david weiss

Having gone to North Texas State and having also played in a band that played at Caravan of Dreams often, there were a lot of Ornette Coleman sightings as he would just come down there to hang out sometimes even when he wasn't gigging there. He opened the place as you know and also had a big hand in the bookings in the club the first couple of years. One night, my band was playing there and we were at the end of the tune and doing one of those group imrov after the head, fading out out sort of things and we saw Ornette walk into the club. I started playing the theme to Dancing in Your Head and the sax players picked up on it. Not sure if Ornette did or not....... Actually this thread unblocked a memory long forgotten..... My first year at North Texas State I was dating a very nice girl from Texas who was a big rock-n-roll fan. She took me to see Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople fame. It was OK but I got bored and walked to the back of the club with the plan to go outside and get some air. Leaning against the wall right by the exit was Frank Zappa. He had no concert in the area that I knew about so it was a bit surprising. We chatted a little, nice enough guy......never asked him what the fuck he was doing in Dallas and at a Ian Hunter gig.

This is a poll for 20 somethings...most of the films are pretty recent except for Airplane and Life of Brian (instead of the Holy Grail?). Airplane is OK, some good gags and punchlines but a good movie? Well, I don't know about that...... I think most people polled probably did not see most of the movies we consider the funniest of all time because there is nothing on this list that would even crack the top 20 on my list. Actually the film in recent memory that I went to that got the most laughs in the theatre was the South Park movie, everyone was laughing hysterically throughout the movie and we missed a lot of dialogue because we were still laughing so hard from the previous joke. I don't recall seeing people that consistently breaking up throughout a whole movie like that before......

Not to derail the thread too much but I do like the actual sighting aspect of this though my best ones are not musician sightings...... Growing up in New York City and also working as a bicycle messenger put me in a position for many sightings (besides making deliveries to a few famous people like Itzhak Perlman (who was home and signed for his package) and Claudette Colbert (who wasn't home much to my chagrin). I saw Ruth Gordon on the street as a teenager and approached her to ask for her autograph and she was very sweet and gave me a big smile and hello as if she was quite used to awestruck teenage boys approaching her (because of Harold and Maude of course). I saw Lauren Bacall on the street (actually I heard her booming voice first as she shooed away an autograph seeker). I saw Pedro Almodovar in Tower Records (the one in downtown NY). He did spend some time in the jazz section. I saw Doug Flutie at a rest stop on the NJ Turnpike once and he is pretty short. I had nothing to say to him though.... I sat in business class with Mary Louise Parker right in front of me. She is very good looking in person. Actually there always seems to be some actor on every flight I take from New York to LA. One time I had a red eye from LA back to New York and I rushed to the airport right from a gig or the studio and I barely had time to make the flight much less eat. I was worried all the shops in the terminal would be closed so when checking in, I tried to use my premium status and miles to upgrade to business class in the hopes of having a proper meal (I was really hungry and had a lot of extra miles). They told me since it was such a late flight that there would be no dinner, probably just a snack and later a nice breakfast so I decided not to go for it. When I boarded the plane, I saw there was one open seat in business class and sitting next to the open seat was Bill Russell. I've kicked myself a few times over that one...... I certainly met and worked with my fair share of stars or they have come to my gigs (Freddie Hubbard gigs in LA in particular) but I have to admit to only really gushing praise once and it would seem to be an unlikely one. I couldn't help myself with Jeffrey Tambor. He actually came up to me (at Birdland) and told me he had heard me play before and how he enjoyed it and I just told him how much I loved the Larry Sanders Show (I really do, it is one of my favorite shows ever). His demeanor changed right away. Could it be possible that he didn't like the show I thought. though it seemed more like he just wanted to be a regular guy who wanted to show his appreciation...oh well.....still loved him on the Larry Sanders Show....... Oh, musicians..... I did sit next to Robert Fripp at a John McLaughlin gig in Central Park. I asked him what he thought (I think I was 15 or 16) and he said "he's good".

I saw Charlie Haden in a local record store around 1980. Wasn't sure if it was he & checked with the owner after he left. It was Haden and he was complaining that the owner wasn't carrying enough of his records - even though there were several in the store. Sounds about right.......

Louie Bluie was actually on Showtime tonight and I caught the last half of it. It's a lot of fun. It certainly would help to be a bigger fan of that music then I am but the main subject is a fun character so it holds your interest. I found Ghost World to be a much better film then Art School Confidential. Actually I didn't find Art School Confidential to be a very good movie at all though I did appreciate the sentiment behind it and much of it did ring true to me. I assume the art school in question was based on Cal Arts (as was the Art school in Six Feet Under) where I went to school for a year to study photography before I discovered my true calling as a musician and transferred out of there. As I said, I identified with a lot of it and there was hardly a false note but overall it just wasn't a very good movie to me. I love dark humor but where Ghost World's characters had heart and soul the ones in Art School Confidential do not and while that is probably the point, Zwigoff just couldn't really pull it off on this one..... Now Bad Santa is hilarious....if any of you haven't seen it, you really should......

Sorry to hear.... My link

I'm not so sure about this..... I know of one artist personally that has a few concerts up there that has never been contacted by them.....

Had a quick look at this over the weekend as the author came to a Cookers gig to give the book to Billy Hart and Eddie Henderson. Didn't have a chance to read anything but saw some great pictures.......very promising.....

Very good..... I suggest you now try to do the Sonny Rollins and Kenny Dorham solos on Star Eyes from Rollins plays for Bird.

My apologies if this one has come up before but I was just e-mailed about this...... http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/george-russell-sextet/concerts/newport-jazz-festival-july-03-1964.html George Russell at Newport in 1964 with John Gilmore, Thad Jones and Tootie Heath!!!

Guys I think this is set now.... http://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.asp?number=253-MD-CD

I thought with with the sense of history that is on this board I would have seen a lot more screw ball comedies and the like mentioned. Though perhaps not considered a comedy first, I have to say that to me Network is one of the funniest (and most prescient) movies ever. Then every thing Preston Sturges especially the big three...The Lady Eve, Palm Beach Story and Sullivan Travels. Duck Soup, My Man Godfrey, Dr. Strangelove, The In-Laws (the original of course, the remake was one of the worst movies ever made), The South Park Movie are others that come to mind. I don't think any Chaplin has been mentioned. There are many of course but maybe Modern Times is the one that cracked me up the most as a kid. Though not one of the funniest, another good one is That Uncertain Feeling by Ernst Lubitsch. Not one of his better known movies but very funny. Woman leaves her brutish husband for egocentric concert pianist she meets in her psychiatrist's office.

That may have been the film that gave me my crush on Catherine Keener. That and Living in Oblivion (directed by and with Buscemi). http://www.youtube.c...&feature=fvwrel http://www.youtube.c...h?v=NWYbXsTqv4g Have to agree with Happiness, one of the only movies I've found really funny in the past 10 years or so..... Living in Oblivion is great but it's not directed by Buscemi it's by Tom DiCillo

Bedazzled is uneven, but has some great moments. I don't know why, but for years I labored under the misconception that it was a Richard Lester film. I love Bedazzled as well. There is some funny stuff in that. The pop star wish is hilarious. I've read people write that the 'pop star' Peter Cook plays in this scene is strangely pre-empting David Bowie's stage persona of a few years later http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ-1uO5H0Vk Best lyric..... You fill me with inertia....

Have a good one Barak.....

I've heard a few stories about editors knocking off a star or so because they didn't agree with the rating or more often because it was in the 4 plus star range and the editor didn't think it should have such an exalted status. I know of one instance where it happened to me. The writer forwarded the review to me before it went to press and it was given a 4 1/2 star rating. This was for a magazine that for years only went up to 4 stars and had only recently changed their rules to allow for the 5 star rating for what they thought would be reserved for classic records only. They took away the the 1/2 star when they went to press. The writer sent me a nice note saying he didn't know what happened but it seemed pretty clear to me...... Actually I just thought of a second..... Apparently an editor for a French magazine took off a star because he hadn't heard of me. I was friendly with the writer in question and the next time I saw him, I busted his chops a little (something I do try to refrain from doing) saying really, 3 stars for that CD (he had told me how much he liked it). He then told me what happened.......I guess I should take that one with a grain of salt but I did believe him and had heard other stories about the editor in question...... It all seems like a huge waste of time......

Yes, it was Turbo Village. Freddie told me about this place many times. He said he and Wayne tried to get a gig everywhere and this was the only place that would hire them. They were given Monday nights. He said they were so happy that someone finally gave then a gig. Freddie said it was a dump (and I guess at the beginning had no piano)...as he put it, there were peanut shells all over the floor..... I guess it was early in their careers but imagine these guys having such a hard time securing a gig anywhere..... Also, ironically....the guy interviewing Freddie in the above clip has been, how do I say it....a bit troubling to the estate. I can't get into it of course and it's not a big deal but he did try some shit. I actually thought there would be a lot of this sort of thing after Freddie passed but there were only a few......

Big, big topic, but thinking off the top, five indispensable Blue Notes that Joe just kills on are McCoy Tyner's "The Real McCoy," Andrew Hill's "Black Fire," Larry Young's "Unity," Pete LaRoca's "Basra" and Kenny Dorham's "Una Mas." Lots of interesting records of more recent vintage, too, but I've got to do some work. More later. I concur, especially Black Fire and Unity but my favorite out of all these amazing sides actually might be "Our Thing". There is just something so special to me about that date...... As for non Blue Note stuff, Power to the People is the shit to me, it might even be my favorite Joe record......

I saw this band at the Playboy Jazz Festival a couple of weeks ago. They closed the Festival the day I played there. They followed something called Robin Thicke who I never heard of and when I inquired back stage who the fuck was this guy I was told his father was Alan Thicke and then I had the ask who the fuck is that only to be told..... Anyways, it seemed like they played to about 300 or so devoted fans as the rest of the place emptied out like it was the 7th inning of a Dodgers game. I enjoyed it a lot. It's fun to hear that material played in general but especially nice when played by musicians who know what they are doing and can really bring it...... It was a mix of stuff including one tune from the second era (Holdsworth band) Lifetime group.

Tom, we had to postpone this gig because we are playing in the area in August..... Something called Jazz in the Valley.....looks like a nice program http://www.transartinc.org/theschedule2012.html We will get to The Falcon at some point, I've heard it's a great place and we really do want to do something there......

Back home and recovered from a great tour....... I don't know what to say about all this..... I won't make excuses either..... I think it just comes down to taste. I don't think we're for everyone. I think any band that is trying to stretch parameters or whatever you want to call is not going to be for everyone. I see that people who saw the same show had opposite reactions to said show, we were either too loud or didn't have any energy so again it's all taste and perception I guess. I guess the sound in the venue is a factor and is something we don't have that much control over. We played Scullers two years in a row and I don't think the shows were all that different. Not from my perception on stage. Can 20 or 30 less people in the room and someone sitting a few rows closer to the stage make a difference? Perhaps.... Can shitty sound mess things up....most definitely. Can that happen without our knowing about it? Absolutely, unfortunately...... Some venues don't mic the drums because they are loud but in a larger venue, they might not project to the back of the room with the power they should and that might take away from things a bit. Until we are big enough to tour with our own sound person, this is always going to be an issue unfortunately..... All I know from the stage, where I'm sitting, this band always brings it. There is never a night where I feel the energy is lacking. Some nights are better then others of course as some nights things just click and it's amazing. The other nights are pretty good as well. Even if we are tired or had a long day of travel, we always find the energy when we get on stage. I would never use this as an excuse. It's also the reality of touring, we are used to it and again, I thought anyways, that we always found the energy when it was showtime. Also, not every tune is supposed to cook. If you leave before our rousing closer (with drum solo) perhaps you can walk away thinking the show lacked energy but I always thought we mixed it up. Played hard hitting tunes mixed with spacier more etherial tunes or ballads or something. I don't think every tune should be a go for the jugular free for all (pardon the pun). This band has many sides and I think we should display them all. I don't think screaming each tune at the top of our lungs is the way to go. I do appreciate you all coming out and supporting us. I'm glad most of you enjoyed us and for the rest, sorry we didn't make your day. Questioning why one would have "ensemble work" on a ballad though seems a bit much but everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think it works great but hey, that's just me....... Anyway, almost everywhere we go we getting rousing standing ovations at the end of the night and while they might be going through the motions or being polite, I have to think we are usually pretty well received and those who do not find it to be all that are in the minority. Again, I realize we are not for everyone.....I don't remember the quote exactly but I think it's something to the effect of if someone doesn't like you you're doing something wrong or maybe it's if everyone likes you, you're doing something wrong....you get the idea.....

Domestic or import label? Domestic this time...Motema Records Release date June 12. I believe it is a gig for the Hartford Jazz Society or something to that effect. This is the venue info they gave me Polish National Home, 60 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT. 06103 Hope you can make it..... I happen to be the president of the Hartford Jazz Society and can confirm the venue is correct. Really Ron, I had no idea.....thanks then...looking forward to it.... At least you're not the treasurer My lord -- Billy Harper blowing on "Free For All"?? Hot damn!!! Yeah, my thoughts exactly....... People liked The Core so much that we thought we had to do some sort of follow up to that and this was the most logical tune so.........

Agreed Pete... Neither the sick patient nor the sacred art form model is going to attract anyone new to the music. The first is too negative and might even convince some who have a passing interest in the music to not bother if they are actually paying attention. The other just scares some people off and I get more of the inevitable "I want to like Jazz but I guess I need to know about it first" when I tell a person I meet that I'm a jazz musician. Then I have to go into the whole well the music should just appeal to you on a basic level like any music and then the beauty is if you want more detail and understanding of the music that's there for you to but it's just music like any other you can pat your feet, shake your ass and sing along with the melody shtick. The piece I referred to above, the part I did keep was about how I was getting tired of the sick patient part and all the pieces about how jazz is dead or dying or why Americans can't comprehend it or it needs to be simpler etc etc. It's overkill and if people are paying attention even a little oppressive perhaps. I went on to say that I travel the world playing this music and I go a lot of places where things are done right, creative programmers, festivals, club owners who run a nice shop etc etc and these places thrive so if things are done right, the audience is there. Maybe we should focus on that and how to do that in more places and then maybe we can get somewhere. When I play with The Cookers, it is usually for an older audience and they couldn't care less about most of this. They just want to hear some good music (with ties to the stuff that first got them interested in this music apparently) in a nice surrounding and buy a CD and go home......I love them all...... Jazz has been mainly a lifestyle music - like most musics I suppose - but practitioners have to be a whole lot more into it than anyone else (um, like, say, golf). I have come to disagree with the idea that it is a music that requires a sophisticated listener - yes, it is basically (in its 'modern jazz' form) an expository music, but so much so in fact that lots of the records become quickly boring, they are so easy to take in, the tunes get boring *really* quickly, too few of the solos actaully catch fire, etc. So the question of venue is important, as you say, but also therefore of demographic, and then a question of what music. If you don't want to play to elderly toe-tappers, don't. Miles knew if you want to retain audience you have to change idiom, and he also saw ways to make that artistically engaging for himself. Jazz - if it wasn't good enough for Miles, why should it be good enough for anyone else? To my mind there is not 'the music'. Musicans have to train a lot and are invested in method - audiences can move on quickly. It's not 'education' though, I agree with you, and the more 'jazz fans' push it the more dire and uncompelling it seems (most discussion of jazz persuades me that I am not interested in it any more). Can it stay on, as a classical music? That's the model now - hm. The classical model at least shows that most forms of music can have legs and can last forever and jazz will certainly do that. I guess it's just how much. How big of an audience will there be down the road, how many musicians will be able to sustain themselves doing this etc etc. I guess a large part of the older fan base will be dead or not going out so much anymore in 30 years and that leaves it to the next generation that is not that interested? Somehow classical music has it's audience and it seems to renew itself so I guess it will be the same for jazz, newer generations will figure it out at some point. Right now they are going to 55 Bar, Smalls and Fat Cat and some places in Brooklyn. I guess in 20 years they will go see the same bands (who have climbed up the ladder) at Birdland and have dinner and buy a CD or something and have a nice night and so on and so on. I had a meeting not too long ago with a record company and sat with three people from the label discussing things. One said, how do we expose jazz to more people, get a broader audience etc etc and I said, great, that's a noble thing, go do that but you know what, why don't you just get me all the jazz fans. If you got me all of the jazz fans, I'd be doing OK. There are enough of them, focus on them, get the word out to all of them and have them come to my shows and buy my CDs. I'd be fine with just that. Let's start there and then we can do that bring it to the rest of the world thing.......

Yeah, I regret it a little but you kind of have to walk on eggshells out here, everyone is a little touchy and it's easy to get in trouble and get a reputation for being...I don't know....a dick I guess..... Well, the NYCJR edits more for length than for content, so had you submitted that part it probably would've stayed. Besides, I think more people would agree with you than not, though perhaps that is me being naive out in the hinterlands. Clifford, I did submit that part and the whole piece was too long so as I said elsewhere, I made the decision to cut out this whole section instead of trying to trim everything a little bit and hurt every section of the piece...... I decided I didn't want to stir the shit that much as it were and removed the semi offending part......

Agreed Pete... Neither the sick patient nor the sacred art form model is going to attract anyone new to the music. The first is too negative and might even convince some who have a passing interest in the music to not bother if they are actually paying attention. The other just scares some people off and I get more of the inevitable "I want to like Jazz but I guess I need to know about it first" when I tell a person I meet that I'm a jazz musician. Then I have to go into the whole well the music should just appeal to you on a basic level like any music and then the beauty is if you want more detail and understanding of the music that's there for you to but it's just music like any other you can pat your feet, shake your ass and sing along with the melody shtick. The piece I referred to above, the part I did keep was about how I was getting tired of the sick patient part and all the pieces about how jazz is dead or dying or why Americans can't comprehend it or it needs to be simpler etc etc. It's overkill and if people are paying attention even a little oppressive perhaps. I went on to say that I travel the world playing this music and I go a lot of places where things are done right, creative programmers, festivals, club owners who run a nice shop etc etc and these places thrive so if things are done right, the audience is there. Maybe we should focus on that and how to do that in more places and then maybe we can get somewhere. When I play with The Cookers, it is usually for an older audience and they couldn't care less about most of this. They just want to hear some good music (with ties to the stuff that first got them interested in this music apparently) in a nice surrounding and buy a CD and go home......I love them all......