Kevin Bresnahan

I've heard that around 63/64, Tommy started being pretty unreliable. By the end of 1964, he was pretty much done. The rumor was that he had a drinking problem, not all that uncommon then or now. I once asked Stanley at a gig in the mid-90s why he didn't bring his brother Tommy and he just shook his head no and said that Tommy couldn't play anymore.

By the same token, Tommy's presence may be why this is still in the can.

Well, Bob certainly knew what that felt like so maybe he thought that the music listeners would want that experience as well? Not all music surround mixes are like that though. For instance, one of my favorites is Aerosmith's "Toys In The Attic". For that surround mix, the engineer did some gimmicky things like sending the vocoder intro to "Sweet Emotion" around all of the speakers to give it this spinning feeling. I think it works well but I can see how some might hate it. The Doors "LA Woman" DVD-Audio disc has cool surround sound on "Riders on the Storm", where they use the 5 speakers to make you feel like you're in the thunderstorm, not simply listening to one.

I am planning to go see Danny Harrington, Newburyport's gift to the baritone saxophone, at Arthur's House of Jazz in Methuen tonight. I hope to make it, but things are conspiring against me right now.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/bob-belden-jazz-adventurer-bob-belden-by-jeff-dayton-johnson Bob thought it was the future of music reproduction but time has seemingly proven him wrong. Surround music is almost as popular as 3D movies. Both have their fans but little to no market. Without a growing market, there is no way that the music industry will back it. Shortly before he died, Bob sent me a couple of videos with surround mixes he did of mostly ambient music. I've yet to find them posted online. One was titled "Hubble" and included still shots of different parts of the galaxy. The other was titled "Transparent Heat" and it had no video content. I found an interview he did with AllAboutJazz where he goes into his thoughts on surround music... BB: We performed a concert at London's Tabernacle (July 3, 2012). The concert was meant to introduce a refined live presentation concept that builds on what is already going on in the pop music world but we are taking the idea to a new and different level. Joining us that night were Serafino DiRosario, a magical live audio visionary, and Brandy Alexander, a live video projection team. What we did on that night was an Ambisonic concert. Ambisonic is about using the entire aural space of a venue and making that space part of the presentation of the sound. The Ambisonic engineer becomes part of the band, mixing us in and out of the sound canvas. This live mixing allowed the band to not only improvise to the song but to the texture of the projected sound and the imagery that was being projected into the band. In some cases, the layering of the band image within the projection suggested a potential for 3-D simulated visualizations. As Ambisonic would also be considered part of an aural 3-D spectrum there is a lot of room for connected creativity and narrative. What this opens the door to is to be able to create a live movie experience along the lines of an IMAX theater using improvised music and specifically created videos to tell as story and using the Ambisonic surround audio elements to enhance the total experience for the audience.

Surround sound was originally meant for watching movies, with small speakers in the back mainly for sound effects and a subwoofer for loud noises. When the DVD-Audio & SACD multichannel standards were created, they were meant more for music, which required those rear speakers to be full range, with equal sound reproduction capabilities to those of the front L, R & C speakers. With a good surround set up and a well done multichannel DVD-A/SACD disc, it can be very immersive. You get the feeling that you are in the band, not so much as in front of it. It's more of a feeling that the musicians are playing all around you. Therefore the "stereo mixing console" becomes your ears, which allows for the artist to push forward many more instruments than they would be able to in a stereo mix.

I've said it elsewhere on these forums but it's important to mention it again. Bob Belden told me that he made "Black Dahlia" to be listened to in 5.1 sound. Bob was very big into multichannel audio near the end of his life as he felt it was the future of music. I think he did a really good job creating the surround mix for "Black Dahlia". It's one of the best multichannel music discs I own.

I would never sell a CD-R. Give? Maybe. (Fingers crossed behind my back as I type this)

So I found a copy on discogs for $12.92... with $28.00 shipping from Japan. But the seller offered combined shipping, so I found a few other Japanese rarities, including a Harry Allen CD I didn't know existed ("Isn't This A Lovely Day" with Hank Jones) & a Sonny Stitt CD I'd been looking for for quite some time ("Saxophone Supremacy"). In case you are interested, this seller, magius, also had CD copies of the super-rare Puccini's Turandot by Bob Belden and Joe Lovano's "Tenor Time", a very good date that I had a very tough time finding.

John - you have to finish this sale soon... before I start my own "retirement sale".

Well, yeah, except that I already paid Jim directly for it.

I ordered this from Jim when he announced its release on Facebook (April 26th) and I have yet to receive it. I've messaged him on Facebook and he said he sold out of them at the gigs he did after I ordered my CD and he would get it to me when he got it back in stock. While I don't think that he should have sold his stock at a show before he sent mine out, he's in charge and maybe he makes more from sales at shows? Either way, I'll hear it when he gets it to me. Jim does not come here often so your best bet is contacting him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jim.alfredson.3

I was not a big fan of the cover art for the 4 CDs of the Coltrane "Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings". And I really disliked the "frog" cover for the Ben Webster Verve two-fer "Ballads".

Joe pass - For Django (Pacific Jazz/Tone Poet). Nice record for a whole $8.00.

More George from last night (20June2023). Note that the music doesn't start until after the 35 minute mark. George is playing at Jimmy's in Portsmouth, NH in August. He's bringing Eric Alexander to help out with the sax-playing duties and Mike LeDonne on piano. No Farnsworth though - his son George Jr is in the drum chair - and the $75 ticket price is a bit steep. I may go if only because I wonder how many more times George will tour.

Terri Lyne Carrington - TLC and friends (CEI Records). 16 year old Carrington leading a band of nobodies . I don't get why someone hasn't re-released this one. Other than the iffy Billy Joel cover tune ("Just The Way You Are"), this is pretty good stuff and well deserving of a wider audience. Even that Joel cover has Coleman going to town on it. Have fun trying to find an affordable copy of this LP these days.

Only 2 players left from those 1980's Philly Joe Dameronia tribute recordings: Don Sickler & Larry Ridley. I don't know that either one is still playing these days. Kenny Washington played drums on their live date from 1989 and he could have made it but since Bernd Reiter is the one who re-started this band, it doesn't make much sense for him to have Kenny play drums. I am looking forward to it. I am pretty sure I've never seen Oatts either but for some reason, I'm wondering if he wasn't in the sax section of a big band I saw years ago.

I know the thread is titled "Tonight" but I thought I'd give a bit of advance notice to a show I'm going to next Saturday (6/24) in Boston because I see that there are a bunch of tickets still available for those interested. Next Saturday (6/24) at Scullers, the Dameronia's Legacy All Stars are bringing their Tadd Dameron tribute to Boston. The Dameronia's Legacy All Stars for this show features Joe Magnarelli, Dick Oatts, Gary Smulyan, Steve Davis, Jeb Patton, John Lockwood & leader/drummer Bernd Reiter. I am looking forward to being there. I've seen many of these players perform live over the years but it will be interesting to see how they mesh for this one. I've never seen Oatts live, so that will be interesting. https://scullersjazz.com/upcoming-events/

I do understand that but for now at least, it seems like the police are letting things go a bit as they figure out how to handle it. I feel like it's almost being treated like cigarette smoking. Just yesterday I was walking along Long Sands Beach near my house when I got a strong whiff of weed. Clearly the large group of young people on the beach below me were smoking a joint. On these beaches, cigarettes are banned, so clearly smoking a joint is also banned. But just like the ban on cigarette smoking is never really enforced, this looks to be a "look the other way" offense as well. I have to wonder if no police department wants to be the first to get dragged to court for trying to prosecute someone for smoking weed in public.

On another thread, a side discussion broke out about the open use of recreational marijuana, so rather than continue it there, I thought I'd start a discussion here... I live in Maine, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2016 (but took almost 5 years to allow the first store/dispensary to open). I also live near the beach where there are a ton of rental properties and these days, it's become almost "normal" to walk by a rental house and get a heavy whiff of weed. But what I find weird is seeing someone walking down the street smoking a spliff, which doesn't seem right since anyone walking around sipping an open beer is likely to get some grief from the boys in blue. Don't get me wrong, I think it should've been legalized years ago. But at the same time, I don't know that I'm comfortable with how quickly it's become so ubiquitous out there. Just yesterday, I was walking by a house under renovation and the crew was standing around outside on some sort of break & two of the guys were clearly smoking a joint. I don't think I'd want those guys working on my house after that break. In general, I think it's weird but I'm sure with time, I'll get used to it.

Johnny Hodges - The Complete Johnny Hodges Sessions 1951-1955 (Mosaic). Spinning LP6, which contains the session that produced "Creamy" (Norgran/Verve). Great stuff. I don't play this set enough.

Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up (Blue Note/Cisco). This 2007 LP sounds very nice to my ears so I have no reason to update it with the latest Kevin Gray cut for Blue Note. I like the music on this but the echo plate RVG added is an audio minus, not a plus. I've always wished there was a dry master laying around in some lost tape box so that I could hear it.

Now spinning on the turntable: Joe Temperley & Jimmy Knepper - Just Friends (Hep Records). Derek Smith on piano, Michael Moore on bass & Billy Hart on drums. Billy Hart playing drums on a swing-styled LP seems weird to me but what do I know?

Makoto Terashita Trio - Ihatov (Tokyo Sound City). I have no recollection of when I bought this. Decent enough trio record. I seem to remember it being on clearance at one of the on-line stores like Acoustic Sounds so I decided to give it a shot.

All of this Bossa Nova talk with the passing of Astrud got me to pull this one off the shelf... Coleman Hawkins - Desafinado: Bossa Nova & Jazz Samba (Impulse!). My copy is a 1972 pressing from ABC but still used RVG's stampers. This isn't my favorite Bossa Nova record by any stretch, but it is Hawkins.