Hardbopjazz

Sad news indeed. He just played Smalls in NYC on the 23rd of March. He always played so well with Tony Bennett. RIP.

Like the old energizer bunny, Hank still goes on. A true master. Hank Jones & Joe Lovano Quartet. with Willie Jones III (drums) George Mraz (bass) Tuesday-Saturday, May 25-29 @ 8:30 &11pm Music Charge: $30, side seating; $40 center seating One of the premiere modern tenor saxophonists, Grammy Award-winning Joe Lovano and 91 year-old piano legend Hank Jones, who the National Endowment for the Arts has inducted as a "Jazz Master," return to Birdland for this one-week run to lead a quartet featuring drummer Willie Jones III and bassist George Mraz. While the Lovano-Jones collaboration is relatively young, the partnership has proven to be quite a prolific one: two critically acclaimed quartet masterworks recorded for Blue Note Records (I’m All for You—Ballad Songbook in 2004 and Joyous Encounter in 2005), world tours and a live recorded duet, "Kids." Hear for yourself the perfectly balanced and masterful musical conversation that continues to evolve between these two jazz greats in a quartet setting.

Yes, I have had this for many years. Since it is a bootleg I wouldn't pay for it.

I sat through 10 sets at the Village Vanguard in January. Lee still plays great. Even got himself into a spat with Lorraine Gordon. Lee is worth seeing. thread

Sad indeed. But he lived a long life. Thanks Mr. Ellis for all the great music. May you rest peacefully.

I caught his show at Dizzy's in NY. It was real nice. The first 10 minutes he was interviewed by WBGO.

I never heard of this brand. But being a lefty you are kind of limited. ebay

Universal betting on lower prices to boost CD sales Universal Music Group (UMG) is embarking on one of the most ambitious efforts yet to boost U.S. CD sales, with the test of a new pricing structure designed to sell most new releases by current artists at $10 or less at retail. The major's "Velocity" pricing program responds to the continuing plunge in CD sales, taking aim at brick-and-mortar retail stores that have scaled back on floor space dedicated to music. The pricing adjustments will also bring CD prices more in line with what consumers pay for digital albums at online retailers like iTunes and Amazon. "We think it will really bring new life into the physical format," Universal Music Group Distribution chairman/CEO Jim Urie says. Universal, which accounts for 28.7 percent of year-to-date U.S. album sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, will cut UMG's main wholesale price point of $10.35 to about $7.50 or less for front-line releases, which are generally by established current artists. It's also breaking with prevailing industry practice by putting suggested retail prices on CDs, ranging from $6 to $10. article

The last cutting match Sonny did was with Bradford Marsalis at Carnegie Hall May of 1989. They was chance for Bradford. Sonny blew him away. Bradford bragged to the NYC papers that he was now the best tenor player on the sense. After that show, Bradford wished he didn't. There were two articles in the New York Times about this. Bradford also mentions this on his website. Article Branford never bragged that he was now the best tenor on the scene. On the contrary, his pre-concert comments to the Times were self-deprecating, reverential toward Sonny and prescient about the can of whup-ass that was about to be opened on him. Here's what he said to Jon Pareles before the concert: "I learned some of his solos, like the ones on 'Saxophone Colossus.' All the other records were impossible: they were just too hard to learn. But I picked up 'Blue Seven,' 'Strode Rode,' 'Toot-Toot Tootsie,' and I still remember most of those solos. In fact, I played him 'Toot-Toot Tootsie' at rehearsal. You know, the first time I heard him live in a room, with the door closed behind me, the sound was like being run over by a train. You can hear Sonny Rollins a million times on record and know intellectually that he has a big sound, but that's not like hearing him and having the hair stand up on your head ... "It's like going in the ring with Mike Tyson. But he knows a whole pile of stuff that I don't know, and as far as I know there's one surefire way of learning it, and that's to get bludgeoned by it. A lot of cats said, 'Man, I would never take that gig' -- but he didn't ask them. Just to stand there on a stage with him is an honor. And I figure, what's wrong with getting slaughtered by Sonny Rollins? There's going to be an incredible amount of knowledge passed on in that whipping. I'll pick myself up off the floor, and maybe I'll cry, because I do that sometimes after a tough gig. But then I'll internalize the stuff he played and be a better person for it. I'll be the lamb on that altar, because someday I'll be 60 and I'll be sacrificing some young kid, too. But pray for me." Now, from the department of hazy memories, I do recall reading a review of the concert by Gary Giddins that I can't put my hands on at this moment in which he mentions that the program notes included a bio of Branford, written I think by his brother Delfeayo, in which a bunch of ridiculous claims were made on behalf of Branford. Again, my memory of the details could be off, but the inference was that if Sonny needed any extra-motivation, the program notes were -- as they say in the sports world -- bulletin board material. Thanks for the correction. Anyway, Sonny did blow him away. I was there and do have a recording of this concert.

The last cutting match Sonny did was with Bradford Marsalis at Carnegie Hall May of 1989. They was chance for Bradford. Sonny blew him away. Bradford bragged to the NYC papers that he was now the best tenor player on the sense. After that show, Bradford wished he didn't. There were two articles in the New York Times about this. Bradford also mentions this on his website. Article

Strange that no one in the U.K./Ireland would try and bring him over for a gig or two. Is he very expensive? Sonny played London at the end of last year.

Sonny Rollins turns 80 this year. He is about to embark on a world tour. Anyone planning on catching any of his concerts? * April 6 Orchestra Hall, Detroit Michigan * April 9 Orchestra Hall, Chicago, IL * April 18 Symphony Hall, Boston, MA * May 10 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA * May 13 Wheeler Auditorium, University of California, Berkeley, CA * May 16 Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA * May 19 Davis Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts Jackson Hall, Davis, CA * June 12 Discover Jazz Festival, Burlington, Vermont * June 23 Winnipeg Jazz Festival, Winnipeg, Canada * June 27 Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreal, Canada * July 11 North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, The Netherlands * July 16 Perugia Jazz Festival, Perugia, Italy * July 20 Molde Jazz Festival, Molde, Norway * Oct 1 Kousei Nenkin Hall Sapporo Japan * Oct 4 JCB Hall Tokyo * Oct 7 Forum A Tokyo International Hall Tokyo * Oct 9 NHK Hall Osaka

You may want to ask your local library what they use. With CDs and DVDs being loaned out all the time, they are using something to remove scratches.

Rent parties, how common were these, and did they help? I ask, because tonight at Smalls in NYC there will be one held for Harry Whitaker. Site

One of my favorite stories came from the late Carl Bernhard. Carl lived Oslo. He took a ferry one day to Copenhagen and knocked on the door to Dexter's apartment. Dexter opened the door and gestured with his index finger to come in. They walked into a room where Dexter had a bar. Dexter opened a new bottle of Beefeaters gin and they started to drink. It wasn't till two thirds of the bottle was finished, when Dexter finally spoke. "How you doing Carl?" I love this story. Time to pull out the movie Round Midnight. Do you recall what year this was?

Happy Brithday Dex. Spinning some Dexter music right.

Does anyone remember a few years back there was a thread on coming up with your blues musician name? I did some searching but couldn't find it.

I need to pick this one up for sure.

Something I did. Two tracks. One incomplete. The CDR is damaged. download

hope it is great day.

Happy birthday Michael. Stay warm.

What caught my attention is with all those tenor players, there is this one trombone player. What made them through in Benny Powell? I should ask Powell the next time I see him at a gig. Maybe he can recall how he got on the date.

In a recent interview which you might find on youtube, Sonny said he may go back to a trio group for his next studio album. If that is true, it would be very exciting.

You think they would have someone worth listen to. What a lineup.

I didn't write a follow up to this story. I went back on Friday and Saturday of that week. On Friday between sets, Lee was in the back with Lorraine and they both were laughing. This leads me to believe Lee has a hard shell and just below off what Lorraine said as "It's Lorraine, and she is just being herself." But still, she was kind of rude.