ghost of miles

Ah, you beat me to it. Best birthday wishes to a helluva drummer and a helluva guy.

Wow--Cards and Rockies--wow. And I thought the Yanks' 9th-inning comeback against the Dodgers was pretty good... man! Rockies' 9th-inning highlight reel

This week's Night Lights show, featuring small-group recordings that tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves made with Clark Terry, Wynton Kelly, Sonny Stitt and others between 1957 and 1963, is up for online listening: Off the A-Train: Paul Gonsalves, 1957-63

I was listening on the radio--great game for A-Rod, and for CC, too, who's finally overcome his Oakland Coliseum jinx. And a very nice ending to the whole "Get off my mound" saga as well, noted in today's NY Times:

Braden, other A's object to team's "Get off my mound" T-shirt

Much appreciation for all of the input, both pro and con, on the post-1978 Sun Ra reinterpretations of standards. Looking forward to hearing some of them soon.

All the best as always, WL--it was great catching up with you recently. Here's hoping for an excellent birthday gift of sleep!

Hot Ptah, thanks for the rec--I might check that one out first before SUNRISE, as I'm interested in the Arkestra's recordings of swing standards. (And I'll keep an ear & eye out for those live late 70s/early 80s dates as well.) Jsngry, maybe not a full-blown "tribute," but "Yeah Man," "Queer Notions," "King Porter Stomp," and "Limehouse Blues" were all part of the Henderson book.

Attention Bosox fans: Doubront called up Say, any informed comment on Texas' remarkable run of late? They've cooled off somewhat over the past week and a half, but their record is right up there with the top teams in the AL and NL.

Just a heads-up: Sun Ra SUNRISE IN DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS ...one I've long wanted to hear. Also of interest: Art Ensemble of Chicago, Salutes the Chicago Blues Tradition

Listening to INTRODUCING KENNY COX, going back over notes I jotted down while reading Harvey Cohen's DUKE ELLINGTON'S AMERICA, and very much enjoying the prospect of sleeping in tomorrow morning. It ees all a part of life's rich pageant... Ha ha... a friend of mine who used to live here in Bloomington worked in a video store and rented that film to R.E.M. while they were here in town recording the album that would subsequently bear that title.

You left out a Goldberg--the most important one, too!

Yes, but there's nowhere to go from there but down! In any case, I think Dan really does have cause to be concerned--there's no denying that Boston's been hit with a slew of injuries, and it's amazing that they've been able to stay almost neck-and-neck with NY and Tampa Bay. With NY, it's more a case of, "Wow, the team looks so great on paper...on the field, maybe not so much." Heartening to see them pull it out today, though, after the rare blown save by Mo. What a weird game, all the way around--Gardner's inside-the-parker (brought on by Toronto's second misplayed ball in the sun in as many days), three Yankees getting thrown out attempting to move forward on fly balls, Mo's blown save, our break in the 10th when Encarnacion didn't run right away on his popped-up bunt (and A-Rod turned it into a double play), and Thames returning from the DL with a walkoff single. Dan's observations about Phil Hughes continue to hold--he is decidedly not pitching like a dominant starter anymore, much more like a .500 pitcher with a 4.50 ERA. Tex is finally starting to hit, at least. Tough road trip ahead before the All-Star break, what with the games against Lee and Hernandez, though. Speaking of Cliff Lee and the Yankees--everything I've read indicates that they have no interest in trading for him right now, and much possible interest in signing him during the off-season (assuming Minnesota, the Mets, or whichever team he ends up on doesn't sign him to a long-term contract first). NY's starters are pretty much set for this year, but I think it's quite likely that we won't have either Pettitte or Javy come 2011.

Been listening to this one today--a big-band setting for Bags, with nice arrangements by Wilkins and Dameron:

Thanks. But what were "the 3 56/62 lps not on cd"? Would ALL AMERICAN and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS be two of the three?

Wow--NY finally broke out of its hitting slump.

Tex and A-Rod just left Jeter stranded on second in the bottom of the 1st. No big deal, it's baseball, happens all the time, right? Except that NY is now 0-23 in its last 23 RISP situations... a stunningly bad run by any team's standards.

A tribute to Boston's grit and NY's lack thereof.

A bit of previous discussion.

Hard to say what's more pitiful--the Yankees' continuing lackluster offense, or Joba Chamberlain (he of the 5.40 ERA) racking up the bullpen's ninth blown save of the year today. We need to be steaming ahead right now, building up a solid lead over the Bosox and Rays (esp. while the Bosox are riddled with injuries) and instead among those three it's nearly anybody's division day-by-day. From the write-up at Pinstripe Alley:

There's a great version by Van Morrison. I didn't know about Pops' version. I'll have to look for it. It's in the show, about 24:50 in: It's All in the Game: Louis Armstrong, 1947-57. I took it from the CD SATCHMO IN STYLE.

This weekend's Night Lights Louis Armstrong program is up, featuring lots of music from Armstrong's 1947-57 period (including the bebopper parody of "The Whiffenpoof Song") and interviews with jazz writer Dan Morgenstern and historian Michael McGerr: It's All in the Game: Louis Armstrong, 1947-57 The program page also includes about half a dozen outtakes from my interviews with Dan and Michael, as well as a segment on Louis and Jack Teagarden that had to be removed from the final version of the program, and a slide show featuring several William Gottlieb photographs of Armstrong (as well as a revelation about the cover of the AMBASSADOR SATCH album ). A happy Fourth of July holiday weekend to all.

Nice profile of Mo Rivera in this coming Sunday's NY Times. I watched the MLB film of the '96 WS tonight--strange and rather moving to see Jeter, Pettitte, and Rivera all at the start of their careers on that year's team, to think how key all three players were to last year's championship, and to realize again that this may be the last season they all play together. Lots of shots, too, of Girardi as the catcher. I also forgot that Joe Torre's brother finally got his heart transplant the day before their Game 6 win, and that the team did a lap around the field at Yankee Stadium afterwards, waving thanks and goodbye to the fans. That whole year was ridiculously storybook. Speaking of storybook and such, I'll admit to being a bit primed to see Ken Burns' THE TENTH INNING this September. Some main themes will be the steroid era, the emergence of another Yankees dynasty, and the Red Sox' incredible run in 2004. (Isn't Burns a Bosox fan? I thought I read somewhere that he said he probably wouldn't have made this sequel if the Bosox hadn't won in '04 and '07. )

Today's New York Yankees victory brought to you courtesy of: Alex the Centaur

I haven't completely written off their chances for winning it again this year--but going forward, yes, I think it's going to be a long time. Pettitte probably retires after this year no matter what happens in the postseason. Jeter and A-Rod are now past their prime and may start declining quickly. Mo probably has a couple of good years left; Posada, maybe one or two as well, but primarily as a DH (a spot that will need to be utilized increasingly by Jeter and A-Rod, too). Cano, Swisher and Tex are all still in their peak years, but the dissipation of the Core 4 nucleus is going to be an immense challenge to NY. I can't comment with much knowledge about the farm system right now--Jesus Montero is considered to be a very promising prospect as a hitter, less so as a catcher. (Austin Romine's another young catcher with some buzz about him.)