ghost of miles

I just wondered if something drove him away from here. No warning signs in his posts, and his last one was at least a week before the DEEP controversy began to boil over... Anyway, I hope he comes back.

Looks like the Sunshine Boys recordings are available here.

Hey all, I'm in the midst of completing a one-hour program about Duke Ellington's 1941 satirical, civil-rights-oriented musical, JUMP FOR JOY, which was staged in Los Angeles. A number of Hollywood luminaries floated around the edges of the production, including Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, and John Garfield; the musical itself included Ellington classics such as "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good," "Rocks in My Bed," and the title song. The program will feature interviews with Patricia Willard, who worked as Ellington's assistant from 1949-74, and who wrote extensively about the musical for a 1988 Smithsonian LP; jazz educator David Baker; Ellington biographer and Smithsonian music curator John Hasse; and cultural historian Michael McGerr. The program will also include a promotional radio medley, a recreation of two Ellington speeches by IU poet Kevin Young, the Soundies version of "Bli-blip" with Marie Bryant singing, a portion of comedian Wonderful Smith's monologue, and all of the surviving Victor music recorded by the Blanton-Webster orchestra. It airs on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. on WFIU. You can read another brief description here (I got Duke on the cover of our monthly public radio magazine): DirectionsInSoundFeb (Choose the February Adobe--the Feb. HTML hasn't been updated yet.) As always, feedback is more than welcome!

Sounds like a great candidate for a U.S. re-issue--hell, with that lineup, I'd even be willing to shell out for a Rhino Handmade, if that was the only way they could put it out.

This will be crushing news for Randy. but that's just because hardly anyone can play the damn thing decently. Name a top notch cowbell solo..... Max Roach on Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco"!

Didn't Cal Cobbs play harpsichord on a couple of Ayler records? I also liked it as part of Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five...

Nope, but I'll look into him. And thanks for the CD links, King Ubu!

I just noticed that he hasn't posted since Nov. 27... and nothing in his last few posts indicates any kind of disillusionment or board controversy. Anybody heard from him or know what he's up to? He offered all kinds of valuable insights and information, and was quite a friendly guy to boot (I had a great time interviewing him for a special I did on Gigi Gryce). I know he's working on a Henry Grimes bio, and perhaps he's chosen to sequester himself from certain elements of the Internet for awhile. Wherever you are, Mike, you're much missed.

Staff? I'm jealous... so far I have only a flunkie.

I finally picked up that Blanche Calloway Classics CD but haven't gotten a chance to listen to it yet... didn't realize that Ben Webster played with both her and Cab.

No prob. I had just picked up the Henderson as one of my freebies for re-joining a couple of months ago--hope somebody else can nab it for the cheap price now and use their freebie pick for another! Right now I'm listening to JUKEBOX ELLA, which I also got by cashing in some of my free vouchers. If you wait long enough, BMG nearly always gets the Ella Verve re-issues.

The Joe Mooneys are both excellent, as is the Earl Hines. Still waiting on the Don Redman... I'm definitely going to hit the Collectors' Choice sale again before August 1.

OTOH Joe Mooney has suddenly turned me onto jazz accordion. Who woulda thunk it?

I'm wishing with you, buddy! I'm waiting till the end of March, when I plan to pop for the Shank/Brookmeyer/Reece Selects all at once. Will probably pick up the Liebman sooner or later as well... but it's the big boxes coming down the line that really excite me--the Herman, the Farlow, the Jazztet--wowza!

"I'm preaching neutrality..." Or was it "Make love not war"?

Brownie & Jim, I have not heard the Atlantic or Columbia releases, which were done in the mid-1950s and early 1960s respectively, I believe. Therefore I can't compare, but Schuller was writing about the late-1940s quartet, which is why I sought out the Heps. They consist of the group's Decca recordings and a number of rehearsals and radio broadcasts. If you can find any way to sample them first, do so--I don't think you'll be disappointed! They had a unique sound that, as Schuller says, anticipates the MJQ in some ways.

You're right, Pepe, it was cruel of me to suggest it. Perhaps Pakistan instead, as a pointman in the "war against terror"?

Joe Mooney Quartet, DO YOU LONG FOR OOLONG? Joe Mooney Quartet, JOE BREAKS THE ICE Lennie Niehaus, ZOUNDS! Ella Fitzgerald, JUKEBOX ELLA V. 1

White Lightning will see you now. B)

I recently picked up both Hep CDs of Joe Mooney's late-1940s quartet, DO YOU LONG FOR OOLONG? and JOE BREAKS THE ICE, after reading about Mooney in Gunther Schuller's THE SWING ERA. Wow! Imagine Nat King Cole meeting the early Jimmy Giuffre trio, except that Nat is playing the accordion. I would never have imagined accordion working so well within a jazz context--I would never have imagined accordion reflecting bop influence, but clearly I need to expand my imagination... The rest of the group included Andy Fitzgerald on clarinet, Jack Hotop on guitar, and John Gate Frega on bass. (Frega left the jazz scene in the late 1940s to become a priest.) Somehow they managed to blend a hip sensibility, a modern sound, and unison vocals into something that really projects a magical intimacy. I can't recommend these CDs highly enough! I know that Mooney was also part of a much earlier group, the Sunshine Boys, that had an influence on the Boswell Sisters--haven't been able to track down this material yet, though. (Evidently Venuti or Lang sometimes played with them, but a quick check of the Mosaic box does not reveal Mooney's presence.) Schuller devotes nine pages to Mooney near the end of THE SWING ERA--check it out if you're interested.

Hey Al, check out earlier Organissimo discussion of Television here. Believe it or not, Television--the original band--still gigs from time to time. What I wouldn't give to see that...

Has Johnny E contacted you yet? He's heavily involved in the improv scene there...

I'm not as fond of the metal spines as others, evidently. They do indeed look nice, but they tend towards an unpleasant cracking sensation whenever I'm reading the booklets therein. Glad to hear that the 1963-64 box is rumbling down the tracks, though. Will this be the last one?

And Tom had pretty much quit posting long before the BNBB blew up, owing to his increased responsibilities (at least that's what we surmised, and, I believe, what he himself said). I seriously doubt that he'll be popping in on Blue Note Europe anytime soon.

Ravi played with Elvin?