ghost of miles

Boy, Dan, I haven't read any rundowns or seen any clips yet, just noticed the scores--looks like both of our teams failed to show at the ballpark tonight. I do wonder, too, how this "pitch Joba every 5 starts, but only for 3 innings" approach is going to shake out ultimately.

Gerald Wilson took the place of the more usual Jack Sheldon on trumpet on the Curtis Counce Group's January 6 1958 date when they recorded "So Nice", "Origin", "Bella Rosa", "Night in Tunisia", "La Rue" and "Carl's Blues". I think I have that record--will have to check it out again when I get home from work tonight.

Does he take any solos on Lunceford records? (Sadly, I don't have any Lunceford from 1941 or the years after...I do have the postwar Majestics that were reissued by Savoy, but Wilson's no longer in the band, obviously.)

Up for Mr. Wilson's 91st birthday today: Last of the Lions: Gerald Wilson

Interestingly enough, the Yanks and Bosox have nearly identical records at home this year--NY is 45-20, Boston is 45-21. The difference comes almost entirely from their road records--NY is 41-28 in away games, Boston 33-34.

Which Furs? I was revisiting some of their early catalogue the other day... Was up at 4 this a.m. but didn't go online...had to work on a book review for a local magazine.

Hobo, don't ride that train!

Dan! Peace, my brother! Let us all agree to disagree... let Yankee and Red Sox fans hold hands and sing happy songs of bliss and joyous rectitude!

They've dropped tons of money before and it hasn't brought them rings.

What's in it, exactly? The Red Garland material? Plus...?

No team that isn't winning it all gets talked about much, PERIOD. You pull up one example--the 1977/78 Yanks--and yet I'd still argue that THAT team had a very weird, dysfunctional kind of chemistry. Even if the Yanks blow up in the playoffs, I'll still argue that this year's team had great chemistry. There are plenty of overachieving teams that didn't even make the playoffs that had it, too. It can stem from a manager's leadership, some key personalities in the clubhouse, what have you... but it's definitely something more present in some teams than others. And the Yanks--that team so legendary during the Steinbrenner era for a tendency towards tense, dysfunctional atmospheres--have it this year. Doesn't guarantee a WS win, not by any means...but surely makes it more likely than it's been for the past few years.

Oh, for God's sake, Dan--the 2002 and 2004 Yankees won just as many games, and they did NOT have the kind of chemistry that this team has. Your 2004 Bosox certainly had chemistry. One consternation of being a Yankees fan for so long (I started as a kid in 1974, when Bill Virdon was the manager, so I've pretty much been along for the ride during the entire Steinbrenner era) has been watching Steinbrenner think, year after year, that going after a few high-price players will always do the trick--and it rarely does. Yes, the Yanks are benefiting this year from Tex and Sabathia, but as Dave has pointed out in the past, the additions of Swisher and Burnett have done wonders beyond their statistical contributions. And the great 1996-2001 run was sparked by players such as Pettite, Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jeter, Paul O'Neill, and others who either came up through the farm system or were acquired in shrewd trades...and that team had superb chemistry. I'm grateful that a few of the vets from that era are still around. NY always plays under tons of pressure, the media scrutiny is extraordinarily tense, and this year's team has found a way to still have fun. They ran their first kangaroo court way back in the spring, when things weren't looking so statistically hot... the vibe was already different and better than the past few years. Even if they don't get to or win the Series this year, I'd still say they've been the most enjoyable team to watch since the first years of the Torre era. In any event, I think chemistry and winning are inextricably linked--I wouldn't say that one comes before the other in either case.

They got run over by the Jazz Train.

I'm still chuckling over Posada's losing the count twice the night before--the shots of Jeter and Rodriguez laughing and holding up two fingers after Posada thought he'd struck out, and then Posada hitting a home run on the next pitch...a nice capsule of the Yanks' season so far. Lighthearted and winning. Again, the chemistry of this year's team (even A-Rod really seems at home now) is making them a joy to watch.

Scott Wenzel reassured me fairly recently that the Ellington Mosaic will be out next year. greg mo Glad to hear it--my most recent contact with them had left me wondering. Listened to the Ivie Hep V. 1 last night, and it's great...now, if I can only track down V. 2. V.2. (All God's Chillum...) is available as a download from Rhapsody. For some reason v.1 is listed as a single and hence costs 99 cents. I saw the download version, but I'm a finicky 20th-century physical-artifact kind of guy...plus I generally like the Hep liner notes.

Scott Wenzel reassured me fairly recently that the Ellington Mosaic will be out next year. greg mo Glad to hear it--my most recent contact with them had left me wondering. Listened to the Ivie Hep V. 1 last night, and it's great...now, if I can only track down V. 2.

Tex has indeed hit 20 of his 32 homers at the new stadium. Oddly enough, Swisher--another switch-hitter--has hit 20 of his 23 home runs on the road.

Hmm... perhaps a chain of fiefdoms? How about "jazz provinces" ruled by various war-lords? In that case, I dibs Bloomington and Whitehall for me and Chuck, respectively. And if the "jazz train" wants to come through, they'll have to pay tribute.

Who here can we get to be "jazz czar"? I nominate Chuck.

There ya go. In fact one exasperated musician-grassroots "presenter" (quite successful in both roles) did propose something like this. though he didn't at the time know that $75,000 had been spent on this affair. The people in charge didn't get it/seem to like it. Proposals that were greeted with enthusiasm included creating a "jazz train" (?) and a "jazz district," naming streets after musicians, designating a jazz "czar," and, my favorite, getting celebrities (in particular, I kid you not, Oprah Winfrey) to say that they liked jazz. Hoo boy, Larry--I'm sorry that you had to sit through that. Somebody should've pulled a fire alarm.

Pretty funny thing from the Yanks' win last night over Baltimore--Posada lost track of the count twice. First time he took a ball 4 and kept standing at the plate, till the ump hipped him to the fact that he'd just gotten a walk. Second time, later in the game, he took a called strike 2 and started walking back to the dugout, thinking he'd struck out. Provoking much amusement from his teammates...then he steps back to the plate and on the next pitch drills a two-run homer. (Video: Posada loses count twice) A bit concerned that Burnett got knocked around, though. Not counting the great game he pitched against the Bosox at Yankee Stadium, has he had a good start in the last month or so?

An online find, but for some reason Allegro had a new copy of the out-of-print first Ivie Anderson/Duke Ellington Hep last week (RAISIN' THE RENT) for $12. I came across it on Amazon Marketplace--got the CD in the mail today, and the listing is gone. Haven't checked the Allegro site, but I know it's OOP and that vendors usually want a steep sum for it. Been on my wish-list for awhile, even though I have a fair amount of the material already... a nice tide-me-over until the Ellington Mosaic finally comes out (fingers still crossed on that one).

It's an excellent book--one that I find myself going back to over and over again (& surely will after getting the new reissues).

Wonderful write-up by Marc today as well: Chris Connor 1927-2009

Sure, absolutely, support living artists (though last time I checked Organissimo qualified, as do several of the artists Chuck has reissued...and Denny Zeitlin and John Handy are still alive, though I get the point). I simply want to urge people to buy stuff from anybody with whom we share some kind of connection--and I know that some of these folks have not been enjoying boom times of late in terms of CD sales. Most of us here on the board already do our share of such buying year-round; I'm just putting out the suggestion that we throw a little holiday-season love that way as well--whether it's a Mosaic Select or the latest Vijay Iyer.