ghost of miles

Picked up JUST FRIENDS--a 1997 trio cd w/Gary Peacock and Paul Motian--off a board member the other day & listened to it for the first time tonight. Wonderful! Knew right away I'd be spinning this one again a couple more times before putting it on the shelf. Makes me want to check out that Motian/Johnson trio record as well. Great thread; thanks to Daniel for starting it.

This week on Night Lights it’s the late-1980s acoustic quintet recordings of drummer Tony Williams. Williams was one of the great prodigies of jazz, playing with both Sam Rivers and Jackie McLean as a teenager before joining Miles Davis as part of the trumpeter’s now-legendary mid-1960s group. Williams also recorded two dates as a leader for Blue Note and went on to form the pioneering fusion trio Lifetime (with organist Larry Young and guitarist John McLaughlin). After a sabbatical in the early 1980s to hone his compositional skills, Williams came back to Blue Note and recorded a remarkable series of albums that highlighted his writing with a group featuring trumpeter Wallace Roney and pianist Mulgrew Miller. “Return to Blue Note: Tony Williams in the Late 1980s” airs Saturday, January 27 at 11:05 p.m. EST on WFIU, at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville, and on Sunday evening at 10 p.m. EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. The program will be posted Monday afternoon in the Night Lights archives. Last week's "A Few Words About Jazz" program, including an interview with jazz historian John Gennari, is now archived, including some extra quotes that didn't make it into the show. Next week: "We Shall Overcome: Civil-Rights Jazz."

I realized last night that this was an oversight--I do already have a link to the forums on the Jazz Internet Resources page, but t'ain't enough... need mention of the band. I sent the webmaster an addition for the community pages this morning with a direct link to the band's home page. Apologies, gents! It should be up within the next day or two.

Last weekend's "A Few Words About Jazz" Night Lights program is now archived: This week on Night Lights it’s “A Few Words About Jazz.” Jazz criticism first emerged in the 1930s, accompanied by the rise of “hot clubs” and collector groups, often consisting of young white men who gathered to listen to recordings, argued feverishly over the merits of their favorite players, and pursued an obsessive interest in what came to be known as the science of discography. Some critics, such as Leonard Feather and John Hammond, became agents of influence in the jazz world, promoting musicians in the jazz press, producing record sessions, and organizing concerts. In subsequent decades writers such as Martin Williams and Nat Hentoff continued and extended the work of their predecessors as jazz evolved stylistically and began to be treated as an art music. Although jazz critics have done much to advance the music throughout its history, they have also often been sources of controversy, particularly in their relationship with musicians and their responses to certain aesthetic directions such as bebop and free jazz. On this edition of Night Lights we’ll hear some of the music that has provoked debate and discussion among critics, ranging from Duke Ellington’s “Reminiscin’ in Tempo” to John Coltrane’s “Chasin’ the Trane” and Wynton Marsalis’ “The Sermon.” We’ll also talk extensively with John Gennari, author of Blowin’ Hot and Cool, a new history of jazz criticism. You can read more about Gennari’s book and peruse his own chosen soundtrack for it here. Here are more comments from John Gennari that we were unable to use in the broadcast of "A Few Words About Jazz": The debate over new jazz studies #1 The debate over new jazz studies #2 Parallels with the 1950s Musician-critic relationships Critics and racial discrimination Ralph Ellison on jazz today Ellison #2 Martin Williams #1 Martin Williams #2 This weekend: "Return to Blue Note: Tony Williams in the Late 1980s."

...not to mention the less-hidden link between Shorty Rogers and this fellow:

Life's too short, Larry... Mr. Chewy, if you don't already have it, check out the CENTRAL AVENUE SOUNDS box & book. Pretty rich history to jazz in California that goes way beyond the normal parameters of what most folks think of as "West Coast jazz"... and you really ought to make a beeline for Ted Gioia's book, too, if you haven't already. Re: Brubeck, I'm not sure those octet recording dates have ever been nailed down, even by the musicians themselves...and I agree w/Larry that the Brubeck vs. Davis hype is overblown.

Get it! (or, as we say in certain parts of the Midwest--"Git it!")

Looks like they may be reuniting.

Got a reply from Mona--the DETS volumes have been delayed due to the new 8-CD set, but she says V. 13 will be out later this year.

Knew it was DR's b-day, but somehow missed this... you mean that Glenn Miller's GIs in Paris date with Mel Powell and Django? If so, I love that one (have it on a Timeless CD).

And I don't mean to denigrate the new-release bin at all... in fact, I think it's important to play new as well as classic/vintage stuff (not a dilemma with Night Lights, which is a historical show). I hop around on the jazz-internet dial a fair amount, though, and sometimes it just seems as if the person on-air grabbed whatever came in the mail that day... and maybe didn't even listen to it before playing it on-air. (Not kidding--I've heard backannounces/remarks that sure make it sound that way.) Who knows--maybe they also had to do traffic logs that day, answer the office phone, run the board, and help put out any of the numerous metaphorical fires that can erupt around the station. Great thing about the Internet for me is that I can learn (in addition to learning from Joe Bourne, the very fine jazz director/host we have here, and Dick Bishop, the man who created Afterglow) from excellent jocks around the country like Lazaro. I can check out Steve Schwartz on WGBH, Michael Bourne on WBGO (he was here at WFIU, actually, from 1972 to '84... Joe, who's no relation, succeeded him), and many others. And speaking purely as a listener, I'm grateful for that opportunity... it beats satellite radio jazz, to which I still haven't warmed. (Something a bit generic about the presentation styles I've heard there, but maybe I haven't been exposed to enough of the channels and on-air people yet.)

Well, I'll say that I do miss the more spontaneous, laidback approach of the three-hour mixes that I did over there (often after working all day at a major book/CD/DVD retail store that shall go nameless). Did a few shows, like a two-part, six-hour Coltrane documentary, a Hoagy special with Dick Sudhalter, and a couple of other similar projects that foreshadowed Night Lights...but often enough it was simply going in there with a big stack of whatever I'd been listening to in the past week, with an attempt to highlight at least one new release or reissue. At WFHB it's always a labor of love, because volunteers aren't paid (in fact, you have to donate several hours of task time every three months to keep your programmer status, though you can do this by reviewing CDs). I have a somewhat similar opportunity now whenever I sit in for our weekday afternoon jazz host... a chance, to a large extent, to worry less about NPR clock formats, and to be a bit more freewheeling. Don't mean to convey a bent or desire for sloppiness, lack of preparation, etc. in doing more freeform mixes; there are jocks, in both the community & public domains, who either haul in the same tired box of personal faves each week, or who just grab 'n go from the new-releases bin. That IMO is disrespecting the audience; it's still possible in such circumstances to convey a love/appreciation for/knowledge of the music, but inevitably it leads to ragged, erratic presentation. For a daily mix show I like to go in with a rough outline of what I'm going to play, a talking point or two for each track, and plenty of room and ability to make adjustments, improvise, shuffle things around, or what have you. That seems to allow enough flexibility to keep things real & moving and hopefully make a personal connection with the listener without sounding as if you're hunting around the studio deciding what to play next. Almost inevitably I have to drop some tracks, or substitute & reconfigure as I go along, and often enough that seems to yield something better than what I'd planned. I've been at this in one way or another for about 8 years now, and one of these days (when I grow up) I hope to be as good as, oh, say, Lazaro Vega. Anyway, to make a long paean short... if there's a community-radio station nearby, I highly recommend Organissimo posters check it out, either as listeners or as volunteers.

You won't regret it... I wish Greg archived his shows. They're really amazing. And I should sing the praises of WFHB, the community station here; we simply walked in off the street with a proposal and a demo (and no prior radio experience) & were given an airtime slot. It's volunteer-programmed and features just about every kind of music except for top 40. Great place for anybody looking to get a start in programming, or for those who started long ago and still simply love to do it. If public radio ever dies an agonizing death, I'll no doubt be back there, lobbying for my old Wednesday-night rotation. p.s. sheldonm's been there.. it's where we did the Henry Grimes live on-air broadcast a year or so back.

You know about this, right? Oh yes, but what do I need that for? I have several copies of each of those novels. Not trying to agitate any consumerist fever--just thought you'd be happy PD is making it into the LOA.

You know about this, right?

....frank sinatra??? Yes! From the lp COME DIE WITH ME...

A bit more discussion on the new Morgan bio here. I have it on *good* authority that I'll be receiving this come Valentine's Day...

AAJ is fine & provides a useful purpose, etc., but this place has got soul, baby.

That's about right. They were shutting down the Blue Note board when somebody mentioned Organissimo, or gave a link or something, and lo and behold (he's got me doing it) 90% of the BN posters were to be found posting away here. Haven't looked back since. Anybody else recall Greg Maltz standing Ahab-like on the deck of the S.S. BNBB as it began to sink beneath the waves? He was going to indoctrinate all the newcomers into the ways and wisdom of SACD etc.

Thanks for posting that, Guy--Chuck had posted the other day that this was indeed in the works, and it's great to see this rundown of info.

Was re-reading Gitler's FROM SWING TO BOP last night & noted the section about Henry Jerome, who led one of the first allegedly "progressive" big bands. Some weird, interesting tidbits about this band; here's Eugene Chadbourne's writeup at AMG: Jerome alludes to airchecks of the 1940s band, but I couldn't find any in my initial online searches... just the Hal Kemp tribute record from 1957. Heh... probably should've posted this in Politics. No comment on the Garment-Greenspand bandstand alliance.

Joe had mentioned this gig to me when he was in Indy this past December... congratulations, guys! And congrats to White Lightning for setting it up! Hope the O's performance gets taped.

Is that the 1939-40 date, then? I just ordered that last week (along with the DAY BY DAY, FILM BY FILM book... finally broke down, since I'm such a Dukeophile). Yeah, I'll definitely need to take a look at the set list for this one. I already have the Hurricane 1943 broadcast (as well as three extra CD-Rs of material from that stand) and the Fargo set. After I ordered I e-mailed Mona again & asked for news of the DETS series, but have gotten no reply. This new collection will be a great deal, though, for folks who don't have any of that music.

Oh God, I'd forgotten all about that... yes, please, dear Lord. It's a small favor to ask, but... what the hell is the Refrigerator up to these days anyway?

Welcome, eeegor! After that momentous day (03/03/03) when Blue Note downsized its bulletin board, imposed restrictions, and all but ripped the heart & guts out of the place, I seem to recall reading a post from Shawn (kofi-hadi?) urging us to migrate here... Jim A. re-made the board to resemble the old BNBB, and thus did the Great Exodus of which the Moose speaketh begin. I think it's the best jazz discussion board on the Internet, hands down. Hope you'll stick around. And Mr. Tanno is great; I just placed another order last week myself.