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Spontooneous

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Everything posted by Spontooneous

  1. Sonny invented the Happy Meal in 1971.
  2. OK, everybody sing! "Rainbows in lunchmeat and whiskers on kittens..."
  3. I don't have the 4 CD Columbia box, and it came in for some sharp criticism on the board (if I had a faster computer I'd hunt it down and link it), but we might be stuck with that box for a long time. The old Columbia Jazz Masterpieces CD series had at least two Basie volumes, and they hit a lot of the highlights. I'm making do with them, but dreaming of something better. About 1985, CBS in France issued a fairly complete Basie, with a smattering of unreleased material but none of the alternates, on six 2-LP sets. I've got to admit, a lot of this material dampens my enthusiasm for a complete set.
  4. Up for exposure. A few of my favorite moments here: -- Buck Clayton's gorgeous obbligato behind Jimmy Rushing on "Don't You Miss Your Baby?" This entire tune is an overlooked treasure. What other band could make the blues so smooth and beautiful without losing the bluesiness? -- Herschel Evans' earth-shaking entrance on "Sent For You Yesterday." -- Jack Washington's bari solo on "Topsy." Aw, shoot, EVERYTHING on "Topsy." This is another perfect side. -- The "Moten Swing" riffs behind Prez's metal clarinet solo on "Blue and Sentimental." -- Papa Jo's intro to "Panassie Stomp." But Papa Jo was perfect on everything with Basie. -- The last eight bars of Basie's solo on "John's Idea." And note that I only mentioned Prez once. He's the guy who ensures that this is music for all time. But to tune out the others and focus on him would be a dreadful mistake.
  5. Rainy, you've provided reinforcement for me. Eddie's coming to Kansas City in October, and now I know I have to go.
  6. We should not let the facts of his personal life, unsavory as many of them are, distract us from the greatness of his achievement. Because Charlie Parker was the best damn shortstop who ever lived, and that's all that really matters.
  7. The My 'Lil Pawnshop playset is still available, though its sales numbers are being eclipsed by My First Tattoo Shop, My 'Lil Gentlemen's Club and Pierce Me Elmo.
  8. After Parker's death, his influence was carried over to a whole new generation through the big, yellow, lovable character Yardbirdman on "Sesame Street."
  9. He was the actual composer of "Abba Dabba Honeymoon."
  10. He greatly offended the Parker Pen family by using that plastic Bic pen at the Massey Hall concert.
  11. It's perfectly obvious. Jimmy Smith's "House Party." ('Cause the Herbie Nichols cut "House Party Starting" is a little too reserved for celebratory purposes.)
  12. Hey, Clunky, check out JG's Steeplechase album!
  13. This album's always been a big, forbidding mystery to me. I've had it for years, but haven't played it more than three times. Big mistake. Spun it again today and began to make peace with it. And fell in love with "Adagio Ma Non Troppo." I'm sure there was little rehearsal and much editing throughout, but the ensemble playing is wonderfully coherent. Also some of the best Lonnie Hillyer I've ever heard. He's WAY into it. I'll be trying to revisit this one more regularly.
  14. The Elenco releases are not to be confused with this fine Elanco release:
  15. Doin' Alright for me. Seems he was out to consciously make a better album than he'd ever made before, and that he came with superior material and arrangements. And the rest of the band rises to the occasion. Every cut has perfect architecture. I don't have a problem with the Go crowd, for that's one of the best blowing albums ever made. But Doin' Alright shouldn't be in its shadow. I feel almost the same about Dexter Calling.
  16. Free For All Paul asked me to do the AOTW honors. I’m grateful. This one is a pick for the Basie centennial, albeit a couple of weeks late. Over the decades I’ve known this music, it hasn’t lost a single bit of its joyous power for me. If you’re not familiar with the sounds herein, you owe it to yourself to experience them. They're a central part of the foundation of so many things that followed — not just in jazz, but also in R&B. They're fun to listen to again and again. And in more than a few moments, they represent the cutting edge of jazz in 1936-39. I picked this anthology because it’s fairly easy to find. The material is also readily available in different packages: the three-disc Complete Decca Recordings, and some other sets on labels such as Classics and Definitive. If you’re using a different set, the cuts are: 1. Honeysuckle Rose 2. Roseland Shuffle 3. Boogie Woogie 4. One O’Clock Jump 5. John’s Idea 6. Good Morning Blues 7. Topsy 8. Out the Window 9. Don’t You Miss Your Baby? 10. Blues in the Dark 11. Sent For You Yesterday 12. Every Tub 13. Swingin’ the Blues 14. Blue and Sentimental 15. Doggin’ Around 16. Texas Shuffle 17. Jumpin’ at the Woodside 18. Shorty George 19. Panassie Stomp 20. Jive at Five 21. Oh, Lady Be Good Some possible lines of discussion: What are your favorite moments here? What have these recordings and these musicians meant to you over the years? And if you’re new to these recordings, what elements here do you connect with most strongly? More later. But right now, let’s swing out.
  17. Found this on the Web too: http://weeklywire.com/ww/05-03-99/austin_music_feature3.html
  18. Yes, Rainy! Hooray for trains! I've been watching them all my life here in the nation's second-largest rail center. The sound helps lull me to sleep every night. Another one: Inexpensive Chinese takeout.
  19. Probably something to do with its use in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove." Once you see the film, you'll understand.
  20. The sound that the birds in my neighborhood make as the dawn approaches. Tadd Dameron. Thelonious Monk. Anton Webern. Morton Feldman. Duke. The Flint Hills of Kansas. Pesto, when it's not too salty. Joyce's "Ulysses." Wheatfields at sunset, when they glow with indescribable color.
  21. I came for the low interest rates and the free funnel cakes. But seriously, folks. Rooster Tom dragged me here, kicking and screaming. And I'm very glad he did. I've never felt so at home on the Internet anywhere. Still waiting for the funnel cakes, though.
  22. I'm a sucker for ANY version of "Israel," with the Evans/LaFaro/Motian trio version foremost in my mind. Does anybody know of a later version that tries to replicate Carisi's counterpoints in the second chorus? The Charlie Parker + Strings version of "Rocker" is fun. There's a lyricized Mark Murphy version of "Boplicity" that didn't make me switch off the radio, which would have been my usual reaction to Murphy (sorry, fans).
  23. Y'know, when I was 12 years old, those Eleganza ads seemed soooo cool. Not that I bought the clothes, mind you.
  24. Title track for me. The contrast of the rubato and groove sections gives it a cogent form. Teo's concept of looping certain passages works perfectly. And the trumpet playing slays me.
  25. Say, have you heard about this exciting new artist named MATT DUSK?
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