MartyJazz

Once she stops walking funny.

Very exciting final of a three game set between the Yanks and Rangers. (Tough to stomach for Dan and Big Al I would think ) Torre did all he could to give that game away bringing in T.J. Beam in the 8th. Hard to believe that the Yanks are now the leader in the AL wild card chase and obviously thinking of a much higher goal than that. Meanwhile, what's going on with the White Sox?

I obtained this recording as a "vine" and because it was not indexed, i.e., the disc was practically one long track consisting of quite a few titles, I had it indexed by another collector as I did not know how to do this at that time. In any event, following a short 20 minute segment by what was the Miles Davis Quintet at that time without Miles, i.e., Trane, Wynton Kelly, PC and Jimmy Cobb, the group then performed a medley during which Stan Getz appeared, and it is reported, so did Oscar Peterson. This medley is as follows with the featured players in parentheses: Yesterdays (Chambers)/Autumn Leaves (Kelly)/What's New (Coltrane)/Moonlight in Vermont (Getz)/Rifftide, aka Hackensack (Coltrane & Getz). The rest of the disc consists of a 40 minute set by Getz's quartet at that time. The concert took place in Dusseldorf on March 28, 1960.

Not familiar with this package but one of the private videos I have is a twelve minute segment of that show wherein an obviously uncomfortable and nervous Sarah Vaughan is briefly "welcomed" by host Hefner following which she settles down and sings "Misty", "Broken-Hearted Melody" and "Gone With the Wind". She's backed by Ronnell Bright, Richard Davis and Percy Brice. I wonder if that's included in the 3 DVD set you mention.

Back in November 1981, I attended the evening concert at Columbia University which was titled "Interpretations of Monk". Everybody kind of knew that Monk was in his last days (he died the following February) and various tributes were being performed or played on radio during that time. Between the afternoon and evening concerts, four sets of Monk music were performed, a total of 23 Monk compositions with no duplication of any Monk tune, save for "Epistrophy". Four different pianists were featured, Muhal Richard Abrams on the opening afternoon set, Barry Harris on the closing afternoon set, Anthony Davis on the opening evening set, and Mal Waldron on the final and closing evening set. The front line for all four sets consisted of Steve Lacy, Charlie Rouse, Roswell Rudd and Don Cherry. So that was the only time I got to see Steve and Mal together although I had caught them several times previously and subsequently with their own groups. Anyway, during that final set, Mal and Steve performed excellent duets on "Let's Call This" and "Reflections". Some fifteen years later or thereabouts, Japanese DIW Columbia released the entire day's worth of concerts on a four CD package. a release I highly recommend if it can still be obtained. The music was and remains, sublime.

Very heartfelt and extremely moving. For many of us, and obviously for you, our fathers are very special, unique men. My deepest condolences.

Can anyone explain to me why they let Lieber go in the first place? True, he had a so-so year during the year he was with them, but I seem to remember that when the games got very important towards the end of the season and into the playoffs, he pitched consistently well.

When people complain about how loud the music is in a jazz club, they're invariably not into the music at all. Back in '82 or thereabouts, I took a couple of non-jazz friends to the Village Vanguard to check out the latest edition of George Russell and his Orchestra. They began to complain immediately as soon as the music began. I said "see 'ya" and they left on their own soon afterwards. Me, I thought the music was fabulous! Listening to George Russell and his band perform "Ezzthetic" constitutes a highlight of existence.

While I own all six, I would have to re-listen to honestly cast a vote. Will be playing these in my car in the next couple of weeks.

Yeah, they're homers but you forget that I grew up listening to Phil Rizzuto. Any other announcer appears to be the model of objectivity compared to him. As for Hawk, he has a way of communicating his view and knowledge of baseball that I find very entertaining, e.g., after a strikeout, "grab some bench", etc. And he gives credit where it's due. I don't mind "homerism" at all as long as it's just plain rooting for your team. It's only when the accomplishments of the opposing team are dismissed or minimized that I then object. As for providing "insightful" commentary, I thought Hawk was very objective concerning the White Sox and Freddy Garcia in particular if you reread my previous post.

Down here in south Florida we get to see the White Sox on WGN occasionally so I got a kick out of hearing the Sox home announcers, especially Hawk Harrelson whom I've always found to be quite entertaining as well as knowledgable. He was especially peeved that the Sox could be swept by a very depleted Yankee team. Besides, Matsui and Sheffield, the Yanks were without Damon, Cano and Bernie Williams today and still the bottom third of the lineup produced. Harrelson credits the White Sox' still formidable record entirely to their hitting, stating that compared to last year when he rated their pitching at 8-1/2 to 9 on a ten point scale, this year's staff at best comes in at 5-1/2 to 6. Between the lines, he implied that Freddy Garcia is essentially through as his fast ball is down to 88-89 and he cannot get the ball consistently down. He also believes that the drop in pitching ties in with a defense that is not as reliable as the one fielded by the Sox last year. It'll be interesting to see how and if they rebound against the shocking Tigers this week.

Here's hoping that 5-inning Wright can show some stuff today and the Yanks can sweep. We still need pitching but if we can stay this close while our 250 RBI twosome of Sheffield and Matsui recuperate and then get into playing shape (and when will Cano come off the shelf?), we can be pretty dangerous once September rolls around. Don't know if I want Abreu but the Boss is stupidly upping the price by telegraphing that he wants him.

I don't undersatand this anti-Gordon Jenkins backlash. What's that about, guys? No, the strings were neither saccharine to me nor overbearing. Once upon a Time, When the Wind was Green, and It Was a Very Good Year from September of my Years never fail to move me. The strings are not only a frame, they are the perfect counter voice to Sinatra on that record. When they're under him, they're under him and when they soar they soar---and provide emotional crests of their own as thrilling as the singer's. I'm a hard-working composer and I'd be more than proud to write a chart even in the same ballpark as It was a Very Good Year. Jenkins vs. Riddle? What's the point? both great writers, viva la difference. Oh, and you may have heard: he wrote a few little things like Goodbye and This is all I Ask..... I pointedly mentioned the Jenkins arrangements of the mid to late '50s period because I was thinking of the Where Are You and No One Cares Capitol sessions which I've never been able to fully get into. However, I also quite like the September of My Years session, recorded several years thereafter, a concept album that I regard as Sinatra's best with Jenkins. As for Jenkins' compositional ability, no argument.

May I be so bold as to recommend Nice & Easy? Ballad artistry, true artistry, without the heartbreak. Agree, although ironically the title cut really doesn't belong on this otherwise excellent ballad set. Interesting that while you much prefer the ballad Sinatra, your favorites, i.e., Only the Lonely, Nice and Easy as well as the aforementioned In the Wee....., seem to be the Nelson Riddle arranged sides, the man also most responsible for the arrangements on the best of his swinging material while at Capitol. Regarding the Gordon Jenkins ballad arrangements for Sinatra during that mid to late '50s period, do you find his heavy reliance on strings a bit too saccharine as I do, or what?

Great observation, I fully agree.

Even though the musicians are miming as explained by Norman Granz in the intro to the DVD, I found it fascinating and worth picking up.

It's difficult to see how these companies argued that what they were doing was legal. The first question is whether they had a contractual relationship with the film companies when they initially acquired authorized DVDs of the films. Even assuming that to be the case, each DVD expressly warns the user not to make unauthorized copies for distribution and is encrypted to deter the user from making such copies (easily overcome, to be sure). Obviously, unauthorized dubs were not only made, but the companies also had the audacity to edit them and then to distribute them. And they thought that was legal?!!

Nice to see the Devil Rays give another AL East leader a rough time. The Yanks were surely treated rudely by them last year. And how about Crawford's steal of home?! That happens so rarely that when I saw it last night (fortunately I switched just in time from the Yankee game to see it), I realized that it has to be among the top, if not the highest, thrills in all of baseball. The audacity of the play is what makes it so special because the player is obviously completely on his own.

Lately, I've been transferring to DVD my VHS dubs of various concerts including a few of Miles' mid 60s group that featured Wayne, Herbie et al. Visually, the Stockholm '67 is decent and quite viewable. The others however...... that include the Steve Allen Show '64, Milan '64, Karlsruhe '67, are pretty poor in terms of visual and even audio fidelity. I know that better copies of some of this material are out there, whether they are available is another story. For example, I was transferring a wonderful documentary of Miles titled "The Miles Davis Story" that was broadcast on BRAVO a couple of years ago and in it there was an excerpt in pristine quality of the Karlsruhe '67 concert. Anyone have decent copies of any of these shows or others from that period? I have lots of private jazz DVD copies from which I can offer material in exchange. You can PM me of course. Thanks for any input on this.

Just take care of the Yanks next week, OK? The Sox really did a number on the Mets. They're still in a fog obviously. What other explanation could there be for Yankee relievers to shut them out allowing only one hit over the last five innings for a 2-0 victory? I did enjoy watching Dontrelle handcuff the Sox last night. Gotta give the Marlins a lot of credit. They decimate their team after each of their two World Series championships and they always come back with good young talent and a great competitive spirit.

Among his Phillips output, I've always dug the soundtrack from "The Cool World" the most. Some great fiery Diz on that one. Second, I guess would be the "Something Old, Something New" session.

In the latest (Aug 2006) issue of JazzTimes, Gary Giddens in his "Cadenza" column (p22) discusses the Pulitzer Prize's belated recognition of Monk while critiquing their awards and citation division for the inappropriateness of its European standards when applied to the judgment of jazz music. Anyway, during the course of the article, he mentions that one of this year's "enthralling recordings is Alexander Von Schlippenbach's Monk Casino: The Complete Works of Thelonious Monk (Intakt), a three-disc quintet rendering of 70 pieces, many in medley form, some for a theme chorus, others as spurs to improvisation." I confess that despite my many years of listening to a wide variety of music that is categorized as "jazz", I am really unfamiliar with Von Schlippenbach. Anyone heard any or all of this release and would care to share his/her opinion?

Similar story. Can recall buying this back around '64 when I was a junior in college and I frequently haunted the vast original Sam Goody's store up around Broadway and 49th Street in NYC. At that time, Goody's employed knowledgable people who had been involved in various production endeavors, e.g., Harry Lim. I was always steered to purchase the better jazz LPs that came out at the time.

I agree. The "depressing" one was done by Thomas Reichman in 1968. There is a more recent documentary/performance film that I prefer titled "Triumph of the Underdog" (1997) directed by Don McGlynn.

Coincidentally as I've been transferring my private musical performance videotapes to DVD, I worked on a tape today that has two concerts from the same periods as the DVD you mention. They differ in that the Mingus material is of the Stockholm rehearsal done on the 13th of April, 1964 wherein Mingus tells Dolphy that he'll miss him and asks Dolphy where he will be going after the tour. The group performs "So Long Eric" (short and long takes) and Meditations on Integration (false start and a lengthy take). The other date is the quintet session Dolphy did with Idrees Sulieman, Rune Ofwerman, Jimmy Woode and Sture Kallin, also in Stockholm, on November 19, 1961. Visually the quality is execrable on both but essentially viewable with at least the audio portions surviving relatively undistorted. They are roughly 29 minutes apiece and I'd love to eventually see a commercial release of this material in better quality. In the meantime, while I have the Shanachie release of the Mingus in Oslo videotape (also converted to DVD-R), I definitely did not know of the Dolphy in Berlin '61 video so I guess I'll have to pick that up. Thanks for the heads up. That ejazzlines site has quite a few interesting DVDs.