david weiss

I saw them in New York tonight and it was really a great show. I'm old enough to have seen the band with Belew, Levin and Bruford live (when in college) and I really liked it but to me, this was on a whole other level.....perhaps because they played a lot of the material from the original band(s) and that is my favorite material and they really played the shit out of most of it. Starless was incredible and it was a thrill to hear it live. Some of the other hits came off great but it was the newer tunes that really showcased the band the best (except for Starless). The three drum thing worked well for the most part (except for Red, which was still great to hear but the drum thing really didn't work well here). I wasn't familiar with most of the band except for Tony Levin and Mel Collins but they were really strong. So, if you are a fan of the band, it is certainly worth checking out. They really bring it and sound great. To stay on my high school guitar hero kick, after the show I walked over to Iridium and heard Alan Holdsworth. He was great too actually and about halfway through the set, most of the King Crimson band and crew (sans Fripp) walked in to check out the show. I had a free seat next to me so I offered it to Mel Collins. Nice guy.....

Sorry to say..... One of the greats of course

Well if you are going to look at things this way, Worktime makes a lot of sense. At least one could point to his shedding in Chicago and point to this result, the first time he went into the studio after all that practicing (and some gigs with Max Roach). That's an easier sell then the Monk/Rollins session which seems to be one of at least 3 dates where is he playing at the this level recorded in the months before this date so while a fine date, not quite the sudden breakthrough as described here. Monk may have made a big difference to the overall sound of the recording but the breakthrough in Rollins' sax playing is what is being discussed here. I actually look a little later to where I think he becomes perhaps the greatest be-bop/hard bop tenor saxophonists (or one of two). I think this peaks in the 1957-59 period and I can't really point to one album as the breakthrough, just the culmination of all that came before it though I think his playing trio has something to do with my feelings about this (plus the Blue Note album with Reflections (my favorite work of his with Monk) and Poor Butterfly. As for the piece I linked, I've only gone to this site a few times but every time I read something there, I'm blown away by some of the whoppers and misinformation. This guy clearly likes the music, might even have a passion for it but a little more respect for the facts would be nice. In this article alone...... "One of jazz's big turning points came on October 25, 1954, when Sonny Rollins altered the direction of the tenor saxophone at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack, N.J., studio". Pretty bold proclamation I think. "Next came the Art Farmer Quintet in January 1954 and Bags' Groove in June, which was more of a Davis-Monk cutting session than a Sonny showcase". Actually Bag's Groove was recorded in December, the rest of the album was recorded in June (without Monk). Bag's Groove is the only tune with Monk on this record. Calling it "more of a Davis-Monk cutting session than a Sonny showcase" is a really strange way of putting this especially since Monk is only on one tune and if anything is a coming out party for Sonny in 1954, it's his playing on Oleo, Airegin and Doxy on this record. It certainly has all the attributes that this guy describes in Sonny's playing on his record with Monk a few months later. "Sonny's session for Moving Out in August included trumpeter Kenny Dorham, as Prestige stubbornly continued to chaperone Sonny's sax with horns". Really???? First I've heard of this. I wonder who told him this? Sonny's first record on Prestige was a quartet date. Actually Movin' Out is the first record of Sonny's as a leader that does have another horn player. "Finally, in October '54, Sonny was captured alone with Monk, Potter and Taylor, and we get to hear a completely new saxophone sound emerge, one unburdened by trumpets and stale bebop riffs or limited by tight time limits". A completely new saxophone sound emerge? Really? "One unburdened by trumpets"....Kenny Dorham and Miles Davis burdens? plus as I said only one of his earlier records as a leader had another horn player on it. "Stale bebop riffs" Sonny was playing stale be-bop riffs before the record and then suddenly stopped? Is he referring to someone else? "Limited by tight time limits" This was originally a 10" record just like all the ones Sonny was on before this. Am I being rough here? One sentence after the next has these ridiculous proclamations/speculations? It's really too much to bear. It's hard to see history rewritten even if it's not in a negative way.

Mjzee, shameless self promotion is not really my forte but I've been encouraged to work on it. Here's what I think is a nicely done EPK about the CD that will give you a taste of some of the music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LegDNR_IHus

Just read this..... http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/05/sonny-rollins-thelonious-monk.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29 It makes some pretty startling statements to me..... Thoughts?

I always thought this took the cake..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW8PMTDcFJY

$4,383.99 for the photos and negatives.....pretty impressive..... From what I can see, the photos are from the rejected Horace Silver Tentette session and the Thad Jones in Times Square? photo shoot.....

That's kind of an inside joke with the band and it seems it's turned out to be the truest test of whether or not an audience really knows us (and our history) or not. For instance, the next night in Detroit, when I announced Croquet Ballet the crowd went nuts like I was announcing Stairway to Heaven to a Led Zepplin audience...... It's old hat to those other guys in the band but to me it really gets me in touch with how much this music used to mean to people (and still does to some apparently/fortunately)

Jeez, did I really say no one? I meant to say or hoped I said almost no one...... Well, that's what happens when you put a microphone in the wrong hands. It seems we were able to please all the Organissimo board members this time around. I do want to thank you all for coming out and for saying hello afterwards. It's always nice to meet you guys..... There were some special shows this time around........

A great musician of course and a truly beautiful soul...... And if you have doubts don't blame me, blame Sonny Rollins.... https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-Sonny-Rollins-Page/108462262530510?ref=stream

CJ, I see the blog post referenced..... Again, I'm just questioning this based on what I know. I've heard he has Alzheimer's from time to time over the last few years but I have heard no mention of this recently and I have talked to a few people who have talked to Horace in the past year or so (one of them talks to him frequently) and they tell me the conversations are great and that he is quite lucid. If he does have Alzheimer's, it must be in the early stages then. I really don't know enough about the disease or Horace's condition to speculate more then this. This is all very personal stuff and this is a very private family. I just wanted to respond to what I was reading here that I have conflicting information (that I know to be true) to the rumor that he is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. I thought you guys might be relieved to know that he is in better shape then that (and also there is that still being alive part). I don't post anything that I don't know to be true whether it is something like this or reporting someone's death or whatever......

Guys, I don't want to venture to far into personal business but after a day of responding to a false rumor, are we sure that Horace has Alzheimer's? Who is our reputable source for this? As far as I know and from I've heard from people who have been around him the past few years (and there haven't been many), there has been no indication that he has Alzheimer's and if he does, he is certainly not in the advanced stages. I could be wrong but I have heard nothing definitive about this so if it's not true, it would be sad to perpetuate this.....

And there is the sister article on his blog.....in this one, to me the writer comes off as the one making the bold proclamations about Glasper being the future of the music. I also joined in a Facebook discussion on this and this is what wrote about the Wall Street Journal piece...... How do you reconcile one statement with the other? "To make a point, the jazz pianist clicked on a live recording of his band—the Robert Glasper Experiment—performing Roy Ayers's "Searching." Starting in the 1970s, Mr. Ayers—a jazz vibraphonist—embraced soul and had a series of hit albums, including "Everybody Loves the Sunshine." "That's my dude, right there—Roy Ayers," said Mr. Glasper, 35. "Without Roy Ayers, I couldn't do what I'm doing now. Roy didn't feel he owed the jazz community anything, and neither do I." and then a couple of paragraphs down....... "Jazz politics notwithstanding, Mr. Glasper's efforts come at an opportune time. Jazz has been struggling financially for decades, largely because it has remained unchanged. The last major new jazz style—jazz-rock fusion—emerged in the late '60s, and radio's decline has kept many younger listeners from hearing the music's history". So essentially Glasper is saying that he is hugely influenced by Roy Ayers and is essentially doing what Roy did in the '70s (and also in a Down Beat article last year he said the first Black Radio CD was essentially a '70s Donny Hathaway record). Then a couple of paragraphs down, Myers says that nothing has happened in Jazz since the late '60s and here comes Robert Glasper to save the day....by doing what Roy Ayers did in the '70s. Am I missing something here?

It would seem like the session logs were edited for the Cuscuna/Ruppli book as they probably felt they shouldn't include false starts and incomplete takes etc etc. As for missing some complete takes that have since seen the light of day, I'm not sure what to say about that...... With their usual over efficiency, my CDs arrived from Japan today (I just gave them my address Sunday night). These came out quickly, I chose the Speak No Evil tracks in the middle of August. As for previously unreleased tracks, I see the following..... Blakey Moanin' Alternate Blue March Dolphy Out to Lunch Alternate Hat and Beard and Something Sweet, Something Tender Shorter Speak No Evil Alternate Witch Hunt and Fee Fi Fo Fum Adderley Something Else Alternate Autumn Leaves Same intro as the original Bertrand. The difference here is that on the original take they slowed the tempo down after the intro for the body of the tune and on the alternate the tempo stays the same throughout...... At the moment, the Japanese are the only ones still reissuing these things so there really isn't any comparing. Apparently they wanted something new or special for this run (or was hoping there would be something) and Cuscuna did what he could to accommodate......

I don't have the Ruppli book handy but if I recall correctly, I don't remember the alternate takes from Speak No Evil, Out to Lunch or Unity being mentioned at all in there. As to why they haven't seen the light of day before now...... From what I have been told both directly and indirectly is that at the beginning of all this, the philosophy was that an alternate take had to be of a certain quality, sure, but that it also had to shed new light on the tune....a different twist to it, a different tempo or something that distinguished it from the original take. If it was the same format, same solos, same tempo etc etc, it usually wasn't considered. Now over the years, I think that stance has softened a bit and now with the material pretty much exhausted, I think there has been some "reevaluating" as well. This is the first I've heard of Out to Lunch alternates but I've had the Unity and Speak No Evil alternates for years. I had some say in choosing the alternates for this release of Speak No Evil and I think they are quite good especially the Witch Hunt (which is taken a bit faster here). The Fee Fi Fo Fum is solid here but there was another take with an incredible Freddie Hubbard solo that unfortunately breaks down during Wayne's solo so it is not usable. The tapes for the earlier attempt at Speak No Evil with Billy Higgins apparently no longer exist..... I have to assume they taped over them. Tape is expensive....... I've certainly heard train wrecks here and there on these sessions and many others.....it happens. These guys were well rehearsed before they went into the studio though, Alfred and Francis insisted on that and that is part of the reason the level is so high on these dates. I pushed for the Unity stuff so hopefully down the road a bit it will see the light of day........

I missed the Slice of the Top track as well and I was looking at this series at Disk Union when I was in Japan a few months back....oh well...... Bertrand, I pushed for the Unity tracks but they had already chosen the CDs for this series by the time they talked to me about the Speak No Evil alternates.....they said maybe the next batch..... On another subject, wasn't there thread a while back about Lee Morgan's bandaged head at a session or something? Can someone bring that thread up so I can see it as I have something to add to that one as well......

I have no new news about any of these sessions, but I do want to report that a couple of CDs that are being reissued yet again (in Japan in conjunction with Blue Note's 75th Anniversary) will have new bonus tracks (alternate takes). Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil will have an alternate takes of Fee Fi Fo Fum and Witch Hunt which are both very good. Eric Dolphy's Out To Lunch will have an alternate take or two as well but I haven't heard these. I think there will be an additional alternate take from Blue Trane as well this time around. These will be released in Japan, no word yet if these will be released in the US.

The great woodwind player from Henry Cow passed away a couple of days ago. I also liked some of her solo work......

Rocky Boyd's date Ease It was later issued under Kenny Dorham's name. I forgot the name of the trombonist, Willie Williams or something like that but his record came out under Freddie Hubbard's name (Groovy) and later reissued under Duke Pearson's name I think......

Sadly, it is true.....

We did our first night at the Jazz Standard last night...... I think this is some amazing music and it's really coming together..... I do want to want to say this about whether Legend has been performed or not...... Yes, there is a Down Beat piece mentioning this but this can not be taken as the gospel as I have seen this phenomena before where Down Beat mentions a performance that will happen that does not happen or report on a concert where the piece is written before the concert (not a review really mind you but more just reporting it's occurrence) when in fact the concert doesn't happen or the circumstances regarding the material performed or what have you had changed. What I would really like is for just one person, anybody who can tell me that they have seen Legend performed or a musician who says he has played the piece. I did talk to one musician who was on the gig and they say they performed a Wayne Shorter piece called Antigua. Wallace was also told the same thing by other musicians involved (and maybe even by Wayne). So, like I said, until someone tells me they have actually seen, heard or performed Legend then this might indeed be the premiere of it. It is certainly the premiere of Universe and Twin Dragon. Universe is a major work by a major composer I think.

Offensive fouls do not result in free throws in the NBA, even when the other team is in the bonus. Thus the net result of the play would have been the same (except James picks up a 4th foul that's meaningless unless the game goes into a second OT). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgAbo6IJB_A LeBron's elbow does come up there. On the other hand, an instant before the elbow touches Green, Green's right hand is already touching LeBron's left hip. (see the 1:06 mark.) Green is not set in position, so strictly speaking that should be either a block or a hand-check called on Green. In a fast-moving transition play in overtime of an elimination NBA Finals game, the officials will almost never blow the whistle for either type of contact. The Bosh block on Green...seems like a similar case. A running fallaway 3 from the corner while kicking your legs out a little to get some separation? If the defender's hand gets all ball, which Bosh's did, it's hard to see the ref making that call for the body contact. The defender is required to give the shooter airspace to land, but has the right to contest the shot. If Green's momentum (from sprinting to the corner and launching off-balance, not really from the contact) doesn't cause him to fall down out of bounds, I think a no-call there is much more obvious. Thanks for clearing that up Big Wheel, I thought in the penalty an offensive foul would get you to the line, my bad...... However, a roundhouse elbow is a little more blatant then a hand on the body but I guess a foul is a foul.....or not a foul..... As for Green, I don't know, that was pretty hard contact and at the same time as the block. I think that's a foul but I doubt Green makes that shot anyways so this is not one I'm complaining about. That was probably the refs point of view as well, they don't want to be the ones to change the outcome of the game by calling that one.....

Last time I felt like this was with the 1986 Redsoxs. They were useless in Game 7. I hope the Spurs can recover better then that. Up until the last minute of the 4th quarter, this was a great series. The best I've seen in a while and the first to hold my attention in ages..... Manu, even when he was a great player was never a clutch player or the smartest player (a few year back I remember he lost a series against Dallas when up three with a few seconds remaining (in a Game 7) he fouled Nowitzki driving to the basket and Nowitzki hit the shot and the foul shot and sent the game into overtime where the Spurs lost the game and the series and cost them a trip to the finals. All Ginoble had to do was let Nowitzki hit the shot and they would have won by one or fouled him hard enough (something he is not capable of doing actually) so he couldn't have gotten a shot up and even if he hit the two free throws, the Spurs would have won by one. It was the stupidest play I think I ever saw with so much on the line) and he proved it again last night with some less then clutch free throw shooting and some horrible turnovers. That said..... Ginoble was fouled on that play but also took three steps. It looked more like a running play in a football game. Green was fouled at the end. Bosh got all ball but his body crashed into Green's at the same time. I think that's a foul. Neither one of those bothered me that much though. One foul shot hit or one offensive rebound grabbed in the final seconds of regulation would have made this all a moot point. One play that hasn't been discussed even though it was replayed many times was the play a few plays before the Ginoble thing when LeBron was driving to the basket and Green was defending. The ball went out of bounds and they reviewed it to see who it was off of. While it was repeating several times, you could see LeBron holding the ball in both hands throw his left elbow (with a lot behind it with the ball in both hands) at Green knocking him to the ground but Green still was able to get his hand on the ball on his way down and force LeBron to lose control of it. It seems like that was a pretty clear offensive foul and that Green should have gone to the line and that probably would have sealed things right there. Did anyone else see that play? In the end though, this is all speculation of course. The Spurs should have pulled this out. I hope they bring something tomorrow and still have something left in the tank to pull this out..... Otherwise the most lasting impression of this great dynasties run will be the last minute of regulation of this game......

We all seem to get compared to someone at some point and sometimes it really sticks and while initially you might be flattered after a while you are pigeonholed and as years go by, you start to get really sick of it. Backlash ensues...... And yes sometimes you go overboard and don't really mean to be that harsh but enough is enough sometimes..... Musicians have done blindfold tests and have criticized other musicians in print. Musicians have occasionally done reviews and have criticized other musicians in print. Probably musicians have criticized ther musicians in interviews. It's human nature to have opinions and sometimes those opinions are made publicly. To me, they're just opinions and I take them as such - nothing more. I recently did a blindfold test and yes, there was perhaps some criticism..... It was under the guise of just talking honestly about the music at hand but some will certainly take it as criticism......

Yes, the 1964 Mingus..... I went through a lot of that stuff ages ago and can't recall a favorite..... I guess I'm going to have to get the Mosaic box and go through all that stuff again..... Having toured like that and with what I consider some really good bands, it's usually very good no matter what even if you are tired or what have you but then there are those special nights and then you hope the tapes are rolling and it's captured. I haven't always had the best luck with this.... It's interesting to see this phenomena with even the best bands there ever were.....