Free For All

Happy Birthday Dan! This was funnier when I was living in KC.

I just got on Amazon and typed in ECM and got a fairly long list of titles, many of which were priced at $9.97. Some classic titles as well as newer titles. I found quite a few that I'd been holding off on because of the higher price. Ralph Towner, Gary Burton, Bobo Stenson, Tomascz Stanko, Terje Rypdal and Egberto Gismonti among others. Very nice sale, but I can't help but wonder why........

Happy Birthday Vibes!

Vermincelli? Oroachiette? (back on topic, sort of)

Wow, it's like the June Taylor dancers. All we need is now is for "Holiday for Strings" to be playing.

Also the title of a nice Stitt side that I wish would find its way onto CD.

An exercise in fusillity.

C'mon Sangrey. Write your damn book already. I first saw Zawinul in the mid/late 70s, the WR band w/Jaco, Erskine and Robert Thomas on percussion (I guess that was the "8:30" band). A great concert, but really, really LOUD! I also saw him at the Red Sea (Eliat, Israel) festival once in the mid 90s. I there there with a group that included Frank Tiberi (not Woody's band though). Frank and Joe were friends (Frank did a chart on Zawinul's tune Carnavalito that was on a semi-obscure recording done at Ronnie Scott's) and it was great to just hang and watch those guys hanging out. I was introduced to WR in the 70s, so Black Market and Heavy Weather were my first acquisitions. I even arranged Gibraltar for big band. Man, I grew up w/Weather Report. Later on I became aware of other WR sides like Live in Tokyo and also Zawinul's time with Cannonball and Miles. The man had a LOT of music in him, and a lot of determined spirit to make it happen. Thanks, Joe! (I still crack up at that "Scotch and Water" was initially known as "Joe's Avenue" on the Wynton/PC VeeJay side because someone misinterpreted the pronunciation of "Zawinul" as being the tune title) :rsmile:

I just got the Miles and I really like it! I think the recording quality is excellent, as is the performance! A worthy addition to the Miles collection. AFAIC it gets a strong recommendation. Haven't heard the others yet, but I'll probably cave, especially since Borders has 'em for ten bucks a pop. :rsmile:

Good choice, Cole Slaw! Great version of Old Folks on this one. If you listen carefully you can hear the chair Miles is sitting on squeak as he leans back to breathe between phrases. Totally cool.

And the title tune, written for his daughter, was recorded again on his recent "Lawn Chair Society" which was Kenny's first project since the passing of his daughter. So the emotional continues to run high. Have you heard LCS, BM? Is that what led you to seek out the earlier recording? Just curious.

And remember, you can't spell "spam" without A&M!

I just love it when I sign in and see a thread title like this. It's our very own "home run derby".

Good enough then. OK, what about ballet?

I remember really disliking opera when I had to study it as an undergraduate. I was very young and all I wanted to hear was jazz. When the former Mrs. FFA started doing the Santa Fe Opera gig, I started going out there to visit every summer and I attended several operas each time. I must say the SFO puts on a helluva show- the performers, orchestra, sets and the venue itself were absolutely first-rate. They also programmed a variety of operas- there were some new contemporary ones, old warhorses that could be counted on to put butts in the seats, and every year they did a Strauss opera. My favorites were the Strauss, mostly because the brass section usually had some big moment that allowed them to let it all out. One of the things I really liked was having the libretto in English on a little screen on the seat in front of me- it really helps to be able to follow the plot. What always struck me as funny was the way the "action" unfolded; it always seems to be: "I've got a secret!" ("He's got a secret!") "I've got a secret!" ("He's got a secret!") "I'm going to tell!" ("He's going to tell") "I'm going to tell!" ("He's going to tell") "I'm telling you now!" ("He's telling us now") "I'm telling you now!" ("He's telling us now") "I told my secret!" ("He told his secret!") "I told my secret!" ("He told his secret!") .......etc., etc. Fortunately the slow disclosure of the plot allowed plent of time to check out the score w/o missing anything. I'm glad I learned to enjoy opera, and although I don't attend many (now that I'm banned from Santa Fe ), I have a much greater appreciation of the genre. And Pavarotti was a MF. Whatever his personal issues were, we were fortunate to have lived the same time as him. He had a serious gift. RIP.

Welcome back Jazzmoose! Nice tribute avatar, btw.

Michigan went from #5 to unranked in the AP poll. Ouch! FSU also dropped out, but they were only #19 to begin with and didn't have nearly as far to fall. Appalachian State isn't even eligible to be included in the polls, which seems kind of unfair. Seems like the whole ranking/playoff system is due for some major tweaking.

Thanks, Dan. Always the voice of hope. Anthony Bourdain is touring Honk Kong in ten minutes. Maybe I'll watch that instead.

I don't know, were the Eagles previously a "bastion of integrity"? Maybe at the peak of their popularity, but I think now it's a case of "aging rock band clutching at straws". "Welcome to WalMart. You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave!"

Any team I feel obliged to root for immediately sucks. Once I move on they have a "storybook season".

The ember member.

.....and your point is.....??? It's obvious that the problem is you're hanging out with saxophonists. Dude, you're in for nothing but trouble!

Damn, Rachel! As a musician who seems to be ensconced in the world of jazz education I can only hope to someday inspire someone to say something like that! You made my day with that post, thanks!