Saint Vitus

Got this from A.U.M. Fidelity just now. I envy those of you in New York.

I just wanted to say I kinda like that "To Be Real" song. Several years ago I had a neighbor upstairs who would play Mariah Carey loud to mask the noises she and her boyfriend were making . Not sure which I would have preferred.

No Pats fan really liked Bledsoe anyway ... so how can he be overrated?

I agree with your point about Cassell being difficult, but I'm not sure if Hudson has much to improve. He may get better stats ... but at age 27 I think he has pretty much reached the proverbial ceiling.

It is the Bucks Jordan is supposed to be buying, which brings up another strange pick. Why anyone would draft a short PG that can't shoot to save his or his mother's life is beyond me to figure out. They traded Cassell to make room for him and it most likely means that Gary Payton is coming back as well. Though I would have loved to see Payton on the Lakers. The Bucks have good spot-up shooters and having a quick point guard who can penetrate and make good decisions in transition is especially valuable to such a team. T. J. Ford needs to get stronger to defend against bigger guys he will face night in and night out, but I doubt shooting percentage will be one of his problems.

Troy Hudson showed he could score when he takes enough shots ... He didn't prove anything as a point guard. He is a below-average ballhandler and made several horrible decisions during the Lakers series, opting for low-percentage fadeaway jump shots over called-in plays. Cassell will be an upgrade both as a playmaker and as a scorer.

Ok, I knew it was Taylor that caught the TD in the Super Bowl not Rice. I don't remember any regular season game between them well enough to discuss it. It was the season before (87-88) and the reason Montana got another chance was because Sam Wyche, leading by six, went for it on fourth down at his 30-yard line instead of punting with six seconds left ... Wyche called a running play, the run was stuffed for a loss of five, and the Niners had two seconds. Montana hit Rice and the extra point made the score Niners 27, Bengals 26.

So did GregM visit Chicago recently?

I am more interested on how it sounds to how it looks. Only you can help yourself there, I'm afraid.

Yes, it does look awesome ... and it deserves to be seen on the second page as well.

How childish ... Let's see how long you keep this up.

Many good discussion points thus far ... I'm sure many insightful posts will follow rest of the week. It appears Mal Waldron doesn't get mentioned often as a major composer with the likes of Golson, Shorter, and Silver. This album alone shows the quality and range of his compositions. It could be that Mal's piano style is so distinctive as to attract most attentions from the commentators. My first encounter with his name was from a magazine article that focused on his plaintive sound and introspective style on piano. Speaking of plaintive sound, Eric Dolphy's clarinet and Ron Carter's cello pizzicato on "Warm Canto" should take a prize. I often wonder what is so radical about Dolphy's playing ... He sounds just so haunting and beautiful on whatever instrument he uses. Guess I had to be there, huh? As for Carter, yes, there are occasions where the tone and the intonation make this listener wince. But, overall the program is enriched due to his presence. Reading Red's comment about a possible mismatch of Dolphy and Ervin persuaded me to try and think of an instance where Dolphy's partner sounded out of place. I couldn't find one ... Ervin sounds certainly inspired here. Persip's more impressive with his brushwork on slower tunes here ... and he's quite impressive on the burners, too ... as "Status Seeking" here and his work with Dizzy's big band prove.

Just won on e-bay the Sony Mastersound copy of Woody Shaw's The Moontrane for $15.51 (after shipping). A great deal in my estimation. The seller is a newbie, however, and wouldn't even reveal his name. (The guy asked to make a cashier's check out to his initial). So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The Colpix is being released under the supervision of Michael Cuscuna.

Thanks for reminding me of this ... I'm glad that the Verve list looks far better than the list from the company I'm boycotting. Did Chet Baker play A Love Supreme on the Colpix or was there another most important jazz album of 1964/65?

As the titles suggest, these (at least the three that I heard) are light affairs steadily providing easy-on-the-ears, Latin and Bossa beats. If you like what you hear on the title tune from Sex & the City, that's what you'll get from the Hutcherson. But you'd expect better from him. The Crusaders and the Bobo are the others I heard and I remember them to be pleasant. Barnes and Noble, linked from the AMG site, says July 8.

You should revise some of these reviews. Romanticism and sentimentalism explain things so much better, especially in terms of the selection of materials to improvise on. I placed an order to get a couple of her CDs and imagine I'd get a better understanding once I listen to those.

Thanks, gentlemen. Relaxed and folkish, huh? Sounds good. I'll certainly try a couple of her CDs. By the way, the AMG review of Melody includes this nugget: This review sounds good without providing any insight. The Carter proclamation is neither about improvising on the tunes with no melody nor about improvising with no regard to melody. There simply is no contrast here ... unless Arriale's playing keeps a close distance to original melodies on purpose. (If that indeed is the case, I should ask what for.) What is "making a point of composing honest-to-God melodies instead of simply providing lines," anyway? I could think of some possible answers but, really, I thought the age of moldy figs vs. the boppers had come and gone a long time ago.

Driving home from grocery shopping, I heard on a local station a trio interpretation of "Change the World" (the Eric Clapton song from a few years ago). The tune itself wasn't much to speak of ... I'd have preferred if the trio could've found a way to swing the tune more, rather than moving at a slower pace than the original like they did. However, the sound on the piano kept me involved throughout and a few clicks on the 'Net told me it was Lynne Arriale. Well, these things do happen but this pianist has escaped my attention while putting out 8 CDs! It appears her latest CD, Arise on Motema (??), is the one that has the Clapton tune ... but I'd like to hear some learned opinions first.

For My Goal's Beyond try Jazz Loft: http://ssl.adhost.com/jazzloft/baskets/pos.cfm?CD=2702

Yes, they are duplicates.

Curtis Fuller played on Benny Golson's New Jazz (Prestige) sessions just before the formation of The Jazztet. Groovin' With Golson is my favorite.

Click on the picture for the synopsis, which is a reprint of the back cover text shown in the picture. (I'm not in anyway affiliated with the merchant).

3 for $18 on the above items