ghost of miles

Now that Universal seems to be re-opening the doors to the vaults, perhaps a Giuffre Verve Mosaic is feasible again. I haven't heard much of this material beyond what showed up on the Konitz twofer several years ago, and I know that THE EASY WAY is slated for re-issue soon. Have to think, though, that this would be a good collection.

Ahhhhh, you know he's got a copy, buried in a closet somewhere... waits till the wife & kids are asleep and then sneaks a few pages every night.

I've been reading James Naremore's MORE THAN NIGHT: FILM NOIR IN ITS CONTEXTS, and I began to think about a movie I saw on AMC years ago that doesn't seem to get too much attention: THE BIG STEAL (1949), with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and William Bendix. Mitchum plays a soldier wrongly accused of stealing a payroll; he goes on the lam to Mexico, taking the always-alluring (to me, anyway) Jane Greer. Remember her in OUT OF THE PAST? She's not so much a femme fatale here, just has a quiet, sexy smartness about her. William Bendix (what's a noir flick without William Bendix, that omnipresent big lug of the 40's) is the man pursuing Mitchum. A lot of great dialogue and a chase-driven plot.

I'm about to bite on that Hal Russell/NRG Ensemble, courtesy of Chuck's not-so-subliminal bait.

James Naremore, MORE THAN NIGHT: FILM NOIR IN ITS CONTEXTS. Naremore's a professor of English and film studies here at IU, and a jazz buff as well; I'm going to have him on as a guest for my jazz in post-WWII French cinema radio program.

Hey all, Here are some links to WFHB, the Bloomington, IN community radio station where I host a jazz program every other week. I'll be playing four or five cuts from Quartet Out's LIVE AT THE MEAT HOUSE, so catch the sizzle this Wednesday night from 6-9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. I have some programs planned for the end of May at WFIU, our local NPR affiliate, but here's your chance to hear Jim Sangrey & co. over the airwaves: WFHB1 WFHB2 If those don't work, try pasting either www.shoutcast.com/sbin/shoutcast-playlist.pls?rn=9054641&addr=129.79.21.137:9198&file=filename.pls or http://129.79.21.137:9198/listen.pls into whatever media player your computer uses. David J. WFHB 91.3/98.1 FM WFIU 103.7 FM Bloomington, IN

Here's a Boston Globe article on the documentary to which the earlier post alludes: Film will aim spotlight on a free-jazz legend By Steve Greenlee, Globe Staff, 12/6/2002 In life, tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler never got his due. He was a leader of the 1960s free-jazz scene, and today he's considered one of jazz's most influential artists, one of the forefathers of the avant-garde branch. Although the critics liked his work, it didn't have many fans at the time. His 1964 recording with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray, ''Spiritual Unity,'' was so different from everything else in jazz - even free jazz - that it frightened people. It still frightens people listening to it for the first time, but now it's recognized as a masterpiece. It's not hard to find jazz artists today who claim Ayler as an influence. Yet, he's still a mysterious figure; no one knows, for example, whether his 1970 drowning in New York's East River was the result of suicide. Brian Carpenter is trying to shed some light on Ayler's life, in filming what is apparently the first documentary about the saxophonist. Based in Boston, Carpenter has crews here and in New York working to assemble a feature-length work about Ayler and his legacy. In conjunction with this project, Carpenter has been producing concerts - and filming them - to illustrate Ayler's impact. The next one will take place Thursday at the Tremont Theatre, where the Other Dimensions in Music group (trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr., saxophonist Daniel Carter, bassist William Parker, and drummer Rashid Bakr) and guitarist Joe Morris's trio (with bassist Timo Shanko and drummer Luther Gray) will perform. ''The Other Dimensions group, we definitely wanted to get them in the Ayler documentary,'' says Carpenter, 30, who moved to Boston two years ago from Florida, where he grew up and went to college. ''Not only because of their tenure - they've been around for 25 years - but because of their telepathy. They make it work. I've seen a lot of bands in free jazz not work. It's very hard to do.'' Carpenter is something of an authority on Ayler. While studying the history of the jazz saxophone years ago, Carpenter was stopped in his tracks by Ayler's music. ''Where in the world did this come from?'' he wondered. ''It didn't seem to fit in the lineage.'' ''Everybody has their first experience listening to Albert Ayler,'' he says. ''You can't listen to it as background. You have to sit down and listen to it. The first record I heard was `Spiritual Unity.' I was frightened by it. I couldn't listen to it. At the same time, I was intrigued. I was moved. ... Now I find it accessible. It's an emotion. It's raw nerve. It's more accessible than bebop, in a lot of ways.'' Today, Ayler is viewed as a prophet who foresaw a new way of presenting jazz and expressing naked emotion. Such respected saxmen as David S. Ware, Ken Vandermark, and Fred Anderson are considered disciples. Guitarist Marc Ribot recorded a solo album last year, ''Saints,'' on which he covered three Ayler tunes. This is the legacy that Carpenter wants to get at. (Carpenter, by the way, moonlights as a trumpeter, playing in a local free-jazz sextet called Beat Science.) He and his crew have been in production since last spring, and they already have 70 hours of film - concert footage, biographical material, and interviews. The documentary will alternate between sharp pictures of concerts and grainy black-and-white segments that tell Ayler's life story. In Boston, Carpenter has been interviewing and filming just about every relevant artist who comes through the city: Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, Ribot, Vandermark - those who played with him as well as those who are influenced by his work. The film is a long way from completion. Carpenter hopes to wrap it up in 2004 and then start taking it around to film festivals in hopes of finding a distributor. ''Who knows what will happen after that?'' he says. ''We'd like to see it on DVD eventually.''

I'm excited, because I'm pretty sure I don't have any of the music associated with the tree. It's also heartening that another avant-garde artist is getting a box (coming on the heels of the news about the Jimmy Lyons collection). Went on a big Ayler kick a few years ago when I first discovered his music (me and a few thousand other listeners, right?), and this news makes me want to pull out a few CDs that I haven't spun in awhile (listened to WITCHES AND DEVILS about two months ago). I'll be interested to read the book, too. Have any of you ever read the Ayler bio that's posted online? AylerBio

Just posted on the Coltrane list: caught evan parker recently which was a real treat -- news for this group is that we found out there that revenant is planning a big ayler project. i found more in the american-statesman: "the next giant revenant project is box set focusing on the late free jazz pioneer albert ayler. 'this is definitely as big as the (charley) patton box for us,' blackwell says. titled 'holy ghost' -- and penciled in for a fall 2004 release -- the projected eight-cd collection is slated to include extensive liner notes, never-before-seen photographs of ayler and his bands, and hours of never-before-released material, including ayler's legendary performance at john coltrane's funeral." the revenant ad in the parker program called it a "multi-disc set" scheduled for summer of 2004. perhaps a revenant set, along with the documentary also planned for 2004, will help bring ayler more of the attention he deserves. and get me those ayler fridge magnets i've been looking for. btw i have a couple of extra programs from the parker show. will be happy to mail 'em to whoever emails me their addresses first -- off-list please.

Last night: Miles & Coltrane Columbia box-set, discs 1-3 Charlie Ventura, disc 1 of the Mosaic set (and now I'm taking the bite on the Proper box) Betty Carter, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MELODY (lovely 1992 Verve release) This morning: Association, GREATEST HITS Ramones, ROCKET TO RUSSIA Ash, 1977 (It's sunny, it's 78 degrees outside, it's the first Monday in May... makes me crave 60's bubblegum and loud punk pop!)

There are two versions of Doris Day & Harry James' YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN currently available. The Sony/Legacy 1999 re-issue was recorded after the movie was made; the 2001 Sound Factory version is the actual soundtrack. There seems to be debate as to which version is better; any opinions from the jazz/vocals experts on the board?

Yeah, I'm definitely going to get it--I think it would make for a very interesting radio program. And the Milton Brown certainly is tempting as well. I really enjoy the Western Swing Proper box that I have.

I've listened to it only once, and I keep meaning to revisit it. I can tell you that this album has been highly influential among younger DJs for the past few years... Lon, in response to your two posts, wasn't this the album that Miles was hoping would really catch the ear of the early-70's young African-American audience? I'm not saying that his incorporation of James Brown and other contemporary funk, etc., was a self-conscious or contrived effort--I think it's what he really wanted to do, and I think your take on the music is quite accurate.

I'm really interested in this set too. Is it all underground German swing--or is some of it the regurgitated propaganda swing that the Nazis produced? (They re-fitted popular tunes with lyrics meant to undermine the morale of the Allies--really ridiculous, the few tracks that I've heard.)

I've been listening a lot this weekend to GOT A GOOD THING GOIN', and it's really whetting my appetite for this Select...

Catesta, Scroll down the board index to the lavender bar at the bottom. The top-10-posters tab is beneath it on the far right.

All right, enough with the dreary debates about petty matters such as SACD and U.S. foreign policy--here is the news of the day! Can a duets recording be far down the road?!? ElvisDiana

Heard just a bit of this the other night on WGBH (Lacy was a guest), with some female spoken-word/vocalizing on the track--would this be the aforementioned Ms. Aebi? It didn't really grab me on first listen.

Last night & today: Gloria Lynne, AT BASIN STREET EAST/AT THE LAS VEGAS THUNDERBIRD Ramones, END OF THE CENTURY (last album on which Phil Spector ever completed production work; hadn't listened to it since I was a freshman in high school, but it holds up pretty well) J.J. Johnson/Kai Winding, JAI AND KAI (new Savoy re-issue) Count Basie, BREAKFAST DANCE AND BARBECUE (damn missing the Mosaic set!)

Somebody is doing some serious digging into the Fantasy catalog!

Gregore?!? Head for the hills, audio infidels!

Thanks for the links, Brad. Michael Bourne, one of the jazz programmers at WBGO, actually came from WFIU, the Bloomington, Indiana NPR affiliate where I now work part-time. He dj'd here from 1972 to 1984.

John Patton, GOT A GOOD THING GOIN' (oh yeah! can't wait for the Mosaic Select) Cats and the Fiddle, START JIVE TALKIN': COMP. RECORDINGS V. 3 1947-50 (thanks, sheldonm!) Charles Mingus, JAZZ COMPOSERS WORKSHOP (Savoy)

Python is classic, of course. Our local PBS station used to run it late at night when I was a kid, followed by a really acerbic, funny British show called Dave Allen at Large: My best friend in junior high & I really dug that show. We always talked about it the next day at school. The religious humor was pretty strong stuff for some people, though.