Mark Stryker

Apologies if this has been posted previously. Sometimes I say "I have no words" in a metaphorical sense when, in fact, I have many words but would rather not spend time putting down my thoughts in writing. However, sometimes I literally have no words. This is one of those times.

Pace Jim, I also first acquired this music via the 24000 series Twofers and they remain my favorite way to consume the material. I especially love Collector's Items -- both the Bird/Rollins material and the Rollins/Flanagan session -- Tallest Trees and Tune Up. The Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke hook-up is magic, and I adore the tracks with Horace, Percy, and Klook as a trio. On that score, the original LP titled Bag's Groove is a special favorite.

Gang -- here's an interesting question that grew out of a Twitter exchange I was involved in with Darcy James Argue, who had posted the 1932 recording of Ellington's "Ducky Wucky." Kind of a long wind-up, so bear with me. I noted that what Lawrence Brown plays in bars 7 and 8 of the first A section of "Ducky Wucky" is basically Monk's "Rhythm-a-ning" speeded up-- but since "Rhythm-a-ning" itself was appropriated by Monk from Mary Lou Williams' "Walking and Swinging": (1936), this begs the question: Did Williams pick up the melodic phrase from "Ducky Wucky?" And since that phrase appears only in the first A section of "Ducky Wucky," is it even correct to assume that Ellington (or Bigard, who shares composing credit), even wrote it? Brown may have improvised it. Darcy replied: "I think it was a fairly commonplace bit of vocabulary in this era, but your hypothesis makes sense. And the boogie-woogie inflections in the intro to 'Ducky Wucky' certainly bring MLW to mind!" Me: "I wouldn't disagree that the phrase was likely common practice material, but if so, then then it should appear on some other recording. If you can't find one, that's not a dealbreaker cuz, as I always say, the history of jazz is not the same as the history of jazz on record. ... But in this case, it would go a long way to proving the hypothesis. Any early jazz scholars or sleuths out there know of another example of the Ducky Wucky/Walking and Swinging/Rhythm-a-ning phrase showing up on record in the early to mid '30s?”

I'm interested in that John Lewis book too. Please read it first and let me know what you think.

https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27611/lot/70/a-buescher-alto-saxophone-played-by-john-coltrane/

I'm literally taking a break from writing a column about Joe Williams (ok, I'm procrastinating) to say that '60s Williams is absolutely the best. Leaving aside the record with Thad and Mel, which is in a category of one, the most rewarding chunk of his discography consists of the generally overlooked RCA records -- particularly Jump for Joy and Me and the Blues and, though I think the arrangements are uneven, The Exciting Joe Williams. His best ballad singing is here and the blues numbers represent a definite advance from his Basie tenure. Try this. Oliver Nelson arrangement. All the top NY studio cats.

This is a great record -- one of the best Criss Cross releases. FWIW, I first became aware of both Kikoski and Moore hearing them with Roy Haynes at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago in August 1986, about five months before 623 C Street was recorded. (Ed Howard was the bassist with Haynes' quartet.)

I stumbled over this New York Times (John S. Wilson) review of a January 1978 concert in which the centerpiece was a suite composed by Slide Hampton for Sanders and scored for a 13-piece ensemble. That's enticing to say the least. Does anybody know anything about this? I only see one record date in the Lord discography on which Sanders and Hampton appeared together -- a December 1978 quintet session under Hilton Ruiz's name for Denon, "Fantasia," for which the pianist wrote all the music. Did Slide ever document this Sanders-related suite or did Pharoah record a version without Hampton on the date? https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/28/archives/pharoah-sanders-and-an-ensemble.html

I've heard this from others too.

My Chronology column for Jazz Times this month offers a deep dive into my favorite solo by Kenny Dorham's solo -- "It Could Happen to You" (1961). Thanks to board member Michael Weiss for providing the transcription of the solo printed with the column. https://jazztimes.com/features/columns/chronology-kenny-dorham-drops-a-sigh-in-1961/

Obviously, I was too young to see Bennett live in those days but I have seen three or four times since 1992 and there was often something just slightly stilted or pre-programmed about his presence and patter (but never his singing, which was as natural as breathing, save a few choreographed big crescendo arrangements on certain tunes). I think the herky-jerky movements on the TV show are exaggerated for the mass medium and you would not have seen them in a cabaret or club. But they were still in part of his showbiz DNA in those days and gradually fell away as he aged. On another front, here’s Tony with Harold Land, James Moody, and Jimmy Mulidore, Kenny Clare. Has to be in Las Vegas in the first half of the 70s. Clare talks about it in this fascinating 1975 interview. http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Kenny%20Clare%20Jake%20Hanna_2.htm Everyone know this, right? All the A-list cats were booked so Tony had to settle for a group of journeymen — Stan, Herbie, Ron, Elvin. 1964.

Also Tommy Flanagan on piano. Beyond the music, there's that killer midcentury modern set with Saarinen Tulip Chairs -- so timelessly modern that they stood in for the 23rd Century on the original "Star Trek."

Just using this thread to post this performance with Tony and Bags. The tempo is way down but there's a lot of movement and momentum. Great performance.

Hey, I'm sorry that I'm just now seeing this query. I did not learn of any additional recordings while working on my book other the material cited above. I've never looked deeply, however, and I think there's a possibility of more stuff out there. Thanks for the shout and kind words. I really appreciate it. Yes, this is a great opportunity to get the book at a significant discount.

Steve Lacy and Gil Evans’ Paris Blues contains unusually meditative versions of “Reincarnation of a Lovebird,” Orange Was the Color of Her Dress Than Blue Silk,” and Goodbye Porkpie Hat.” Elvin Jones’ Dear John C with sublime Charlie Mariano has a fantastic “Reincarnation of a Love Bird” — I learned the song from this version to play with my group in college, though I brought the key down a step to avoid the altissimo register. Junko Onishi’s Piano Quintet Suite contains animated versions of “Peggy’s Blue Skylight” and Orange Was the Color of Her Dress Than Blue Silk.” (Two Detroiters here — Marcus Belgrave and Rodney Whitaker.)

Well, the premise was to create a playlist solely from live performances rather than studio recordings...

If you have access to Twitter;

Understood, though the New Testament Band was fairly big on protocol. However, I need to amend my earlier comment. The discography does indicate that Wess plays alto, flute, AND tenor on these recordings so, what the hell, maybe he is the second tenor soloist on Plymouth Rock. I would certainly trust Larry's ears in conjunction with the discography over suppositions based only on custom. Must have been a pain in the ass though for Frank to schlepp a tenor around for what at best was probably a single solo a night, maybe less. On the other hand, if he wasn't playing many solos on alto, then it would've been worth it.

Again, I haven't heard the recording, but it would be completely out of the band's character and general protocol for the cat sitting in the second alto chair to also play a tenor solo.

I don't have access to the recording at the moment, but the Lord discography says the saxophone section for these gigs is Royal and Wess on altos, Mitchell and Foster on tenors, and Fowlkes on baritone

FWIW, the three Milt Jackson records I recommend at the end of the chapter about him in my book are: Milt Jackson Quartet (Prestige), Sunflower (CTI), and the Fresh Sounds release that collects the Savoy and Atlantic sessions (but I I had to go with a single LP from this it would be either "The Jazz Skyline" or "Jackson's Ville" on Savoy). Since the Pablo records have come up in this thread, for me the best small group one by far is "Soul Fusion" with Monty Alexander's Trio (Clayton/Hamilton). I also like some of the tracks from the Bags/Basie Orchestra dates but long for different drummer than Butch Miles.

Alfred Lion, Creed Taylor, and Manfred Eicher had a ton in common as producer-owners starting with the fact that you can, with only a few exceptions, instantly identify a Blue Note, CTI, or ECM record in a blindfold test no matter who the artist is. You can also identify each label's records from the packaging without ever hearing a note of the music.

Ah, thanks.