JPF

I'd like to believe it's not true, but it's been reported on another board by one of his guitar students that the great guitarist Billy Bauer has passed away. He was an excellent soloist with a unique style that you could identify almost immediately. He would have been 90 this fall.

Trivia Department: Two of the people most closely associated with Monk in his life, Charlie Rouse and Nica, died on the exact same day, November 30, 1988.

Who said he didn't have technique? Also, you should listen to the first clip in the list, in which he playfully tells Nellie he's the "high prince of bebop." In that clip, he says his own name, and he pronounces it "Thee-lonious." Have we been pronouncing it incorrectly all these years? Maybe I'll write to T.S. and see what he says about it.

Go here, then scroll down to the 5th "listen to." It's the Chopin "Military" Polonaise (I'm told). He just kind of fools around for the first minute, then watch out! Thanks to Terry Teachout for the heads up. P.S. That's the Baroness talking in the background.

And not only do you get the complete personnel, you can hear a 1:30 clip of every track!

As good as some of his early stuff was (the session with Freeman, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne is incredible - some people still don't believe that's him on "Love Nest"), you need to hear, or hell, just get, "Chet Baker In Tokyo" on Evidence. A live, 2-CD set from 1987, it's the very best of his later work, IMO. One of those nights when he was in great condition, apparently. To me, he's never sounded better.

All of the above-mentioned are excellent, but if you had to pick only one of his, I'd recommend "Mostly Ballads" on the New World label. Half solo tracks, half with Harvie Swartz. I've never heard him play better. And to make it even more desirable, it's just been reissued by the Japanese PJL label with 4 additional tracks (not alternate takes). And the sound is excellent. Very pricey, but worth every penny, IMO. Also recommended, his "Live At Maybeck Recital Hall," on Concord.

It was available on CD - Xanadu XCD1234. Amazon lists it as "currently unavailable." Maybe you can find a used one somewhere. But you can't have mine . P.S. The CD has 7 tracks!

The last I knew, the Blackhawk was a parking lot (at the corner of Turk and Hyde in SF).

...and Roy Haynes, Steve Kuhn, Gary Burton, Jaki Byard, Charlie Mariano, Alan Dawson, and the dean of the Boston jazz scene (because he stayed with it), Herb Pomeroy. And slightly outside of Boston, Boots Mussulli, Frankie Capp, Don Fagerquist, Don Asher, Barbara Carroll...

He died in a fire in his apartment in 1963.

He's also featured on Shelly's "Swinging Sounds, Vol. 4," (same group as "More Swinging Sounds"), Shelly's "The Gambit", and is one of the main soloists on Mingus's "Black Saint And The Sinner Lady." Another extremely underrated player.

Take it from someone who was there when it happened .. in the late 1950s both Jimmy Giuffre and Chico Hamilton were as popular as you can get ... BUT ... their music was an essentially part of the "west coast vs. east Coast" critical battle at the time. Giuffre outgrew his west coast identification to become a darling of the avant-gardists in the 1980s, while Chico Hamilton moved on to a series of different grooves, and continues to do so even today. This music was part of my socialization into jazz, and is as much a part of my very being as breathing. Very nicely put, garthsj. I was also there at the time and I concur completely. I especially love the part of the Mosaic that is from the "Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet" album. By the way, there was an article in 2003 about Giuffre at his home in the Berkshires, and he was not at all in good health, in fact seemed to be quite seriously ill. I'd be interested if anyone had any updated information. Those of us who love his music should send good thoughts his way.

She's saying "This is Nica's Tempo," using the name of that tune as if it were the name of a radio show she's supposedly doing. God knows why. I think they were just having fun with a microphone and a tape recorder.

Want to hear what she sounded like? Go here , click on "new releases" on the left side, then play track 1 of the first new release, "Live In New York, Vol 1", where it says "Intro by Pannonica."

I hope if people post stories about her, they're actually true stories, and not some scurrilous rumors circulated by people who never knew her. I'm getting a little whiff of "Yeah, she really 'liked' jazz musicians, know what I mean, heh, heh" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). I hope I'm wrong. The lady did a lot of good for jazz musicians over the years. I'm sure the Monk family would agree that Thelonious would not have lived as long without her help in his final years. Maybe if any of you know Horace Silver or Barry Harris, you could get them to comment.

This one is some help.

What does the fact that the vast majority of drummers today play in a highly evolved, but still swinging, version of the style first developed in the '30s tell you? That they're all wrong and PM is right? You've made a common mistake - equating change with advancement. Often, change is just for the sake of being different and advances nothing. I could if it were true.

Yes, my opinion, and millions of other people's, too. Earlier drummers did that, and most of today's drummers do, too. I admire the way Scott opened up bass playing - never said otherwise. I suppose someone could - I never did. It sometimes leads to new discoveries, and sometimes leads to chaos. Once again, I never said I didn't like that trio; I own those records, enjoy them, and got them long before you ever did, I'll wager. He (Motian) was the one using that group as an example. I'm talking about his attitude (which apparently began at that time) of "playing for himself" and "being very selfish" (his quotes). Not, IMO, the way to play jazz, unless you play alone.

But why isn't it about accompanying or supporting? If you don't want to do those things, maybe you should have chosen another instrument. The drums are not there to compete with the other musicians, to say "look at me, look at me." If you want to call attention to yourself, play tastefully and then take a really good solo (Lewis Nash, anyone?). I think you're being much too kind to him.

For the longest time, Paul Motian's drumming has driven me crazy. I feel that his playing is often disruptive and contributes nothing to the performance. I thought his playing ruined the recent Lovano, Hank Jones record. (Yes, I know many people love him, but please don't send in a flood of posts about what a wonderful drummer he is. Instead, comment on the quote below). I've always felt he played just for himself and didn't care about supporting the other musicians in the group. Then I read this quote from the interview cited above: Amazing! The man makes my point exactly. He says that he plays what he wants to play and to hell with everybody else, apparently. Am I the only one who thinks this concept is just insane? (FWIW, I'm a former drummer).

Yes, he was one of the famed "Tuskegee Airmen."

True - the prices on items you can get elsewhere are often a little higher here, but they're the place to go for hard-to-find items.

I've bought quite a few things from them. They're very good to deal with, relatively quick to ship unless they have to wait for an import to arrive, and they carry stuff I haven't been able to find anywhere else. And, when you order, you get a personal (not computer-generated) thank-you note from the guy who runs the business! Or at least I do. Recommended.

And I thought I was the only one who treasured this set of recordings. Among other things, it turned me on to Victor Feldman when it first came out; he remains a criminally underrated pianist. Check out those block chords! And frankly, Shelly is also underrated, as famous as he is. He is in the absolute top rank of drummers ever. I agree with everyone about the recording quality; it's outstanding. But am I the only one to have noticed that the channels are mixed in reverse? The recording has Joe Gordon and Victor Feldman on the left and Richie Kamuca on the right, but as you can see from the cover photo, the setup was the opposite. And from having gone to the Blackhawk (a lot!), I recall that the piano was usually over on the right, as the photo shows. And no, the photo is not reversed, otherwise Shelly would be playing lefthanded. I hope that if anyone ever reissues this as a box, that they correct that problem. Thinking about the Blackhawk reminds me of Guido, the owner's, famous quote concerning the club's notoriously tacky condition: "I've worked and slaved to keep this place a sewer."