ghost of miles

I'm definitely in and will pre-order a copy for WFIU's station library as well.

If anybody has a copy of the Anthony Braxton Complete Black Saint and Soul Note set that came out several years ago and is interested in selling it... drop me a PM!

But Dan--we don't *need* Harper. We've got Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier, and Jacobi Ellsbury! (sarcastic snort of derision) Wonder who the 2019 Shane Robinson will be when Hicks, Judge, or Stanton inevitably go down with an injury. BTW, I love Brett Gardner, and he's been a valuable player over the years. But he's clearly in decline, and NY should not have brought him back at $7 million plus buying out his option. Especially not when you had Harper hitting the market. Rumors that Harper will get 10 years and $310 million or more from Philadelphia--that will put him ahead of both Machado and the offer from the Nats that he declined. Just hoping this ridiculous soap opera comes to an end soon.

There may be other Blue Note sets like this in the pipeline. I have all of the reissued CDs but will definitely bite on a Mobley box for sure. It’ll be a great excuse to revisit all of this material.

Nice to see James Reese Europe getting this kind of attention in the Times: The Year Jazz Came Into Its Own Europe's resurfaced on my radar this past week or so as a result of working on a Night Lights show about Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige.

Last week’s Night Lights show features live recordings of guitarist Wes Montgomery in his hometown of Indianapolis, in California, in New York, and in Paris: From Naptown To Paris: Wes Montgomery Live Coming up this week: “Black, Brown And Beige: Duke Ellington’s Historic Jazz Symphony.”

One of a kind for sure... glad that he stuck around for as long as he did. My girlfriend and her mother listened to him with great devotion when they lived in the Chicago area.

Me as well--thanks for the heads-up!

Thank you much, sir! You're good people.

WFIU colleague is putting together a Lou-Rawls-in-the-60s show and just asked me how to pronounce Onzy Matthews' first name. I've always said "ON-zee," but is that correct?

Is this him, at the beginning of this audio clip?

Who/what was the 1945 version recorded for? I'm familiar with the DETS broadcasts from that year... there's also a two-part BBB on the V-disc recordings, though not sure where that's sourced from.

I think we're definitely on our way to a work stoppage come the next CBA negotiations. If I were the players' union, I'd push for dramatically lifting the luxury tax brackets, raising the minimum MLB salary, and putting a stop to the manipulation of service time... for starters. And definitely advocate some anti-tanking measures as well, though I'm not sure what form those might take.

As much as I love Betty Roche, I'd probably agree that Ivie noses past her as Ellington's "best" regular-band vocalist; Joya Sherrill's another favorite of mine. When it comes to male vocalists, I know Al Hibbler drives some folks up the wall, but I actually enjoy his presence in the mid-to-late-40s edition of the orchestra. "This is your brain on Coltrane."

As baseball debates its rules, players suggest trying harder to win

That is great news, Ken! Thanks for the heads-up.

Fantastic, TTK! A couple of shows down the line for which I may well seek your input. Thanks so much, Joe! Shirley seemed right at home with it.

Apt timing for me--I've been listening to the Complete Black Saint and Soul Note box of albums this weekend, recently purchased from a fellow board member. And there's the new release of mid-60s material with Jeanne Lee floating around as well.

Foner's history of the Reconstruction is sitting on the table at which I'm typing--hoping to get to it sometime this year. (It may become my next "breakfast book," which often tends to be a history volume of some kind. Current "breakfast book" is Joseph C. Goulden's Korea: The Untold Story Of The War.)