Dan Gould

Why is Richard Gere a punchline?

His records as a leader start in 1982 and up until 2010 were out at a very regular clip (now its about 4-5 years in between shitting out a new one). Given the fact of this documentary being produced and aired now, and that a major part of it is a change in critical approval, I would hardly say that he "barely exists" culturally. And OMG, check out the AllMusic review of his latest With 2021's elegant New Standards, saxophonist Kenny G wryly inserts himself into the pantheon of American Popular Songbook composers performing and writing songs that feel as if they were written during the heyday of traditional pop in the '50s and '60s. The album is G's first studio production since 2015's Brazilian Nights and while it certainly hews to his distinctive crossover style it's steeped in a lush orchestral atmosphere that evokes the classic traditional pop of artists like Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, and Ella Fitzgerald. Of course, these aren't swinging big-band numbers, but hushed and intimate ballads with just enough R&B keyboard, bass, and guitar textures to keep things contemporary. What's particularly notable about New Standards is just how effectively G has managed to capture the sound of traditional pop. While solely instrumentals, tracks like "Emeline," "Blue Skies," and "Paris by Night" are nonetheless harmonically sophisticated songs that have the cozy, martini-soaked vibe of Tin Pan Alley and Brill Building standards. One could easily imagine a companion album with lyrics and guest vocalists added to the mix. That they are all G's own newly penned original compositions makes them all the more impressive. Even the one guest appearance here, a somewhat dubious, digitally crafted duet between G and his late idol, saxophonist Stan Getz (or more specifically "the sound" of Stan Getz), does little to distract from the overriding aura of relaxed, old-school romanticism.

If you care about the label (and I do, for it will always for me signify the music I care most about, from swing to hard bop to the modern mainstream of artists plying their trade in those sub-styles) there is nothing worse than encountering someone who says they are also a "jazz fan" and the first artist mentioned is G.

I am sincerely wondering where it is that Kenny G has ever protested that he doesn't play jazz. Where has he ever said "don't call my music jazz" or "I play instrumental pop" or (as I frankly think his ego is big enough to say it) "Ain't no "jazz" label can hold me, bitches."

I do not know why, clearly he belongs in the Founded a Label section, with Ray Charles.

You're skipping over the part about him playing an instrument associated with jazz and getting acclaim as a jazz musician. If there existed a "smooth jazz" chart and recognition of "best selling smooth jazz artist" I wouldn't remotely give a shit about him and his music.

If he didn't get the label "jazz" or was considered the highest-selling "jazz" artist of all time, I wouldn't give two craps about the G-Spot's music. But he does, and he is, so it does matter to me. I will admit to not exactly paying attention to smooth/quiet storm/New Age, but I did have to play a Dave Koz hosted syndicated smooth jazz show before I hosted my own jazz show on Mello 105-Tallahassee. My impression of smooth does not gibe with what G does. There are warmed over r&b licks and funky rhythms in smooth, owing to its derivation in Grover/Sanborn. G-Spot doesn't play blues as far as I am concerned. He plays sickly sweet melodies that the masses find appealing, to their eternal shame and embarrassment, if they had any sense of either.

I think it depends on the definition of "pantheon". For penetration into the wider culture and influence there you got to go with Cannonball first, IMHO. But plenty of room for both ... in fact after those two, isn't it almost fair to say that from each sprung a distinct river/brook of descendants, with the more straightahead coming from Cannonball (think Vincent Herring and his time playing with Nat) and the more avant coming from Jackie and his HAAG BNs?

I trust Allen Lowe's report on FB that Barry has passed. Terrible loss. RIP.

I knew there was ... and why match with Norman Simmons unless they literally didn't have any copy of this other release?

Yeah that Richard's Almanac had a CD release at some point by the Andorrans? Or maybe not. You would think that with Jack Wilson on piano, a two-fer needle drop would have come out by now. This thing must be so rare ...

Thanks Chuck it seems as rare as anything in the jazz genre but its good to know that there is more detail than that other page provides and it must really have been issued. One to keep watching for but after 20+ years I have my doubts it will show up.

Say Chuck, does this info from the web page https://www.bsnpubs.com/chess/argo600.html check out in the Argo section? Years and years ago I was on the lookout for Argo records and especially this one but have never been certain it existed (I think Eddie Higgins asked Richard Evans on my behalf, and he said he thought it did come out, that he recalled a photo session in front of a Chicago soul food restaurant. LPS-675 - Home Cookin' - Richard Evans Trio [1961]

I have never heard it asserted that "beta males" aren't a universal phenomenon, even in countries where "machismo" is a major trait. Maybe I shouldn't have used 'beta' and just said 'wimpy males'. I'll continue to assert his market is predominantly or overwhelmingly females who like, in one order or another, his delightful hair and his delightful, easy to digest pretty melodies.

I always thought that his fanbase was nearly all female in the first place though I guess there is a subset of Beta Males keeping the CD handy to help them try to get laid. In a decent world those same people would have one of the "Ballads" comps that BN put out years ago ... Dex, Turrentine, someone else? But that went out of style when Hef started to look ridiculous in his robe.

Even if I lowered the percentage, I do not think this is the case at all. Kenny G is not the "look at my sample jazz CD I own" avatar that KOB or Time Out (or Ken Burns comps) are. Kenny G is the "here's my pretty instrumental CD I have, doncha love him" CD.

He is the highest selling jazz artist of all time, because his music is mindlessly labelled "jazz," which is simply wrong. It is instrumental pop - the fact that he would piece together individual notes from different takes is even more proof of what has been obvious from his first successful album. Yet I would bet that maybe 75% of those who own his records own nothing else that gets categorized as "jazz", and the rest who own other "jazz" own only the smooth variety. This is the problem with the G-Spot. The fact that "critics" have apparently determined in the last 20 years that he is great, and those who criticize know nothing, only proves the ongoing degradation of "criticism" in this day and age.

OMG: I decided to google Harold Baines Stats and discovered that Google has memory-holed that the Guardians were ever the Indians. I don't care where you came down on the necessity of renaming that franchise, this is BS with a capital B.

Gil Hodges, Buck O'Neil, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso and someone from the 19th century reach the Hall: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/sports/baseball/buck-oneil-gil-hodges-hall-of-fame.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20211206&instance_id=47090&nl=the-morning&regi_id=68486788&segment_id=76211&te=1&user_id=97b4d9b18a0aa595e5cd5740f64bf5db I think some of these are emblematic of "if you let Harold Baines in they might as well go too", though I don't think the same personal favoritism explains it, just the general watering-down of standards. Baines was never the "don't let this guy beat us" in anyone's lineup, and if I am wrong about that evaluation, he wasn't that guy for more than 2-3 seasons at most. That's no peak. Kinda the same with Jim Kaat, he was a number one pitcher for a stretch but not that long of a time. I used to think he belonged but now that he is in, I am not so sure. I bet Kaat gives a good speech though, and I hope they get the writer of the Buck O'Neil book to speak on Buck's behalf.

Indeed ... and I like Leonard Gaskin's deadpan answer to Percy's what's my favorite song question: "Why Was I Born".

Percy playing Honky Tonk but kept more at a low simmer than was typical. Bob Neloms piano.

Well, GA, be that as it may, the fact is that Landis insisted on the "best interests of the game" clause which allowed future commissioners to take actions that individual owners (and the owners collectively) didn't much appreciate. As for the lockout, I see it as wrong not because they are big-footing the players but because escalation makes no sense when you are on the way toward a work stoppage. In other words, let the players go on strike at the start of Spring Training, which is where this was headed, because they have been feeling mistreated (and I don't deny their reasons for being so even though I think some of their proposals are ludicrous). Kind of apples and oranges don't you think Brad? Are there board of directors for sports leagues in other countries, or are you comparing it to corporate management in other countries? Because David's proposal was for a player from every team having a vote for commissioner - a very long way from a single vote on a board.

The independence of the commissioner was eviscerated a long long time ago. The fact that the commissioner was independent and spoke of "best interest of baseball" was only a result of the Black Sox scandal and the effort to save the game from the stench. At this point why should baseball be any different from the other major sports? Does the NFL have an independent commissioner? Not the last time I thought of it. I don't think any commissioner of a major sports league has independent power like that. And frankly, the idea of players having any vote on commissioner is beyond ludicrous. As for your specific statement about their web property, mlb.com, they are big on assuring people that what they publish is not vetted or approved by MLB - under normal circumstances. These aren't normal circumstances, and I would bet that use of player images is governed by the current CBA. Which no longer exists. I think they had to scrub the site of player images etc.

The Times' take: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/02/movies/listening-to-kenny-g-review.html

I don't know but Amazon surely isn't showing that this is something they expect to have ready to ship in three days.