ghost of miles

Still reading it—paused since that last post, but intending to resume soon. So far it’s very good!

Weather Report’s 1971 debut.

Yankees are rolling into Detroit this weekend, so thanks for the heads-up. I refrained from posting “Go Red Sox!” before the start of tonight’s game, for fear of jinxing them. However, seeing as how they’re currently down 4-1 in the bottom of the 6th, I hereby declare: GO RED SOX!!!

You and me and millions of others. A tribute to how hot Soto’s been that they IBB’d him to face Judge instead. (They were also hoping that their RHP sinkerballer would be able to induce a DP. Still, they issued an IBB to face a guy who at that point was hitting .483 over his last 17 games. Also a guy who happens to be Aaron Judge.) Another remarkable moment from last night’s game—Oswaldo Cabrera scoring from second base on a sacrifice fly: https://www.mlb.com/video/dominic-leone-in-play-out-s-to-alex-verdugo?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share

Revisiting this outstanding collection of Tubby Hayes’ Fontana albums and thinking of you, BillF.

One of my first Mosaics and still one of my all-time faves. Right now:

… I keed, I keed! I haven’t revisited the disco era much since living through it as a kid and hearing it on the radio all the time from 1975-80. I enjoyed (and would probably still enjoy) quite a few of the songs that made the charts. Some of what I liked might be considered more Philly soul than disco, though.

Disc 32 of the Herbie Hancock Columbia box:

Finally on the verge of finishing my journey through this massive set (just listened to Future Shock, so four more albums to go). So much great music here, and I’m glad to have it all at hand now… but wow, the so-called “dance” albums from the late 1970s/early 80s are abysmally dull for the most part, as bad as conventional wisdom would have it. Unless coerced, I’ll never listen to Monster, Magic Windows, Feets Don’t Fail Me Now, or Lite Me Up ever again (probably same for Sunlight, in spite of its recent popularity with younger listeners and musicians). Mr. Hands otoh was an excellent surprise. It’s not that I mind commercial pop and disco from that era—it’s more that most of Herbie’s efforts in that direction sound so insipid and uninspired to me. Still a helluva set overall, though.

Liking this one a lot more than some other Herbie Columbias from the late 1970s/early 80s era:

This excellent compendium of live 1940s Ellington performances:

Haha, yeah—I take full reverse-jinx credit for DJ’s subsequent 6-RBI outburst that won the game for NY. Just a bit of that from time to time would be a huge improvement. I think we’re going to mostly see him playing 1B against LHPs. Not too much—I think Judge sets a good tone for the locker room that tends to discourage that kind of stuff, and it also seems that Jazz C Jr is jazzed, dare I say it, to be a Yankee. So all smiles and several home runs so far, but we’ll see how things go. The Yankee trade acquisition whose personality I *really* hated was Josh Donaldson. It felt toxic, having him on the team. (Though he did gift us a new concept, the “Josh Donaldson single,” applied whenever a hitter pimps a would-be HR that ends up caroming off the wall. For extra value, add getting thrown out at second trying to belatedly leg the Josh Donaldson single into a double.)

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is working out quite nicely so far—first player to hit four HRs in his first three games as a Yankee. That obviously won’t be sustained, but he’s a real upgrade over DJ LeMahieu, who looks absolutely cooked. (Plus his name is Jazz! The jazz references have been proliferating on Pinstripe Alley, which seems to have a higher-than-normal ratio of jazz fans to begin with.) And I’m glad we didn’t pursue Flaherty, who apparently has back issues. But we didn’t do much to shore up the bullpen, and that remains a very exploitable point of weakness.

Disc 1. Renewing my appreciation for the tandem of Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers.

Man, I’d forgotten what a strong record Happenings is. Relishing this set, which is inspiring me to revisit some other mid-1960s Blue Note records that I haven’t spun in many years. That particular era of the label sremains a sweet spot in my love of jazz.

A happy 94th today to Helen Merrill.

Excellent set! Highly recommended for anyone who’s interested in the Jubilee era.