Free For All

I don't have any examples to post, but what about Romare Bearden (sp.?)? Also, I can't remember his name, but I think his work was on the cover of the Thad and Mel LP Consummation, and I've seen his stuff other places too. What was his name? I used to know, dammit.

Happy 34th, Big Al! You's a young dude.........

Ah yes, the famous "kack crawl". The I-didn't-know-he/she-was-dead or I-thought-he/she-died-a-long-time-ago. Berigan, you don't know who Ann Miller is? She was a babe (dancer/actress) in her day, but kind of became a parody in later years. I think that Molly Shannon's character on SNL ("I'm 50!!") was based on Ann Miller somewhat. Billy was good for the most part, but damn! he's starting to look old. As is Diane Keaton. And Clint Eastwood. And me...........

Yeah, that was good. It's funny that that song was nominated, it's really just a folk parody. It was intended to be "cutesy". Just shows that there was a dearth of good music this time around. I love all the "mock-umentaries". Spinal Tap, Waiting For Guffman, Best in Show and Mighty Wind. The first two were my favorites though.

With all due respect to those who like him, I'm not much of a Murphy fan either. He "tests JIV positive" in my opinion, as do most of the new male vocalists.

I like Annie Lenox and didn't even mind Sting's organ grinder bit, but was it just me or were those nominated songs a little too similar? All were very "folksy", but I was noddin' big time. -_- No surprises tonight. I called 'em all. We just rented "Lost in Translation" and while I thought it was a very good film, I didn't really think Bill Murray's performance was necessarily Oscar material, especially compared to Sean Penn's.

Yes, Happy Birthday from yet another fellow Paul! ......and I do read your posts!

Seriously, Jim, maybe you should go to a Whole Foods or a Wild Oats or whatever you have down there and get some natural-type of detergent.

OK, Rooster..........whadja get? Spill it. B)

Greetings, TranesHuman and welcome to the board! I'd be interested to hear the story behind your choice of screen name, if there is one. Regarding Michel Petrucciani, I did enjoy the new Dreyfus recording. A nice all-star lineup that plays well. I would say, however, that this CD is not really stylistically indicative of the bulk of MP's output. I like his solo and trio recordings best- to me they are reminiscent of Bill Evans w/o being overly derivative. I saw him perform once- a very fragile-looking small person who could roar like a lion. I wish he was still around. Some of his other recordings I particularly enjoy- Power of Three w/Jim Hall and Wayne Shorter (unfortunately this is out of print so you might have to search a bit for it- worth the trouble, IMHO) A couple solo piano sides I really like (that are in print): 100 Hearts (Blue Note) Michel Petrucciani Solo Live (Dreyfus)

Happy 38th, wesbed!

I really like the version on Workin', even though he's struggling a bit to play in tune with the harmon mute in. The emotional content is sublime, though!

That guy? He can't play!!!

Nice list. I'm not familiar with "I Wonder", "It's The Mood That I'm In" and "It All Depends On You"- are those a bit obscure or have I been deprived of some good tunes that I should know? Are there any definitive recordings of them? Please enlighten me. Some other good ones: I Thought About You, If I Should Lose You and Embraceable You (the "You" medley). The latter has been done a lot, but it's still a beautifully written tune. Actually, I like the vast majority of the classic standards. The list of tunes I don't like is much shorter.

I'm partial to this one.........

Just finished listening to this for the first time, and it is GREAT! Joe is in top form and is playing his ass off. A long cadenza starts off Round Midnight, and one of the tunes, In The Moment, is just that- free and spontaneous. Joe tears up rhythm changes as usual on Passport. All The Things You Are uses the same latin groove as the State of the Tenor version, but the performance is not at all redundant. I'd say this is some of the better Joe I've heard. The recording is great- Joe plays off mic a bit every now and then, but it's not a distraction- you can just see him weaving around. He's venturing far from his usual "bag o'tricks"; I don't mean to call him a predictable player, and his bag o'tricks is hipper than most anyone's, but sometimes I like to hear him get away from the Joe-isms we seem to hear a lot. To me that says he's feeling inspired, which is the case with this recording. Charlie Haden's bass sounds a bit odd to me- seems a little different than the sound he usually gets. It's almost a little Steve Swallow-like. What do y'all think? Al Foster is as great as usual. I love the way he plays solos over the form of the tune. This to me is much more than the usual all-star gig- there is much chemistry and communication and just plain fun between these guys. I look forward to Sangrey's essay on this recording- I'm sure he'll describe things much more eloquently, but I'm expecting a big HELL YEAH from him.

That is good news! I also read in one of the jazz mags that they were working on a Farmer/Golson Jazztet box, which was news to me. I'd be interested in that as well.

When I initially saw the title I thought it said "I did Betty Carter" so I was about to ask you the same question!

I heard he passed away in Omaha. Don't know much about him other than his connection with the Basie band. Anyone have any info?

Sorry. I just got it and will listen and comment soon. The JoeHen planet is a big place!

Your "planet" reference made me think of this side. B)

A belated Happy Birthday, Jim. Your birthday may have slipped by us, but your presence and participation are always greatly appreciated.

Yes, Alexander, I can report having heard the "neener" lyrics applied to the "nyah" melody. As well as "I know something you don't know", which requires an extra "nyah", bringing the syllabic total to seven. I guess you'd call those "contrafacts"............ Remember Spock's line on Star Trek? "Gitchy-gitchy goo, Captain?"

So is that his James Brown impression? Or maybe Steven Tyler?