Adam

I have a friend for whom Loveless is her favorite record, and she is not without taste. I haven't ever given it a proper listen.

Here's the LA Times story: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca...1,1025785.story Martin's 'Love' fest The "fifth Beatle" gets back to where he once belonged — a studio filled with the songs of the Fab Four — to mash up tracks for a new album. And he finds "the boys" can still surprise him with their By Randy Lewis, Times Staff Writer November 19, 2006 IMAGINE, for a moment, that you're Maurice Koechlin or Emile Nouguier, the engineers Gustave Eiffel hired in the 1880s to assemble the magnificent Parisian tower he pictured in his mind rising to heights previously unachieved by mankind. Then imagine that almost four decades after you completed your job down to the last strut and rivet, four decades during which the world marveled at your construction genius, you're invited to tear it down and turn the component parts into a bridge, a carousel and maybe a speedboat to boot. Now you've got a sense of what longtime Beatles producer George Martin has done for "Love." That is the title of the Beatle-centric Cirque du Soleil show that's been running in Las Vegas since June and the new Beatles album coming out Tuesday with music Martin and his son Giles assembled by slicing and dicing the Fab Four's original recordings in ways often as breathtakingly innovative as the original creations. In the parlance of 2006 pop music, it's a collection of mash-ups, the first authorized by the Beatles' notoriously protective and creatively conservative Apple Corps enterprise and the group's label, EMI Records. It was just 2 1/2 years ago that EMI swooped down on then little-known DJ-mixer Danger Mouse and slapped him with a cease-and-desist order when he blended the quartet's so-called "White Album" with rapper Jay-Z's "Black Album" for his own "Grey Album," which became a widely ripped and burned Internet sensation. But for "Love," the man often described as "the fifth Beatle" took scissors, scalpel and, in some instances, paper shredder to the original master tapes, giving even the most Beatle-savvy listeners a fresh spin on their ultra-familiar recordings. "They did some pretty weird things originally," Martin said recently while seated in the spot where he may be most at home when he's not at his actual home in London: a recording studio, this one Capitol Records Studio A in Hollywood, where he and Giles spent two hours walking a visitor track by track through their radical revision of the Beatles oeuvre. "What we're doing today is just an extension of that." The Martins spent the better part of four years working on this father-son project, dissecting some of the world's most popular and beloved rock music, then stitching the shredded bits and pieces into entirely new sonic collages. The album, which is being released in stereo on CD and in 5.1-channel surround sound on DVD, opens with a cappella vocals harmonizing on "Because." Soon, the famous piano chord that explodes at the end of "A Day in the Life" swells up in reverse then is chopped off by the ringing chord that opens "A Hard Day's Night," which segues into guitar and drum solos from "The End." Then the song gallops off into the famous London rooftop performance of "Get Back." George Harrison's vocal from his mystical, Indian-inspired song "Within You Without You" gets a new rhythmic punch floating over the bass-and-drum track from the psychedelically minded "Tomorrow Never Knows." Ringo Starr sings the words to "Octopus's Garden," but the band is replaced by the string arrangement for "Good Night" from the "White Album" — an arrangement composed and conducted by George Martin. Still into the music THE most endearing thing about Martin, now 80 and wearing two hearing aids, is to see just how much he's still delighted, impressed and humbled by the musicians and the recordings he worked with half a lifetime ago. A punchy mash-up that inserts part of Harrison's "Taxman" guitar solo into "Drive My Car" over Starr's jacked-up drum beat from "What You're Doing" got Martin twisting in his swivel chair, his hands comfortably behind his head. "In a lot of this, the drums are driving everything," said Martin, whose patrician features, elegant silver hair and stately upper-class British accent — to say nothing of that 1996 knighthood from Queen Elizabeth — belie his roots as the son of a North London carpenter born shortly before the onset of the Depression. "After we'd gotten a lot of it done, I talked to Ringo and told him, 'You know, what you did is really impressive.' And he said 'Yes, I know.' " Later, while listening as the CD continues to roll through a mélange of "Here Comes the Sun" and the rhythm tracks from "Within You Without You," Martin breaks into an 80-year-old's version of the robot dance. It isn't that no one else could have mashed up Beatles music (ask Danger Mouse). But Martin arguably is the only one whose reconfiguration of it matters, because he, more than even any individual Beatle, was fundamental to its birth. His understanding of it reaches virtually the molecular level. That comes through in the "Love" version of "Strawberry Fields Forever," which traces the song's evolution from an early demo version with just John Lennon's voice and acoustic guitar through various stages until it morphs seamlessly into the final full-blown arrangement. Martin obviously has an abiding affection for the four musicians he often refers to simply as "the boys." After first hearing them in 1962, he pronounced them "pretty awful," yet he was one of the few British record executives who bothered to listen when manager Brian Epstein approached him for an audition. The group had been famously turned down by Decca and other labels, but Martin heard enough of a spark of originality that he offered the foursome a contract with the label he headed at the time, the EMI-owned Parlophone. He was old enough to be a father figure — he was 36, the Beatles ranged in age from 19 to 22 — but they bonded at first because Martin had recorded some of their favorite comedians, among them Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan as well as the Beyond the Fringe and Goon Show comedy troupes. Martin went on to produce all of the Beatles' studio albums except "Let It Be," which was handled by Phil Spector. It was Martin's musical expertise that helped turn the sounds John, Paul, George and Ringo had in their heads into reality. It was his idea, and arrangement, for the string quartet accompaniment in "Eleanor Rigby." It was Martin who concocted the apocalyptic orchestral buildup that gives "A Day in the Life" its cyclonic climax. All with technology virtually Jurassic compared with what he's sitting in front of today. "The way we made most of the records, especially in the early days," Martin said, "was by playing the songs live in the studio, and they really could perform live. "What we hoped to do [in "Love"] is to give the impression of hearing them live now," he said, to which Giles added, "The idea was to strip away all the history and let people just hear them playing as a band. Listen to Paul's vocal on 'Eleanor Rigby' … you hear him really going for it." After just a few years and albums, the Beatles became prime advocates of the recording studio as a creative tool rather than simply a place to take audio snapshots of their live act. That became clear in the sonic sophistication of "Revolver" in 1966 and continued, with breathtaking growth, through "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" the following year, "The Beatles" (a.k.a. "The White Album") in '68 and "Abbey Road" in '69. In a sense, the real mash-up of "Love" is the Beatles' experimentalist mind-set with the technological sophistication and musical lexicon of a new millennium. One of the few disagreements between father and son, albeit a mild one, turned up in a Lennon mash-up of "Come Together," "Dear Prudence" and "Cry Baby Cry," during which George lightly grimaced and, almost under his breath, muttered, "There's his major chord against my minor." Giles smiled, saying, "It always upsets him when we get to that one. He really hates that." Ignoring his father's career advice early on, Giles, who was born the week "Abbey Road" went to No. 1 on the British charts, started his own career producing recordings by acts including Kula Shaker, Velvet Jones, the Alice Band and Hayley Westenra. His coming of age in the digital era is behind much of the technological magic worked on the Beatles recordings for "Love." Martin the elder and Martin the younger are both tall, lanky and strikingly handsome. In dress and manner their generational differences are apparent: George's natty bronze sports coat and crisply pressed Oxford shirt, gray slacks and polished black dress shoes hail from an earlier, classier world than Giles' casual long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and white tennies. One last collaboration "LOVE" came about because of the friendship Harrison forged with Cirque founder Guy Laliberté nearly a decade ago. In the years leading up to his death in 2001, Harrison impressed on McCartney, Starr and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, how much he wanted to see one final creative collaboration among what remained of the Beatles. Because it was essentially a dying wish, the others set aside differences that had long kept them at odds — especially McCartney and Ono — to bring "Love" to fruition. Skeptics will point out that EMI overseas and Capitol here in the states know too well how profitable it is to release anything with the Beatles imprimatur on it, especially during the holidays. When the "1" hits collection was released in 2000, it went on to sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S. alone and introduced a whole new generation to Beatlemania. The thought of medleys in the world of Beatles music raised the prospect of the worst kind of a Vegas-ized bowdlerization of one of the cornerstone catalogs in popular music. But even those poised to pounce on anything smacking of exploitation of the Beatles catalog have come away from "Love" impressed. "There seems to be almost a complete lack of 'cheese factor,' " former ICE Magazine editor and veteran Beatles watcher Pete Howard wrote after seeing it. "The whole presentation carries an air of dignity and class, with perhaps only the slightest touch of campiness." But Martin, too, recognizes what this project represents for him after so many years of the Beatles dominating not just his career, but his life. At the finish of his hauntingly recast version of Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" — an early demo version paired with Martin's newly composed and recorded orchestral accompaniment — Giles noted with pride: "I think it's amazing that at age 80, he can still do something as edgy as that, and yet it still sounds like the Beatles." Matter-of-factly, George Martin said, "The first score I ever wrote for the Beatles was the one for 'Yesterday,' and there's 40 years in between" that and the new "Guitar Gently Weeps" music. With just the faintest trace of sadness, he said: "That's the last score I'll ever write for the Beatles."

Probably going with a friend to see the Watts towers, and having a dinner with another friend. Never go shopping...

Who's Mario?

I have the 80th birthday concert but haven't listened to it properly. Sorry. Will try to do so soon.

I went to Tower Sunset yesterday. The store was officially at 30% off, but they were having an additional 10% off yesterday and today, making 40%. Given Tower's full list price starting point, it finally made it worth it, and I bought way too much. Ah well. I looked for those Fania reissues though and couldn't find them anywhere. Their World music pickings were thinned out quite a bit, although I did get a couple more Ethiopiques, etc. They did have a few Mosaic Selects, though, with a starting point price of $54. With the 40% off, that makes them about $33. I didn't buy any, but I saw Freddie Slack, Shank & Cooper, and one other on which I am blanking.

He's Pat Patrick's son? That's pretty amazing! Maybe he'll do something for jazz in Massachusetts.

Heck, there's also no Led Zeppelin (the real thing) on iTunes, just tributes.

A newish review: David Murray Trio “3D Family” CD-2006 hatOLOGY Recorded at a Swiss jazz festival in 1978, saxophonist David Murray signified a young-blood on the global jazz scene, possessing a distinctive line of attack, conveying style and ferocious inprov acumen. And what a gala this is! Sounding as fresh and vital nearly three decades later, the band pulls out the proverbial stops. The musicians judiciously parallel the intimations of the album title, by offering a multidimensional tour de force of progressive jazz marked with burning intensity and spiritual overtones. On the nearly twenty-minute opener “3D Family,” Murray rephrases a vacillating and jazz-waltz driven motif, spiced up with sugary overtones and an endearing hook. With vocal-like attributes he improvises atop the all-star rhythm section of South African bassist Johnny Mbizo Dyani and American drummer Andrew Cyrille. They slice, dice, and soar heavenward. Yet, they communicate solstice and introspection during the extended workout titled “Patricia.” Elsewhere, the artists align for a sequence of frenzied, free-form excursions marked by climactically consummated opuses and cumulative firepower. This wondrously recorded reissue offers a timeless snapshot of progressive jazz. The trio was at the top of its game here. – Glenn Astarita David Murray: tenor saxophone; Johnny Mbizo Dyani: double bass; Andrew Cyrille: percussion David Murray Trio “3D Family” CD hatOLOGY 609

I followed that link that Brownie provided above, and on the page in question (www.alapage.com), listed at the bottom (under other things of interested) was: THAT DEVILIN' TUNE / VOL.3 : A JAZZ HISTORY 1934 / 1945 http://www.alapage.com/-/Fiche/Musiques/92...nee_appel=REF05 So Allen, I guess this is coming out in 10 days in Europe! Date de sortie : 16/11/2006

The several people that I know who saw it over the weekend have all declaimed it painfully funny, with incredible commentary on American society, and a must-see.

I saw them last night at the Hollywood Bowl, and they were, well, okay. Everything was played fine, but nothing went beyond. There was some tentativeness, accountable to at least 2 things: 1. This was teh first concert of teh second leg of their North American tour - they hadn't played in a few weeks. 2. The keyboard player was a last-minute sub for Rabbit. Townsend event announced that they had had no rehearsals with the new guy. A woman standing nearby said she has come to see them each of the last few times at the Hollywood Bowl (that is their venue of choice in LA - 4 times in a row) and declared it the worst of the shows. It was serviceable. The new songs weren't that inspired, although a couple of the slower ones were better. I saw them last (and only) in 1989 - their first comeback tour - at the Coliseum. Never saw them with Moon. But hey, they had Keith Moon in the band for 10 years, and have been without him for 30 years, so...

up as well, just for the heck of it...

up, after reading Larry Kart's obit for Hines in his book, and realizing how little Hines I have. Are there good recordings that represent the best of his group work from the 1940s and later?

I went to Tower Sunset in LA last Monday. CDs were 25% off. I bought a few. The workers there suggested coming back in a couple of weeks, and things should be at (get this) 30% off! yee haw! But they recommended waiting on things that had many copies on the shelves. Unfortunately, in jazz, that mostly meant music by smooth jazz makers. I ended up buying a few non-jazz albums: Os Mutantes, Mutantes, 2 Ethiopiques volumes. It's unclear whether they will drop box set prcies any more. I'll check it out once more closer to Thanksgiving.

A new update, from the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-ex-fe...-home-headlines Eriksson Ferrari crash case slams into mistrial By Jill Leovy, Times Staff Writer 11:55 AM PST, November 3, 2006 A mistrial was declared today in the theft and embezzlement trial of Bo Stefan Eriksson, who was involved in the crash of a rare Enzo Ferrari. Jurors began deliberations Thursday and told the judge today they were deadlocked. They had voted 10 to 2 for conviction, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Eriksson faced two counts of grand theft and fraudulent concealment with intent to defraud. Prosecutors said he stopped making payments on and tried to hide two luxury sports cars from the lenders. Eriksson, 44, had already agreed to a plea deal on drunk-driving charges related to the spectacular crash of his 2003 red Enzo Ferrari, reported to be worth a million dollars. Police believe he was going 162 mph when it crashed on Pacific Coast Highway on Feb. 21. The images of the severed and mangled car on the dusty Malibu roadside seemed to capture some spirit of debauched wealth and excess in Los Angeles, as if a Stradivarius violin had been smashed at some drunken beach party. Afterward, the protagonist's dark past came to light. These factors helped fan public interest in the case, along with the murky happenings surrounding the crash, such as the inexplicable appearance of men identifying themselves as Homeland Security officials and Eriksson's insistence that a mystery man named Dietrich had been behind the wheel. After the crash, Eriksson's possession of two other cars came under scrutiny and deputies searching his Bel-Air house turned up a gun. Eriksson, who has nine criminal convictions in Sweden for forgery, narcotics and firearms offenses, cannot legally possess a gun. His trial on the gun offense is pending. This case dealt with auto theft and embezzlement charges. Eriksson, former executive of a now bankrupt company, had been accused of transferring ownership of two cars, a black Enzo and a McLaren Mercedes-Benz, to employees, then shipping them abroad in violation of lending contracts. Prosecutors called it a sophisticated scheme to spirit away the two valuable cars. Eriksson's defense attorney, Jim Parkman, said the banks had finessed a civil disagreement into criminal courts out of self-interest. He added that Eriksson's contracts with them were more like a purchase than lease agreements.

Yeah, I picked up their CD, which is very enjoyable. They played here in LA last week at the Temple Bar but I wasn't able to attend. Next time... Hey, are you associated with the Temple Bar, given your user name?

What's the best place to get this these days in the USA? This is one I need to get my mom & aunt, as they were habitues of the LA jazz scene at that time.

Now, if it were "Teasing the Koran," then we might have some problems!

I just went by in July, and I owe someone else a trip to them. Let's see if I can load a picture, although they pretty much look like those already posted.

Someday I gotta go take a picture of whatever is actually at 9114 S. Central Ave, Los Angeles.

I like that cover art, particularly the first.

Anyone get any of the Palmieri albums yet, Eddie or Charlie? How do they rate?

Streetlight is a great place to buy CDs. BFrank likes Amoeba, but I have no experience there....but I understand the selection is nothing short of magnificent. Rhino is another spot worth checking out too, IMHO. Rhino closed several months ago. The problem is that now Amoeba will have something approaching a monopoly. It's average prices are already going up. [edited for spelling]

I think you're wrong there. Look at the enormous effort that goes into preserving ancient texts. This is not done for the sake of future sales. The real difficulty is that the amount of material has increased exponentially over the last fifty or sixty years. And who shall say what is worth preserving for the next thousand? MG I would be glad to be wrong in my remarks! Good point about the efforts to preserve old texts, and not merely for the sake of future sales! Who'll say what's worth preserving? Good question... The people who do work to preserve ancient texts, though, are always on the hunt for grants to support the preservation & work, and most of them have regular jobs at universities to support their livelihood. Lots of items stay in vaults for years and years and years before money gets found to do any preservation work. Not a perfect example, and from another medium, but I know several people who do film preservation. Andy work they do never removes the ownership from the copyright holder. The copyright holder still owns it, must approve the preservation, and approve screenings of the preserved (and potentially restored) prints. It can be a real hassle to screen a "preserved/restored" film sometimes. But the UCLA Film & Television Archive, or the Academy of Motion Pictures Archive, will do the work of restoration, and will store the preserved films. I still can't screen those films without getting permission from the copyright holder and paying the rental fee. Tangentially, the difference between preserving engraved stone blocks, such as cuneiform tablets from the middle east (or books on vellum from the middle ages, or whatever), versus storing digital media which needs to be transferred to a different format every decade or less, is quite different. Those tablets, or Dead Sea Scrolls, or whatever, can sit in a case (at proper humidity & temperature) for 200 years and be all right. The digital media will be damaged in 200 years probably, and tape media always decays. A constant effort to copy media requires greater funds than ancient texts. Heck, I can store some papyrus scrolls in urns in a cave in the desert for 2000 years and we could still read them. Let's try that with some DA88 tapes, nitrate film negative, and 24 track tape from 1970. The answer, of course, is to return to recording everything on stone tablets.