fasstrack

I could never put into words what it means to have him in the world still. 78! May there be many more years of High Life...

Thanks.

There was a show from the CBS news division in the '60s: Eyewitness. Hosted by Charles Kuralt. When Bossa Nova became a 'çraze' here they did a show on it, filming mostly in Rio in the clubs and, anturally, on the beach. Around '62, I would think. It's archived at the Museum of Television and Radio in NY and LA. The final segment is hilarious: It's in a studio with Tom Jobim at the piano and Mulligan on clarinet. Jobim is trying to teach him the proper phrasing for One Note Samba. Gerry isn't quite getting it, knows it, and starts getting flustered on-camera. (said phrasing is subtle and endemic to Brasilian culture and he wasn't the only one who felt weird trying it at first). Finally, Jobim benevelently says 'Hey, Gerry. You almost got it that time!' and the show ends.

I always wanted to check out Bamboozled. I really like the acting of, I believe, the lead character. I forget his name. Tommy something? He was in Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop and She's Gotta Have It. If anyone knows speak right up.

I was driving and would not have known a thing but for hearing it on the radio. Obviously, I was surprised when I did hear it. My next thought was that even a slight shake could knock my guitar off the stand at home and possibly damage it. I called my roommate and he looked and it was not the case. My general feeling is NYC was pretty unmolested. I hope that once things calm down this is the case on the entire east coast. Gonna watch the news update now...

I don't claim that the following is original or not already discussed to death, but he came to mind and I sort of want to clear the file cabinet. Two things come to mind (with the proviso that I haven't seen any of his first-run work in many years): That Spike Lee peaked with School Daze and that despite genuine weaknesses and a genuine talent the (mostly white) critics got on his case for all the wrong reasons. From the first Lee film I saw, She's Gotta Have It, I saw a really unusual cinematography talent. It seems that in that film and his thesis NYU film (Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads---also a very good film generally) and even the flawed Do the Right Thing he did the following: black neighborhoods either passed off as havens for criminals, pimps, etc. by white directors, or at best given a 'gritty' urban look, were given a real poetry under his lens. They looked great and the residents were proud of them. I spent time in those hoods through many decades and he was right to show them off because large chunks of them deserved to be. But in the '80s white film critics got on his case for sweeping the aforementioned crime, etc. under the rug and giving those hoods an unrealistic sheen. B.S. I say. He did too, and was right to stick up for himself. What the hell is wrong with using a talent to correct a stereotyped, misused, and disrespectfully ignorant image? He grew up in Brooklyn, you know? And the guy was making films for black audiences and white writers were clueless and felt left out, so they unloaded. A simplification, perhaps, but I think he deserves to be defended there. What the smart-ass scribes should have pointed out was a real weakness IMO: writing. I thought a lot of his characters, from Bleek, Shadow, and especially Giant in IMO his worst film, Mo Better Blues (let's not even get into the twin brother Jewish club owners) to so many others---were cardboard cut-outs, not people. Giant was funny, at least. Also some of the imagery is embarrassingly heavy-handed, like the gun on the bible in Jungle Fever (which was ballsy and brave in other ways). He took on a lot of worthy subjects bravely, then tanked the final product with lousy writing. As a final thought, and not mine, Stanley Crouch was never a fan because he found him politically naive and shallow back in the '90s in a VV piece. That's Stanley's thing and I guess if you want to comment, go ahead. I think Lee's politics through his lens is not the issue. Back to the white scribes, I can't prove, but truly believe in my gut many didn't have the balls to point out his weak writing for fear of being called racist. What hipocracy (sp?) if that's the case! I think Spike Lee showed a lot in School Daze. It was well-written and very astute, and a love letter to black folks. Also it didn't shrink from showing their own contadictions and inter-community prejudices. That student film also was a bitch. There are others I've yet to see I know I would enjoy, at least certain aspects.Some have expressed the view that his greatest talent is for hustling and sales, and I think that's bunk also. No one has to cry for Mr. Lee. He's done quite well for himself and in many ways is a trailblazer. Maybe Singleton's great and disturbing Boyz in the Hood could have been made if there was no Spike Lee, but it would have been a hell of a lot harder to both make and sell. But from a purely artistic development viewpoint: after those first films what the hell happened?

"It's gonna take an ocean of calamine lotion?" I never heard of that being a remedy for the clap. I agree. It's a stretch. Enjoyed a lot of their songs over the years! Them and Doc Pomus. I never knew or cared what it was really about. Just like millions of other people, as it turns out. It cracked me up as a kid. Instant connection to hilarious images. That's all I needed to know about it and why it stood out among so much cookie-cutter teen angst dreck.

Don't know and I'm not sure who it is. I just thought Jymie Merritt was an older (middle-aged) cat by this time. This guy looks pretty young, whoever it is.

Good band. With Horace I pinned for sure: Bob Cranshaw, bass; Cecil Bridgewater, trumpet. Don't know the guitarist or the others. I'm a big fan of Andy Bey too, and I'll just say Horace can do no wrong. Except when writing lyrics like these...........

. That clip definietly shows Lee Morgan's last band with Billy Harper, Harold Mabern, Jymie Merrit and Freddie Waits. The "Guests" list must read that these three Blue Note artists performed with their respective groups, it seems. Small point but Lee's playing flugel here. Definitely Mabern. And Billy Harper from the playing and the modal type tune, which is his thing. I'm not sure about Jymie Merritt, what he looks like, but he would be a little older looking by '72, I think. This guy reminded me of Arthur Harper, from Philly. Couldn't swear either way

Yes a great guy and quite underrated as a player. He was a freedom fighter too. A quick story (out of hundreds, especially among we guitarists): Atilla and Jimmy Raney were very tight. Jimmy stayed at his place when in town. That's when I got to know Jimmy a bit, ca. 1979-80. Cut to 1995 and Jimmy's memorial at St. Peter's. One of the highlights was this beautiful solo guitar elegy Atilla played. It moved me because I loved both those guys, and every time I'd see Atilla after that I'd tell him how much I loved that elegy. And he would say every time---eyes incredulous and with thick accent: 'Elegy? Vot ees thees fucking elegy?'

And shone that night in the role of 24 karat asshole....

Not to be a wet blanket, but.... Wasn't he also the guy who spurred Lily Tomlin to pour a glass of water over his head and storm off the old Tonight Show after he referred to his wife as 'the best woman I ever owned'? Maybe not and I'm getting old...

I hope that Ms. Hipp found more happiness in her life than the stories tell. And a pox on slick Len's spirit. Indeed. I read it and it's a sad story. To me Feather is twice the bastard for trying to pluck her from Atilla Zoller, my much missed friend and one of the greatest guys in or out of jazz. I salute Ms. Hipp's integrity for getting out and preferring an honest life as a seamstress over the carnival life and its many wolves. To be candid it often makes me sick to my stomach. And I'm a man.

She sure as hell could. Very nice ideas, touch, and especially time feel. I'd like to hear more. I knew her as an organist but never heard her until just now. Thanks. Let's hear some Jane Getz now, another genuine and huge talent. 'Little lady', huh? What a f-ing jerk. The woman players I came up with in the '70s and '80s had it bad enough. And every one I knew carried her musical weight and then some. Before that, God only knows and the mind truly boggles....

Thanks. Especially with that song, which could have real legs if I had the time to hustle it or my co-writer was also in a position to. In this day and age all you can do is your best and try to put your heads together with other writers to coolly figure out what can be done and, in the words of our esteemed Commander-in Chief 'whose ass to kick'. My sympathy in the above remarks is not with the labels, BTW. Just a reality check based on the fact that if they smelled money with a given performer they would invest in them. It all came off the top off royalties anyway, then you factor in 'creative bookkeeping' . To be fair, with the egos and general shallowness of a lot of pop folks, I'm sure more than one pain in the ass regularly pushed for advances against royalties to keep up with purchases of nose candy, boats, and other toys. That's where the labels have you, overdrawing. Greed cuts both ways.

That's kind of curious, because Lewis's comping for Bird was some of the best there was. He (like Jimmy Bunn, a life saver on the ill-fated Lover Man date) did some of the best set up and back up work for Parker, especially on Barbados and Parker's Mood. The intros especially were brilliant. I think he got very into Bach in the MJQ phase, hence the counterpoint. I also think Bags' objection was a general one to such careful, restrained music when he could swing and blues his ass off. He felt very hemmed in and I can dig it. Naturally, Bags and Ray Charles is a marriage made in heaven. Generally, though, John Lewis is a sparse comper and great listener. And I love his writing. I could see Bags getting pissed off, but I dug the MJQ anyway. A class act all the way and successful, so good on them and good on John Lewis. As far as doublers go---if not on those specific instruments---there's Les Spann (guitar/flute); Don Thompson (bass, piano, possibly vibes); the late Buddy Montgomery (piano, vibes); the late Victor Feldman (piano, vibes, drums); Ira Sullivan (what doesn't he play?). It's really not that uncommon among musicians. (for studio players it's almost expected and doubling, especially across 'groups' has made some players a pretty penny---at least when there was a studio scene) Back to jazz: I used to play with Pat Patrick and Eddie Diehl and Pat would put his tenor down and play pretty decent Fender bass behind us. And there are plenty more.

Thanks, Jim. I did a little research and found that the JLO tribute to James Black occurred on May 29, 2003. I've searched high and low for a video documentation of this concert without success. Anyone have any idea if anything like this exists and, if so, how one might go about procuring it? As usual, thanks for the help. I don't know about the JALC concert being archived, but a Marsalis family all-James Black concert ran on PBS a few years back. Should be obtainable. Black was a drummer and a contemporary of patriarch Ellis, and indeed a distincive composer. The concert is worth having. They did a good job. Joel - Yes, that's the one. Great concert and extremely interesting music. I've looked on the PBS website, but I can't find anything. Guess I'll just keep poking around and see if I get lucky. Here's a brief bio followed by a piece I found on AAJ about the concert itself. http://www.fogworld.com/jamesblack/ http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=2668 Yes, I dug it a lot. He's a quirky writer, lots of thought, personality and sort of nice compositional knots. It swung, too, including one piece in 5/4. The band did him justice, too. You could hear the respect. Before losing hope try this: The Museum of Television and Radio. There are two, one in L.A. and one here in N.Y. They will lend material that's archived---if you tell them it's for research . Obviously they have to own it. Or else if you're in either cities you can visit and look it up in the library. They have quite a collection. The last time I drove by the N.Y. building it was renamed, but after someone in the industry. I think it's still a television museum. At least I hope it is. There's also the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers. The staff, right up to Dan Morgenstern, are crackerjack and would love to help. Dan was great when I had a research project. If they don't own it they will tell you who does and how you might borrow it or even get your own copy. Short of those try researching it at a university library (maybe one known for a jazz collection?) or research library in your town. Librarians love the hunt and conquest of the find. If they do track it down you could get it by interlibrary loan. Good luck.

Thanks, Jim. I did a little research and found that the JLO tribute to James Black occurred on May 29, 2003. I've searched high and low for a video documentation of this concert without success. Anyone have any idea if anything like this exists and, if so, how one might go about procuring it? As usual, thanks for the help. I don't know about the JALC concert being archived, but a Marsalis family all-James Black concert ran on PBS a few years back. Should be obtainable. Black was a drummer and a contemporary of patriarch Ellis, and indeed a distincive composer. The concert is worth having. They did a good job.

'Donation: $2.50' Damn...

It's very tempting to say about the labels 'good for the greedy bastards, they got what was coming'. But simple human compassion and also common sense won't let me. The fact is that all the unpaid downloads are shutting down the recording industry as we knew it. Everyone is getting creamed, labels and creators alike. The only way for even hot groups to make money now is live gigs and T-shirt sales. How are you gonna make royalties when everything is avalable free for download? Aside from the performers being underpaid, for years labels definitely took songwriters (I specify songwriters b/c they're usually the ones ripped off, uncredited, or bought off for pennies), especially younger ones hungry for exposure, for a serious ride. But back then they were the only show in town, and would back you with advertising and touring. And 50% or even 25% royalties on a monster hit over many years can still make one plenty rich. And, for the above reasons and more, if the companies die everyone suffers. I'm glad big names like Springsteen and Dylan are getting whats theirs from '78 on. The scales were tilted the other way too damn long. But, let's face it, we oughtn't cry for them. They're doing pretty damn well financially. I would reserve my tears for a guy like Jimmy Norman, the in-studio lyricist for Time is On My Side. The lyrics were written for Irma Thomas, still a practically unknown entity after many great records she made. Norman made next to nothing on the song after the Stones covered it. Maybe one could say he should've watched his back copyright-wise, but with all the record sales by the Stones it's scandalous what happened to him. Aside from not getting paid to this day everyone thinks Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the song. (The late Jerry Ragovoy wrote the music and there were, I think, also lyrics prior to Norman's). In current times it's even harder for songwriters to collect royalties because of the aforementioned free giveaways but also an important factor is the fact that royalty societies like ASCAP, of which I am a member, are doing a pitiful job putting fire to the asses of youtube and the like. I co-wrote an inspirational song (You're My Foundation) with the same Jimmy Norman. It wasn't released commercially, but a video about the making of the song and its dedication to the Jazz Foundation is widely viewable on youtube and scads of other sites. (I put it on youtube myself, truth in journalism). I called ASCAP and asked how many youtube views it would take before Jimmy and myself could collect royalties. I was told 250,000 hits! And it would amount to a few hundred bucks then. Since we're not big names imagine how long 250,000 hits would take. I guess Jimmy and I ought to sell T-shirts......

Does anyone kmow if the DVD of this is available for purchase anywhere? Online or better brick-and-mortar in NYC? The HBO website doesn't mention it, Amazon.com only has an audio version, and the dedicated Jazz Baroness site mentions a 2012 release. I think there's gotta be a way to get one now since it's been extant for at least a year. I want to surprise a dear friend I'm seeing Monday with a present. Tell me here or hit me with a PM--s'il vous plait.

Allow me to get very personal, and from the heart: I'd get this in a heartbeat. Why? Wes (at just about the same time as Charlie Christian and Django---my early to late teens) on these records, on Verve but A&M too, inspired me forthwith to forget my tinfoil white boy rock guitar heroes and resolve to become a real musician. I'm talking 1968 or so, so those roots are very deep in the soil for me. The Riverside stuff came a few years later, when I was ready. I think for the most part the arrangements make a very classy presentation of Wes and there's nothing to apologize for. They really brought out his melodicism and humanity. Nothing 'entry level' about it, just beautiful playing tastefully framed. I owned The Best of Wes Montgomery on Verve (on vinyl, naturally) from age 17 until I had to leave it and other LPs I'd had almost as long in Den Haag, Holland in 2007. I had planned to move there and it didn't work out. I couldn't afford to pay for weight overages on the flight back stateside. Broke my heart to do it, too. For all I know they are where I left them, and I'd love to get that copy and all my albums back. If my erstwhile host can be reached it's possible. But the incredible thing was that a few years before this I'd dropped that LP and it cracked---and still played perfectly ! My heart is still broken, but I did own it for years, got so much joy from it, and it had such an effect on my musical development. The music is what counts and a CD set will do just fine.