ghost of miles

Spending any amount of time on the Sweet Adeline board will yield mostly rumors, an odd detail here or there, and a rather bizarre case of Internet neurosis. That community is obviously still going through some pretty heavy trauma--a lot of rage/denial/grief, and will for some time. The toxicology report should come back any day now, but all that will reveal is whether or not he had used drugs recently. And that alone (if yes) will provide only a reductive answer. There are many crazy stories/theories spinning around out there (and yes, inevitably, some people think he may have been murdered). Hopefully some magazine like Mojo will do a lengthy article about him that sheds a little more light on his final days... in the meantime, here's a link to an article about him in Time Out: Mr.Misery

Here's a link I found today to a bunch of Elliott Smith shows from the past year. Sound is pretty good--a lot of songs here that will probably turn up on the new album, as well as many from the past: Elliottlive

Not a fan these days, but thought you guys might be interested in this proposal to broadcast two Monday night football games.

Hmmm....., Chicago... Hmmm, indeed! The Jazz Record Mart... hmmm. My sister-in-law is the GM of the four-story Borders there on Michigan Ave.... but what can I say, I'm a slut for any of these places, given that they're all only several hours away. It would be cool to congregate during the Jazz Festival & cheer on Organissimo, too, if they get the gig.

Excellent idea. Here's a couple from the recent True Blue list (don't have it w/me--will try to bring it in tomorrow & post the whole thing): Clark Terry/Paul Gonsalves, DAYLIGHT EXPRESS Ornette Coleman, LOVE CALL

Why a duck? Well, I don't know. You try to post there, and you'll find out why-a-duck. When I was driving my Dad home a few weeks ago from a post-op checkup at the VA Hospital, we drove across the Elizabeth viaduct. (here in NJ). He said something about a viaduct and I said "Why a duck?". He responded: "Because it doesn't go over water." Took the wind out of my sails! Glad to know there are more Marxians about. Have you noticed Joe Milazzo's "location" in his avatar? My parents came down here for my birthday the other night, and we began to recite some of our favorite lines (they've become family jokes over the years, uttered at opportune moments): "Ace of spades!" "You omitted them, ay?" "Is this your picture, Chicolini?" "I no think so... it no looka like me." "Upstart!" "Your friend does better asleep than I do awake." Etc., etc.

Is that a Mosaic CD opener you're holding in your left hand, Lon?

Can I just say, in regards to GROOVIN' BLUE, which takes up the first 5 cuts of the Amy Select Disc 2--DAMN!! Carmell Jones, Frank Strazzeri, Bobby Hutcherson--youngsters here & taking no prisoners, not to mention the leader. Disc 1 was all right, but disc 2 just keeps smokin'! And to think that this is leading up to KATANGA...

I've been wondering about this too--some of their sets lately seem to be following closely on the heels of Mosaic sets (Venuti/Lang, Bix & Tram, now the Berigan). I've had a great deal of respect for them in the past, and Clem is right about those Cab boxes, both quite worthy of being picked up. I guess the issue is, are they re-mastering off their own 78s, or are they simply dubbing from the Mosaics? If it's the former, then they're merely guilty of thematically following in Mosaic's footsteps... if it's the latter, then they're stealing Mosaic's work, aren't they?

Yeah, replacing Pettite with Kevin Brown loses them what, 7 years, in terms of an ace pitcher's age? I haven't heard the details of what went down w/Pettite yet, but a big blow... And this rampage to acquire aging, overpriced, past-their-prime stars does remind me of the Boss's track record during the 80's and early 90's... 2004 could be your year indeed, Dan. One thing I'm betting on: it will definitely be Joe Torre's last. Surely he'll be ready to retire. Will Willie Randolph then get the nod?

Kind of goofy article that just came out today in the L.A. Weekly 25th anniversary issue, but thought I'd post it anyway--wish he'd said more about Tapscott!

FINNEGANS WAKE is best read aloud, IMO. There is an amazing musicality to it... (BTW, not trying to claim that I've read it all the way through! My grandfather spent about 10 years delving into it--had a whole bookshelf devoted solely to books about Joyce. And any time that I find myself lacking inspiration in the short-story department, I like to return to DUBLINERS, which is still a classic for me in that regard.)

I voted for Lansing, but either city would work for me--I think I'm about halfway between them.

Hey, that's great, Chris! Yeah, I think it was a novel (his first); I remember it coming out, but I haven't read it yet either, even though I'm a fan. Maybe this thread will motivate me to seek it out the next time I'm at the bookstore.

Chrome, yeah, it was CITY OF GLASS, put out by a sadly shortly-lived press called Neon Lit. I wouldn't have thought that something as tricky as that trilogy could be rendered so well in a graphic narrative, but they pulled it off... It's still floating around used, if at a rather high price: They had another project, long-delayed, which recently surfaced elsewhere: a graphic novel version of William Gresham's 1947 book NIGHTMARE ALLEY. I bought it but haven't read it yet. (The original is very good, now collected in a Library of America volume of 1930s/40s crime stories.) Re: Gaitskill, have you read her last (1997) book, BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO? That had some good stuff in it... Another, even-less prolific writer I like is Marilynn Robinson, who's published only one novel, HOUSEKEEPING (1980). I keep hoping she'll bring something else out as well.

I like 'em too, especially when Daniel Clowes is drawin' 'em!

Not as much of a fiction reader as I used to be, but it still makes the literary charts--right now I'm reading Melville's "Benito Cereno" and Alan Furst's NIGHT SOLDIERS, a historical spy novel (all of Furst's books are set in late 1930s/early 1940s WWII Europe). Also read a lot about 20th century American radicalism and history (esp. 1930s), jazz (of course ), the civil-rights movement... I've developed a penchant for detective fiction in recent years as well. And we have way too many periodical subscriptions at my house--Cadence, the Nation, the New York Review of Books, Newsweek, Poets & Writers, Men's Health--enough already! There's always some stack of half-read magazines/papers sliding around on my study floor or the kitchen table. Thinking about modern writers, I like Paul Auster (haven't kept up with him, though), David Long (BLUE SPRUCE is a wonderful collection of short stories), Jonathan Lethem (just kind of getting into him now--read MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN & would like to read his new one, THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE), and Adam Haslett, whose debut, YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE, really blew me away. And Alice Munro still seems to be going strong. One contemporary fiction author whom I really like, Mary Gaitskill (BAD BEHAVIOR, TWO GIRLS FAT & THIN) has been very quiet for the past few years. She got a Guggenheim last year, so I'm hoping something will be forthcoming...

This came out earlier this year on the Quicksilver label. The line-up features Joe Henderson on tenor (though not on every track), David Friesen on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Very moody, dark-sounding Waldron for the most part, and it's great--I think many here would dig it. He does a solo version of "Chazz Jazz," a nice Golson tribute called "Golden Golson," good cover of "How Deep Is the Ocean" (the only standard--everything else written by Mal, I believe). More proof that jazz was certainly not dead in the 80's, Young Lions aside!

Roy Eldridge Mosaic, discs 1-4 Curtis Amy Mosaic, discs 1-2 Duke Pearson Mosaic, disc 1 Buddy Rich, LEGENDARY 47-48 ORCH. V. 1 (Hep) Sam Donahue, U.S. NAVY LIBERATION BAND (Hep) Claude Thornhill, SNOWFALL & AUTUMN NOCTURNE (Hep) Roy Campbell, NEW KINGDOM Mel Torme, SONGS FOR ANY TASTE Mal Waldron, ONE ENTRANCE, MANY EXITS

We used to have a psychology test that was run every year here at IU. You got paid 10 bucks to drink beer and listen to records for an hour. Never was I more well-qualified for a job!

Hey all, a friend of mine who's been getting into jazz for some time now asked me yesterday about good books on early jazz. I recommended Gunther Schuller's EARLY JAZZ & THE SWING ERA (said friend is a musician), as well as Richard Sudhalter's LOST CHORDS and Allen Lowe's THAT DEVILIN' TUNE. I'm sure I'm overlooking some titles--any others I should mention to him?

Why a duck? Well, I don't know. You try to post there, and you'll find out why-a-duck.

Are there missing tracks from the Eldridge, David? I know they overlooked a couple of tracks on the Hodges set... The reversed-photo business does seem needlessly sloppy, particularly when there were facing reversed-photo pages in the booklet, as I noted earlier. In the end, I'm not too irked--I'm grateful that a company like Mosaic exists to put this music out. But they do seem a bit careless of late. I also wonder if the anticipated "downward pressure" on CD prices will make some of the marginal/occasional buyers more reluctant to bite on a Mosaic.

I'd like to know what fountain-o'-youth products Deus is in the habit of using. Here's me a couple of months ago at the Indiana State Museum, trying to look authoritative during my long-distance-learning lecture on Indiana jazz:

May your vacations grow longer with age! You have the same birthday as my grandmother... Have a great one, Dmitry!