Dan Gould

Not thinking of Burns specifically ... other "popular music" writers who take a shot at a jazz book or bio that just betrays their ignorance.

+1 (And if he has no serious prior knowledge of jazz I'd be even more disinclined. Those are the kinds of books that perpetuate a lot of horseshit.)

And just like that, I went to youtube to check the stats on my uploads and discovered new totally unknown Percy France video! Credits at end indicate 1987 production, weird video effects for that era but on the other hand I know he went to Switzerland for the Bern Festival that year as part of the Sammy Price Two-Tenor Boogie. This is so cool, time to edit the web page.

Hadn't thought of those specifically ... I have used FB friends with wider reach, especially into jazz community, to drive the word thru FB. I have to wonder how many would jump up to join a page dedicated to a guy who had one CD as a leader that hardly had distribution, and three LPs during his career (not counting Doggett LPs that were never exclusively France on tenor). Anyway, my current thought about promotion is regular uploads to a Percy France channel on youtube. I've put up two tracks a year or so ago, one a complete ballad performance and the other a compilation of audio book clips. Both are at nearly 200 hits overall, I think. Regular uploads of partial, or sometimes complete tracks from the voluminous holdings with a link to the page in the comments might drive some traffic. I also think a youtube presence could be the best way to get contact from a family member.

I heard back from Michael and he promises a plug on the email/Gazette soon. Will be interesting as visits are down to single digits per day so with no planned promotional effort at the moment, I'll see the effect of the Gazette in pretty stark terms.

None of our heroes (well virtually none) were regarded as without fault at the time their careers were in full swing. But Weeds isn't writing back then, he's writing in 2021, and with 60 years of hindsight does anyone think Hawes wasn't talented? In researching for my Percy France website I found so many reviews of great albums that didn't just denigrate players we adore, but also said things like "with so many recordings to choose from, this one just doesn't make the cut," and that in the context of what a lot of people would call stone-cold classics.

Maybe his fingers tripped over "underappreciated"?

Maybe he reprised his role in some new show? Not concerned about that.

An under-appreciated gem of an episode (and one of the single greatest casting decisions of all time) was Bert Parks as Herb's dad. The look on Jennifer's face when she realizes the salesman at her desk is Herb's father was priceless and hysterical. Edit to add: and the Junior and Senior have a lovely scene at the end that touches on fathers and the sons who love them/need their respect. That's how I'll think of Frank Bonner. RIP.

Someone of taste and sophistication, not to mention an interest in music, not just sound reproduction.

Stouffer Kellogg Tony The Tiger

and on top of that, a grand total of one person has come from Hoffman to my Percy France website.

I pre-ordered @ Amazon, due tomorrow. (Was just checking allmusic and discogs, was curious to see where these recordings fit in his studio albums ... the reason being, I am not as much of a fan of Land when Trane held more of an influence on his playing. These could be really interesting as his recordings as a leader were scanty at the time. When did Trane start influencing him? (And is it just me or did Land dial back the Trane influence by the time of the Timeless All-Stars recordings, kind of the same way that Booby went back to a more straightahead approach?)

Well, yes and no. Maybe it could have been done in between seasons, but when did they start looking at this? I think of sunscreen as slippery but that was what Glasnow was using? And why should foreign substances be tolerated under any circumstances? One thing that isn't so f-ed up for pitchers is that they may serve a 10 game suspension but its with pay. Wouldn't be that way if they were emptying their pockets and an emery board came flying out while pretending it was nothing.

But they are nearly 100% in preventing serious illness involving hospitalization or death. In the UK the Indian variant is rampant but deaths are flat. Its the first time we've seen such a dichotomy between infections and deaths. And I don't think anyone knows that a non-symptomatic infection among the vaccinated is spreadable. Has that been determined? Because realistically viral loads have to be small and declining among those, right? Anyway, I was surprised this weekend to discover that my regular weekend shopping places were like this: Brandon Bagel - no mask required sign anymore; still had sign up for limiting people in the entryway (more than 5 please wait). Sam's: No mask signage. I'd say 20% masked up. Publix: No mask signage, hand sanitizer at carts/entryway, but no one even assigned to the wipe down/disinfect cart station. Mask usage about the same as Sam's. Masks were in use by front end personnel.

Best comment received thru website to date, I don't think it can be topped: Thank you for this labor of love. I've been listening to jazz for nearly 70 years and I never heard of Percy France until now. Better late than never, thanks to you!"

Please choose the option that best describes you, even if my verbiage is slightly off especially on the first Q.

My Virgo nature + your encouragement to keep digging is what gave me the will to keep working at leads ...

That would be great, Brad, I would really appreciate the link. Already visits are slowing as Facebook, Myers and other posts age. (I am thinking about music excerpts on youtube though with links to the site. My post of his audio book doodlings has gotten over 150 hits over time.

Agreed though I can't figure out why there is so much interference if these are tapes from WBEZ. Shouldn't they have been recorded direct from the board?

He gave a tremendous performance as a judge with dementia in a late (maybe last season) Law and Order. Just terrific acting, really gave me a greater appreciation of his skills. RIP.

I am glad I've inspired your consideration of Percy as (perhaps) a superlative musician. I would strongly recommend the full-length tracks found with the Allen Lowe produced sessions and the full length tracks from the Town Crier label releases. They will give you the best taste of Percy in the 1980s, at the top of his craft. If you are allergic to the R&B style, still check the excerpts from the ballads that he recorded with Doggett as they are wonderful examples of his beautiful tone. Last but not least you can hear the entirety (last time I looked) of the Freddie Roach Blue Note recording that features France, Down to Earth, on youtube. I linked to two tunes on the site. I hope you will post your evaluation Ken, I'll be interested to read it.

Thanks - Their first email after the redesign gives me hope - they are still doing links to outside websites, as well as hosting their own material. I still find it odd that they continue to code their links to the Mosaic home page. I will probably reach out to Michael in the next couple of weeks, I am trying to stagger my promotional efforts, this week Organissimo and Facebook, plus Marc Myers' blog (23 folks have come to the site from his link so far ). Speaking of traffic right now I have approximately 1/3 of my unique visitors coming back for at least one more visit. Of course that distribution is assumed, I can't tell how many people come back one time and others come back many times. I am pleased by the site numbers so far, I'll say that.

Didn't notice this post originally and actually have never heard Sid but I have interacted with him about my Percy France website and he kindly delivered his own remembrance of hearing Percy. You can see it here, the second one down. https://www.percyfrance.info/others It's funny you mention his background as a Judge, I had no idea and improvised a credit for him, which he approved by saying it was 110% accurate. Sid promises that he will program a Percy France show sometime, once the KCR studios re-open. With the state of the Pandemic I would think that would be happening soon, with some mask/social distancing as needed. But who knows. If he can mine the archives and find sets that were simulcast on KCR that would be awesome (if the tapes still function). My search for West End gigs that fell on a Friday show there were over a dozen such occasions.

Well I figured that people can go to discogs for issue numbers if they need them. I did give the issue number for the Doggett Chronological Classics at the top of the King section. You can see why in the end the BRIAN software wasn't going to work for my concept. Its great for standardizing discographical layout but I needed a more free-form approach. What I think I will do is ultimately add in composer credits.