Spontooneous

Let us now praise the lowly fuse. I have a very nice Rotel turntable that was abandoned at a thrift shop because it wouldn't go. But all it needed was a fuse. After the 99-cent repair, I'm now enjoying my $10 Rotel very much.

OK, I got it: "I need that polysorbate-80, That monosodium glutamate-y. Little Debbie is my desire, Responsible for my spare tire."

May all your tiles be good ones, Randy. Go get 'em!

Help! I'm stuck! What rhymes with "polysorbate-80"?

I'm shocked. He came to Kansas City several times and never disappointed. There was a brilliant sparkle and sense of fun to his playing. He was also charming, and helpful to younger musicians. I saw him give Art Blakey's phone number to a KC player he thought was Messenger material. (It was just a months before Blakey died, so it wasn't to be.) Rest in peace, James.

1. I'd have said Uptown, because I have a weakness for Betty Roche. No problem with Eclipse, though. An apple or an orange? 2. The Brunswick/Vocalion set is a broader and deeper overview of early Ellington than the Okeh set. Many of the Okeh performances don't seem as fresh. The Brunswick/Vocalion set has higher highs. Lower lows, too, but now many. Assembling the Classics collection is frustrating and expensive. I gave up trying.

Then there was that trumpet player named Joe Oliver, who definitely got it right the first time.

"Ohhhhh, Little Debbie is my sweetie The girl who gave me diabetes..."

Brownie's right. Prez's "Lady Be Good" and "Shoe Shine Boy" solos were hugely influential, widely studied, widely quoted. They changed the world. Don't forget Bird's "Hootie Blues" solo with McShann.

Sounds good. McIntosh shouldn't go unsung. I catch myself wishing for a reissue of a James Moody LP on Chess called "The Great Day," with four out of seven tunes by McIntosh. With Johnny Coles, Bernie Leighton, Jim Hall, Richard Davis and Mel Lewis. And we'll get a little McIntosh in the impending Jazztet Mosaic!

A co-worker looking over my shoulder while I was on this board thought he was seeing the word "orgasm" at the top. I'm guilty of the same sort of misreadings.

More thanks here. But I'll never understand why there aren't more albums with the word "Freap" in the title.

Interesting question. Does Don Byas count? Sid Catlett doesn't do a single bit of damage on that 1945 Dizzy and Bird date. And wouldn't we love to have a recording of the Earl Hines bands with Dizzy and Bird and Sass? But surely the champ in this category is Woody Herman, who did a lot more than mess around with bop, to say the least.

The disc has been out for at least two years -- what's the point of reviewing it now? Note in the fine print that it comes from that bastion of excellent, trustworthy and knowledgeable jazz writing, Goldmine.

Jim, stay up late and catch "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" on Cartoon Network. Wait for the episode in which two-dimensional space aliens come to Earth in search of Foreigner tour souvenirs.

I stand corrected. Those records went away with my ex-wife, and I haven't replaced all the RT discs yet. But this co-worker also serenaded the whole department with "The Angels Took My Racehorse Away" and bits of "Shaky Nancy" and "Roll Over VW."

Monk's first notes almost always make a big promise. The intros to "Criss Cross" and "I Mean You" come to mind. Gilliespie's original "Manteca" and "Salt Peanuts" fit in this category too. As does Dameron's original "Lady Bird." These first-generation bop guys knew how to grab your ear in just a split second. What Leeway said about "Blue Train."

I was told to coat the chicken in buttermilk. (My, that sentence looks strange out of context.)

You've got mail! Is that the Sexual Harassment Panda from "South Park" in your avatar?

Twenty years ago, I had a co-worker who knew every lyric on this record and peppered every conversation with as many allusions to it as possible. I must have heard him sing "Smiffy's Glass Eye" at least a dozen times as he worked.

The original "Cop Out," on the Columbia "World of Duke Ellington Vol. 3" double LP set. Never been on CD, as far as I know. I'm steamed that this one wasn't included in the "Festival Session" reissue for easy comparison with "Copout Extension." And "Mount Harissa" on "Far East Suite," as jsngry said. I gotta look up that Musicmasters side.

Dreamed this the other night: Driving in Oklahoma, I discover a tiny hamburger stand owned and operated by Andrew Hill. I could see him behind the counter, looking exactly as he looked when I saw him in concert last year. I'd already eaten, so I wasn't in the mood for a hamburger. But I stopped to thank him for his music anyway. My mom was in the car, and she wasn't happy with me for stopping. (The hamburger stand looked an awful lot like the Dixie Dog in Ponca City. Anybody know the place?)

Yes, Mr. Nelson provides penetrating performances of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "I'm Sending You a Big Bouquet of Roses."

RDK is exactly right. Besides, we have so much fun ganging up on the spammers...

Another endorsement for Alabama Concerto, Lucky's "Tricotism", and "Great Friends." Also "The Fabulous Thad Jones," OJCCD-625-2. Also, all my friends get indoctrinated with Jack Walrath's "Master of Suspense," Blue Note OOP.