Adam

I think any vocalese which references any previous musician or singer is inherently bad. Unfortunately, it seems like those are the only ones I ever hear.

Did 1957's set come out?

Everything that Universal originally announces as being "a little" (as in "only a little material was left from teh 1930s and 1940s) has pretty much ended up being "a lot" to most mortals.

He doesn't sound at all confused. He critiqued the criticisms based on the idea of the recording, and then gave a critique based on actually listening to the recording. And I thought in a straightforward and well-explained manner. The question you raise about "improving" the original is a separate question, which he addressed indirectly in his critique. But I think your question isn't quite right - Zemph wasn't trying to "improve" the Tatum; they were trying to "recreate" it in a manner that "listeners today" would theoretically find more palatable. The answer, for people who care about the original, is apparently not (I haven't listened to the new recording, nor do I intend to buy it.) It might be interesting to get the opinion of someone who doesn't know the original and find out if they like the new recording, just to see if the new recording works as a new recording of these pieces.

I think some of those are just hats, and not "big hats" as specified. Should we make a requisite diameter or circumference for a hat to qualify?

This reminds me of a film starring Matthew Broderick, I think, but what was the name of it? Oh, no, that was War Game. What was the one with the black surveillance helicopter, probably from the late 80s?

I'm not sure if there is still a Hamburger Hamlet on the Sunset Strip.

Thanks! I'm a subscriber but it seems to take a while to come, so I will take advantage of this...

I quit believing in lists a long time ago, especially those in weekly periodicals.

Is this the BIS in question? http://www.bismusic.com/homei.asp Or this? http://www.naxos.com/labels/bis-cd.htm Or something else?

I've seen her a few times -definitely a performance artist with songs. But the first couple of shows I saw I liked, and the last one wasn't that interesting, and this one sounds less so. i was debating whether to go see at UCLA's Royce Hall on April 10, but I think I can safely pass. The audience would also largely consist of safely liberal West-siders who will give Laurie a standing ovation at the need to show how knowing they are. (I hope that I will not simply end up being the same.)

The Dodgers played there for a few years when they moved from Brooklyn. "Moon shots" meant something else there - named for Wally Moon's short "blasts" over the LF fence. An old computer game (Earl Weaver baseball) included the park (or maybe I "built" it) and it was always a nutty experience. A couple of pictures here and some details, though surely better can be found through more digging. Yeah, my brother and I wanted to go to one of those games, but they sold out before we noticed that the tickets had gone on sale. Maybe we should get scalped seat. A I ended up going - my brother got handed 4 $2 tickets to the game at work, way high up, so we went with my 6 year old nephew and our Mom (also a Dodger fan). It was fun for a while - lots of special guests being introduced, but no one was taking the game seriously., When my nephew pooped out at the 6th inning, we were all fine with leaving. We were very high up and it was rather cold for LA, wind blowing too. They had a bunch of the 1958 Dodgers there, including Don Newcombe and Duke Snider. And then the world champion 1959 Dodgers -a few more including Chuck Essegian, whom my mom went to high school with. But the left field fence at 201 feet was really something else. The Dodgers played the game with 2 outfielders and 5 infielders basically. They next out in left was 60 feet high, and while we there one Red Sox hit a homer over it. A Dodger hit one over after we left. But people were hitting drives to the left-center "gap" that would bounce off the wall at 250 feet and they would be stopped with a single. It was wacky. There's also no way that 110,000 people actually were there. They may have sold that many tickets, but we were in row 83 for example, and almost everything around us was empty.

The Dodgers played there for a few years when they moved from Brooklyn. "Moon shots" meant something else there - named for Wally Moon's short "blasts" over the LF fence. An old computer game (Earl Weaver baseball) included the park (or maybe I "built" it) and it was always a nutty experience. A couple of pictures here and some details, though surely better can be found through more digging. Yeah, my brother and I wanted to go to one of those games, but they sold out before we noticed that the tickets had gone on sale. Maybe we should get scalped seat. A

Very sad - saw him a couple of time, a real master, and always hoped to see him again. A brilliant career and a full life. R.I.P.

Sorry, not Adam Hill, but hi! Good point - I always thought it was a strange business model, although I inferred it to mean that he doesn't want to hold onto stock due to lack of space. The last listing of upcoming titles though implied (and I need to look at the dates again to make sure that it wasn't a posting from 2004 :-) ) that he is re-pressing some in-demand titles such as "The Dark Tree." Hopefully that will prove wise, and give everyone more of a chance to get them.

Here's what I think, and I say this with love - I think you all are expressing self-centered views and exhibiting a true lake of empathy. :-) I think, based on direct correspondence, that Werner is aging, tired, willing to pass on his business to a caring person but hasn't found anyone, running the operation close to single-handedly. I think that given the limits of time and money, he puts out as much as he can. I think you all are giving no thought at all to the time, cost, and work that is actually involved in putting out a reissue (or a new release). He has decided to stress new music rather than reissues to help prove that this music continues to evolve, and that not everyone making it are 60 years old or more. I think if one of you wanted to come in and take over the work needed to reissue things he would be delighted to have you. I think he puts out more than enough reissues to satisfy my bank account and the time available to listen to them. I think he listens to the market and cuts his wholesale or consignment prices drastically after a period of time to make sure that the CDs sell and that more people can get them. Show me another niche label like his that has $5 sales for new CDs. ECM? Emanem? FMP? Ogun? If you have the energy and desire, you can probably ask to take over Hat and make an offer. I think his efforts come closer to being heroic than to anything else, but he is a human being with limits and faults and aging ears, but all of our ears will dim with age.

I rather like Joan Osborne's version of "Man in the Long Black Coat" and PJ Harvey's "Highway 61"

I like the hello from former mayor Tom Bradley at 2:28

Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young all play guitar, piano, and harmonica, and sing.

I saw a commercial for some concert in south Florida. Can't even remember who the headliner is but Elvis Costello and The Attractions are opening. Elvis Costello and the Imposters (not the Attractions) are opening for the Police on the Police's upcoming round of US concerts.

2/21 @ 8pm / SERIES: Jazz on film Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together is a portrait of three great New Orleans pianists and how they influenced one another's music. The three keyboard artists – Tuts Washington, Professor Longhair and Allen Toussaint -- are featured playing together for the first time in a rehearsal for a joint concert. The rehearsal turned out to be the only time the three ever played together, because Professor Longhair died two days before the scheduled performance. The video documentary takes viewers through the very personal and sacred New Orleans tradition of a jazz wake and funeral procession for Professor Longhair, which was taped at the encouragement of his widow, Alice. Also included is the previously planned concert with Toussaint and Washington, who turned the event into a tribute to Fess. Dir: Stevenson Palfi, 1982, Video, 76 min. Tickets - $10 2/28 @ 8pm / SERIES: Jazz on film Passing Through Lauded by critics as the best jazz film ever made, Passing Through is a vivid and lyrical meditation on the indelible role of music in the struggle for civil rights. With the vital spontaneity and aesthetic consideration of a masterful jazz composition, the film follows Warmack, a promising young musician, on a spiritual quest toward inspiration and cultural excavation. Warmack's relationship with his grandfather is the heart of Passing Through-- Poppa Harris, a musician himself, provides Warmack with the sort of guidance that leads the film's central journey to its poignant, essential message. Director Larry Clark never released this film commercially-- in his words, it was made for the revolution. Upon its reemergence, Passing Through’s remarkable rarity and quality prompted several festivals to screen it as a special event, including Locarno and Cannes, and its inclusion in this series is a truly exciting chance for us to bring you as close to a lost classic as you’ll find in the film world. Presented by Arthur Magazine. Dir: Larry Clark, 1977, 35mm, 105 min. Tickets - $10 www.silentmovietheatre.com

Exactly. That's why we all gotta fly to LA. Hi all, I showed this at Los Angeles Filmforum a couple of years ago, It is rather good, and I'm glad they are re-screening it at the Silent Movie Theatre. the filmmaker Larry Clark is not the photographer/filmmaker of "Kids" etc Larry Clark, but another filmmaker who was at UCLA in the 1970s with Charles Burnette, Ben Caldwell, and others (while Shirley Clarke was teaching there), and, has more recently been teaching in Santa Cruz. I've had a more elaborate thread on these jazz film screenings in LA elsewhere. It is only a print - not on DVD. The Filmforum screening a couple of years ago was the first LA screening in more than 10 years. I could suggest it to programmers elsewhere, and maybe you can get it played - at least in SF, Chicago, NY. Adam

nothing on Wolfgang's Vault. Wolfgang's Vault keeps focusing on the rock acts. Since it was a Graham event, tapes probably do exist. It would make sense to write to Wolfgang's Vault to ask them to look into them and post them.

Loved that song. Can still sing it. Never knew any other versions. I might still have a 45 of it.

Why does that article give the year of the Berlin Olympics twice as 1938 and once as 1936? '36 is correct. I never knew that the Brits gave Hitler a salute in the Opening ceremonies.