dalemcfarland

I don't know about CDs, but a while ago I decided to play my whole collection from A to Z and it took about 1 year to go through about 3,500 LPs, listening 6-8 hrs. a day.

...not to mention those haircuts. Slow down the tempo a bit and this song could have been written for the Monkees.

I'm fairly certain the first music I ever heard was "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on a music box my mother clipped to my crib. But that aside... Growing up, I had a pile of those little yellow children's records featuring Gene Autry and Burl Ives etc. My parents had a very small collection of LPs which included 101 Strings-type stuff, soundtracks like The Alamo and South Pacific, a box set of Reader's Digest schmaltz, and, incredibly enough, Spike Jones' "Thank You Music Lovers" which (much to their exasperation, I'm sure) I played repeatedly. There was no jazz in the house. It was the early 60s and I was 12 or 13 when, flipping through AM radio late one night, I found jazz for the first time. It was the weirdest, most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. It was someone playing piano in a way I had never before imagined. It was serious and humorous at the same time. It made me just sit there and listen. It was Thelonious Monk. It destroyed my life.

In my experience, most people don't think musicians are tip-worthy.

Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart were at the top of a very short list of rock bands I listened to religiously in the 60s. IMO Zappa elevated the wah-wah pedal to an art form, and essentially invented the 3/4 rock beat. I too preferred the music over the theatrics, but he always gave me a healthy dose of brain food. Even today, I think "Twenty Small Cigars" (from Chunga's Revenge) is one of the most beautiful jazz waltzes ever written.

Oh well, at least it wasn't Toby Keith.

No doubt August 4, 2010 will be added to donz's database representing another evening of fine jazz. Oh well, at least it wasn't Lady Gaga.

I once read Dallas had the highest ratio of restaurants to residents in the US, so you won't go hungry here (but it's mostly Applebee's... haha). For the business visitor, Dallas is very spread out. Two stretches with a concentration of venues are Beltline Road in the northern suburb of Addison (the only part of Dallas where you can still smoke indoors) and Greenville Avenue in eastern Dallas (the further South you go, the "cooler" it gets - unfortunately, the coolest block recently burned to the ground). I'd say 2 days is plenty for Dallas.

TV said he was pivotal in making Tony Bennett's career, which earns him a ton of points in my book.

Actually, I signed up in '07. (I've visited occasionally to read stuff but never posted anything.) The work has really dried up here lately so - proving idle hands are the devil's workshop - I finally decided to dive in out of nowhere. Sorry if it evolved into confrontation. If I'd been gigging the other night, I wouldn't have heard Letterman's wisecrack in the first place. So I blame those bastards on Wall Street... but that's a topic for a different forum.

Check out pianist Jay McShann and see if that's the style you're looking for. Welcome to the forum.

Naw, then he would've cataloged Letterman's old magazine interviews too. Hey Don, can you cross-reference your database from the NBC years for a show that had Kenny Rogers as a guest, and included an "Ask Mr. Melman" segment? A woman in the audience asked why Letterman didn't book more jazz bands. A transcript of the exchange that followed would be very illuminating to this discussion. November 26, 1985. I'll have to dig out the tape. Don't have a transcript, though. Was the exchange between Dave and the woman, or was it Calvert's prepared response, written by Dave's writers? Both. I remember an uncomfortable moment after the prepared bit. (By stipulating "Dave's writers" I sense you're poised to defend him - are you implying he had no creative input as Head Writer?) Actually, I think it's kinda cool that you'd have this material at your disposal. I am a little worried, however, that I remember a sketch from 25 years ago, but can't remember what I just had for breakfast...

Naw, then he would've cataloged Letterman's old magazine interviews too. Hey Don, can you cross-reference your database from the NBC years for a show that had Kenny Rogers as a guest, and included an "Ask Mr. Melman" segment? A woman in the audience asked why Letterman didn't book more jazz bands. A transcript of the exchange that followed would be very illuminating to this discussion.

Holy crap, what have I caused here? I'll retract everything and start over. Letterman made a joke that I overreacted to. He doesn't like jazz and has said so. To what degree this affects which artists are booked, who knows, but it's probably had a negative influence. On the other hand, Paul Shaffer likes jazz and is probably a positive influence - to whatever degree - by occasionally inviting some players in for a little camera time. I love Jon Stewart, but I don't think he ever had Sonny Rollins perform on his show either. Steven Colbert made a heroin joke that I thought was funny. I wish this thread had taken a different direction. Michael Keaton's stand up routine wasn't a good match with jazz! How about that? 50s and early 60s jazz was a perfect match with the likes of Lenny Bruce, Mort Saul, Nichols & May, Bob Newhart. When did jazz and comedy begin drifting apart? I think even the later work of George Carlin would have gone good with bebop. And phrenetic comedians like Bobcat Goldthwait, Robin Williams or Sam Kinison might have blended well with Sun Ra or Anthony Braxton. Whadaya think? I'll buy a pitcher of beer and we can discuss it.

The public record I'm talking about were his own interview statements in print. Maybe one day I'll remember where I read them, but probably not. I really don't care anymore. Peace.

Jim, you're still alive?? I thought you died from a heroin overdose years ago!!

No chip on my shoulder. Just thought it was something this forum would be interested in. Whether you already knew it or not, Letterman's dislike for jazz is a matter of public record. ("Passionately HATES" was my own hyperbole and I retract it.) He has said so himself in magazine interviews. He has disrespected it on his show with side comments and pre-written comedy bits. And it has been referenced online: http://forums.allaboutjazz.com/showthread.php?t=3888 http://www.jazzweekly.com/interviews/lucoff.htm (see paragraph 7) I won't spend any more time substantiating this FACT. The point of my original post was not that he should champion jazz on his show - or even like it - but that equating jazz fans to heroin addicts continues an unfortunate stereotype which is unnecessarily hateful and harmful to the art form.

Granted, a few jazzers have snuck under the barbed wire (were Fathead, Sanborn, Puente and Getz ever Featured Performers, or did they just sit in with the house band?) and, granted, some vocal-oriented pop bands that perform may accidentally include a sideman who's considered a jazz player (Laurie Anderson?? get serious) and, granted, Leno et.al. have equally crappy track records. But Letterman passionately HATES jazz, and has happily said so on more than one occasion. (I'm not going to search through old magazine interviews to prove this, you're just gonna have to take my word that I've read it.) I don't dislike Letterman. Not one bit. It just irked me to hear him imply that the only people who appreciate jazz are heroin-addled morons.

I wouldn't take the "slight" so seriously but for the fact that he has famously boycotted jazz from his show for decades and never misses an opportunity to insult and denigrate the people who play it. It's more than just a passing joke when it takes food out of cat's mouths. Otherwise, I do think he's usually on target and pretty funny.

For all who missed it last night: Michael Keaton was talking about his early days doing stand up on the old coffee shop circuit, sharing the stage with jazz bands or folk musicians, admitting that his comedy didn't always go well with the music. Letterman mumbles, "What does go well with jazz? Maybe heroin."