ghost of miles

What will be your rationale tomorrow? It's Thursday. Hell, by college standards, that's already well into the weekend!

Did I miss a thread? If not, we sorely need one... Pedro to the Mets? Pavano to the Yanks? Wildman Wells to the Bosox? Cubs looking to unload Sammy? No baseball in D.C. after all? (Story here.) Discuss, discuss...

What will be your rationale tomorrow? Happy birthday, couw!

Just got AT THE JAZZ WORKSHOP in the mail a couple of days ago & will give it a spin tonight in honor of Mr. Harris.

riverrun, past Bird and Diz's, from swerve of horn to bend of note, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculated breath back to Jelly Roll and Armstrong's. Or something like that. Methinks it's time to head home.

Link!

Cool, Mark! Link?

Our chief announcer just told me that the Ayler box was on "Fresh Air" today. Anybody else catch this?

If you ever get a chance, check out the vocal version on the Evans Verve box.

Regarding the Gillespie-at-French-Lick story, George Wein (who ran the 1959 festival) gives it at least partial validation in his recent book--he says Gillespie and Jimmy McPartland leaped into the pool arm-in-arm.

Here's a picture of Miles & Dizzy at the 1959 French Lick festival, taken by Duncan Schiedt (JAZZ STATE OF INDIANA):

Haven't yet read either the Shipton or the autobiography, but there's a story about Dizzy & southern Indiana that I hope to one day verify (or not). In the 1950s French Lick, IN (yes, birthplace of Larry Bird) hosted a pretty happening jazz festival, about as hip as this particular neck of Hoosierville ever got. The French Lick Hotel had a swimming pool that was, uh, shall we say, not open to many members of the jazz-playing persuasion. Gillespie allegedly came down from his room in royal regalia, posing as an African monarch, and singlehandedly "integrated" the pool by leaping into it fully-clothed. A great story, but one that certainly bears some form of validation.

AB, sent you a PM re: the Terry.

Funny--I was just listening to Booker's "White Christmas." I'm going to use it to kick off this week's Night Lights. Another Sonny Rollins tune on a non-Christmas album is "Winter Wonderland," off THE ALTERNATIVE ROLLINS. Red Garland does the same song on ALL KINDS OF WEATHER, and Kenny Burrell does "A Child Is Born" on GOD BLESS THE CHILD (not to mention the original Jones-Lewis release, which wasn't on a Christmas album either).

Doc, I heartily recommend all of the Winchesters and most esp. NOCTURNE, which includes Winchester, recorded under the leadership of Oliver Nelson. Winchester will be the subject of a future Night Lights program, probably just in time for the 37th anniversary of the Prague Spring. How's Vienna treatin' ya, ya lucky dog? B-)

I did not realize Morgenstern was the source for that quote--I've repeated it many times to friends who've asked what Ayler sounds like. The book is a beauty; my wife gave it to me as an early Christmas present, and within minutes of opening it I'd come across two passages that I'm going to use in upcoming radio programs. Just ordered a copy for a fellow DJ friend in order to, as Joe Milazzo says, "keep the positivity flowing."

Interesting essay from that site on the baby/butcher photo-session.

Yes! With the late-period picture of them standing in a doorway on the cover. That was a personal favorite of mine as a kid because it contained "Rain," which is still IMO one of the coolest songs they ever did. Now, if they do re-issue YESTERDAY AND TODAY... bonus "baby butcher" cover or not? There's a whole website devoted to it.

Me too, but isn't McCartney holding up any overall remastering of the catalog? Although I hear he was happy with the new version of YELLOW SUBMARINE that came out several years ago... I wish they'd re-issue both UK & USA and add as bonuses some of the better tracks that popped up on the ANTHOLOGY series... like the alternate take of "Tomorrow Never Knows" from REVOLVER, or adding "Yes It Is" ("Ticket to Ride" b-side) to the HELP! soundtrack--with an appropriate gap between the end of the original album and the extra selections. That will never happen, though... way too much money to be made off this cash-cow! Thinking about this raises the old question of whether or not it's proper to add bonus tracks to albums that are so outstanding to begin with. Does it bother folks that there's now an alternate take at the end of KIND OF BLUE? Would it be better, in the instance of the Beatles, to put out "deluxe" editions that included all extra material on a second CD? I'd buy such a series in a heartbeat... I've refused to buy the current titles new ($17.99 list for a 30-minute 1988 CD?) and have picked most of them up second-hand.

Have a great one!

Elliott Smith, FROM A BASEMENT ON THE HILL. One of the best posthumously released pop albums ever.

Not music, per se, but did anybody mention Louis Armstrong's reading of "The Night Before Christmas" yet? Recorded about a year before Satchmo's death... we play it every Christmas Eve here at WFIU.

Hebrew National, all the way.

Yes indeedy, with the added bonus of one Mr. King Curtis on tenor saxophone.

An outrageous oversight indeed! B-)