Pete C

Nothing in particular. The times I saw him live were the highlights. I'd really love to hear how he sounded with Mingus. Stubblefield was definitely underrated. I'd say he was a peer of Billy Harper. He was part of a great Hilton Ruiz lineup at Town Hall ca. 2000. I found something I said to Papo Vasquez about it on Jazz Corner back then: "By the way, I dug that Hilton Ruiz show at Town Hall you appeared on a couple of months ago. It was an amazing lineup folks--Chico Freeman, John Stubblefield and Antonio Hart on reeds, Lew Soloff on trumpet, and Papo, Conrad Herwig and Dick Griffin on bones." He was also amazing when I saw him with Threadgill's Society Situation Dance Band in '97. I know I saw him a bunch of other times, but I can't remember specifics because he played in so many different contexts that weren't working groups.

Miss Toni Les(ter Robinson) G(erald) W(ilson)

I keep a 3 pairs of backup pants from when I was at my heaviest, one size larger than my normal size. When I have to use them I go on a diet. I can usually get back to a comfortable point in my regular size within 2 weeks. My ideal weight would probably be 165, buy I'm always happy when I'm back down to 175. My weight has ranged over the past 25 years between 157-190, but generally between 175-185.

Boris Rose Daisy Miller Hyacinth Bucket

No Ben fan should be without this DVD. This is the version I have, from Emarcy, but it may be PAL-only. I'm pretty sure this one has the same material, and is NTSC, from Shanachie.

She may have come up in the swing era, but it was in her Concord years that she became a truly top tier singer, IMO.

Rumpole of the Bailey Bill Bailey Red McKenzie (he played a fine tooth comb)

I just got a new smart TV with an excellent YouTube interface, so now I'm more likely to sit back in an easy chair and watch youtube clips.

Bottles can be reused, or you can buy decent reusable water bottles without petrochemical leakage, still have your water in a bottle, do your part for the environment, and not waste your money on what's usually just treated tap water, and not pay people for something you're already paying for if you pay water taxes. Many if not most U.S. cities have perfectly safe, drinkable tap water, the only real issue in some places being hardness (like S.F. & D.C. -- and London). I'm lucky to live in NYC, where the tap water is as good as anything in a bottle. If I lived in S.F. or D.C. I'd have a good filtration system, but when I visit I do buy bottled water.

So, I've known the name as a sideman, but never paid too much attention. Then last night I'm looking for recordings with John Stubblefield on Spotify and I come across Ware's amazing Soul Note album Heritage Is. Wow, great charts clearly in a BAG/AACM tradition (shades of Muhal & Threadgill), with a decidedly Strayhornian slant. I love this album. Any other thoughts on Ware and other work as a leader of mid-size or large ensembles?

Makes sense--the nutrients in the food will satisfy those hunger pangs that are not necessarily all in the stomach, and the water will fill out what you're consuming to give you a fuller feeling in the gut.

Not the same thing at all. Coffee is a diuretic, so it'll ultimately make you want to replace the water. Only trace calories in black coffee from the oils. I don't know if stimulants have anything to do with burning calories, but they definitely help suppress appetite (which is why Dexedrine was the diet pill of choice for years). So the moral is you should drink coffee when you're smoking weed, and hopefully they'll fight each other over the munchies. I can think of at least one notable exception.

Marc Almond Jon Mark Johnny Almond

Water in the morning sounds like voodoo science to me. I have an arcane secret to losing weight: I consume less food than usual, and the food I consume is less caloric. I like food too much to maintain a year-round optimal diet, so I let myself yo-yo within a manageable 5-10 pound range. When I gain it back I can usually lose it on a 3-week austerity diet. I also keep diets interesting by falling back on foods that are less caloric and still interesting, so when I go to restaurants they're generally Japanese, Middle Eastern and Vietnamese, cuisines with lighter cooking styles, that tend to grill lean chicken without skin, do well with fish and low fat vegetarian dishes, etc. I also eat more fresh fruit in my diet period, and every time I ask myself why I forget to eat them when I'm in anything goes mode. Here's my more formal thoughts on dieting: http://petercherches.blogspot.com/2007/10/dieting.html

The attribution to Monk is incorrect. No definitive answer, but there's a fair amount of citations for Martin Mull, but it could be as early as Clara Schumann.

Not only did I take a vacation to Memphis (about 10 years ago, during the Beale Street Music Festival), but I took a great 3-state Delta blues tour with Tad Pierson and his '55 Cadillac. http://www.americandreamsafari.com/

If you get depressed by other people's success you need to either: a) Stop seeking "success" as in fame or monetary reward (you're already a success in the most important sense) b) Take up Zen Buddhism or something like it* or C) all of the above I used to want to be famous, and got pissed off at undeserved "success." Now I don't want to be famous and I don't give a shit about anybody else's success (except to be happy when friends and those I admire achieve it). *I'm not a Buddhist, but one might call me a Zen atheist.

I can't think of a better scat singer currently working.

So, when's the main hinting event?

So, I just listened to this, and I'd say it's superior to Teddy's studio recordings. All the voice, all the energy.

Good Will Hunting Hunter S. Thompson Ron Hunt

Actually, her name is Ana Isabel Ordonez, but her business is called Ruby Flower Productions.

I'm pretty sure the noise was a combination of warring factions. FWIW, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coltrane

Ross Russell Busty Russell Jane Russell

Yeah, I have those two too. Some of you may remember that Horst Jankowski had a cheesy mid-'60s instrumental hit, "A Walk in the Black Forest." I was not previously aware of the Jazz Unlimited/Storyville connection. Of course, some of credit for the super-charged atmosphere of the Paris set can go to the warring Parisians in the house.