fasstrack

I'm hip. Amen.

I got word last night that my friend of 40 years, drummer Wade Barnes, died suddenly in his sleep at 57. I physically shook for a minute. He had been very thin and I think was diabetic-still a total shock. I just saw him this week. We talked at the bar at Fat Cat in the wee hours. He was being real caring b/c about some things I've been going through, and we just talked period. We played in one of our first jazz groups when we were 18 at Kingsborough Community College (Tom Browne was on trumpet) and in the early '80s in Marshal Brown's ensemble (Marshal was a rightfully famous jazz teacher of Newport Youth Band fame who taught me to play rhythm guitar among other things). Wade's group played the St. Peter's tribute to Randy Weston that I lost my job going to, and Randy watched on a video screen in the musician's room, beaming. Wade had family, too. He was just a good guy. This is just senseless and I swear I don't get life at all sometimes. It's been a rough decade. Dan Converse, guitar; Chuck Clark, saxophone and great writing talent, Sam Furnace, saxophone, Ted Trimble, bass. We were all friends, but I knew Wade first. We have to appreciate our gifts, our time here---and use them well. Thanks for listening.

Maybe. He's not an anti-Semite in his love life, anyway. Married a Jew once. There's a very fine line that needs to be watched: many people claim just that, that they are anti-Zionist and not anti-Jewish. I say follow the deeds, not the words. For example, the book on Jimmy Carter among many (mostly conservative and moderate) Jews is that he's a Jew-hater---based on his sympathy for Palestinians, at least in print. I don't believe that, and think Carter a great man. I also don't reside in either his brain or soul, so my best opinion is only that. This whole discussion gets heated, but the thing to bear in mind is that most discussing it have never visited---let alone spent any time talking to both sides in---Israel, thereby not to be taken all that seriously IMO. I have no idea what goes on there really---and never will until I spend at least 6 months to a year there. It would take at least that long for people to trust any outsider and say what they really feel. Just my opinion........

Nice carom shot, Chris! I never defended Burns, nor do I condone sloppy journalism. I don't care about Ken Burns one way or the other. Anyone getting the obsequious glad hand from noted airhead Charlie Rose is annoying in my book anyway. But the real point: Why are we still talking about this in 2012, and does anyone else care?

Art Pepper wrote about it in Straight Life.

I don't think it was actually a stroke, but pressure on the brain. He got good treatment and plenty of rest anyway.

WTF? Hilarious! C'mon, everyone: 'The games people play now Every night and every day now... Never meanin' what they say now Never sayin' what they mean' Ok, just the altos. Once more, with feeling.........

(Writes on blackboard. In BIG CHALK LETTERS Aim: to understand who the intended audience for Jazz was. 'Anyone? Yes, Ms. Magillicutty?' 'Regular people who didn't know what it was but might be interested?' 'Right. Thank you. You guys are the smartest 10-year-olds I know!'

Baraka has stated that Israeli intelligence (traditionally more competent that the CIA) warned the Bush administration that the attack was coming, and the US ignored the warning. It's in the several-page note that follows the poem in his book. Oh, "Baraka has stated" in "the several page note." Then it must be true. First, as has been known for some time (see Richard Clarke's testimony, Bush's "now you've covered your ass" remark to the CIA rep who came to the ranch to pass on the agency's warning, etc., the U.S. had been told at the highest level by its own intelligence arms that something significantly bad probably was in the works but not specifically this. Second, the tone alone of these passages: "Who know why Five Israelis was filming the explosion And cracking they sides at the notion ... "Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers To stay home that day Why did Sharon stay away?" seems to me to speak of a noxious flippancy that scarcely inspires trust in the contents of that several page note. Further, what about those five filming Israelis "cracking they sides at the notion"? The non-existent 4000 Israeli workers who stayed away that day? And why did he think Sharon was supposed to be there and didn't show? All signs of the highly competent Israeli intelligence service hard at work, right? But I suppose the note covers all this. Pretty sick. I remember a piece of his in the VV entitled Confessions of an ex-anti-Semite. He claimed in a the letter column that the title was 'tacked on'. Then there's Julius Lester, who did the opposite: Someone read a horrible anti-Jewish poem on his '60s WBAI show. There was a furor and the JDL tried to storm the station. Lester, explaining his later conversion to Judaism, said that the Jews at the station were the only ones that stuck up for him. Black militants---of which there were plenty---turned their backs. It's amazing how full of shit some progressives are in the name of who-all-knows what cause. Leonard Lopate---who BTW is as pink as they come but puts on an act at WNYC (not that I mind anyone's politics, just phonies) had a discussion in the '80s on his then talk show on BAI about the 'crap he had to sit through as a dedicated member of the Left'..and proceeded to quote from memory a poem by Baraka's wife. He had a point, it was totally stupid and horribly written. I guess you can't blame Amiri for that.

Understood, but surely Parker's innovation and expression is an impossible standard to which to hold all others. Especially since Jones is so quick to explain Miles Davis' tone (and one might assume blues-y economy of sound) as "a means rather than an end... a deep connection to the basic blues impulse... insinuat[ing] more blues with one note and a highly meaningful pause than most cool instrumentalists could throughout an entire composition." Why not give similar bop musicians and their styles (i.e. Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan) the same charitable interpretation? I definitely intend to. I loved reading this piece, regardless of my reaction to it. Bird was a great blues player. Much better than Dizzy or Bud IMO, though they were great and had their own takes on it. But when you hear him w/McShann or any time really he was born to it. I think that's the aspect guys like Horace and Lou Donaldson picked up on (among many, many other things in Horace's case, like gospel influence, great bandleading skills, charisma, and his inborn and rare) talent for melody and communicating). Also, re popularity vs. 'purity', I remember Dizzy telling DownBeat years ago 'George Shearing was the best thing to happen to our music this year'. Very shrewd of him, and genuinely appreciative. Every little bit helps, plus Shearing was a great musician and a contributor of tunes. The sad fact is---like it or not---undiluted bebop, 60+ years down the line---remains unpopular (even the little it's known) in the land of its birth. Make of that what you will.

Worth noting is that per here: http://lists.jazzwee...rch/002849.html Burns unstead used a slip of juggler Rudy Cardenas, who was not even on thee show that night, but who was on the following werk, 3/19/55 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1855000/ So what Burns is showing you that Bird was watching, Bird was already dead by then - and it wasn't evne the same act. So much for meticulous research... Aw, shut up! When you seen one juggling act you seen 'em all. Same goes for jazz alto players. Wait---er---didn't mean that last one. Oh. Shit....

Ok. Phil you have my permission to trash. Go get him, lads! When I used to listen to Bird Flight in the past few years, after the really knowledgeable guests he'd interview passed away, I used to have the same comment every day by 8:23 AM: 'I'm buying a gun'.... To paraphrase the immortal philosopher Allan Sherman: 'Little Phi-il Schaap Eat first----then you'll talk'

I can't listen from the library, so the workaday Wynton-bashing can go on w/o my input today. But wait till I do listen. To the moon. Pow, Zap You know, this MF should pay me for sticking up for him. Sheeit---I need the bread more than he does.

For extra credit: what was the act's name? Hint: it's not The Aristocrats...

There must be a recording of the concert extant somewhere. I forgot to mention that the late Dewey Redman was also there. As long as we're telling stories, it was the second time I met him. The first time was in the early '80s---probably '82 or '83. He walked into the Kettle of Fish---a bar in the Village (or maybe it was 55 bar---they're a few doors from each other). I was just at the bar and Dewey saw my guitar, smiled, and said 'guitar player. We gotta stick together'. The point of all this to me is it's probably a good idea not to judge musicians---or anyone really---until you meet them. Better yet, not until you know them. Best of all, not at all. That's a tall order, I know. It may be impossible, I don't know. It's a goal, though. And it's part of the Golden Rule, isn't it?

What chart? Or are you joking? I think you are.... And nearly had me....

Yes, he would. Much BN work is registered to one or other of BN's own publishing companies. The percentage split of the publishing royalty (between BN and the composer) was negotiated on a case by case basis, as I understand it. Musicians with enough clout to insist that their work was published by their own publishing companies were not under the obligation to negotiate, of course. But that obviously disadvantaged the labels, which is why composers were compelled to pool their work with the label's company if they wanted to record a tune. Variations of this are still standard practice. There are complexities that others will be better placed to explain. On top of publishing royalty the musicians would receive a royalty for copies sold. But thereby hangs another tale. There are some books about this Chewy, including on various Blue Note artists ... No wonder he went to Hollywood. Even the greats get robbed. Jazz and money are like cats and dogs.

In 2004 I went to a club date audition for the (thankfully) defunct Stephen Scott Orchestras. Finally getting bored with the 12th singer in a black dress singing At Last a la Etta James (they wished) I headed for the exit door. I heard a sound of a band wafting down from upstairs and went to investigate. I got off the elevator and saw Phil Schaap looking at a stop watch, timing something. I looked at the band rehearsing and saw Joe Temperly. I saw Wynton and figured it was a JALC rehearsal. Good thinking! It turned out they were rehearsing for a performance of Ornette Coleman's music. I looked to the side of the room and Ornette was there, hand on chin, sitting pensively, listening. The arrangement---of Peace---as it developed, knocked my socks off. It was well-crafted, had great saxophone writing particularly, and just generally showed creativity and musicianship. I asked Phil whose it was. He pointed to Wynton. They took a break, and there was Wynton headed toward me. I spoke to him, and even a bit arrogantly, looking back. Remember, he didn't know me from Adam, and could've walked past like I wasn't there. He didn't owe me shit. 'Wynton! I didn't know you could write like that! I was talking shit about you before'... He smiled. 'That's OK. I've been writing for a long time'. 'So have I (what a prick I was to talk like that to anyone, let alone the most famous exponent of the music I play), and I didn't know you could write like that, man'. He was not only every bit the musician I had been too prejudiced and jealous to acknowledge, but a gentleman to a guy he didn't know, and who was being more than a little smart-ass to boot. And I really meant well, however it came out. I was really impressed with that chart. Ted Nash also wrote a killer chart for that concert. The happy ending came when I actually was able to speak to Ornette, who, as I said, sat quietly the entire rehearsal. 'Ornette, I was curious what you thought of it. Your music doesn't seem like it would lend itself to a big band.' 'That's the thing about music. It's so....' And he paused to find the word. I thought he was going to say 'so pliable' and was really hanging on his every word now. 'So democratic'.

Shit. I shouldda seen that one coming. Money always wins in the good old United States of Hustle. Even more reason to buy a book, or---better yet---get a well-marked one from that venerable and still-living institution, the library. You know, that place where those thirsty for knowledge can ask questions of human beings who went to school to learn to answer those kinds of questions. You meant that's not what the Organissimo board is for? I joined to meet women. And---as usual---the endeavor's been a smash success.....

I agree with you there. I also remember being annoyed as hell with Wynton for talking about drug use, having never used. That was BS. I knew some great players---great people---who happened to be addicted, and would've straightened his ass right out, given the opportunity. Also I remember having an email discussion w/Branford about Wynton's 'mugging' on the film. I only knew Bran from his old nutburger website forum (an experiment in democracy that he ultimately closed down b/c the assholes took over, and that was a big drag) and he seems like a great guy. Always liked his playing. My opinions (not about the above) changed about Wynton and Stanley when I met both. Both were gentlemen and Stanley is a friend---a guy who I've actually called when in trouble and was there for me. Wynton I've come to admire in many ways. And, no, Chris, Stanley did not charm me, and I'm not 'trusting', as you've intimated before. I can get as dark as you or anyone about people. I just prefer not to anymore, plus I haven't yet encountered a preferable alternative in the animal kingdom. My guitar, maybe.... But Stanley proved himself a real human being---speaking only for myself---and my instincts re people have rarely if ever failed me. Life is too short for the other shizzle. Also, the whole 'Jazz' discussion was a classic tempest in a teapot, mattering to no one except us intellectual weirdo commies---not to mention over long ago. Just my opinion.

Here we go again...... What the hell, it's only the 4,000th time.......

Even more reason to buy a book, or---better yet---get a well-marked one from that venerable and still-living institution, the library. You know, that place where those thirsty for knowledge can ask questions of human beings who went to school to learn to answer those kinds of questions. (But usually are asked where the bathroom is...). Just my opinion----and I admit to being an old fart. Worse yet I'm proud of it... No Kindle for me,kind sir. Unless it's a flame in my heart---for an unattached brunette w/a good Dunn & Bradstreet.....

Wow. This guy really didn't like it. 'When you die at the Palace---you really die at the Palace'... Mel Brooks as stand-up philosopher.

Even the notably irascible and praise-stingy Stan Getz had to admit during a Blindfold Test: 'Red? He's good.' He and CT together were pretty hard not to love.

And Sol Yaged is still among us! I'm not sure (having gigged w/him and written about it as a classic nightmare gig) whether he's the greater clarinettist or pain in the ass. But for style and substance he's hard to beat at either.