ghost of miles

"Miss Peggy Lee, Songwriter" is now archived.

Very underrated/overlooked saxophonist--I'm sure a # of folks around here would agree. Picked up one of his CDs at a now-closed store in Bloomington here a few years back and since then have tried to run to ground everything he was on. Too bad about that second volume of Jazz Prophets... I've hoped against hope that tapes would turn up, but seems quite unlikely now. And interesting speculation about the first American jazz version of a bossa nova piece, Larry. I poked around in my books & CDs here at the house & couldn't find anything earlier than the date you mention... speaking of which, the recent Dizzy Mosaic set posits that Gillespie considered recording a bossa nova album before Getz/Byrd and company, and actually did (a live September 1961 performance at Monterey that included bossa numbers), but that Artie Shaw talked him out of releasing it right away. That recording, which eventually came out in 1974, is still subsequent to what you mention.

Please pardon the belated greetings--hope you had a great day, Paul, & keep swingin'!

Might not work if he's still out to sea... hope it was a good one, Joe.

It's that time of year again... happy b-day, Shawn M., and hey, drop by once in awhile!

Anybody having problems with their Yahoo e-mail boxes today? Haven't been able to access mine for the past three hours.

Yes, it is a tribute to Hicks--and Catesta posted notice of its pre-order listing in January. I paged through "New Releases" before posting, but not that far back... looks like others have been awaiting this with eagerness.

Anybody else heard this yet? I'm listening to it right now--a sumptuous ballads album, with a fresh arrangement of "I Can't Get Started" and nice takes on "Alfie" and Hefti's "Girl Talk". So far it's striking me as another winner in Fathead's impressive streak of recent HighNote releases.

What did they say about it?

It's mostly Cook. He generally brings Miles' life in only to relate it to the music; there are occasional quotes from the autobiography & other sources. The title's a bit misleading, in fact... it sounds as if it's a compendium of interviews or something.

This is a new book by Richard Cook, being billed as a sort of biography-by-way-of-discography, though it focuses (thankfully, IMO) primarily on the music. Basically an overview of Miles' "landmark" recordings, with enough nuggets of interest & insight to make me feel as if the time spent reading it had been worthwhile (reads pretty quickly, too). One thing that stood out was Cook's lack of reverence for the electric era; I don't mean that he's contemptuous of it at all, and in fact he likes a great deal of it, but (much like Ian McDonald in his great Beatles book, REVOLUTION IN YOUR HEAD) he's not afraid to point out the indulgences & the less-than-successful efforts.

Many listeners know Peggy Lee as a great jazz singer, but she was also a prolific writer of songs—composing or co-composing nearly 200 of them, including hits such as “I Don’t Know Enough About You” and “Manana” as well as lesser-known gems like “That Ol’ Devil Won’t Get Me” and “There’ll Be Another Spring.” She counted among her collaborators Victor Young, Cy Coleman, and husband Dave Barbour; along with Sonny Burke she also wrote the songs for the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp, including “The Siamese Cat Song” and “He’s a Tramp.” We’ll hear Lee performing a number of these songs, along with several interpretations from other artists such as Sarah Vaughan and Nina Simone. "Miss Peggy Lee, Songwriter" airs Saturday, March 10 at 11:05 p.m. on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It will also air Sunday evening at 10 p.m. EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio, and will be posted Monday afternoon in the Night Lights archives. Special thanks to David Torresen for his assistance with this program. For more about Peggy Lee, go here. Via YouTube, you can also see videos of her and husband Dave Barbour performing two of the songs they wrote: I Don't Know Enough About You and It's a Good Day. Next week: "The International Sweethearts of Rhythm."

Great post, as always, Jim. Music or art of any kind absolutely has to respond to the time and world in which it's made, and you're right--things are changing out there (& here) fast. Conversely, with the vast expansion of media, it's now possible to immerse yourself in the past in a way that most before us would have been hard-pressed to imagine. I hear you, I really do, on how and why you're responding to house music the way you are, and I think you're right to follow your instincts (your brain and your butt). I'd like to hear more jazz that incorporates what you're talking about; and even if Monday Michiru so far has not made a Bird-like impact on me, I can see what she's pointing to. I think there's a lot of fear in the jazz world; so much of the "greatest generation," both musicians and audience, are dying off, and we've already recycled so much of that era. Maybe I'm overly optimistic/idealistic, but I think that for each generation that comes along, there's a need to produce vital music that's of its time and speaks to the present way of life. And I think the jazz world, grudgingly or not, will respond... will have to respond. As a great man once said, "Necessity is a mother."

Well, I was being a bit facetious. Jim joined the BNBB in when, 2002? I mean, there are a fair amount of posters here who go back five, six years (and some, like jazzbo, who know other posters from boards that preceded the BNBB). After awhile (and this is endemic, I think, to almost all online communities) you do see a fair amount of rehashing. I wish we discussed improv and new jazz a little more on the board, but hey, I'd better start with the man in the mirror, eh? (I have the same default to the 1945-1990 era and points before/beyond as many others in these parts.) Larry, Jim, Clem, and a # of other folks offer up much of interest here, & I feel as if I can only aspire to that consistent level of ongoing discourse. I do, however, solemnly vow to avoid the following discussions from here on out: Is Wynton good/bad for jazz? Was Sinatra a jazz singer? RVG audio: bright new dawn or a final descent into darkness? ...and, of course... Is Paul dead? (Obviously!)

Thank God Markey went on the attack about this today on the House floor. We're still trying to sort out how it affects public radio media (it does) & hoping that NPR/CPB will go to the mats for us on the Hill, which I think they will. This is ridiculous.

"Alice Coltrane, Ascending" is now archived. Some new sites on the Miscellaneous jazz/cultural links page that might be of interest to folks here: Destination Out Dial "M" for Musicology Jerry Jazz Musician Always looking to add more sites that reference 1945-1990 jazz/American culture/hipsterism, etc... if you know of any good ones & feel so inclined, post the link(s) in this thread.

But... but... we're just getting started!

Yes, David B. was on cello. Dave Young was still active as of that gig, and I believe he's played in Indy several times since... sheldonm would probably know about his recent activities. His one leader date on Mainstream is well worth seeking out & includes another very talented Indiana musician, trumpeter Virgil Jones. Meant to include this link in my previous post: David Baker on the Lenox School David talks with Darius Brubeck about George Russell, Ornette, and other figures and topics from the late 1950s/early 1960s.

The fourth Decca is 'George Russell Sextet in K.C.'. 'Original Swinging Instrumentals' is the description on the front cover. That was music that the sextet developed during a two-week engagement at the Blue Room club in Kansas City. A very good date with interesting tunes including trombonist Dave Baker's 'War Gewessen' and an early Carla Bley contribution 'Rhymes'. Great frontline of Don Ellis, Dave Baker and the underrated sax player Dave Young! You can hear both of those tunes and two others from Kansas City on "When Russell Met Baker" (scroll down to August 12, 2006 in the archives). David told me that Universal was thinking about reissuing Kansas City several years ago, but nothing ever came of it... I feel lucky that we even got the Five Spot album. Maybe they'll put KC up as a digital download. A couple of years ago DB and David Young did a gig here in Bloomington with a very good local rhythm section that was a reprise of the early-1960s sextet.

Shrdlu! Where on earth have you been? I was wondering where you'd gone just a few weeks ago...good to see you back & posting again.

A handful of tracks show up on the Oliver Nelson Mosaic... I think they were also issued on the now-OOP Roll 'Em.

Some letters to the editor in the NY Times today: Not a classical head or buff--have a # of things I bought or got as promos when I did my Borders stint a few years back--but I always liked the Naxos Historical cds that we carried. Other opinions here on that particular series?

Last night in Bloomington, saw Billy Bang and Quincy Troupe doing a music/spoken-word performance at the Waldron Arts Center. Billy Bang ranged from great to amazing. And the show was free.

I love the quote from Richard Fulton in one of the preview clips... he's a recovering addict who opened a jazz coffeehouse in the Leimert Park area that really took off after the '92 riots: There are three things in the whole world I love to do most... sit on my ass... drink coffee... and listen to jazz. Amen! Fifth Street Dicks

I've already posted in the jazz radio forum about the Tapscott program that I've done with Steven Isoardi, but those interested in HT and the 1990s, post-riot L.A. jazz scene might want to check out this film about the Leimert Park jazz renaissance.