wigwise

I'm pretty sure that Abe has passed on, although I'm not sure which year. JamesJazz would know that. Donald Walden performed Woodley's composition "Arjuna" at the IAJRC Conference.

Donald Walden's "A Monk and A Mingus Among Us" is available on CDbaby. I have this recording and really enjoy it. My favorite track is Mingus' "Cell Block F". Walden also has a great CD of Tadd Dameron tunes called "Focus". http://cdbaby.com/cd/walden3 Donald and his quintet performed a great set at the IAJRC Convention in Ann Arbor, MI a couple of years ago. The theme was "Detroit Composers". The group played tunes by Abe Woodley and Barry Harris...to name a few.

Teddy Harris Jr.

It's interesting, there really isn't much written about his personal life (that I've found). I'd be interested in knowing more about his life outside of music. I know that he came to Detroit when he was 14 and that he was 20 when Miles hired him. I've also read that he died of tuberculosis and had serious problem with drugs, that's about it. A Detroit Jazz Musician (who knew and played with him) once told me that he was constantly being picked up (during rehearsals) by the police for non-payment of child support. I tried to ask him more questions about Paul, but he didn't want to go there, for some unknown reason. I wonder how many children he had... Where can one find such information on this interesting Jazz virtuoso? Is there a bio in the works?

Wigwise, I'll be doing a Night Lights program on Grimes that will air in early or mid-December--it will use excerpts from the one-on-one interview that I did with him, and it will be archived on the Night Lights website. ← Thanks. I'll look forward to that.

Is there an on-line archive where one can listen to these interviews?

Thanks for the info Chuck. Good to know. Here's a photo of it:

Does anyone know if Candid originally issued DJ/Promo LP's with a white label and black text? I recently bought "Mingus" (CJM-8021, Mono). The cover is textured, like the other original candid LP's I have, the only difference is that their labels are multi-colored. I'm fairly certain that the LP is original...

Did anyone read the Q & A at the bottom? If not, here it is: Q: I found your annoncement while making a dicographic research about Barney Wilen on the net. I was his french manager between 1985 and 1996, and consequently very close from him those years. The story of this tape (and his different official or bootleg editions) remains full of mistery for the jazzfans. And of course - though kwowing that your will certainly not answer this question - I wonder who you are and how this tape is now in your hands ? What is surprising and very moving for me is that, being of course very familiar with Barney Wilen's handwriting, I am almost 100% sure that the liner notes appearing on the tape cover were written by Barney himself. Did you had any grapholigic expert evaluation on that point ? I'm sure such an evaluation could increase the value of this rare item. I'm unfortunately not in position to buy it myself, but if you have any other Barney Wilen items (like LPs, posters, etc..), please keep me informed. Sep-28-05 A: Thank you very much for this most informative question. You are not wrong by assuming that I prefer to keep your first question unanswered. All I can say is that this tape was given to me by Barney Wilen himself and that I therefore have all the reasons to believe that it is an original. Concerning Mr. Wilen's handwriting on the cover of the tape: I did not ask for a graphologist's expertise simply because I assumed that it was his. Your question confirms my assumption. Merci beaucoup!

Denis A. Charles- An Interrupted Conversation http://ndolofilms.com/denis/denischarles.html If so, was it any good? Please tell us about it. It sounds interesting.

Unbelievable. http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=8112

I'm guessing that a lot of those individuals who knock Detroit have never actually been there. Their stereotypical view is probably based on the film Robo Cop or what they read in the paper. Don't believe the hype and most importantly, don't be afraid. Yes, there are many abandoned buildings. Yes, there is crime. Yes, there is a lot of poverty. So what? You find it here, you find it there, you find it everywhere. The problems that Detroit has are no different then any other big city. What do you expect, when for the last thirty-some years you have a mayor (apart from Dennis Archer) and city council that know nothing about running a city? Only in Detroit could these people hold political office. Fact of the matter is that you are no less safe in Detroit then you are in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, et al. Amidst the blight there are actually some great places to visit, believe it or not. Preservation Wayne has some great Architecture tours, there’s the African-American Museum, Motown Museum, there's Greektown, Mexican Town, there's Bert's, Baker's, DSO, DIA. If you want the straight dope on Detroit, visit the DetroitYes.com BB. There is lot’s of information that you might find helpful. There are also a lot of locals who can steer you in the right direction, depending on what you want to do. When you get back, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

I'm glad to see that these finally made it to Trane's site. Before their arrival, they were posted (and still reside) on the official site for Ashley Khan's book on the recording of "A Love Supreme". http://alovesupremethebook.com/home/home.html I wonder when his book on Impulse! is coming out?

Interesting. Reggie seemed fine for the first set. His playing was fantastic. I didn't stick around for the second though. Hope that he's feeling well.

I was in NYC all last week and caught the first performance of this group on Thursday August 4th. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the set, I was disappointed that Archie stumbled in over 15 minutes late. The other 3/4's of the quartet started the gig without him (a tune from the Impulse "Live in SF" album), which I thought was pretty classy. After his arrival he (Archie) immediately started giving orders to the sound tech, demanding an SM58 mic for vocals, reverb for the sax mic, et cetera. Roswell, the class act that he is, made a joke about doing the sound check "on the fly". Things seemed a bit uncomfortable for a bit, until the group made their musical bond with Archie (about two tunes into the set). The set lasted less then an hour, which surprised me. With names like Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille, Roswell Rudd and Archie Shepp, I expected much more. Perhaps if Archie was on time things might have been different, maybe not. Anyway, that's my observation. Was anyone else at this show? Was it just me, or did Archie appear to be ailing from something? He seemed kind of frail…

It's been a long time since I've seen the film "Lost Highway", but if I recall correctly, Bill Pullman's character was an Avant Garde Jazz Musician. I remember that there were some intense sections in the film showing Pullman's character blowing his Tenor in a sort of dreamlike haze. Anyone see this film?

Actually, John Densmore won the suit.

I thought I read somewhere that there was an EJ biography coming out. Does anyone have any info on this? It seems to me that it would have been released shortly after his death... BTW- It's interesting; his web site mentions nothing about his passing and still has booking and management info .

Perhaps the drummer is Stan Levey?

In my (buying) experience with PayPal, the final page of the transaction (just before clicking "send money") gives me the option of using either my bank account or credit card. On the lower lefthand side of the screen it displays where the money is going to come from (cc or bank account) and the back-up source. It also has a link that you can click on to change funding from one source to the other. The default is my bank account. So, if I buy something and want the funds to come from my credit card I must go in and change it. I hope this helps.

I found this article to be more interesting then depressing. He (Gilliard) sounds like a kind, big hearted guy with street smarts and business savvy. As for busting Billie and Ray, he was just doing his job. What really impressed me most (above and beyond his professional achievements) was to read that he visited Billie in the hospital, just before she died. Also, his commitment to the community. Thanks for the post Chalupa.

Here is IMDB's entry for this title: http://imdb.com/title/tt0195278/

I've never been here, but might be worth checking when you're in Barca: http://www.jazzmessengers.com/ Click on "About Us" to get their number and address.

"I, paid my dues, good times... no bead. A story of Jazz" is a great read. Written by Babs Gonzales and published through his company Expubidence in 1967. From what he describes in his book, he lived a very interesting life. Crazy to imagine that he once worked for Errol Flynn.

I filmed an interview with him in late 2004, while he was in Detroit for the Baker's Anniversary. What a fascinating character. Very outspoken, very intense. He shared some great stories. This guy knows a great deal about history and has some interesting points of view. I believe that he's currently teaching at the University of Delaware (at least he was in 2004), as he lives in Dover. In general, he was very nice, especially nice to me given that I showed him how to use his video camera. His wife was also very nice. There are a couple of great photographs of her (alone and with DB) in William Claxton's "Jazz Seen" photography book. The interview "wrapped" when Curtis Fuller called looking for him.