Shawn

Nice recommendation of Remember The Night! That one really gets overlooked. One of my favorites this time of year is Holiday Affair with Janet Leigh & Robert Mitchum...a nice little film that hasn't been overexposed. Of course It's A Wonderful Life always gets viewed as well. Listening to my vinyl version of Duke Pearson's Merry Ole Soul right now...GROOVIN!

Happy Holidays to a fellow Griffin fanatic! Hope you have a good one....

I'm actually spinning Quiet Kenny at the moment... Each time I hear Kenny the main thing that really sticks out is that TONE! God this was one soulful cat. There really are only a select number of artists that are instantly recognizable and have beautiful things to communicate to the listener...Kenny had this gift. The above mentioned ability to fit comfortably into any context is of course also a major plus, whether straight bebop, ballads or boogaloo...he's always himself and always in the groove. The partnership that he shared with Hank Mobley in The Jazz Messengers and other later dates was amazing. One of my personal favorite jazz duos. The chemistry and overall approach they had to music was so in sync. When listening to a record like Whistle Stop (that borders on the supernatural) you are easily and effortlessly whisked away to a place much better than the one we're in...and for 40 minutes or so you're in the best nightclub in the world while Kenny & Hank weave their spell. I actually know very little of Kenny's personal life, so I share Lon's mention of a much needed bio.

I have my own virtual radio in my head and it turns itself on whenever it wants. I almost always have a song going as soon as I wake up and it's usually something I either haven't heard for a million years...or didn't want to hear for a million years! Sometimes it's not an entire song, just a phrase or a riff that gets stuck. Usually it's show tunes or songs from hollywood musicals...this morning I woke up with the Astaire/Rogers version of Let's Call The Whole Thing Off in my head....I haven't seen the movie for at least 5 years.... Jazzshrink...HELP!

Of late I've found myself reaching more for other forms of music...I still love my jazz but my moods don't always seem to coincide with the music. This was started by re-aquiring my old vinyl collection of Rock LPs which I hadn't listened to since around 1993 or so. While spinning some of these old gems I was amazed at how much I still enjoyed many of them (while others left me scratching my head). While I don't really see this as a "change" in my musical tastes, because I admire many forms of music, it does bring about a difference in my listening habits since I've been primarily listening to jazz for many years now. In addition to this my purchasing habits have changed because now I'm scouring the used LP bins for cheap records to suppliment my collection, very few of which have been jazz LPs. So at the moment the jazz CD collection is gathering a little dust while I re-live music from an earlier period of my life. Is this a common thing among music-philes?

Very good movie in many respects, most importantly that it's heart was in the right place and it's honest..you can tell the director felt for the subject matter and the characters. Dexter was excellent and his scenes with the little girl are very touching. Hutcherson is hilarious as the next door neighbor who is always cooking... Only real complaints are of the technical variety, don't think the period look of the film is accurate, the sound is all wrong and too modern, some of the sets are poorly constructed and then there's the one scene in the club with the boom mic in clear view while they are talking to Scorcese's character. But these are minor inconveniences when the film is this lovingly made.

I've been using CaTraxx for about 2 years now with no complaints, plus I just bought the upgrade which now makes it even more compatible with Windows XP and it's easier to use than before. The program is very powerful with lots of settings you can change (custom fields, etc) if you're into that sort of thing..or you can just use it as is. A great bargain for the price I think.

I'll take the entire history!!!!! ...and I have some very cool cats in Texas to thank for most of my appreciation of all the styles and eras.

I'll go with Jazzbo's comments on this one, Shafi is a really underrated player and he made a hell of a contribution to that group. His tone was just out of site....

Picking a favorite Lucky Thompson recording would be almost impossible for me, I love everything I've heard from him. But if I had to narrow it down I'd mention Accent On Tenor Sax, Lucky Meets Tommy, the Candid date and I Offer You. Brilliant player IMHO.

Well Canaan is within driving distance....of course the one time I went there I lost control skiing down this hill and ran face first into an electrical pole!!! Don't think I'll be repeating that anytime soon! As for landing...I'm here now, but who knows where the wind will blow me next.

Great CD! I have Stand as well and really love it. He's one of the few guitarists out there right now that really catches my interest...he's got his own thing going and he's much more interested in what he's saying than how many chops he can throw in at any given moment. Gotta love the backing band on this one! Well hell, if it worked for George Benson....

Don't get me started on this topic!!!! Instead of going by films I'll just list directors & stuff for now.... Stanley Kubrick - ANYTHING!!!!! But particularly The Killing, Paths Of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, 2001, Barry Lyndon & The Shining. Alfred Hitchcock - My all time favorite of course, check out Stage Fright - a very underrated film from one of his supposed "off periods". Also very high marks to Frenzy, his last brilliant film. William Wyler - For some reason his name isn't familiar to alot of movie buffs but this guy was a master in just about any genre. Howard Hawks - LOVE THIS MAN!!! One of the best directors of comedy & action films ever, can't pick a favorite but His Girl Friday would be way up there... Preston Sturges - BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRILLIANT!!!! Miracle Of Morgans Creek is one of the funniest films of all time.... Val Lewton - Anything from the entire series of 40's films he produced, I Walked With A Zombie is a masterpiece of mood...never quite duplicated. Jacques Tourneur - Great suspence/noir/horror director. Fave films include I Walked (listed above), Out Of The Past (one of the best noir films ever) and Curse Of The Demon (one seriosly creepy horror flick). W.S. Van Dyke II - Ah...The Thin Man & numerous other 30's screwball comedies give this guy a big thumbs up in my book. Robert Wise - Just take a look at this guys filmography on IMDB, plus he's still alive and kicking!!!!! Too many others to mention.... Here's one fave film though that not a whole lot of people know about....

I'm back as well...watch out, I'll be posting endless Johnny Griffin threads again....

As another attendee of Jim's wonderful barbecue/jazz party I respond with a hearty HALLELUJAH to his reviews of this concert. You could literally feel the electricity flowing through the room while this sucker played. Amazing. P. S. Chuck, thanks for sharing all the amazing music & stories, it was a great pleasure to meet you.