mjzee

R.I.P.

What he did seemed so obvious after he did it, but not before. Good job, well done. RIP.

I have no knowledge. However, I just checked the booklet to the CD reissue of "The Jazz Scene" (which contains "The Bird" and "Repetition"). In the essay "Reissuing The Jazz Scene," Brian Priestley wrote "In the aforesaid Parker box-set booklet," (Verve's complete Charlie Parker set) "Phil Schaap convincingly demonstrated that "Repetition" took place on the same evening that Bird had been recording the piece named after him as his designated contribution to the Granz project." So you may want to check the Bird box booklet for more info about that night in Carnegie Hall (or ask Schaap himself).

(This is not referring to HutchFan's comments about Kenton, which posted before I finished writing this.) Which is why I'm happy about the relatively dispassionate tone of this thread. As a non-musician but avid listener, I "know" the differences I hear amongst musicians, and I know what I like and don't like. The "why" will probably always remain mysterious, being bound up in personality, attractions, and other quasi-mystical realms. But the "how" can be discussed here. Peterson plays a lot of notes. So did Tatum. But how did they differ, so that someone can like Tatum but dislike OP? Basie played few notes; so did John Lewis. How does Basie sound coherent, appropriate and propulsive, but Lewis (to these ears) sound simplistic and obvious? Sonny Clark played complex chords that he'd interject at odd times; so does Herbie Hancock. So how, in what he played, did Clark spice up a tune and help a soloist play better, while Hancock (to my ears) sound turgid and uninvolved? Some of this can be analyzed in choice of notes, areas of emphasis, and playing style, and I like reading about that. These are obviously areas where musicians might have a deeper understanding than listeners, and might be able to communicate those concepts more clearly. However, I firmly believe that mere listeners can express as valid an opinion on the music as musicians. Indeed, there is no music industry without the mere mortals buying the music, attending concerts, and expressing enthusiasms. And musicians make better music when they play for audiences, rather than just for fellow musicians. The audiences keep the music real.

I've been debating whether to get that ultra-cheap 3-CD Garner set on Sony (current price is $3.61 + shipping). Do I really need it/him? I remember borrowing some CDs from the library on Telarc (originally on his own label?) that I found too superficial and pleasant. So I think we all find some artists who "speak to me" and others that we just don't get. This is something aside from technique. There were some debates about whether some ESP artists could really play their instruments; such is the trap laid by the avant-garde. But artists who demonstrably can play, like OP, have drawn ridicule because what they play isn't "deep" enough, or complex, or doesn't challenge the status quo (which seems to be the only rationale for Archie Shepp's career). OP regularly bitched about the critics who overwhelmingly favored Cecil Taylor over him, even though OP regularly won the reader's poll in Down Beat. Perhaps some of the furor over OP has died down here because, as we get older, we derive more satisfaction from pleasant form. Seems natural to me. As for artists who cannot be praised here, or even dispassionately discussed, top of the list is still Keith Jarrett. And an artist who cannot be criticized here is Ornette Coleman, despite (to my ears at least) his music's obvious shortcomings. It really reaches hero worship here. I confess to being pleasantly surprised by the comments in this thread. It's a great discussion about different facets of OP's art. I can find him overbearing at times, but then I'll hear a date such as his backing Lockjaw Davis at Montreux '77 and find that he adds so much to the music. Reading the comments here allows me to learn a little more about the "how."

Blues harmonica legend James Cotton has died of pneumonia. A rep for the 81-year-old music star confirmed he passed away at St David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas on Thursday. More here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4322196/Blues-Harmonica-legend-Mr-Superharp-James-Cotton-dies.html

B.B. King - Complete Recordings 1949-1962 (6 CDs): $9.13 + $3.99 shipping from an Amazon Reseller. See: Amazon

Available on Record Store Day 2017: Gil Melle – The Andromeda Strain (Soundtrack) [LP] (Hexagon Shaped Vinyl, silver foil die cut jacket, limited to 1500, indie-retail exclusive) LP

Tommy LiPuma, the five-time Grammy-winning record producer and veteran label executive, died Monday (March 13) in New York City after a brief illness. He was 80. LiPuma served in key positions at almost every major recording company, and led Verve Music Group as chairman from 1998 to 2004. His productions have resulted in more than 75 million albums sold and 33 Grammy nominations. More here: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/7721006/tommy-lipuma-obit

For the record, OP said in a DownBeat interview that this record contained his favorite of his own playing:

Not jazz per se, but an amazing box at a great price: Leonard Cohen - Complete Columbia, $17.48 + $3.99 shipping from an Amazon Reseller: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005F8CL1S/ref=tmm_acd_new_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=&sr=

Listening now to this; OP is excellent throughout in his supporting role:

Django Reinhardt on Vogue 1934-1951 (8 CDs), $14.54 + $3.99 shipping from an Amazon Reseller: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BIPKEO/sr=1-3/qid=1489261399/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1489261399&sr=1-3

That was wild! He went into the upper range and hit all the notes (I hate it when someone tries and fails to hit the note - it just sounds sad).

OK, two more:

I got a nice little surprise today. I noticed that the dead.net store still had CDs in stock of Road Trips #1 & 2 (Fall '79 and October '77). They arrived today, and #1 still had the bonus disc!

Well, The New Yorker as a whole took a major downturn in the past year, as their Trump, race and gender obsessions have made the whole magazine rather tedious. Not sure that Mankoff can be blamed for that - he was hopefully just following orders. There were 3 really funny cartoons in the last issue. I more dread who they'll bring on to replace him, but in any event I don't plan on renewing my subscription.

From the liner notes to "Homecoming":

Two thoughts about all this: 1) When syncing your music from your computer to your iPhone, there's an option to "Convert higher bit rate songs to 128 kbps." You can then fit a lot more music on your iPhone, and you might find that 128 kbps is perfectly acceptable for listening in your car. I've never tried this, but it sounds like it's worth a shot. 2) SanDisk makes a "Connect Wireless Stick" with capacities up to 256 GB. Amazon has the 200 GB for $83.69. It's wireless storage for your iPhone, serving as an external hard drive. A lot cheaper than a 120 GB iPod Touch. See it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0198QE5MA/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1 Over the years, my household has collected a bunch of old iPods that are virtually useless because the batteries died. These are perfect to use in the car. I leave one in the center compartment plugged into the USB port. I don't have to worry about battery life, because it draws its power from the car through the 30-pin connector. As for fiddling, I have it on random play, so it's like listening to the radio. I resync every couple of months to put new music on the iPod.

Just got an email from Jazz Messengers that they'll be carrying the Mobley. Here's their web page for release info: http://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/73741/hank-mobley/to-one-so-sweet-stay-that-way They're also carrying Don Byas Meets The Jacobs Brothers - Groovin' High

Just donated via PayPal. Thanks for providing this site, Jim.

I'm not a fan of Dex's Prestige albums. The rhythm sections are generally a mismatch (I'm looking at you, Alan Dawson).

I've seen him 3 times: once in Ithaca, NY with the band that did the "Passengers" album (including 2 basses: Swallow on electric and Eberhard Weber on acoustic), once in 1975 at SUNY-Binghamton (my only memory of this show is that the acoustics of the room were such that when Burton hit one particular note on his vibes, the reverberation shot through my temples like a bullet, and he kept hitting that note over and over; I had to leave the concert), and once at the Bottom Line around 1993 when he performed with Rebecca Parris to support their "It's Another Day" album. His peak for me were his early ECM albums: The New Quartet, Crystal Silence, Hotel Hello, and on through the Zurich with Corea album. Great, great stuff. Later on, he blanded out. This seemed to be his intent and vision, because if his later ECMs were bland, he then went on to GRP and a bunch of really bland albums. Ozone played on two of those bland ECMs: "Real Life Hits" and "Whiz Kids" - nothing terrible, but nothing really memorable either.

The two I posted were from Wolfgang's Vault. I think that's now part of Concert Vault. I didn't see anything on Concert Vault for sale - it was all streaming.