SEK

Congratulations, David!

My aged machine has Windows 98 SE, which has not been subject to many of the latest internet nasties. I use Norton Antivirus fulltime and Kaspersky AV on-demand. My Outpost software firewall does a better job than the Norton Firewall that I used previously (and requires fewer resources). I also use updated Adaware and Spybot monthly and have been doing a Windows Update twice a month. I had a "high-speed" internet connection for a little while, but now I'm back to a sluggish dialup connection most of the time. The superior ad- and popup-blocking capabilities of the Outpost firewall is the only thing that makes web-surfing bearable, but I miss those fast downloads...

We have a Kitchenaid Ultra 12-cup coffee maker for drip coffee. It has a button that you push if you're having 1-3 cups of coffee. After dealing for decades with the shortcomings of various Krups, Braun, Melitta, and a few miscellaneous others, we've found a drip coffee maker that is the most satisfactory. The coffee it makes is quite rich and nicely hot for drip, and the machine itself has been quite durable and easy to clean for almost two years now. My wife uses it every day, while I'll drink an occasional cup. We use Lavazza Bar Gran Filtro beans, regular and decaf, which I also recommend. By the way, my main caffeine source for the last decade has been Lavazza espresso from a Saeco pump machine. Lavazza Il Perfetto (the pre-ground version of Lavazza Club) has been my favorite espresso blend since it became available last year. I like it better than Illy, and it's much less expensive. We purchase all of our coffee from Sovrana Store, a fine internet source for Lavazza products.

I've just begun reading Lewis Porter's John Coltrane: His Life and Music.

Berigan, I'm very glad that you've finally got an opportunity to fight this thing! About a possible lawsuit: after my first surgery, I was told that I had up to 18 months to live, 24 max. (Since then, my prognosis has never improved by much, but I'll take life in 3-to-6-month chunks; it certainly beats the alternative...) I was also told by several reputable sources, including a couple of doctors (which was quite unexpected), that I had strong legal claims of negligence, but I certainly did not want to spend all (or a sizable chunk of) my remaining time on the planet in court. After I had lived a few years more, I had the luxury for very occasional "what-ifs", but I've never regretted my initial decision. It also made a significant difference that I had superb medical insurance here in Michigan. The "health plans" that we had when we lived in Texas, for example, would have forced us into court to avoid going into massive debt. (Since then, I've been especially skeptical of motives and moves for "tort reform", btw.) I hope that your insurance is more than adequate. Even if it isn't, all your energies should now be focussed on your mother's treatment and, as much as is possible, her comfort too. Though I'm absolutely sure that your mother knows very well by now that you love her, I agree with b3-er that you can't tell her often enough. Getting through this kind of thing is quite episodic, sometimes minute-to-minute, and is often severely dislocating. Hope, for me, has been based on the ongoing connections with people who I know care about me and an ongoing assurance that all that can be done to help me is being done and will continue to be done. That has kept me going... Also I have always wanted to know the sober, unvarnished truth concerning my current condition, my prognosis, and my treatments and treatment options. (This desire for a steady stream of accurate information varies most from patient to patient and family to family. Many folks tend to be significantly more passive for a variety of reasons, good and bad, which must be respected, but some doctors apparently get too used to that.) Personally, if I could choose between a good bedside manner and realistic, timely assessments, I'd chose the latter. I've been fortunate enough, since I began receiving excellent care, that these two alternatives have not often been mutually exclusive. So Berigan, stay as strong, clear, and hopeful as you can. Steve

Probably so, but the irony is that he had just the opposite effect on generations after him. Or at least on many segments of those generations. Go figure. Ahh, the Reagan-Marsalis revisionist legacy...

As the '60s were coming to an end, I first started to pay attention to McCoy's records under his own name, starting with the remarkable music he recorded for Blue Note (I didn't get into his records that he made for impulse! till a few years later). Meanwhile, those Milestone records began to appear. "Enlightenment" was/is a monster. I still get elated by "Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit", and listening closely to that entire live recording, from beginning to end, can be quite demanding. But, in my opinion, "Enlightenment" remains a highpoint in intensity and beauty in McCoy Tyner's career. My other Tyner Milestone favorites from that period include: "Sahara" (which could also be my favorite record with Sonny Fortune) "Echoes of a Friend" (a majestic solo tour de force dedicated to Trane) "Trident" (featuring the incomparable Elvin Jones, and Ron Carter with some of his best bass playing of that decade) "Sama Layuca" (an exciting and somewhat exotic session, with Bobby Hutcherson playing very well for the '70s - or for any time, Gary Bartz - impressive as ever, Azar Lawrence, John Stubblefield, Buster Williams , Billy Hart , and percussionists Guilherme Franco and Mtume) "The Greeting" (a wonderful live recording from the late '70s featuring George Adams and Sonship Theus)

Berigan, Thanks for your sympathy concerning my father. My father's death followed a prolonged decline; the last 5 weeks of my dad's life were especially difficult, but the last day was peaceful. His death was a release for everyone involved, especially for my dad. "I'm a lover, not a fighter"; I have exceptional luck and a good network of friends. My friends (and the music!) continue to serve very well as my "support group". Though I taught at a community college (computer science) until I got sick, I've never felt the desire to be a "motivational speaker" (or whatever) for groups of "survivors" or people who are in treatment or who face treatment. My health and state of mind have often been a bit tenuous, and I've usually felt that the struggles that different people go through as well as the varying courses of their different diseases make coping with a "terminal disease" a very individualized kind of thing. Still, over the years and almost from the beginning, my wife and I have somehow become magnets for many people with serious diseases, their families, their friends, and friends of friends (I'm sure that this kind of thing happens a lot). We try our best to help and share experiences that may be relevant. I don't generally kick myself (there never has seemed to be enough time), but I sometimes wonder how my fate would have improved if I had been appropriately concerned and assertive enough when my first symptoms appeared 4 years before I finally got myself to a place where I was correctly diagnosed (I actually should have gone to U of M immediately, but I had heard -and believed- a lot of b.s. about university hospitals). I am one of the few persons that I've known with a serious cancer that had more than 4 years to survive, let alone 4 years to be flailed around by incompetent doctors. (Incidentally, all of the negligent doctors that I saw are still in practice, but one of the main guys has since gone into psychiatry, so at least he's less liable to mishandle someone who comes to him with cancer). My atypical story can serve as evidence that, as you stated, a delay in diagnosis doesn't always mean it is too late. But... I do hope that soon you can get a better handle on what's going on with your mother and then have some hopeful options. Steve

Berigan, I lost my father over the weekend, so I missed this thread. I am distressed to read about the difficulties your family faces, as you struggle to unravel your mother's health problems. What you seem to lack is a definitive diagnosis. And, of course, diabetes can complicate any diagnosis and treatment. I am a longtime brain cancer survivor. I continue to beat the odds - by over a decade now - after 4 surgeries, radiation, and a lot of luck over the past dozen years. DrJ's advice and insights ring truest to me. I also know, from experience, that the biggest problem can be finding a suitable place to receive diagnosis and treatment. I was very fortunate that my tumor was relatively slow-growing, because I was sidetracked for a few years by some local physicians' ignorance/negligence before I got to the University of Michigan, through the efforts, good graces and insights of a radiation oncologist at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. Since I arrived at U of M, my diagnoses have been as definitive as the state of the art has allowed, the communications have usually been excellent (and without prodding-ESSENTIAL), and the treatments I have received have, consequently, been appropriate. You and your mother have my best wishes and high hopes. Steve

A friend a mine got some cryogenicly-treated outlets and has been very excited by them. I don't hear a difference, and there's no reputable science behind it. But our friendship is more important than bursting the bubble of a chronic tweakophile. That friend and I also own Monster HTS 2000's. These did make a discernable difference in the noise floor of his system, less in mine. He lives close to a school, and I live several blocks away. I actually get a larger improvement from it in the video signal from my cable. So, as they often say, YMMV.

I wholeheartedly agree.

I think that there might be a conflict between being a self-identified "moderate" and living in this world of perpetual conflict where, if one chooses a side/position/stance, for whatever reason, one can quickly find that they are seen as marginalized, polarized or polarizing. "One man's ceiling is another man's floor", etc. On Israeli-Palestinian issues, for example, I have relatives who are Israelis, and my mother is a Zionist. So, for example, nothing GregM says about the Mideast surprises or confounds me. I could probably construct (and, consequently, often deconstruct) many of his posts. I also have several Palestinian-American friends and acquaintances; so from their perspectives, for example, I am also sensitive to Israeli injustices/violations as well as various Palestinian biases. I don't know where one can go to discuss politics and controversial issues where there wouldn't be expressions of frustration, political posturing, baiting, goading, etc.. Dispassionate reason seems to usually be an oxymoron concerning these matters. If you could somehow separate people by ideology/point of view and segregate them into their own threads, I think that, most often, the amount of reasoned discussion would actually decrease. Consequently, I don't mind things as they are in this forum. This is not an academic forum filled with area specialists. The very few professional political operatives that participate here (and I don't think that Johnny or GregM are among them) perhaps engage in a bit of projection or party-line spinning concerning the motives and backers of their opponents, but that's usually easy to spot. I expect that, among people who have an interest in the passionate music that is jazz, passions might extend into other human concerns in various, sometimes-radical ways. As a practical matter, people could sometimes maybe remember to focus more on the issues being discussed and try to refrain a bit from personal attacks of other board members (One can learn from Monty Python, for example, the difference between argument and abuse). There's enough heat in the social/political kitchen without adding flames. Also I appreciate most of the articles posted here as food for thought and potential discussion. One always has the option of avoiding controversial forums and threads and the posts of those who one finds distasteful.

Santa Fe was really great 20 - 25 years ago before it became a prime tourist, real estate, and art market. Much, if not most, of the population from that time has since moved elsewhere, because they could no longer afford to live there. And the town has sprawled into a city. That being said, traditional New Mexican cuisine is my favorite "Mexican food". It's mostly from the chiles and the Native American influences I think. I can't get down to Santa Fe anymore. So I do my best at recreating traditional "SF cuisine" with homegrown and imported (from New Mexican sources) ingredients. I don't usually enjoy the various newer "fusion" cuisines that now abound at Santa Fe's trendiest restaurants.

I agree that this session was not ever "lost" and not "Prime Archie Shepp" by any stretch of the imagination. It was excerpted in a film, "Imagine the Sound", directed by Ron Mann and released in cooperation with Bill Smith and other folks then associated with "Coda" magazine in Toronto. The high point in that film, for me, was not from this lackluster session, or even from an amazing Cecil Taylor solo session, but from a unique and dramatic trio session with Bill Dixon, Art Davis and Freddie Waits. Bill Smith wanted to release that session as an LP, but he somehow irritated Bill Dixon (which I understand is not the hardest thing to do). The result is that this is a lost recording for us.

Billy Harper Booker Ervin Johnny Hodges Eric Dolphy

Cecil McBee first got my attention when he played with Charles Lloyd. Then I heard him play wonderfully on some of my favorite Pharoah Sanders records. He made a few records on India Navigation with Chico Freeman, including my favorite, "Kings of Mali", which unfortunately never made it to CD. It's a phenominal session that includes Don Moye (playing as well as he ever did on record), Chico Freeman, and Jay Hoggard. Wayne Shorter's "Etcetera", Andrew Hill's "Compulsion", and Sam Rivers's "Dimensions and Extensions" are other favorite sessions with Cecil McBee that I subsequently became familiar with. He played at a local university a few years ago with Joanne Brackeen. I got to speak with him for a few minutes afterwards. He was very gracious, and I think he was a little surprised to meet a long-time fan in a small town in the middle of Michigan. It was hard for me not to gush with enthusiasm and appreciation, but I think I was cool B) I consider Cecil McBee to be one of the masters of the bass.

I own and enjoy many Ellington recordings from throughout his long career. I think that "Far East Suite" gets the most play. This exciting session is a high point in the Ellington-Strayhorn legacy. There is a remarkable consistency in the high quality of the arrangements and solos in this varied program. The compositions get some inspiration from the "exotic sounds of the East", but it's music from the sophisticated, swinging and imaginative worlds of Ellington and Strayhorn, rather than an attempt at cultural fusions. Everyone came to play! Before I got this recording (somehow it escaped my notice till the release of the "Special Mix" CD!), I thought I knew what to expect from Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves, but their contributions on this CD exceeded my already high expectations. Jimmy Hamilton... OOOEEE!!! I've been a Jimmy Hamilton fan ever since I was captivated by his clarinet on this recording. And the drumming of Rufus Jones rocks the house!

"On Stage, Vol 1" is my favorite of the three, because I like the program of tunes. That version of "Pinocchio" is wonderful, "The Highest Mountain" is one of my favorite Clifford Jordan compositions in all of its incarnations, it has one of the best versions of "That Old Devil Moon", and ...

I enjoyed "Do Bigha Zameen" and "Pyaasa" (after watching the NBA draft ). They were both very fine films. Thank you, TCM!!!

"Pakeezah" was interesting. The music was generally closer to classical forms than the other films that I saw in this series, and the scenes/sets were very beautiful. I had trouble getting into the melodrama when I saw it, but the movie generally held my interest. I thought that "Junglee" was very fun and entertaining. I liked it better than most Hollywood romantic comedies from that time. Shammi Kapoor was great, reminiscent of both Elvis Presley (but a much better actor than Elvis ever was) and maybe Sid Caesar. I thought that the actress that played the girl from Kashmir was even more outstanding. Her acting and dancing had a fresh, natural quality that was very compelling. I regret that I don't remember her name. I also regret that I could not stay awake for "Awaara". I was really looking forward to seeing that film...

I really enjoyed reading that book, published by the University of California Press. It contains a lot of interesting information and insights concerning the social and music scenes during the first half of the 20th century in L.A. (and nationally) that I had never come across elsewhere. Most of the interviews of the various musicians are quite well done. That's how I first became acquainted with Clora Bryant.

Chico Freeman- "Kings of Mali" Vinny Golia- "Slice of Life" Anouar Brahem- "Conte de L'incroyable Amour" Miles Davis (Bill Laswell remix)- "Panthalassa" Walt Dickerson and Sun Ra- "Visions" Abdullah Ibrahim- "The Journey" Randy Weston- "African Cookbook/Niles Little Big" (Comet), "The Healers" (Cora), "Uhuru Africa/Highlife"

I really appreciate reading that. Thank you.

Confessions I generally enjoy Blue Note Records, but: I've never dug Lee Morgan's "Sidewinder", even though I am enamored with many of his other records, before and after, and with much of his playing in other contexts. Though I enjoy Grant Green's playing on "Search for a New Land" and with Larry Young, I find his widely acclaimed "Idle Moments" to be mostly a snooze. I've rarely been able to get interested in any records led by Hank Mobley, other than "Soul Station". I find most of the Blue Note records made after Alfred Lion left, when "Blue Note Hit A New Note", to be relatively weak and uninteresting. Except for his early work, I am not a Lou Donaldson enthusiast. Donald Byrd's playing usually does not move me. Most of Jimmy Smith's work also does not reach me. ...

"The larch."