MartyJazz

Side One : Absolutions Side Two : The Beehive Side Three : Neophilia Side Four : Nommo First jazz album I ever bought, and it was good enough to inspire me to 36 more years worth (and counting). "Absolutions" especially was amazing to my 17 year old ears. Also one of the great CD reissue jobs by Blue Note, getting all that other material released in the package. I got to meet Mickey Roker several years ago at a Shirley Scott piano concert at the Ethical Society in Philly, and he is a very kind and dignified man. Bennie Maupin and Harold Mabern are also really strong on this album. I also liked the next Lee Morgan album, 'Lee Morgan', with Billy Harper and Moncur on board. That's the one with the amazing version of "Capra Black". I was fortunate to see this group (with Billy Harper in place of Bennie Maupin) playing these compositions. Still have the gatefold two LP set, although I naturally picked up the fortified CD box.

I always dug his work with Ike Quebec on the latter's EASY LIVING Blue Note date, especially the track, "B.G.'s Groove Two". Also second the Duke Jordan FLIGHT TO JORDAN recommendation.

Back in '80, I taped a half hour broadcast off an FM station in NYC, possibly WKCR, in which Baraka gives a stirring recitation of 5 or 6 of his poems. Great stuff! Gotta transfer it to CD-R. Around that time, I also got to see him perform, and that's the right word, some of his material at a club in the Village. Also have the India Navigation LP with David Murray & Steve McCall backing him. Baraka is controversial but well worth digging if one's ears are open.

Yup, that's so true. Oh wait a minute, 8-5 Yankees in the eighth, two outs, the halos load the bases and Tex ... ... hits a Grand Salami to take the lead? That couldn't have happened ... did it? (makes it all the more enjoyable since the Yankees had come back from 5-0 down, and that skinny pitcher had two outs in the eighth before he went hit, hit, walk, homer.) Not quite. Ramirez with two outs walks the 9th place hitter, gives up a hit to Chones, walks the next man after getting ahead 0-2, and then when I'm screaming for Girardi to act like a fucking manager and take him out because I know - I swear I just KNEW - that if he leaves Ramirez in, Tex is going to hit a grand slam..........well, sure enough. Worst loss of the year and you can pin it totally on the same clueless fuck of a manager who earlier in the year allowed Mussina to pitch to Manny late in a tight ball game with men on 2nd and 3rd and two outs. Joe Girardi and game management skills, could be the shortest book ever written.

Well, you know for sure that Ortiz is not happy. Having Manny behind him in the order is what sluggers like DO love. I have to admit as an AL fan, I'm not all that familiar with Bay. But it just seems that the Yanks adding I-Rod while the Sox subtract ManRam, I have to like, offensively at least, how that changes the dynamic of future Yank-Sox matchups. Of course, our middle relief has to make up for the loss of Farnsworth, but truth be told, despite his evident improvement this year, I never did quite feel comfortable with KO as the premier setup man. Now of course, there's the TB Rays to consider, but all in all, I'm pumped for the rest of the season.

Hey Dan, At least you weren't no-hitted. Pedroia with a one out single in the 9th as I write. Angels are tough and now they have Texeira.

Well, so far I may be a bit premature but Nady does not at all resemble a .330 hitter. Granted, he's facing pitchers he hasn't seen before, but I've yet to see him display smart pitch selection when swinging the bat (unlike Abreu who is rumored to be gone after this season in favor of the "X" man). The 0 for 7 against the Sox doesn't bother me so much as the fact that he did not hit one ball hard, and when he came to the plate in last night's game with the bases loaded and only one out, and had a hitter's count 2-0, he then swung at a high ball 3 fastball, popping up a lazy fly to short center, not deep enough to score the man at third. Time will tell, but so far, a bust when under the intense scrutiny engendered by a Yank-Red Sox series.

Joba!!!! and, of course, Mariano. A 1-0 shutout at the Green Monster. Sweet!

Susan Jacoby: The Age of American Unreason Nice review here: http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/02/15/susan_jacoby/

Hey, c'mon, Dan. BoSox gotta lose once in a while. More than once in awhile when they're on the road. A .400 team when away from the Green Monster.

Was looking forward to your reaction to last night's Yank win. Great post, thoroughly enjoyed it. Naturally, I enjoyed watching the rook hang in against Papelbon and get a well-deserved walkoff hit. What shocked me beforehand was Manny looking at 3 strikes from Mariano. I recall Mussina pitiching to him earlier in the season in a similar run producing situation with first base open and he came through with a first pitch double to right center. So I'm screaming that he should be intentionally walked this time, but Mariano to his credit wanted to pitch to him. Go figure. And what the hell is wrong with Varitek? I can't believe his hitting stats this season and even more I can't understand his fellow American Leaguers voting him to the All Star game. AJ Pierzinski must really rub opponents the wrong way. Fans vote for favorites regardless of stats; players aren't expected to act that way nor should they.

Nice game by Garza, and Balfour came through with the save, striking out three in the ninth. Makes me wonder if he'd be better in that role than the always hair-raising Percival. Ellsbury was nice and aggressive. I like his game. The Sox just couldn't generate the clutch hits tonight. Now Dice-K on Wednesday. He tends to issue a good number of walks. With the Rays being so aggressive once on base, this could be real key to how that game unfolds. And if Kaz is locked in, I think the Rays have a real shot at a sweep. ... And the Yankees lose. This Yankee fan is disgusted with how anemic the team has become lately, 4 runs total in the last three games, all losses. But living here in south Florida with an opportunity to catch the Rays relatively often on the tube, I can't help but root for them, enjoying tonight's game to the utmost. Rays have good young pitching arms and terrific defense, nice to see Manny overpowered somewhat. Add a power hitter to their lineup and I think they'd be able to take the division. Can't see them accomplishing this throughout the rest of the season. In any event, they certainly are tough especially at home. Crowd was really into it, could hardly hear the numerous Sox fans in the stands. With Kazmir tomorrow night, a sweep is definitely possible. At least I can hope.

Jazz at Massey Hall, anyone? Also, there's an absolutely smoking live date I have on an old Alamac (bootleg) LP that took place, I believe Christmas Eve, 1949 at Carnegie Hall. Bird with Red Rodney, Al Haig, Roy Haynes, (forget who the bassist was, Potter or Russell most probably). The entire performance is wonderful, but the highlight is yet another terrific version of "Koko", my very favorite of all he ever did on this "Cherokee" variation.

I also treasure a video clip of Lucky soloing on "Anthropology" in a Bud Powell-led group at the 'Blue Note' in Paris, December 1959. Anyone know of any other Lucky videos?

Benny Golson

Hey I worked at Dayton's in the Village, circa '71. Copped lots of great sides there. Still remember the prices, cutouts were as you say $1.98. Regular LPs were $3.67 and $4.29. Back to the thread topic, I have quite a few of those Charlie Parker LP sides. The one I still put on the turntable every so often is the gatefold LP titled THE HAPPY"BIRD" which has Bird with Wardell Gray on Side 2 performing "I Remember April" and "I May be Wrong". Yeah, the sound could be much better, but the music is there!

Anybody have a copy of that broadcast? Would love to have it.

I have a video of Guarnieri, actually playing with a Coleman Hawkins led group, William B. Williams hosting. I have converted it to DVD-R. Here are the details, although the date is unknown, I would guess it to be late '50s, perhaps early '60s: “After Hours” TV show, William B. Williams Host Coleman Hawkins (ts); Roy Eldridge (tp); Johnny Guarnieri (p); Barry Galbraith (g); Milt Hinton (b); Cozy Cole (d). 26 mins. 1. Lover Man 2. Sunday 3. Taking a Chance on Love 4. Just You, Just Me

Can't say I've ever really been into jazz organ despite owning a few Jimmy Smith records, but after seeing Joey D here in Ft. Lauderdale a couple of weeks ago, I was really knocked out. So much so, I ordered via CD Now (Amazon) the ORGANIC VIBES (with Hutcherson) and AUTHORIZED BOOTLEG cds which just arrived yesterday. Really digging them both. JD is a great player who I hope will play a long time, my way of saying he's gotta drop some weight big time. Meantime, I plan to seriously revisit my Jimmy Smith sides.

Meanwhile with nearly a third of the season over, the only two teams that are playing at least .600 ball are based in Florida (i.e., the Rays and the Marlins), are leading their respective divisions, and comparatively speaking, are among the lowest in payrolls in the majors. Go figure. As a transplanted New Yorker diehard Yankee fan living in Florida, even I think it's kind of nice. (Note to Dan who resides scarcely 8 or so miles from me, you agree?)

A shame you didn't catch the concert I did, it was terrific. The "other B3 player" actually played synthesizer, name phonetically sounded like Pat Bianchi. Anyway the trio was fantastic, exciting versions of Monk's "Evidence" (opened the concert), "Footprints" (Shorter), "Take the Coltrane" (Ellington), as well quite a few originals and some standards, e.g., "The Nearness of You" as well as Moody's "Mood for Love". A really good night, leaving the audience wanting more.

Ordered this DVD recently and finally viewed it this past evening. What a joy!. There are two sets, the first a "Jazz 625" TV program with Dizzy's "Phillips" Quintet at the time, i.e., James Moody, Kenny Barron, Chris White and Rudy Collins. Some real excellent moments particularly a feature for Dizzy on his "Tin Tin Deo", a feature for Moody on flute and the entire quintet on a lengthy version of Jobim's "Chega de Saudade" here titled "No More Blues". But the real standout of this DVD is an all star septet that appeared the following year at the Royal Jazz Festival, consisting of Diz, Clark Terry, James Moody, Zoot Sims, Teddy Wilson, Bob Cranshaw and Louis Bellson. While Wilson is most definitely out of place in this group and accordingly does not solo, the front line is fantastic. Diz is wonderful as would be expected, but the solos by Clark Terry (playing flugelhorn only) and Moody in particular are simply terrific. The pieces performed are all Diz compositions, "Ow!', "Tin Tin Deo" again (a feature for Diz), and "The Champ". Admittedly, the audio fidelity of this performance is a bit substandard but the music really shines through. Guaranteed finger snapping because this group really cooks and Bellson especially stands out in the rhythm section. I got it via the Jazz Loft site here: http://www.jazzloft.com/p-44939-london-con...5-and-1966.aspx

Interesting, helpful advice from the enemy. I've been keeping quiet thus far this year, but now with a full 1/4 of the year gone, I gotta admit, it's a pretty bleak situation if, a big if, you're a Yankee fan. The young pitching simply has not panned out, but I'm still glad they resisted a trade for Santana because it would have cost them Cabrera. And while the latter is only hitting around .270, he does throw people out from CF, and that I always like to see. What I don't understand, aside from the less than mediocre pitching, is how terrible the Yankee hitters are, even with the absence of A-Rod and Jorge, and more importantly, how Joe G could sit a .300+ clutch hitter like Matsui on the bench in yesterday's game. WTF is he thinking?

That's another thing that bugs me about Sinatra's on stage mannerisms. What's the deal with glamorizing smoking? Surely he knew that smoking could have nothing but a deleterious effect on his singing, yet somehow he apparently felt the need to convey what he must have considered is the "hip" attitude of a smoker. Did he actually really smoke off camera? Hard to believe. In this last show he expresses in a funny, yet no nonsense way, how very important music is (was) in his life, yet the prop that promises to snuff (pun intended) the vitality out of his art has to be present. No excuse that this 1966 program represented a different attitude towards smoking - Surgeon Generals reports had been in the public consciousness for some time.

Absolutely love the track "No Smokin'"!