Free For All

I think the composer of "Israel" is Johnny Carisi. So it is - only got that CD a week or so ago and Nat writes so many of his own tunes, I jumped to that conclusion. I slouch corrected. Thanks Bengtsy. MG FWIW, Carisi did a great arrangement of the tune that was recorded by the Mullian CJB.

You mean the "RIP on OP" thread?

Got a phone call today! They didn't have another copy available, so they're going to send me a mailing label and I guess I'm going to send back the defective copy and get a refund. Hardly worth the postage on their end, but whatever. I did find a copy from another (but less trusted) vendor. So newbury gets the expected points for customer service (even though it took two emails on my end, their phone response made up for it). In the meantime I put in an Oscar Peterson order with 'em, so all is good.

I believe you meant Strayhorn....

Thank god, we were WAY overdue for a good ol' fashioned "WTF?" thread from our man Rooster. Oh, and "The Baghdad Blues" by Horace Silver.

No, but some excellent music nonetheless!

I'm predicting you'll love this one, Noj. There are some GREAT MF compositions by Thad and others.

Your hunch was correct. Both Love Call and NYIN were recorded at A&R Studios, NYC. The engineer was Dave Sanders.

Nice haul, Matthew!

I was just thinking how little time we would have had left if this had been the final decision. I'm sure grateful for the big show of support for Jim and his decision to keep things going. It would have been a real drag if this had been our final week! Because of this the New Year will be a little happier.......

I've been hearing about the health benefits of kale, which is a veggie I've never really tried nor been particularly interested in. So I tried it tonight, and I must say it's not bad at all, but I can see that it's all about how you prepare it. I sauteed a liitle garlic in olive oil, tossed in the kale with some chicken stock, cooked it briefly and added salt, pepper and a little red wine vinegar (basically a Bobby Flay recipe). Quite tasty, I must say. I'm now a fan. I've never liked the overcooked soggy greens, but by cooking them "al dente" there is still some crunchiness and probably more vitamins. Next up: time to learn how to properly cook GRITS!

I apparently owe $82.75.

How's that DVD?

I thought it was L. Freddie Hubbard.

Most annoying bastardization-of-Christmas-song-in-a-commerical award: Circuit City Most annoying reminder that yes, I'm now single again: Jared's/Zales etc.

Currently in hour 20 of 24 hour marathon of "A Christmas Story". Starting to hallucinate............

I've been hearing and seeing a lot about OP today, even on the network news right now. Glad to see the attention, although it makes me think of our other legends who have slipped away virtually unnoticed.

Nice to have that little companion, isn't it? I sure miss my dog! HB Minga!

You must have the "signature" feature off. There is a photo of Liza in Bright Moments' signature. BTW, beautiful pictures, Chris!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the board members and their families. I'm going to also be having a quiet Christmas. I'm going to cook a little food tomorrow and maybe drive down to the beach. I'm grateful for many things, not the least of which is that the board is going to be around for awhile. Safe travels everyone! Enjoy the time spent with friends and families!

Well put! A couple OP recordings I've always enjoyed are "Tristeza" and "We Get Requests". I've long thought that his slow version of Have You Met Miss Jones on the latter could be transcribed and converted to a great big band arrangement. He had an amazing sense of time, and always had a tight, swinging group. I'm glad we have so many recordings to enjoy. RIP

I just love not having the NFL network.

There appear to be some things on the sampler that aren't on the released discs- like the Joe Henderson, Jimmy Witherspoon and Pat Metheny cuts. I wonder if there is to be another set of releases with the complete performances?