[The GENDER GENIE! Analyzes Your Writing]

I was having trouble deciding my gender. Turns out I'm male.

[If you were to interview Benny Golson]

There's brilliant intellect and deep emotion in Benny. And that incredible charm.

He must get tired of always being asked about the past. Be sure to ask him what projects he's planning and doing now.

A friend had Benny on his radio show a few months back. The friend played the Jazztet recording of "I Remember Clifford," and Benny appeared to be fighting back tears as the record played.

[AOTW May 8th]

We have some serious Metheniacs on this board; I'd love to know how they rate this disc.

Job duties have called on me to interview Pat a couple of times. I got a chance to ask him: Who is "James" named after? Guesses, anyone??

[The GENDER GENIE! Analyzes Your Writing]

In honor of the impending Bloomsday, I entered a piece of Molly Bloom's soliloquy...

It guessed male.

[Naxos classical CDs]

They moved to Nashville and got patriotic. Try www.naxosusa.com.

[Whatever became of...]

Philip's back in Atlanta. So Winard told me a couple of months ago.

[Dex - Jazz at Highschool]

Sheesh. At my high school we had a quasi-rock band sent by the Navy.

[Cream]

No "SWLABR" or "Tales of Brave Ulysses"???

The rainbow has a beard.

[What left handed Iberian pole vaulting music]

disk 13 from the Mosaic box.

I'm impressed. All I've got is the nine-disc Proper box.

[Andrew Hill and Blue Note]

"Lift Every Voice," late '60s. And "Eternal Spirit" and "But Not Farewell," recorded in the late '80s and well worth seeking.

EDIT: Oops, two other people answered while I was looking up the titles. I love this place!

[Jimmy Smith Conn: Not!]

My first copy of Andrew Hill's "But Not Farewell" was a mislabeled heavy-metal record. A really bad one.

[Reunions that are still possible.]

The rhythm section on Andrew Hill's "Black Fire," with Roy Haynes and Richard Davis.

[Benny Bailey has died]

I've been collecting his records for close to 20 years. What a player! He consistently surrounded himself with the best people -- or they included him in their plans -- and had great taste in material on the relatively rare occasions when he was leader.

His one solo on Dexter's "Sophisticated Giant" made me a fan for life.

Some other favorite Bailey outbursts (so many of his solos ARE outbursts): On his "Grand Slam" disc on Storyville, on Charlie Rouse's "Upper Manhattan Jazz Society," and all over the Clarke-Boland Big Band records.

RIP and thanks, Benny.

[Percy Heath R.I.P.]

About six weeks back, Jimmy Heath was in KC. He said Percy was starting chemotherapy.

[Don Byron - Ivey-Divey]

personally, when it comes to clarinet, I like Jimmy O'Bryant -

No love for Percy Glascoe?

[Anton Webern & Alban Berg]

Webern is like religion to me. And it pains me when I can't win converts.

It's ALL melody.

(The Sony Boulez box won't set you back too much money, and despite the tape hiss I still like these better than the DG recordings.)

[What Are Your Earliest Memories of Music?]

Early: Little Golden Records, and my father's records of military band music.

Truly, it's a miracle that I don't hate music.

[Elmo Hope 'Final Sessions']

Good to know. I was afraid I was missing something there. Thanks.

[Bird's plastic alto]

The plastic alto's sound is a little darker, but surprisingly warm. I think in the liner notes of "The Shape of Jazz to Come," Ornette said he liked it because he didn't hear "the ping of the metal." (Sorry, I'm away from home right now and can't check the quote.)

I wouldn't express a preference for one over the other. I like all the plastic alto recordings I know of -- they are few -- and I don't always like the tone of metal altos.

My crazy ears keep telling me that Bird is using a plastic alto on the Verve "Chi Chi"/"Confirmation" date, July 30, 1953. Can anybody confirm or deny?

[Elmo Hope 'Final Sessions']

If I have both the Fantasy CDs (and I do), am I gaining anything by buying the Evidence reissue?

[Bird's plastic alto]

Tom, looks like you're right on just about all counts. A quick check of the archives turns up:

JayMac played the horn with Max and Richard on Oct. 15, 1994.

Paquito played it on Aug. 27, 1995, during the 18th and Vine Heritage Festival. The archives don't record who played with him, and I was at the festival (reviewing it!) but missed this part of it for some reason. Yes, Andrew Cyrille was there with David Murray.

This proves that my memory of the divorce years 1994-95 is porous indeed.

[Bird's plastic alto]

When JayMac played the plastic horn, it had just arrived from the auction. It needed work. He played about four choruses of blues on it, that's all, and went back to his other alto.

This was in '96 or '97, I think. The museum wasn't even open yet. The event was held in a hallway of the Lincoln Building, because the Gem Theater was being worked on too.

JayMac, Richard Davis and Max playing in a hallway! That's Kansas City.

[Bird's plastic alto]

A plastic alto from Bird's estate, purported to be the one he played at the Massey Hall concert, is at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City.

But y'all probably knew that already.

I just wish I had a tape of the "dedication" held just after the alto got to KC. They flew Jackie McLean in to play it, in a pianoless trio with Max Roach and Richard Davis. What a trio! JayMac played mainly on his own alto, but he did play a few choruses on the plastic horn, even though it needed some repair. The tone he got on that thing was strikingly beautiful.

[Dizzy Gillespie & Sarah Vaughn]

The "Interlude" side is also on Classics 958, Sarah Vaughan 1944-1946. (Along with that great "Mean to Me" with Bird and Dizzy.)

[amusing mispronounciations on radio]

Yet when I spoke publicly about the Phineas Newborn tribute concert, taking great care to pronounce the name "Fine-us" as he did, the concert presenter snootily and repeatedly "corrected" me to "Fin-ee-us."