imeanyou

I rate Benaud as one of the best commentators in any sport. He's from the 'less is more' school of commentary. His knowledge of the game is peerless, he gives praise where it's due, has good comic timing and a fine grasp of understatement. He's never been over-reliant on nostalgia (except perhaps to relate some anecdote from his playing days if it's relevant), and he always seems genuinely excited to watch new talent without a need to compare them unfavourably with some favourite of his from yesteryear. Above all he's scrupulously fair, he had no qualms about calling the infamous underarm tactic used by Greg Chapell against the Kiwis, the most shameful example of unsportmanlike conduct he'd ever seen on a cricket pitch. And he was right. I've enjoyed his insights for a good 40 years. Superb bloke.

There are the two Ornette dates from Stockholm, that BN put out in 1966 but I don't recall Rudy being flown in for them. Did they start life on another label or did BN bankroll them?

That reminds of me JG who mentioned in some interview how he practised in a cork-coated room ... until he got his HUUUUUUUUUGE sound right in that, uhm, narrowing surrounding. And then when he came out of there .... BOOOOOM in your face! JG=Johnny Griffin?

Great stuff, Freddie and Woody liked it too.

I wasn't there, no. But this is certainly a unique twist on fandom -- jazz fans worshipping another jazz fan. Yes, I realize that we all have our own take on worshipping those who have given a lot to further the music -- the Chris Albertson's, the Dan Morgenstern's, the Michael Cuscuna's, etc. But this may border on being quite the reach for those who refuse to acknowledge the complete picture. I avoided usage of the terms "groupie" and "jazz ho" for this very reason. I knew that there would be people out there who would take all of this a little too personally. Whatever she was, or whatever her motivation, let's all just agree on the fact that her efforts were appreciated within the jazz community. If those efforts translated to furtherance of the music, then we're all better off for them. So what's the 'complete picture' regarding her abandonment of her kids? I don't think it was simply a case of 'see ya, I want to hang out with jazzers and smoke weed, be good for your father'. By your reckoning, dereliction of one's familial obligations connotes promiscuity. It's not about jazz fans 'worshipping' anybody. I can't recall anyone close to Monk or anyone else in that milieu even alluding to her having sexual liaisons with Monk or Bird or those she supported. I don't think it's wise to insinuate just because someone else's views on parenthood don't chime with yours. If you have anything that sheds more light on her motivations let's hear it. So far you've given us nothing. First of all, I stated what I had heard. Secondly, you're taking this personally which might indicate that you know more. If that's the case, why don't you educate us instead of railing against what you think my views on the whole situation might be? In other words, if I've "given us nothing", make it your point to give us something. That might serve the board and general interest better than another round of personal attacks. But what did you hear? All you stated were the vaguest of opinions from person or persons unknown. I may as well say 'people I know think the earth is flat'. You carefully avoided anything factual, you didn't even comment on whether you believed that what 'people you know' said about her was based on firsthand information. To say you have nothing isn't a personal attack, it's a mere statement of fact. You made the claim, via these 'people you know'. Have the courtesy to at least be clear as to what 'you' think. If you have to rely on hearsay then it's pointless me taking this any further. Why would I take personally an opinion that cannot even reliably be said to come from you? I'm all for enlightenment and find this board to be a rich source of knowledge and informed opinion on all manner of things jazz and non-jazz. If you've got anything on this topic that adds to that then I'm all ears, all I've got so far is that you are a parent that wouldn't abandon his kids and you know people who think that Nica was a tart. Don't waste my time and I won't waste yours. You're just repeating yourself. Like you've already stated, I've got nothing. Why do the why's, where's and from who's matter if that's the case? What are you trying to achieve by this? If you want me to hang my head in shame, I'm afraid you're out of luck. If you want to turn this into a constructive resource, enlighten us. I'm not interested in 'shaming' anyone. You threw out the 'groupie' angle under the guise of observations from 'people you know'. I'm curious to know more because they seem at odds with what I've read and heard about Nica, I'm not here to defend her reputation and I'm not claiming any kind of privileged 'insider' wisdom. You have an opportunity to share what you know but have tried to turn it around into some non-existent personal attack. How is wrapping up your feelings about her competence as a mother in an oblique attack on her sexual morality any kind of constructive contribution? We've established you have nothing to substantiate what you heard from other sources. Smells like time-wasting to me, thanks for playing.

I wasn't there, no. But this is certainly a unique twist on fandom -- jazz fans worshipping another jazz fan. Yes, I realize that we all have our own take on worshipping those who have given a lot to further the music -- the Chris Albertson's, the Dan Morgenstern's, the Michael Cuscuna's, etc. But this may border on being quite the reach for those who refuse to acknowledge the complete picture. I avoided usage of the terms "groupie" and "jazz ho" for this very reason. I knew that there would be people out there who would take all of this a little too personally. Whatever she was, or whatever her motivation, let's all just agree on the fact that her efforts were appreciated within the jazz community. If those efforts translated to furtherance of the music, then we're all better off for them. So what's the 'complete picture' regarding her abandonment of her kids? I don't think it was simply a case of 'see ya, I want to hang out with jazzers and smoke weed, be good for your father'. By your reckoning, dereliction of one's familial obligations connotes promiscuity. It's not about jazz fans 'worshipping' anybody. I can't recall anyone close to Monk or anyone else in that milieu even alluding to her having sexual liaisons with Monk or Bird or those she supported. I don't think it's wise to insinuate just because someone else's views on parenthood don't chime with yours. If you have anything that sheds more light on her motivations let's hear it. So far you've given us nothing. First of all, I stated what I had heard. Secondly, you're taking this personally which might indicate that you know more. If that's the case, why don't you educate us instead of railing against what you think my views on the whole situation might be? In other words, if I've "given us nothing", make it your point to give us something. That might serve the board and general interest better than another round of personal attacks. But what did you hear? All you stated were the vaguest of opinions from person or persons unknown. I may as well say 'people I know think the earth is flat'. You carefully avoided anything factual, you didn't even comment on whether you believed that what 'people you know' said about her was based on firsthand information. To say you have nothing isn't a personal attack, it's a mere statement of fact. You made the claim, via these 'people you know'. Have the courtesy to at least be clear as to what 'you' think. If you have to rely on hearsay then it's pointless me taking this any further. Why would I take personally an opinion that cannot even reliably be said to come from you? I'm all for enlightenment and find this board to be a rich source of knowledge and informed opinion on all manner of things jazz and non-jazz. If you've got anything on this topic that adds to that then I'm all ears, all I've got so far is that you are a parent that wouldn't abandon his kids and you know people who think that Nica was a tart. Don't waste my time and I won't waste yours.

I wasn't there, no. But this is certainly a unique twist on fandom -- jazz fans worshipping another jazz fan. Yes, I realize that we all have our own take on worshipping those who have given a lot to further the music -- the Chris Albertson's, the Dan Morgenstern's, the Michael Cuscuna's, etc. But this may border on being quite the reach for those who refuse to acknowledge the complete picture. I avoided usage of the terms "groupie" and "jazz ho" for this very reason. I knew that there would be people out there who would take all of this a little too personally. Whatever she was, or whatever her motivation, let's all just agree on the fact that her efforts were appreciated within the jazz community. If those efforts translated to furtherance of the music, then we're all better off for them. So what's the 'complete picture' regarding her abandonment of her kids? I don't think it was simply a case of 'see ya, I want to hang out with jazzers and smoke weed, be good for your father'. By your reckoning, dereliction of one's familial obligations connotes promiscuity. It's not about jazz fans 'worshipping' anybody. I can't recall anyone close to Monk or anyone else in that milieu even alluding to her having sexual liaisons with Monk or Bird or those she supported. I don't think it's wise to insinuate just because someone else's views on parenthood don't chime with yours. If you have anything that sheds more light on her motivations let's hear it. So far you've given us nothing.

Were any of the people you spoke to people who knew Nellie Monk or Bird or Gigi Gryce or Sonny Rollins or Art Blakey or Barry Harris? Go ahead and call her a 'groupie' if that's what you think she was.

Picked this one up today...

Friedman is someone I have a lot of time for, wasn't aware he'd made some recordings with Konitz. I'll have to remedy the situation PDQ!

I've had both for a long time and played them a lot for a number of years. Gil is a great accompanist, his style is spare, 'pensive' and he leaves lots of space for Konitz to work his magic. 'Prince of Darkness' on Heroes is a wonderful Miles tribute. As has already been mentioned the Hat duet with Solal is superlative. Also worth checking out is 'Duplicity', an earlier duo set with Solal that got a cd release a few years ago.

Dizzy Reece made 4 really solid albums for Blue Note (five if you count 'Coming On' which was a Connoisseur title released a few yeears back). I think Morgan started off great, became formulaic and ended on a high. I always thought Richard Williams deserved a session on the basis of his support for Mingus and other session work. Thad Jones BN stuff I love. Edit: Just checked, Reece made just four records for BN, 'Asia Minor' was on Prestige.

I'd go along with what JS said. I hope he gets the very best of care and makes a full recovery. 'Sonny', it's the name...

Thanks for the link. Not too much that is revelatory to the committed Milesian but enjoyable just the same. I always love John Mclaughlin's impersonation of 'the voice'. First time I'd heard anything from Wayne Shorter about the music and times.

Just heard the news. I've got a lot of Byrd's music and although I too lost interest during the Mizell period there's a lot of wonderful stuff from his Prestige and Blue Note years.. It's a testament to his artistry and dedication that he could fit in with a range of styles and was always looking to try something new in the music. I'll be going back to Fuego, Byrd in Hand, Kofi and the incredibly funky Mustang in the next few days and his lovely version of Little Girl /(Boy) Blue from Byrd in Flight. Thanks for the music Mr. Byrd.

In addition to the Mingus and Miles tracks, all of these absolutely floored me..for live stuff I'd recommend Booker Ervin's 'Blue's To You' from 'Lament' on Enja, the 'Book' cooks for nearly half an hour. Mal Waldron 'Crowd Scene' Keith Jarrett 'Survivor's Suite' (part 1) Archie Shepp 'The Magic of Juju' Coltrane 'Africa Brass' Horace Tapscott's 'Dark Tree' Walt Dickerson 'To My Queen', (Dickerson's long tracks are uniformly excellent) Kenny Wheeler 'Heyoke' oh yeah, I just remembered this beauty.. 'A Sketch of City Life' the first 15 minute suite. Just about my favourite Japanese jazz.

I have both the Whynot releases, not easy to find, even in the various Tokyo Disk Union outlets. I'm more familiar with 'Tell Us' than '76' but I haven't listened to either in a while so I will remedy that this weekend.

I unhesitatingly pick up all and any Dickerson releases I come across. He's never let me down. The New Jazz stuff is uniformly good but I think he get's even more interesting with his later work on Steeplechase. 'Patch of Blue' has the orthodoxy of the earlier stuff and the invention of his later work, 'Bacon and Eggs' strikes me as one of the best tunes Monk never wrote but could have. 'Life Rays' on Soul Note is a late masterpiece.

I hope Clark is in good health, all things being equal. I know he's been through some difficult times in the last couple of years with his amputations but he's still with us. Happy birthday Mr Terry.

I've had a pair of DM 601 S2's for over five years, got them cheap and lightly used. i can't really fault them, perfect for my minimally sized Tokyo apartment.

O tanjobi omedeto indeed..think I'll give 'Desert Lady' a spin tonight, haven't played it in a long time.

' My Autumn's Done Come' - Lee Hazlewood. I'm belatedlyrealising what a great singer/songwriter this man was, so much more than just Nancy Sinatra's lower register...

" I hear you're mad about Brubeck, I like your eyes, I like him too.." "He's an artist, a pioneer, we've gotta have some music on the New Frontier" Donald Fagen- 'New Frontier' They seem like platitudes spoken to get into a girl's pants, but they sound worthy of the man. RIP.

Bummer. Sims made some great recordings, should have recorded more ( I read that he went off to become a lawyer). I'll put on Basra and Turkish Women tonight for some memories, RIP.

Somewhere John McLaughlin is choking on his cornflakes. Strike that, Pat Metheny is choking on his cornflakes.