Spontooneous

Yeah, but what if he'd done a switcheroo on you and published "La Mer" as "Symphony No. 1, Op. 11"?

Came home from the used CD dumping grounds today with a disc featuring a string quartet by Matthijs Vermeulen, whose Symphony No. 2 on this disc has messed with my brain. It'll be my late-night listen tonight. (Still can't believe 7/4 doesn't have the Schoenberg Quartets 2 and 4 memorized yet, or the Bergs.)

A quick tangent: This Arthur Berger CD is extraordinary.

No more love for the Hindemith quartets, people? OK, maybe not. But Op. 22 is a good 'ern.

Another advocate for the Krenek cycle here. A long evolutionary arc. Might not need to hear the whole Martinu cycle -- he was quite the scribbler -- but the Fifth is an extraordinary work.

Look at the original story again. The mistaken info came directly from the seller, saying things he believed to be true at the time. Not much "research" that can be done on that. The ability of the press to check on people's bank accounts is slightly limited.

Up because yesterday would have been Fiddler's 100th birthday. In Kansas City, we celebrated with an all-night jam at the Mutual Musicians Foundation. (I admit to leaving about 3:30, but Everette DeVan still had the session going strong.) Blanche was there until about 2:30, looking healthy and happy and enjoying it all. Attendance was remakably good for a frigid and icy night. Good vibes all around.

Perhaps the buyer unregistered himself to avoid a flood of inquiries and unwanted attention?

Better check some of those for Strayhorn credits.

...or to put the tracks back in session order, instead of the hideous, arbitrary sequence of the LP.

Why not "Countdown" and "Happy House" too?

We need to add these facts to the Wikipedia entry on Bird real soon. Because if we don't, Stanley Crouch will.

Jimmy Heath still bristles at being called "Little Ostrich."

The incessant, infernal chirping, of course, is why Art Blakey killed him.

Who's the groaner, Danko or Lightsey?

OK, time to incriminate myself... 1. Even before the head is done, you know it’s Hawk. In a standard quintet, with a drummer on the corner where swing meets bop. At first I thought this would be the record Hawk made with Clark Terry, but that definitely ain’t Clark. Sounds more like Idrees Sulieman, but it ain’t “The Hawk Flies High” either. There never was a Hawkins/Byrd collaboration, was there? Thought I had a fairly comprehensive Hawk collection, but you got me good here. 2. Big sax choir. Like the fluent soprano solo. When the tenor comes in, it dawns on me that this is the opening track here. (Shame that I recognized it from the tenor solo, not the leader’s.) Everybody oughta know about this record. And the two other issued tracks from these sessions shoulda been added to the CD. One more thing: This kind of fluency on soprano was rare at the time. 3. Sounds like Johnny Mathis, the vibrato that walks like a man. I know he recorded with charts by Gil, but this must be later, and Gil wouldn’t have written some of the cliches the ensemble is asked to play. Alto solo sounds like Art Pepper on a so-so day or Bud Shank on a good one. A Paich band maybe? Doggone it, I like this cut. 4. Decent alto blues. Second time around, I liked it even better. Not sure who it might be. 5. Love the languid treatment of the theme. Cohn? Whatever it is, I love it. 6. Sock ‘em in the gut. And keep a heavy foot on the bass drum. Can’t venture any guesses beyond the standard Jacquet, Ammons, etc., but somehow this seems beneath them. 7. Someone thinks they can write like Mingus. My, but that ensemble does go on. Three minutes! Finally a tenor solo. That’s a veritable catalog of Clifford Jordan licks and gestures right there. Out-of-tune alto, but what a deep tone -- maybe it’s a tenor? Trumpet solo doesn’t have as much character as the surroundings. After checking my Jordan LPs, it occurs to me: that’s C# on alto and it’s track 4 here. 8. Instant recognition of a favorite. Track 6 here. 9. Instant recognition of the tune, just from the first two repeated notes. I’m that big a Dameron fan. But I can’t ID the players. I’d guess Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook for the horns. I'm intrigued. 10. The 7/4 feels good. No idea who it is. Record pressed off-center, or is my limited sense of pitch having a bad day? The sax ensemble starting about 3:25 is wonderful. I’ll take it. 11. Cassette recorder under the table? It was worth the effort to capture this performance. That tenor player’s not afraid to get himself in trouble. Attention must be paid. At first I thought RRK. Later I thought Moody. And then the announcements, and that sure sounds like Moody’s voice. 12. Sweet. No corn growing here. Can’t ID the horns. The piano makes me think of Mel Powell, though I can’t tell you why. 13. Like the singer, but the tenor is what catches the ear. Sounds like Booker Ervin, or somebody from the same soil. Second time around, like the singer even more. 14. An early Brubeck/Militello quartet? The pianist comps like Brubeck, but that isn’t a stereotypical Brubeck solo. A little disagreement there as to where the alto solo ends and the piano solo begins. 15. Oh my, at least three of them, maybe four. A nice gentle groove – they aren’t pounding away. A nice walk-off. Got no guess, but curious to know. It's been a pleasure. You must have made great mixtapes back in the day. Thank you! (Edited to fix my bad HTML.)

Not aware of any. Used to be one on RCA, the Moscow Virtuosi under Vladimir Spivakov, coupled with Mahler's arrangement of a Schubert quartet. You're not missing much by not hearing this one.

This gives the interns at Universal something to be proud of.

I always wanted to hear Rhapsody in Blue cut down to five minutes to fit in a TV show. A co-worker of mine just said, "Why are they playing the United Airlines jingle?"

Got rid of my cable about six months back. The only thing I miss is the weather channel.

The world's largest ball of twine:

I'll second Jim's recommendation for the Billie Harris record. The best thing I've heard with Horace Tapscott where he isn't the leader.

Not so surprising. He's always been the one most likely to sit out any reunion. (He skipped the whole 1998 tour.) Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this: This is the first time we've had Weir and Lesh on the same stage since 2004. That's kinda important.

New standards!

I thought we were going to let the intern from Universal select the next one.