ghost of miles

In addition to the many outstanding titles listed above, I also enjoy L.A. trumpeter Clora Bryant's GAL WITH A HORN. I believe this is her only date as a leader: Hoping to get the Oscar Moore soon, esp. because of the presence of Carl Perkins.

Any connection, I suppose, with the MyDoom virus? (Sounds like a bad perfume!)

Ignore the crap PR ad from Wal-Mart at the beginning... Popewatches

Much more aggressive, much more overt, and therefore more offputting to those who felt threatened by it. Less of a "pity the victim" and more of a "we don't need you to give us our freedom, we're going to take it all by ourselves, thanks much." All art is indeed political; Eric's question seems to be, "In what fashion do people prefer it? In what ways does it operate more and less effectively?" One could argue that the protest jazz of the 1960s, taken to its extremes, was "crude" compared to other, less overtly angry pieces (like Oscar Brown Jr.'s "40 Acres and a Mule," one of my favorites from that era, where Brown laces the song with a wonderfully acidic humor), but I'd imagine at the time that it seemed wholly appropriate. And still seems so today, to me, in retrospect. I also think there was much more subtlety than is commonly ascribed to the 60's free-jazz movement--the iconic image of an Ayler/Coltrane/Shepp standing onstage and shriek/honking for 45 minutes seems to me far too prominent and reductive an image for that movement.

I'm going to e-mail the Stamford folk about this and other sets that might be in the pipeline... will post back if I get a response. I've been hoping for a Tyner set for years--he's one artist I hope they give a "full box" treatment to, rather than a Select.

Perhaps NoJo is also distantly related to a certain Mr. Mojo Risin, who allegedly slipped the bonds of this mortal coil circa 1971, but who is rumored to haunt convenience stores and truck stops along the American highway, looking for the feast that he was promised.

If RaSha ever gets wind of this, he'll be lookin' to shank somebody...

Thanks, Chrome, I was looking at a copy of TIME'S ARROW the other day and considering it. Why did you find NIGHT TRAIN disappointing? I'll tell you the one misgiving I had about it--I"m still not sure I buy the motivation (or non-motivation, as it were) for the death of Jennifer Rockwell. I was drawn in much more by the story of the detective, actually. But hey, if that's Amis on a bad day, I can't wait to read the better stuff.

The Achtung Red Groper, but of course!

Seems like this piece runs about once a year now... sadly, I guess, because there's some validity to it. Jazz sales were up last year, but solely because of Norah Jones--take her out of the equation, and they declined again. One bright spot is that concert/live performance attendance seems to be holding steady:

If I'm correct, the most significant overlap between the Mosaic and the Sunbeam occurs on Volume 2 of the Sunbeam--is that right? I have 3 and 4 and love 'em (in addition to the Mosaic). Hoping to get 1 & 2 eventually, but I'm a Bix-o-phile, so... I won't mind the overlap. The Mosaic also includes a lot of Frankie Trumbauer and Jack Teagarden, a plus for me, but something else to consider if your primary focus is Bix.

... regarding full box-sets (well, and Selects, too)? Any word beyond what's showing on Alan's Jazzmatazz site? I'm hoping the Woody Herman Columbia is still on schedule...

Fantastic news! Just a couple of weeks ago I was digging the expanded re-issue of STOP MAKING SENSE. I've held off on buying the studio CDs, and glad now that I did... REMAIN IN LIGHT and FEAR OF MUSIC head the priority list, followed closely by MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD.

Spent most of Sunday reading and got through two novels--the above-mentioned FOLDED LEAF and my first Martin Amis, NIGHT TRAIN. Devastating--any other recommendations regarding Amis? I'm currently eyeing LONDON FIELDS and THE INFORMATION.

Good one, ain't it? I just picked it up a few months ago. C Jam All Stars, DIMINUENDO, CRESCENDO AND BLUES Count Basie, GOLDEN YEARS (disc 1) Various artists, INDIANA RAGTIME Ben Webster/Joe Zawinul, SOULMATES Sonny Stitt, SONNY STITT/BUD POWELL/J.J. JOHNSON

Fantastic news, guys, and well-deserved!

I'm running the board this afternoon during All Things Considered, and right now they're doing a feature on Cyndi Lauper. I've frequently heard features during ATC on the artists that I listed above--do they get played much on other public radio stations around the country? Our station's format is classical/news/jazz, and our strong School of Music program here guaranteees that it will stay so. Which is fine, it's a format that I like--but as I said, I'd love to hear more variety!

Hello to Traverse City! My family used to vacation up around Sleeping Bear Dunes quite a bit; I have many great childhood summer memories of Michigan, particularly the L.P. (The U.P. too, although we once drove practically all the way across it one night looking for a motel with a vacancy--does your signal reach that far?) Eric, it sounds as if you're already doing what I'd suggest. I love jazz passionately, and I'm grateful that the public radio station where I work has a committment to jazz (not quite to the extent that yours does, however). I wish that our station, and public radio in general, did more to reach out to the 25-44 NPR demographic. I'd like to hear more Nick Drake, Gillian Welch, Elliott Smith, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, etc. on public radio, as well as "adult alternative" (a dreadful term, I'll be the first to admit) music such as Yo La Tengo. NPR uses a lot of this stuff in the segments that get tapped for "All Songs Considered," and I think there's an audience out there for it--"smart pop," as it were. It's interesting that you do jazz in the daytime and alt. rock at night. My own listening habits are the reverse of that. (Well, sometimes I listen to jazz in the daytime too... because I've got the religion bad. B) ) What proportion of your jazz programming is modern and what proportion is classic? How much emphasis do you put on vocal jazz? My "hunch" is that people prefer vocal to instrumental... don't know if public-radio audience stats would back me up there or not. Great topic! I wish RonF were still around to chime in.

Dmitry, thanks, man, you just made my day. I'm about to begin work on a five-part series about the history of Indiana jazz--David Baker will certainly be a big part of it, esp. when it comes to talking about Indiana Avenue (J.J., Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, etc.). We're hoping to broadcast it statewide through the public-radio network of stations, so I hope your friend gets a chance to hear it. (Probably won't air till fall 2005.) Thanks again.

Neil Diamond, baby! My parents took us to see him in concert about 4 times when I was a kid in the 70s, and he put on a great show. The other day I was rockin' out to GREATEST HITS V. 1.

Trying to sneak in a quick novel--William Maxwell, THE FOLDED LEAF.

And that the artist is not Benny Carter but actually Benny HILL:

Ghostie, That's dirty pool calling up all your lefty friends to pile on me in the politics thread just so we can break a new attendance record. Aw, I e-mailed only 50 of 'em or so... well, and I did send out an APB to the MoveOn mailing list...

Man, that is so sad. I had just recently picked up the 2-CD set of the sessions he did with Nat King Cole... and just a few days ago I was recommending the albums he did with Anita O'Day to somebody here on the board. You will be much missed, Billy.

I just noticed that myself... What's the deal? Must be the spirited discussion in the political forum today. B)