ghost of miles

Dick is a buddy of Marion McPartland's and was a buddy of Jimmy's as well--he took the title from Marian's instrumental theme. I think to him (and to me) it's simply meant trying to play good jazz with a good vibe, that anybody, white or black, would enjoy unwinding with at the end of the week.

Yeah--I finally bit on the import a few months back, but I'll bite again on this one because it's going to include the single.

SECOND COMING was a big disappointment when it came out, but I find it's gotten better with age. It's more overtly derivative than the first album (or the B-sides around the time of the first album, many of them brilliant in their own way--"Standing Here" is one that comes to mind immediately), but it's harder & darker & surprisingly--for me, I mean--the record of theirs I return to the most these days. That may just be because I played the first one oh, about 573,691 times or so.

Anybody else seen this yet? A friend of mine gave me a copy as a thank-you for substitute-teaching a class... by Joz Willems, with introductory huzzahs from Dan Morgenstern and George Avakian. I've been flipping through it a bit this a.m., and it looks pretty marvelous indeed: All Of Me

So you're a hardcore fan, and she thinks you're pretty, too... watch out!

This week on Night Lights it's "The Lighthouse All-Stars." In 1949 former Stan Kenton bassist Howard Rumsey began a series of Sunday afternoon performances at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, California, a club that had formerly catered mostly to merchant marines and other sailors. These jam sessions eventually spawned the collective known as the Lighthouse All-Stars, featuring many of the 1950s' best West Coast jazz musicians--Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, and others. The group made a number of albums for the Contemporary label, and we'll hear selections from those, including "Witch Doctor," "Blue Sands," "Topsy," and many more. "The Lighthouse All-Stars" airs at 11:05 p.m. EST Saturday, June 10 on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville; western Michigan listeners in the Lower Peninsula can hear it at 10 p.m. EST Sunday evening on Blue Lake Public Radio, FM 90.3 and 88.8. You can read more about the Lighthouse Cafe and its jazz history on this page. The program will be posted Monday afternoon in the Night Lights archives. Next week on WFIU: "Jazz Cameos." Next week on WNIN and Blue Lake: "The Man Before Miles: Freddie Webster."

Highly recommend THE LEMON TREE for anyone interested in a very upclose view of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict... also finished Philip Roth's THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, but his lame resolution nearly ruined the novel for me. About 45 pages into Gennari's BLOWIN' HOT & COOL... and also reading a very interesting book called GOING, GOING, GONE: VANISHED AMERICANA. (Wrong on vinyl, though!) Damn, why does my vacation have to end?

Featured tonight on Afterglow: In honor of the 105th anniversary of Hoosier songwriter Cole Porter, we'll be playing a generous amount of selections from Julie London's 1965 tribute album, on which she's backed by a stellar West Coast jazz unit--Bud Shank on alto sax and flute, Russ Freeman on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, Monty Budwig on bass, and Colin Bailey on drums. There'll also be a set of Porter's music as performed by Artie Shaw's late-1940s big band, plus Porter interpretations from Lee Wiley, Shank as a leader, Carmen McRae, Jeri Southern, Fred Astaire, and others... and non-Porter music from Lee Morgan, Dave Douglas, Joe Henderson, Kenny Burrell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Johnny Hodges, Cassandra Wilson, and Dodo Marmarosa. Afterglow airs tonight at 10:05 p.m. EST on WFIU and at 10 p.m. Central Time Saturday night on WNIN-Evansville (where it follows Night Lights). The program will be posted Monday afternoon in the Afterglow archives. Next week: "Karrin Allyson's Footprints, Duke Ellington's Cosmic Scene."

Nothing against Norah Jones--in fact, my wife & I have both of her CDs. And I haven't heard the particulars of the Osby non-renewal yet. BUT--hasn't the argument been that the Norahs will subsidize the Osbys? It's a slippery slope, folks; at some point, the suits somewhere say, "Why bother subsidizing anybody? We're in this to make money." Now sure, Blue Note's a company out to make a profit like any either, but part of their appeal is supposed to be that they take other, more aesthetic-oriented matters into consideration. Basically, I don't buy the "Norah will subsidize the jazz acts" line anymore. I think that's a transitional mentality, and that we may be seeing the beginning of the end of Blue Note as a label that produces any new/modern jazz. Hope I'm wrong... and hey, nothing against Suzanne Vega either; as I said, I agree with Jim's assessment. But if BN is adding singer/songwriters and dropping Greg Osbys, what else can it be signifying but a declining interest in maintaining a roster that's either all or primarily jazz? Bound to happen, I guess--Blue Note has been the last refuge for major-label jazz.

Hell of a playlist, Scott... between you & Lazaro, I think Western Michigan qualifies as the big leagues of modern-day jazz broadcasting. Must be something in that Great Lakes water...

Wish I lived in that neck o' the woods.

I agree with Jim's assessment of Suzanne Vega. I'm not too worried about BN's direction right now--what worries me is the future, when people such as Bruce Lundvall aren't there. What happens when the next generation of "suits" takes over? I'm afraid then that we'll see the label tipping even more in the direction of sophisticated & veteran singer/songwriters. That's a genre for which I have an appreciation, but it's not "jazz," most of the time, anyway.

Here's the NY Times obit:

I'm going to start on it as soon as I finish Gennari's BLOWIN' HOT & COOL--anticipating a good read.

Glad you liked it, A... It's one of the first Schwartz tributes I've ever come across, and I always enjoy Geller's playing.

Picked up a copy of Wax Poetics #14 (truly great mag for those interested in hiphop/funk/soul jazz, etc.) and read Part 1 of the Axelrod interview. Evidently Axelrod broke into the music biz partly by working as a drummer in Gerald Wiggins' 1950s trio, and he also gigged w/Dodo Marmarosa. Relevant quote: Another quote about Phil Spector's "wall of sound": The article also cites Songs of Innocence as an influence on Miles and Bitches Brew.

Too bad Bill Veeck's not still around to stage "Pagan Night" or some such. The Rockies business reminds me of the kind of crap you used to get from the Cowboys in football (no offense, Texas board members) that they were "God's football team." While I was never a fan of Bobby Knight, he did say something on the mark once, when Steve Alford was leading team prayers before games and asking for victory: "Steve, there may or may not be a God, but if there is, I can assure you He doesn't give a damn about IU basketball."

Is it Christian bashing to want freedom from religion? Listen, I have no problem with people worshiping anyway they choose. As long as it is on their dime and in their space. In Seattle the people voted down the stadium twice, only to have the city council override them and it was built (with tax payer money) anyway. I'm a baseball fan and I wanted the stadium so you didn't see me out in the street protesting about it, but for a multi-billion dollar industry to bilk billions from the tax payers, then turn the stadiums into quasi-mega-churches is just plain wrong. You think if a team was signing only Jewish players and having siddur guided prayer services in the outfield after games the same "Christians" would be defending this? Of course they wouldn't. It's a bully tactic because Christians make up the majority in this country. Then they want to turn around and play victim. Gimme a break! Please keep religion (and politics for that matter) out of baseball. It's the only place left where people of all faiths, political persuasions, or sexual orientations can come together and just be Americans. We're losing all the things that used to unite us in this country and it's because of the pigheaded bully tactics taken on by the dominant white Anglo-Saxon Christians who run everything and the mendacious politicians who exploit people's ignorance for political gain. That said, it's gonna take a lot more than a few prayer meetings in the Braves outfield or a few Rocky Mountain dumb shits for me to boycott baseball. I'd go coo-coo bananas without it. Go M's!!!! This Christian liberal says, "Amen, brother!"

This program is now archived. (Has been since Monday afternoon, but this is the first opportunity I've had to post.)

Cool! I'm really psyched to be on Blue Lake... and following Mr. Vega will keep me on my toes, that's for sure. My wife & I go up to the Saugatuck/Douglas area about once a year, and my mom went to Hope College, so I have some emotional connections to the area.

For anybody who's interested, our weekly program Profiles will feature Afterglow creator and longtime host Dick Bishop; it's airing in about 20 minutes (7 p.m. EST) on WFIU and will be archived within the next week or so. Brief description from our online guide: Some upcoming Afterglow features: June 9--"All Through the Night: Julie London Sings Cole Porter." (Backed by the Bud Shank Quintet) June 16--"Karrin Allyson's Footprints, Duke Ellington's Cosmic Moods." June 23--"Jim Hall's Concierto." June 30--"Small Day Tomorrow: Bob Dorough & the Fran Landesman Songbook."

Probably THE "modern" (post-1955) big band for me. I never tire of this set and yeah, I even dig the pop covers and play them from time to time on the air. Incredible array of musicians that Wilson assembled for his orchestra in the 1960s... and yet I still feel this band doesn't get as much love & respect as it should. For anybody who doesn't want to spring for the entire Mosaic, Wilson's recent entry in Blue Note's "Artist Select" series gives a tasty one-disc rendering.

Didn't you mention her in THAT DEVILIN' TUNE? I can't remember how I first discovered her--maybe through some of the Herman sides. I was very happy to turn up copies of MELANCHOLY BABY & DETOUR TO THE MOON (the last w/help of a board member) for this program, as I don't think too many people have heard those late-1950s recordings. The Hep is definitely the one to get, though--includes some of her best work w/Herman, as well as some obscure but great late-1940s small-group efforts. And her presence is yet another reason (not like we need one!) to grab Mosaic's Herman Columbia box. Up for broadcast in about half an hour on WNIN and an hour and a half on WFIU.

Sandy Tolan's THE LEMON TREE: AN ARAB, A JEW, AND THE HEART OF THE MIDDLE EAST. Also hoping, while I'm on vacation, to get started on John Gennari's BLOWIN' HOT & COOL and Ashley Kahn's THE HOUSE THAT TRANE BUILT. Regarding younger writers, I really enjoyed Adam Haslett's debut collection of short stories, YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE, which came out about two or three years back. Haslett was pursuing a law degree, but I'd be eager to read any new work by him.