paul secor

Am just now listening to 300 Volts of Stax, which kicks off with a previously unreleased (at least when this CD came out) "Spoonful", with a fine biting Steve Cropper guitar solo.

Masahiko Togashi: Session in Paris Vol. 2 - Color of Dream w. Albert Mangelsdorff (Paddle Wheel)

Just finished Radio Activity by Bill Fitzhugh. FM rock radio jock turns detective - pure entertainment, nothing more, nothing less.

Larry - I didn't mean to cast any aspersions on you or your connection to the television program. I just wanted to present the opinion of someone who viewed it. This morning, I remembered something I read in Nat Hentoff's book, Listen to the Stories: "In his notes for the Time-Life Coleman Hawkins set, John McDonough tells how this enormously independent, proud musician - who always kept hearing into the future - handled his last battle. In 1969, ailing, Hawkins insisted on keeping all his commitments, and one day in May a colleague came to pick up Bean for a gig. He knocked on the door and waited. He heard sounds inside, but no answer. After a few minutes, he called a security guard, who came up and opened the door. Inside, they found Hawkins with his hat and coat on, unable to stand but crawling across the living room floor toward the door, dragging his horn behind him." Thinking about this story and what you wrote, perhaps all of this is about truth - accepting it and denying it. I don't know whether Coleman Hawkins was accepting or denying the truth in insisting on playing those gigs in Chicago. I do know that seeing Coleman Hawkins on that television program was a truth that I didn't want to see or accept. edited for spelling

It wasn't an interview (though there might have been some interview material) but a half-hour (I think)Chicago public TV performance on April 19, 1969, by a band of Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Barry Harris, Truck Parham, and Bob Cousins, followed the next day by a performance at the North Park Hotel by the same band. Hawkins was in alarming shape, and Dan is well aware that some people felt the show never should have been run, though others have felt otherwise. I do know that Hawkins wanted to play on both occasions; I was there. I also was deputized to take Hawkins to the airport for his flight back to New York on the day after that the North Park performance -- an experience I'll never forget and that I hope to write something about some day. There's an account of all this in John Chilton's "The Song of the Hawk," pp. 385-7. I guess that being there and knowing Coleman Hawkins' feelings made for a different take on things. I can remember watching the program and being very upset at Hawkins' appearance and playing and being angry that the program was broadcast.

The Sonny Stitt Quartet: The Hard Swing (Verve Japan)

I've mentioned this on at least one earlier thread, but it can't hurt to say it once more. Tenors of Yusef Lateef and Archie Shepp, recorded in 1992 for Lateef's YAL label, contains very fine playing by both men.

Julius Hemphill: Raw Materials and Residuals (Black Saint)

Willis Jackson: Bar Wars (Muse)

Same here - wondered if I was the only one.

These guys really pissed me off on Saturday. Went in with a 25% off coupon that they sent me ready to buy the Johnny Cash "Unearthed" box (regular price $79). At the checkout they told me they could only give me 10% off. The coupon said 25% off anything with the exception being only 10% off for electronics. They explained to me that CDs were electronics. BS. I've used the same type of coupon before for CDs with no problem. I wonder if the price is over a certain amount they start get more reticent about giving big discounts. Didn't buy the box. I can get it online cheaper anyway. A-holes... I used my 25% off coupon to pick up a $60 Northern Exposure DVD set for $45. CDs are "electronics", and DVDs are not? If I were you, I'd be pissed too.

As Mr. Desmond put it, "Take Five", baby!

For me, scat and vocalese are different deals. I'm not a big fan of either. For example, I'd rather hear Ella (when I do listen to her - not all that often) sing lyrics rather than scat. I listen to Babs Gonzales once every few years. Have to admit that I do enjoy LHR - pop music for me. Kept that Spotlite LP mainly for the Monk tracks w. Frankie Passions.

Brother Oswald (Rounder) - Pete Kirby (Brother Oswald), Roy Acuff's long time dobro player, on a fine solo album.

Picked up Blakey's Drum Suite on Columbia with a $5 off coupon at my local Borders yesterday.

There was at least one vinyl reissue of the Rollins/Edwards in Japan. Yep. That's where my copy came from.

Haven't really had old listening slippers since maybe the early 70's, but back then they included: Mingus x 5 Ornette: Golden Circle Vol. 1 The Best of Muddy Waters Mississippi John Hurt: Today Billie Holiday: Lady Day The Band whatever Chuck Berry greatest hits LPs I had in my collection then I still listen to all of those, but not with any kind of regularity. I have too much to listen to these days to keep coming back to old favorites.

Merle Haggard: The Way It Was in '51 (Capitol) - Merle's tribute album to Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell.

Late on mentioning his name. My favorite Leo Smith record is Spirit Catcher on Nessa. I believe that Chuck still has LPs available. I'm sure he'll let us know if I'm wrong - wonderful music presented beautifully (pressing, production). Sorry to say that I haven't kept up with his recent recordings. If someone can recommend a few of those, I'd be grateful. Roy Campbell - I like Communion on the Silkheart label a lot. New Kingdom on Delmark is good too. Ted Curson - not a new name, but certainly "modern" in his playing. I'm not sure what's available these days, but Tears for Dolphy (Black Lion) and The New Thing and the Blue Thing (Atlantic/Koch) are good ones. edit - Wrote before I thought. I forgot about Wadada Leo Smith's playing on John Lindberg's A Tree Frog Tonality (between the lines) and The Catbird Sings (Black Saint) - both fairly recent (2000 and 1999 respectively), and both with fine playing by Mr. Smith and all concerned - Lindberg, Larry Ochs, and Andrew Cyrille.

I think of Gershwin, Porter, et. al. as songwriters. If you're talking songwriters, there's nothing wrong with Ellington being ranked with them, imo. To be sure, Ellington was more than a songwriter.

Martin, Bogan & Armstrong (Flying Fish)

Blue Moods

The Blindman Forum is a good place. I post there - not as often as here, since I don't have the time - but it's worth checking out. And Tom is indeed a good guy.

I know "Sauce" a little bit. He used to come out to my gig occassionally when I played in San Antonio. Super nice guy and real supportive. I always asked him to sit in, but he said he hadn't played the bassline stuff in so long he didn't feel up to it. "Sauce" is a real San Antonio legend and garners a lot of respect in these parts. He plays "Funky Mama" and some other stuff like that on "The West Side Horns" CD which was put out on the Dialtone label. "Sauce" also played a pretty famous solo on the orginal "Talk To Me" I believe, although I could be wrong. Thanks for the feedback, Soul Stream. I'm pretty sure that Sauce Gonzales didn't play on Little Willie John's original "Talk To Me", but Sunny Ozuna, a Texas performer, did another hit version in the early 60's, and he could well have played organ on that one. I'll have to seek out that West Side Horns CD.

Fats Waller Band featuring Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden/James P. Johnson Trio with Omer Simeon and Pops Foster: Striding in Dixieland (Folkways)