medjuck

At an Ellington conference in LA in the 80's they did a panel discussion on Jump for Joy. Panelists included Herb Jeffries and Kuller (what was his first name) who wrote lyrics and was the main producer of the show. He was still pissed off that the recording of the title song had been censored and a verse about the South left out. BTW I think the Smithsonian Lp and tape is Oop. But you can still got to the Mayan Theater where the show was performed. The orchestra seats have been removed and it's now a club. (Or was a few years ago.)

I just got this and love it. Saw Christlieb once in concert and was knocked out. Only other thing I knew him for was a a version of "Prelude to a Kiss" on the Glengarry -Glenross soundtrack. I wish the liner notes said a bit more about the 3 bonus cuts. And what's with the sound of Levy's piano? Especialy in the higher keys it sounds metallic and harpsichord-like. Is that because of the piano he's using or is it just the way it's miked?

Which would make it the only 50's-60's Miles Columbia stuff not in a box set.

And of course you can always go Prez & Lady Day Lady Day & Tony Scott Tony Scott & Belafonte (I am sure of this one). But when did Maynard Ferguson play with Belafonte?

1.Prez 2.Prez and Ben Webster on The Sound of Jazz. 2. Ben Webster on 2 cuts of Belafonte Sings the Blues. Actually I'm not sure of that and don't have a copy of the record but as I remember it Ben Webster and Roy Eldridge play on 2 cuts. But maybe it's just another of those acid flashbacks.

This is Mark Cantor's explanation of the provenance of the JATP footage. > In terms of the Norman Granz footage, the short subject / featurette (which > was meant to revisit the earlier success that Granz and Mili had with "Jammin' > the Blues") was never completed at the time of production in 1951. There were > sound/image sync problems, and Granz once told me that he "just didn't like > the damn thing at all." And so it disappeared for decades with only vague > rumors of its existence. > > The film was "rediscovered" some nine years ago by a Granz employee; to the > best of my knowledge he copied the footage, and there was some very limited > circulation among collectors at this time. There was also an attempt to > create a documentary around the footage, but this also failed to gain Granz's > approval. But it too soon entered the realm of film and video collectors. > And so these two films floated around for a while, one in a raw, unedited form and > the other in the form of a documentary. Next came the Japanese laser disk, which > was cleaned and polished to a great degree. It appears that what is on your > DVD might be one of the earlier "incantations" of the material.

Cambridge had a great one that they discontinued. Now I see they have a new model but I've never heard it. You can read about it at hifi.com.

I inferred from the notes that the Feb 17 recording was done in the club rather than off tghe air. (Or was it one of the other dates? I'm to lazy to go look it up.)

I hate to admit it, but I wasn't much into Jimi when he was alive. Passed up a chance to hear him at a reasonably small hall in Toronto. I came to him through Gil Evans so my favorite is Little Wing. Followed by Angel.

I suspect that the Feb 17 date (my birthday! I turned 8 that day) has never been released because the sound is so bad. Probably the loudest surface noises I've ever heard on a legal release. But still not enough to keep me from being glad I got this. I'm surprised they didn't give a stronger warning on the cover. I expect that retailers are going to get some returns. Hey maybe it's justt my copy and I should try to trade it for another..

Since he missed his appearance with the Basie Band for the "Sound of Jazz" broadcast, it was. But I think he did record with the "Basie All-stars" at the Columbia recording session for the Lp that took place a couple of days before the broadcast.

Jazzmatazz keeps listing a "Gerry Mulligan Songbook" set. Any word on that?

Anybody hear the new Jams Moody on Savoy? Opinions? Worth getting?

In LA there was a GIANT poster of Miles for the Apple "Think different" campaign.

Thanks for the advice. I got hold of this and it's definitely an example of Pepper being over-influenced by Coltrane. I've only watched/listened to it a couple of times but so far don't care for it very much. I'd rather listen to the real thing-- either Trane or Art. It's also about his only recording from 1964.

Ooops. After I sent that last post I found the answer myself in David Meeker's invaluable book "Jazz in the Movies". He lists it as "Jazz from Studio '61" and it's in fact produced by Robert Herridge who produced both The Sound of Jazz and The Sound of Miles Davis.

And what's the story on the Jamal -Webster footage? Looks like it's from a tv show similar to the Sound of Jazz. o

I had thought that "Improvisation" was never completed. The jazz film collector Mark Cantor once found the visuals from Ballade and synched it to the music himself! Then it (Ballade) showed up on a cdrom called Living Jazz that was put together by Herbie Hancock. Later I read that Improvisation was available on a Lazer Disc from Japan. The technical quality of this material is so good it makes the rest look pretty bad. I've got a VHS of Sound of Jazz that's a bit better and more complete ( it has commercials for other CBC shows). My Japanese Lazer Disc of Sound of Miles Davis is also better. There are good prints of Jammin' around because it's owned by Warner Brothers and was put out in a Lazer Disc box set along with several other things of interest to Jazz fans. A few years ago CBS had to borrow a print of The Sound of Jazz from a collector so they probably don't have a better print. But the director (Jack Smight) gave one to the UCLA film library so that should be good. Boy I wish it would get released legitimately. I've tried but ran into AFofM problems. BTW I tried to answer you in one post but couldn't figure out how to break up your quotes. Can anyone out there advise me?

Well not exactly: .. they show the slate at the beginning of each number but then each number is pretty well edited.

It was first issued by Circle on Lp with 3 cuts, then by Westwind with 4 cuts then by Circle on cd with 5 cuts. And it was recorded October 1978. The cd says Circle Records RKCD/3. My copy has a sticker saying "distributed by North Country Distributors 315 287-2852 email northcountry@cadencebuilding.com."

I remember seeing plenty of the white in his eyes when he was in Frankfurt with a down-sized Gil Evans Orchestra. He and bassist Donald Pate were late for the gig, Peter Levin downtuned his synth to play bass until they arrived. Gil sat happily hammering chords as the band rocked through his tunes, with his back to the band - there was no way to turn the piano around on that small club stage - and Lew Soloff and Terumasa Hino were almost playing as many jokes as they were playing notes, while Gerry Niewood played his heart and soul out. Robert Crowder handled the drums. A mildly weird gig! Very unorthodox! Ws that in 1978? I've just been listening to a cd called "Little Wing" recorded in "GermanY, 1978" with that same personel. This is the 3rd version I've bought: each one has one more number added. And Niewood is great on it. Who the hell is/was he? BTW really loved your description of the gig. Reminds me of a couple of times when i got to see the Evans band.

Unforgettable image of the evening - Cannonball literally smoking through an insanely fast "Autumn Leaves", playing a no-holds-barred solo (I think a lot of people are still asleep on how far "out" the guy often played in his later years) with a lit cigarette between the first and second fingers of his right hand.

I just ordered both those DVDs. Let's see how soon (or even "if") I get them.

Spring 1962 (I think) Bill Evans giving one of his first concerts after the death of Scot laFaro in a small hall at Mcgill University. I stayed home to study for an exam. My room mate went and said it was great. I learned my lesson Two years later I went to see Duke Ellington even though I had an exam the next day. Sometimes in the '70s I was in London and didn't go see a double bill of Joan Armatrading and Cecil Taylor (how weird is that?) at Ronnie Scott's because it cost 10 pounds. Finally saw Taylor a couple of times in Toronto. Had tickets to see Gerry Mulligan with his revival of the Birth of the Cool band at a small concert hall in LA. Af riend chose that day to get married. (At least I'd seen Mulligan years before with Bob Brookmeyer in a quartet.)

1961 in Montreal, Sun Ra with a quintet. I'd heard enough jazz on record for it not to seem strange-- except that he played "The Christmas Song" and it was late August!