ghost of miles

I've always wanted to take that underground tour, and I'd definitely like to check out the jazz shop. I'm going to be in Port Townsend next spring or early summer--I'd like to look you up while I'm out there, Johnny, and take the ferry over to Seattle one day.

I'm pretty sure Woody Allen, quite early in his career, actually wrote jokes for Bob Hope. Hope actually owns all of the jokes that were written for him, and they're stored away somewhere (learned this in a profile of Hope that ran in the New Yorker several years ago). My favorite Hope film is THE LEMON-DROP KID, which my wife and I watch every December. "But Moose, I haven't got ten grand on me (turning to Sam the Surgeon) or in me!"

Ornette Coleman & Charlie Haden covered the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman theme on SOAP SUDS. Just my odd note of jazz trivia--it was a really good show.

I'm hoping to pick up the two DVD sets of Peter Gunn later this year--ED! sparked my interest on the old BN board with a thread about that show, and I'm really interested in the portrayal of jazz in film and television. I'd be curious to see All In the Family again, wondering if it's aged badly. That show seemed to be to the 70's what I Love Lucy was to the 50's. I also watched a lot of reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show as a kid--hell, I watched a lot of tube, and I read a lot and played a lot outdoors too. On top of school, I can't figure out how I had so much time on my hands.

I was perusing the jumptheshark site tonight as work slowed down and looked up a favorite childhood show of mine--The Six Million Dollar Man. Funny that I always made sure to catch the opening credits, as I loved that sequence, and only recently found out that none other than the great Oliver Nelson wrote the music for the show. God, I'd forgotten how ludicrous some of the plots were, though! Like the classic two-part Sasquatch/space aliens show, with Sasquatch played by Andre the Giant: Here's the description of the plots: Wow! As an adolescent, I watched Hill Street Blues religiously. I also caught many, many reruns of Sanford and Son. My wife and I have deliberately lived without cable for several years now, but I tell ya, I feel myself weakening sometimes, particularly whenever I see a TVLand schedule (or TMC, when it comes to movies).

Right now Eric Jackson's got Steve Lacy & Danilo Perez on as his guests.

Kari, We got a promo of this at one of the stations where I program. Hoping to listen to it in the next several days and will try to post my impressions.

The release date is now June 3: Blackhawk

Same here... I picked up the Roulette several years ago and listened only once or twice to it, then pulled it out again recently and liked it much more. (Traded it in today for the new John Patton.) I've never heard any of the other records, so this will be an exciting set to get. Weizen, did you go for the Bennie Green as well?

It might be interesting to hear a compendium of Berigan sound-alike tracks. They did something like that in the Bix Restored LP series; it's supposed to come out on CD later this year or next.

This was a duo session, recorded in December 2001. Palmetto says it's "coming soon."

In the spirit of the "now reading" thread, and assuming that there are many habitual movie-watchers among us... THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951). Just picked up the 2002 DVD of this, which has a 75-minute documentary on the making of the film, a great 1951 Cold War newsreel about a failed world peace conference, and some other cool features. The movie holds up really well, given that it wasn't effects-dependent--I love the opening scene in which the spacecraft cruises over all of the D.C. monuments and lands on a baseball field, causing mass panic. Next up: SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982).

Looks like a very tasty set--thanks for the heads-up.

Youse guys are heartless--these fishies have feelings after all! fishfeel

Today I listened to the legendary Ellington-at-Newport-'56 performance of "Crescendo and Diminuendo in Blue," for the first time in a couple of years. I played it for my wife, who had never heard the famous 27 chorus Paul Gonsalves solo, and hearing it again whetted my desire to seek out more Gonsalves. The only CD I have with him as a leader is ELLINGTONIA MOODS AND BLUES--any other recommendations that fall outside of his work with the Ellington orchestra?

I know you're just looking for the single disc, but don't rule out getting the Mosaic eventually... It's become one of my favorite Mosaics, and it showcases Ellington in a number of different settings--doing covers of other big bands' hits, some songs of the day, the jazz violin sessions, the symphonic-Ellington sessions, the Mary Poppins soundtrack (quite good!) and the aforementioned afro-bossa, as well as a nice take on "Rhapsody in Blue"--really a great batch of music from the Duke.

This sounds interesting for Berigan fanatics. Buried in the discography notes:

Tom Tomorrow: thismodernworld

For me it used to be "Welcome," but lately I've really been getting into his recording of "My Little Brown Book" with Ellington.

Put my ballot in for ANDREW!

Hmm--I thought we already had a thread on this board, but my searches failed to find it--I must've goofed somehow.

There was some discussion of this set's forthcoming release on that other board we all used to frequent (and I don't mean AAJ or Harlem). Today I finally finished listening to it and can give it a hearty endorsement for anybody who likes or loves early jazz and hot trumpet playing. The English researcher who helped spark this set uncovered more than 400 sides on which Purvis--a flamboyant, unstable musician who grew up in Kokomo, Indiana--played. Those were pared down to about 70 for the 3-CD Jazz Oracle set, which comes with a 60-page booklet, including a biography of Purvis and notes on the music by Michael Brooks. Purvis had an erratic but intense sound, and it's fascinating to hear him with Hal Kemp and other lesser-known bands of the late 20's and early 30's, as well as with the Boswell Sisters on two tracks. Hearing Purvis' unpredictable trumpet among some tracks that undoubtedly were pedestrian in their day gives one a broader context of the jazz/entertainment sounds of the times; it's easy for a listener like me to forget sometimes that not everybody was Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Bix, etc., and that a lot of interesting players were recording in so-so musical settings. Anyway, definitely worth it for those with a predilection for the era: Purvis

Congratulations, man--it's your Jesus year! Have a good one, and try not to get crucified.

Last post o' the month for me in this thread: Louis Prima/Wingy Manone Mosaic, Disc 4 Jack Purvis, JACK PURVIS (Jazz Oracle set, disc 3) Vandermark 5, AIRPORTS FOR LIGHT Betty Roche, LIGHTLY AND POLITELY and... Love Oscar Brown Jr.!

Weizen's GOP spin cycle?