marcello

There are certain sideman that stop me cold in my tracks. The rest of the band and the songs may seem interesting but if I see certain names, I drop it like a hot potato. Javon Jackson is a case in point. He may be a wonderful person, but he's not my kind of player.

Those are two of my favorite Jimmy Heath recording. (Personnel: Kenny Barron, Bob Cranshaw, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Mtume, Curtis Fuller, Stanley Cowell, Bernard Fennell, Billy Higgins) Chris Albertson did a TV show with this band, by the way. So is this one...

I just saw this from Dr. Mike Matheny, from radioIO Real Jazz on the Jazz Programmers Mailing List: Organissimo's Groovadelphia... the whole package I have to admit that when I preview new music from a group anchored by the jazz organ, I do so with great hope.. A hope that there will be fresh creativity and diversity within the selections. So many times I receive new 'burner' albums where each song, one after the other, sounds like the same session.. then repeated in reverse. I am happy this week. A new CD came into the radioIO studios from the organ based trio 'Organissimo'. The album is called 'Groovadelphia'... and it destroys all of the stereotypes. Organissimo is led by organist Jim Alfredson with Joe Gloss on guitar and Randy Marsh playing drums and yes... harmonica! 'Groovadelphia' sure passed my test. The most notable experience I had on first listen of the CD revealed the variety from one song to the next. Once I finished the preview it became obvious to me that a major strength of this entire package lies in the manner that each song compliments the entire package. It is evident that much thought went into the recording and production of this album. Let me try to explain what you will experience when putting this CD in your player. Of course there is the typical bop jam as we would expect.. 'Third Right on the Left'. I especially enjoyed the organ solo on this upbeat track. I couldn't keep my right hand still while listening. The tune that immediately follows is 'Traces' with a mellow Latin feel. This song has a spatial depth created by a complimenting dialogue between Gloss on guitar and Alfredson on keys. The depth of expression from both soloists captured and held my attention. Gloss's performance on 'Traces' blended with the subtle organ support is absolutely perfect... it is simply beautiful. The entire album moves about like this. It is rich in contrasts and diversity with constant surprises. I had to pinch myself on occasion to remember that all that I am hearing comes from only three players. I am not usually partial to electronic effects and synthesis for jazz production unless integrated with intelligence and taste. Sometimes synthesized voices conflict with musical thought and can negatively date the production. However, done correctly, the synthetically produced sounds can be a huge draw for my personal enjoyment. I have often been thrilled on the occasion when new voicings are used artistically such as listening to track six.. 'If Not Now, When?". The use of the Synth solo in this track is fabulously integrated, providing a texture that fits. The deliberately funky 'Bleecker' and the fun 'My Sweet Potato Pie' with Marsh on Harmonica battling it out with both Gloss and Alfredson are two of my favorite songs from 'Groovadelphia'. We are going to have these tracks and others from the CD out in front for weeks to come on radioIO Real Jazz.. This is truly a magnificent collection of intelligent arrangements and performance. Let me know what you think.

Don't worry about the Chinese, Jim. They have sucking up so much of the raw material on the planet, that you pay higher prices for almost everything else you could buy. My steel prices have gone up 40% this year alone because most of the steel is shipped there.

No, not selling. See my edited post above. What can I say, I'n not a Communist.

Public domian recordings are not a issue, but if someone wants to share OOP recordings with the world, they can start a internet radio show and archive the playlists for everyone to listen to. Otherwise, if you sell someone's music and or recordings, you gotta pay the piper, baby. No matter how much a beautiful "gift" it is. This situation with Chuck is outright thievery, no matter how Scotty Boy paints it. He's a scumbag. Re: downloading OOP rcordings... It shoudn't be a matter of there isn't a system in place to fairly distribute these recordings and pay the heirs or the artist or the label or the publishing company, etc. Be upfront, be a business man contact these rightful owners and offer them some money or lease the rights, or wait until there is a system in place to pay instead of stealing and give to the poor.

Please supply Scott's email so we can all mercilessly harass him. I bet he's a premature ejaculator.

Ephemera is a great record.

A quick reply is no. The part of the book that covers the 40's to the early 50's is worth knowing about, but the rest of the book (and his career) is very uninteresting to say the least.

[Roy Porter Quintet] (Debonair 1821, 1822) *Sonny Criss(as) Roy Porter(org) Buddy Woodson(b) Al Bartee(ds) Richard Washington(bongo) @ 1957 / Los Angels + Wow + Got a Funny Feelin' + Minor Moods + Love You Note : Information of this session listed in Roy Porter's autobiography titled [There and Back], published by Bayou Press in 1991. Thanks to Mr.Peter Bevan for this information. [soundtrack : Le Glaive et la Balance] (Pathe-Marconi ?) detailed unknown. SONNY CRISS

What Jim said. The style of writting can be slightly annoying. I just finished reading it again.

This is really the worst kind of bullshit and thievery, but I'm not sure what Chuck or the artists can do about it.

Sad news, Alexander. My advice is to do what's best for your daughter, no matter how much crow you have to eat. You'll be a better man and father for it, and I know it will be hard, but always keep that in mind before you so or say anything.

The music has a digital fingerprint that is in the database, and that was recognised. Scary, huh? Like I've been telling everyone here that every kind of recorded media will be out there in cyberspace some day (on a server of some type), and be available for download to your media player of choice.

Here's a couple of my Knepper photos for you:

Appears to be a bass trombone. Chuck Connors, perhaps? No, it's not Chuck Connors. It's hard to tell from this dark photo. He was a ypung guy, like most of the people in the band, Here's another of him:

This is one of my all time favorites: Here's a photo that I took of a unknown trombonist in Mercer Ellington's band. Duke really wrote some wonderful music for trombonists. The trombone section of Red Garter/Red Shoes/Red Carpet/ is really fine.

On which label it was done, never saw that one, being a big fan of pianist Pilc, curious to see them mesh together Rosario Giuliani It's on Drefus Jazz here: MORE THAN EVER

I have that on LP and to be frank, it is a little sloppy, but enjoyable. It was made for Lionel Hampton's label Who's Who. The sound was a little thin too.

He has also done work with Rosario Giuliani that is very nice:

I remember when Dennis played with Woody Herman. I have some photos somwhere...

Oh you're talking about sideman dates too? I'm not too sure but what about Art Blakey's Anthenagin: It looks like not all of the tracks have made it to cd, for some reason. Nice date!

This was a good gig, if I may say so myself. One of the sets was broadcast on XM radio. Joe had made a cd for milestones of Mancini music, about a dozen years ago, but without a vocalist:

I was once the guest of the government of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico for a extended weekend. Don't ask, I was young.

Maybe that explains why Ray Charles didn't show up for that Atlantic anniversary concert.