DukeCity

Looks like a piece of history up for sale. Sidney Bechet's Selmer soprano sax with a starting bid of $119,000.000

But don't you think, Jim, that "I just don't stop asking questions of myself" is a separate issue from "eloquence"? Its one thing to feel, and then to venture deeper into something. But the ability to communicate what you find to others is a whole 'nother thing, and you have that in spades. Good point, Dan, but I think they may be separate but related issues. The "don't stop asking questions" thing means that, in addition to learning stuff, you get that stuff sorted out enough to be able to make connections, comparisons, allusions, etc. to other stuff that you've also sorted out. And all of that facilitates the communication part.

I got a bunch of these for all over the house. The improvement in the sound of my system wasn't all that impressive. But, in the bathroom outlet, the performance of my girlfriend's curling iron is astounding: smoother, quicker warm-up time, awesome temperature consistency, and her coif time has been improved by 18%.

When I was a kid, there was an AM radio station just a few blocks from my house. Every Halloween we would make sure to have the station on our trick-or-treat route because they gave away records (45rpm singles). Unfortunately, it was usually stuff that nobody at the station wanted for themselves. So the best one I ever got was "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" by Cher.

Amazon (USA) lists vol. 3 AND vol. 4. Although, they don't say it's in stock, "ships in 3-4 weeks". Here it is. Do you have any copies, Allen?

There's Joe Henderson The State of the Tenor with Ron Carter and Al Foster:

It's been a while since I checked out the "live" OJC things, but I was surprised to hear Bird playing some altissimo on the 1945 Town Hall recording. A couple of times he plays an altissimo "A" on alto (piano key of "C") and once wanders up to a "D". I had never thought of Bird as an altissimo player, so maybe the other recordings you mention sound more like squeaks/split notes/mistakes to my ears. I'll have to give another listen.

I'm not a father, but I teach 19-year olds. Sounds about right to me.

Easily, the best Boris Karloff cover:

BTW, I think I mentioned this once on another thread: Mike Manieri and the Steps Ahead boys did the music for a Jane Fonda Workout video, circa 1990. Not necessarily the best Steps Ahead, but kinda fun to hear Michael Brecker tearing it up while the spandex bunnies are jumping around. I think it might be this one:

As I read the story, I instantly had the Raymond Scott/ Bugs Bunny construction music going on in my head.

I cashed in a bunch of coins recently ($170 worth!!!), but the soon-to-be missus and I were doing some nesting, and the coins got turned into a credit at Linens-n-Things. So no Amazon orders sneaking into the house, but we got some folding chairs and table linens for the Thanksgiving hang we had. What was I thinking?

Had a roommate in college who freaked out when he had a sudden loss of hearing in one ear. Went to the doctor and it turned out that a giant piece of ear wax had become dislodged, and moved up against his ear drum. I have a little bit of tinnitus. I started being more consistent in using earplugs on gigs and in rehearsals, and it seems to help a little bit. I had a hearing test done not too long ago, and there was no noticeable hearing loss registered.

I wouldn't say they were/are anywhere near as adventurous as Weather Report, but the guys can all play. If you like Michael Brecker with electrified vibes, you'll like Steps Ahead. Check out "Smokin' in the Pit" which is a pretty energetic live album.

I've got Lyle Alzado beat by ten days! If I can hold on another 104 days I will have passed John Candy, Natalie Wood and Dan Blocker! I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

I believe there's a switch that allows you to play songs in the order they appear on your iTunes playlist.

So whose show should he have gone on, Arsenio? Magic Johnson? Wayne Brady? I guess maybe Oprah, or Tyra.

Why did they let him perform the next night? Where was their indignation then??? I think he told the Laugh Factory people that he wanted to go on the next night to apologize, but then went on and did not do so.

The discussion in this thread has reminded me of a talk that I heard Kenny Werner give several years ago. He was talking about how lots of jazz musicians can build up anxiety from the need to "get their shit together". Man, I gotta work on those Bill Evans chord substitutions, and I gotta get those Bud Powell lines together, and I gotta get that stride thing happening, 'cause hey, if you can't play some authentic stride..., and I gotta get my Herbie shit together, etc. etc. Obviously, checking out the guys who have come before, and working on that stuff as a foundation for your playing is vital to becoming and informed player. But to do that work under a veil of guilt or anxiety seems to violate the spirit of the thing. Ideally, it would be done out of a sense of curiosity and exploration, and maybe a sense of one who simply wants to be thorough. I think the same (or similar) thing applies to listening to the music. There are times when I feel like I "should" be checking out things. But if I approach it with an "Eat your vegetables! They're good for you!" kind of attitude, it gets harder to make a connection to the music. Instead, I just try to keep my mind and ears open, and try to balance listening to the stuff I know/like with finding new/other things to check out.

Probably not much fun. I'll think good thoughts for both of you on Friday (and every day while we're at it). Absolutely! No big plans for the day, but I have a jazz gig that night with a nice rhythm section. Kind of hit and miss for what kind of crowd we'll get. Folks maybe staying home and sleeping off their turkey comas, or they may be so sick of their families that they'll be chomping at the bit to get out of the house.

I don't know the origin, but I always think of the opening sequence to The Odd Couple TV show, where Tony Randall's wife "kicks him to the curb".

I'm not even sure which version I have of it. I put all my Christmas music into one big playlist in iTunes, and use that. One of my favorite moments on that record is O Tannenbaum. VG plays a rubato statement of the theme in 3/4 time and then bass and brushes enter swingin' in 4. That, and the very tasty VG solo that follows.

Available at iTunes. I just downloaded it today. Looking forward to checking it out over the next couple of days.

Good for you! Have a great time!

Apparently Richards will be on Letterman tonight (via sattelite) to make some sort of apology. Seinfeld is a guest on the show, as well. Good luck with all that!