Free For All

well duh! his hamster of course! So where did he keep the ductape?

Rowles rules! He's been on so many great recordings both as accompanist and featured player. We should start a thread just for him. The Peacocks is one of the most hauntingly beautiful jazz tunes EVER!

What's next? An inflatable Maria doll? B-)

Yes, the melody has a bluesy moment with an Ab-G-F (if you're thinking key of F) that happens over an A7. Really nice effect.

This is a favorite ballad of mine. I fell in love with it after hearing Miles' version on Someday My Prince Will Come. One of the coolest things about that recording is that you can hear Miles' chair creak between phrases. For some reason that doesn't bother me at all; on the contrary it adds to the charm of the tune. You can "feel" Miles breathing between phrases as he leans back. Way cool.

I believe it's Poor Eric. Good one. Good CD too!

I'd rather wait 'til my assigned date of May 1st, if that's OK.

You mean TWO weeks early- isn't Gary before me? I'm scheduled for May 1st.

Is there a link to this?

So who's heard it? How good is it?

I do wish it sold more than the miserable 1 or 2% that it's at now. I wish it was possible for more players to make a living playing the music they want to play; a typical gig still pays what it paid 20 years ago! I wish that the touring big bands were still around to provide gigs for the kids who are getting jazz degrees. All that being said, I do have reservations about the music becoming popular to the point that it becomes even more corrupted by corporate interference. It seems to me that when anything appears on the $$ radar it inevitably gets sanitized for mass public consumption. A good media example of this: compare the Robert Altman film M*A*S*H to 1) the first season of the series and then to 2) subsequent seasons. The first season to a degree contained the dark humor of the film, but after that it became incredibly generic. When jazz experienced its most commercially viable period (which I assume was the big band era) the effect on the music was not always positive. People were (and still are) interested in hearing exact recreations of their favorite "hit" tunes with the exact same solos. They are IMHO embracing the nostalgia while overlooking the concept of innovation. For the most part that's the way I feel about the audience in KC- they want to re-create the exact music of KC's heyday (30s) instead of embracing the concept of innovation that brought about the music in the first place.

Rochester International Jazz Festival

Jim, thanks for the updates and pics. It sounds like you guys are getting some great music on tape. A laurel and hearty handshake to y'all. Joe, you must know that you have many fans and friends here. I'd venture to say that (whatever the situation) there are mass quantities of love, prayers and general positive vibes headed your way. You have limitless support from us (as do all you guys!). You all have shared much, musically and otherwise, and it is appreciated. .....and Randy- love the hair! (see avatar)

gul·li·ble; adj. Easily deceived or duped.

It was kind of funny, I flew back today via Atlanta (of course everyone in the airport was watching the Masters on the TVs, and the pilot kept us updated on the flight) and apparently there were many golfers on the flight, because when we got to baggage claim in KC there were about a million golf bag hard cases, including mine which happened to have my trombone in it (it's a slick way to ship the axe since I can't carry it on)! Nobody asked me what my handicap was, but I was ready to answer "Giant Steps".

Just got back into town so I'm late to the party. H a P p Y b I r T h D a Y ! ! !

Mine too! I was a student from '76-'80. How about you?

"Lippy" strikes again.... BTW, congratulations, guys. Hope your experience is fun and productive. Looking forward to the new side!

BTW, you guys look entirely too joyful for a typical recording session. B-) Will this be angst-free music?

If someone throws in, like, a grand or more, could you change the name of the group to something like, say, for instance: Chuck Nessa's Organissimo Just wondering.

Maybe the political forum should be black background with black letters. That'd solve some problems.

Absolutely, Erik. Great to chat with you that afternoon, most enjoyable. That was a good haul of vinyl (especially the 'Tome VI') and reminder for me to go back to Stuttgart soon and pay Tom at 'Vinyl West' another call.. So did you guys plan that, or was it a surprise discovery? The first time Rooster came up to me at a gig I had no idea who he was, and then he started babbling about the Grachan Moncur Select and I just knew it had to be him (up to that point I had just been a lurker at the BNBB and here, so I knew of The Rooster but hadn't yet met him)! Like there are very many people in KC who even KNOW who GM is!

And you don't mess around with Jim......