ghost of miles

Warne Marsh, ALL MUSIC Husker Du, NEW DAY RISING Artie Shaw, IN THE BEGINNING Billie Holiday, LADY SINGS THE BLUES Duke Ellington, UPTOWN

Good news about Pullen-Adams--I love what little I've heard. Glad to see Mosaic moving a bit into the 1970s/80s realm.

Listening to "Terms of Psychic Warfare" right now, and suddenly struck by how Dylan-ish Grant Hart could be at times. (Thinking of "Books About UFOs" as well.) Didn't really follow him after the breakup--Bob Mould just a bit (I liked one of the Sugar albums). Big Al, you ever read GET IN THE VAN? It's a not-too bad compendium of pieces about a dozen or so American indie bands from the 1980s and early 90s, Husker Du included.

Recently I finally picked up the CD version of one of my favorite 1980s albums, Husker Du's NEW DAY RISING. Anybody else hooked on this band's white-noise melodicism? Man, I loved these guys--at one time I had the LPs of EVERYTHING FALLS APART, ZEN ARCADE (a double), NEW DAY RISING, FLIP YOUR WIG, and CANDY APPLE GREY, as well as the 45 of "Eight Miles High" (which, fortunately, I hung onto). Bob Mould and Grant Hart each had unique songwriting strengths, and from 1983 to 1987 they recorded an incredible amount of material (not quite on the Black Flag level of three albums a year, but impressive nonetheless). Saw 'em in Indianapolis in 1985 (got into the bar with a truly bogus ID) and they smoked through a 2-hour set that ended with a hair-raising, nearly-apocalyptic "Eight Miles High." By the time WAREHOUSE: SONGS AND STORIES came out, I had drifted away from them, well into my Sonic Youth phase, and to this day I still haven't heard that last record, though friends give it mixed marks. BTW, I believe "Eight Miles High" has been re-issued as a CD5, along with a single from FLIP YOUR WIG that includes their cover of the Mary Tyler Moore theme.

Yeah, memory lane here, that's for sure--hadn't thought about that crew in ages. The VJ I liked came a bit later--"Dave," the sarcastic, shadowy English persona on 120 Minutes. (Not Kevin, whose bright-eyed, goofy/giddy manner used to bug the crap out of me.)

Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. The music, commented upon so eloquently by Lawrence Kart and Jim, is marvelous, but I'm also struck by how good the sound is, even on my computer here at work.

Probably too much to ask for, but I wish Fantasty had put all of the Bud Powell Mythic Sound material out in one set, even if they didn't want to use everything that Paudras had included in his box. Joe Castro--there's a name I hadn't thought of in awhile.

Now it's coming out stateside: TinkerDVD A friend of mine has ordered it and we're going to have a Tinker-fest next week. I just finished the book this morning and am on the prowl for the other two books in the trilogy.

jazz"withstrings" Is it just me, or was Artie Shaw one of the most successful bandleaders at integrating strings into a jazz ensemble? I love the 1941-42 band, and right now I'm finally enjoying his Hep CD IN THE BEGINNING, which features his 1936 band that was augmented by a string quartet. On the Shaw sides, the strings rarely, if ever, seem to overpower either the band or the soloists--they enhance rather than distract, at least for me.

Lon--what about THE SYMPHONIC ELLINGTON? That's one of my favorites, though not really obscure. I'll second Nate's comments on the Konitz/Axel String Quartet record. And Paul, one of the cellists on EASTERN MAN ALONE was David Baker. That record was done in Indpls. in 1967, and I plan on mentioning it in my Indiana jazz series.

That's good news, I think. Anything that improves U.S. distribution for Hep is a happy event in my book. Just got Artie Shaw's IN THE BEGINNING yesterday, the last part of a purchase I made from Collector's Choice, which is currently selling many of the Heps for $12.95 or 3 for $35. I've heard very little of this particular edition of Shaw (the first big band, with a string quartet augmenting it); only disappointment is that this CD, which claims to contain nearly all of the band's recordings, doesn't include "Interlude," one of the most famous early Shaw pieces.

Hoping to finish TINKER when I get home from work tonight--after stopping at our local used bookshop to look for those two titles.

Yeah, I really like that one too, Berigan--I think he wrote it for some kind of composition contest in the early 1930s (I'll have to check Sudhalter's bio again). Sounds rather Bix-influenced, don't you think? (Fancy that!)

Hey all, I'm just now beginning to assemble material for both a five-part radio series on the history of Indiana jazz, as well as a 2-CD anthology of said music, and am going to have to go in search of vinyl for several items... outside of E-Bay, what online sources might you recommend?

Wife taunting me on the phone just now: "Hey, you got some junk mail today that I'm going to go ahead and toss for you..." Me: "It wouldn't happen to be from somebody named Nessa, would it?" Her: "Yeah, that's it. Probably some Michigan mail-order outfit... don't worry, I'm pitching it out right now!"

Dr. Rat, Just remembered another book that might interest you: SWINGIN' THE DREAM: BIG BAND JAZZ AND THE REBIRTH OF AMERICAN CULTURE, by Lewis Erenberg. Here's Booklist's description of it: I picked this up used awhile ago and am just getting around to starting it--will let you know what I think.

The Ink Spots, SWING HIGH SWING LOW Byrds, FIFTH DIMENSION Duke Pearson, MOSAIC SELECT Paul Desmond, QUARTET LIVE Stan Getz/J.J. Johnson, LIVE AT THE OPERA HOUSE Tristano/Konitz/Marsh, COMP. ATLANTIC RECORDINGS

Been listening to FIFTH DIMENSION today (I'm sitting in as host of a morning pop/rock show tomorrow & really itching to play a couple of tracks off it--"I See You" and "What's Happening"). "Mr. Tambourine Man" is what hooked me as a kid, but this album is what made me a trueblue fan. Guy, you're right about "CTA 102"--that song is a big blemish on YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY to me, wish they'd junked it, just too goofy. Here are a couple of websites: byrdwatcher Byrds Did Johnny Rogan's bio, TIMELESS FLIGHT, ever come out? And, last but not least, any other fans here of Husker Du's cover of "Eight Miles High"? I still have the 45 and saw 'em do it live once--wow!

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD?

That's what my wife's reading, too. What's the deal with that book? It seems like the "hot" title lately.

Now reading--and totally engrossed in--John le Carre's TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY. (Also coming out on DVD very, very soon.) I'll definitely be forging on to the rest of the Smiley trilogy after this.

I saw them three times on the GOO tour (once when they opened for Neil Young at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis--now that was bizarre, seeing SY playing in front of 12,000 people, and I think only about 100 of us were there to see SY--though I surely stuck around for Neil--in any case, some older hippies in front of us kept booing them and saying smart things like, "They don't even know how to play their f#@%in' instruments!" ). Wish I'd been able to catch them even earlier--still kicking myself for not blowing off work to go see them at Chicago's Metro during the SISTER tour. Are they breaking up? I'll admit I haven't kept touch with their records for the past 10 years or so, outside of hearing (and admiring) "Diamond Sea" and MURRAY STREET. SY are big advocates of free jazz, btw, and both Ranaldo and Moore have worked with some free-jazz musicians.

I'd run, not walk, to buy the complete Basement tapes. I've spurned the bootleg versions in hopes that Sony will eventually put all of the material out.

Any of our German posters, or others, familiar with this book? I just came across it by accident in the library: Jazzrock&rebels

HoagyJSP