mjzee

The Jackass star could have killed other people while driving drunk. There's no excuse for that.

I saw James Brown as bad as that once. It was at Carnegie Hall in the mid-80's. His talk was largely incoherent, he tried to do some of his dance moves but wasn't coordinated enough, and at one point, while the band was vamping, bent down (on stage) and tied his shoe. The woman next to me said "James is into some weird shit." Luckily, he had Maceo in the band, who was great all night.

That was such a sad video.

Max Gordon used to record Village Vanguard shows too. I've always been curious about what exists.

Is the Bird's Eyes series still available from Philology? I know this has come up in other threads, but without satisfactory resolution. I wrote an email to Philology, and got a response I found baffling and inscrutable. So: Can these be purchased; if so, at what price and from which source?

Amazon now has the mp3 downloads of Blues for the Fisherman (4x$8.99), but I don't see the CDs yet. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=Art+Pepper+blues+for+the+fisherman&x=20&y=18 eMusic has them for $5.99 apiece. Still not much price differential with the CDs, so I'm thinking the CDs are a better deal.

The family of jazz in the 20th century, like many another multi-generational household, seemed to spend nearly as much time splitting into factions and nursing grudges as it did celebrating its own achievements. Performers and enthusiasts alike fell out over real and imagined divisions of race, over the conflicting demands of art and show business, and over the imperatives of a musical form that seemed to change drastically every five years or so. Thus it came to pass that, in the last 20 years of his life, Louis Armstrong (1901-71)—one of the most important figures in the history of jazz and, in Ricky Riccardi's phrase, "arguably the most recognizable entertainer on the planet"—had a hard time, in certain quarters of the jazz community, getting much respect. Since his death, though—thanks to informed commentary and a few fine biographies, not to mention the enduring value of his music—Armstrong's reputation has grown and grown. With "What a Wonderful World," Mr. Riccardi, an archivist for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, N.Y., celebrates the trumpeter-singer's twilight years, a period sometimes slighted in otherwise appreciative accounts of his life. More here: WSJ

Maybe he's referring to Eat The Document, which did get one airing on NBC in the States. It was filmed on Dylan's 1966 British tour.

Fox News

I promise not to do it again.

I've been thinking a lot about this paragraph: "I’m getting to the point where the music is getting away from these great standards. It’s not that they’re not legitimate, but the trend is to not go that way. I know that my guitar player Russell Malone loves standards. But the music is sort of making a shift. It’s not those songs so much that you can put potency to. I’m saying that without denying anything about them. I love them. You love them. But maybe it’s the people coming up: Now, people who are experiencing music are experiencing different times. So those songs may not have the same relevance or the same strength that they had for us. If the people don’t feel them, then they’re beginning to lose something. The music has to reach people so they can contribute to it with their appreciation. I just feel that now, these beautiful songs are beginning to fade from the imagination of younger audiences." I think one of the reasons Sonny is so great in concert is that he's attuned to the vibe coming from the audience. His whole mission is to connect with the audience. This explains the fusion-y and disco-y tunes on his Milestone albums of the '70's and '80's - he simply wanted to play in the style that was popular then, much like standards were lingua franca in the '50's. This dovetails nicely with Fasstrack's exploration/meditation on Jazz Populism (noted here). I'll be curious to hear which styles Sonny turns to next. Directions In Music from Sonny Rollins!

Beautiful. Thanks for posting that. And thanks, Hardbopjazz, for bringing that to our attention.

One of my favorite descriptions comes from Ben Sidran's liner notes to Grant Green's "Nigeria" (now part of the "Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark" collection): "The record closes with a flag-waver, "The Song Is You," in which we are reassured that straight ahead is the direction to go. Blakey is once again singing in his mikes, and Sam Jones, God bless him, is walking and shaking his head. There are few things in life more pleasant than walking along with Sam Jones shaking your head." This is a very interesting record: Two bassists (NHOP on "lead" bass and Sam handling the bottom) with Billy Higgins on drums and Philip Catherine on occasional guitar.

Release date 7/19/11: Amazon

Amazon says release date 7/26/11: Amazon

Details via Amazon

Hope you're not away long, Shawn. The music'll pull you back.

We saw "Midnight In Paris" over the weekend. I'm still thinking about it - very, very fine movie. The acting is spot on - the characters may be standard Allen characters (the struggling writer, the shrewish fiancee, the pedantic scholar), but the actors brought them to life. Owen Wilson and Rachel MacAdams were very fine, and Adrian Brody almost steals the movie with his one little spot. The plot was lyrical, wonderful. The movie theater was packed. I don't remember the last time I saw a movie in a full movie house. That also added to the enjoyment.

Alberta was wonderful. You'll be charmed.

Those KitchenAid mixers are great. We should start a thread on it.

Just received a notice from Amazon that this shipped. Moral: When you see a great deal like this, grab it. Delivered today; it's now $71.98 on Amazon.

Very sad. A great, strong pianist. RIP. I'll play "Somewhere In France" tonight.

It's a great reissue. The sound is good too. Thanks for the pic. Does the set contain mastering credits? No mention of it.

There was also a time when BS/SN were distributed in the US by Polygram; they imported copies from Italy.