Dan Gould

A day and a half and true to his actual life? Sounds to me like it will be some sort of crazy day and a half cocaine bender, at some point a punch will be delivered to Cicely Tyson's face and somehow in the middle of it, the Kind of Blue recording session, or better yet, "Time after Time". Guess which aspects of his life will get the most attention ...

Maybe the Sweets association with Ben brought him to mind? At least on the Braff track ...

For all of the worrying about how Salty and 'Tek would handle the stick, I'd have to say those fears were misplaced. SaltyTek: 23 2B 16 HR 56 RBI OPS around 760, overall OPS+ well above 100 ('Tek is at 98, so he's barely less than league-average, and Salty is at 113) However you calculate it, that's turned out to be great production from the catcher position. And their combined caught-stealing rate is 26%, a 24% improvement over the 21% that Tek and Martinez put up in 2010. I wouldn't mind one more year of Salty/Tek but my guess is that Theo may let the Captain go and bring up Ryan Lavarnway who in 45 games at Pawtucket is scorching AAA pitching to the tune of a 1.113 OPS. Personally I'd like to see him finish his development with a full year at AAA - he's only 23. But SaltyTek is a pretty good catcher.

Since the Red Sox ended up giving up a pretty nice CF prospect from Taiwan, and their most defensively advanced catching prospect for that waste of space, can I be relieved of accountability for my actions? I can understand if they thought Bedard's stuff was fine on Friday night, just rusty. He was supposedly touching 94 and broke off a few nice curves. But he hates the spotlight. He hates the press. He hates everything about baseball outside of the paycheck, as far as I know. How can they think he'd thrive for even two + months in Boston in a pennant race? I'd love to eat my hat on this one but I'll be shocked if he doesn't break down or crack up.

Thanks to everyone who participated and posted their guesses, I shouldn't say I am surprised but there are some really sharp-eared guys in this group. All tracks are available for purchase (as part of a complete concert download) from www.wolfgangsvault.com. Jim S. circled around that theme but didn't quite nail it down and I didn't give him immediate credit, hoping someone else would get it exactly right. But Jim did, for all intents and purposes. My purpose in choosing this theme was to help introduce some of the treasures available at Wolfgangs website for anyone not aware of it. Two disclaimers/clarifications: All transfers were made by recording via Goldwave live streaming feeds of each track at 192 KBPS. I was concerned that some would notice deficient sound but in fact no one mentioned it and that shows that you can get pretty good sound off a stream without paying for the FLAC or MP3 download. All artist listings are taken from the website, so any mistakes are theirs. Track 1 “Sonnymoon for Two” Sonny Criss Quartet July 6, 1968 Newport Jazz Festival Sonny Criss - alto sax Bill Taylor - piano Junie Booth - bass Mousie Alexander – drums No, it wasn't Richie Cole but a blazing Sonny Criss. Track 2 “Lester Leaps In” Tyree Glenn Septet July 2 1960 Newport Jazz Festival Glenn, trombone, vibes Tommy Flanagan, piano Tommy Potter, bass Eddie Locke, drums Special guests: Georgie Auld, tenor sax Harry “Sweets” Edison, trumpet A couple of BFTs ago I used a recording that actually had an announcement of the soloist in the middle. That was just a bit worse than not noticing that someone says "George" in the middle of this one. So congrats to Jim R. for going with Georgie Auld. What I liked about this one was suspecting a lot of people to assume it was Hamp, in fact prior to hearing this concert, I hadn't even known that Glenn played both trombone and vibes. Track 3 "What’s New” Clark Terry All Stars July 7 1974 Radio City Music Hall Urbie Green - trombone Charlie Byrd - guitar Milt Hinton - bass Freddie Waits – drums I figured a few people would get Charlie Byrd but no one got Urbie Green. FYI, the rest of the "All-Stars" who are absent for this tune are Joe Newman, Charlie Rouse, Lockjaw and Hank Jones. Track 4 “Party Line” Marshall Brown & The Newport Youth Band July 2, 1960 Newport Jazz Festival Marshall Brown - conductor, arranger Mike Abene - piano Andy Marsala - alto saxophone Larry Morton - alto saxophone Ronnie Cuber - baritone saxophone Danny Megna - tenor saxophone Al Abreu - tenor saxophone Harry Hall - trumpet Gerry Joachim - trumpet Nat Pavone - trumpet Bill Vaccaro - trumpet Astley Fennell -trombone Eddy Green - trombone Chip Hoehler - trombone Benny Jacobs-El - trombone Jerry Friedman - guitar Eddie Gomez - bass Larry Rosen - drums Featured soloists: Cannonball Adderley, Andy Marsala - alto sax Thom said it was Cannonball so he gets the prize. I liked Jim's flashbacks to lab band nightmares. A helluva band, and I knew Cannonball guesting with them would be a good combination for a BFT. Track 5 “Memories of You” Zoot Sims – Bucky Pizzarelli June 10 1977 Great American Music Hall San Francisco I kinda thought Zoot was one of those obvious players but I guess not, some heard a Zoot influence, some heard Zoot, and someone said Scott Hamilton. Track 6 "Chasin’ at Newport" Newport Jazz Festival House Band July 4 1963 Howard McGhee - trumpet Clark Terry - trumpet Joe Zawinul - piano Wendell Marshall - bass Roy Haynes - drums So many got Clark Terry, I don't know what it is but I'm not nearly as in-tune with his style as a lot of you are. But only Bill F got Mcghee, so congrats to Bill. BTW Hawk and Zoot are the missing horns on this performance. Track 7 “Lover Come Back to Me” Ruby Braff Quartet July 5 1964 Newport Jazz Festival Braff, cornet Sir Charles Thompson, piano Slam Stewart, bass Ben Riley, drums Special guest: Ben Webster, tenor sax Here's one of the "cookies" I included - the inimitable Ben Webster, and in retrospect, Slam Stewart is pretty obvious too. Most people got Ben. I'd like to think I'd have definitely gotten him, I just wish an easy one like that would show up on these BFTs every once in a while. The one person who didn't recognize Ben shall remain nameless. Good call on Ruby Braff from a couple of people. Track 8 “The Work Song” 1973 Newport in NY July 3 1973 Apollo Theater Kenny Burrell Quartet Kenny Burrell - guitar Richard Wyands - piano Larry Ridley - bass Oliver Jackson – drums This is one that Jim R. did get. Track 9 "In a Mello Tone" Great American Music Hall 3/18/1977 San Francsisco Teddy Wilson - piano Dean Riley - bass Benny Barth - drums Special guest: Kai Winding - trombone No one got Kai but Thom made a good call in saying that he didn't sound like he was from the era. Jim S. came close but couldn't quite declare it to be Teddy Wilson on piano. Track 10 “Nica’s Dream” Mastersounds July 3 1959 Newport Jazz Festival Buddy Montgomery - vibraphone Monk Montgomery - Fender electric bass Rich Crabtree - piano Benny Barth – drums This was a cookie for Jim R. ... he got it eventually. Track 11 “Sister Sadie” Horace Silver Quintet July 3 1959 Newport Jazz Festival Silver, piano Blue Mitchell, trumpet Junior Cook, tenor saxophone Gene Taylor, bass Louis Hayes, drums Another cookie, yet only Jim S. got it right. And yet Jim didn't get the full group, questioning whether Blue Mitchell was in the band. I certainly figured Horace on piano would nail it for most people. Anyway - what I love about this is that its a performance captured before the recording session that set this tune down for all eternity (Horace plays this after a shouted request after expressing puzzlement over how people know it). So I love that its been captured at a time when it was so "fresh". ("Blowin' The Blues Away" and "Peace" are also a part of this Newport set, performances captured prior to the justly famous recording session.) Track 12 “Blueport” Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band July 1st 1960 Newport Jazz Festival Gerry Mulligan - baritone sax, composer, arranger, bandleader Bob Brookmeyer - valve trombone, arranger Gene Quill - alto sax Jim Reider - tenor sax Dick Meldonian - tenor sax Gene Allen - baritone sax Alan Raph - bass trombone Wayne Andre - trombone Don Ferrara - trumpet Conte Candoli - trumpet Phil Sunkel - trumpet Buddy Clark - bass Mel Lewis – drums Soloists: Mulligan, Reider on tenor sax, Brookmeyer on valve trombone and Ferrara on trumpet Once I decided on the theme, I figured this was the one to wrap it up with a pretty bow, giving a final nudge for people to go from "Blueport" to "Newport" to Wolfgang's Vault!. No one made that call but Bill F. showed impressive skills in nailing the soloists. That is, assuming that Bill Milkowski was right in the first place. Now for people's reactions ....

This I find remarkable. Given his history, and the fact that his contract ends in two months, what could possibly be in the medicals to make the Red Sox back off? Its a rental, with a known-to-be-highly-fragile pitcher. Its not taking on the remainder of a three year contract. WTF????? Did I miss something or isn't this simply a matter of a make-up doubleheader requiring a spot starter? I don't think Nova is back in the rotation, and it will probably take a few more shitty Hughes starts for that to change. Ubaldo's value isn't just shoring up the rotation for the stretch drive, he'd be under team control for two or three more years, a solid starter to potentially ease the transition of those two prospects, assuming they make it to NY, and maybe keep the Garcias and Colons away from the Yankee rotation, as well as they've pitched this year. If you presume that the winner of the East has the best record in the league (a very fair assumption) and that the central division champion has the worst, then yes the second-best division champion hosts the wild-card if the wild-card comes from the division with the best record. But remind me again why the rules say that? Why shouldn't two such teams go head-to-head and get one of them out of there? I swear its an "AL East" exception to the standard that a wild-card faces the best team in any normal seeding of playoff rounds. They knew that the two best teams would be more likely to come from the East, two of the biggest markets and one of the biggest rivalries, so no-no-no we can't have them meet in the first round, gotta have it in the LCS if it happens.

Lester has pitched very well in back-to-back starts since his return from the DL. That's a major relief. But Buccholz can't seem to get started on a serious throwing program due to lingering pain in his back and is going to yet another specialist on Monday. So ... The Red Sox are swapping Lars Anderson - a severely fallen prospect who is permanently blocked by Adrian Gonzalez -for Rich Harden who has pitched well this year but very infrequently and as we all know, his injury history is awful. I know the upside is there and maybe they'll get lucky (also maybe being reunited with his old A's pitching coach will help) but my best guess is that Theo is crossing his fingers that Harden will give them enough decent starts in August until Buchholz gets back. Anything over that is gravy, and probably doesn't happen. But at the same time, I think everyone is a little worried that Bucholz doesn't even make it back this year, in which case Lackey and Harden are your 3/4 starters in October, and in that case I will say yes, the Sox have serious pitching issues, at least as serious as the Yankees presumed issues. Speaking of which, who is left for the Yankees to target? Erik Bedard? Coming off knee surgery, looked bad last night, and a very strong reputation for not wanting to be "the guy" let alone "the guy" on a big-market team. That's why I'd rather go for Harden and cross my fingers. Bedard makes Ed Whitson look like a fearless competitor.

The Yankees have a big lead for the Wild Card that is seemingly secure with the way the Rays are playing. They could stand pat and make the playoffs, just as the Red Sox can. October is a crapshoot anyway.

I'm just glad to know I already have them.

What am I not seeing? Anyway, cue up "Its Allright to Cry" by Rosey Grier.

I've never heard of these. What are the details - time/place/rhythm section? thanks.

Here you go.

I thought it was fat pussy toad.

And we'll also wait to see if Giant fans lasting memory of Beltran is of a bat left on the shoulder. Cheap shot at Met fans? Interesting thing I saw somewhere this morning - basically pointed out that measured by OPS, the corner outfield spots are the bright-spots for the Giants offense , so how much of an upgrade exactly is Beltran? Surrounded by 7 guys with OPS below .700, its not like he's going to do a lot of damage suddenly, or make a huge difference over the other guys who've played RF.

Sox scored one run in sixteen innings Monday then scored 25 in the next two games against KC. You just never know ... BTW they are now 62-28 since that horrific 2-10 start. That's 90 games @ a .689 winning percentage. Kind of reminscent of the Yankee stretch of success in 2009, hopefully it will culminate in the same kind of celebration.

This story is way out of date - note that it was August 2010. The NY Times had an article in the Sunday Magazine a week or two ago about the results of the analysis of the scotch, where it came from and how it was made. They are planning to market a duplicate blend so everyone can taste the stuff if they'll pay for it.

I'm thinking when he gets to heaven - assuming his born-again beliefs were the way to go - he'll finally name the damn horse.

Bad calls should happen???? Just as long as it's not another Knoblauch phantom tag on Offerman right? Bad calls have always happened (edit to add: because human beings make judgements as events happen and sometimes make mistakes). Why exactly does it have to change? Because we can change them? So we can have red flags fly out of dugouts? And playoff games stretch to four hours regularly? Or what happens when there is no definitive angle on a call and it stands? Then maybe we'll figure out a way to get more cameras installed. Call me a traditionalist. Or a conservative. PS - I say there are bad calls at home more often because of shitty positioning. Umpires don't move the way they should to get the right view as the play develops and the throw comes in.

Personally I think they're all honest men trying to do a good job. Its just that some are truly incompetent and some (many the same people) are so full of their own self-righteous self-importance that they think they're the people fans come to see.

I was holding out hope that football would really destroy itself; as it is I'll do my best to ignore everything other than the occasional game on Sundays until the end of October or whenever the Red Sox are eliminated. Then I might check in on where the Bears and Pats stand. Then I'll (mostly) concentrate on the glorious day known as "Pitchers & Catchers".

I vote no, its part of the game. To fix the umpiring I'd rather see them fire the worst, including everyone who makes the game about themselves (and the worst offenders in that regard are usually pretty shitty about things like balls & strikes too). But bad calls happen and will happen and frankly, should happen. I like that baseball is judged in real time by honest men trying to do a good job.

I wasn't aware of that Steeplechase release, with the setlist and Horace Parlan aboard, looks like one to definitely seek out.

I hope you do make it Shawn, would be a shame if you miss the chance and don't get another one. Frank Foster's passing reminds me that if you can see a living legend you really need to.

For those it would appeal to, I heartily recommend Hank & Frank on Doubletime, Hank Marr the nominal leader on a program of Basie or Basie-inspired tunes. I don't think Frank recorded with an organist elsewhere and its one of many CDs I'll be spinning in rememberance.

Kinda depends on whether you date it to when Gershwin wrote it or when it first inspired jazz compositions, doesn't it?