ghost of miles

"When Betty Met the Duke" is now archived. Special thanks again to Pete B & to Michael McGerr for providing several hard-to-find recordings.

Katz did the liners for Mosaic's COLUMBIA PIANO JAZZ SESSIONS and also contributed an essay on 1940s/50s jazz piano to Kirchner's OXFORD COMPANION TO JAZZ. LV, I hear ya on UNDERDOG & Miles--I read both of those as "novelizations" of a sort. But even if the "facts" within are sometimes askew, I still felt as if I'd been offered some insight into what made each man tick. Poetic autobiography, as it were, or some such. Clem, you should write a book--you and Sangrey both. Ever check out the 33 1/3 series? Either you or he could do a damned sight better than most of what I've read in that line so far (and are of course capable of much loftier heights & highs on the literary slopes). And if Larry or John Litweiler don't write the ultimate Chicago jazz book, then I nominate Messrs. Vega and/or Nessa. OK, off myself--heavy prep to do on a program. Coffee only (black, of course).

Many happy rodcasts to come.

Realize this is broadening the scope of Lazaro's topic somewhat, but in terms of musicians writing about their lives as musicians, Art Pepper's STRAIGHT LIFE & Horace Tapscott's SONGS OF THE UNSUNG (realizing, too, that there was some assistance in each case, but the voices that come out of those books seem indisputably those of AP & HT).

I'll heartily second Clem's rec for NOTES & TONES. Also much value to be found in oral histories such as CENTRAL AVENUE SOUNDS, where the musicians are speaking directly much of the time, or even in a book like Ben Sidran's TALKING JAZZ. Looking forward to reading George Lewis' work in toto when it comes out.

Just heard the latest from Camera Obscura, a Scottish band that's been around for awhile (sort of sponsored by Belle & Sebastian, evidently). It's called LET'S GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY, and it's the first new cd I've heard in awhile that made me go, "Hmmm, who's that?" Kind of a mix of Mazzy Star, B & S, Felt, the Smiths (w/a strong dash of Lloyd Cole, a guy I used to love & hadn't thought about in years)--but somehow uniquely compelling.

Oh yeah!! Had no idea... I'll be picking that one up as well.

Yup. Along with the Mets, methinks. I know it's unlikely, but I'm still pulling for another Subway Series.

I just got the SINGLES box through a BMG sale a couple of weeks ago & feel confident saying (even though I'm only halfway through it) that any P. Lee fan would not regret picking it up. Eager to read that new bio as well. I wish DREAM STREET would be reissued, even though much of it is included on the 2-CD BLACK COFFEE Decca anthology. The 1999 twofer that paired it with MISS WONDERFUL is OOP.

Heard this several weeks ago & have been meaning to post the news--evidently Bob's decided to give up doing the show. Hope all's well with him.

I can't remember who wrote the Hodges notes, but I remember having the exact same reaction--surprised Mosaic went ahead & used them. I'm going to revisit all of that Hodges small-group material for radio next year, as it will be his centennary.

There is a solo piano version of The River on the recent Ellington Storyville CD THE PIANO PLAYER. The liner notes allude to Ellington orchestra recordings of The River being made as well--I think these came out on THE PRIVATE COLLECTION V. 5. (A friend told me that THE PRIVATE COLLECTION is being reissued, which I hope is true--I'm missing most of those volumes.)

I've listened to about half of the 40 or so that I got--have the Mulligan-Monk 20K on right now.

I checked both of these out of the IU School of Music library recently while I was working on an Afterglow feature for the Webster/Joe Zawinul album Soulmates. I read only the chapters concerning summer & late 1963, when Webster was Zawinul's roommate, but boy, a coin toss on which book was "better"--both sections seemed pretty good & were certainly helpful in giving me some background. Been listening to Ben a lot lately, so I think I'm going to order one or both of these bios.

I hear a fair amount of grumbling about the steroid scandals from baseball-loving friends of mine, but looks like it hasn't had a negative impact at the gate. In fact, we're back to 1993, pre-lockout (something that certainly did have a negative impact) numbers:

Some of the oldies stations have switched to the "jack" format, which is basically a mishmash of 70s/80s/90s... or basically "new oldies," I guess. I've plugged this show elsewhere on the forum, but my friend Greg Adam's program Rhythm Ranch is a great alternative to the same ol' oldies (example of recent show: "From 50's Rocker to 70's Honky-Tonker"). It airs from 7-9 p.m. EST Monday evenings on our community radio station WFHB.

Thanks to all for the great suggestions here. I taped the program Thursday evening and was able to incorporate several of them. This will be an annual feature, so I'll return to the thread next year when I'm compiling the 2007 show. On a somewhat related note, I wish IU would do something with the old Book Nook/Gables where HC allegedly wrote "Stardust" (Mark probably knows this already, but it's currently a "Buffalouie's"). They own it and could turn it into quite a nice Hoagy museum/visitor's center, but I guess it's just easier to rent the joint out to restaurants and collect the $$ each month.

This week on Night Lights it’s “When Betty Met the Duke.” “Betty Roche was an unforgettable singer,” Duke Ellington wrote of his former vocalist in 1973. “She never sounded like anybody but Betty Roche.” Roche, the so-called “blues specialist” whom some consider to be one of the best vocalists Ellington ever had, replaced the popular Ivie Anderson in Ellington’s band in late 1942, just as the American Federation of Musicians ban on commercial recordings was about to take effect; it was the first of several bad breaks that gave her an undeserved low profile on records. In this program we’ll hear nearly all of the live, transcription, and studio recordings that Roche did with Ellington, including her landmark performance of “The Blues” from Ellington’s famous January 1943 Black, Brown and Beige concert at Carnegie Hall; her 1952 scat-vocal interpretation of “Take the ‘A’ Train”, and broadcasts from the Hurricane nightclub in New York City. We’ll also hear Roche with Earl Hines and some Ellingtonians in 1944, as well as her post-Duke solo takes on “Rocks In My Bed” and “All Too Soon.” “When Betty Met the Duke” airs Saturday, September 30 at 11:05 p.m. on WFIU and at 10 p.m. Central Time on WNIN. It can also be heard at 10 p.m. EST Sunday evening on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. Next week: "1959" on WFIU & WNIN; "The Jazz Scene" on Blue Lake

I love that Sheila Jordan version of "Oriole." Not long ago I played another version I really like--the one Helen Merrill does on her Milestone album with Dick Katz. Thanks much for the suggestions.

Hey all, I'm working on a Nov. 24 Afterglow of all Hoagy Carmichael songs... a little annual Hoosier tradition I'm starting this year (it will always fall on the Friday closest to HC's Nov. 22 b-day). Some of the recordings I've picked so far: Anita O'Day, "Ivy" Buselli-Sifferlin (IN duo), "The Nearness of You" Bix, "Riverboat Shuffle" Jack Jenny, "Stardust" ...and I'm featuring a kind-of-rare 1958 Kapp LP that Hoagy recorded (reissued in 1962 by, believe it or not, Eli Lilly ). Will be tapping HOAGY SINGS CARMICHAEL (the '56 Pacific Jazz album) as well. Would like to run down some more modern recordings... any suggestions?

Thanks for the heads-up, Steve! Liebman's going to be here in Bloomington next Thursday night.

Completely forgot "Rain," but you're absolutely right--that is a hell of a song. True that it was the first to use backward masking? (The Beatles are often credited as having done things "first," & it's often not so. They were certainly, wonderfully innovative, but they were also extremely rigorous listeners who absorbed nearly everything coming out, and they were good at nicking from the competition.)

This program is now archived.

The Rolling Stones' Get Off Of My Cloud. I remember hearing this song on a jukebox in Rogers City, Michigan, of all places, in the summer of 1977, when I was 11 years old and had just discovered the first two Ramones' records. This single completely hooked me on the Stones... dig Keith's glasses in the video.

Completely agree with this--the first tune that came to mind when I saw the title of this thread was "I'm Only Sleeping," probably my favorite non-played-to-death Beatles song. ("She Said She Said" too, though I've heard this one more & more in the past 15-20 years.) "Yes It Is" is an early favorite, as is the whole LP Beatles For Sale. ("Every Little Thing," "I'm a Loser," "What You're Doing," "I'll Follow the Sun," etc.) A friend of mine used to argue that Elliott Smith derived much of his musical aesthetic from the George Harrison song "Long, Long, Long" off The White Album. Quite possibly true--ES was certainly a Beatles devotee and a George Harrison one in particular, and I think I've even heard a bootleg with him covering "Long, Long, Long."