paul secor

Waking up on a Saturday morning, lying in bed knowing that I don't have to go to work, and hearing a dove cooing peacefully outside my bedroom window.

I was a lurker on the BNBB for several months, and then was a member for 7 or 8 months. When the BN Board started to destruct, I stayed there for a while in the hopes that the destruction wouldn't be final. When I registered here it seemed like home. How 'bout some new members letting us know how they ended up here? Wasn't that the intended purpose of this thread?

Pretty much my feelings also. Birth of the Cool is one of those "classic" recordings that's never gotten through to me (or maybe I've never gotten through to it). Over the years, I've given it a number of tries, but it's never happened for me. Right now, I don't even have a copy in my collection. There are other classic recordings that don't work for me, but this is probably the one that has the highest status in most other people's minds.

I have this on a Japanese LP, and every time I play it I expect to be disappointed by the length of the tunes, but I never am. Everyone plays well, and everyone seems to have enough time to say what they have to say. A couple of thoughts: Wilbur Ware's "Riff Raff" is fun to listen to. I'm not a musician, so perhaps for the players it was fun mixed with difficulty. When I was listening to "The Boy Next Door", I felt that for the first time I was hearing the connection between Johnny Griffin and Von Freeman. I don't know who was influenced by whom, or even if that was the case. Perhaps it was just something in the Chicago milieu. I imagine that others have commented on this connection, but it was the first time I heard it for myself. An unusual AOW choice - but a very good one.

I don't usually think about minutes per dollar, but Swing's the Thing is a fine record, with a great version of "Harlem Nocturne" on it.

I'm surprised that this AOW thread hasn't received more responses. However, my response is late, so perhaps more will be forthcoming. Billie Holiday is perhaps my favorite vocalist in any genre, and her Verve sides are my favorites of all of her recordings. She recorded many sides for Verve, and not all are perfect or of the same level of worth, but the best of them stand with the best recorded music. Some jazz vocalists can make one feel the words of a lyric, while others are able to convey the feel of the music. For me, Billie Holiday is the only jazz vocalist who can do both of these things. I have favorites among the performances on Solitude - among them: "Everything I Have Is Yours", "Easy to Love", the title tune, and "Autumn in New York", which isn't always easy for me to listen to, as Billie's vocal captures the loneliness implied in the lyric all too well. Whenever I listen to Billie Holiday's Verve sessions, I think of Miles Davis' comment after listening to her on a blindfold test. I don't have the quote handy, but he said something to the effect that Billie didn't need horns accompanying her, since her vocals were like an instrument already. (Miles may have punctuated his comments with a curse or two ). I agree with that, but do have to say that Flip Phillips plays some obbligatos that add to the feel of the music, and that Herb Ellis and Oscar Peterson play some good accompaniment. However, I have to respectfully disagree with some previously posted comments about Charlie Shavers. To my ears, his solos are at odds with the feel of the music. The only one that is even halfway decent is his muted solo on "Easy to Love", and even there, if you compare Billie's vocal with his solo, it's hearing the difference between a master musician with someone who just plays music. A thank you to ghost for choosing this - it was a pleasure to sit down and listen to it once again.

Bud Powell Trio/Lucky Thompson Trio: Memorial Oscar Pettiford (Vogue/Japan)

I listen in the car during my commute and, at times, through headphones at work, but there's nothing better than sitting in a comfortable chair and listening in complete peace at home.

HAPPY HAPPY birthday to you!

Sorry to read this. Willie Egan was a very good r&b vocalist/pianist who (like many others) never received the attention that he deserved. I'll be listening to the Relic collection of his recordings tomorrow. Rest in peace, Mr. Egan.

A fine, fine record - one that hasn't been reissued (as far as I know), and one that deserves to be.

Cecil Taylor hasn't been mentioned, and he's very recognizable to me. Billie Holiday, while not an instrumentalist as such, was most definitely a musician, and is very recognizable.

I bought Vol. 1 of The Dark Tree. Never picked up Vol. 2 or the 2 volume reissue. I like the compositions, John Carter's, Andrew Cyrille's, and Cecil McBee's playing. For me, the flaw in this set is Horace Tapscott's playing. Perhaps it's something that I can't hear, but I feel that his playing explores such a narrow emotional range that it doesn't interest me. Listening to him, I have the feeling that he's digging a very deep but narrow hole (sorry for the mixed metaphor, but it's the best I can do right now), as opposed to a contemporary like Cecil Taylor, who opens up the world for me when I hear him play. Again, this is possibly just something that comes from personal taste - I'm not much of a McCoy Tyner fan either, outside of his playing with Trane. I hear some of the same things in much of Tyner's recordings also. Though, for me, Tapscott's playing is more intense, and, for that reason, more interesting than Tyner's.

Jimmie Davis: Barnyard Stomp (Bear Family)

Missed y'all over the weekend, but I had the chance to read and to listen to some good music.

I feel that her voice was at its best on her Verve sides, because for me they are the most moving of all her recordings.

There was a bit in a NY Times article on Ruth Brown a couple of weeks ago. Ray had asked Ms Brown what actress she wanted to portray her, and she said, "Halle Berry". Ray's response was "Baby, I'm not THAT blind."

Happy birthday, Shawn.

What does all of this say about the overall standard of play in the NBA in recent years? ? Does the fact that high school seniors and college freshmen can now come into the league and have an impact say something about the quality of play? - Just raising the question.

Hope that YOUR DAY is a great one!

I've spent much time enjoying Cartier-Bresson's photographs over the years. He had a long and productive life. My eyes salute his memory.

Hope that you're having a great day, Lon!

Howard Norman: The Museum Guard

I bought this over fiteen years ago and played it once. As I remember, I had mixed emotions about Paul Gonsalves' playing. This was recorded less than four years before he died, and his playing doesn't sound as authoritative as it did in his prime. Nonetheless, "Over the Rainbow" is a beauty - he puts everything he has into it, and the feeling comes through completely. His playing on "I Got It Bad" is fine also. Hines and Jo Jones are masterful, and Al Hall is a rock. Jones' "tapdancing" on "Moten Swing" is a bit of pure magic. As I've gotten older, I've come to realize that for older musicians every day isn't easy and the music might not come as easily as it once did. Playing this record again reinforced that, and I was able to listen this time for what was there, rather than what I expected or wanted to be there. At it's best, this is a wonderful date. Thanks for mentioning it and getting me to finally hear it.

Milt Jackson/Coleman Hawkins: Bean Bags (Atlantic)