ghost of miles

We be cookin' with gas!

I love what Frank Morgan I've heard. A couple of weeks ago in our local used bookstore I ran into a guy named Pete Amaral, who plays drums with Junior Brown, and who has played with Frank a lot in the past. He just went on & on about what a great guy & musician Frank Morgan is; had nothing but praise for him. He really is one of the last of the old Central Avenue scene, isn't he? At least I can't think of anybody else still alive who emerged from that particular world. (I must be overlooking some folks here--Snooky Young? Others?)

Yes, some friends & I did it once. Pretty psychedelic & much easier on the ol' brain cells. As I recall, you're supposed to cue the CD at the third roar of the MGM lion.

I knew I hadn't heard it all when it came to Bird's death... I eagerly await Jerry Falwell's next videotape, in which he will substantiate his claim that an eight-year-old Bill Clinton coolly murdered Bird for his mojo.

Who the hell is Dr. Progresso?

Contemplating this ever since the recent suicide of singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, which sparked quite a wave of grieving on the Internet. Although known mostly to the mainstream listening public for his Oscar-nominated "Miss Misery" (from the GOOD WILL HUNTING soundtrack--he lost out to Celine Dion for the TITANIC theme), he had an intensely devoted following in the indie-rock world. His fans tended to regard him in religious-like terms; he was called things like "the pop messiah" and "the Buddha of the brokenhearted," and his death therefore provoked a similarly passionate response. Smith was 34, the same age as Charlie Parker when Bird died in 1955. I know some board members were alive & cognizant of the jazz world at that time; how quickly did word travel in that Internet-less, much-less-media-connected world? Did those who knew him only through records and performances feel like weeping, grieving, etc.? I just compare Parker to Smith because they both were all but worshipped in their respective musical worlds (both also had enormous problems with heroin and alcohol). Parker was obviously much more of a revolutionary, who changed the course of jazz far more than Smith did the course of indie rock; nonetheless both had a messianic appeal to their followers. I've read several Bird books, with the stories (apocryphal?) of "Bird Lives" appearing shortly after his death on walls around NYC. (And let's not forget the story that there was a tremendous clap of thunder at the time of his death.) Somewhere I read a story about Jackie McLean seeing news of Bird's death in a newspaper headline, and feeling even more devastated because he had been rude to Bird the last time that he saw him (I think Bird had borrowed Jackie's horn and then hocked it). Some artists become legends when they die. Seems to me Bird was already a legend when he died, and that the true history of it is hard to determine through all of the mist of mythology. Grist, I suppose, for whomever the gritty, levelheaded writer is who sits down to write a no-nonsense Bird bio.

Reminds me that I need to get a new battery for my old Blue Note Connoisseur timepiece. I'm not normally a watch-wearer, but I love that one.

No takers for Manny: Ramirez I think the Yanks should give Boone a chance at third. But agreed about two pitchers, right field, and middle relief. Those positions needed to be dealt with whether or not NY won the Series, though; my anxiety now is that Steinbrenner will tear everything up. Much of their success in the mid-to-late 90s, IMO, stemmed from the two years he wasn't involved with the team. They were able to build in a way that they've rarely been able to do during the Boss's tenure.

I think there was some discussion of this on the old BNBB. If you can find it used (or remaindered--I hear they really overprinted it), I'd definitely pick it up. Giddins' portrait of the late-20's/early-30's Whiteman/Bix/Bailey scene really made the book for me. Yes, Giddins is exhaustive regarding Bing's childhood & other areas that might not be quite as interesting. The evolution of BC as a cultural icon is fascinating to me, though, so I didn't mind it as much, and look forward to reading at least the 1940s part of the second volume (Part 1 ends around '39, I think). Lon read this book as well & might have some comments to offer.

I'm listening to this CD all the way through for the first time after having sampled some of it the other night. What are others' impressions? I find myself liking it a lot, but perhaps that's because the sound seems to harken back to that of NEW MOON DAUGHTER, which remains my favorite BN album of hers.

Have any of the Rogers Atlantic or EMI recordings been available recently as single CDs?

BOO, etc.

Now playing: Philly Joe Jones, BLUES FOR DRACULA

I know the Brookmeyer and Shank/Cooper Selects are slated for January, or thereabouts. Any confirmation on regular or Select sets to follow (that goes beyond Alan's site listings)? At one point I heard that the Woody Herman Columbia was targeted for the spring...

Ha-cha-cha! This one will definitely be appearing in my "December listening" posts.

This board hipped me to this artist, and Steve Schwarz hipped me indirectly to his new release, which I just got as a promo a couple of days ago. Pelt plays in a quartet setting on some tracks (Mulgrew Miller, Peter Washington, Lewis Nash); on some tracks they're augmented by a string quartet and/or guitar. Nice selection of tunes by Mingus, Pepper Adams, Jimmy Rowles, Ellington ("Don't You Know I Care," a nice solo flugelhorn performance); nothing that's been done into the ground. I hear traces of Lee & Woody influence, but the guy really does seem to be developing his own sound & voice. A very laidback CD; I'm going to check out INSIGHT later on. Always great to discover a young, promising artist--thanks to youse guys for pulling my coat!

EASY PIECES was my Lloyd Cole poison of choice, Tony. I saw him at the Vogue in Indpls. circa '91 and got drunk to his records a few times as well ("Why I Hate Country Music," anyone?). Throwing Muses were a big influence on Arson Garden, a Bloomington band started by a friend of mine that met with some middling indie success before succumbing to bad label luck. I saw them open for R.E.M. on, good Lord, was it the GREEN tour? (Yes, yes, I was still following them at that point, but my heart belongs to the I.R.S. years.)

Still reading PRESS BOX RED, but now I have a work book started... I tend to have a book that I read while eating breakfast, a book that I read while sitting in my study, and one that I read while taking breaks at work. A little crazy that way! In any case, I am starting James Ellroy's WHITE JAZZ for the third time. I've blitzed through most of his other books, but for some reason the style is SO amphetamine-jagged in this one that I always end up putting it down after about 50 pages. I figure that reading it in short bursts at work might just do me the trick of getting through it.

Coming next in the Rhino Handmade Series:

Hey, I've seen Aebersold play a few times at Bear's Place here in Bloomington--they do a series called "Jazz Fables" every Thursday night. Heard it for the first time (as in purchased an LP & listened to it) when I was 19. Got religion around age 26. Still in the church & ain't leavin'.

Jeremy Pelt, CLOSE TO MY HEART Elvis Costello, NORTH Cassandra Wilson, GLAMOURED Harry James, Mosaic disc 7 Count Basie, AMERICA'S #1 BAND (all of it)

All I can say is that this makes me less than optimistic about 2004. In any case, nothing Steinbrenner does will make a difference regarding the Yanks' fate in the WS--he's better off doing all he can to help a Democrat win the presidency so that NY has a chance in 2005. Beware the curse of the GOP!

The "King of Pain":

Nope. That's one I meant to mention, Paul. Haven't listened to it in awhile, but it made a strong impression when I first encountered it.

Ah, yep, Nate, you beat me to it with those two suggestions, in addition to Chuck's recommendation of AN IMAGE (one of my faves). Might I also toss Bob Graettinger's work with Kenton into the mix?