ghost of miles

Love and horses...uh oh... haven't we ridden down this road before?

Love is here to stay, dude.

Perhaps a fitting commentary on this thread as well!

I can't be sure, but I really do think Joe was talking about a 1990s trio of his in that article (and how he wished Verve would release live recordings of it). Also can't be sure, but I think the article in which he made his remarks may have been this one: Samuel Fromartz: Art and Commerce and Porgy and Bess. Joe Henderson's history to date is a story of trail-blazing, standard-setting tenor saxophone improvisations..., in: Jazziz, 15/2 (Feb.1998), p. 58-61

Thanks, John L--it's possible I'm remembering incorrectly about a trio and that he was simply referring to his 1990s group in general. I think the interview appeared around 1997, so this would have been before his stroke... he may have been promoting PORGY AND BESS, which had come out around that time. He certainly wasn't dismissing his Verve concept CDs in the interview, but he seemed to feel that his live work of the period better represented his jazz artistry.

Weird that I just now saw this thread--I had some Henderson CDs out for a Night Lights project and ended up e-mailing Mosaic a few hours ago about Joe's 1990s trio. I remember reading an interview with him in the late 1990s (in one of the mainstream jazz periodicals) in which he expressed disappointment that Verve wouldn't release any live recordings of his then-current working trio. Are there any unreleased live recordings from that trio sitting in the vaults? That was my question to Mosaic...might make for a nice Select if so.

I like your concept, TTK. In the meantime, vis-a-vis the thread topic, I think I'll stick with this instead:

Thanks for the heads-up, Dave. I saw them at the Patio in Indpls in '85 when I was a wide-eyed kid and still have great memories of that show (the Replacements came through the same summer, with Bob Stinson still in tow...both bands at their peak around then IMO).

Up!

Would you care to show me how those two are separated to any meaningful extent in the current "enlightened" environment? ? Rightly or wrongly, I don't think there's any question that they're separated. Most people think of GAS as the songwriters Sondheim's talking about, operating pretty much in the period that GA Russell describes...and popular song form since being the provenance of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, etc. (Somewhere--I can't seem to find the source right now--Dylan's quoted as saying that he helped kill Tin Pan Alley, that "before me it was all 'I love you and you love me, riki-tiki-tiki, do-re-mi.' I ended all that." Never mind that Dylan later would profess a penchant for standards; a friend of mine remembers the Tambourine Man driving fans out of the arena during a 1987 concert with his renditions of "I'm in the Mood for Love" and other popular-song chestnuts.) GAS devotees to this day still tend to howl if standards singers try to introduce pop-rock material of the past 40-50 years into their repertoire. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your argument, but for me the song form still has the ability to connect, to be relevant. Here's one example, from Elliott Smith (who, yes, I know, has been annointed some sort of Emo Martyr-God since his strange 2003 death, but in spite of the post-GOOD WILL HUNTING hype, he was a damn good songwriter)--his 1997 song "Between the Bars": drink up, baby, stay up all night the things you could do, you won't but you might the potential you'll be that you'll never see the promises you'll only make drink up with me now and forget all about the pressure of days do what i say and i'll make you okay and drive them away the images stuck in your head people you've been before that you don't want around anymore that push and shove and won't bend to your will i'll keep them still drink up, baby, look at the stars, i'll kiss you again between the bars where i'm seeing you there with your hands in the air waiting to finally be caught drink up one more time and i'll make you mine keep you apart deep in my heart separate from the rest where i like you the best and keep the things you forgot the people you've been before that you don't want around anymore that push and shove and won't bend to your will i'll keep them still Video of Elliott Smith singing "Between the Bars" Now, some people might tend to knock Elliott Smith for being relevant primarily to 20/30something would-be artist types and slackers who drink too much, etc. Damn straight, I suppose! But all I can say is that this song hit awfully close to home for a number of people I knew, not to mention myself. And it was just one of many that Smith wrote that caused people to feel a strong sense of connection. (Though you might be interested to know that shortly before his death he was much more into what he called "soundscapes," or "noise tracks" as they're known in the ES online community... but even those tended to be built around some kind of motif or hook, and I think ES's desire to create them spoke mostly to his sense that for him, after six albums and change worth of songs, he might be ready to expand his notion of what he was doing musically. I don't think he ever fully repudiated songwriting or song form, though.) Or here's another song, by Nick Drake, with lyrics that might seem banal or silly when read on the page, but which to me are articulating the same sort of identity/closing-contorting sense of possibilities that Smith's getting at in "Between the Bars": I could have been a sailor Could have been a cook A real live lover Could have been a book I could have been a signpost Could have been a clock As simple as a kettle Steady as a rock I could be Here and now I would be, I should be But how? I could have been One of these things first I could have been One of these things first I could have been your pillar Could have been your door I could have stayed beside you Could have stayed for more I could have been your statue Could have been your friend A whole long lifetime Could have been the end I could be Yours so true I would be I should be Through and through I could have been One of these things first I could have been One of these things first I could have been a whistle Could have been a flute A real live giver Could have been a boot I could have been a signpost Could have been a clock As simple as a kettle Steady as a rock I could be Even here I would be, I should be So near I could have been One of these things first I could have been One of these things first Nick Drake singing "One of These Things First" ...and I'm just scratching the surface here of (IMO, of course) good, relevant songs written over the past 40 years that don't fit into the world of GAS and all that it evoked or now evokes, but whose composers have connected powerfully with listeners (yes, mostly the white college-kid and white post-college kid world in the examples that I'm giving, but that's the world I probably know best). But hell, "Straight Outta Compton" is a strong song in its own right... what's wrong with a form that tries to give a poetic/melodic expression of some of the things we struggle with in our environments, ourselves, etc.? I don't think anybody's putting it up on a pedestal or giving it some sort of sacred power that it doesn't possess (not to say, though, that music doesn't have some sort of powerful influence/hold over us, which I guess should go without saying... I used to treat certain pop-rock artists with a kind of reverence and still have that feeling now for certain jazz artists). I still love listening to Billie Holiday, Sinatra, Nat King Cole et al sing standards. I think these days that can easily veer between connoisseur appreciation and Starbucks "lifestyle" soundtrack for a lot of people, but that music has, for better or worse, become somewhat canonized as mid-20th-century Americana. When it comes to modern-day singers, I'd generally rather hear somebody like Madeleine Peyroux try to sing Elliott Smith's Between the Bars or Dylan's You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go then the Billie Holiday songbook. I'd rather listen to their originals, too, while I'm at it. I'd rather listen to people try, in general, and take some risks in pursuit of putting across material--whatever it is, originals, post-1965 pop, or the Great American Songbook--with some spark of soul, passion, and creativity. But I don't think you have to jettison song form to do it, and I don't think song form is exhausted.

Count me as a fan of Schwartz-Dietz, a songwriting team that doesn't get mentioned enough IMO, and yes, Moms, also of Yip Harburg (would you say there's a "revival" afoot, faint as the measurement of such things may be?). I've also got lots of time these days for Harry Warren and Harold Arlen. But here's my question for Jsngry: are we talking Great American Songbook (aka GAS), or are we talking the song form in general? Because I thought you meant the latter, not the former. Yes, Great American Songbook has become institutionalized & while I love a great deal of it, I dig your argument vis-a-vis the sands of time and all that...but I don't think the song form itself is going away, despite predictions of its demise for decades now. Yes, we're in an age of ringtones, ambient music etc., but I think centuries of conditioning or whatever it was that's made human beings so responsive to songs with lyrics and some sort of structure is not going to vanish anytime soon.

Happy birthday!

The other day we were joking at work about making a musical out of The Godfather or The Sopranos, with songs like "You're Gonna Get Whacked!" But then I realized that in a way it had already been done: Bang Bang

Inevitable, I think. I asked for a White Pages the other day at work and then realized, "What on earth do I need it for?" I simply looked up the number online instead. Odd as you get older how many things start falling away... pay-phones are pretty much a thing of the past now as well.

Via the WFIU staff pets page (put up for our Pets Wednesday fund-drive day): Mabel, AKA Bun-Bun: Amelie: Jane and Lily:

I'm a fan of Furst as well and have read several of his 1930s/40s novels--still a number of them I have yet to get around to.

Well, gee, there've been about 28 of those since I became a Yankees fan... somehow I think we'll get by. 2009 was sweet, but I think it's increasingly difficult for any team to repeat these days. The last team to do so was, uh--the Yankees! Ten years ago. And if we go to Bud Selig's Endless Autumn playoff scheme... probably harder still, even if division champions still have to play only two league series, because it means there's yet more opportunity for a hot wildcard team to go all the way. BTW, meant to put all of this originally in the hot-stove league, where it's probably better-suited. I'm excited about Jesus Montero possibly starting at catcher for NY next season, excited that Robbie Cano's become one of the most dangerous hitters in the American League, and hopeful that Tex and A-Rod will have better years next year. The outfield's solid. Pitching is my biggest concern, what with the uncertainty about Andy Pettitte coming back, Phil Hughes' two-strike problem, and (nothing need be said) A.J. Burnett. Not sure if Nova will be ready to step up as a fulltime starter next year either. I'd love to see Cliff Lee join the team, but my conjecture is that he's a better bet to ultimately land with the Rangers. If NY doesn't sign Lee, then yes, they're going to have to do some real headscratching about the rotation.

I am not mistaken, and what the blogger fails to acknowledge, is that Swisher and Granderson are creations of Yankee Stadium when it comes to power and I'm pretty sure they both have appalling splits. Then there's Gritty Gutty Goober. The writer criticizes Crawford for never slugging .500 when the guy they got dreams of slugging .400 someday. Regardless of the stats he quotes, its an underwhelming outfield and especially so outside of the friendly confines of the little league field in the Bronx. Swisher's splits for 2009 and 2010: Swisher 2009 Away 21 HR 55 RBI .268 BA Swisher 2009 Home 8 HR 27 RBI .226 BA Swisher 2010 Away 15 HR 47 RBI .287 BA Swisher 2010 Home 14 HR 42 RBI .290 BA In other words, you are mistaken. Curtis Granderson splits for 2010 Granderson 2010 Away 10 HR 35 RBI .232 BA Granderson 2010 Home 14 HR 32 RBI .262 BA ...not a very radical difference in Granderson's case. The guy also demonstrated power in Comerica Park in 2009 by hitting 30 home runs, so I think it's a real stretch to say that his power is a "creation" of Yankee Stadium. His late-season batting surge was, if anything, a "creation" of Kevin Long, and I think his stats have a good shot to be in line with Swisher's next year, as a .270-.290 hitter with 30 HR... plus Granderson has speed and is a good fielder. I have no idea why you seem to hate Brett Gardner so much, but as a Yankee fan I'm really happy to have him in left field. His glove, throwing arm and speed alone all made him a real asset to the team this past season, and he had a .383 OBP, higher than Robbie Cano's... one of the highest in the NY lineup this year, actually. Statistically speaking, it's a good outfield, and with Tex, Cano and A-Rod in the infield, we don't need a Jayson Werth or a Carl Crawford on the team. We're getting good bang for our buck as it is.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it: the 2011 Yankee outfield

We re-aired Very Early: Bill Evans 1956-58 this past week. It remains archived for online listening.

Galper's giving a concert here at the IU School of Music Thursday night. We're in the middle of fund-drive, but I'm going to try to attend... hard to pass up that kind of opportunity.

Hey all, WFIU is doing our annual on-air fund-drive, and I'll be broadcasting live tonight with a show featuring music from the new reissues of two classic 1970 albums: Freddie Hubbard's RED CLAY and Miles Davis' BITCHES BREW. We're offering both as thank-you gifts... but I'm hoping some of you on Organissimo will pledge support simply because you enjoy the show. I know I've said it before, but I really think of this board as the show's home base, and the good response I got from posters here when it started definitely helped to sustain it in the early days. Can you can pitch in any fiscal votes of support--even $15, the cost of a CD? I'll be on the air at 11 p.m. EST tonight, and the phone number to call is 1-800-662-3311. You can also pledge online at WFIU.org. If 11 p.m. EST is too much of a witching hour for you, you can pledge at the online link right now and simply note in the comment field that you want the pledge to go towards this evening's Night Lights goal. Thanks again to this board for its support in general.

Jazz: Red Garland, "See See Rider." Pop: Strawberry Switchblade, "Since Yesterday."

I agree--I don't believe either that it's a slam-dunk on Lee signing with the Yankees. And for the reasons Dan stated, I'm rather ambivalent about it myself. As for Jeter, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants 6 yrs/120 million, but if he doesn't settle for 4/80 (which would be very generous IMO, given his already-started decline), then I think NY would be well within its rights to say, "OK... go ahead and test the market." Seriously, especially on the heels of this past year, who's going to give him even my suggested 4 yrs/80 million? A 36-yr-old shortstop who hit .270? The guy's truly great, I'd love to see him finish his career with the Yankees, he's in the pantheon of team legends, but as much as the organization needs to consider what he's done for them in the past, he needs to consider what he's going to be able to do for them past age 40...not much of anything. NY created this problem in part by tending such an excessive offer to A-Rod, not to mention they'll be paying A.J. Burnett $16.5 million a year for the next three years... difficult to ask Jete to come down to that level of pay, even if he is declining, when you're shelling out that much for a pitcher to get shelled right back on a regular basis. I think the Yankees should make DJ a fair offer and then sit back. Work on developing the farm system, bringing along more players like Cano and Phil Hughes, who are the future. Start grooming a new closer to take over for Mo in a couple of years. Try to work on honing Jesus Montero's defensive skills to prepare him for inheriting Posada's spot. Figure out if Nunez really is the guy to take over for Jeter at shortstop. NY's had a very good ride over the past 15 years with the Core 4 as a nucleus. It's time to start moving on, and Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mo Rivera have been pretty gracious in their contract negotiations about acknowledging their aging status (and they've still been paid quite well, IMO). If Jeter takes a really hard line on a ridiculous contract demand, he's going to risk ultimately damaging his image/reputation in the twilight of his career. I'd say only that the Yankees failed to win a World Series title for eight straight years between 2001 and 2008, and I don't think it made a whit of difference in how people think about Jeter--so I don't think failing to repeat as champs in 2010 is going to do any great harm to his image as a "true Yankee" either. What could harm it would be refusing to agree to a reasonable deal. Hopefully this is just posturing on his and his agent's part... good Lord, even if he'd had another 2009-type year in 2010, it would be a difficult deal to contemplate, but on the heels of 2010? Funny thing is I think he'll bounce back somewhat at the plate next year and hit around .290 or so. He'd already started hitting more effectively in the last month of the season after working with Long on his approach. But I don't think he'll ever have a 2009-type season again, and I don't expect him to clear .300 again either. And his defense, which has already slipped a lot, will only get worse.

I love that quote. It's a bit ripe, you're right, but it's onto something... Jsngry, keep an eye out for Roger Angell's postseason baseball piece that always appears in the New Yorker a couple of weeks after the Series ends. It'll be interesting to read what he has to say about the Rangers. Here's a hot-stove note to keep your hands warm: I don't have the MLB Network (just the GameDay audio package, which I have to say is a helluva bargain at $19 for a full season of baseball on the radio), but for those who do, there'll be a rebroadcast of the 1960 World Series Game 7 this December, taken from the kinescope they found in Bing Crosby's wine cellar.