about elderly musicians in penury...

Obviously everyone has been quoting this opening line from "One Hundred Years of Solitude", but it's so good and maybe it will convince someone to discover this author: "Muchos años después, frente al pelotón de fusilamiento, el coronel Aureliano Buendía había de recordar aquella tarde remota en que su padre lo llevó a conocer el hielo." "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."

A giant. RIP.

How much pre-1950 jazz have you listened to, out of curiosity?

Filles de Kilimanjaro, A Love Supreme, Out to Lunch

Didn't AS get better ratings than... Letterman? (And pretty much everyone except Leno/Fallon.) Personally I'm less interested in these stupid "late night wars" and much more interested in who Comedy Central picks for the "blowhard parody" slot to replace Colbert. Limbaugh and O'Reilly would be excellent candidates. I really think Colbert Report will go away after Colbert departs, though he might be allowed to do a few special events here and there, particularly around election time. My guess is that John Oliver gets some show crafted around his persona. Actually, John Oliver DOES have a show coming out soon (has it already started?) - a weekly "news" show on HBO. And I think you are probably right; I was being facetious.

50 years is enough, and there should be a compulsory licensing regime for out of print music/books.

Didn't AS get better ratings than... Letterman? (And pretty much everyone except Leno/Fallon.) Personally I'm less interested in these stupid "late night wars" and much more interested in who Comedy Central picks for the "blowhard parody" slot to replace Colbert. Limbaugh and O'Reilly would be excellent candidates.

I recently picked up NbtB (the 2CD set on Avid) and man, this is a glorious album.

I am a little sad that Colbert's CC show is ending, but very happy for him - he deserves the $$$. For him, this is a risk with limited downside. For CBS, on the other hand... this could be a giant flop.

Yes. This was an excellent trolling venture - and they did it without adding Kenny G! By the way, I think you could make a case that Wynton, the Metternich of jazz, really does belong on this list. Nobody said the influence had to be positive. Don't think that Wynton has been influential on the music per se (name a significant player whose music owes a debt to Wynton's) but on how the music has been perceived and marketed. Don't you think a lot of jazz recorded/played in the 1980s "went in a certain direction" because of his prominence/influence? Maybe that's the same thing as what you're saying.

Yes. This was an excellent trolling venture - and they did it without adding Kenny G! By the way, I think you could make a case that Wynton, the Metternich of jazz, really does belong on this list. Nobody said the influence had to be positive.

This is generally part of their business plan, so "missing" may not be the right word to use. Though sometimes they do it out of sheer incompetence rather than intention.

Fair enough, but even in 1990 (around when the liner notes where written) it already was a bit reminiscent of "get off my lawn!!"

A purist digging on Miles At Fillmore. Now that's Progress In My Lifetime! In the liner notes to the 90s CD reissue of My Funny Valentine and Four and More, the author says something like "despite his recent fusion misadventures, the music Miles Davis will be remembered for are his small group work and collaborations with Gil Evans." Does anybody have this handy, and is willing to dig up the name of the author and exact quote?

I've only heard the Vanguard albums. Good stuff, especially Distant Hills and Winter Light. I never checked out the later work - the descriptions and reviews made it seem like not my cup of tea.

I always enjoy these kinds of articles - it's interesting to hear musicians' thoughts about others' music, at least if they are trying to engage with it honestly. And I'm especially fascinated by how non-straight-ahead musicians perceive "the tradition".

I feel like either me or you said this in the past, but it would have been better with a different, less "controlled" bassist and drummer.

Woohoo! Exciting. I'd only heard a few excerpts from this concert.

I'm not sure I follow you completely. From my own modest collection of his albums, I really enjoy "Like Someone in Love" from Lush Life, "In a Sentimental Mood" from the Duke Ellington album and of course "Blue in Green" for example, and count them amongst the best of his ballad playing (there is a lot of Coltrane material that I haven't heard though especially late Coltrane). Would you say that those are "mystically infused"? How about "Naima"? I would definitely call the intense and intensely beautiful material from 1965 like Dear Lord, Dearly Beloved, and certain pieces from First Meditations for example mystically infused ballads. They probably wouldn't qualify as ballads by definition. These pieces are profound. Kind of what erwbol said. I think "Naima" qualifies, the others don't. (I'm talking about Coltrane leader dates, but I assume you are referring to "Blue in Green" on "Kind of Blue." Having Miles on the recording changes the context). Perhaps you rate them more highly than I do. My larger point is that when Coltrane was able to get out of the "me and thee" of Tin Pan Alley ballads and into some larger sphere of feeling or connectedness, then his music is more powerful. "I love you" as opposed to "a love supreme." To me, handing Coltrane a stack of well-worn ballads was insulting, and a cash grab. Did someone tell Picasso, "Pablo baby, all these cube things, with womens' heads on sideways," just not what people are asking for. Here, paint some nice boats on a lake or something, people can hang over their sofas." Although well-made, according to the conventional standards, it was retrogressive to his particular artistry. I guess it's all a matter of taste, but it seems odd to downgrade a whole lot of romantically motivated output in the history of art. Picasso painted his lovers, FWIW. One thing that's worth mentioning is that there's a strong common thread running through his more traditional ballad interpretations and the more adventurous ballad style that he developed during the 1960s. On the Ballads album specifically, "You Know What Love Is" seems to bridge these two approaches. Second thing - I'm a little surprised that people are classifyng "Dear Lord" with the later ballads. Despite the relatively late recording date I always thought this was a fairly traditional (but beautiful!) performance.

Strongly disagree. "Naima". "In a Sentimental Mood". "I Want to Talk About You"!!!!

Yes - ironic that his best ballad performances are elsewhere.