Mark Stryker

I was lucky with the Detroit Jazz Festival all the years I was on the beat, because the footprint for the festival was a 5 to 15 minute walk from the newsroom depending on where exactly you were starting from. Those extra minutes were a godsend on deadline. Still, in later years, I'd take my laptop and often file from the festival grounds.

Threadgill, Hopkins, McCall at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the national WBEZ broadcast. I'm sure our Chicago board members like Larry Kart and Chuck Nessa were there. https://archive.org/details/air-trio-chicago-jazz-festival-1981-wbez/04-Air+Song.mp3

Off topic, but nectarine -- "half a peach, half a plum; it's a helluva fruit."

You know, when I played this the other day, I noticed a couple of spots in the saxophone solo on "Plantation" where I thought I heard a skip -- it wasn't a repeating skip, but a barely audible "jump" that sounded almost like a clumsy edit. I took the record off and wiped with a cloth to see if there was a speck of dust or something stuck to the vinyl. Played it again with same result. I couldn't feel anything with my finger, so I was confused. Then I played it again with my eyes right at stylus level to see if I could actually see the "jump" but I could not see anything unusual, but I still heard the jump. I was about ready to take the record back but then the next time I played that spot, the record seemed to play fine. So: (a) I guess I am not the only one who noticed an issue. (b) My record apparently is possessed and it is sometimes going to jump and sometimes will play fine just to fuck with my mind.

Before Kenny Garrett played with Mel Lewis, he toured for three years with Mercer Ellington -- rather than enroll at Berklee, which was his original plan. Rickey Woodard played with Ray Charles in the '80s. Cecil (and Ron) Bridgewater played with Thad and Mel in the '70s. For that matter, Dee Dee. Bridgewater also sang with Thad and Mel in the early '70s. I saw a reference earlier in this thread to Branford Marsalis and Conrad Herwig playing with Clark Terry in the '70s. Actually, that band formed in 1980 or 81 as I recall -- I heard them in Fort Wayne, Indiana at a high school jazz festival in spring 1981. Branford played alto. Others in that band included Conrad Herwing on trombone, Bryon Stripling on trumpet, John Campbell on piano. Veteran Chris Woods was a featured soloist on alto. Clayton Cameron and Suggie Otis and played with Gerald Wilson in the '80s. John Clayton played with Basie in the '70s and Gerald Wilson in the 1980s. Anthony Wilson started playing with Gerald Wilson in the late '80s. George Mraz played with Thad and Mel in the '70s. Gary Smulyan played baritone saxophone with Woddy Herman c. 1979. Jim Snidero played with Toshiko in the mid 80s. Jeff Ballard played with Ray Charles in the late '80s. Jim McNeely played with Thad and Mel in the late '70s. Dick Oats and Rich Perry started with Thad and Mel in the late '70s and are still with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Tom Harrell, Kenny Berger, David Berger, Claudio Roditi, Bob Mintzer, and Gregory Herbert all played with Chuck Israel's National Jazz Ensemble in the '70s. Jack Walrath played with Ray Charles in the early '70s. .

It’s not often that obituary writers actually break news, but Matt Schudel has done so today in the Washington Post by reporting that Fuller, contrary to received wisdom, was born in 1932 rather than 1934. Fuller’s daughter confirmed the earlier year to Schudel after she looked at his passport records and other similar documentary sources. In “Jazz from Detroit,” I have Curtis' birthday in 1934 per not only all the standard reference books and liner notes from his early recordings but also, curiously, his own confirmation when I double-checked it with him the last time I interviewed him at length in 2012. Birthdays can be particularly slippery "facts," and the reference books are wrong in an alarming number of cases. With someone like Curtis, whose early years are hazy because of his rough childhood, the ease with which incorrect information can enter the bloodstream of popular media and even scholarly books is the kind of thing that keeps historians and fact-obsessed journalists up at night. Curtis was never particularly consistent or concerned with the veracity of dates he might give in interviews, so sorting out the timeline is a challenge. I have no doubt that all the things he said happened to him or that he experienced are true, but as to WHEN they happened, well ... That's when you have to do as much research as you can to corroborate, crosscheck the data, pray you find multiple documentary sources, weigh and synthesize the evidence, etc. You can be SO careful yet still make mistakes. It's maddening, but accuracy is everything. Curtis' birthday never seemed in doubt, yet here we are. When my book goes into another printing or appears in paperback, I'll be able to get it right. (Of course, due diligence will require I check the information myself with the daughter.) In any case, the jazz world owes Mr. Schudel a hearty “thank you” for setting the record straight.

FWIW, the Lord discography now lists 241 entries for "Stolen Moments." Virtually all of those are surely the Oliver Nelson tune and not some other tune with the same title. All 241 may well be the Nelson tune but without looking at each entry I can't be totally sure. Coda: I always assumed that Blues and the Abstract Truth (2/23/61) marked the debut of the song but, in fact, it's first appearance is on the Lockjaw's Train Whistle (9/20/60)

If you amortize that additional $20 over the rest of your life, it's not that much. Let's say you've got 30 more years, that's 66 cents a year for Passing Ships in (perhaps) breathtaking analog.Of course, I'm not saying this is necessarily THE record on which to break the bank, and I certainly understand the slippery slope issue. But having said that, if you're really feeling it ... you're the one who always says Carpe Diem!

It's possible that they've stuck with CDs for the Blue Note material because BN won't license the material for LP. After all, BN is deeply involved with vinyl via its own high-end reissue program (Tone Poet) and "mid-priced" program (Blue Note 80/Classic). I suspect they don't what to undercut their own efforts by licensing LP writes to others.

Thanks for the heads up. This Lawson session in 1977 ("Prime Time") was his long overdue debut as a leader. He only made three recordings as a leader. The other two are "Colour" (Soul Note) from 1983 and "Casablanca" (Somethin' Else) from 1989.

These are the 17 released LPs recorded in the '60s. With the other sundry Morgan sessions, plus alternates, that would a HUGE set -- at least 11 CDs I think, maybe as many as 13 or 14? Hard to imagine the company taking that kind of risk, though if you could sell a 9-CD Mobley box, I would think you could sell the Morgan. Lee-way The Sidewinder Search for the New Land Tom Cat The Rumproller The Gigolo Cornbread Infinity DelightfuLee Charisma The Rajah Standards Sonic Boom The Procrastinator The Sixth Sense Taru Caramba

Coda: Just dropping in here to note that you don't invest thousands in an audio chain to play "a" $30 dollar record, you invest to thousands to play a whole fucking basement full of them. Carry on ...

Look, if we don’t continue to buy music we’ve bought multiple times in multiple formats over the last 40 years for just marginal gains at best, then the terrorists win.

Thanks for your input. For the record, I had several on CD but sold those to finance other things when I realized I was doubling down on LPs ...

Recommendation sought: Leaving everything else aside and focusing just on the sound-quality claims for this set, should I get this yes or no considering the following facts about what I have on LP. 1. I have original New York stereo pressings of "Inner Urge" and "Mode for Joe" -- both in VG+ or better condition. 2. I have the recent BN 80/Classic reissues of "In 'n Out" and "Page One." 3. I have a 1980s DMM of "Our Thing" (hangs head in shame), but am hopeful that in due time that will get reissued in the ongoing BN Classic in due time. Now turning from the sound quality, one additional recommendation sought based on content of the set and this fact: I have none of these records on CD, so I do not own the four alternate takes that have come out previously; but I have listened to these alternates on streaming services. . Whaddya think? Yes.

Whoa. Where did you find this discography entry? If the material is listed as unissued, then clearly a tape exists.

Got it. Thanks.

FWIW, I count nearly 25 session for Lewis before 1990.

Good call on Wettling. I overlooked him, but he's got 342 credits. I'll correct. Thanks.

Actually he's 62. I'm correcting ...

Ooh, somehow Bellson's name got deleted while I was moving things around. He's got a big number: 472, good enough for 19th on the list. Correcting momentarily. Buzzy's 119 wasn't enough to make the list.

A conversation with Ethan Iverson about Billy Hart led me to spend WAY too much time compiling statistics from The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord to see who are the most-recorded drummers in jazz. What follows is list of the top 136. The numbers represent total number of sessions, not individual records. They also include only jazz sessions as defined by Lord's inclusion — no pop, R&B, film, TV, jingles, etc. They do include broadcasts and bootlegs that have been released. The results are interesting. The biggest numbers belong to top-call studio cats – Shelly Manne, Grady Tate, Osie Johnson, Mel Lewis. But there are surprises: Billy Hart is 5th (!) on the list, particularly impressive because his appearances are mostly single-session, modern jazz records dating back to 1961. Of course, he's still going strong at age 80. I went deep in my memory banks thinking of drummers whose numbers I should look up. I also looked at some online lists of jazz drummers and percussionists to jog my memory. Finally, after I posted earlier versions on Twitter, folks there pointed out a gaggle of omissions. I'm sure I've still left out some players, but this is fairly comprehensive. As more names come up, I'll add them to a running list I'm keeping on Facebook if they have enough credits to make the field. Remember, the numbers refer to sessions and not individual recordings. 1. Shelly Manne, 902 2. Grady Tate, 698 3. Osie Johnson, 692 (among the most impressive because his recording window was an insanely short 17 years, 1949-1966). 4. Mel Lewis, 690 5. Billy Hart, 646 6 Gene Krupa, 620 7. Buddy Rich, 606 8. Sonny Greer, 589 (Ellington made a LOT of records – all but about 25 of these are with Duke) 9. Don Lamond, 569 10. Steve Gadd, 554 (and God knows how many pop records, TV/Film dates, and commercials) 11. Papa Jo Jones, 539 12. Peter Erskine, 536 13. Kenny Clarke, 535 (woulda been higher had he not moved to Europe in the late ‘50s) 14. Jack DeJohnette, 502 15. Larry Bunker, 500 16. Billy Higgins, 498 17. Alvin Stoller, 497 (if you didn’t call Manne on the West Coast, you called Stoller). 18. Harvey Mason, 479 19. Louie Bellson, 472 20. Alex Acuna, 469 (percussionist) 21. Victor Lewis, 442 22. Lewis Nash, 421 (at 62, he’s obviously going to keep moving up the ladder.) 23. Elvin Jones, 417 24 (tie). Roy Haynes, 410 Ray McKinley, 410 26. Art Blakey, 402 27 (tie). Max Roach, 386 Jimmy Cobb, 386 29. Sam Woodyard, 381 (Duke Ellington redux) 30. Airto Moreira, 377 (percussionist) 31. Ed Thigpen, 374 32. Ray Bauduc, 373 33. Bernard Purdie, 361 34. Al Foster, 357 35. Don Alias, 354 (percussionist) 36. Ralph Macdonald, 347 (percussionist) 37. Stan Levey, 343 38. George Wettling, 342 39. Daniel Humair, 341 40. Han Bennink, 339 41. Cozy Cole, 338 42. Gus Johnson, 336 43. Joe Labarbera, 326 44. Art Taylor, 323 (also woulda been higher but for spending 20 years in Europe) 45. Idris Muhammad, 314 46. Connie Kay, 314 47. Kenny Washington 310 48 (tie). Ben Riley, 306 Panama Francis, 306 50. Adam Nussbaum, 303 51. Hamid Drake, 301 52. Danny Gottlieb, 298 53. Paul Motian, 293 54. (tie). Billy Drummond, 284 Alex Riel, 284 56 (tie). Lenny White, 280 Matt Wilson, 280 58. Billy Cobham, 276 59. Louis Hayes, 274 60. Joey Baron, 273 61. Jeff Hamilton, 272 62. Ed Shaugnessy, 271 63 (tie). Mickey Roker, 270 Warren Smith 65. J.C. Heard, 268 66. Albert Tootie Heath, 267 67. Vinnie Colaiuta, 264 68. Dave Tough, 262 69. Philly Joe Jones, 261 70. Jeff Watts, 249 71. Sonny Payne, 248 72. Oliver Jackson, 246 73. Sid Catlett, 243 74. Gerry Hemingway, 242 75. Charli Persip, 240 76 (tie). Tony Williams, 239 (only 51 at his death) Leon Ndugu Chancler, 239 78. Minu Cinelu, 235 (percussionist) 79. Earl Palmer, 233 80. Jake Hanna, 231 81 (tie). Joe Morello, 220 Bill Goodwin , 220 83. (tie). Marvin Smitty Smith, 217 Brian Blade, 217 85. Bill Stewart, 215 86. Frank Capp, 214 87. Ray Barretto, 205 (percussionist) 88. (tie). Bobby Rosengarden 199 Tom Rainey, 199 90. (tie). Cyro Baptista, 196 Dave Weckl, 196 92. Joe Farnsworth, 195 93. Emil Richards, 194 (percussionist) 94 (tie). Roy McCurdy, 193 Kenny Wolleson, 193 96. Zutty Singleton, 192 97 (tie). Andrew Cyrille, 187 Carl Allen, 187 99. Akira Tana, 186 100. Greg Hutchinson, 185 101. Alphonse Mouzon, 184 102. Paul Humphrey, 183 103 (tie). Joe Chambers, 179 Gerald Cleaver, 179 105. Herlin Riley, 178 106. Chico Hamilton, 177 107. Dennis Chambers, 174 108 (tie). Ray Mantilla, 173 (percussionist) Paul Lovens, 173 110. Jon Christensen, 171 111. Omar Hakim, 170 112. Jim Black, 169 113. Irv Cottler, 166 (Sinatra's drummer from 1956 forward) 114. Alan Dawson, 164 115. Terri Lyne Carrington, 162 116. Clarence Penn, 159 117. Aldo Romano, 158 118. Nasheet Waits, 157 119. Shadow Wilson, 156 120 (tie). Dannie Richmond, 154 Pheeroan AkLaff, 154 122. Dave Bailey, 151 123. Butch Miles, 144 124 (tie). Donald Bailey, 142 Bill Summers (percussionist), 142 126. Baby Dodds, 150 127. O’Neil Spencer, 146 128: Famoudou Don Moye, 145 129. Bobby Previte, 143 130. Motohiko Hino, 136 131 (tie). Eric Harland, 131 Jeff Ballard, 131 133. Tony Oxley, 130 134. (tie). Freddie Waits, 129 Barry Altschul, 129 Willie Jones, 129

Can't speak to the best sounding CD versions of this, because all my recordings of the band are on LP, but do want to acknowledge (a) the band was based in Detroit in these years and (b) the insanely high-level of execution and John Nesbitt's creative arrangements -- I mean, the rhythmic displacements & accents starting at 1:55 in "Stop Kidding" are remarkable, suggesting a superimposed 5/4 and 3/4 over a basic 4/4 pulse. Crazy for 1928, Schuller has a transcription in "The Swing Era."

Of all the things I thought I might experience in 2021, I never for a moment considered that one of them might be a video of Dave Chappelle plunking out 16 bars of ‘Round Midnight at the piano in an idiomatically correct language.

This is an amazing scene.