ghost of miles

New York Times obit

Having trouble tuning in, and here's why, evidently: I'll bump for WGBH next Tuesday.

Pianist and Organissimo poster Frank Kimbrough will be on WAMC-Albany this morning from 11:20-noon EST, and on WGBH's "Jazz With Eric in the Evening" next Tuesday (Jan. 22) from 9-10 p.m. EST.

Thanks for that rundown, Frank. Sounds like it was a great gig.

No mention of her friendship with James Dean? She was quite a celebrity among followers of the Dean cult... supposedly they had a falling-out not long before his death ("I don't date cartoons," he said) and rumor had it that she'd placed a curse on him.

Not that I've seen...I threw a quick RIP post up on the Night Lights site yesterday afternoon after seeing the news here. I'd wager Doug Ramsey will have something up at Rifftides within the next day or two--maybe from Ted Gioia at his new site as well. I think a lot of jazz writers are focused on the IAJE this week. Edit: Just ran a Technorati blog search and the only thing it turned up so far was the Night Lights post from yesterday. I'll be sure to post any more obits or pieces that I see here in this thread.

They just wrapped up a week-long stand...anybody on the board see them?

A poster on the Night Lights site reminded me that PC is on Peggy Lee's BLACK COFFEE date as well. Might pull that one out tonight for another listen...an album I love anyway.

Sad news indeed. In addition to his Herman sides, I've always enjoyed some of the Candoli Brothers dates like 2 FOR THE MONEY and the two albums collected on JAZZ HORIZONS. Goodbye to a fellow Indiana native--your solos will keep soaring down here.

Lee Konitz: The Verve Years is now archived for online listening.

Wow! I'm astonished that Salinger came out for something as social as a town meeting. I've read that the shop-owners in Cornish have been very protective of him over the years.

Dead Caulfields has posted an interesting piece on the backstory behind Salinger's Glass family novella Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters. Carpenters is probably my favorite Glass story, though I like them all--even Hapworth 16, 1924, though you have to be a serious Glass family junkie to get into that one. Dead Caulfields reports that Hapworth has been rescheduled for book publication on Jan. 1, 2009--JDS's 90th birthday.

I've e-mailed Mosaic twice in the past several years with the same suggestion and received a positive response--evidently the possibility has crossed their minds. I also suggested Larry Kart to do the liners, and that got a positive response as well. Most of Konitz's Verve work is domestically unavailable now (the great two-CD sets MEETS JIMMY GIUFFRE and LIVE AT THE HALF NOTE have gone OOP), and there's a lot that's never been issued, per the discography that's online.

Alto saxophonist Lee Konitz is a longtime master of melodic improvisation who’s played a part in some of jazz’s most momentous acts–the Claude Thornhill big band and the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool nonet in the late 1940s, and the Lennie Tristano groups of the 1950s and early 1960s. After working in Stan Kenton’s orchestra and making some albums for Atlantic, Konitz recorded a series of LPs as a leader in the late 1950s for the Verve label that received a lukewarm critical reception at the time and that are now generally unavailable. His Verve dates showcase him in a variety of settings, ranging from trio/quartet/quintet to small-big-band and strings, finding him in the company of musicians such as pianist Bill Evans, drummer Elvin Jones, and fellow Tristanoite Warne Marsh, as well as arrangers Bill Russo and Jimmy Giuffre. Heard today, they form a compelling body of work that marks a kind of last chapter in Konitz’s early period, culminating in one of his most dynamic recordings, Motion. We’ll hear music from Motion, as well as the Giuffre collaborations You and Lee and Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre, the small-group sides Tranquility and Very Cool, a with-strings Russo arrangement, and a live Konitz-Marsh performance with Bill Evans sitting in for Lennie Tristano on piano. Much of what Konitz recorded during these years has yet to be released; you can view a comprehensive online discography which lists many of the unissued sessions from the saxophonist’s stay on Verve . Konitz is also the subject of a recent book, Lee Konitz: Conversations on the Improviser’s Art, which offers many fascinating insights from musicians, jazz writers, and Konitz himself on the hows, whys, and what’s-it-all-abouts of his artistic career. (According to Konitz, jazz impresario and Verve owner Norman Granz “was not a fan of mine, but he encouraged me, and even made me a weekly advance… maybe [he] was advised that I was trying, and took a chance, though his personal taste was for the older music. I always appreciated that.”) Lee Konitz: The Verve Years airs Saturday, January 12 at 11:05 p.m. EST on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It also airs Sunday evening at 10 p.m. EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. The program will be posted for online listening at the link above and in the Night Lights archives by Monday morning. Special thanks to Larry Kart for insights into why Konitz's recordings met with mixed reviews in the late 1950s. Next week: "The Memphis Mafia: George Coleman, Frank Strozier, Booker Little, and Harold Mabern."

"Soulful Days: the Cal Massey Songbook", broadcast on 2007-02-24, is archived on nightlights.blogs.wfiu.org/shows. Taru and his sister both sent me very nice notes about the Night Lights show Soulful Days. Many thanks and glad to see his father's music being promoted here by the family. Direct link: The Taru Show. Looks like there's a wealth of Cal Massey music there...

Been wanting to do a show about him for some time. Thanks for the tip re: those new Diz CDs, Lon. Haven't picked them up yet, but I will.

He was a hero to most, you know.

I'll be ordering the Herman later today. Can't wait! The only album I've heard and have is 1963.

Just got an e-mail from the JPL about this...looks to be a very ambitious undertaking: Jazz.com

HB to Mr. CT--very glad you are among us.

Good marks for Frank's latest from Nate Chinen in the NY Times:

Hey, way to go on Hull's mention in the Voice, Allen. I picked V. 4 for my Night Lights end-'o-year list (yes, the Night Lights blog, with its vast, vast readership ).

Larry, I think you posted this before, but my initial search didn't turn it up--any recs on Westlake-as-Stark titles?

Clem's style is original and full of flair--if one wanted to trace precedents (I won't presume to say "influences," since I'm not sure I've ever seen him invoke these writers), I've always said it's Richard Meltzer by way of Allen Ginsberg. But it's ultimately, indubitably his own. (And bro, so sorry about NPR... but we can't please everyone! Not to say some quarters aren't trying... but I'm still grateful for Lazaro's Roscoe Mitchell show, Chicago Public Radio's interviewing Larry Kart, and my own station giving me a little piece of ground. Love and kisses anyway ) Relyles, some very good advice already posted here from several quarters; I'd only add that if you haven't done so already, read Larry's book (JAZZ IN SEARCH OF ITSELF). I'd also agree that one shouldn't get too hung up on the technical aspect of things, but I also think that the best writers do give you a sense of how the music is working, or not working, and that they also talk about such things in an accessible manner. (Again, Larry is very good at this.) You might try giving Barry Kernfeld's WHAT TO LISTEN FOR IN JAZZ a go as well (others here may have better recs in this regard). Plus you already hang around this joint--reading Larry, Jim Sangrey, and Clem's posts, among others, is always educational for me. Great topic...it's something I'm still working on myself. Easy to hack it, hard to be really good and honest, but that's the case with all writing. Another book that I haven't read yet, but which gets high marks from some of the cognoscenti here, is Max Harrison's ESSENTIAL JAZZ RECORDS (co-authored by Eric Thacker and Charles Fox).

Yes--just to elaborate a bit on Jazzbo's answer, it's all previously unreleased live material from Pittsburgh, circa late-1950s/early-1960s.