fasstrack

Bump. I'm curious how everyone is faring. As for me, I still take herbs----though they do little than to make me tired at bedtime. The real promoter of sleep for me is Lorazepam. I'm not crazy about the idea of using it (it is addictive, and I don't wish to use it forever), but with the herbs alone I often woke up after a few hours and could not fall back asleep. Now I rarely sleep less than 6 solid hours. I hope everyone is dealing with their sleep disruptions well, or---better still---getting a good night's sleep...

I'm loath to admit that I haven't read any Ellington biographies. Browsed through J.L. Collier's, and it seemed dry as toast... I think a separate book dealing with this, preferably by an actual musician, is overdue...

Probably there is a thread on this already, but: I recently read Lush Life (David Hajdu), a 1996 biography of Billy Strayhorn. I thought it fleshed out Strayhorn the man quite well. My main criticisms: for me Hajdu spent too much time (at times multiple pages) on minor characters in Strayhorn's social orbit. I felt the book dragged in those passages. Also (and I don't hold the non-musician author accountable for this) I would have liked to have read a much more in-depth analysis of the nuts and bolts of what made Strayhorn such a unique composer. To Hajdu's credit there are interviews with his musical colleagues that give some insights. I think a study of Strayhorn the musician by a musician is sorely needed. He really is that important. Where the book really succeeded for me was Hajdu's very detailed exploration on Strayhorn's complex relationship with Ellington. It is well worth reading for that alone. What did you, who have read it, think?

https://www.amazon.com/Westies-Inside-New-Yorks-Irish/dp/0312362846 Gruesome stuff. I guess entertaining if you like reading about dismemberments and beheadings ...

Thanks all. My original point in posting was that I thought that happy birthday threads were automatically generated on birthdays. Guess not...

I've heard it before. It's wonderful. Get it, trust me. Don't know the specifics of his disorder, but he was in the hospital a lot. One time I told him I liked a recording he was on, Frank Strozier's Long Night. He kind of chortled and said 'The day before that record date I fell down some subway stairs and broke both pinkies'...

I'm getting Chris's combined The Inverted Image/My Romance for a birthday present! Everyone here I think knows I loved and was friends with Chris. Here's a link for purchase: http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/chris-anderson/5676-inverted-image-my-romance-2-lps-on-1-cd.html

Thanks. I'm having a quiet one. Lots of well wishes on FB. Going to practice and hopefully compose later. Tomorrow I celebrate with friends...

Boo hoo

This thread is quiet. Does this mean (I hope) everyone is sleeping well?

I did get to play with and hang with Mr. Davis a few times. Thought he was a hell of a guy and player. He did have a nice, long run and is well-represented on recording. A life well-lived and well-played. RIP...

Thanks, everyone...

I thought this was gonna be about the amps. I'm relieved, 'cause I hate them! Ssshh, don't tell anyone.... Happy Birthday, though...

There was a beautiful memorial for Tom yesterday at Local 802 (AF of Musicians), with a large turnout. Tom's charming, sweet, and humorous arrangements for sax quartet and clarinet quintet were performed. Memories were shared. I got to meet Tom's brothers and 91-year-old mother---in from Charlottesville, Va. for the event. There was so much love in the room that everyone's spirits were lifted, especially those of Tom's family and wife, Janet. Made me very happy. Rest well, Tom. You are loved...

I had a conversation with Harvie S. about Don last night. They were very tight, and he is grieving. I myself played only once with Mr. Friedman, at a memorial. Would that it were more. RIP....

Sometimes even the pills don't work. Fitful night last night

I heard them last winter, with buddy James Chirillo on guitar. Fun group. That looks like Scott Robinson in the pic...

Off of Bleeker St., near where the Village Gate used to be. Can't recall the cross street, but you get the general idea...

Miles, Wes, Ben Webster, Duke, etc., etc. (I only got interested in jazz and going to events in the earliest '70s)... I also went intending to hear Chet Baker at a short-lived club, Lush Life, but didn't go in for some reason. Around '82 or '84... I remember he fired Kenny Kirkland and got Hod O 'Brien (who told me 'I hope I don't get fired. Chet is so hard to comp for')...

I experienced almost 2 weeks of not sleeping at all or not enough. The pattern seemed to be a day of perhaps 6 hours sleep, followed by one of none. A horrible thing to go through. I had resorted to Lorazepam, since the herbs (and Melatonin) I was taking simply did not work---but I ran out. (They helped lull me to sleep OK, but I was up within a few hours. Lorazepam again now, and I still take the supplements, though I don't place much faith in them now...

? What's that?

Certain constructors are evidenlty jazz fans. I've seen Thad Jones, and a few others I can't remember now in NYT puzzles.

This Sunday, July 3, I return to play Walker's Restaurant with longtime colleague the wonderful bassist Sean Smith. It will be the 4th time I've played there this year, and the 6th that Sean and myself have worked together in recent times. We really enjoy playing together, and feel you will too. The food is excellent, BTW, and there's no cover charge. We play from 8-11 PM. Walker's is located at 16 N. Moore St. (corner of Varick, one block north of the Franklin St. stop on the 1 train). Come spend the holiday weekend with us!

Claptrap, pure and simple. All the way through...