mjzee

Here's a little curio for you. The mysteries of the Internet: this is my recording. I brought my $40 Norelco cassette recorder to the Felt Forum and recorded both Buckley (opening act) and Zappa's Grand Wazoo. I may have given copies to one or two people in the intervening 40 years. Yet here it is on YouTube, pitch-corrected no less. A good snapshot of where Tim was at this point in time. And yes, he begins with Buzzin' Fly. Check out his Yoko Ono-isms towards the end of his set!

The postman just delivered from CDJapan two obscure Jim Hall CDs from one of his great periods. They were both recorded in Japan in Fall 1976, both with Don Thompson and Terry Clarke. They are "Live In Tokyo" (with a great cover reminiscent of Grant Green's "Gooden's Corner") and "Jazz Impressions Of Japan" (which actually says on it "Caution: This CD is only for sale in Japan"). Both on King Records. I had been looking for these for such a long time. Snap them up if you can!

"Denny said, 'Golly, Zally, don't you think that I wish I could play guitar like you?'" - The Mamas & The Papas, "Creeque Alley"

I bought both Lorca and Starsailor when they came out. I kinda liked Lorca (though thought it was low energy compared to Blue Afternoon and Happy Sad) but never warmed to Starsailor. Too artsy-fartsy, too much in Zappa's orbit. I also thought it was a huge fuck-you to his audience, which never helps. I more liked Greetings From L.A., though many songs were obviously gauche and/or creepy. In retrospect, he was trying to do Prince's subject matter (way before Prince) but hung on a old-fashioned R&B frame. The truth probably was that it accurately reflected his lifestyle, which served to accelerate his downfall. A look at the cover of his last album says it all: "Look At The Fool." Sad, very sad, not happy sad. Still, someone could take his last 3 albums and piece together a pretty excellent album.

You knew Zal Yanofsky? I always wondered what was the real story behind his leaving the Spoonful. Buckley really hit his peak around the time of Happy Sad, Blue Afternoon, and Lorca. Would like to see a discography of those sessions.

Long overdue, I finally listened to the Warne Marsh album "Warne Out" on Interplay. The final track is a tune by Nick Ceroli titled "Warne Piece." So clever! Say it out loud if you need to. What are some of your favorite titles, in terms of cleverness (clever play on words, context, etc.)? BTW, I hate the word "composition" rather than "song," but it's probably more appropriate for jazz.

The solemn rituals that attend classical music have long made the genre an irresistible target for mockery, most of it obvious and crass. From time to time, though, a knowing insider produces a satire of classical pretensions that approaches the sublime. The honor roll of great put-ons includes Anna Russell’s impression of a vocal recitalist in majestic decline; Gerard Hoffnung’s decimations of mid-twentieth-century British concert life; Victor Borge’s Dada take on the itinerant piano virtuoso; and, of course, Peter Schickele’s anarcho-Baroque incarnation of P.D.Q. Bach (1807-1742), who is habitually described as the last of Johann Sebastian Bach’s twenty-odd children, and also the oddest. P.D.Q. made his public début in 1965, at Town Hall; fifty years on, Schickele, adopting his familiar guise as a professor of musical pathology at the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople, returns to the scene of the original crime. More here: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/forgotten-son

The box will take me a loooooong time to go through; I'm not a binger. I'll make notes when I'm genuinely impressed by a show. I'm more looking forward to experiencing the progression...hearing the band mature and age through the years. So far, it's pretty exciting, but I'm only up to 1968. They were so full of piss and vinegar back then. In '68 we're beginning to hear the collective playing branch out into new directions; I can't wait to hear what T.C. brings to it. But I must admit, I'm very impressed by Pig's keyboard playing. He really did keep up with the band, at least back then. As for 1968 in general, while I really like the playing and the energy, they haven't yet written a lot of the tunes I love.

Excellent thread. When I was "coming of age" in jazz listening, I gave Stanley short shrift because of his run of albums on Fantasy, but now I know where the good shit is. I'd like to put in a special word for this: I also liked this later album:

Greek Theatre, 10/20/68. Holy fucking shit.

I totally agree. Surprisingly excellent album. Hank was always a class act, but this album is a cut above.

So many things I dislike about jewel cases: - Teeth breaking - Teeth so tight it's near impossible to extricate the disc - The hinges breaking, leaving you with an unattached cover - The residual glue on the jewel case after removing the labels, which always afterwards gets stuck to a digipak - The difficulty of removing the booklet! Not always, but on enough releases to really rankle. - And, of course, their size, which usually leads to a booklet printed with 2-pt type. In hindsight, a great answer would have been to retain the 12-inch cardboard cover, but to insert a plastic tray holding the CD.

Happy birthday, Jim! May you be the king of pleasure today, don't get scared, and look forward to more golden days!

Thanks for posting that; very enjoyable.

CLOUDBURST (Instrumental Lyric) I was blue and I was always wearin' a frown because my gal had turned me down. Then we met, and you can bet I knew from the first You were my love 'cause that's when the ole' grey cloud-burst! My heart really flew the day you caught my eye. I hope that we two will never say good-bye. Clouds of grey have silver linings when they're reversed. I found your love and that's when the ole' grey cloud-burst! Hey, Baby, I'm gonna tell ya 'bout 'cha lovin' and y" kissin' an' y' huggin' an' your sweet turtle-dovin', pretty baby I won't be satisfied 'till I hear 'em play "Here Comes the Bride" Listen t'me, baby, an' I don't mean maybe listen to m' story it's terrifically true I wanna' find a way o'tellin' ya' that I really go for you I hope y' really believe me, Baby 'cause I certainly do, 'Cause you're thrillin' me, really, really thrillin'! When y' tell me that 'cha prob'ally got a kind of crush on me it moves me—grooves me How divine can one woman be? Oh, Little da'lin', I'm really fallin' you got me goofy and gay I'm gonna' get carried away just think! you're gonna' be mine some day. Oh, let's spin-a-little, park-a-little stop-a-little, spark-a-little live-a-little, love-a-little, maybe turtle- dove-a-little, baby, everytime y' hold me so near, nobody loves me like you, dear Let's stop-a-little, tease-a-little prob'ly maybe squeeze-a-little, try-a-little, sigh-a-little Maybe have t' cry-a-little bit 'cause to tell you the truth I'm gonna love you an' that's it! 'Cause I love y' baby, love y' baby love y' baby, love y" baby, love y" baby with all my heart O-ooh listen to me while I say I set a lotta' little ladies get away because I know— I know pretty baby, I know I know pretty baby, I know you're the one Yes, you're the one—I knew it when I met'cha what a break it is t'get'cha! When it's cloudy 'n grey 'n that's the worst How d'ya cause clouds to burst Y' just find a lover, find a lover, find a lover, find a lover. If it's silvery under clouds of grey how d'you chase grey away Y' gotta find a little girl 'n make 'er love you a lot __ don't ever leave unless you're flippin' your lid 'n really wanna ruin the plot sounds easy-does-it light as a breeze thru the trees, boy how pleasant was it? Pleasant as one summer breeze, boy It's so wonderful what a love can do look at what love did for you Well I'm a lucky lover a lucky lover I got the love that y'should discover I was blue and I was always wearin' a frown because my gal had turned me down Then we met an' you can bet I knew from the first You were my love-n' that's when the ole' grey cloudburst! Take-a-look-at-me-boy Take another look take another look take another look take-another-good, long look at me love o-pened m'eyes an' now I see— Clouds of grey have silver linings when they're reversed I found your love an' that's when the ole' grey cloud-burst! That's when the ole' grey cloud-burst! ©1959; Eastwick Music Co.

Yeah, this is pretty wonderful, in a diametrically-opposite way:

Back when I worked in a jazz record store in the late '70's - early '80's, I'd always see the middle-aged guys buy this record, and I was intrigued. Obviously an older record (from 1961, turns out), still in print, and selling steadily - maybe not as much as Kind Of Blue, but pretty regularly. I always wanted to hear it, never got a chance. Never saw it reissued on CD. I came across a used copy at a Half Priced Books recently, and bought it. Wow. Not really jazz; he plays the tunes pretty straight, with strings and backing choir - think of the things Mercury was doing with Dinah Washington at the time, that kind of sound, almost a mix of jazz and country. A mix of Coleman Hawkins and Patsy Cline, if you can picture that! Austin has a powerful tenor voice, it's so pretty and muscular, cuts right through the arrangements. Just a pleasure to listen to. I highly recommend you find a copy.

Two more thoughts: 1) Reach out to Laurie Pepper. Between BandCamp and her own website, she seems to have a lot of the merchandising mechanics down. Maybe she'll give you some advice. 2) I keep thinking about the album Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington. As Keepnews told it, Monk's "far-out" reputation got in the way of mainstream listeners taking him seriously. The Ellington album allowed an entry point for many into Monk's music. Perhaps you'd consider doing a similar project.

I think you need to focus on the Internet; it's the only way to potentially reach huge numbers of people without leaving your house. Some combination of YouTube (for promotion, giving people a taste of your music) and your own website. Your website can include pay-only interactive pieces/"happenings"...just keep the price low - remember that micropayment can add up big with large numbers of people. As for your jazz exhibit/performance piece - consider colleges, esp. if you can include some "names" in your band. Consider "The Cookers" as your model. Anyway, just some thoughts; I wish you luck.

I haven't gotten one.

Older iPads slow to a crawl. Ubuntu might make them a lot zippier.

Kevin, can you install Ubuntu on an iPad?

Article in WSJ: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-electric-bass-wizardry-of-jaco-pastorius-1449006035

Good read; thanks for posting this.

I had a wonderful, quasi-nostalgic experience recently. I discovered Cactus Music in Houston. Huge selection of vinyl (both used and new - I found the Miles Davis "Enigma" 10" there), CDs, box sets, music-related books, paraphernalia, etc. While I was browsing, they played new releases on the store's sound system - that's how I heard tracks from the new Dylan Bootleg Series. It was a lovely shopping experience, and they even had other customers!