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I see that the 1947 version of City of Glass was recorded fairly recently by Gunter Schuller, as discussed here: Graettinger Has anybody heard this? The other thing notable about this page is how angry the author is that Cuscuna reordered the tracks from This Modern World. Yes, this might have been a case where the suite should have been ordered together, but, dude, that's why you can program CD players. I can sort of see how bewildering this must have been for the Kenton orchestra to play. It sort of swings, then it goes off in a different direction and then there's dissonance. Unfortunately, I don't have anything profound to say about it. I'm glad it was recorded (mad props to Kenton), but I have listened to it three times in the last few days, but nothing really sticks with me. There isn't (to me) a particularly memorable through line or even a phrase that jumps out at me. Well, let me take that back, I do like the opening of the Second Movement, Dance Before the Mirror, with Shelly Manne on tympany. But I doubt I'll remember it much after a couple of hours. It is always interesting to hear jazz bands really stretched this way. I probably should seek out Woody Herman playing Ebony Concerto. Any thoughts on whether the Columbia or the Everest recording is the one to look for? Also, people might be interested to hear Chico O'Farrill's Afro-Cuban Jazz Suites (1st and 2nd) which are collected on Cuban Blue's (Verve).

I do wish I had more to add. This is one of those cases I feel a bit intimidated by others (Mr. Kart). Oh well. What I do enjoy about the album is the use of a wide array of instruments -- French horn, baritone sax. I keep thinking I hear a tuba in the mix, but apparently not. I'll have to go listen again to see if it the valve trombone or more likely the baritone sax. I don't want to start the whole East Coast West Coast thing, but it does seem to me that a lot of this music - sort of large jazz ensembles playing "chamber jazz"/Third Stream Jazz were on the West Coast. (I wonder if we have a thread devoted to this kind of music. I'll investigate later.) My favorite pieces are track 7 Dollar Day, track 9 Outpost and track 11 Conversation Piece. I suspect it is because they are the most up-tempo and simply grab me a bit more. It is a shame that vol. 2 was never recorded and Tatro is so neglected. While there may indeed be some solo space, to my ears it sounds like a pretty heavily written out piece, as is much of the Third Stream music. I wonder/suspect if that contributed to its lack of impact, at least in terms of these pieces not being recorded frequently by others (both Tatro specifically and Third Stream more generally). Musicians generally couldn't recreate these large ensembles as the recording industry got tighter. When they did get a large group together, they wouldn't have rehearsal time and thus stuck to more open, swinging standards. If they were going to rescore it for a smaller group, they probably would pick something that had more solo space. Just a thought. In any case, definitely interesting music, which I am glad was recorded.

Hmm, the Duet with Aoki sounds promising. I have several other Aoki discs and think most are really interesting. However, I must admit that I don't listen to them frequently and have left them in storage.

Agreed, we don't know. But if it is permanently cancelled for a stupid reason, I figure there are a few people on the board who are going to find themselves with a lot of really good friends ...

I'm sure things are quite complicated, particularly in a case where Columbia is going to want to keep going back to the Miles Davis catalog, but how do these companies keep running into these problems (remember Basra)? Don't they have a signed contract, certainly before they start advertising and pressing CDs? Perhaps it is the case they could tell the guy from the Davis estate to take a hike but that it isn't worth it. I know this is only one small thing out of a lot of issues, but I wouldn't be surprised in the next round of copyright extensions, the corporations find a way to cut out troublesome estates. (It actually will become more and more of an issue, since they apparently will be granted copyrights in perpetuity and the original artists will all have passed away. I suspect a ploy to retroactively designate all artistic work as works "made for hire" and strip away any involvement of estates. Why not? They've gotten everything else they want.) In general, I support estates looking after the interests of the artists, many of whom got a raw deal while alive, but some cases just seem ridiculous, such as this one. Whose interests are really being served here?

My wife is going to try to stay up and watch Game 4. I doubt she will make it, especially if it goes extra innings, but it is cool that it is on at all. It is pretty hard to follow US sports in Europe, unless you content yourself with the websites (or the CNN sports ticker) and don't feel you need to watch the game live. I certainly thought the Sox were going to fold in the last couple of weeks of the season -- it's the Chicago way after all. But they hung tough and, barring the worst baseball collapse of all time, they're going all the way. Unbelievable. She's so mad she won't be there to celebrate. I know the Chicago sports writers have a lower profile than the New York ones, but they can turn on you just as quickly. Dusty Baker is already being tagged as a poor loser and a bitter man who didn't believe in the Cubs Curse and was humbled by it; you can feel the wheels turning as they try to run him out of town. Ozzy should have a considerably longer time to wear out his welcome, and that's only assuming that he can't keep the team competitive.

The details of the Health Spending Plans vary enormously, and you do need to ensure that your costs are covered. If so, it can be a help, since it has those tax advantages. I almost never go to the doctor, so I would not benefit from this plan, particularly if the carry-over rules were strict. It is great to be in a place where you are ready to get fit. While I know intellectually that I will feel better if I exercise, sometimes I get so down about work or something else, that I can't bear to exercise. I went through a two year cycle where I just didn't exercise much, aside from walking. Now part of this was exhaustion from our new baby (talk about a crimp in one's old lifestyle) but I was also depressed about my job and the state of the country (hard to tell which was worse) so I stayed up too late, woke up late, got to work late, took short lunches at my desk and stopped exercising. After some major moves, I am enjoying my new job and basically am enjoying living in England. I bike to work 4 days a week (25 minutes each way) and walk a lot. I even joined the company soccer team. I've lost some weight and am getting my wind back. People seem to notice, which is good since they also noticed how fat I'd gotten. I'd like to lose another 40 pounds, though 25 is probably more realistic and maintainable (the consultant lifestyle is not a particularly healthy one). I'd like to offer my moral support to anyone just getting back on the road to fitness (like the road to Damascus?). It can certainly be a challenge sometimes.

I really like the Land/Hutcherson pairings here. I'm a bit more familiar with Choma, but A New Shade of Blue is also nice.

I'm excited that the Harold Lloyd collection is finally coming out. I won't get it immediately, but within the next few years. It may have been discussed already but Criterion has confirmed that they will indeed be rereleasing Playtime in 2006, and there will be a Tati box set as well. Presumably this will be the 70 mm print. I think I heard that their Jour de Fete is (will be) superior to the British release in that it will have a b & w and color version of the film. I wonder if they will put out Traffik as well -- probably not. In any case, I just learned there is a site to buy the 70 mm version of Playtime already (from France), though I think I will wait. This is the site: Playtime from alapage I really didn't enjoy Playtime the first time I saw it, but I kept thinking about it. It kind of got under my skin -- why didn't I recognize it as a masterpiece? I do think it is a film that needs to be seen twice (at least), despite having almost no plot. I suppose a number of us feel the same way about late Coltrane or Ayler, that it really makes you work at it to understand what is going on, but there is a payoff once you reach that point. Seeing it in 70 mm in the theatre also helped in order to pick up on all the visual jokes and puns. In fact, now that I have visited France a few times (I never had been prior to watching Playtime), every time I see a French pharmacy (with the glowing plus sign) I think of Playtime where there is a glowing circle instead. Tati also has something to offer when thinking about how the French interacted with "modernity" in the 1960s -- something more profound than the modern world stinks, which is how he is typically read. Ah well, watch it if you get a chance and see if it is a movie that stays with you.

It took me three trips to France to get the Tex Avery set (4 DVDs of cartoons but not the bonus disc), but I have them home now. There are two cartoons missing from the complete set, and they apparently have done a bit of editing (mostly of racial stereotypes) from another 3 or 4. So less than ideal, but more than adequate for me. They should be available through Amazon.fr. They are region 2 discs. The important thing is that they have the original English soundtrack, as well as a French dub soundtrack. It is a little surprising that they have not announced a US release, since there is clearly a market for them.

I would probably give Lincoln Park a pass for various reasons. While South Loop is expensive, there are some deals on the slightly older buildings, since there is so much new construction. If I was moving back, I would probably look at Old Town or Lakeview and maybe Wicker Park. At least a few years ago, Chicago was much more a renters' market than a landlords' market compared to New York and SF. The Chicago Reader listings are pretty good, as is Craigslist (though Craigslist is probably best for subletting or roommate situations).

Great photos, Mark. Did you take any b & w? Excellent news about coming back to Hot House in Nov. I lived right around the corner and definitely would have made it. Ah well. The music scene in Cambridge leaves a bit to be desired.

Most of the law surrounding patents and copyrights and other IP, particularly in international agreements, is so unbelievably venal. Basically politicians have been signing away all our rights in the name of free trade. Perhaps you remember the stunt Nader (I think) pulled when he offered $5000 to any Congressman to actually read the entire draft of NAFTA. Some Republican finally did and said that it was the most heinous piece of legislation he could recall ... but it's all like that now.

I have a few recommendations of "not happy" composers, all from the past century actually (one of the less happy, generally speaking). These have been covered by the Kronos Quartet: Black Angels by George Crumb String Quartets 1 and 2 by Henryk Gorecki Ghost Opera by Tan Dun This CD is harder to find but definitely on two dark subjects: Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima / Viola Concerto / Nancy van de Vate: Chernobyl / Concerto No. 1 for Violin & Orchestra Finally, I really like Quartet for the End of Time by Messaien. I have three versions of it. I find this a bit unusual because 1) I'm not quite as entranced by his other material and 2) I generally don't like music with overt religious significance, such as masses. (Even Ellington's Sacred Music leaves me a bit cold.)But this is fascinating stuff with an ending that is intentionally "celestial." So Messaien may fail on the grounds he is too religious to be truly unhappy, but it's definitely worth one listen. Here's a review that I'm stealing from Amazon with some of the back story:

All I'm saying is that I bet there are a bunch of lawyers with IP on the brain who will start trying to make life miserable for average musicians (and authors and frankly all creative people), and it will get worse every decade until we finally get a populist wave that reforms the IP laws in a way that is sensible. I'm not holding my breath. I hate the way the law is currently administered, and it is somewhere in my top 25 things that make Western democracies suck (the US even moreso than the EU).

Depends on the nature of the documentary and who commissioned it. Some film makers have rules as strict as the Dogma 95 crowd. Overdubbing something might be way too much. While documentaries inevitably frame reality in different ways and come up with vastly different accounts of what happened, they usually don't allow for the sheer falsification of reality (i.e. replacing the ring tone). In any case, I think the current IP regime is completely out of hand and may collapse under its own weight. Most of the great works of literature have blatant lifting of other works, and most jazz is based around common chord changes and lifting riffs from other places. This activity isn't under scrunity yet, but it won't be much longer before lawyers try to get in on the action.

I notice that CD Universe has it for $16.98. ← Thanks. Great news that this is back out, even though it might have been better to reissue the CD on its own as well. Even better news that CD Universe has it, since I think I need to order a few more things from them to get my karma back in balance (I got the Cellar Door at the low price).

Damn straight! ← Funny this thread has kind of vanished. I'm a big fan of the Age of Steam and am wondering if it has ever been rereleased. It's quite rare, and I had a CDR that finally passed away. As I started looking to replace it, I find this unusual package that claims it has the original version of the Age of Steam CD plus a master class and interviews on DVD. It can be had fairly inexpensively on amazon or ebay or apparently ejazzlines. Age of Steam Has anyone actually purchased this? Is the CD a regular CD, or is it one of those instructional things with the music separated into channels to allow you to play along with Jeru's solos? According to the reviewer, the CD is fine, but I'd like some independent verification. Many thanks. Eric

Hmm. I didn't think it was that bad. (I only have the download from emusic, but will listen again.)

I went a little crazy after reading through the Hard Bossa thread and ordered a 3 CD set by Meirelles, which included O Som and Samba Jazz. Then 2 CDs from the Sambalanco Trio, Obras and Obras #2 by Edison Machado and something by Dom Um Romao. I came very close to ordering Coltrane's One Up One Down and Booker's Tex Book Tenor from CD Universe. I'll probably do that tomorrow.

Ask and you shall receive. This site has samples of every track apparently. DVD Brazil The samples are short of course, but it should be enough to allow me to make up my mind. It does sound like great stuff, but I'll probably still have to put it on a wish list rather than ordering it today. Eric

I'd consider myself a fan of Naxos. They are generally good quality recordings, sometimes very good. For obscure Baroque composers, they are usually the only titles in print at any given time. Right now I am staring at Naxos recordings of concertos composed by Locatelli and Geminiani. In any case, I just ran across something called the Naxos Music Library, where you can join and stream essentially any Naxos title. I'm going to sign up for the 7-day free trial and see how I like it. At least according to the website, the user has complete control over what is being streamed, unlike Blue Note radio for example. Naxos Music Library

Not sure if this has been mentioned above, but emusic has a handful of Baden Powell albums for download, including Seresta Brasileira. Also a place called calabash has four of his more recent albums. Calabash I'm looking for a place with working samples of the earlier material to see if I am ready to spring for the box set. I may have to hold off for a while. Eric

Interesting piece, though not without its own hyperbole -- that many if not most jazz lovers come to jazz through Armstrong, Bix or Morton. This has to be a generational thing. I came to jazz largely through Brubeck, Monk and Mingus and to a lesser extent Miles Davis. I suspect most people in their 30s came to jazz through Miles Davis and perhaps Coltrane or Cannonball. Some teens are probably coming to jazz through the remix projects that are played in Starbucks, etc.

Shoot -- it looks like another essential release to get (and my finances are tight this month), though I will be seriously pissed if they offer an expanded edition with all the music in six months. So is "Creation" as good as Guy says it is, and how come Verve didn't see fit to release that? Eric