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ghost of miles

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Posts posted by ghost of miles

  1. Indiana writer Dan Wakefield, author of the best-selling 1970 novel Going All the Way, as well as the cultural history New York In the Fifties and the spiritual memoir Returning, passed away Wednesday at 91. I was fortunate to cross paths with Dan a few times in the past 25 years or so, and he was a guest on my Night Lights show about the Five Spot. (Dan was a habitue in its late-1950s/early 60s heyday.) I’ve posted a remembrance of him on the Night Lights site:

    Wakefield’s Way: Dan Wakefield, 1932-2024

  2. 8 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

     

    Two observations: I thought you were going to say he administered the blindfold test, with the understanding you wouldn't get any breakfast if you missed, and, Bill was a consistent commenter on BFTs but almost exclusively for naming tunes, IIRC, and never for compiling himself. So kinda funny he did his own on you, David.

    😂 Fortunately it was a very casual, friendly blindfold test and breakfast was served regardless!  He was a joy to hang out with and certainly enhanced my appreciation of British jazz history, among other things.  I wish Kate and I had been able to pay a return visit.  

    I also noticed that his last post was on January 19, just three days before he passed away.  He died of lung cancer (apparently from exposure to asbestos at some point, according to Angela--he had never been a smoker) and must have known that he didn't have much time left.  Not surprised that he didn't mention anything about his illness on the board... but I think he did know that he was much appreciated here.

  3. Kate and I stayed with Bill and his wife Angela for three days in Manchester. Each morning he gave me a quick saxophonist blindfold test when we came downstairs for breakfast. I guessed Tubby Hayes and Sonny Rollins correctly, but bombed the other one. I *think* that’s what we were up to in this particular photo:

    KUFb1ne.jpeg

  4. I just spoke with Bill’s wife Angela—my girlfriend and I stayed with them in Manchester during our 2016 Ireland/UK trip. She says that Bill passed away on January 22 at the age of 84. At his request, music of Charlie Parker and Bill Evans was played at his funeral. “He had a full and lovely life, with all sorts of passionate interests,” Angela said. I told her that Kate and I still reminisce about what a wonderful time we had with their family, and we couldn’t have asked for a better host and city guide. (He gave us a tour of Manchester’s city center that was a history lesson for the ages.) I also told her that Bill was much-loved on this board and will be deeply missed. 
     

     

  5. I saw Oppenheimer twice (the second time on the full-size iMax screen at the Indiana State Museum) and loved it. So happy to see it have a big night at the Oscars. In fairness, the only other best-picture nominee I saw was Barbie, so I can’t weigh in on the merits of the others, but Oppenheimer definitely seemed Oscar-worthy to me (including Cillian Murphy’s performance for the ages in the title role). Plus I love that a three-hour dialogue-driven historical film about a scientist could be a box-office blockbuster in 2023.

    The only other Nolan films I’ve seen are his Batman trilogy, which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially The Dark Knight, which I’d rank among the best movies of the 2000s. 

  6. Jazz pianist and Indiana University jazz alum Jim Beard dead at 63.  Got to interview him back in 2012 when he and several other IU notables came back to campus for a jazz event.... nice guy who sure had put together an impressive musical resume.  He was the pianist in David Baker's 21st Century Bebop Band while he was here in the 1980s.

  7. Newly-arrived order from Tommy’s Jazz hitting the stereo this evening:

    Yam_Yam_Mark_Turner_.jpeg

    51uFRKx2XFL._UXNaN_FMjpg_QL85_.jpg

    1 minute ago, jazzbo said:

    “Consenting Adults” Criss Cross cd

    947e42bb6f7e9e69eb91285693f050e5e2fc501f

    Brad Mehldau - piano
    Mark Turner - tenor sax
    Peter Bernstein - guitar
    Larry Grenadier - bass
    Leon Parker - drums

    Recorded December 26, 1994 in New York City, NY, USA

    3/5 of that band is on the Mark Turner CD I’m currently listening to! 😄 Looks like a great line-up… wish I’d thrown that one into my order as well.

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