ghost of miles

Well, Classics, they put out a lot of stuff that nobody else will touch, God bless 'em, but their omissions sometimes drive me nuts. I was really happy to pick up the recent Hazel Scott 1939-45 release--heretofore I've heard only a couple of cuts from this period on a Bluebird "Women in Jazz" anthology. So yesterday I'm sitting around reading Michael Denning's THE CULTURAL FRONT (great book on 30's political/art movements), in which Scott receives some discussion. Denning mentions two tracks that Scott recorded in 1940 on a 78 for the Theater Arts Committee (don't ask unless you're a serious 30's radical buff like me): "The Yanks Aren't Coming" (non-interventionist tune, obviously) and "Mene, Mene, Tekel" (a song from the leftwing musical PINS AND NEEDLES, written by Harold Rome). They ain't on the new Classics. I'm sure they were either too obscure to be known, or else Classics couldn't find a copy (wouldn't surprise me). In any case, AMG doesn't list any recordings of either tune w/Hazel Scott as a performer; does anybody out there in Internet land have this music, or even know of it?

Well, Pettite made up last night for blowing Game 6 against the Sox, and the Yanks finally began to hit a bit. Now to Florida, where Mussina--who pitched well as a reliever in Game 7 and as a starter in Game 4 of the ALCS--will try for his first postseason win this year. The Yanks will have a hard time beating Beckett, though. I'd still say slight odds in favor of the Marlins, esp. given their taking of Game 1 (NY hadn't lost a World Series game at home since dropping the first two games of the '96 WS to the Braves). As a secondary Bosox fan, I hope that Grady Little comes back, too. I understand the anger & frustration, but until his bad decision Thursday night, everybody in the baseball world was talking him up as one of the primary reasons that the Sox were there. And I'm more than a little put off by Boston's new owners--are they competing w/Steinbrenner in the obnoxiousness category as well? Call me a sentimentalist, but I miss Tom Yawkey...

Johnny, Definitely hit me re: WFHB 91.3/98.1 FM Bloomington, IN (the community radio station where I work, as opposed to the NPR affiliate). There's at least one other show besides mine at WFHB that plays out jazz, and I will hip them to your release... if you need the direct address info again, drop me a PM.

On my mind simply because today I cleaned the gutters. Lots of clambering about on a ladder and the roof, yanking out plugs of mucky leaves, getting blackish crap all over my gloves & clothes--gotta be one of the things I like least when it comes to doing work around the house. I always give myself some kind of incentive, such as, "When I finish this f#*#ing job, I'll sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy the new Lee Morgan and Andrew Hill Connoisseurs." What's your least favorite job at home?

BTW, speaking of 2-CD blues sets, BMG currently has THE ESSENTIAL SONNY BOY WILLAMSON on its clearance list for $3.99. With shipping and handling it comes to about $9--not bad for a double-disc overview of SBW's Chess & Checker career. Only catch is that you have to already be a BMG member to get access to the clearance list.

The real reason why the Yanks won Thursday night: the pizza sent that very afternoon to the gravesite of Babe Ruth.

That Ayler box will be something to see (and hear!). Better start savin' my pennies....

DaveJames, please feel free to join the Organissimo Yankee Fan Support Group along with yours truly, Paul Secor, and PhillyQ. I've been a Yanks fan since '74 (Bill Virdon era); picked 'em because I was an eight-year-old Civil War buff at the time and a HUGE fan of the North (aka Yankees). Weird reasoning, huh? After the vast desert that was the 80's and the early 90's, the Torre era has been quite a ride! I think the only team I can 'fess to absolutely hating is the Dallas Cowboys. Their smug, "God-is-on-our-side-cuz-we're-Texans" attitude has always put my nerves in a tizzy. I used to give 'em a pass as a kid because Tom Landry was the coach, but when they replaced him with Jimmy Johnson, they went from class to ass. I never fail to crack a smile whenever they lose.

Just mentioned this in a PM to Dan, but here's my own "curse" theory regarding the Yanks and why they will lose to the Marlins. Ever since being purchased by George Steinbrenner (who faced criminal charges for financial skulduggery related to Nixon contributions), they have been unable to win a World Series whenever a Republican president is in office: Year President World Series 1976 Ford ® Cin 4, NY 0 1977 Carter (D) NY 4, LA 2 1978 Carter (D) NY 4, LA 2 1981 Reagan ® LA 4, NY 2 1996 Clinton (D) NY 4, Atl 2 1998 Clinton (D) NY 4, SD 0 1999 Clinton (D) NY 4, Atl 0 2000 Clinton (D) NY 4, NYM 1 2001 Bush ® Ari 4, NY 3 2003 Bush ® ????? Doesn't look good for the Yanks!

Dan summed things up very nicely, especially to the Yankee Nation. I think I'll pass on Dan's, ah, "invitation." As a Yankee fan I was astonished (and grateful) when Little didn't pull Martinez in the 8th. I was listening on the radio, so I hadn't seen the contact that was being made, but from Joe Morgan & co.'s description it surely sounded as if Pedro had run out of gas. He was at 115 pitches! That said, going into extra innnings I still felt that the Red Sox had the advantage. Going into the bottom of the 10th, Rivera had now pitched two innings (yeah, I know Jeter said Rivera used to be a starter and could've gone longer than 3, but Torre didn't think so--wasn't Contreras warming up when Boone hit his homer?) and Boston had yet to use Wakefield or Williamsen. By the time the bottom of the 11th rolled around, Rivera was now either gone or pitching longer than he had since 1996--and, as I said yesterday, I don't think Torre trusted anybody else in the bullpen against Boston (hence his use of Mussina and Wells last night). This is going to be a big problem for NY against the Marlins; if their starters don't go 7, they get into trouble. And who are they going to start tomorrow night? Contreras? Ya got me... If I had to bet on the Series, I'd give slight odds to the Marlins. I know it won't have the romance of Boston-Chicago (or New York-Chicago, the Series that I--and no doubt Fox--was dreaming of), but game-wise I think it's going to be a great one. Much, much respect to the Red Sox. I'll spare you the rest of the sports-announcer cliches, but what other two teams could play 26 times in one year and go down to the wire like that? Talk about adding another incredible chapter to the lore of these two clubs... Memo to Grady Little and Dusty Baker: Gentlemen, regarding the overextended use of your aces in the late innings... get a f#%@ing clue! Recommended offseason reading: THE YEAR THE YANKEES LOST THE PENNANT, by Douglass Wallop. Published in 1954 and the basis for DAMN YANKEES, but more enjoyable than the musical, IMO. Great baseball novel.

You beat me to it, Eric. I've long wanted to start a Television thread, and now's a great time for one, as Rhino recently re-issued both MARQUEE MOON and ADVENTURE, as well as releasing a concert CD, LIVE AT THE OLD WALDORF, as part of their Handmade series. Lots of good talk about Television in Clifton Heylin's FROM THE VELVETS TO THE VOIDOIDS; they were strongly influenced by Ayler and late Coltrane, among others. Certainly I hear much free jazz influence in Lloyd & Verlaine's guitar lines. I'm disappointed by how little the Rhino re-issues add--there is some prime Television sitting in the vaults, much of it with Richard Hell on bass. If you can find the bootleg DOUBLE EXPOSURE, it makes for a worthy addition to the public canon of the band.

Rumor is he's planning to sell his house and move out of the Midwest. That's really sad--people need to let it go. I agree with Dan; Chicago will get another shot at it, sooner rather than later.

It's part of baseball lore now. I do really feel for that guy--yet another reason I wanted so badly to see Chicago win tonight. That's a mistake he's going to be a long time living down.

Who's to say that's going to happen? God only knows w/the Yanks and the Bosox this year; NY took the regular season series 10-9, and now they're tied at 3-3 in the playoffs. This will be the first time in baseball history that two teams have played each other 26 times in one year. Like I said yesterday, no way would I count Boston out. I think Clemens and Martinez will both throw great games tomorrow night. Torre better hope he can get 7 out of Roger because I don't think he trusts the bullpen against Boston outside of Rivera. Wakefield will undoubtedly be on tap for the Bosox in the late innings. It's gonna be a war of inches...

Can't believe I've never read it before, but OUR TOWN, by Thornton Wilder. And getting ready to start EUGENE DEBS: CITIZEN AND SOCIALIST, by Nick Salvatore. Love those Hoosier radical roots!

Awful. Florida was the only team I could not stand to see in the World Series. I hope Boston or New York kicks the s%#@ out of them. There are a lot of baseball fans in the Midwest with broken hearts tonight.

Up for Mike Fitzgerald next time he happens round these parts. I'm at work, but I'll try to check my copy of RAT RACE BLUES when I go home tonight to look for more info on Williams.

No way would I count Boston out. As for the Cubs, they've still got home-field advantage, but tomorrow will be a real test of whether they can come back from a collapse like that. Linked from the Cubs fans' message board:

WTF?!

Yanks are goin' back to the Bronx up 3-2! Man, I can't believe they took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox in Fenway. No guarantee they'll get the pennant, though--this has been a great series so far, and NY won the season series only 10-9, so I ain't countin' on nothin'. Interesting--NY's 7-0 in the playoffs when Mussina doesn't start, 0-3 when he does. He pitched a lot better last night than in his previous two outings, at least. C'mon, Cubs!

Never stopped Buhaina. Nor has any religious faith ever kept some of its practicioners from doing things seemingly at odds with their beliefs. I'd heard stories before to the effect that Young had, at the very least, dabbled. It doesn't detract at all from my enjoyment of his music--just makes me bummed if it indeed played a role in cutting his life & career short.

Isn't there alleged to be a tape of a Young/Coltrane practice session floating around somewhere? That would be cool to hear. In the liners to 'Mothership' Michael Cuscana writes that no documentation of the events exist. This sounds right, but it could also mean that no known tape exists. It would be nice for something like this to turn up. Also not be off topic, but in the liner notes it also said that Larry died in the hospital due to negligence. What was he in the hospital for? And what exactly happened? My memory of where I heard that a tape might exist is extremely sketchy. If one does, it's probably in the possession of the estate, which means that it would be up to Ravi & Alice as to whether to release it or not. But so far I can't even confirm the rumor that I heard/read. I'll second Chuck's recommendation on the Jimmy Forrest Delmarks.

What a fool I am! I got one of these and just, ah, deleted it. Guess I won't be joining you guys in fatcat land...

Dan, That's how it was being reported on one of the wires last night... I don't know if this rotation is still holding true today.