fasstrack

The web address has Crouch(ing) in it. And the intro paragraph reads like Stanley's writing. Maybe it was Crouching Tiger-ably assisted by Hidden Dragon..

Sorry to hear. I think we're misspelling his first name. Nobe? Nobby? Allen, help us out! I know he's foreign-born, and i bekieve the first name is not a nickname. Turkish? Aaalleen! I do remember him playing in NY a lot in the 70s, Lee Konitz Nonet and at Gregory's w/somebody or mther. Hod O'Brien would know.. Or AAALLLEENNN!!!

Did he do Close to You? I usually play that coupled with This Guy's in Love with You. Today I was in such a good mood I sang it on the street! C'mon, everybody: 'That is why...all the boys in town...follow you...' (;

Knobby Totah-or however he spells it, Barry Harris-as a teen. Best I can do off the top. Mundell Lowe, very good! Recorded at the Rockland Palace. Great player ever since! Lee Konitz! Lest we forget..

Knobby Totah-or however he spells it, Barry Harris-as a teen. Best I can do off the top. Mundell Lowe, very good! Recorded at the Rockland Palace. Great player ever since!

Knobby Totah-or however he spells it, Barry Harris-as a teen. Best I can do off the top.

I couldn't get the byline on that. Did Stan-uh-ley write it? Beautiful interview. It made me chuck my NY chauvinism-and it always makes me smile when a drummer says he has a melodic conception!

I thought Milton Berle HAD the 'biggest schmuck' (;

Smiley Winters! You must be from the West Coast! I remember ads for a Mark Levine recording, Smiley and Me. Great title, and sure enough Smiley was smilin'! Must've been a hell of a guy...

One final thing about WS: I learned an important lesson that night: some people you dont f with-like and admire their work or no. You don't know what they're going through or like as people. I was a young guy trying to hang w/a hero I didn't know. Play w/fire and get burned. Now I relate musically only, at least until I feel things out a bit. As a wise friend said: 'it's ALWAYS a good time to keep your mouth shut!'

Never met Jimmy Smith. I'm also the only guitar player in the free world not to have had the Jack MacDuff experience gig-wise. I'm sure each would have tore me a new one with relish-and xtra green onions. That's actually cool by me, it's old school bandleading and how you learn. Ask George Benson how many tunes he knew pre-McDuff. I did work w/one of the greatest and most underrated organist: the kate Bobby Forrester. He could make the bandstand rise he swung so much.We pkayed in the Bronx once, and i called Spring can Really... He pulled out a pocket fake book-meaning he didn't really know it but a team player will never say no-and thrilled me so much w/what he pkayed behind me I wished I was just in the audience listening. Jerry Weldon would remember. He was on the gig sitting that one out and I looked over, almost in tears. He and Bobby were like brothers. Richard Wyands is the only other player to move me like that. 2 masters.

I should apologize for my earlier meltdown-to Jim especially. It wasn't fair to roll over your admiration for a musician I also admire b/c I was in a shitty mood. I really don't like those guys personally but should have sat on that since our friend Jim was making a heartfelt statement aboup Woody. I feel worse that the thread is about a poor guitarist almost dragged to his death and it should be about passing our good wishes, not the negative stuff I brought ln. When acusing someone of being a baby it's probably a good idea not to be a bigger one. Sorry guys and no excuses.

So don't concern yourself. Just speaking my mind. Not about 'hurt feelings' anyway, but people using talent as an excuse for anything, including being scumbags. The best spin I can put on this is to say most cats have been wonderful. Being a great player-which Woody was and George isn't but THINKS he is-is no excuse for being a jerk. Sorry, man, not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just way past tired of the idiot press and others romantizing people who shit on others and think they get a pass b/c they're 'special'. Bullshit. Ain't nobody that special. But it WAS a tragedy about Woody and I miss hearing him. He was a great.

Woody is not a hero of mine. I love his work and am sorry he went out the way he did. But what an asshole-the biggest I met in the jazz world except George Braithe-he takes the cake. Woody was a great player and writer though. Usually I try to be a class act and not name names, but those those guys don't deserve any more courtesy than they showed me and others. Total selfish egomaniacs.

This guy recorded w\an erstwhile collaborator of mine, the late Jimmy Norman. That's how I knew his name-from Little Pieces, and he did a good job. A year younger than me. Never knew he was blind or plays jazz. If he's doing pop dates that's a better job anyway. You know, a JOB-that's where they pay you. Good player, glad he didn't get hurt.

Guy: To do that we'd have to get rid of ALL critics. Hey, are you listening, God? (;

That was great about Mr. Wallace. And Pete, there's a direct corellation for me between Monk, Beckett, and even Webern: ruthless self-editing.. They pared away all the fat and everything keft was essential. Beckett is especially remarkable for starting out as a virtuoso just aswim in words (his own multi-lingual translator, no less) and ending up a miniaturist of genius. His sparse later pieces were just as hilarious as Watt-just less wordy. And listen to Monk at Minton's. You could almost swear it was Teddy Wilson!.A few short years later he's as terse as Beckett. He could still DO fast-it just didn't FIT anymore. Totally themselves and nothing wasted-especially anyone's time.

He did a convincing job explaining his views to me. And like him or hate him one thing Stanley is NOT is silly. He's a big boy and doesn't need me to defend him-nor do I care to. But let's face it-he's an EFFECTIVE writer, or he wouldn't piss people off. Anyway I told him when we met I diragreed about Miles. A very civil discussion ensued wherein he not only backed up his views w/comments from Mile's band re his motives for playing that kind of music. Stanley was mainly drug about Miles' disingenuouessness. He said almost these exact words: 'I got no problem w/going for the money, just be HONEST about it'. He also listened very attentively to my views. We talked for hours after the gig (it was Deanna Kirk's-a singer, w/Tim Givens on bass and me, guitar) about all kinds of things, and I-once virulent Crouch and Marsalis hater-not only had a great time but came away w/real respect for his intellect. Even if his general conservativism gives me chuckles and I love Miles's music right up to almost the last.

Why, that...CRITIC!!...

I saw To Rome with Love a few days ago. FWIW it was one of his best in a long time. Still playing the nebbish. Judy Davis as the wife got all the zingers. Deprecation by spouse---another time-honored Jewish (and non-sectarian) tradition!

I read the forward (had read sections of the book before). I thought Chambers was cool about low-keying Miles's and Throup's supposedy plagarism of his book. He seemed flattered, actually. But what struck me in this well-written prelude with all the stuff about the estate division agonies, the references to Miles' diminished powers and interest in serious playing; wardrobe and hair weaves; the painting,---etc. is that Chambers seemed to be making a point that Miles had become famous for being famous. It was an unflattering portrait---but perhaps in part a true one. I had an amicible debate with Stanley Crouch (I mean informally, at my gig, not in any official way, and Stanley is a great guy I think) over a lot of this, especially the sell-out accusations. At the time I was sticking up for Miles and sort of telling Stanley 'after all, I'm not inside the guy's brain to know his motives' (I really meant he wasn't in Miles's brain, but was either being polite or chicken ). But over the years I've come to agree with both Mr. Crouch and other late Miles critics. He was an all-time great artist for whom vanity and the desire to stay in the spotlight---and perhaps not grow old gracefully---seemed to get the better of. But Star People showed he still had it. He never lost it, just sort of... Y'all got it...

Bacharach and David were great. Are great. It's nice too they made up with Dionne Warwick. Bad feelings should be gone and the soul clear when it's time to shuffle off...

Ouch. Actually, Lee was on his own for years by then-but I nit-pick...

It's useful to remember that Branford Marsalis just shut his forum down when the shit got out of hand-this is nowhere near where that nuthouse was (sad b/c he was trying a noble experiment in democratic free expression and certain morons ruined it). The point: no one is OWED a damn thing here. Just folllow a few guidlines-and don't shoot the messenger charged w/enforcing them.

This is getting unnecessarily nasty and childish even. There are only a couple of rules here-this place is pretty damn freewheeling. I was once asked to tone it down-something I wrote was offensive. I grumbled a bit-then toned it down. Aoyone that can't abide by a few rules should start their own site or take their beach ball and go. But stop breaking the moderators balls-grow up, will you?