ghost of miles

Still reading the Mike Davis-Jon Wiener book about Los Angeles in the 1960s, but have also started Madison Smartt Bell's new biography of one of my favorite writers:

Not available for ordering yet, though, right? I did order a copy of Steven's new oral-history book and will be picking up this CD as well once it's formally for sale.

Saw this when it first came out, watched again tonight and enjoyed it even more the second time around:

Thanks for posting this. I've definitely been worried about the Vanguard and the other clubs' ability to ride this out, especially for the reason Gordon cites--that even when the city "re-opens," how many people are going to feel comfortable crowding into a small space like the VV? I've been there several times and you're all but sitting elbow-to-elbow with other people; social distancing would be extremely difficult unless they lessened the already-limited seating capacity, which makes the economics of survival even more difficult. Good gawd almighty. A friend texted me about this insane dumbassery last night. Must not discuss politics... must not discuss politics... JFC!!!

Great topic, Larry. The first track that came to my mind involves Sonny Clark as well:

Such a great set! For Wayne and Herbie's playing in particular.

Lee Konitz, with Henry Grimes on bass:

Revisiting this series because of a Night Lights show I'm working on that will focus on the April-August 1945 broadcasts while the war was still under way (covered in DETS volumes 1-10). I think the run of DETS releases might provide the most comprehensive extended-stretch portrait that we have of a particular Ellington orchestra in performance--and one that's still operating IMO close to the same elevated realms of the 1939-43 band.

Very sorry to hear this--corresponded with him occasionally for a few years, and he once sent me some music that I needed for a program about Billy Eckstine. Seemed like a really nice guy and good singer in the bargain as well. Thanks for letting us know. Just pulled out his Billy Strayhorn tribute and will end the show today with a couple of selections from it in his memory.

I used a track from that ("Flowers For Albert") to end the 2005 Night Lights show about Grimes.

Excellent set, one that I need to revisit as well. Right now, starting off with disc 1 of some Brownie:

A useful online resource put together by JazzTimes: Jazz In The Age Of COVID: A Complete Guide

Steven Isoardi posted a link on Facebook to his 2010 Current Research In Jazz essay about Grimes' re-emergence in Los Angeles after the Signal to Noise article: There are many layers to this story. Certainly the return of a great artist is the most prominent and is story enough. But there is also the re-emerging elder giant meeting the young neophyte, also with a difficult past. And the role played by the three young students contributed significantly to this special event in the spring of 2003. All of them grew enormously as artists and as people. As this story was unfolding, Oakwood’s headmaster, James Astman, observed, “Nick has done something remarkable and wonderfully humane.” [24] And much was done by Henry for Nick, for all of those who contributed to make this a success, and for fans of good music everywhere. Henry’s life was changed and his career re-launched, and perhaps Nick has found his direction in life... It is also a story of supportive communities—musicians, poets, journalists, researchers and archivists, students and a school administration, cultural space organizers, from East L.A., North Hollywood, and South Central L.A., as well as from the East Coast—all pooling their talents and energies to support Henry. It was an inspiring aligning of forces, something that in many other locations and contexts might not have happened. Fortunately, this was different and resulted in a special, unique experience with no down side. Everyone won. The Return Of Henry Grimes

Long Boston Globe article about the challenges of eventually resuming sports events: What will the sports fan’s experience look like after coronavirus?

Upping in memory, along with a note written for a Facebook post (Mark Sheldon was the friend who arranged Grimes' visit to Bloomington that day in October 2005): This is becoming a sad near-daily ritual. Henry Grimes, who played on numerous notable records of the late 1950s and 1960s and was practically a house bassist for the avant-garde of that era, has passed away from Covid-19 at the age of 84. Grimes vanished from the jazz world after moving to California in 1968 and was even thought to be dead for many years, then miraculously resurfaced in the early 2000s and began to perform again. I had been obsessed with his music and story since the early 1990s, and when a friend asked me in 2005 if I’d be interested in having Grimes swing through Bloomington for an interview, I could barely contain my excitement. I ended up spending most of the afternoon and evening with Grimes and the musicians with whom he was traveling; between interviews at WFIU and WFHB we went to dinner, and I remember feeling happily astonished that I was eating vegetarian burritos at the Laughing Planet with Henry Grimes, a resurrected jazz legend. He exuded a gentle, creative and enduring strength. When the Night Lights show posted below aired a couple of weeks later, Henry’s companion Margaret phoned the station and left a voice-mail saying that they were listening to the program and that Henry was really enjoying it. I can’t tell you how much that thrilled me—and how moved I was that this musician who had been a hero of mine, thought to be departed, magically reemerged after 35 years for a second chapter that would continue to the end of his life, had spent a day of his time with us here in Bloomington and tuned in to hear what I’d tried to make of it. Thank you, Henry Grimes, for having walked among us again. Now Found: Henry Grimes

He died of Covid-19. Nate Chinen has an obituary up at WBGO: Henry Grimes, bassist of avant-garde pedigree and storied return, dies of Covid-19 at 84

Back when the Take 2 series was yielding musical treasure on CD:

One of my favorites from Verve’s wonderful Take 2 series:

Changes over time, but these days it's probably the Lester Young 1936-47 set. Even though it's music with which I'm quite familiar at this point, it's such an amazing collection of recordings all in one place, and there always seem to be new nuances to enjoy in Prez's playing that I haven't noticed before. (And Loren Schoenberg's notes bring out plenty of detail in both Prez and the other musicians' performances as well.)

Love this set! I was finally able to get both it and the studio Roulette box for extremely reasonable prices about a year ago. Thanks for your post, which is inspiring me to pull it out again.