DukeCity

Jim, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. My deepest condolences to you and your family.

Air-conditioned theaters in Florida!

I have no idea. But I do know the Shaggs. Around 1985 I stumbled across a copy of "Philosphy of the World" in a Goodwill store for twenty-five cents. I bought it as a gag gift, based solely on the cover photo. I had no idea what wonders were contained within. The recipient of the gift didn't appreciate any of it and promptly returned it to me. That record became an entertaining staple at parties, even though none of us could ever make it through the whole album in one sitting. Early 1990's there was a CD produced with POTW and some other stuff. I never actually saw a follow-up record. The CD liners included some quotes from Zappa and others. My favorite (from Carly Simon, I think) was, "They bring my mind to a complete halt."

Old schoolmate of mine wrote one called "Forever Endeavor"

You may, indeed!

I can't help it; the name "deepersoul" just reminds me of SNL and Deep House Dish. "OOh-wee! T-Shayne!"

I couldn't make it through the whole thing, so I did some fast-forwarding. You gotta skip to about 1:50 in to see grandpa (or maybe Great Uncle Herschel?) come scooting into the shot with the glitter wig and inflatable guitar!!! Having played dozens of Bar Mitzvahs in the early '90s, I find the overal vibe of this video all too familiar.

I heard a great story, I think ascribed to the long-time timpanist with the Seattle Symphony. The violinist sitting directly in front of him was always giving him dirty looks. Finally one day she actually turned to him and said, "Do you have to play so loud?" He leaned over his timpani, getting closer to her, and quietly said, "You know, if you would go home and practice a little bit, you might move up in the section and this wouldn't be such a problem for you."

Congratulations! Glad to hear everyone's happy and healthy!

I received a copy in the mail today, too! Also a near mint hardcover from an Amazon seller. Looking forward to it...

It's times like this when I really miss Peter, Paul and Mary...

Looks like they're ready to be the back-up band for Buddy Guy:

I'm sure Slonimsky was as opinionated as anyone. But isn't the Lexicon of Musical Invective just a colletion of other people bitching about music, and merely collected and edited by Slonimsky?

It's been years since I looked at a copy. Seems to me it was written with composers in mind, as something to generate ideas. The fact that a lot (all?) of the patterns were written out covering a large range, from below the bass cleff to above the treble clef, meant that instruments other than piano would have to edit the patterns to fit. I recall also that there were very little descriptions or labels for the patterns. The copy in the college library had been gone through by other jazz players, and many of the patterns had chord symbols penciled in, suggesting some possible applications.

I recently picked up a new collection of Vonnegut's writings, Armageddon In Retrospect. In it he gives a 2007 speech in Indianapolis covering a whole range of topics including: "The most spiritually splendid American phenomenon of my lifetime is how African-American citizens have maintained their dignity and self-respect, despite their having been treated by white Americans... as though they were contemptible and loathsome, and even diseased... And what gift of America to the rest of the world is actually most appreciated by the rest of the world? It is African-American jazz and its offshoots. What is my definition of jazz? "Safe sex of the highest order.""

OK, I get how it works (just barely), but I keep thinking about some comic I heard one time who said: "Whenver I travel, I always bring a bomb onto the airplane. I know that I'm not going to set mine off, and what are the odds of there being two guys with bombs on the same plane?"

Show off!

Couldn't get in to org.org all day today. Started to get the shakes, but I feel better now, thanks...

Excellent explanation! Thanks, Tom.

Point well taken. I was just assuming that there had been at least some interaction, if only a gig or two, to elicit such a response, but you are correct, that is not necessarily so. And it turns out, your assumption was correct! From the Terry Bozzio page on the Vic Firth website: "Terry's background began in 1971, when he graduated from the College of Marin with a degree in music. From there, he played with the local Marin and Napa Symphonies. This exposure landed him gigs with many top jazz musicians at the time, including Pete Escovedo, Art Lande, Eddie Henderson, Julian Priester and Woody Shaw."

And I'd still like to hear what Woody Shaw could have really done with a bugle, instead using all those flashy valves...

Well, we now know that he worked w/Woody Shaw in California, and apparently quite well, at some point before 1975. I don't think I've read this Woody profile since 1975, long before I would have known who Terry Bozzio was. So imagine my near-total shock when I was reading this yesterday & saw Terry Bozzio listed as a drummer with whom Woody Shaw had enjoyed playing. Yep. Still..I wonder what he'd sound like. Maybe I misread the article (just a quick look), but I didn't see where Shaw said he played with Bozzio. I think he said he just heard him and "I wish I had him". No doubt, it would have been an interesting pairing... Re: the side discussion about the size of Bozzio's drum set-up. While I understand the impulse to want to hear what he could really play sitting behind a normal drum kit, hey it is what it is. Having lots of drums/cymbals does provide some different sounds/colors (not that there aren't plenty to be found in smaller set-ups), the same way that a synth can do so many more things than a piano or organ. And a big part of what made him fit so well in the Zappa stuff was the over-the-topness of both his playing and his rig. All part of the show.

A couple of days late, but: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALLEN!!!

Indeed, it is! Jim, let me know if you still need a leadsheet...