ghost of miles

Damn--that sure beats hell out of the AMG review!

The major problem for me with Marsalis' prominence in the series stems not so much from his personality--I can actually understand why Burns chose him for a PBS-marketed series--but from (IMO) the sense that he, Stanley Crouch, and Albert Murray are all advancing the same notions of jazz history in the documentary, forming a hydrahead of ideology, as it were. A more diverse group of commentators, including perhaps somebody like Scott Deveaux, would have been welcome, from my POV. Now you've done it, conn--opened up the dreaded & proverbial can o' worms!

Hey, I saw that moniker and wondered... I remember mentioning him on this board once and eliciting several positive responses. I think Dan Gould was still in touch with him and mentioned that he perused this place from time to time. Glad he's here, if it is indeed him.

Sold!

How-do from a resident Hoosier (sheldonm's the other one). And don't let anybody ask you what your favorite color is.

The new kid on the block:

I've got a couple of freebies still coming from BMG, and they have the mini-LP Verve re-issue of Herman's Philips album 1963. Jim Sangrey swears by this period of Herman, and who knows if the alleged Philips "box" will ever come to pass, so I'm thinking of pulling the trigger--any thoughts from those who might already have it?

In memoriam:

Burnsbox

Well, we should have done one for the mothers... but I wanted to say thanks here to my father for all he did for me. He shaped my views on politics, literature, and more, and took me to see Bob Dylan (Street Legal tour) and APOCALYPSE NOW when I was 11 and 13, respectively--pretty cool things for a kid my age to see. He also turned me on to some interesting music, such as Brian Eno's MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS. Much more than that, though, he never gave up on our relationship, even through some pretty volatile periods in my teens and early 20's, and he imparted a sensibility of the humane that I still try--or hope--to emulate. He's a big Ted Williams fan, and at one of our lowest points, when we were barely speaking to each other, I met him for lunch in downtown Indianapolis. At the end of a rather strained conversation, I gave him a paperback copy of David Halberstam's SUMMER OF '49. He walked towards his car, looking down at the book, and he smiled then, and I remember thinking, "I hope we get along again some day." We do, and I'm lucky to be his son.

Yes, I finally got to listen to Disc 2 today, and "Neo" jumped out at me as well. So far (having heard none of this material before), I'm inclined to think that this is a very underrated period for Miles.

I was thinking about starting this thread today anyway, and then saw Chris' topic about the old board. I really miss Joe Milazzo; I know he's active on JC and AAJ, but he's a BNBB vet whose presence would be most welcome here.

A couple of board members have told me that the person in charge of Garner's estate is exercising excessively fastidious restraint regarding the re-issuing of his catalog, which might account for some of the dearth of conversation. I was disappointed to learn that the Garner Mosaic is evidently a no-go as a result of the estate's reluctance to permit re-issues.

I haven't picked this up yet, as I'm planning to fold it & the Green in with the Berigan set when it comes out next week. I do think, though, that the Weston will be the first of the three to be hitting my CD player. And the early sound-quality reports are exciting, too.

Posting in anticipation of when I get home from work tonight: Allen Eager, IN THE LAND OF OO-BLA-DEE Charlie Rouse, SOCIAL CALL Hal Russell/NRG Ensemble, NRG ENSEMBLE Hal Russell/NRG Ensemble, GENERATION (Yes, I just paid a visit to the House of Nessa.)

I'm intrigued by the Andrew Hill sessions that may be lying about, but I have to admit the BN vaults don't loom large in my listening imagination these days--most of what I've hungered for has come out, in one form or another. I'd like to see Mosaic do a complete McCoy Tyner, but that's another matter...

Yep. The Mega-lo Mart (an obvious stand-in for another huge chain store that we all know and--well, see Jim Sangrey's famous Target comparison post).

Not a movie, but... My wife & I are voluntarily cable-less, but stayed last night at a motel in Michigan and decided to check out the Great Satan of Culture for awhile. (How can you say no to "The Simpsons" on a Sunday night?) Did anybody else see "King of the Hill" with Chuck Mangione? "Just some Muzak... just some Muzak." Also caught amazing footage of Tony Blair taking questions in the House of Commons Wednesday night, re-run on C-Span... but I'm going to post about that in that sanguine spot known as the Politics forum.

I'd very much like to see Sony re-issue Bill Evans' LIVING TIME, despite the pan that Yanow gives it on AMG. I've heard good things about this record from a couple of board friends. Of course I'd also LOVE to see Ellington's 1927-40 and 1947-52 catalog done justice too.

Are you sure you don't mean stress inducer?

In commerative honor of my visit to Chuck's place, I hope to one day nominate the following as "Album of the Week":

In addition to meeting Chuck Nessa last Thursday & hanging out at his swell jazz joint, I've also hooked up with sheldonm, once to view the Kerouac ON THE ROAD manuscript down here at the Lilly Library, and once up in Indianapolis to catch the Wayne Shorter Quartet. sheldonm's a great guy who's given me several cool prints of jazz musician photos he took. I've also rapped on the phone with White Lightning and hope to meet him eventually as well. These meetings & calls have led my wife to compose a couplet: Everywhere you go/ there's an organissimo She thinks we're a jazz mafia or something.

Chuck beat me to it with this thread--he is a gentleman & a scholar and a hell of a fun guy to hang out with in the bargain. He played me some amazing tapes, regaled me with stories of recording the Art Ensemble, shepherding Art Pepper around Chicago, and more. I also got to meet his wonderful wife Ann and share a great dinner with them. Many thanks, Chuck, and I hope to see you again when I'm up the Michigan way. P.S. Chuck played me the Buddy Bolden cylinder and it doesn't sound at all like Wynton's imitation of him.

I got to hear only one disc of this (not counting skip previews) before leaving for Michigan, but it does indeed sound great, and I also agree that Eddie Henderson's liner notes could have been supplemented with something else. Can I also just give praise to the re-issue-powers-that-be for the relatively simple and user-friendly packaging of this set? Two slimline doubles enclosed within a slipcase--looks nice, easy to store and play, no need to buy jewel cases--a hell of a breakthrough in box-set design, I dare say!

Checking in from Douglas, Michigan (just 60 miles south of Chuck Nessa's swell jazz joint) where I'm on the next-to-last day of my vacation, perusing the following: Robert Dupuis, BUNNY BERIGAN: ELUSIVE LEGEND OF JAZZ William L. Van Deburg, NEW DAY IN BABYLON: THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT AND AMERICAN CULTURE, 1965-1975 Chester Himes, LONELY CRUSADE Arthur Conan Doyle, THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Henry James, THE ART OF FICTION AND OTHER ESSAYS However, I have no CD player with me and am suffering a serious jazz jones... particularly with the CDs I bought from Chuck smokin' a hole in my suitcase.