mjzee

I just got my copy, from Amazon. Looking forward to hearing it. Beautiful package; how did they get the CD to be pressed with Dynagroove?

Please allow this non-musician/big listener a few words. Inherent in the original question is the notion that one must "dumb down" music to appeal to an audience. This, of course, is the flip side of "they didn't get my music, so they must be idiots." The very premise is flawed. The audience can find challenging, inventive music appealing. Miles is a perfect example. In his autobiography, a recurrent motif from the '60's on, was (to paraphrase) "the critics hated my music, but I didn't care, because the audiences paid to see me and I was playing larger spaces." It seems that Miles really kept tabs on the audience, and not just because he loved the money. I think if Miles saw his audiences dwindling, he'd consider that a sign that something was deeply wrong. I've stated these opinions before: the real problem with jazz is the rise of university teaching of the music, rather than learning it on the bandstand. I don't think musicians are even playing for themselves; they're playing for the approval of academics. Theory has replaced emotion. Audiences are voting with their feet: they're leaving. Solutions? Play tunes people can recognize (the great American songbook, but also newer tunes - whatever you can make your own), be more tuneful, play with feeling but don't go "out" after 30 seconds (George Adams, anyone?), don't make hyena noises, and keep the beat. If you see people moving in their seats, you're accomplishing something. The beauty of jazz is that people don't have to "understand" what you're playing; they'll feel it in their gut. My favorite story in that regard is from the booklet to Clifford Brown - The Complete Blue Note and Pacific Jazz Recordings: Jimmy Heath tells the story of a gig he played with Clifford at Spider Kelly's club in Philadelphia. "It was a little place on Mole St., near Market, and a woman who was completely out of her head, you know intoxicated, came up to the bandstand after the set. We'd been playing all the bebop heads we heard Dizzy and them play, and this lady comes up and says "I don't know what it is that you guys are playing, but you" - and she points right at Clifford - "are playing the hell out of it.""

Anyone have info on this upcoming release? Appears to be legit, but the Dead website has nothing on it: Flashback with the Grateful Dead - Amazon

What is Popmarket?

See post #136 in this thread: Nessa

It's a rare musician who releases his first solo album at age 85. Late bloomer? Not Johnny Mandel, who played trumpet and trombone in big bands, arranged music for Count Basie, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, composed jazz standards (plus television hits like the "M*A*S*H" theme) and in January was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. More here: Dizzy's Hosts Two Heroes

recordings are from 1950 to 1953 - how about the sound???? I'll report on the sound when it arrives.

Pretty good deal - I sprang for it. Casals box

Nice profile of Steve Kuhn. He's led a pretty interesting life! Thanks for alerting us to the article.

From the WSJ: Hal Blaine put his hand on my shoulder. "This is going to break your heart, but much of the music you heard in the '60s and early '70s wasn't recorded by the people you saw on the album covers," he said. "It was done by me and the musicians you see on these walls." Talk about a "Wizard of Oz" moment. Last week I traveled to Mr. Blaine's home here to talk about his prolific career as the Buddy Rich of rock and pop recordings. I also wanted to know more about his role as the ringleader of the Wrecking Crew—an ad hoc group of about 30 highly skilled Hollywood studio musicians who played the instruments on thousands of hit records released between 1961 and 1976. More here: Who Else Made More Hit Songs?

9 of the albums just dropped on eMusic, @ $5.99 each (I think they already had the other two): Tiny Sparrow Aretha (with Ray Bryant) Take A Look The Queen In Waiting Laughing on the Outside Runnin' Out of Fools Yeah!!! Electrifying A Bit of Soul

Very nice, Jim, thanks. Gary Burton on vibes. I love Astrud's phrasing; it's so charming and disarming. And that bouffant hairdo! That was the hairdo they gave all the bat-mitzvah girls to look sophisticated, back in the day.

Microsoft Poised to Axe Zune Player - Financial Times

An article in tomorrow's WSJ: The Search For Aretha's Sound - WSJ

Not sure I could count myself among that group, but did have some friends. There was a lot of chauvinistic pride about his being from Long Island; some remembered his earlier groups (The Hassles and Attila), and some had his first album (Cold Spring Harbor) on its original label. Piano Man was huge in the Northeast. To many of us, his music had a Harry Chapin-vibe: very melodious, somewhat obvious lyrics. Joel was far more clever and interesting than Chapin, though. I always thought his music had a Broadway vibe to it, and would fit very well in musicals. Then The Stranger hit. While it was huge, it was of a piece with his earlier albums; it was just that all the pieces jelled, finally came together. After that, he was a solid hitmaker. BTW, if you can find it, there was a great concert released in the earlier days of video called "Live on Long Island," filmed at the Nassau Coliseum. Very great concert, perhaps the highlight of his career IMHO.

This seems like a good place to post this intriguing piece. If anyone actually does it, please tell us about it: Move Over, Apple! My Tablet Cost $200

It is a good piece. I found it hard to believe he hadn't heard the Columbias before.

This just got a good write-up in the Financial Times: Atomic Floyd Minidarts + Mic

Is it $13 a month? I don't know what "$12+1 a month" actually means. It certainly would be pretty easy to write $13 a month.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The production company behind the Sandra Bullock hit "The Blind Side" is looking to bring the world of "Blade Runner" back to the big screen. Yahoo News

This is a pretty good deal for a good singer, £13.43 for four original albums: Amazon UK

Jimmy Lyons's Ayler box set coming back into print: Amazon Anthony Braxton: Coventry Concert (1980): Sonny Rollins: Just Once Bud Powell: Previously Unissued Recordings, Stockholm 1962 Amazon Miles Davis: The Unissued Japanese Concerts I wouldn't dream of giving you the URL! Weather Report: Live in Berlin 1975 http://www.amazon.com/Live-Berlin-1975-Weather-Report/dp/B004GDYY5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299115376&sr=1-1 John Coltrane: Live at the Jazz Gallery 1960 No URL for you! Steve Lacy: The Complete Whitey Mitchell Sessions Probably a boot, so, sorry.

Interior design is now a lucrative and far-reaching – some might argue, bloated – industry. The import and export of styles is big business, top designers such as Kelly Hoppen and India Hicks have achieved filmstar status (one or two others the dubious fame of fraudsters) and then there’s the lucrative spin-off culture of books, magazines and reality television shows. Its emphasis, however, has so far rested almost exclusively on the visual. Once clients have agonised over colour palettes, fabrics and fittings, it’s rare that any thought is given to the sound of a space, aside, perhaps, from blocking unwanted noise or integrating the latest Bose speaker system. Partly this is because our understanding of sound has always been vague, and partly because sound designers – a blurry spectrum of DJs, artists and sound engineers – have pursued a range of careers. But there is a sense that this once mysterious subculture is finally gaining mainstream credence. A growing number of individuals are promoting the importance of sound design in public and domestic settings. Among them is Lawrence English, an Australian composer, curator and sound artist. “We’re so conditioned to experience the world through our eyes that the other senses really suffer,” English says. “It’s always interesting to go into a space you know very well and then close your eyes. It’s not something people do very often but it can be very powerful.” Continued here: Financial Times