Mark Stryker

I'd guess that "Mode for Joe" ranks high for people because the compositions and larger ensemble give the record an approachable quality that's different from the others. For me, however, "Inner Urge" is the clear No. 1 -- it's not even close -- with In 'N Out" in the No. 2 position, "Mode for Joe" at No. 3 and then "Our Thing" and "Page One" are basically tied. That may underrate "Our Thing" but that one was out of print when I was young and I didn't get it until it was reissued in the mid '80s and by then I had learned every groove of the others so it wasn't really a fair fight.

When I played in John Garvey's band at the University of Illinois from 1983-85, the Billy Byers chart on "Come Fly With Me" was our typical set opener. God knows how many times I played it, but if you're truly swinging, it's a gas every single time. There are a lot of reasons that a lot of the guys stayed in Basie's band for a long time, but one of them is that to sit in the middle of a band breathing as one while playing a chart like this embodies a real-time elation and contributing-to-something-larger-than-yourself that do not exist in many facets of life. Nothing does that like playing music. It's a drug, and the Basie high is addictive. pl

I have lots of these records on LP and glad to have them -- REALLY glad to have some of them -- but, frankly, I wouldn't pay a premium for all of them in a box. Having said that, "Standing Ovation" is one of my all-time favorite Basie records. It's every bit as good as the rightly celebrated "Basie at Birdland" and "Breakfast Dance and Barbecue." Band is in great shape, repertoire is ideal, Sweets is on board and Lockjaw is ALL over it. Another worth tracking down is "The Great Concert of Count Basie" -- live concert from London, 1966. 2 LPs. More Jaws. I have it on an import label Disques Festival.

Yes, Strata was the progenitor of Strata-East. No, it's not the same people, though Stanley Cowell was an original member of Strata's board of directors and technically in charge of Strata's publishing arm, (This part of the Strata initiative never got off the ground.) Cox and Moore started Strata in Detroit in 1969. Strata-East founders Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell had played at the Strata Concert Gallery and Cowell had known Cox and Moore going back to 1964, when Cowell was a grad student at the Univ. of Michigan and part of the Detroit scene. Tolliver and Cowell took inspiration from what the guys were doing in Detroit and for a time they were discussing the idea of functioning as an east coast subsidiary -- hence the name Strata-East. (There were brewing plans for a Strata-West too.) In the end, Tolliver and Cowell were wary of Strata's complex corporate model -- the Detroit guys literally sold stock to raise capital and set-up a grandly ambitious corporate structure that included recording, performance, publishing and management divisions. So Strata-East came into being as a separate entity with a different business model in which artists financed their own recordings and "the company" packaged and distributed the product. But Strata-East kept the the Strata name as an homage to their roots and similar self-determination philosophy.

In my forthcoming book I tell the story of the Strata Corporation -- a self-determination effort founded by trumpeter Charles Moore and pianist Kenn Cox (2/5 of the Contemporary Jazz Quintet) -- in 1969. The Strata Concert Gallery was one of their ventures. Among the performs were Ornette, Cecil, Mingus, Joe Henderson Sextet, Herbie's Mwandishi Sextet, Weather Report, Chick Corea Trio (Stanley Clarke/Horacee Arnold) and many who came in and played with Detroiters, including Archie Shepp, Stanley Cowell, Joe Chambers. In doing research, I dug up posters from these gigs and the original AFM artist contracts for a number of these performances. A lot of these were broadcast on WDET-FM and bootlegs have circulated. I've never heard the Mingus so I don't know if it's been around, but at least one of the Mwandishi performances has traded for years and is actually on YouTube. I tried to upload a photo of a poster that lists this Mingus gig among the others in early 1973 but the system is balking. You can see it here:

Correct. You hear him on the tape too, hosting the show.

Sad to report that Walker died Thursday after a fall at home. He was 96.

A while back in another thread, the name of Aretha's longtime musical director H.B. Barnum came up. Here are his reflections on Aretha, From Billboard magazine. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8471051/hb-barnum-aretha-franklin-interview

She left no will or trust. This could get complicated. https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/aretha-franklin/2018/08/21/aretha-franklin-no-wills-trust/1057966002/

That's an incredible "Love Letters." Does this whole concert exist somewhere on film?

Today -- August 19, 2018 -- marks the 32nd anniversary of Sonny Rollins jumping off a ledge in mid performance, because, well, Sonny Rollins. He broke his heel in the process -- but kept playing. Here's the film. Stay through the interviews for the incredible performance of "G-Man," one of Sonny's best post-1971 solos.

I don't want to wade in too deep here, but as short hand of my feelings, I would say (a) My favorite record of all time is "A Night at the Village Vanguard" (b) I'm happy with my life and choices, but if I could do anything, it would to be able to play like Sonny on a good night between 1964 and '68. (c) My views about the later work hew pretty close to Jim, even if I perhaps harbor a bit more frustration than Jim does on some points. Also, speaking of the sound, I've stood right next Sonny as he played acoustically, without a microphone, and that was the most expansive sound as I've ever anyone get on any instrument. Ever. Also, I heard him play about 4 minutes of "Three Little Words" at a Soundcheck around 2008 that rank among the most inspired four minutes of improvisation I've ever heard live.

Nice stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Might be Al Porcino playing lead, yes? No?

Good one.

Dave is now 88. As you probably know, he worked for the Chess brothers in the late '50s as an Argo producer, but somewhere around 1960 his father got sick and he had to return to Detroit to fun the family oil reclamation business. (The guys that that pick and dispose of the oil at auto repair shops/gas stations etc.) Dave built the company into a powerhouse called Marine Pollution Control, one of the world's leading oil spill and hazardous waste/disaster clean-up companies. When the Exxon Valdez disaster happened, it was Dave's company that cleaned it up -- and, boy did he also clean up. $$$. Good guy wins!. Dave met Dizzy in the '40s in Detroit. In later years, he put Dizzy on his company board and the trumpeter took his responsibility serious, coming here for the all annual meetings etc. https://www.marinepollutioncontrol.com/

Yep -- that's the original.Your "verb" explanation makes sense. But it's possible (likely) that the title was incorrect here because later it's almost always spelled with an apostrophe somewhere in there. BTW, the original producer of that record -- Detroit guy who co-owned Dee Gee with Dizzy -- is a friend, Dave Usher (later produced stuff for Argo). I could ask him but that's complicated ...

In various spots I see Dizzy's Gillespie's tune referred to Birk's Works, Birks' Works and Birks Works. Anyone have an authoritative answer or informed guess as to what the definitive title is? Thanks in advance.

Thanks Dan and Paul for the fresh birthday wishes.

Oh, man. Not sure how I left that out. It's among the Burrell records I single out for praise in my chapter on him. Sorry, for the oversight Kenny!

Milt Jackson's "Sunflower" is fantastic. Really creates and sustains a mood. One of the best records of MIlt's career. Different from his other great records but on the list for sure. The first two Joe Farrell records are great -- "The Joe Farrell Quartet" and "Outback." For some reason, I don't know "Moon Germs" as well and have always thought it wasn't quite as good as the first two. But I could be wrong about that. I'll give it another listen soon. Ron Carter's "All Blues." Jobim, "Stone Flower"

Not clear to me exactly how the selection works these days, but no doubt Wayne must have had an important champion either at the table or advising someone at the table -- I'm guessing Jason Moran, who has a titled position at the Kennedy Center, or possibly Wynton Marsalis. And, yes, many huzzahs for this highly visible award. I don't think you can overestimate how much good this kind of mainstream recognition can do for helping jazz re-establish a visible presence within common culture. Especially when the real deal gets the the attention. And it don't come any more real than Wayne.

I saw Simon in the early ‘90s in South Bend, Ind., doing a wide variety of material, including the “Graceland” stuff, and it all sounded great. I thought the elements that were borrowed from other cultures were treated with thoughtfulness and respect and overall there was a high level of craft, artistry and musicianship on display. Not everything was to my taste, but there was no bullshit from Simon or anyone else. Steve Gadd played drums and Mike Brecker played tenor. I don’t know who the bass player was but he was always in the right place at the right time.

Thanks for this. New information for me.

Seems to be this, which was new to me. https://www.discogs.com/Bobby-Hutcherson-Live-At-Montreux/release/1059364