Larry Kart

I posted that a year or so ago. Lee's solo on "Lover Man" must have been an out of body experience for him. Don't think it's been on CD, but IIRC it is on You Tube.

I was going to write the liner notes for that edition and did a fair amount of research for that about Joseph's early days (though sources there were sparse and at least one promising source, Hal Mckusick, died before I could talk to him at the length I thought I needed to). But then I had to stop because of problems on my home front, after which problems developed between myself and Sunnenblick.

Sorry Hutch Fan -- you're quite right. This thread is now closed.

Also this: What Crisis? It Ain't Broke, So No Need To Fix It An op-ed by Mark Weisbrot and Dean Baker The latest Social Security trustees' report, whose numbers even the White House uses, predicts that the Social Security program can pay all promised benefits for the next 38 years—with no changes at all. The June 2004 estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that Social Security can pay all promised benefits without changes for even longer, until 2052. That's nearly half a century. And we are supposed to be worried about this? It brings to mind the image of Woody Allen as a nerdy young child in Annie Hall,becoming suddenly depressed because he has discovered that "the universe is expanding" and life on Earth is ultimately doomed. Granted, 38 years is not an eternity. But even after 2042, the Social Security trustees say they will be able to pay an average benefit that is actually higher than what workers receive today—indefinitely. That's in 2004 dollars—adjusted for inflation. Social Security benefits are programmed to rise not only with price inflation, but also with wages. So Congress will at some point have to increase taxes or shave the benefits promised to future generations. But that's no different from what's been done before. In fact the projected shortfall for the next 75 years is smaller than shortfalls covered by adjustments in each of the following decades: the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. It is also about one-third the size of the tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration. In other words, it's a non-issue. Or should be. Yet most Americans seem terribly confused about the basic facts. During the third presidential debate last fall, moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS told the candidates that Social Security was "running out of money." Neither candidate corrected him, and the press did not note the error. Here are some of the obfuscations and accounting tricks—or misunderstandings—that have created false impressions about Social Security's finances: The disappearing trust fund: Some people say that Social Security will run into trouble in 2018. But this is like saying that Bill Gates will be strapped if he works only part time. He will still have $40 billion in assets, enough to keep him living well for a long time. Similarly, the Social Security trust fund will have more than $3.7 trillion in today's dollars in 2018. Combined with payroll tax revenues, that is enough to cover promised benefits until 2042, the trustees' report says. "That money's all been spent." When anyone lends money to the federal government by buying a bond, the government spends it. But the government still pays interest and repays what it borrowed. That goes for the Social Security trust fund. Social Security has been running annual surpluses (now at more than $150 billion) since 1983. By law it must invest that surplus in U.S. Treasury obligations. "But the trust fund is only holding I.O.U.'s—just pieces of paper!" Another canard: All bonds are I.O.U.'s. Those "pieces of paper" are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, which has never, ever defaulted on its bonds. "The baby boomers' retirement will bankrupt Social Security." Far from it. The first boomers actually begin retiring in 2008. Most of them will be dead before Social Security faces any financial difficulties. "There are currently 3.3 workers paying into Social Security for every beneficiary; by 2035, there will be only 2.1." True enough, but deceptive and not scary as it sounds. Productivity (output per hour) will grow substantially during the same period, so we won't need nearly as many working people to support a larger retired population. "If nothing is done, Social Security and Medicare will eat up 90 percent of our federal budget by 2050." The trick here is throwing in Medicare, a separate program. The projected costs of Medicare are indeed out of control—a result of spiraling health care costs. This makes a strong case for health care reform, but that has nothing to do with Social Security. The bottom line is that Social Security is more financially sound today than it has been throughout most of its 69-year history, according to Social Security trustees' numbers. If workers in 2050, who will be earning on average 68 percent more in real, inflation-adjusted dollars than they are today, have to pay 1 or 2 percent more of their income in taxes—as they have in the past—they won't be able to complain much. They will still enjoy higher living standards than we do today. And Social Security will provide much larger real annual benefits for longer retirements when their turn comes. The impending crisis of Social Security is a myth. Without it, however, Bush's initiative to slash benefits and partially privatize the program wouldn't have a prayer.

Google "Social Security: The Phony Crisis" for a detailed refutation of this chimera and an explanation of what is behind this b.s. crisis-mongering.

We're working on it. Sending a stop it or you're gone ultimatum to G.A. Russell is my idea of how Jim and I should go.

As has been well known for years, guitarist Chuck Wayne wrote "Solar." Miles just copped it.

I thought it was at the Prestige session with Monk when Miles didn't like the way Monk was comping for him and yelled at Monk to lay out -- all this shortly after Miles had had throat surgery and has been told not to raise his voice for a good while until things had healed.

Inspired by the harmonic angularity of Waldron's originals, Art Farmer is in striking form on this a 1958 album. Seems to me that the time he had spent in George Russell'a orbit informs his very lucid, thoughtful playing here. Cellist Calo Scott and flute player Eric Dixon are also present and no great shakes, but Farmer here should be heard. Mal's piano solos are a plus, as is the presence of a young Elvin Jones.

Title track of Louis Smith's "Smithville." An earthy down tempo blues that begins with a superb, and superbly reproduced, walking passage from Paul Chambers, followed by a clarion solo from the leader, beautifully accompanied by Sonny Clark, a very good solo from Charlie Rouse, and a solo from Clark that is as down home as something by Jimmy Yancey. Many rivals to this choice -- e.g, Grant Green's "Stolen Moments," the opening track from "Something Else" with Miles, Cannonball, Hank Jones, Sam Jones, and Blakey -- but I keep returning to this one. It really tells a story and never gets old.

Sorry for the error. Great playing though.

Whenever I hear that track I expect to see Art Linkletter. It was the theme song of his TV show.

Better than being a Vichy collaborator.

"Saxophone Colossus" is running out of gas for me as I reach page 563. How many time do I need to be told that musician X's whole life was changed after playing with Sonny? Also I was hoping to find something about Sonny's 1962 Dragon label recording, recorded live at Nalen for Stockhom Radio, with Grimes and LaRoca, IMO one of his greatest. But nada. Grab that one if you can. Also, I LOVE "Way Out West" and find the cover photo ironically amusing in a very Rollins way.

If you can find a copy, grab Barron's 1962 album "The Hot Line" (Savoy -- probably the last of his Savoy dates; I have it on a mono LP), which pairs him with Booker Ervin, backed by brother Kenny, Larry Ridley, and Andrew Cyrille. As might be expected, Barron and Ervin make for good company, with the former perhaps stimulated by Ervin to play in a more in agitated "blowing" manner than usual. In any case, agitated Barron is great to hear.

What an idiot I must have been. Listening to tracks from the album, it sounds like prime Ayler to me. Maybe I was reacting to the vocals by Mary Maria, and even then...

Thanks for the info on the Ayler review. I'll have to look up that album to try to refresh my memory.

I llike the book better now.

Geez -- I don't remember that review. I hope it was positive. John L. is an oracle, still going strong. Interesting that there were four of us back then in Chicago, all friends, almost always in agreement -- me, John, Terry Martin, and Chuck Nessa. Someone dubbed us "the Jazz Mafia." I remember the great good fortune we all no doubt felt that we were there in Hyde Park to respond to the first stirrings of the AEC and the AACM. Terry was recording the nascent AEC in the basement of his apartment building (later issued by Chuck on Nessa), Chuck likewise in the studio for Delmark, Terry and I were writing liner notes, and we all retain memories of live performances that didn't get recorded.

"Saxophone Colossus" -- so far it's rather plodding and tedious IMO. Only bright spot of novel information for me was that Shelly Manne came up with his loping, clip-clop accompaniment on "I'm an Old Cowhand" from "Way out West" in part because he'd been living on a horse ranch in the San Fernando Valley. Also that Sonny was subjected to criticism back in NY by some who found William J. Claxton's "Western" album cover photo corny/demeaning. This led to a longtime estrangement between Rollins and Claxton, which eventually was repaired.

"Day of the Outlaw" is one heck of a movie! In it the snow more or less becomes a moral force. Great though almost forgotten director, Andre De Toth. Check out De Toth's "Play Dirty," with Michael Caine.

👍 Everything by Levitt is great.

He has many less than positive things to say about minimalism in the collection "Morton Feldman Says."