Mark Stryker

I read the final citation less as an attempted definitive last word on the issue than a final ironic confirmation of how ellusive the meaning of Wagner remains and as a comment on the reductive cliches that inform too much discussion around a figure comprised of so many complexities and contradictions. I completely understand that there are some in Israel (or anywhere) for whom Wagner has horrific allusions and they should not have to listen to the music if they don't want to. But I do find the ban on his music in Israel laced with so many inconsistencies and hypocracies that it doesn't make sense.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/09/the-case-for-wagner-in-israel.html I thought this was a compelling piece and spot-on. For what it's worth, I interviewed Barenboim in late 2001 shortly after the incident mentioned in Ross' piece. Here's a little bit more about it drawn from my own story from Barenboim's perspective. Israel Festival officials in Jerusalem asked Barenboim not to play Wagner with the Berlin Staatskapelle orchestra. Depending upon whom you believe, Barenboim may or may not have acquiesced. But he surprised everyone at the end of the concert by asking the audience directly if it wanted to hear Wagner. After a contentious half-hour debate -- during which about 50 people left out of 1,000 -- the orchestra played the "Prelude and Liebestod" from "Tristan und Isolde." "We finished, and the whole audience gave us a standing ovation," says Barenboim. "I left the stage feeling that everything had been very harmonious." But Barenboim's actions ignited a firestorm the next day, drawing condemnations and accusations of insensitivity from festival officials and politicians. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said it was "perhaps too early" to play the music, given its Nazi entanglements. Barenboim vehemently cites the democratic ideal of free expression and notes that patrons were warned in advance and had the option of leaving. He also points out that Wagner's operas are heard on the radio in Israel and that some cell phones are programmed to play Wagner tunes when they ring.

FWIW, my twin brother studied with Danko at Eastman within the last 10-13 years and says Scientology never came up in any conversation or any context, even casually. My brother was not aware of any previous connection to Scientology, not that he (Danko) might not have been into it at some point. Coda 1: I've always really liked Danko's work. In addition to several of the Steeplchase records with Rich Perry that Larry alludes to, I can recommend the duet record with Kirk Lightsey, "Shorter By Two" (Wayne Shorter rep) http://www.amazon.com/Shorter-By-Two-Harold-Danko/dp/B0000035XG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348601968&sr=8-1&keywords=harold+danko+and+kirk+lightsey He also sounds good on the late '70s Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Quartet date on Artist House -- though the real reason to get this is Thad, who sounds fantastic. So original, so fresh, so alive, so witty. Coda 2. Konitz addresses Scientology in the "Conversations" book, starting on page 1997 http://books.google.com/books?id=pc4CsgVHLw0C&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=konitz+and+scientology&source=bl&ots=g54RIIclgv&sig=ArE12xM8_ei94m2dRQ2YT8pMWGA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jA1iUObjJ4mo0AGIq4DgDA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=konitz%20and%20scientology&f=false

Dixon left after the 5th season, replaced by Kenneth Washington who played a different character, Army Air Corp Sergeant Richard Baker. Details at wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogan's_Heroes#Staff_Sergeant_Kinchloe

I saw this as a kid on TV and never forgot it. God bless, youtube. Interesting that they get all the lingo right, though Hogan plays 8 bars up front rather than four. Bob Crane could clearly plays drums and I assume the scene was written to allow him a chance to play. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeGxE5K9djs

Whoa, that is one cool factoid! Never realized this before.

Thanks for posting. Have never seen this poem before. What book or collection is it from? (I moderated a panel a few years ago in Detroit that Spellman was on -- very smart man. )

I love this record -- one of my favorites of all-time. But I wouldn't link the aesthetic or the sound with '70s soul-jazz at all. The first side is quintessential progressive BN -- a cousin to records being led by Herbie, Wayne, JoeHen, Rivers, Jackie, LaRoca, etc. --codifying what became the contemporary post-bop mainstream in terms of a language rooted in the tradition but pushing ahead --open harmonic structures that mix modal ideas with sophisticated harmony, a looser approach to rhythm, highly interactive rhythm sections, soloists aware of the avant-garde and incomporating some ideas without abandoning swing, blues, etc. Related: Herbie and Hutcherson -- one of the great hookups. Looking for ways of playing free within structure ...

That's probably what I remembered. I suspect it'll come back to me out of the recesses of the brain folds. When it does I'll let you know. I even told some people in back of me the name of the tune on Sunday. Boy am I glad I bought a vip pass for Sunday after the horror of trying to hear Corea & Burton at that stage the night before. I should have just stayed at the Goldings-Bernstein-Stewart gig, which I left after 2 tunes. On Sunday I had 5th row center seats for the Shorter tribute and the Shorter quartet. Donny McCaslin was by far the surprise highlight of the big band set. Putting a Chick and Gary duo on the big stage to close a big night was, I think, a rookie mistake by new artistic director Chris Collins who, in fact, did an exceptionally good job in most respects. But Chick/Gary was too intimate for the number of people who would not be able get into the "bowl" on a busy Saturday night. In that particular time slot and location you need something with more volume and pop.

I recognized the melody of the tune at the time but could not place the title. I asked Geoff Keezer who I was standing next to what it was and he couldn't place it either. It wasn't "Once in a While," though, curiously, that's the ballad Sonny Rollins played Friday night. Hope you had a great time. I think this is the best jazz festival in the country. I'll post links to my other reviews sometime today, and if I find out the name of the tune, I'll post.

Thanks. Those records are on my radar but didn't have room to mention everything. When I expand this piece for my book, they'll be a more thorough look at the discography ...

Lnng profile in today's paper. Don't get thrown by the embedded videos -- story keeps going just below them. http://www.freep.com/article/20120826/ENT04/308260081/Legendary-jazz-trumpeter-Marcus-Belgrave-has-the-music-in-him?odyssey=nav|head

Other than as part of the Mosaic Select box, has Curtis Amy's "Way Down" (Pacific Jazz ST-46), recorded 1/29/62 and 2/5/62 ever been issued on CD?

Isn't "I was young and stupid" the opening line of the lyric on "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love." No, wait, it's "I was young and carefree."

Thanks all. Best chat board in all of Internet-dom ...

Gang, Can anyone tell what the original issue of this recording was called? Assume it's "Pre-Bird" but have seen enough other references that I want to be sure. Thanks. Charles Mingus - Gunther Schuller Orchestra Marcus Belgrave, Ted Curson, Hobart Dotson, Clark Terry, Richard Williams (tp) Eddie Bert, Charles Greenlee, Slide Hampton, Jimmy Knepper (tb) Don Butterfield (tu) Robert DiDomenica (fl) Harry Shulman (ob) John LaPorta (as, cl) Eric Dolphy (as, bcl, fl) Bill Barron, Joe Farrell (ts) Yusef Lateef (ts, fl) Danny Bank (bars) Charles McCracken (vlc) Roland Hanna (p) Charles Mingus (b, arr) Dannie Richmond (d) Sticks Evans, Max Roach, George Scott (per) Gunther Schuller (cond) NYC, May 24, 1960 20093 Half-Mast Inhibition Mercury MG 20627 20094 Mingus Fingus, No. 2 - 20095 Bemoanable Lady - 20096 Yusef Isef Too unissued * Mercury MG 20627, SR 60627, (J) PHCE 6006 Charles Mingus - Pre-Bird = Limelight LM 82015, LS 86015 Charles Mingus - Mingus Revisited

Don't have time today for a full Weather Report discussion but thought I'd add that in a fire, the two records I'm grabbing first are "Mysterious Traveller" and "Sweetnighter." Never saw the band live, but would have really liked to have heard them in late '72 and '73 -- sometimes the transitions are more thrilling than perhaps the more aesthetically consistent, polished poles on either side.

Hey, some good early Marcus Belgrave on there ...

Concord reissued the four Ray Charles jazz albums issued on Impulse, Tangerine and Crossover as a 2 CD set a couple of years ago and this is what the personnel for Jazz II says: Ray Charles - Leader, piano and the Ray Charles orchestra, including: Johnny Coles, Blue Mitchell (tpt) James Clay, Andrew Ennis, David Newman, Don Wilkerson (ts) Leroy Cooper (bars) Edgar Willis (b) Ernest Ely (d) Arrangements by: Alf Clausen (#2,5) Teddy Edwards (#4,7) Jimmy Heath (#6) Roger Neumann (#1,3) I've always thought I could hear Teddy Edwards on his two tunes. MG Thanks. Seems to be some confusion among some sources. This site offers a "correction" according to a trombonist on the date: http://raycharlesvideomuseum.blogspot.com/2010/02/jazz-number-ii.html I just picked up the LP yesterday and have not been able to listen yet, but I got it because I had seen a discography that said Marcus Belgrave was on it. I'm seeing Marcus later today and will ask him about it. I'll also have a chance to listen in a bit and check the aural evidence. Thank you Mark - that's a much more persuasive personnel list than what Concord published. If you do see Marcus, ask him if he remembers if Teddy Edwards played. MG Well, my ears told me Marcus is playing at least some of the trumpet solos, and he confirmed today that he's on the record, though he doesn't think he played all of the solos. I had brought it along to have him listen to identify certain things more specifically, but his turntable wasn't working so that will have to wait. In any case, it appears that the personnel listed on the website is correct, though I didn't go through it man by man with him. He did say that he does not believe that Teddy Edwards played at all on the session. The record was made in 1971 either right before or right after a tour that Marcus had rejoined for (as he did from time to time, for a short run of gigs, or a special festival reunion or maybe a TV spot or something similar.)

Hmm. Never noticed that before but then I haven't studied those records in depth and know the music only casually. But I'll ask Marcus Belgrave about this when I have the chance. Well, according to Marcus, he was aware that the band played sharp in relation to the piano but it wasn't anything they consciously decided to do. He more or less thinks it was just an outgrowth of some of the lead players in the group and where they put the pitch and then everybody went with it. Once it ended up being part of the sound of the band, it kinda stuck. He did say, there was a point when the band was pretty loose about pitch and ensemble but he started bringing a tape recorder around to gigs and when the cats started hearing the nightly gig tapes, they tightened up quickly. As I think about it, I wonder if the fact that the band typically played a 30-40 minute set before Ray would come out. Since that would have been without piano, perhaps that accounts for the pitch not centering on the piano as a guide. Marcus also said, Ray in those days typically started his part of the show by playing alto ...

Concord reissued the four Ray Charles jazz albums issued on Impulse, Tangerine and Crossover as a 2 CD set a couple of years ago and this is what the personnel for Jazz II says: Ray Charles - Leader, piano and the Ray Charles orchestra, including: Johnny Coles, Blue Mitchell (tpt) James Clay, Andrew Ennis, David Newman, Don Wilkerson (ts) Leroy Cooper (bars) Edgar Willis (b) Ernest Ely (d) Arrangements by: Alf Clausen (#2,5) Teddy Edwards (#4,7) Jimmy Heath (#6) Roger Neumann (#1,3) I've always thought I could hear Teddy Edwards on his two tunes. MG Thanks. Seems to be some confusion among some sources. This site offers a "correction" according to a trombonist on the date: http://raycharlesvideomuseum.blogspot.com/2010/02/jazz-number-ii.html I just picked up the LP yesterday and have not been able to listen yet, but I got it because I had seen a discography that said Marcus Belgrave was on it. I'm seeing Marcus later today and will ask him about it. I'll also have a chance to listen in a bit and check the aural evidence.

Can anyone help identify the musicians on "Ray Charles Jazz Number II" (Tangerine 1516)? There's no listing of personnel on the LP but I believe it was reissued a few years ago as part of an expanded package of "Genius + Soul=Jazz." I'm especially interested in the soloists -- one of whom is Marcus Belgrave -- so if anyone has the reissue and can check the text and listings of liner notes I would be grateful. Thanks

Oh, yeah! Sinatra & Basie, 7/9/65, Forest Hills. Whole concert. Not great fidelity but FS's voice far more supple than at the Sands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNcn8BMiuZY

Condolences especially to those here who were personally close to Von. I first heard him live I think in the second half of 1985 at Nature's Table, a beloved restaurant/jazz club in Urbana. The old bebopper-alto player Guido Sinclair, who had been a friend of Von's on the southside, had been living in Champaign-Urbana for years at that point and it was through him that the late co-owner of the Table, Terry Masar, got Von to come down. I remember how geeked we all were because we had known about Von but only a couple of folks (not me) had ever heard him live. I had known about him from a Down Beat article I read earlier from late 1976 that John Litweiler had written. I had been given a subscription on my 14th birthday and that issue, with Woody Herman on the cover, was the 4th one I received and in those days I devoured every word of the magazine so I remembered the story. Incididentally, John's piece mentions an upcoming appearance on PBS's Soundstage -- does anyone remember that show or know if a tape is around anywhere? I also recall an interview with Von and Chico that I think Neil Tesser did for Down Beat though not sure if that's something that was written before or after this particular gig. I had just started doing a little freelance writing at that point and I wrote up a piece about Von's life, though I didn't interview him; I drew quotes from secondary sources including John's story (with credit I should add). I called up the features editor at the local Champaign News-Gazette and tried to pitch it. I mailed it to the paper and then followed up by going to meet the editor face to face. I had no idea what I was doing or how a newspaper worked or anything at that time. The editor turned me down, but I do remember he said the piece was "good" but far too long. I doubt it actually was any good but I have no doubt it was too long. The club had lined up essentially a local trio to play with him, including by close friend Mike Kocour, a fine pianist who had only recently graduated from U of I and was just started to make his way on the Chicago scene (and who left Northwestern some years ago to run the jazz program at Arizona State.) The first tune to the best of my recollection was "Like Someone in Love" or possibly "If I Should Lose You," which Von started with a cadenza up front and then worked his way through the melody out-of-time with just the piano. After the first or second phrase with the piano,which Mike framed in a particularly nice way, Von said sidways out of the right side of his mouth, "That's beautiful, baby." A wonderful moment. Broke up the whole room and just relaxed the entire band, which was nervous to be playing with him in the first place. But after two tunes, he started letting people sit in, beginning with Guido, and very quickly the whole night devolved into a jam session. That was disappointing because we had all come to hear him play and not the guys we all knew. Von was a little juiced too, and I recall him standing back near the register raising his glass at one point in a toast when someone tried to nudge him back to the bandstand. In the end he didn't play that much that night and I have no real memories of the music, except for that opening standard. However, a little while later he came back, this time with John Young, bassist John Webber, who was maybe 19 or 20 but looked 16, and a young drummer from Champaign named Larry Beers who could really play. I had a jobbing gig that night with this big band I played in, so I didn't get there until later on, and when I walked in the vibe in the club was amazing. You could tell something heavy was happening, because the place was jammed and you could hear a pin drop. They started the second set with a medium tempo blues and I will never forget the opening phrases of Von's solo: these relaxed riffs that just floated on air as Webber layed down a lethal swinging 4/4. I had never heard anybody swing that way on tenor; only in retrospect did I come to realize that Von at that moment was offering up a personalized homage to Lester Young. He just played masterfully that night, with that quirky but expressive sound and those curlicue lines that hit the ear with such freshness. You know, there's an incredible intensity when someone is playing with such originality, and that's the first night I really can remember in which that lesson was front and center for me. Von stayed on the stand the whole time and I don't recall any sitting in at all, though I suspect there had to be some later in the night. I often wondered if he came back to C-U partly because he knew he let the first night get away from him and that folks felt they didn't get their money's worth. I also remember the deep rapport with John Young, how great John's P.C.-like walking sounded and how proud I was that my friend Larry sounded every bit like he deserved to be on the stand. Later I heard Von in Chicago on a number of occasions, but the memory of that night at Nature's Table, especially that blues, remains indelible.

Curtis Fuller recently told me that Judy Garland would come hear the Jazz Messengers at Shelly's Manne-Hole and sat it once singing "Never Never Land." Apparently, she was a friend of Lee Morgan(!) Go figure.