Guy Berger

NOJ, My collection isn't much more extensive than yours, but this is stuff you absolutely need: The Webster/Blanton recordings (Never No Lament or other recording) late 20s/early 30s stuff (Okeh Ellington on Sony and Early Ellington on GRP are from this period - European labels probably also cover it) Ellinton & Hodges Side by Side (one of my favorites) This is stuff that you'll want: New Orleans Suite [many would put it in the prior category] Three Suites Afro Eurasian Eclipse And His Mother Called Him Bill The Ellington Suites Latin American Suite stuff you can probably skip: 1969 White House All Star Tribute

I hope they use the best sources. For some of these shows (I'm thinking of Antwerp) there is a well-circulated inferior tape. I hope Cuscuna or someone else with an archivist's instinct is put in charge. Guy p.s. As an example of how to f--- this up, look at the European Trane box put out by Pablo about 10 years ago. Though at least in that case it was a problem limited to mislabelling of shows, not anything with the sound quality.

Great news - the 1967 concerts are all great (not great - amazing!) - though if this is just one concert for $50 I'm not biting.

I've been recently exploring the balance of Hancock's Blue Note output - I was very pleasantly surprised (on the upside) by Speak Like a Child. Not a major statement on the level of Maiden Voyage or Empyrean Isles, but I really enjoyed it. Inventions & Dimensions was nicer than expected too, but not by as big a margin. Next up: The Prisoner.

Thanks fellas! The weather is beautiful here, looks like it's gonna be a good one. Guy

I listened to this album for the first time last week... brilliant. I love hearing Getz in front of a more modern rhythm section.

I agree that it's human instinct for people to gravitate to this kind of thing. But I don't think that exempts them from moral criticism. Guy You're respectfully invited to shove your moral criticism up your ass. Dan, first off let me back up and apologize for my tone, which was condescending. But let me ask you - what do you think motivated people to watch the Anthony trial?

I agree that it's human instinct for people to gravitate to this kind of thing. But I don't think that exempts them from moral criticism. Guy

Every death has its own unique circumstances. What differentiates this one is its appeal to voyeuristic/sensationalistic tastes, in a way that watching a child starve to death or brutally murdered by warlords or being blown up by a landmine is not. Guy

Dave, I'm somewhat sympathetic to your view - but the series' presentation as "a history of jazz" instead of "a very slanted history of jazz with many key lacunae" is what leaves a sour taste in people's mouths.

GA, the unemployment rate is defined as the number of people without jobs and are actively looking for one, divided by (people with jobs + people without jobs and are actively looking for one). That is just north of 9%. There are also various measures that try to capture underemployment. For example, one common measure (that is somewhere around 17% I believe) includes the marginally attached (people who don't have a job, would like one, but are not actively looking) and those working part-time for economic reasons. Neither of these categories falls under the category of "unemployed". Additionally, you have some people who are not working for a variety of other reasons (too young, in school, in prison, not interested in a job) and they are not captured by these measures, but would dent the employment/population ratio (which is around 60%). The confusion with unemployment insurance is because usually to claim UI you need to be looking for a job. So it could be that many people defined as "unemployed" would actually not bother looking for work if they weren't eligible for UI. If those people run out of UI, the unemployment rate could fall down because either they (A) take a job or (B) stop looking actively. There are hundreds - probably thousands - of tragic deaths worldwide every day. This is just one. I don't see any moral justification for why, aside from voyeuristic sensationalism, that this one should suck up all the media oxygen that it does. It's tragedy p-rn. Guy

The unemployment rate is above 9%... the Middle East is experiencing a round of historical ferment (along with much bloodshed)... lots of other actually important stuff is happening... and yet this is what occupies the airwaves. Sad.

Very cool. Thanks for posting.

I love this thread... my girlfriend and I have been talking about adopting a rescue for some time and will finally be taking the plunge in about a month. We're thinking probably a lab puppy given their abundance. It will be exciting! More amusingly, I tend to get very excited whenever I see a puppy while walking around the neighborhood. (There are a lot.) My girlfriend finds it amusing though sometimes has to whisper "you're STARING!" Anyway, as soon as we adopt I'll post a picture. Guy

Ha - Mr. Tepper could have had all of it insured if he kept it in a non-interest-bearing account. But more seriously, he could be so loaded that this is a logical investment - I mean, if he has a net worth of several billion then this could just be part of his cash holdings. Guy

I was listening to the Superbird reissue of Discovery and Nirvana. Nirvana is a mixed bag but Discovery is fantastic! Lloyd plays a lot better than on many of the Atlantics. Guy

Miles and Coltrane are conspicuously absent!

That was great... sometimes you wish lesser musicians (human beings!) than Sonny shared at least some of his humility. Guy

I really enjoyed the movie. It was charming, funny, sentimental in a good way. And I agree with MartyJazz on Rocky, really not my thing. Guy

Is there any substantive evidence on this? I've read plenty of innuendo and speculation on this subject but no actual evidence. Guy

Shawn, hang in there.

Listening to the Shrine recording from 1954 for the first time. Great music. Love hearing Getz and Bob Brookmeyer weaving around each other! Not as emotionally "deep" as the 80s/90s music, but it makes up for that with the enthusiasm of youth. Guy

Thanks Jim. Your comments on both threads seemed superficially similar to me, so I was curious. And elsewhere: I used to have the same "problem" w/Hawk when I first started checking him out, but when I wasn't looking, it all fell into place fr me and I started hearing the other things in his playing that I still marvel at, notably the way that his tone fits inside his lines perfectly, and how even though his lines are predominately steady eith note oriented (but not as consistently as you might think, depending on the session), his accents and subtle-but-very-real tonal variations create a tension/release within those eight notes (and within his harmonic dissections) that is quite engaging once one becomes aware of it (and it's not always obvious, that's for sure). I'm just a listener, not a musician. Do Murray and Hawkins's rhythmic approaches have anything in common? Guy If there are any, I don't think there's any meaningful comparisons to be made of them.

And elsewhere: I used to have the same "problem" w/Hawk when I first started checking him out, but when I wasn't looking, it all fell into place fr me and I started hearing the other things in his playing that I still marvel at, notably the way that his tone fits inside his lines perfectly, and how even though his lines are predominately steady eith note oriented (but not as consistently as you might think, depending on the session), his accents and subtle-but-very-real tonal variations create a tension/release within those eight notes (and within his harmonic dissections) that is quite engaging once one becomes aware of it (and it's not always obvious, that's for sure). I'm just a listener, not a musician. Do Murray and Hawkins's rhythmic approaches have anything in common? Guy

My "issue" with Ascension is with the soloists which are IMHO a mixed bag - I love the ensembles, love Trane's solo - would have rather had an avant-garde concerto for Trane. Guy