Spontooneous

OK, I'll bite. 1. Tonight on All-Star Wrestling, the long-awaited Getz vs. Ogerman cage match? Nobody wins. Is the tenor doubled closely with a guitar, or is that a Varitone? 2. Ohh, I know this one … The tenor solo has the geometry and tone of Joe Henderson, so I went looking through all the Joe in my collection. No luck. Very frustrating. So I called upon a trusted friend who’s the biggest Joe Henderson fan in town. He pointed me away from Joe, but pinpointed it here. The arrangement is a wonder, sounding much bigger than just six horns. And now, after a good night’s sleep, I realize that the composer and arranger of this tune is also the leader on Disc One, Track 8. 3. Chet takes on the big issues! It's from this disc. I’d forgotten about this tune, a piece of KD's heart. 4. One of my very favorite Tin Pan Alleyish tunes, “Mean to Me.” Sweets? Puckish humor, lots of space. Joe Pass? When it seems they’re heading for an out chorus, they aren’t; what follows is even better. 5. No smoke, but lots of heat, and it feels good. No idea who it is, but I’m into it. Maybe Tom Harrell? 6. I can’t figure out which instruments are synthesized and which are real here. Reminiscences of Sibelius’ “Valse Triste” and Debussy’s “Danses Sacree et Profane.” When the discussion turns to film music, I tend to head for the men’s room, hope the subject changes before I get back, and think of an excuse to leave if it doesn’t. 7. The Desmond vs. Sebesky cage match? It’s far more likable than 1.

Looks like another repackaging of the often-reissued broadcasts here.

To continue... 9. I’ve always liked “As Long As I Live,” and I'd trade two dozen versions of "I Can't Get Started" for one of this tune. I’ll guess Burrell, maybe a Verve production, but that’s just a guess. 10. Like the head very much. Don’t care for the piano solo. The guitar solo shows the courage to wait and the ability to make the wait worthwhile. Nice bass solo too. I'm not easily impressed by guitar players, but I'm impressed by this. 11. Somebody tell the producer to turn the bass down. The atmosphere of LA studio slickness is neatly pierced by the tenor solo. Downhill from there, I’m afraid. 12. No doubt in my mind that it’s Silver, but a check of my collection doesn’t turn up this tune! The trumpeter, presumably Blue, has a command of time that’s just amazing here, and the tenor tone, presumably Junior’s, is so beautiful. 13. Instant recognition. It's here. I’m very lucky that this was one of the first 50 jazz albums I owned. Love how the huge sound of the oldest tenor player sticks out in the ensembles. It’s been too long since I heard this. 14. Fat tenor sound, or just closely recorded? I'll guess Ammons again. Nice vibes. I’m not a fan of locked-hands piano soloing, but this works. The bass player ties it all up beautifully. 15. Vibes solo has fire. Horns not on the same level. Something about the drumming reminds me of Art Taylor. 16. Oh, I know this song. It’s on the tip of my – Oh, I give up. That bass-direct-pickup sound wears me out. Maybe Oscar Peterson? Do we have any threads on the board about that guy?

But seriously, folks. I'll take a shot in the dark. For the first part: 1. At first I thought there was a Mingus quality to the writing. Or maybe Sun Ra circa ’58. Is that Blakey on drums? The trumpet starts well and gets better, doesn’t run out of ideas. Starts out sounding like KD, then sounds more like Dizzy. Love the arranging touches wherever they occur. If this isn’t lurking in my collection, it should be. 2. Sounds like a Dameron arrangement. Short solos, maybe crafted to fit on a 78 rpm record. Gene Ammons for Prestige? Dandy, whatever it is. 3. Hodges. Inspired by “Hit the Road Jack”? Maybe a Strayhorn arrangement? You can always tell Harry Carney in the ensemble. Not Duke on piano -- maybe Strayhorn on piano, or Jimmy Jones. A gem. 4. Good clean fun. Izzat chew, Zoot? The arrangement grows on you. Second listen, and the arrangement REALLY grows on me. 5. Another one that gets better the second time around. Maybe two tenor soloists? The first tenor spot shows someone who’s learned well from Chu. The brief second spot is hooty like Barnet. Still, it’s a groove. Hats off to the engineer -- beautifully recorded for its time. 6. Instant recognition of this old favorite. First tune on this disc. Is Philly Joe playing a tad too much, or just too loud in the mix? 7. Can’t isolate it at the moment, because there’s so much of this kind of stuff in my collection. Golson on tenor, an inspired solo; maybe he wrote it too. Blakey on drums. Art Farmer? Love the pianist’s percussive touch. Beautiful. 8. Julius Watkins? That confident trumpet, is it my man Benny Bailey? Maybe a committee from the Quincy Jones circle, about 1960? Beautiful. That ensemble is TIGHT and the drumming is just about perfect.

Me too, Al.

I especially like Willie Joe Jones on drums.

Hanged himself and THEN stabbed himself. A very thorough suicide.

No-brainer. Barbecue from Arthur Bryant's. With plenty of the french fries, cooked in lard.

Was the article mercilessly cut? If so, the cutting is merciful for us. It's junk. It isn't even factually correct about Schoenberg. "He never went back to tonality." Yeah, right. Suite for Strings, Chamber Symphony #2, Theme and Variations for band, etc. The author apparently needs somebody to blame. As if music hadn't been pushed to the brink by Strauss, Scriabin and even Debussy. And the change in Schoenberg's music has to be attributed to the Gerstl affair. Yeah, right.

This just in: He died in Mary-Kate Olsen's apartment.

He lives in Kansas City, Mo., now. That's all I know. You might try the union: link

Cats around KC who worked and hung with Eddie Vinson when he lived here remained fond of playing "Arriving Soon." I remember Frank Smith on piano and Eddie Saunders on tenor tearing this one up in the '80s. Frank's gone now, and Eddie's too sick to play. But the tune always takes me back. (Check out the version on "Cannonball and Cleanhead" too.)

Then the intern from Universal Ice starts a thread about their new product...

Turned on the TV news on Tuesday. The headline on the screen: BRITNEY ATTENDS CHURCH

Much easier it is to rhyme in many other European languages than in English. Remarkably few words we have that rhyme with "life," for example -- but the Italians have hundreds in common use that with "vita" rhyme.

Aww, it's been too long since I did one of these. Put me on as a downloader, please.

Zackly. Not the first, but maybe the most extreme.

A Miltonic inversion, it's called.

Not only in Japan. There was also "The Loadstar" on Horo in Italy.

Mike touched on the thing that bothers me. It's too "consciously conceived." (And did he really have to redo so many of the tunes from "Way Out West"?)

Woody Woodmansey Trevor Bolder Mick Ronson

You can skip it. I tried to like it. But it just sits there. Pretty empty for the most part. Dewey caught my ears, briefly, but the rest of it slides on by.

I posted some about three years back, but nobody seemed to notice or respond.

Also Shep on the spine of "Duo Reunion," with Horace Parlan, released here on the cheapie old Optimism label.

Now you have to write a song called "Leg A Lung Time Coming." But we should all be glad that the world is beginning to appreciate Jim's ham mouth, which we've enjoyed for so long here on the board.