cannonball-addict

Got a copy. Looking for time to read what I wanna read and not what my professors want me to read.

What are the good hangs in Chicago? Any jam sessions I should know about. I've always wanted to go to that classic session that Von Freeman hosts every week. I know about the Showcase and the Green Mill...Is Andy's any good? Does anyone here have insider information about who will be playing around town from March 5-12. I'm planning on being in town those days visiting a good friend at the University of Chicago. By the way, where can one catch pianist Jon Weber. I reviewed his excellent CD for AAJ and have been wanting to check him out live. I assume someone like him has a regular gig in a city like that. peace and thanx in advance, cb-a

He is really burnin. I got into him throguh Mike Weil who sent me his playing with that great scatter Gege Telesforo. He has the type of chops and stylistic motivations that can go two ways - one he can sound all metallic and smooth doing all the altissimo acrobatics that guys like Brecker sound like when you put them in a pop setting. But the other side of Battista just wants to blow hard-bop with the new things that people like Hargrove and Kenny Garrett and a host of others put in for flava. It's really all about what setting (with what supporting players) this guy is in. He can swing hard and he can play "to the swooning crowd" too. He's just versatile - only one way we purists take it as an affront against our straight-ahead values and principles.

They are. He is... My mistake.

I'm trying to find out some stuff about kepboardist/producer Alain Mallet. On-line results: 1) he teaches at Berklee 2) he's married to a singer 3) he's been on a Jim Odgren session. 4) he worked with Paul Simon I can't find anything out about his origins no matter how much on-line research I do. I'm guessing he's Canadian.....

I am at the DoubleTree Guest Suites. I checked their websites when I was there in the lobby and sure enough they were doing the now-generic "B.B. King Blues Festival" in Boca Raton for New Years Eve. I think Mintzer Amphitheatre? We should hook up somewhere, Dan. I'm here til Tuesday. I need to check out the Miami scene!

I am in town for my cousin's wedding engagement party today. So, the ball drops we come back from my uncle's GATED community and who do I see waltz through the lobby 10 minutes after one another: BB King (escorted by two bodyguards in a wheelchair) and then Dr. John (with his entourage) I was sitting here at this courtest computer checking my email, and I muttered each name in amazement as they walked bye and they shrugged Happy New Year and continue to the elevators to their rooms. Jeez! I got the bloooz!

Andy Axelrad (currently with USAF Airmen of Note) Lee Lachman (formerly with USAF Airmen of Note) Mike Crotty (formerly with USAF Airmen of Note) Marty Nau (formerly of US Navy Commodores) then there's: Moe Koffman Harvey Pittel John Zorn John Tchicai Tim Berne Marty Ehrlich Lanny Morgan Tom Scott (yes he played some alto)

Chris Potter

Earl Bostic

How about Joey D and Tony Monaco? I know this list is classics but both these guys can hang. Also - Gene Ludwig!

Ted Nash (Lincoln Center altoist) - very excellent work on alto and tenor with the Palmetto clique Dick Oatts - THE premier New York-based alto player (IMO) Charlie Pillow

Ratliff interviewed Wayne for a standard NYT puff piece on Christmas Eve to promote the release of the book and the accompanying CD comp. It was stuff I'd certainly heard before. Except the Vaughn Williams bit - I'll have to check that cat out. First time in a while such a worthy musician was given such a huge spread (with picture). And in the inside of that section Ratliff reviewed Billy Hart w/ Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, and Ben Street at Fat Cat. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/arts/music/24shor.html

I have seen at least three LPs that had that rhythm section.

He raised controversy in 1998 when he publicly condemned homosexuality. White, an ordained minister, spoke before the Wisconsin State Assembly, saying, "We've allowed this sin [homosexuality] to run rampant in our nation, and because it has run rampant in our nation, our nation is in the condition it's in today." He claimed that homosexuality was "hurting kids" and "killing our people", and also appeared in advertisements for ex-gay groups, and made a number of statements (http://my.execpc.com/~dross/aw/regwhite.html) which were construed to be racist, such as "you can see a Hispanic person and they can put 20 or 30 people in one home," and, "when you look at the Asians, the Asian is very gifted in creation, creativity and inventions. If you go to Japan or any Asian country, they can turn a television into a watch." The press coverage following White's death mostly ignored these remarks and activities. note: care of wikipedia

Provincial backwater? I dunno about that......

This guy is smokin on Terry Gibbs release from last year! Especially on Duke's Ring Dem Bells.

But to tie this all back to the point with the jazz history class - I think today, a lot of guys teaching kids jazz history don't know anything about organ trios. Period. Why? Well nobody ever said to them, hey go out and buy this Jimmy Smith record. Or this Jimmy McGriff record. There are a lot of styles missed by jazz history courses because you can only fit so much into a class that meets once or twice a week for an hour and the preferences are gonna be totally up to the professor. Only the guys who made the history books - Miles, Trane, Dexter always get covered because they are the ones that jazz historians and journalists have chosen to idolize above all others. If it were up to me, yeah - I would definately devote a session or two to the organ trio/combo as an institution because it spreads deep into the musical consciousness of black people. It is soul music. The 1960s also seem to be looked down upon by the history books as an era of crass commercialism and radio hits. Perhaps this is why teachers of jazz history exclude it - they think it was too watered down to be considered real heady sophisticated music. The idea that jazz can be a common denominator for all types of people to groove to may seem pedestrian to "jazz fascists" but I think it's equally important as Miles or Ornette or Jaco or Steve Coleman etc. etc.

IMO (and I know this is gonna start a flame war) it's because organ combos or organ trios (whatever you wanna call them) were kind of like the real Negro music of the time in the '50s. White folks (who have always run the jazz business) couldn't really get down with it early on because they weren't hip to it - the funk, the sweat, the rawness. By the '60s, when white record execs finally started to dig that gritty soulfulness, the "in-crowd" of black music (especially the chitlin circuit) had already gone on to soul and the more electrified versions of blues that eventually became known as funk. Do remember that there is no way in hell that Jimmy Smith was the first "jazz organ player." There must have been other cats who influenced him to play the way he did. But he became the poster-man for organ jazz by being the first big hit in this context (wasn't that 1959? when he made the big break). I am really interested in why American white people always slowly find out what the latest cool thing is among blacks and by the time they adopt it, the black people have moved on to something else. It's really a fascinating phenomenon. I'd really like to research jazz in the 50s more deeply because that's when I think there was kind of an undefined period. Bird died in '55 and the purest of pure bebop died with him. That's when people start to say 'hard bop' started to pop up. However at the same time, you had the whole "cool" thing (supposedly started by Miles - though I never really bought that) happening and then it went somehow from NY in 1949 to the West Coast. I personally think these labels are silly because all it comes down to is that it was indigenous black music that the mainstream eventually glommed onto cuz they finally discovered it was hip.

He is a not a bad muthafucka for no reason!

Alex Riel - one of the greatest, most in-demand session drummers out there. The guy has played with EVERYONE from ALL GENERATIONS. I personally dig his thing with Brecker, Bergonzi, Niels Lan Doky, Mike Stern, and Eddie Gomez - I think it's called Rielatin'.

I was kind of shocked by this. A friend of mine who was a student at Washinton University in St. Louis said that the jazz history course is not taught by Prof. Gerald Early (who is an English professor there). I had assumed he would teach such a course given that he had a lot of good commentary in the Ken Burns film. I don't mean to say that the Ken Burns film was authoritative in any way but I thought he would teach a course if he knew enough to be selected for that film. Maybe he's chummy with Stanley Crouch or something - who knows? Anyways, the guy who does teach the course is a saxophonist named Paul DeMarinis. Has anyone ever heard this guy? Check out his course syllabus: http://streaming.wustl.edu/courses/music/m...inis/index.html Click on a day to get the listening for that day. Apparently an online course

You never hear Don Patterson's name but he's such a bad cat!

I know for a fact that Chris Potter plays on a vintage silver Conn 10M. Such a money horn! Very few pros do play Conns today given the benefits these days of endorsing one of today's better brands - namely Keilwerth, Yamaha, Yanigisawa, or Selmer.

Do a search for "Conn Naked Lady" on eBay and you'll see. They are pretty desirable, although tenor moreso than alto. My dream horn? A 1950s King Super 20 Silversonic. OH YEAH! That's what Cannonball played on.