Free For All

Finally, an easy poll. I was a discouraged and uninterested trombonist in jr. high, about ready to quit. My jr. high band director had sent word ahead to the high school band director that this kid was not salvageable. Rightly so, too- I screwed around in band and forged my practice card- band director's worst nightmare. When I hit high school I started to hang out w/some of the jazz band crowd, and baby, that was it. They introduced me to the music- I wish I could relive that rush of hearing great recordings for the first time (the closest thing is watching students go through the same experience). I started practicing like a demon, and have been obsessed ever since. I'm not rich, but I'm doing something I truly love, and I'm grateful for that. Plus I get to hang out w/you losers! B)

In addition to the Herman Columbia First and Second Herds, the Lankin site site mentions a few more Mosaics- an Errol Garner Columbia, McCoy Blue Note and a Tal Farlow Verve. Hope those all really happen! For me, the Mulligan was a definite high that's going to be tough to surpass- that one might just top my list of 2003 reissues.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy cLaUdE! :rsmile:

Funny this should be a thread- someone recently sent me these "jazz haikus". Jam session bassist Observes fourteen soloists Contemplates murder Say, do you guys know "Wedding Song" by Kenny G? Buy the damn record Riffing on "Rudolph" Musicians in red and green Learn humlility I'm sending a sub But don't worry, he'll be fine He's fresh from rehab Solo pianist Freed from all constraints of form Heedlessly mangles Jazz nymphs crowd bandstand Offering carnal delights My alarm clock rings Forty-two straight gigs With no requests for "Take Five" Time to call Guinness New Years revelers Here's hoping the stroke of twelve Sends you the hell home That plate of hors d'oeuvres Cost more than we're getting paid Think we underbid? God Bless trust fund gigs Only have to eat ramen For a few more weeks

Oops. I thought this was Chuck Nessa's birthday thread. My bad.

"Transformers". "back in the day". Geez, Jim, you sure know how to make a guy feel old. SS's picture reminded me of the Cosby album "Wonderfulness". One of my first comedy records (next to the Smothers Brothers- "I Fell Into A Vat Of Chocolate")- it had "Chicken Heart" and "Ice Cream" among others. Classic stuff. Still funny.

BTW, where's Rooster and his "Joel and the cats" thing? Finally been retired?

HaPpY bIrThDaY CaTeStA! I hope you appreciate how much that taxed my typing skills. B) Hey, let's have a party! Howzabout some birthday anagrams? ***C A T E S T A*** Ate cats. Teat sac. ***Now*** sing "ca-TES-ta!" to the tune of "by MEN-nen!" (or Ca-STAN-za for you Seinfeld fans). Wasn't that fun? I guess that's about it. Party's over. Everyone get the hell out now.

Hope you have a good one. Buy some new music. Eat something that's bad for you. Sleep late. And keep posting! Just don't start a fire with that birthday cake!

I would have to add, as a guilty pleasure, the Singers Unlimited Christmas side.

Some great Thad charts, the timeless Blues in Hoss' Flat- IMHO, this is a good one. Definitely worth picking up. I thought the sound was kind of funny on the reissue (maybe it was like this on the original, I don't know)- when the band shouts, it seems to get softer, like some some of 'limiter' is in place or something. I'm sure someone can explain this in technical terms better than I can. It just sounds kind of artificial to my ears. But I do love the music, especially Thad's charts!

I haven't yet heard this one (and I'm a big Horace Silver fan) but I have to say that on another fairly recent release, Jazz Has A Sense Of Humor, I felt that the usually impeccable sense of time found in HS rhythm sections was lacking. Now this could have been due to recording issues (such as the musicians being able to adequately hear each other) or maybe because Horace has lost a step or two. Horns were fine (Ryan Kisor and Jimmy Greene) but I felt uncomfortable about the rhythm section- they just weren't hooking up. When I go back and listen to older Horace sides the rhythm section's sychronization/sympatico is one of the most enjoyable aspects. I haven't been overly impressed with his recent issues, but I tend to cut him some slack because it's Horace, and he's paid his dues big time. But I'm less likely to run out and pick one of these new ones up compared to say an RVG of Cape Verdean Blues!

I really like Shirley Horn's Here's To Life which has some beautiful arrangements by Johnny Mandel.

Or you could adapt this question I've always wanted to ask Randy Brecker in a public clinic: "So, Randy, when you see an altered dominant, like an A7(#5,b9), and it resolves in a non-functional manner, like to a GbMA7, well, how would Michael approach playing over that?" All in fun. Love the Randster.

How about if you just kick him in the nuts? Jus' open a big ol' can o' whuppass on 'im. I of course won't be there but I'll be thinking of you.

Ditto. Me too.

He should have gotten out of the way, for sure. If you're going to sit that close you should have half a brain and be prepared that you might need to get the hell out of the way of a big play once in a great while, even in the seats and out of the field of play. But I'm afraid the Cubs have only themselves to blame for the big fold. Believe me, I'm a longtime fan and it broke my heart to see the all-too-familiar self-inflicted wounds, but they could have won the game if they hadn't made all those mistakes after the "event". That guy was an idiot and while he didn't do anything illegal, his brain seemed to be on "pause". Let it go folks, and get behind our boys tonight!

Rooster, your "floating posts" are starting to creep me out!

Of course, there would have to be a discrete way to phrase the question so it doesn't sound overly critical. "Mr. Hill, we were wondering if the sloppy ensemble work on Passing Ships was intentional, or did you just get screwed on rehearsal time?"

Who you talkin' to dude?

You know, we could submit a limited number of questions (to b3er or someone else in a moderator position) to be asked so it doesn't turn into an online gangbang.

...........and will he give them to ME? You know, one of the jazz rags should do an article on AH regarding this release and axe him all these questions. How about an Organissimo "Ask the Artist" feature w/different guests, like the one at Jazz Corner? Would that be cool or what? :rsmile:

You are correct, Mr S. Some of the looseness and time conflicts make me wonder where the horns/rhythm were located in the studio when they recorded this- like maybe there was a proximity issue (that created problems in hearing all the other players) that contributed to some of the sloppiness.

I'm definitely someone who prefers tight ensemble work and I mostly agree w/Jim that it would have been interesting to hear this music after a little more rehearsal. That being said, I can't help but feel OK with it as is. It's loose, to be sure, but I'm not so sure that that is detrimental to the spirit of the music. There's a bit of a reckless, careening quality to this music that reminds me of some Mingus, Monk and Ornette dates that come off as extremely loose, but seem to work anyway- slightly under-rehearsed but very spontaneous. There are a few spots , though, that I do feel the horns are not on the same page time-wise, and that is a little irritating. Now, there are some recordings that I really wish could have been tighter, such as some of the Gil/Miles things like Porgy and Bess. I also don't think this "loose" feel would have worked with something like the Mulligan CJB, or the 70s Horace Silver and......series. As someone who plays in big bands frequently I find myself preferring tight ensemble work BY FAR. The other extreme is an over-rehearsed ensemble that plays w/no energy.However, there's something that seems acceptable about the overall vibe on PS, and that includes the ensemble work. I'd be curious to ask Mr. Hill about his feelings regarding the level of preparation. Rooster, can you get on that? Now that I read over what I just wrote, it seems that I'm on the fence about this point. Other observations: Woody rules, it's cool to hear him do his thing in a harmon mute, which you don't hear that often. Joe Farrell is a MF. Doubling chops up the wazoo and great solos. Very Joe-esque! Julian has some nice moments- I've not always been a huge fan of his, but I think he plays well on this one. Some of those quirky horn backgrounds remind me of Batman fight scenes. B) The first tune's head reminds me of the melody of "Easy Living" for some reason. Overall this is a beautiful piece of work.