ghost of miles

Yep, I think that's all that's been confirmed. I've heard rumors of a Gerry Mulligan Songbook Select (not to be confused with the supposedly imminent Concert Jazz Band set, which should be a fullblown Mosaic box), in addition to the news about a possible Crusaders release.

Birthday greetings to Mr. B-3'er, er, Jim. Thanks, too, to you & the rest of the band for providing the exiled Blue Note community with such a great new home. May your CD royalties one day surpass those of Jimmy Smith's!

Actually, I think Late did. (And thanks, Late, for the link to Rosolino--I didn't know that his wife and mother of his two boys had just committed suicide, shortly before his own suicide and shooting of his sons.)

Hey all, I'm doing a radio program tomorrow afternoon from 3:30-5 p.m. EST that draws on a box-set called THE VICTORY COLLECTION: THE SMITHSONIAN REMEMBERS WHEN AMERICA WENT TO WAR. The show will feature topical music from WWII (Wingy Manone's "Stop the War, Cats Are Killin' Themselves," Fats Waller's "That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear," Carson Robison's "Grab a Gun, We're Fixin' to Kill a Skunk" and "Mussolini's Letter to Hitler," as well as some non-box selections like Martha Tilton's "I'll Walk Alone") and American propaganda radio ads, in addition to some bites from interviews with people who lived through the era. Here's the link: WFIU1

I wish Mosaic would do a set of Holmes on Pacific Jazz--e-mailed them about it last year, but they said too much of it had been readily available in the past few years.

Hey all, I'm looking for an OOP 1994 Moon Records CD release of Louis Armstrong entitled RADIO DAYS. It consists of a 1943 and a 1945 broadcast that Armstrong did; I'm particularly interested in getting a copy of the track "Blue Skies," which is a duet between Armstrong and Frank Sinatra (hoping to use it for a July 4 radio program). PM me if you have this and are interested in some kind of trade, CD-R or otherwise...

The RVGs are indeed a big improvement in sound (at least on THE AMAZING BUD POWELL V. 1 and V. 2--the only ones I have so far). However, the Roost sessions, particularly the '47 that leads off the box-set, and the '53 that ends Disc 2 as well, are superlative, and they haven't been RVG'd (and won't be, I'm assuming, as I'm pretty sure Rudy didn't engineer these sessions). The booklet's most interesting segment is an excerpt of an interview that Alfred Lion did with Michael Cuscuna. If you can pick up the box for $30 or so, I think it's worth it, even if you get the RVGs later on.

Alan Wald's WRITING FROM THE LEFT: NEW ESSAYS ON RADICAL CULTURE AND POLITICS. Wald is writing a three-volume history of 20th-century American leftists and authors (only published volume so far is EXILES FROM A FUTURE TIME). Fascinating to read how many radical writers went underground into the pulp industry after WWII; anybody who's interested in leftist culture, history, and art should check out his work.

Kansas City Confidential, a 1952 noir with John Payne (played the young lawyer in Miracle on 34th Street) as a veteran who gets framed for a bank-heist masterminded by a corrupt ex-cop. I think James Ellroy got more than just a title from this flick...

Leroy Vinnegar, LEROY WALKS AGAIN! Various, COMPLETE NOCTURNE RECORDINGS (discs 1 & 2) Various, THE VICTORY COLLECTION: THE SMITHSONIAN REMEMBERS WHEN AMERICA WENT TO WAR Charlie Parker, ROCKLAND PALACE 1952

Interesting that some of us came to vocal jazz later rather than earlier. Many people I know who like jazz entered into it through vocal jazz, primarily, I think, because they were used to hearing songs with words, and it was a more comfortable point of departure on the jazz journey. I was always drawn to the well-known greats, such as Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Jimmy Rushing (who gave me my first moment of jazz satori), and Sarah Vaughan. These days I listen to a lot of vocal jazz; some of my current faves include Teri Thornton, the aforementioned Nina Simone and Betty Carter, Anita O'Day, Una Mae Carlisle... more than I can think of right now, actually, and I always seem to be discovering new ones.

Jim, Thanks for the extensive, thoughtful, and well-written review. I solicited this as a promo for our community radio station and it hasn't shown up yet--if it doesn't come soon, I'll probably buy it. I'll probably buy it anyway, because it sounds like something I'd like to have to listen to around the house, and because I'd like to support the artist. There is something about straightahead jazz played by vets like Freeman, Mariano, and Edwards, guys who hit their late 70's/early 80's and still have their chops, that just can't be replicated by anybody else. Whenever I hear Freeman playing "I Like the Sunrise" from THE IMPROVISER, I get choked up--I feel like I know the man, as well as you can know anybody from a recording. I feel all of his years in that sound.

Moi aussi, mon confrere. I'm hoping it shows up before I leave for vacation.

The Impossible Shapes, LAUGHTER FILLS OUR HOLLOW DOME (great Bloomington underground pop band) Killer Ray Appleton, KILLER RAY RIDES AGAIN (Indy drumming legend w/Slide Hampton and Charles McPherson) Martha Tilton, COMPLETE CAPITOL RECORDINGS

Hey, just ducked out of work for an hour or so to catch the drummer Killer Ray Appleton at Bear's Place, a Bloomington bar that features jazz on Thursdays. I got a chance earlier today to interview him for my series on Indiana jazz; he grew up in Indianapolis and got his nickname from his playmates Freddie Hubbard and Larry Ridley when he was 8 (they had just gotten a Charlie Parker record and Appleton was flailing sticks as he attepted to follow along to Max Roach). Appleton got his first gig with Wes Montgomery when he was only 14, played with David Baker's late-50's quartet, and split to New York when he was 19. He's on Freddie Hubbard's 1966 record BACKLASH, as well as John Coltrane's 1966 record COSMIC MUSIC (why hasn't that been re-issued? I'm assuming Alice has the rights and is holding it back for future consideration). Anyway, Appleton's playing in Indianapolis Saturday night, for any posters besides Sheldonm (who plans to be there) who live in or around our environs.

Burn, baby, burn. IMO, anyway. (I'm referring to CD-Rs, of course. ) Not advocating it--but I do think it has a lot to do with the drop in sales, along with file-swapping and diversion of money to other forms of entertainment. (These kids and their crazy computer games! And some of these kids are in their thirties--or forties!)

Ahhh... I'd suspected something of the sort, given the roughly similar timing of the movie & MOODSWING's release. Thanks, David

Ditto on the Roost set. The sound will probably be better, too--Proper sets tend to be uneven, in my experience.

I have to admit that I nodded off on Frisell several albums back... although I liked the one he did with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones. I should give his recent material another chance, but the Americana turn didn't interest me too much.

At WFHB and WFIU-Bloomington I don't have an audience anywhere near the size of Jim Wilke's "Jazz After Hours," but on Wednesday, June 4 I'm going to feature Organissimo's WAITING FOR THE BOOGALOO SISTERS, along with two cuts from Quartet Out's LIVE AT THE MEAT HOUSE that I haven't played before, and Chuck Nessa's recent re-issue of Roscoe Mitchell's SNURDY MCGURDY AND HER DANCIN' SHOES. (And, if it comes in time, the new Miles Blackhawk set.) I'll post the links a day or two before.

Yeah, I saw that too. I'm holding off on ordering the Green/Weston Selects until I can throw 'em in with the Berigan and save a couple of bucks on shipping... of course, this gives me more time to "inch" towards including the Krupa/James as well, thereby wreaking fiscal devastation... BUT, I'll save a few bucks on the shipping!

Organissimo, WAITING FOR THE BOOGALOO SISTERS (mmmmm....) Cannonball Adderley, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (uh-huh) JImmy Smith, ROOT DOWN (yeah!)

Elmo Hope, SOUNDS FROM RIKER'S ISLAND (thanks to an Organissimo Fellow) Gene Krupa, Proper Box Disc 2 Chick Corea, RENDEZVOUS IN NEW YORK Freddie Hubbard, BACKLASH

Well, the Yanks are starting to hit again, but Contreras gave up five runs in relief tonight--looks like NY is going down to the Bosox and will be tied for first again in the morning. And Pedro didn't even start as scheduled tonight! It'll be interesting to see Clemens go for win no. 299 tomorrow night at Fenway.

Then there's the Bird's Eyes series if you want to get really crazy. I've picked up a couple that had specific live dates and/or interviews that I was interested in (Bird with Kenton, Bird being interviewed by Paul Desmond, etc.).