Chalupa

Well seeing how the first 5 volumes made it onto the Dime I'm sure both of the box sets will eventually find their way over there too.

We know for sure that Sun Ra worked as a pianist with Fletcher Henderson in 1946-7 and then as an arranger at the Club De Lisa -- the Club De Lisa being the major South Side nightclub, with floor shows, etc. (The DeLisa was where Basie "discovered" Joe Williams.) These facts alone guarantee that whatever unusual musical ideas were already percolating in Sun Ra's mind, he was able and at the time willing to function with ease in musical situations that were at once fairly sophisticated and conventional and in which the dictates of show business had to prevail. It would be difficult to imagine Ornette doing the same in LA -- or in Chicago or on the planet Pluto; he had neither the temperament nor the "skills" to fit in (and by "skills" I mean only the ability to function in conventional contexts without calling undue attention to his individuality), though no doubt LA was also more inhospitable to unusual African-Americans than Chicago was. I wonder how much the non-musical aspects of the Arkestra's performances may have figured into their "acceptance". There was definitely a theatrical side to their performances that was largely absent from Ornette's shows. I think the costumes, dancers, etc. made it easier to "welcome" the Arkestra's music even if you didn't "get it". Also, for all of the weirdness contained in Ra's music the Arkestra was basically a dance band. A freaky ass dance band but band that never forgot how to swing.

Good question. Some answers here: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=301032 and here: http://www.oppodigital.com/Getting-Most-ou...TV-Display.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080215/tc_nm/hddvd_dc_1 Toshiba's HD-DVD going the way of Betamax By Thomas K. Arnold and Erik GruenwedelThu Feb 14, 10:23 PM ET The high-definition DVD format war has turned into a format death watch. Toshiba is expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format in the coming weeks, after a rash of retail defections that followed Warner Home Video's stunning announcement in early January that it would support only Sony's rival Blu-ray Disc format after May. Officially, no decision has been made, insists Jodi Sally, vp of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. "Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings," she said. But she hinted that something's in the air. "Given the market developments in the past month," she said, "Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players." Immediately after the Warner announcement, the HD DVD North American Promotional Group canceled its Consumer Electronics Show presentation. The following week data collected by the NPD Group gave Blu-ray 93% of all hardware sales for that week. Toshiba subsequently fired back by cutting its HD DVD player prices by as much as half, effective January 15. But a hoped-for consumer sales surge never materialized; retail point-of-sale data collected by The NPD Group for the week ending January 26 still showed Blu-ray Disc players ahead by a wide margin, 65% to 28%. Software sales have declined as well. The latest Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales data show the top-selling Blu-ray Disc title for the week, Sony's "Across the Universe," sold more than three times as many copies the week ending February 10 as the top HD DVD seller, Universal's "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." Blu-ray Disc titles also accounted for 81% of all high-def disc sales for the week, with HD DVD at just 19%. Toshiba had been pitching its discounted HD DVD players toward the standard DVD crowd as well as high-def enthusiasts, noting in its ad message that the new players would make DVDs look a lot better as well. And as a last-ditch effort the company ran an ad during the Super Bowl -- a 30-second spot that reportedly cost $2.7 million.

Feds' typo spurs erroneous report on Bonds test http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3246675 Edit to say that the typo doesn't undermine their assertion that Bonds did steroids.

"At trial, the government's evidence will show that Bonds received steroids from Anderson in the period before the November 2001 positive drug test, What test are they referring to?? Was it done by MLB???

I saw John Tchicai and Khan Jamal last night. So I pulled out The River (Philly Jazz) by Bill Lewis and Khan Jamal this morning.

Last night I saw John Tchicai and Guests - John Tchicai, alto saxophone/bass clarinet ; Khan Jamal, vibraphone; Garrison Fewell, guitar. Really good. They were supposed to do one set but at the end of the first set Tchicai asked if the audience wanted to hear another. There was an enthusiastic "YES!" from the small crowd.

From SI's Tom Verducci: "Finally. Elijah Cummings is the MVP of the hearing. Straightforward, with no grandstanding, Cummings stepped up and finally asked the most important question to Clemens: Why would McNamee tell the truth about Pettitte and Knoblauch but lie about Clemens, especially when Pettitte, by Clemens' own testimony a honest man, backed McNamee's story? Clemens whiffed. 'Congressman, I have no idea,' he said, before devolving into a rambling discourse on Pettitte's friendship with him. Cummings came back again. 'How do you explain that?' Clemens again stumbled, asking why Pettitte didn't tell him when he used HGH, which was not important to the question at hand. Finally, Cummings slammed the door on Clemens. 'It's hard to believe you, sir,' Cummings told Clemens. 'You're one of my heroes. But it's hard to believe you.'" http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...amee/index.html

I watched about an hour and a half of the morning's hearing. Neither McNamee nor Clemens came off all that credible. It is weird how the questioning is coming down on party lines. I was wondering if Roger made a big donation to the RNC.

OK this might not be big news for some of you but as an owner of not one but TWO Beagles I'm pretty happy for the little guy. Story and more photos here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/12/beagle.be...html#cnnSTCText more... http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/

What, no love for Abe and Charlie?????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhbxN4NO38k

Born on this date in 1809!

Pettitte, Radomski, Knoblauch won't testify at steroid hearing http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3241579

Just got this in an email.......... Wednesday, February 13 | 8pm JOHN TCHICAI AND FRIENDS with JOHN TCHICAI, alto saxophone KHAN JAMAL, vibraphone GARRISON FEWELL, guitar Rose Recital Hall, Fisher-Bennett Hall, 34th and Walnut streets (SE corner) $10 General Admission Saxophonist John Tchicai is best known for his time in New York during the height of the '60s free jazz explosion. In 1963, he moved to New York City to immerse himself in the epicenter of free jazz. He hooked up with Archie Shepp and Don Cherry, eventually co-founding the New York Contemporary Five with them; he was also a founding member of the New York Art Quartet with Roswell Rudd and Milford Graves. Tchicai also recorded with Albert Ayler (on New York Eye and Ear Control), the Jazz Composers Guild, and John Lennon (Life With the Lions), and appeared on John Coltrane's legendary free jazz landmark Ascension on Impulse Records. After a whirlwind three years, Tchicai returned to Denmark in 1966 and founded a large workshop ensemble called Cadentia Nova Danica, which he led until 1971. Since, he has worked with the Pierre Dorge's New Jungle Orchestra, and has led multiple ensembles of his own.

As I reached for Infinity I also grabbed "The Traveller" on Steeplechase and gave it a spin. Johnny Dyani and Khan sounded wonderful together. Now I gotta find my copy of Dark Warrior...... Edit: and after listing to all of those BYG's the other day I have to say that it was really nice to listen to some good clean vinyl again. Ahhh....

Here's a photo of my copy. D'oh! moment #2 in the liner notes on the back cover it says that Infinity had previously been released on "Khan's own label, Jam'Brio Records".

I just pulled out my copy of Infinity and it has a different cover than this: It's on Stash records. I guess my copy is a reprint?

close: it's Bill Lewis, also to be found on the sublime Philly Jazz album "The River" with Khan Jamal. not as good as "Infinity" by Khan Jamal though, which is playing now. D'oh! I meant Bill Lewis. My brain wasn't working last night. Thanks, I'll have to track that Arpeggio LP down.

Wow. I didn't think anyone knew of them outside of Philly. Is that Bill Lee on Vibes?

Cribbed from the DMG newsletter.... NEW YORK ART QUARTET [ROSWELL RUDD/JOHN TCHICAI/LEWIS WORELL /MILFORD GRAVES] - New York Art Quartet (ESP Disk 1004; USA) "Originally released in 1964 as ESP 1004. Featured artists: Milford Graves (percussion); Leroi Jones: (vocals); Roswell Rudd (trombone); John Tchicai (alto saxophone); Lewis Worrell (bass). Original recording digitally remastered from the original ESP tapes! Manufactured in the USA by the original label. "The unique front-line horn arrangement of trombonist Roswell Rudd and Danish alto saxophonist John Tchicai weave rapid intricate lines around Lewis Worell's bass and the frenzied drums of Milford Graves. Poet Leroi Jones (now Amiri Baraka) is added to the quartet for his revolutionary/militant spoken word diatribe 'Sweet-Black Dada Nihilismus.'" --Al Campbell, All Music Guide STEVE LACY With ENRICO RAVA/JOHNNY DYANI/LOUIS MOHOLO - The Forest And The Zoo (ESP Disk 1060; USA) "Lacy's profound influence on the avant-garde can be traced back to this phenomenal session with Enrico Rava (trumpet), Johnny Dyani (bass), and Louis T. Moholo (drums) which is a pivotal recording in the career of the master soprano saxophonist. Steve Lacy's involvement in avant garde jazz began with this historical recording date for ESP-Disk' recorded live in Buenos Aires in 1966. Original artwork. Digitally remastered from the original tapes. Manufactured in the USA by the original label." PAUL BLEY TRIO With STEVE SWALLOW/BARRY ALTSCHUL - Closer (ESP Disk 1021; USA) This is the wonderful pianist Paul Bley's second superb album for the ESP label. It features his amazing trio from 1965 with Steve Swallow on bass and Barry Altschul on drums. Seven of the ten tracks were written by Carla Bley, with one each by Paul Bley, Annette Peacock and Ornette Coleman. Liner notes, photos and more re-mastered from the original tapes. "This incredible record should be in every collection, it is comparable in its democratic intensity and high melodic content to Chick Corea's classic 'Song of Singing'." - from The Penguin Guide To Jazz. Digitally remastered from the original tapes. Manufactured in the USA by the original label." BOB JAMES TRIO With BARRE PHILLIPS/ROBERT POZAR - Explosions (ESP Disk 1009; USA) "A strange release comprised of 5 very avant-garde numbers featuring electronic sound effects, sport commentaries and the music of a beautifully improvising jazz trio. With Bob James on piano, Barre Phillips (bass) and Robert Pozar (drums).

Burton Greene - Aquariana (original issue) Kenneth Terroade - Love Rejoice (Get Back 180 gram reissue) Clifford Thornton - Ketchaoua (Get Back 180 gram reissue) I know that the reissues are not made from the original tapes but to my ears the two reissues I listened to today sound better than the copy I have of Aquariana. There's all kind of surface noise and the high end tends to get distorted in places. It was bad enough that I rechecked the tracking angle/weight on my deck. I guess I need to obtain original copies of the Terroade and Thornton for a real comparison. Or maybe I just have a bum copy of Aquariana? The vinyl looks NM - no visible scratches, nothing that can be felt, very clean. Or maybe I just need to get a VPI cleaner?

I got in the site no problem. Question - How often do they update/add new auctions?? I just did a search for BYG and the last auction that they added was back from November. There have been probably 100 BYG's sold since then on ebay.

Seriously. Pat Riley must be licking his chops. I can't believe Phoenix is actually considering acquiring Shaq. Have they totally given up on Marion??