ghost of miles

How could you leave out William "the Refrigerator" Perry?!

Time for only two again, but again a pair of aces: Billy Mitchell, THIS IS BILLY MITCHELL Jimmy Giuffre, THE EASY WAY ...and Sonny Stitt and Mulligan/Hodges on deck for tonight.

It is an interesting period, what with the Americans and the Soviets racing to divvy up Europe, allies who were already viewing each other as future Cold War enemies. That's one of the reasons why I'll probably give THE FALL OF BERLIN a read.

Well said--I agree. The recent Jazz Oracle Jack Purvis set is the same way, and I actually enjoy--from a historical perspective--hearing the musical contexts, warts and all. Now please let the set be there when I get home from work tonight! In the meantime, ordered the Bunny Berigan Hep from Deep Discount--$10.91 total. Yeah, man!

Ouch! Point taken--right in the gut. Were they really that EZ? I've heard only the material with Wes that was re-issued.

Actually, my favorite Pepper dates from the 1970's--the Vanguard box, his work on Galaxy (which reaches into the 80's), etc. I haven't heard any 70's Warne, but hope to grab the Storyville stuff soon. And Chuck's forthcoming re-issue of ALL MUSIC is high on my list of anticipated releases...

Granted I'm an Indianapolis partisan, and it's doubtless been suggested before, but how about a World Pacific/Pacific Jazz Mastersounds set--either Select or regular?

I've been pulling the BMG trigger a lot lately, signing up two friends (and I have a buddy who's signed up his cat--hey, he says he knows people who've signed up "Captain Kirk," etc., but BMG doesn't seem to care) and getting great freebies like Woody Herman's 1963 and the VMEs of BOSS TENORS IN ORBIT & SOULVILLE, + the Jobim Verve 3-CD set for $22, incl. shipping. BMG's jazz selection beats hell out of Columbia House right now, IMO.

Are these straight-up re-issues of the originals? Given the wealth of outtake material that appeared on BIOGRAPH & BOOTLEGS V. 1-3, as well as the aesthetic strength of the LP configurations, I wouldn't be surprised.

I recently ordered from Mr. Tanno and was not going to use PayPal, after reading what some folks on the Internet had to say about it. He accepts international money orders as well; however, my broken collarbone precluded a trip to the post office, so I reluctantly undertook the PayPal route. I also know that they were hacked not too long ago--my wife had to have her credit card changed because of that.

I ventured north to Indianapolis last night w/my wife to catch this concert... highly recommended for fans of either the Jayhawks or Matthew Sweet, who helps front the Thorns. Very melodic, Neil Young and 70's-influenced pop, and both bands did long sets. At the end Sweet joined the Jayhawks for two of their four encore songs. A very good time.

Dave, is THE FALL OF BERLIN written by the same author who did STALINGRAD a few years back? That was a grim read... Late, I'll ask Sean about the Oxford. Good to hear they're putting together that anthology. Another acquaintance of mine, Sascha Feinstein, did his graduate work here and helped Yusef Komunyakaa edit two anthologies of jazz poetry in the 1990's; he now edits a jazz literary magazine called BRILLIANT CORNERS. Melville: I've read only MOBY DICK, BILLY BUDD, and "Bartleby." Meaning, I've read what I had to read in high school. However, my grandfather was a huge Melville-head, and I'd really like to read PIERRE and some of the short stories.

Only a couple today before I had to go to work, but they were long-awaited beauts: Benny Goodman, PLAYS MEL POWELL Eddie Costa, HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHTS

But sometimes they come together and the distinction between the two is blurred. Yes, and I'm fascinated by the intersection. Harold, I think, is simply stating that one should be able to enjoy the music of an artist regardless of political convictions held by either the listener or the artist. Otherwise, you're shutting yourself out of a lot of good music (Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, whose songs form a considerable part of the jazz standard canon, were both hardcore rightwingers, while Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker played benefits for the Communist Party). But the 1930's and the 1960's--two periods in which jazz and politics seemed to twine together more overtly--are very interesting chapters in the saga of the music. David Margolick's STRANGE FRUIT: BILLIE HOLIDAY, CAFE SOCIETY, AND AN EARLY CALL FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, the notes to the recent Vanguard box-set for FROM SPIRITUALS TO SWING, and Valerie Wilmer's AS SERIOUS AS YOUR LIFE all address this issue in one way or another. I'd also recommend sections of Michael Denning's CULTURAL FRONT, Scott Deveaux's THE BIRTH OF BEBOP, and a book I'm currently reading--Eric Porter's WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED JAZZ--for anybody who's intrigued by political influences in jazz.

I just e-mailed Mosaic about the Shaw material & will post their reply.

Are these CD reissues? Jim Sangrey will probably have something to say about Mr. Caliman.

And now--the man, the legend, the BNBB superstar... AricEffron! Welcome, Aric.

Oh, the links my co-workers send me when they're bored... I gotta admit that I perused this one for awhile: TheAList

Rub it in, Tod, just rub it in! I'm hoping mine arrives tomorrow, along with the Weston and the Green.

Praise be to ye, because that sounds wrong. It's a frequently-used allusion in headlines for stories about the Potter phenomenon... in fact, I came across two today after I posted.

Ralph Ellison had some association, too. For whatever reason, good or bad, the Communists were more aggressive about promoting civil rights in the 1930's than anybody else, including the NAACP. There's a good book, COMMUNISTS IN HARLEM DURING THE DEPRESSION, by Mark Naison, that's not too hard to find used online. Also HAMMER AND HOE, by Robin Kelley, which looks at the Communist Party and African-Americans in Alabama during the Depression. James Goodman's STORIES OF SCOTTSBORO provides a lot of insight into the machinations of race and American Communists in the 30's in the context of the Scottsboro trials.

I've used PayPal with him, and he also takes International Money Orders, if you're wary of PP.

Thanks for the tip on this--what issue did it appear in? I've wanted to find that Hamilton album for a long time. Much of THE SUBTERRANEANS, which was out on CD in the early 90's, re-appeared a couple of years ago on a 2-CD anthology of MGM soundtrack jazz: I love Carmen McRae's "Coffee Time"...

I know many will prefer the TOJCs anyway, but isn't GOIN' WEST being "considered" for Connoisseur release? That said, I'm tempted to go for it anyway, along with Mobley's A CADDY FOR DADDY, one of the few Mobley BNs I haven't picked up, on the premise that it will eventually be remastered.

I remember talking about this artist and this release on the old board, and pulled it out this morning for another listen: Newton may be best-known for being the trumpeter on Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," but he led a number of dates of his own. The Jasmine, a 2-CD set, has good sound and features him with Bessie Smith, Teddy Hill, Mezz Mezzrow, and a number of others in addition to his own leader work. A 20-page booklet provides some historical background on Newton, who was also a painter and a participant in leftwing politics. Plus, Deep Discount has it on the cheap: FrankNewton