Lazaro Vega

The Dizzy Big Band in Berlin smokes the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, imho. The Fuller albums are on the short-side swinging instrumental showcases. Dizzy's solo in that arrangement of "Groovin' High," and Moody's flute in a 2 and a half minute long "Tin Tin Deo" get right to the point. No shuckin'. Concise. Authentic big band bebop. It makes me want to pull out Art Blakey and James Moody "New Sounds" on Blue Note and hear Fuller and Moody together in the 40's. We have a Pacific Jazz lp called "Night Flight," Gil Fuller/James Moody & The Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, and this is a re-issue: there's no personnel listings, just the tunes and a photo of Moody and Fuller standing in what looks like an airport terminal. The label is sky blue with a giant wave breaking over the spindle hole, ready to soak it.

Thanks Michael -- played "The Cat" on the radio recently. Loved that when it was new, too.

Yeah, that is good news. Griff's version of "If You Could See Me Now" is one for the ages.

Ah, Eric Dolphy's "God Bless the Child" and Coleman Hawkin's "Picasso" are more than successful solo performances, they're masterworks of improvised music.

Earlier today WBEZ GM Torey Malatia was online answering questions. (10:30 am - 12:30 pm (Central Time)) Even if you missed the live chat, you can leave comments on the forum at any time, but you have to register to use. http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=9

Jazz giants come out to fete tireless promoter April 23, 2006 BY <mailto:lsachs@suntimes.com>LLOYD SACHS Staff Reporter On Friday night, in celebration of his 80th birthday, the Chicago jazz impresario Joe Segal will be gifted with a Symphony Center concert in his honor featuring a bunch of his all-time favorite players. His birthday buddy Johnny Griffin, also born on April 24, won't be on hand to share in the festivities like he used to every year at Segal's Jazz Showcase. But other practitioners of the music Segal loves best, bebop, will be on hand, including saxophonists Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Heath, James Moody and Ira Sullivan. Also on the bill: two saxophonists of a more modernist bent, Chicagoan Von Freeman and Yusef Lateef, making a rare Windy City visit. All-star concerts don't always work, but high spirits promise to elevate this one, the way they elevated the Symphony Center bash in honor of Freeman's 80th several years back. That one recognized a local legend's mastery of the tenor saxophone. This one will recognize another local legend's mastery of the instrument of jazz itself. For nearly 60 years -- 60! -- in the face of downward trends and reasons to quit the biz while the quittin' was good, Segal has presented jazz in this city. That's the longest stint by a jazz promoter ever, a marathon run even more impressive than that of another Joe, DiMaggio. DiMaggio never had to deal with disco or Windy City winters or messed-up musicians or fickle audiences that forced a series of "Save Our Showcase" benefits -- or the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who in culturally purifying the Blackstone Hotel after purchasing it in 1995 made the Showcase take a hike. Nor did DiMaggio have to persuade drummers to play softer and singers -- well, most of them, anyway -- to play somewhere else. If you're a vocalist and your name is not Billie Holiday, Segal probably won't have a soft spot in his sensibility for you. JOE SEGAL'S ALL-STAR 80TH BIRTHDAY BASH When: 8 p.m. Friday Where: Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Tickets: $16-$55 Call: (312) 294-3000 Think about it: This man has been booking jazz -- real jazz, none of that easy listening stuff -- in Chicago since becoming a student promoter at Roosevelt University in 1947. You want to know what was going on then? Mahatma Gandhi began a march for peace in East Bengali. Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. Albert Speer was tried at Nuremberg. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. So, by many people, was Charlie Parker, patron saint of the Jazz Showcase, who formed his quintet with Miles Davis that year in New York and recorded some of his greatest works. The Showcase has moved numerous times over the years. Before landing on its feet at Grand and Clark, next to what was then the Zinfandel restaurant, it spent the most quality time on Rush Street (at the Happy Medium) and in the Blackstone. A few downtown clubs have competed with it in presenting national jazz acts (including Rick's Cafe Americain, booked by cocktail pianist Bill Snyder in the old Holiday Inn on Lake Shore Drive), but Segal has pretty much had the field to himself. Meaning that he's had McCoy Tyner and Roy Haynes and Joe Henderson and Phil Woods and so many other greats on pretty much an exclusive basis. Who knows whether someone else would have promoted this music in this town the way it deserves to be promoted had Segal not taken on the mission, fresh from a stint in the military, a Philadelphian with no preconceptions of Chicago. Who knows whether someone else would have stuck it out through periods in which the jazz audience has drifted -- and through periods like right now in which the major record labels have all but quit the form. Segal, who isn't kidding when he calls bebop "the music of the future," isn't much for progressive or avant-garde jazz, which ranks only slightly higher than the "rap crap" he used to bemoan from the stage for the benefit of young Sunday matinee attendees. But he couldn't resist the opportunity to plug upcoming Showcase gigs even in accepting tributes at his 75th birthday party at Joe's Be-Bop Cafe on Navy Pier (where he'll celebrate tonight, as well). "Tickets are still available," he said back then, pitching Count Basie Orchestra. Now, as ever, that's an offer no jazz fan can refuse. Lloyd Sachs, formerly the Sun-Times' jazz critic, now sits on the editorial board. Copyright © The Sun-Times Company All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Blue Lake will present a radio program in honor of his birthday tonight after 10 p.m. (but be warned we're also fundraising). www.bluelake.org

The other thing is that records are firstly a document of activity, secondly a calling card. That a record label can be the arbiter of culture is only true if it disseminates something that's already taken hold on a smaller level. Unless Verve dediced to get into the game full time by opening up a modern day Theater Owner's Booking Association or chitlin circut or other chain of venues for bands on their labels to play at, develop and audience with and THEN sell records to, you know, nothing will be solved.

"the predominant period of innovation in jazz was the 60s and early 70s." The predominant period of innovation in jazz was the 1920's. The political action you're talking about is much needed but not a commercial panacea: look at rap and hip hop, once politically charged now all about bling and booty. The kinds of changes would be societal, not just musical. Look at the world of expression in all means -- film, painting, literature, science, music, education, politics, even clothing styles and archetecture (sp) -- in the 1920's and 1960's and look at today.

Yeah, Bijou is a classic. So for comparison's sake the way Eckstine's trumpet section dives in and out of the ensemble on "Blowin' The Blues Away" with the way the First Herd's trumpet section take it up stairs on "Caldonia" are both, in their own way, out of Gillespie. That both the first Herd and Gillespie's big bands had vibes players in them, Norvo and Jackson, is kind of odd. I LOVE that Spotlight reissue of the Eckstine Jubilee broadcasts. In fact need a new lp as the one in hand is worn white (from toting it back and forth to work). The fidelity on those broadcasts gives a clearer picture of the band's tremendous dynamics. Though the Savoy re-issues are full of great solos by Ammons and Gordon, two leading tenors of the era coming out of Pres (sound-wise, anyway, don't know about extra-musical influences). And the occasional Fats Navarro turn lights up those muddy, cheap sounding 78's.

The Jazz Datebook April 21, 2006 Program Note: April 29th is Duke Ellington’s 107th Birthday. Blue Lake celebrates the occasion Friday, April 28th after 10 p.m. and Saturday morning, April 29th from 7 to 10 a.m. In April Jazz From Blue Lake birthday tributes included Stanley Turrentine, Bud Freeman, Gene Ammons, Billie Holiday and Charles Mingus. Please see our on-line program guide for a list of this week’s featured artists. www.bluelake.org The Datebook: From April 22 through May 7 the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival presents a number of great jazz performances in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. www.thegilmore.com Thursday, April 27 at 7 and 9:30. The Bad Plus are at The B.O.B. in Grand Rapids. The Bad Plus is Ethan Iverson, piano; David King, drums; and Reid Anderson, bass. Ethan Iverson appeared on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz” in February. See: http://www.npr.org/programs/pianojazz/prev...05/iverson.html Tickets for The Bad Plus at the Top of the B.O.B. are available through Tickets Plus, the B.O.B., or at the door. $30 with a a two drink minimum. The B.O.B. web site: http://www.thegilmorecollection.com/The%20....B./thebob.html In Kalamazoo, the Gilmore Festival Features three jazz series: Jazz Club at Western Michigan University’s Gilmore Theater Complex: Sunday, April 23rd at 4 and 7 p.m. pianist McCoy Tyner Friday, April 28th at 7 and 9:30 p.m. pianist Eric Reed Sunday, April 30th at 4 and 7 p.m. pianist Danilo Perez Friday, May 5th at 7 and 9:30 p.m. pianist Lynne Arriale Saturday Night Jazz at Chenery Auditorium Saturday, April 29th at 8 p.m. the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O’Farrill Noon Series at Civic Theater Wednesday, April 26th Nachito Herrera with Puro Cubano Thursday, April 27th the Jeff Hamilton Trio featuring the swinging drummer Friday, April 28th A Tribute to Miles Davis’s recording “Kind of Blue” featuring drummer Jimmy Cobb, who with Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers made up Davis’s second great rhythm section of the 1950’s. The next Gilmore Festival is in two years. Please see: www.thegilmore.com or call 1-800-34-PIANO. Saturday, April 22 at 8:00 p.m. The Windy City All Stars play a tribute to New Orleans as they open the new Lakeshore Jazz Connection Concert Season at the Saugatuck Women’s Club, on the corner of Butler and Hoffman streets, Saugatuck. A favorite at Andy’s Jazz Club in Chicago, the All Stars are led by trombonist Russ Phillips and include trumpeter Bobby Lewis (www.bobbylewis.com ), clarinetist Kim Cusack, guitarist Andy Brown, bassist Stewart Miller, and drummer Greg Sergo. The season continues May 28th with The Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra plus vocalist Sunny Wilkinson, vibraphonist Jim Cooper and pianist Dick Reynolds. $18 General Admission. See www.lakeshorejazzconnection.org or call (269) 857 – 2287. Friday, April 21 at 5 p.m. and Saturday April 22 beginning at noon and running straight through to the finale concert at 7:30, the Third Annual Thornapple Arts Council/Felpash Jazz Festival in downtown Hastings. Over 18 high school jazz bands will be heard, including young musicians from Northview High School, Comstock Park, Byron Center, Forest Hills East and Coopersville. The finale concert features the Lansing Symphony Big Band and is a fundraiser for the Thornapple Arts Council. Tickets $15 adults; $10 for students and seniors; $5 for children under 12. See www.thornappleartscouncil.org for a full schedule, or call (269) 945 – 2002. Monday, April 24th at 7:30, The Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra delivers the big band sound at The Kopper Top Guest House, 638 Stocking NW, one door south of Fourth Street, Grand Rapids. See www.wmichjazz.org for more at the Kopper Top. Monday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. The Northview High School Jazz Ensemble with guest artists Minds Eye, a musical collective featuring pianist/composer/teacher Steve Talaga, bassist/saxophonist Tom Lockwood, trumpeter/saxophonist Rob Smith and drummer Jeff Moehle. The Northview Performing Arts Center is at 4451 Hunsberger N.E. (off of Alpine), Grand Rapids. Tickets, $5 adults; $3.00 for students and seniors. Phone (616) 363 – 4857 extension 1727. Thursday, April 27th Till Midnight in Holland features Jazz Avenue with twins Dave and Darren Mathews. ‘Till Midnight, 171 East 24th Street, Holland. Phone (616) 392 – 6883 or click www.tillmidnight.biz Thursday, April 27th the popular jazz organ trio Organissimo with drummer Randy Marsh, guitarist Joe Gloss and organist Jim Alfredson at Founder’s Brewing Company, 648 Monore N.W., Grand Rapids. Phone (616) 776-1195. www.foundersbrewing.com Tuesday, May 9th at 7 p.m. The Truth in Jazz Orchestra plays at the West Side Inn, Beidler St., Muskegon. The sixteen piece big band led by bassist/bass trombonist Dave Collee features a swinging book and regular guests such as drummer Tim Froncek and trumpeter Dan Jacobs (see: http://www.danjacobsmusic.com/home.html ) The Theater Bar, 24 Washington St., Grand Haven features jazz or blues guitarists Rick Hicks or Eric Glatz on alternating Wednesday evenings from 8 to 11 p.m. The Theater Bar, which specializes in seafood, presents live jazz Fridays and Saturdays from 9 to 11 p.m. (616) 844- 5055. Friday, May 12th, pianist Butch Thompson and Friends at the Hart Public Schools Auditorium in the Hart Middle School. Tickets $7 at the door. Contact Tom Kirk, (231) 873- 6320. Saturday, May 13th at 6 p.m. The University Musical Society’s 11th Annual Ford Honors Program presents Dave Brubeck the 2006 UMS Distinguished Artist Award. Brubeck Time: A Lifetime Tribute at Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor includes The Dave Brubeck Quartet with special guest artists Chris Brubeck, trombone; Russell Gloyd conducting the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra; the UMS Choral Union, Jerry Blackstone, Music Director; and The First Presbyterian Church Choir of Ann Arbor, Susan Boggs, Music Director. Brubeck’s quartet will play jazz, with Dave Brubeck, piano; Bobby Militello, saxophone, flute, woodwinds; Michael Moore, bass; and Randy Jones, drums. Movements from Brubeck’s “Light in the Wilderness: An Oratorio for Today” will be performed by the quartet, large ensemble and choirs. Concert tickets: $10 - $60 with proceeds supporting the UMS Education and Audience Development Program. Tickets are also available for a reception and elegant dinner in the Michigan League Ballroom hosted by the UMS Advisory Committee. This event follows the concert and presentation. For details phone (734) 764-2538 or click www.ums.org. Sunday, May 21st from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. the River Rogues Jazz Band of Grand Rapids opens the new season for the West Shore Jazz Society at their season venue: The Oakridge Country Club, 513 West Pontaluna Road, Muskegon. $20 for members; $25 for non-members. The season includes The Chicago Hot Six on June 18th. For a full schedule call (231) 759 – 0071.

I think he plays "Stuffy" during that free association. We played this on the radio twice during the day when it first came out. Needless to say the blue hairs in the audience were not impressed. Though the fuscia hairs did raise a razor cut eyebrow or two.

From Chi-improv. by Jason Guthartz The local papers come to BEZ's defense: The Sun-Times' Feder: http://www.suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder19.html But the more Malatia looked to the future, the more convinced he became that music alone wasn't the answer. For the eight hours each day that WBEZ airs music, the station draws less than half the listenership of its 16 hours of news and talk daily. Overall, according to the Arbitron ratings, the station's music audience is down 20 percent from last year. But more significantly, the availability of jazz in other forms has increased dramatically in recent years. Multiple full-time jazz formats are available on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio. Internet broadcasting abounds. Podcasts are standing ready to be downloaded. Even locally, Clear Channel Radio broadcasts a 24-hour digital signal of traditional jazz on the second HD Radio frequency of "smooth jazz" WNUA-FM (95.5) -- all announcer-free and commercial-free. And of course there's still jazz on WDCB. So what will air instead of the music on WBEW and WBEQ? That's the truly exciting part of the story that unfortunately has been overshadowed by the sincere and legitimate protests over the jazz cut and the ouster of music director Chris Heim. Steve Johnson's Trib blog: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/te...m_915_is_d.html Can you believe that WBEZ-FM 91.5 is dumping jazz, world music and blues? Neither can I. I thought the city's public-radio station would never get around to making this smart decision, a big improvement over its current personality divide. It's not that I hate jazz, blues or world music. A little of each goes a long way for me, to be sure, but they are all fine, even splendid, at certain times -- like during brunch and over tinny speakers in college-town clothing stores. But even melodic jazz (as opposed to the numbingly virtuosic kind; I get it, dude, you can play your horn) is no match for a lineup of first-rate public-affairs programs, and the latter is just what WBEZ aims to put in place of the nighttime and overnight music it now plays. *** As for jazz, even true believers have to admit it's already a niche format, well served by the small stages of Internet and satellite radio outlets and devotee record stores. Let's not pretend the playing of prerecorded niche music continues to be more deserving than freshly produced news of the huge auditorium that is Chicago's lead public-radio station. Let's especially not pretend this when there's a whole world out there to try to comprehend. [Jason Guthartz] posted this comment to that Trib-moron's blog: Johnson: "As for jazz, even true believers have to admit it's already a niche format, well served by the small stages of Internet and satellite radio outlets and devotee record stores." So what? News reporting that is "intelligent," "scrupulously reported" and "lavishly detailed" is also a niche format, well served by the Internet, satellite radio, print periodicals, etc. domerquid commented: "And why does quality talk deserve more of an outlet than quality music? You make no argument other than you think it does." Exactly. In fact, the argument can be made that it is *more* important for a public radio station to focus on music, since the information-content of "precorded niche music" is in the sound - sound that cannot be translated to print - whereas news/opinion reports lose little if anything when transcribed. Jazz, like other forms of art, is valuable for its ability to shed light on the "surfaces and structures of experiences different from our own" (to paraphrase Raymond Durgnat). That it does so in ways that can be surprising and challenging - and not always logocentric - makes it all the more valuable, particularly in an environment dominated by soul-deadening corporate propaganda. -Jason -- Jason Guthartz jason@restructures.net www.restructures.net www.restructures.net/chicago

From Chi-Improv. This is the letter [Marguerite Horberg] sent to both the Sun-Times and Tribune and one I will send to Torey Malatia, station manager at WBEZ. I think that fans of this list should write letters to the newspapers and the radio station and use forums like the Jazz Institute's Jazz network to urge a sit down with Daniel Ash, Ronald Jones and others to help give them a vision for a kick ass new music station that includes the music championed on this list serve --------------------------------------- Admittedly most of us in the professional jazz community were no fan of the former music director Chris Heim’s regime at WBEZ. In her tenure she managed to ceremoniously rid the station of most of its lively jazz stable (Tesser, Ruffin, Parra ), only reluctantly kept local treasure Dick Buckley on air, banished the local collective AACM and other noisy upstarts (notably Ornette Coleman, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane) from the airwaves citing “that people were trying to sleep” and further alienated music presenters, artists, and critics by a heavy handed exclusive policy that did little to promote the local jazz community. The “smooth/snooze” music she favored eventually drove most serious fans of jazz away from the station to other more creative enclaves like WDCB, WHPK and WNUR. Unfortunately the station never seriously regarded the vigorous criticism of the jazz community and now erroneously concludes that the dwindling support for music at the station is a forgone conclusion rather than a result of antagonizing the base audience with bad music. WBEZ loses a huge opportunity to recapture its jazz fans by further shedding its music programming in favor of a talk format, and in essence “throwing out the baby with the bathwater”. Chicago is one of the planets most thriving centers for contemporary jazz, Artists as diverse as: Jon Faddis, Paul Wertico, Tortoise, Fred Anderson, Fareed Haque, and Patricia Barber, and Hamid Drake all make this city their home . Chicago-based record labels: Atavistic, Thrill Jockey, Okka Disc, Delmark, and Alligator, are known around the planet. Venues like HotHouse, The Green Mill, and The Jazz Showcase are among the top jazz presenters in the country and countless other indie promoters at smaller storefront venues have established Chicago as one of the most dynamic showcases for traditional and experimental jazz. Other venerable institutions like DownBeat magazine ,the Jazz Record Mart, and the Jazz Institute of Chicago are also part of a thriving jazz community that is the envy of cities from New York to Tokyo. We hope that WBEZ will finally listen to the chorus of critics this time around and use this opportunity to engage with its many diverse and knowledgeable constituents. We believe that there are indeed many resources available to the station that would strategize and partner with station management in order to revitalize and create music programming that honors the historic traditions and is as magnificent as the talent in Chicago’s legendary jazz community. Marguerite Horberg Executive Director HotHouse Marguerite Horberg Executive Director HotHouse, The Center for International Performance and Exhibition 31 east Balbo Drive Chicago, Illinois 60605

From the Chicagolist web site: Interview: Daniel Ash; Vice-President, Strategic Communications; Chicago Public Radio For an organization that depends on good communication, Chicago Public Radio <http://www.wbez.org/> discovered yesterday that the plans for the future of their programming aren’t being heard clearly by their audience. 2006_04_cpr.jpgAfter we posted yesterday on Chicago Public Radio’s move towards a more talk-based format at their three broadcast properties <http://www.chicagoist.com/archives/2006/04/17/wbez_now_with_less_music_more_talk.php> (WBEZ in Chicago, WBEW in Chesterton, IN and WBEQ in Morris, IL), we were contacted by Daniel Ash, the Vice-President of Strategic Communications for CPR. In an interview with Chicagoist, he acknowledged that “the way [WBEZ] 91.5 sounds during the day is going to be the way it sounds 24/7,” and that strictly music-formatted programming blocks will no longer be featured. But he stressed that CPR still plans on serving Chicago’s jazz, blues and other music communities through a new broadcasting service on WBEW and WBEQ that will rely on contributions from the community at large. Thanks to a recent upgrade in WBEW’s signal strength, this new service will be heard throughout Chicago. What this new programming will sound like is still being discussed internally, and CPR hopes to hear from leaders in Chicago’s music community as well about this venture. “Because we didn’t say ‘We’re going to drop this in 2007 and here’s what’s going to replace it,’” Ash says, “it created a vacuum for those who were very loyal. We have no intention of creating a station where people talk about music.” Ash also talked about the station’s plans for the new service, why CPR abandoned its plans for music-formatted programming, and what role musicians and artists will play in this new venture. *Chicagoist: So is Chicago Public Radio really going all talk? * *Daniel Ash:* To clarify, the way [WBEZ] 91.5 sounds during the day is going to be the way it sounds 24/7. The original plan is to build a 24/7 service for WBEW [and WBEQ]. The new service is not a talk format, although it may include some traditional talk elements, just as it will most definitely include music. Our aim is to develop a service that is highly localized and a reflection of the Chicago area, which would include music. We plan to build this service with the community in mind. The folks who are the local artists, the local musicians, who were quite frustrated with our old music programming, will work in a much more intimate way, with the station, in developing content. *C: What’s going to be their contribution? * *ASH:* [Chicago Public Radio CEO] Torey [Malatia] wants to create a public radio station that has a different sensibility than the daytime 91.5 [frequency] has. It’s music-rich, sound-rich, and not just people talking about music like a symposium about jazz, but it’s part of a discussion about life in the community. The segments could be a jazz group or a folk group that includes that art form but reflects the region. We’re hesitant to talk too much about this because it’s still in development. We’re developing it with both people internally and folks in the community, so [artists] will actually have more opportunity to have their content [on the air]. We don’t want something that sounds like NPR, we want it to sound like Chicago. *C: As of last month, there were still plans to create music programming <http://suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder161.html> on WBEW and WBEC. What changed? * *ASH:* We thought if we want to do what we want to do, we have to create a new style of radio, which sounds ambitious, even arrogant. But the thing is, no single format is going to work if we want to reach beyond our current audience. But we can’t make all of our decisions based on our members. In many respects, we’d be a commercial station if that were the case. We have to program for the region. *C: Are you worried about losing subscribers as a result of these changes?* *ASH:* We’re going to lose some. But we hope to get them back when this new service is up and running. And I’m very confident that we will. The jazz musician that was very passionately disappointed in what he read, once he sees that he can be more involved in the public radio station, I think he’ll come around. We have no intention of creating a station where people talk about music. That’s exactly the opposite of the direction we want to go. *C: Why not make this new format part of WBEZ’s nighttime programming and use those other two stations as a music-formatted compliment? * *ASH:* We thought about it. It becomes a business decision: how do you afford that type of programming and try to do something new at the same time. To do something new, you have to invest time and resources in the new project. Most of our music team is working on this new ide*Ash:* They actually see it as a new opportunity. *C: Did you discuss these changes with your program hosts, especially the stuff that’s produced locally? I’m thinking of Dick Buckley, specifically, here. * *ASH:* Although Howard [Reich] was able to reach [buckley] late last week, he’s had surgery recently and he’s not in the office ever so his producer had a hard time reaching him. But every other on-air host and producer was fully informed about where we were going with this. /[When Chicagoist contacted Ash for more detail on this question, he said the following: “Chris Heim is no longer with the station; she was the host of Passport and our music director. Passport is now hosted by Tony Sarabia. Niles Frantz and Dick Buckley will be reassigned, if they so choose. We think both, given their deep knowledge of blues and jazz respectively, have much to offer the new service in development.]/ *C: In an interview in 2003 <http://www.airmedia.org/spotlight/transcripts/090903.php>, Torey Malatia said it’s difficult to measure the public radio audience. How do you determine what it is that your audience wants to hear? * *ASH:* Because we’re non-commercial, we don’t get the kind of ratings information that [commercial stations] get. We’re planning on having a series of public meetings and a lot of web activity where people can directly talk to us—and each other—about this new service. *C: When you want to create community social programs, it’s important to go to the leaders in the community to talk about what’s needed. Are there people in Chicago that you’re reaching out to or that you’d like to hear from to develop this programming? * *ASH:* We’ve developed a list of folks we want to consult. We want to talk to leaders and we want to talk to practitioners, people who are active in their community. *C: Who have you been talking to? * *ASH:* We just introduced the concept to staff. Their task is to take the concept and assess the strategy for engaging this external audience. They haven’t reached out yet, but I can say unequivocally, many producers, when they heard about the concept, though they were sad about music, many of them were coming to me to start talking about it publicly. They’re moving aggressively on ideas because they see the possibilities. We have to speak to those leaders, those musicians, those artists, who are going to be key to the co-construction element that this service is going to demand. It just hasn’t gotten underway yet. *C: What’s the biggest need that you want to fill for the Chicago blues and jazz community that isn’t currently there? * *ASH:* I think the biggest need is more young people need to be introduced to the form in a way that isn’t a backdrop to another genre, like hearing a jazz sample in hip-hop. People may listen to it but not understand the context. This new service was one where, rather than have two hours of jazz, two hours of blues, two hours of world music, we’re going to integrate it so we have a better chance of attracting the attention of curious people. Younger audiences are more likely to move across genres than we’re likely to admit.

DISPATCH FROM THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN COLTRANE At the Pantheon of Jazz, a Musical Ministry By Evelyn Nieves Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, March 27, 2006; Page A02 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Which begs the question: what did everyone think of Joe Lovano's Tadd Dameron tributes on recent recordings?

Picked up three from this sale. Jackie McLean "Let Freedom Ring" to replace the vinyl; Booker Little, "Booker Little 4 & Max Roach" (never owned); and Lee Konitz and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, "Konitz Meets Mulligan." Love that stuff on the Mosaic set, so, again, replacing an LP.....

From Lauren Deutsch AACM Chicago presents Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith in a rare solo concert Friday May 5, 2006 @8PM Fulton Recital Hall on the University of Chicago Campus 1010 E. 59th St (northeast corner of Ellis and 59th enter through the archway, turn left at courtyard, (door on the left-4th fl) Tickets are $25/$15 students and can be purchased at the door This concert will also feature New Voices of the AACM's 5 after & project with Leon Q. Allen, trumpet; Isaiah Jackson, trombone;Art Turk Burton, percussion; Khari B, spoken word; Junius Paul, bass; Ann Ward, piano and vocals; Saalik A. Ziyad, vocals and Taalib-Din Ziyad, flute and vocals. Support your local AACM! aacmchicago.org

I spoke to Eckstine once and in the course of conversation touched on the subject of Gene Ammons, and happened to mention that Gene Ammons played with Woody Herman ("More Moon"), too. Eckstine's only comment was, "For a minute." What makes a more interesting comparison (and potential discussion) than racism is the music, say the difference in how the Eckstine and Gillespie bands played Tadd Dameron's "Cool Breeze" (Eckstine's is slower). Or how different the tenor solos of Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons coming out of Lester Young were with Eckstine compared to the Four Brothers sound coming out of Lester Young in Woody's Second Herd. Maybe that's all been covered by other writers, an exhausted subject: the confluence of Pres and Bird in the sounds of the star soloists of both bands; and Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron and even Ellington's influence on the ensemble approach. Or the different dynamic of the ensemble figures written by Jerry Valentine for Eckstine's version of "Blowin' the Blues Away" compared to Shorty Rogers scoring on "That's Right," which tried to retain more of a small band feel. The Valentine arrangement sounds close to Dizzy, the evaporating sections a la "Things To Come," and powerful support of Art Blakey, making that Eckstine band bolder than Herman's, which seemed more streamlined until it was time for the tutti's on "Lemon Drop," with license to kill trumpets. Woody's band was still dealing with Duke back then. When you're an alto player coming to the blues through Johnny Hodges or a clarinettist dealing with the New Orleans pioneers.....what else is there? You might even bring up the forgotten band of Earl Spencer to further cut the legs out from under the racism dealy-o.

I'm just forwarding this message which came across Chi-Improv at Yahoo Groups.

Greetings to all Beta:Sound is proud to annouce the release of a long lost piece of Chicago Jazz history. The Joe Daley Trio -Live at Newport 1963 Below is the link to the page for dowloading the full record. Enjoy, Beta:Sound http://www.archive.org/details/Joe-Daley-T...Live-Newport-63 For more amazing work free to download please visit : www.betasound.net

This one, The Magic Touch and the Clifford Brown Memorial Album put Dameron's sound in ideal perspective. Sort of combining the small band with the big. Allen, guitarist Gene Bertoncini recorded in a medley "On A Misty Night/Giant Steps" and I heard him do it in concert several times. Interesting insight.....

What a scene. Heard some great music from that stage over the years, especially a Teddy Edwards/Harold Land set, some great Roscoe Mitchell, Hal Russell. Congratulations Organissimo! I wonder who will be playing on the stage the same day you're on, if you're part of a "theme"? Look out for that Chris Foreman.

Steve Schwartz wrote: The "tradition" stopped being a process of renewal and increasingly became a static body of knowledge. That sure enough nails it.