marcello

Have a happy birthday, Clifford!

Yes, Ted:

I loved his role in Dizzy Quartet with Al Gafa and Mickey Roker. He made the Fender bass work quite well in that context. Talented man.

Tripple that. Happy Birthday, Nate!

Ronald, Jim just gave a very good answer to your question. I don't think you have to know very much about the mechanics of music to be coherent, but you have a deep understanding and knowledge of the cannon, and that's a lot more than most. I myself, don't have the skills to be a writer of any kind, and to be a critic is a tough job when you have to be honest about the music presented and sensitive the musicians who made it. Repeated listening is the mark of a good music critic, by the way. I've seen reviews that I know the reviewer either didn't listen all the way through, or worse, didin't listen at all with any concentration.

David, you do such cool shows. I have these on LP: MVLP 7 At Ease With Coleman Hawkins MVLP 8 The Frank Wess Quartet MVLP 15 Coleman Hawkins - The Hawk Relaxes I'm going to tune in now. Thanks

That's cool Jim, but it's time to get worried when you start talking back and you think she's listening to you.

Happy Birthday, Marty!

honestly, the specifics weaken your position to me, unless you have doubts about how good the music is. if the originally released version sounds really exciting to people encountering it for the first time, then of course they'll buy the new and improved edition once it's out, especially considering you'll presumably be selling them worldwide in increasingly worthless currency units. in your position, I believe I'd be totally fine with MP3s of the original version circulating, maybe building up a bit of a buzz. if you really have such an issue with that, maybe you should make your own MP3s available for sale of the original until the new one is ready. that'd be my advice, not that you asked for it. I agree. I think a high quality product trumps a crappy MP3 anyday. I mean you could offer a MP3 for $5.00 if you wanted to and include the artwork. It easy to get on a server and offer the download your self with a credit card or PayPal. If you offered a better resolution file, all the better.

I'm not a attorney, but one thing I do know is that ALLcontacts have to have a begining date and a expiration date. No contact that is written to be open ended is legal. Regarding live shows that are traded: I'm in agreement with Jon Abbey in the fact that they promote band awareness.

Since you're digging this so much Mr. Korean, I'll tell you what I remember: The show was fun and short. He had a maybe a half a dozen beautiful back up singers/dancers that he made campy fun with while he talked his way through these kind of Las Vegas type disco songs. Like a lot of these instances here, the woman at the moment was the one who wanted to see the show, and besides, what do you do in Rochester on a Tuesday night ( performers played this dinner theatre for a week or so at a time)? Because I knew many of the guys in the pit band, we went backstage and were introduced to Telly in his dressing room (what I wouldn't do for sexy woman in those days!). He was very nice and spent most of the short time we were there making sure the girl I was with didn't eat him alive. He seemed like he was enjoying his life. I guess this was 1974 or '75 now that I think of it because I remember seeing Sarah Vaughan at the same place in '75 there (with Percy Heath and Jimmy Cobb. On the same night at a club on the other side of town, I met Dizzy Gillespie for the first time), also Mel Torme' and the Basie Band after Basie's heart attack with Nat Pierce on piano. But I guess the most embarrassinglconcert that I can admit to seeing is...Sheena Easton! Again, for a good looking date. That concert made me drop her fast, I shit you not. Ya gotta have standards.

Both of these were at dinner theaters: Telly Savalas in Rochester. Maybe 1977 Who Loves Ya Baby Liza Minelli at the Diplomat Hotel, Maimi Beach. New Years Eve 1981 or 1982

I can understand Chuck's pain but you can never solve this problem with lawsuits. With niche market music like ours, people will pay for not only quality but for authenticity because they know that it has value. Give the people a high quality product for a fair price and they won't pirate. Not most of them.

Very good post, Chris. Instead of focusing and how to explore and exploit new technologies to deliver a better and less expensive product, the industry has chosen to punish it's potential customers. The only future for the recording industry as a whole has is to deliver a product that people will want to pay for because it's better than pirated product in both quality and the content packaged, and then deliver it in a simple but dynamic way. If the majors wanted to really lead the industry they have the resourses to do so, but they are run by bottom liners who don't have either the artistic creativity or scientific willpower to do so. You know, they're morons. And they treat their customer like morons. Linn Records is one company that at least offers their recording in SACD, Hi Res Files, Studio Quality files, compressed MP3's etc. for all of their releases. That's just one way to deliver quality and variety to the customer via downloads. If you take this concept a bit futher, you could also include video files, PDF materials, dynamic links etc. in a bundel for one low cost. That's just a starting point.

I would bet he's been both.

Here's a sample of leader dates in 1957 The Jazz Messengers Featuring Art Blakey - Ritual,(Pacific Jazz PJ 15) Art Blakey - Hard Bop (Columbia CL 1040) Art Blakey - Drum Suite (Columbia CL 1002) Art Blakey - Orgy In Rhythm, Vol. 1 (Blue Note BLP 1554, BST 81554) Art Blakey - Selections From Lerner And Loewe's (Vik LAK 1103) Art Blakey - Tough! (Cadet LP 4049) Art Blakey - Theory Of Art (RCA Bluebird 6126-1-RB) Art Blakey - A Night In Tunisia (Vik LAX 1115) Art Blakey And His Jazz Messengers With Sabu And A Bongo - Cu-Bop (Jubilee JLP 1049) Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk - Jazz Connection (Atlantic LP 1278, SD 1278) Art Blakey - Hard Drive (Bethlehem BCP 6023) Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem BCP 6027)

OK, I broke down and here's a photo of Mr. Gravatt from that concert:

Man, Bobby Durham looks like he's gonna have a heart attack!

Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive E-lim-i-nate the negative And latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with mister inbetween No don't mess with mister inbetween You got to spread joy up to the maximum Bring gloom down to the minimum And have faith, or pandemonium Liable to walk upon the scene You got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive E-lim-i-nate the negative And latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with mister inbetween No don't mess with mister inbetween

I haven't yet, but I think you're right. I'll probably wait until I get there (wherever that is; looking more like Oregon the more I think about it), but yeah, I think another cat is something I need. Certainly higher on my list right now than another human relationship! Ther's a old saying "There's lots of fish in the sea". Keep your chin up!

Photo from that concert: October 8th, 1976 I refuse to show that shit Gravatt!

Here's my Gravatt story from my post of a couple of years ago: In 1976 I produced a concert a concert, in Rochester, with him as the only act. He had just released "Focal Point" and the band had Ron Bridgewater, Eric Gravatt, Charles Fambrough Joe Ford and Guglielmo Franco. When I went to pick up the band at the airport, the only band mambers to get off the plane were Gravatt and Fambrough. Joe Ford decided to go to Buffalo first (his home town to pick up his wife and kid ) and would drive to the gig from there. McCoy, Bridgewater and Franco all missed their flight. After frantic calls to Whittemore, I found out that the others got on another flight but McCoy was still missing. This is a 3pm and the concert is scheduled for 8 pm. As soon as I get Gravatt and Fambrough into a car for the ride to the hotel, Gravatt lights up a huge joint and tells me to be cool while Fambrough laughs is ass off. Gravatt is the most surly person I had ever seen while smoking dope! He got nasty and salty. At 7pm, still no word about McCoy as I arrive at the hotel to pick up the others. I knock on Gravatt's door many times before he opens it (naked, with another HUGE joint in his mouth ) whereupon he goes back to facing a music stand that holds sheets of paper with large Chinese or Japanese writing figures that he studies while he practices with his Num-Chucks and never says a word to me. After a coulple of minutes a frutile questions to like " Shall we go?" and "Is everyone here?' and not getting any response, I go to Fambrough's room hoping that he will at least laugh at me again! Fambrough comes with me to Gravatt's room and shakes him out of his trance, and he dresses. Bridgewater and Franco have not checked into their rooms but I hope they find the concert hall on their own, not to mention Ford, coming from Buffalo. McCoy, I hope, at least finds Rochester. Once again, Gravatt lights up more inspriation in the car and snarles; Fambrough laughs. I ask them if they have heard from McCoy or Whittemore? Gravatt grunts out the McCoy has been a leader for a long time, will make the gig and for me to shut up about him and leave him alone. At the hall, Ford, Bridgewater and Franco are there. All but McCoy. At 8pm, concert time, I have 1500 people outside of the hall because I don't want to let them in and take their money if I have to cancel. I only hold out untill 8:30 because of the crowd but then at 8:45.... here comes McCoy! He made alternate travel plans and rented a car at the airport which he drove straight to the hall. We do a sound check in front of the house that McCoy turned into a mini concert, bless his heart, and then we took a short break before the real show, that began at 9:30. He was great! The band was great! Even Gravatt was great! McCoy play trio, duo with Ford, duo with Fambrough and with the Quintet. They played two very long sets and he really gave everyone their moneys worth, and then some. He was a real gentleman; very quiet and focused. He meditated between sets and after the last one. It actualy took him some time to come down after the music was over. He was in a trance afterward with a wide eyed look that told you his was in a different place. I've seen him since then with his trio but it sure wasn't the same as that night! I think it was one of those very special nights, for all. The last I heard of Eric Gravatt, he was a prison guard. I bet he loves his job.

I don't know of any festivals in April, but these are good clubs: Marostica - Panic Jazz Club Rome - Casa del Jazz Rome - Alexanderplatz

Jinrikisha (Joe Henderson)