ghost of miles

We re-aired Dolphy '63 this past week, and it remains archived for online listening.

Perused all of my Parker books here at work--Gary Giddins' Celebrating Bird, Brian Priestley's Chasin' The Bird, Carl Woideck's A Charlie Parker Companion, and Ken Vail's Bird's Diary 1945-1955--and the only possibly pertinent info I can find is Vail's entry for December 1950 showing the Parker quintet w/Rodney as trumpeter performing that month as Birdland, which could conceivably fit into Appel's "winter 1951" timeline. Nothing that specifically confirms his story of Stravinsky dropping by the club, though. I may post a query to Mike's listserv later this week, but in the meantime, Appel's account is the only one we appear to have.

Oh yes! Have you heard the 1976 Nassau concert from that tour that was included in the Bowie 1974-76 box set several years ago? Best live Bowie I've ever listened to. Right now:

My observation as well. At home right now, and the Parker books I have on hand here--Carl Woideck's Charlie Parker and Ross Russell's Bird Lives--each list several mentions of Stravinsky in their indexes, but none that reference any event like Appel's anecdote. I'll look at my other Parker books when I get to my office in a bit. One would think that Red Rodney would have recounted this incident if it did indeed occur, as in Appel's narrative he's the one who spots Stravinsky in the audience. And Rodney was certainly asked to talk about Bird a lot later in life. Maybe the second volume of Stephen Walsh's Stravinsky bio would include any pertinent info--hoping to read both of those books at some point.

I can’t vouch for Appel’s veracity or lack thereof, but I’ve read several accounts of NYC-area teens attending performances at Birdland in the 1950s. However, my understanding (again, based on what I’ve read—Dan Morgenstern, were he here on the board, could surely clarify) is that teens were required to sit in the so-called “bleachers,” an area next to the stage. Appel’s account has him seated at a table, and a good one, too, next to a table ostensibly reserved for a celebrity guest—so that does sound unlikely. But I don’t think the story can be disqualified solely on Appel’s age at the time of the alleged encounter. Might be a good question to put to Mike Fitzgerald’s jazz research listserv… thinking that there would surely be other accounts of Stravinsky dropping by Birdland one night to hear Parker play, if such a thing did occur.

I checked my copy after reading the Open Culture post, and it appears Appel is referring to himself.

Alfred Appel, perhaps?

We recently aired a re-booted version of this episode: Porgy and Bess: The 1950s Jazz Revival

Recent Night Lights show devoted to this topic: Porgy And Bess: The 1950s Jazz Revival

Planning to revisit this set soon, for the Holman sides especially.

I’ve been re-imbibing the albums of my very early youth—the 2112-through-Moving Pictures era.

I picked up the recent Concord/Craft reissue of the two Contemporary Ornette albums but haven't cracked it open yet. If there's any pertinent info there that hasn't already been contributed to the thread, I'll be sure to post it.

Nice set of albums! Right now:

Zep’s finale:

The nightcap to yesterday’s Angels-Yankees doubleheader was one of the more thrilling regular-season games I’ve seen in some time. Taillon taking a perfecto into the 8th, finally surrendering two hits that put the Angels up 1-0, then Rizzo pinch-hitting a two-out, two-run single for NY in the bottom of the 8th, and finally the Yanks’ newly-annointed closer Clay Holmes, who’s been nearly indomitable with his 100-mph sinker, loading the bases with two outs in the top of the 9th (which featured ABs from Ohtani and Trout) before IKF’s throw to first just barely retired Rengifo on a ground ball up the middle. Phew. On a more general note, David Cone mentioned during the game that collective MLB BA for the year so far is .240—a number that if sustained would be the lowest since 1968. MLB lowered the mound following that season, and next year they’re going to ban the shift. (If robo-ump is ever introduced for balls and strikes, that will help hitters too—at least if the one study I’ve heard cited is accurate, that more balls are called as strikes than vice-versa. It will also, overnight, greatly diminish, if not completely eliminate, the value of a catcher’s ability to frame.)

One of the first classical CDs I ever bought:

Wow, envious! I saw them in 1984 on the Mirror Moves tour (and then again many years later, in 2012). I’ve been listening a lot lately to the first four albums and the Should God Forget anthology, which does a great job of curating music from those albums and the best of the three that followed, as well as some good unreleased tracks, b-sides, and live recordings.

The final entry in the Furs' classic run of early-1980s albums.