ghost of miles

I think WFIU is on there--probably some other Org posters' member stations there as well.

GREAT idea for a thread, Jim...and though I know it costs a helluva lot of pennies, I'd still advise Nat fans to somehow acquire either or both of the Bear Family boxes that have come out in the past several years--they provide a wealth of such tracks. I'd say just about anything off WHERE DID EVERYONE GO? qualifies for me, but most especially "I Keep Going Back to Joe's". Good God, that's a heartbreaker of a song, and a performce... I've also got a real soft spot for "Song of Raintree County," though that might not qualify as lesser-known, as well as the late-period (1964ish) and rather Dylan-sounding "Let Me Tell You, Babe."

From first through fourth grade I read quite a bit of the Hardy Boys and another boys'-adventure series, Don Sturdy (my grandfather, who was a book dealer and collector, had nearly all of the series). Around fifth grade I got hooked on Jeanne Craighead George, esp. MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, which inspired me to try running away to Canada to live off the land when I was 12 (never got there--I was caught by the police in Cheboygan, Michigan). By age 12 I was reading all of the S.E. Hinton novels... I guess I wouldn't say that I was particularly advanced in my fiction reading until I got to high school, but I was reading Doonesbury, Time, and a lot of political stuff by age 11 or 12... Jack Newfield's RFK bio had a big influence on me, as did James Michener's Kent State book and Malcolm X's autobiography. I think the first "adult" story that really registered with me was Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River." Great story about Ellison, Larry. Artists love it when somebody picks up on something that everybody else seems to have missed. EDIT: another author who registered with me around 6th or 7th grade was Robert Cormier (THE CHOCOLATE WAR, I AM THE CHEESE, etc.). Man, what a dark world view... young-adult lit in the 70s was actually pretty good (Paul Zindel was another fave among my grade-school circle).

We have yet another new Night Lights website--probably the last upgrade/change for awhile: Night Lights There are a few fun bells and whistles on this one, such as the stations map which shows where the program is carried around the country--click on that top balloon in Michigan, for example, and you'll pull up Blue Lake Radio, with the time that Night Lights airs and a link to Blue Lake's website. We've also got a "featured" post area where I can put up links to older programs that might be relevant to a current or recent show ("Early Ellis") or an artist's upcoming birthday ("Jazz Impressions of Brubeck," and the Donald Byrd show from last December will be going up into that box in a couple of days). The archives are now broken down by year, which is a little more readable, I think, than the long single list we had before. Anyway, as always, let me know what you think...

Happy b-day and many thanks for your Night Lights assistance. :party:

We're re-broadcasting The French Connection this week, but it's already archived for online listening.

I'll vouch for that KENTON SHOWCASE--it's all Russo and Holman arrangements, and you get some nice Lee Konitz on the last several tracks as well. (I'm guessing these sides were part of the Mosaic, which I never picked up.) I'm on the fence about RIGHT NOW, because I already have it as part of the McLean Mosaic--but it's a real favorite of mine, and I'm sure the sound is improved over the 1993 box.

Just play 'em http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb-gdaHkbmM.

I got about 30-35 pages in Monday night and am going to read more tonight/tomorrow. If you're a Twardzik fan, I don't think you'll be disappointed at all...I'm pretty impressed so far that Chambers was able to dig up so much on his background.

Great set--as Chuck says, sounds fine (much improved over the old 2-CD version) and the booklet's really cool (includes a replica of the original 1938 concert program).

I believe so. For some reason, I was under the impression that they were going to keep the RVGs perpetually in print (I know that would be completely at odds with standard industry practice, but I thought I'd read/heard something to that effect not long after the series was launched).

1 Comments By John Birchard on November 20, 2008 1:02 PM As a retired newscaster from the Voice of America - and occasional contributor to Rifftides - I want to thank you for continuing to focus attention on the plight of VOA. I agree that readers should write their congresspeople. But I also must tell you this: I wrote some months ago to Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), urging her to try to head off the further dismantling of the Voice. Her response? "Thank you for joining me in support of English lessons for immigrants."! No mention of VOA. That's the unfortunate state of affairs on The Hill. But don't let that deter you from pursuing the lawmakers. Remember - quitters never win. Okay, okay....send more staff overseas......just not the one responsible for penning THAT constituent response from Mikulski !! Yeah, I saw that too--hilarious! One way to cattle-herd the ol' constituent requests, eh? MG, try this for VOA: Voice of America at Wikipedia

...which boasts a certain "local" involvement in other ways as well. Thanks for the new thread on this topic.

I'll get worried only if Allen says something really out there--like claiming, oh, say, that he knows what Buddy Bolden sounded like. Now if that happens, then we're in serious need of an intervention!

I second Jim's opinion--ironically enough, I was just listening to this CD a couple of weeks ago. Everything JSngry says is right on; I'd add only that it's not as radically removed from Horace's 60s work as you might be inclined to think.

Some previous discussion of the album.

According to a commenter on Fromson's post, Biden is a big VOA supporter--so maybe that helps the agency's chances? It does seem to me like this could still be a very useful medium for re-establishing international goodwill. I'll check with my political alter ego, though so far he hasn't succeeded in "embedding" himself with the Obama transition team, much to his red-faced chagrin. (I think he's a bit confused about the prez-elect's true ideological orientation and may be in for somewhat of a letdown.) Doug Ramsey has now weighed in on the Fromson column as well. Isn't VOA still doing a bit of jazz, too?

I hope it wasn't the 1930s Ellington big-band set that fell through.

I do this as well. As far as hardbop goes, I've been listening more lately to 1970s hardbop--which may not seem all that different at first, but there are inflections and influences there that are somewhat different from 1950s/60s hardbop--at least, IMHO and all that.

Thanks for that great write-up, Larry. I'm a big Josh-and-Keefe fan, as you know, so much appreciation for all of your insight into their approaches.

Former CBS Vietnam and Cold War correspondent Murray Fromson linked to this show today on the Huffington Post: Restore the Voice ...really jazzed my morning. It's a good article, making the case that Obama should revive the Voice of America as a means of restoring the country's image around the world. EDIT: Fromson's link to the Conover show is temporarily not working, as a result of Night Lights launching a new website last night (not all of the individual shows are redirecting yet). But any of the links I posted above should work for those interested in hearing the program.

Allen, dig this--newly out from Jazz Oracle: Benny Goodman 1930-1933 Ask and ye shall receive!

Saw an ad for this in the new NY Review of Books. It comes from the University of Chicago Press--looks pretty interesting, particularly for those from Chicago or with an interest in the city's cultural history: The Chicagoan: a Lost Magazine of the Jazz Age

Very late in getting around to posting this--he's playing at the Waldron Arts Center (former police station/jail) here in Bloomington, IN this evening. Show starts around 7:30...I'll be heading over there after I wrap up my fund-drive stint on the board during All Things Considered.

The editor of JazzTimes wrote a response on JPL and gave me permission to post it at the Night Lights site: JazzTimes editor responds to PREX critique