Free For All

It's funny, I googled "Rudy Van Gelden" and got a bunch of Blue Note-related links with that same misspelling.

I wish it was something hipper. "Beyond the Sea" - for several days now. Please make it go away.

Wow, is that a Ruby Braff interview?

Has the dirt outside around the foundation pulled away from the house? We have that problem when we go through a dry spell. Suddenly we get a lot of precipitation, and then water will collect underneath and seep up through the basement floor. We have to occasionally water the foundation (even in winter, whenever it's dry for a long time) to keep the dirt tight to the house. I'd like to just put the house in a big baggie.

It sounded better than "BroCli"?

The Silent Brass is good for practice but I wouldn't want to use it to perform- it really creates some resistance (back pressure), and TOO much of that isn't good for the chops. I'd either use a mic (free standing or bell-mounted) or drill out a separate mouthpiece (not your main one!) and mount a pickup. That way you have the option to turn off the effects and play with an open sound w/o having to take the mute out. I realize that's probably a more expensive option, but the long term results will be worth it, IMHO. Just be extra nice to dad and take him out for grape ice cream with cilantro sprinkles.

Thanks for the photos- very nice. And welcome to the forum!

Conrad and Branford also toured with Clark Terry's 70s big band. Steve Coleman w/Mel Lewis. Rich Perry w/Mel.

The definition of "real" jazz could certainly be debated, but having come of age in the 70s I was able to hear nearly every major big band. In Iowa!! Kenton, Basie, Rich, Ellington, Woody, Maynard, even Don Ellis! Plus Chase, Return to Forever, Matrix (remember them?) and other more commercial groups. Not all of it hardcore jazz, but all of it was new to my ears and pretty much all of it filled me with lust for more. I decided during that time that this is what I want to do with my life. Maturity and education brought about a refinement in tastes and I "graduated" more small-group exploratory recordings, what I assume, RT, you probably mean when you say "real" jazz. I "discovered" players that I didn't get the first time around. Got to hear Dexter, Bill Evans, Johnny Griffin, DeJohnette's Special Edition w/David Murray and Arthur Blythe, Woody Shaw all at the "Jazz at the Maintenance Shop" series at Iowa State University. I do miss being able to listen with that youthful naivety. I seldom hear something totally new that affects me as it did when I was a teenager. I know this isn't exactly where you were going with this, RT, but I sometimes feel like defending the maligned 70s. Perhaps not the greatest decade in jazz history, but I certainly learned a lot!

Chuck Findley, Bobby Shew- Toshiko and Buddy Greg Gisbert- Buddy, Woody Bob Mintzer- Buddy Richie Cole-Buddy

Erskine also played w/Maynard between Kenton and Weather Report. Harrell also played w/Woody's band. Jeff Hamilton, John Riley, Joe LaBarbara w/Woody. DEEP w/Woody and Maynard. John Fedchock (Woody) is doing pretty well. Alan Broadbent, Andy Laverne, Lyle Mays, Harold Danko(Woody) Greg Herbert (Woody) R.I.P. Dennis Dotson (Woody). Not a household name, but a hell of a player who lives I believe in Wheeler, TX more to come..................

I grew up w/BS&T so it's hard for me to say anything negative. Besides them, Chicago, Tower of Power and The Crusaders directed me from pop towards the world of jazz. Plus, those were the days when you actually might hear some trombone on the radio! I played in a horn band in high school and we played a lot of those tunes. Dave Bargeron played some wacked-out shit on trombone and tuba, and then I heard Bruce Fowler w/Zappa on "Roxy and Elsewhere" (Bebop Tango, Village of the Sun et al), and that totally f*cked me up. Then I discovered JJ and Carl and Frank etc. and ultimately chose the road less reimbursed.......

Belden was gone before I joined. I think I also see Dave Lalama (piano), Jim Powell (trumpet, right end) maybe Gary Smulyan on bari? I don't know who that red-haired 2nd tenor is. What's the rest of the personnel KK? (Glad there's not a 3rd K, BTW)

Correct. I see Frank Tiberi, and is that possibly Bob Belden in the section as well?

It seems that your graphic didn't come through, but if it has anything to do with the MacNeil Leherer Report, then the answer is yes. It was the Dick Van Dyke show. Edit: That's funny, the graphic is back now. WTF?

The Supersax album Salt Peanuts was my first introduction to Carl Fontana. I wish that one would come out on CD. I've also wished some of the saxes would solo- I'm assuming they did when the group performed live. Other than the great guests like Fontana, Rosolino and Candoli the concept/sound wears thin after a while, IMHO. An interesting idea, to be sure- the concept of the 4 part voicing w/the bottom voice doubling the lead voice at the octave is an important fundamental technique for big band arranging. There is however a lot more to explore with opening up that voicing- it does get a little bland when used exclusively. You can sure crank out the product that way, though (because of the formulaic method). Still grateful to them for turning me on to Carl, however.

I couldn't find this title- did you possibly mean "Luminescence"?

Man, this is a tough room! Give the kid a break.

Jay McShann? Edit: question mark added because of uncertainty as to whether he recorded in the 30s.

Welcome. Is that name perhaps derived from an episode of this show?

Goddam right! Why, when I was your age there were NO smilies! Sarcastic intent was only possible through the written word, and we had to post uphill both ways. Now quitcher bitchin' or I'll turn this website around and we'll go home and we'll just see how that feels, mister! Oops. Sorry I blew up.

How about an all-asterisk thread?

"Little Debbie Does Dallas"