Adam

Sonny Rollins: Tenor Madness (SACD Hybrid)

Bertrand, RDK, Valerie B, and I attended the Tribute to Sherman Ferguson at Catalina's last Sunday. I arrived late, and missed some things. It was lovely, and the place was full. But there was more speaking than playing. Several people spoke about Ba'hai faith, which Sherman followed. Kenny Burrell gave a moving eulogy. There were a couple of groups that played one number each, but then they ended it promptly at 4:00 so that Catalina's could prepare for the evening show. They announced that there would be more music & tribute at the World Stage at 7:30 that night in honor of Sherman, but I was not able to attend. I saw Ferguson a few times over the years in Los Angeles, with various groups, and he was always excellent. He'll be missed. RIP.

You don't understand what "mechanical rights" are. They have to do with the publishing of the song and the use of the music and words, not the recording. They obviously paid the mechanicals if the song is in the movie. My error, yes. From ASCAP: Mechanical Rights A mechanical right is the right to record and distribute (without visual images) a song on a phonorecord for private use. Mechanical rights or a mechanical license must be obtained in order to lawfully make and distribute records, CD's and tapes. Synchronization or "Synch" Rights A synchronization or "synch" right involves the use of a recording of musical work in audio-visual form: for example as part of a motion picture, television program, commercial announcement, music video or other videotape. Often, the music is "synchronized" or recorded in timed relation with the visual images. Synchronization rights are licensed by the music publisher to the producer of the movie or program. My use of "synch" rights was correct; my use of "mechanical" was wrong. I should have said "Master use license." From the BMI site: http://www.bmi.com/licensing/broadcaster/sync.asp In addition to the synchronization license obtained from Rhyme Music, the movie studio may also need to obtain a master use license from Trevor's record company if they want to use his recording of "Fictional Lives." This is because a particular recording of a song has a separate copyright from the underlying musical composition, and this sound recording copyright is generally held by the record company. For example, when movie producers used original recordings in The Big Chill, they had to obtain master use licenses from the various record companies, in addition to the synchronization licenses from the music publishers, in order to use the original recordings of such hits from the 60's as "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" performed by Marvin Gaye, "Natural Woman" performed by Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." The BMI site lays out the distinctions pretty well: http://www.bmi.com/licensing/broadcaster/faq.asp And from this I understand that they did obtain the mechanical license as well, not because the song is in the film, but because there is a soundtrack CD that includes the songs as performed in the film.

Hi Allen, They probably could have afforded afford to do the licensing, but they probably chose not to, and to use the money on something else. Sony Columbia probably asked a very high fee for teh mechanicals. But anyway, Joaquin Phoenix interviewed: http://movies.about.com/od/walktheline/a/walkline111505.htm And here's the director, James Mangold, on his reason why he had Phoenix and Witherspoon sing: http://suicidegirls.com/words/James+Mangol...+Walk+the+Line/ Mangold: I can’t speak about Ray, I don’t know about their process. But Johnny Cash is one of the great storytellers of all time and so is June Carter, meaning their relationship with the audience was probably a little different than people like Ray Charles. It wasn’t about the sonic perfection of their voices. It was about their human connection with the audience. They could stop the song in the middle and tell you a story. They could laugh in the middle of their song. There was a million ways that Johnny and June made you feel like you were at home with them. The idea of turning Joaquin and Reese into Natalie Wood in West Side Story by pressing play on a tape recorder and having someone else’s voice come out of their mouth would have contradicted everything Johnny stood for. As Johnny would attest to, he would easily scrap a record he had made where he hit every note perfectly if he thought there was a take where he hit the emotions perfectly even if he was off pitch. So his entire aesthetic was not about being perfect as a musician, it was about being connected. As a director, I felt that my best connectors are my actors. So to deny them the ability to do that with an audience seems to me that I would be denying them something. Also I really felt there was something they gained from them becoming musicians that would affect the way they performed in other scenes where they weren’t singing. If you’re an actor and every time a musical moment is happening someone takes your voice away from you and plays a record it seems to me that you’re robbing the actor of a kind of confidence they need to really fully become this person

What's the best (or a good) place to obtain these in the United States? the only B.B. I have is "Live at the Regal." What's the next thing to get?

Most assuredly this was a choice by the director and producer, not Phoenix's. He has repeatedly expressed his trepidation about doing the singing (as did Reese Witherspoon) In this day and age where everyone seems to know too much about how films are made, and how much money they make, it's refreshing to read such a nice innocent remark. :-) The main reason probably has to do with money, closely followed by performance. To use Cash's voice would require licensing both the mechanical rights from Sony (the actual recordings) in addition to the synch rights (the publishing, or the written song). To have Phoenix sing... no mechanical license. Also, even if he were lip syncing to Cash's voice, he would have actually been singing during the scenes, for performance reasons. Cash's voice would be added in post-production. Finally, in the scenes where he "writes" "Folsom Prison Blues" while in the army, and auditions it for Sam Phillips - well, there probably would be no Cash recording from those events. (Granted that the audition tape for Phillips might exist.) So Phoenix would have had to sing those scenes (or someone could have sung them anew - see "Singin' in the Rain" for that method in action). Once you had established "his" voice as Cash's voice, might it have seemed strange to have it change a little to Cash's actual voice later in the film? That's a debatable point.

The show at Club Tropical is actually Thursday Feb 2: http://www.cryptonight.com/ I sure intend to go! Nels Cline & Friends play the music of Andrew Hill Guitarist Nels Cline's profile has grown in recent years thanks to his involvement with Wilco, but the extra attention hasn't gone to his head--Cline remains a humble and reverential music fanatic, venerating his influences even as he explodes musical boundaries. A few years back Cline honored John Coltrane by covering Interstellar Space in its entirety; late last year he took part in a blistering electric ode to Coltrane's Ascension. This time around, he delves into the music of another of his inspirations, post-bop icon Andrew Hill, a composer/pianist whose experiments in the 60s still resonate in the jazz avant-garde of today. And what an ensemble Cline has assembled for the occasion: cornetist Bobby Bradford (sideman for Ornette Coleman), clarinetist Ben Goldberg (of Tin Hat), accordionist Andrea Parkins (Ellery Eskelin, Anthony Coleman), and the formidable rhythm section of Devin Hoff and Scott Amendola (2/3 of the Nels Cline Singers). The sextet will play material that they're about to record for an upcoming Andrew Hill tribute album, set for a late 2006 release on Cryptogramophone Nels Cline - guitars Andrea Parkins - accordion, electronics Ben Goldberg - clarinet Bobby Bradford - cornet Devin Hoff - bass Scott Amendola - drums

Structurally it is almsot the exact same as "Ray," and I woould be interested to start both simultaneously and see if certain scenes even hit at the same time. So it has the limitations of a Hollywood bio-pic. That said, I think it's pretty enjoyable for what it is. I also think the best moment of the film is the opening credit sequence. For free? It's worth seeing. "Capote" is better though.

Here's the full announcement. I might make that. Tribute to Sherman Ferguson 10/31/44 - 1/22/06 Please join us in a loving memorial for our friend and master musician, Sherman Ferguson Sunday, January 29 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Catalina's Jazz Club 6725 West Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028 323-466-2210 Free admission No host refreshments Susan Townsley UCLA 1237 Murphy Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095-1419

From Sun Ra to Ashlee Simpson... how SNL has fallen.

Oh, i'll send you one with mine. Would Freddie Redd know you or know of you, if I can reach him?

The William Eggleston doc referred to above is playing at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles this coming week. The fact that such options exist on Comcast, somewhere, is very interesting. I need to check my Comcast listings - I have it but almost never watch. So where do I find such listings?

Hi, I was in touch with Freddie Redd. I'll see if his number still works. I tried to get a ticket to the Wayne Shorter concert at Disney Hall, but it is sold out! Sunday evening I have Filmforum: www.lafilmforum.org But perhaps during the day? And I also intend to make the Lee Morgan Tribute, but I make no guarantees about getting there in time, with work. I wonder if anyone is at the World Stage on Saturday night? Oh, there is another interesting thing on Saturday night - teh Luckman Jazz Orchestra, led by James Newtown. Not that you could make it to that, but... January 28, 2006 8pm Luckman Fine Arts Complex "Old Wine, New Bottles" A new approach to compositions from the 1920s, '30, '40s, '50s. originally performed by the Ellington, Lunceford, Gillespie, Spud Murphy and Basie Bands. Media sponsor: KKJZ 88.1 FM. http://ljo.luckmanfineartscomplex.org/ And Thursday at Club Tropical: Thursday, Jan. 26, 8:00 PM. Paul Rutherford/Torsten Müller/Harris Eisenstadt Paul Rutherford - trombone Torsten Müller - contrabass Harris Eisenstadt - drums/percussion What part of town are you staying in? I think Dmitry is here as well.

She's 37? How old is Lebron James?

Tangent: How scarce are hens' teeth? Why is that a metaphor? Any chicken farmers here? I'm a city boy.

I just ordered that from DVD Discount. It's been beat up for years. How is the Special Feature "Guide to plaves Boudu goes" or whatever it is called? Which reminds me, does anyone have the extra disc in the Kino Buster Keaton box? It suppsedly has a feature showing the sites in LA where Keaton made his films. I have the book upon which that is based, and wonder how the video version of it is.

Up. We've started discussing this now in the Aron's thread in Misc Music. Another season of the American Jazz Institute at Claremont-McKenna College. = 2006 The Institute's website is not current, but the phone number on it is correct. I spoke with someone today there. http://www.amjazzin.com/main.html Coming up: Monday Jan. 30 8pm, as people know - Tribute to Lee Morgan, with Tim Hagans and Clay Jenkins Friday Feb. 10 - Gary Foster & Putter Smith duo March 8 - Reid Gratz (sp?) - visiting profesor at the college March 23 - Michael Marcus - playing the music of Ornette Coleman Pickford Hall. Go to Claremont, Foothill Blvd. Go South on Claremont Turn right on 9th Pass the baseball field and a big parking lot, then you come to a small parking lot, park there Walk due west to the Bauer Center Pickford Hall is "right there"

I need to get tickets to the Wayne Shorter gig, and had totally overlooked what's going on at Claremont McKenna. Maria Schneider Orchestra is a week later at Disney Hall. My experience from last year is GET THERE EARLY for the concerts at Claremont. Is there anywhere online that has the listings for the American Jazz Institute shows at Claremont McKenna, including the Lee Morgan tribute? The Claremont McKenna page still lists last year's shows, and teh American Jazz Institute page doesn't seem to have been updated in over a year.

I bought about 20 CDs there on Monday. Sorry I got there after you though; one of those boxes would have been nice. Where did you find them? But the pickings are thinner now; I mostly got things that looked interesting but weren't on any list of "to get." A couple of ECM Rarums, a couple Tzadik releases; George Russell 80th Birthday concert; Pee Wee Russell "Ask Me Now" and this amazing new Roswell Rudd with a Mongolian quintet album. Some blues and other discs - Big Jay McNeely and Jimmy McCracklin Chronological Classics; Burning Spear; David Grisman, etc. I've certainly spent thousands at Aron's over the years. I almost went again tonight with a friend who worked there in the mid-90s. You guys are in LA? Let's all get together for a show, with RDK and anyone else. A

Norah better watch out!

There are still a couple of independent stores on Pico near the Best Buy, but they are pretty much exclusively used, without the delights and wisdom that one could get at Rhino back when it was still good. But Rhino probably never should have moved south. I'm sure the rent had something to do with it, and it probably seemed like a good idea - a new, much bigger space and parking lot. But I think they got just a bit too far from Westwood to lose walk-in traffic from UCLA students and westwood village in general. Amoeba also hurt, but Rhino should have been able to hold onto West Side patrons; it's 35 minutes to Amoeba from there. It's really sad to see them go.

Don't mention such things! And to figure out how to make your DVD player region free, check this site: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks I have followed the suggestion and used it successfully with the Cyberhome DVD-300, which also plays PAL & NTSC, and will output PAL as an NTSC signal to a NTSC monitor. For $50 at Best Buy, you really can't beat it. I recently picked up the Region 2 PAL version of Delicatessen, and it was rather nice to watch it.

My apologies.

Hi Kyo, Welcome. We'd be less paranoid if your first posting to the boards wasn't marketing. You can probably understand how that looks. Please try posting in a few threads without trying to sell CDs. We'd love to have your opinion on other records, or the Album of the Week, or live shows. Best regards, Adam

Yes, but people don't ask to borrow the jazz; the want to borrow the other musical genres. They ar egood friends. And I still keep a slip of paper on which I list who borrows what. After a few montsh I ask for it back. No big deal.