Quasimado

Now that's a reed section I would like to hear, are these recordings easy to find? Currently available through Worlds Records. Q

Somebody else mentioned the Kenton Band Live in Munich 1953, recorded September 16, and which was followed by the Paris concert on September 18. These 2 double CDs (Munich - Sounds of Yester Year, and Paris - Jasmine), display, to my mind, the best band Kenton ever had, and include incredible Lee and probably the best Zoot with big band you will ever hear -can you imagine a saxophone section of Lee Konitz, Davy Schildkraut, Zoot Sims and Bill Holman? (Tony Ferina is on baritone)... The drummer is Stan Levy, and program is a well put together selection of classic Kenton/ Rugolo with the more linear arrangements of Mulligan, Holman and Rogers. Konitz successfully adapted his unique conception to the big band format – meaning he was playing just as brilliantly, but harder than he had ever played... There is not much of this period of Lee on disc - its up there with the best of Bird, Lester and Warne Marsh. (The recorded sound, for those who care, is not too bad). Q.

No matter what, it's a treasure. It has been issued on CD, with alternate takes. Mine was issued by BMG, and has the following: -5 takes of I'll Remember April -3 takes of All the Things You Are -2 takes of These Foolish Things -1 take of You'd Be So Nice It also has 4 tracks of Bob Brookmeyer with Renaud, Gourley, Red Mitchell & Frank Isola from 1954. As you say, this is some of the very finest Konitz. Q

Anybody seen this new film? Funny man, and he can play. Q

Try circular breathing - it seems to work in similar situations ... Q

Ziggy Vines. Q

Yeah ... he wants more bread. Q

Is this where it is? Q

Some great music mentioned here ... Been listening to the Mosaic Dean Benedetti Bird CDs recently. Standouts for me at the moment are *Sweet Geogia Brown*, No. 19 on disc 1 - that pure, inventive, swinging/ driving *Lady be Good* feeling... and *All the Things You Are*, no. 13 on disc 5, where Bird's reinventions after Kenny Hagood's vocal are simply unbelievable ... Not to forget *Lester leaps In* and *My Little Suede Shoes* from the Rockland Palace session ... Q

Been listening to the Dean Benedetti Bird CDs this week. Standouts for me at the moment are *Sweet Geogia Brown*, No. 19 on disc 1 - that pure, inventive, swinging/ driving *Lady be Good* feeling... and *All the Things You Are*, no. 13 on disc 5, where Bird's unbelievable reinventions after Kenny Hagood's vocal send shivers down the spine ... Q

... and the LP *Bird Is Free* is incredible ... unbelievable saxophone playing (Lester Leaps In - My Little Suede Shoes etc.) ... Davey was in school for that, too... Q

Interesting article. No doubt Lennie's widely reported mouth (rather than actions) caused many of his problems. I presume the divisions are still there ... Q

Phil gives us Bird 5 days a week - and he loves and knows what he is talking about. Can't ask for more than that... It's the most amazing show on radio. Q

Great news - many thanks. Q

I've checked but can't seem to locate this. Would anyone know if it was released? Q

... or to feed their obsessions. Q

Niko - that's remarkable! Jack Chambers has this to say (from his article): "As for integrity,some of the toughest minds among Zieff’s contemporaries wilted and ended up pandering to pop tastes, most notably Miles Davis but also Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock and numerous others, even Gil Evans. Zieff escaped all that, and the price he paid, though he may not consider it a price at all, was to live a quiet, scholarly life, feeling the affection of his students and the admiration of the part-timers —doctors, salesmen, and mostly (like him) teachers — he recruited to play his uncompromising music." Chamber's Twardzik book seems almost as obscure as Zieff. Q

Interesting read. http://langtech.dickinson.edu/Sirena/Issue2/Chambers.pdf Q

Lennie Tristano was pretty effusive about Freddie's playing through to the mid 60s. A quote from Shim's Tristano book, " ...It's about in '59 when Freddie started to record. Oh, I would say for six or seven years he played a lot of great music ... I like to say that Freddie Hubbard, in my opinion, is one of the great musicians to come out of the 60s. Absolutely. And of all the people who've been out there making it, in my opinion, he is the greatest. And I'm not speaking about Freddie in the last seven or eight years..." The only thing I have him of him is on Kenny Drew's "Undercurrent" with Mobley, and he plays fluent, swinging jazz trumpet, although I would have liked to hear him on harmonically richer, more varied material. I heard him live in Honolulu in the mid 80s with a band led by altoist Gabe Baltazar, and he played great ... although towards the end of the night he began to obviously ride Gabe, a local favorite, who was playing pretty well. That kind of put a chill on proceedings ... but he could play, no mistake. Q

Great site! Q

That's pretty harsh. Unfortunately, for some reason the saxes (certainly Marsh) don't solo on the studio recordings. However live, this was a hell of a band, a bunch of fine musicians who loved, understood and could play Bird's music ... which is real "musicians" music, a joy and a challenge to play... that's why they did it. Live they would do the heads and Birds solos, and then the featured saxes would solo, usually for at least two choruses, often more. As most admirers of Marsh's music know, there are lots of tapes out there of Warne with this band that are unbelievable. Q

As good as jazz-with-strings gets. Make of that what you will. Sorry, don't agree. Some of the string writing is nice ... and Art plays reasonably well... but then you also have 2 beat on some tracks ... and Art was never in Bird's league. Q

Maybe "deadly" was a bit harsh. I know we have Warne Marsh in common. It seems a long way from there to here ... I realize he's now in the past, but that kind of aesthetic value (from out of the tradition) doesn't come easily or often, nor is it easy to shrug off. Anyway, I'll try to catch her next time she's in town ... gotta get out of the wax. Q

Sorry, but I don't just see the interest here. I'd give the tenor credit for doing his best on a deadly background. What is the attraction here - the vocal, the message? Q