Larry Kart

I once had (but can't find it now) a copy of a magazine article that lists and describes (with pictures, of course) the world's ten most expensive turntables. IIRC the most expensive one cost about $100,000 and was carved into a block of granite or quartz that was about the size of a four-door sedan. Sonic isolation, for sure. I think the article also mentioned that the guy who owned that turntable (only one of them may have been made) lived well away from most vestiges of civilization, at or near the top of a mountain in Japan.

That was me. And IIRC (how does this stuff stick in the brain?) Tucker was from Palatka, Fl.

I like Red Mitchell when he was based in L.A. in the '50s -- and along with Mingus he certainly was a pioneer of horn-like soloing -- but eventually (maybe when he switched to the five-string bass?) he got very swoony and swoopy and was often quite intrusive behind soloists IMO, playing soloistic lines in their register. Can it be that we haven't mentioned Scott LaFaro?

A fine "ensemble" bassist -- Joe Mondragon. Can't think of a rhythm section he was part of that didn't swing like it was on ball-bearings. Jimmy Blanton Walter Page

Two excellent "walkers," of rather different sorts -- Peter Ind and Leroy Vinnegar. Ind also was a fine soloist.

Russell Thorne

Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers

A seldom mentioned figure, probably because he died young, is George Tucker. Likewise, Charles Clark.

D.C.-based pianist (born in 1934 and not to be confused with the microtonal composer of the same name who also began as a jazz pianist). Just picked a copy of this Eaton CD: http://www.amazon.com/Made-America-John-Eaton/dp/B000003HA6/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1413494338&sr=1-3&keywords=john+eaton and so far I'm delighted. A roster of standards, interpreted with individuality and wry good taste, often with a superb walking left hand that may bring Dave McKenna to mind, though Eaton is less insistent about this facet of his approach than McKenna tended to be about that facet of his.

FWIW, a Facebook post from estimable saxophonist Marty Krystall: "the trumpet blower is flat. Fucking flat. Couldn't he fix that in photoshop? I mean protools? His intonation sucks. This sounds like Miles on Thorazine. So is the alto blower! Flat. Just lousy intonation. Flat on Thorizine should be the title. The saxist sounds like Cannon on a lousy day, but does NOT sound anything like Trane. Now he's playing too sharp. Hopeless crap. Save us all." Also, I can/could tell the difference between the original and MOPDTK's would-be copy in an instant. For one thing, the opening piano tremolo is "off"/screwed up.

FWIW: At least they seem to be having a pretty good time.

No, I don't think they're at all comparable. The TIME-LIFE series basically was a marketing decision based on the actual or supposed tastes of the hi-fi stereo era. That is, the original recordings were felt to be sonically inferior by then current standards, and if new state-of-the-art (in sonic terms) recordings that recreated the originals as closely as possible (in musical terms) were issued, the hope was that they would sell on the basis of their supposed sonic superiority. There were no "conceptual" issues involved, nor do I know of any reviewer of note who praised those recordings in musical terms in relation to the originals. Interestingly, perhaps, trends in sonic restoration/refurbishing that came in later on, during the CD era, led to the re-emergence in would-be restored/refurbished form of many of the original recordings of the bands of the '30s and '40s. I would imagine that as a whole that this bunch of reissues sold as well or better than the TIME-LIFE recreations. As for the “inept” claim, some specifics, based on MOPTDK's "All Blues": The whole conceptual thing was based on the idea that they had successfully/precisely reproduced the original recording; and they haven't. From the opening piano tremolo on, it's off -- sometime subtly so, sometimes grossly. The trumpeter sounds quite tense, as well he might; I know Evans' work, and his musical temperament is miles away (so to speak) from Davis'. Trying to shoehorn his typically agitated, multi-noted self into Davis' relaxed phrases screws up his own sense of timing and thus that of the would-be copying. The altoist has an easier time of it with Cannonball's greasiness, but it's still not precise; and the tenor solo is such a mess that I hardly know where to begin. He has been practicing to do this thing for how long? Sounds like this was maybe his second shot at it. And piano solo lacks Evans' timing and touch as much as Peter Evans lacked Miles' time and tone. And any comparison between this drummer and Jimmy Cobb is to laugh. I was going to say some other things before I heard this, but the actuality of how lame this turns out to be has kind of wiped my mind clean. As for this piece of "conceptual" hoo-haa from the interview with the band: "...they are going to be listening to us and meticulously trying to find moments where we deviate from the original text that are, like, a tell, and think, “Yeah that doesn’t quite sound like Miles Davis because when he misses that note, it’s a little bit different.” Or when you do that side key trill on the alto, I can tell it’s not Cannonball. So then it’s like, why don’t you listen to all music like that? Hopefully, this will wake people up. Everyone should be listening, on some level, to everything like that. What are all these tiny little nuances doing in there? Maybe the least interesting about the music is the notes." Well, their own "tiny little nuances" strike me as at once inept and pointless because, as I said or implied above, they seemingly arise not from more or less personal expressive reasons (as was the case with the members of Miles' band) but as a result of the practical problems these guys run into in the act of copying; they sound tense and anxious, as well (to repeat myself) they might.

If those guys were really hip, rather than referencing Borges and, by implication, Duchamp, they would have linked up instead to Joe Schmidt, former star linebacker and then head coach for the Detroit Lions and author of the mantra "Life is a shit sandwich, and every day you take another bite."

Iconoclasm in this case might better thought of as"dicking around." Yes, the plan is for the fuss to become to some degree self-generating on our part, at least for a while -- if only because the actual "music-making" effort here is IMO so inept -- but Duchamp's urinal was put in place back in 1917 and was not IIRC full of fake "actual" urine.

Speaking of coincidences, there is a new recording of "Filles de Kilimanjaro" on the way from an overweight heating engineer from Oslo, liner notes by Borges' grandson's proctologist.

One key difference between Supersax and Mostly Other People do the Killing's KOB is that in the former Parker's solos were arranged for a saxophone section, not played by a single alto saxophonist trying to sound just like Parker. Yes, Supersax played Parker's recorded solos note for note, but again the sound of the sax section and the original Parker recordings were quite different from each other. (BTW, the tradition of arranging Parker solos for sax section goes way back; the first attempt IIRC was on Woody Herman's "I've Got News For You," c. 1947-8, where Shorty Rogers arranged Parker's solo on "Dark Shadows" for the Herman saxes.) Further, in person and on some of Supersax's recordings, there also were original solos by the likes of Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Carl Fontana, and Warne Marsh. Finally, Supersax neither intended to evoke nor IIRC did evoke any of the conceptual "Pierre Menard" hoo-haw that Mostly Other People do the Killing has in mind. As for the David Baker re-creative SJO performances, and similar attempts by other ensembles (e.g. a British recording some years back, under the leadership of Alan Cohen, of "Black Brown and Beige"), my feeling is that if done well they may be worth hearing in a concert setting, but on a recording they would be redundant because we have the Ellington originals. That is, in a concert something of value could be added in terms of immediacy of experience; on a recording that value, such as it might have been, would evaporate. (Actually, at the time of the Cohen recording, the complete original score of BBB had not been recorded, only excerpts, and that was the justification for Cohen's attempt.)

If you can find a copy, try his big (in size and reach) novel "The Violated." I read and loved it when it came out (1958), and it holds up on re-reading.

It doesn't concern me if and when someone two doors away masturbates while looking in a mirror. Nor would I find it interesting. Likewise...

Anyone know this Italian tenor and soprano saxophonist? Harold Danko sent me an album he recorded with Di Gregorio, a bassist, and drummer at a club in Torino, and I'm impressed, as always, by Danko, and also by Di Gregorio, about whom I can find nothing in English. Di Gregorio looks from images on the 'net to be age 50 or more and sounds like he might have listened some to early Shorter, although he sounds quite individual. Basically a reflective, mellow, melodic player, he has an attractively grainy sound, sort of like a cross between latter-day Warne Marsh and Paul Gonsalves, if such a thing can be imagined. He also sounds a bit like another talented Italian tenor man, Claudio Fasoli. who I think is a decade or more older than Di Gregorio. (P.S. I see upon checking that Fasoli is age 74.) The album, which is under Di Gregorio's name and titled "Live at JCT" ("JCT" must be "Jazz Club Torino") is on the Jazz City Records label, which probably is Italian. Don't see the album on Amazon . There are some clips of Di Gregorio on You Tube, including one with Danko and a different band than the one on the album.

Other characters from “The Bank Dick” (Fields wrote the script under the pseudonym "Mahatma Kane Jeeves") are: J. Pinkerton Snoopington (the bank examiner) J. Frothingham Waterbury (the bank director) A. Pismo Clam (the drunken film director) Then of course there’s Fields’ character, Egbert Souse, pronounced “Soo-SAY" [“accent grave on the ‘e’”]

Watching W.C. Fields' "The Bank Dick" last night (and sadly being reminded of how lame it is compared to, say, Fields' brilliant "It's a Gift"), I noticed that one of the two would-be bank robbers is named Filthy McNasty.

Thanks -- didn't know of it, ordered it. This Castro-led session with Teddy Edwards, Leroy Vinnegar, and Billy Higgins is very nice: http://www.amazon.com/Groove-Funk-Soul-Joe-Castro/dp/B009ZH4LI6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1412527248&sr=1-1&keywords=joe+castro+-+groove+funk+soul IIRC, as the "Falcon Lair" title suggest, Castro was a close associate of Doris Duke at the time. He could play.

There's some lovely Zoot on alto from the late '50s, including the deliriously inventive, multi-tracked "Zoot Sims Plays Four Altos" (ABC-Paramount), which was preceded by another album on the same label where his alto work is not multi-tracked, in case that idea scare you off. I'm also fond of his alto work on John Benson Brooks' "Folk Jazz U.S.A.," with Al Cohn on baritone. Here they all be: John Benson Brooks Septet Nick Travis (trumpet) Zoot Sims (alto saxophone) Al Cohn (baritone saxophone) John Benson Brooks (piano, arranger, conductor) Barry Galbraith (guitar) Buddy Jones (bass) Osie Johnson (drums) NYC, November 1, 1956 G4PB8105 Venezuela Vik LX 1083 G4PB8106 Saro Jane - G4PB8107 Black Is The Color - G4PB8108 Turtle Dove - * Vik LX 1083 John Benson Brooks - Folk Jazz U.S.A. Zoot Sims Quartet Zoot Sims (tenor,alto,baritone saxophone, vocals) John Williams (piano) Knobby Totah (bass) Gus Johnson (drums) NYC, November 2, 1956 5412 At Zonkin' (Speak Low) ABC-Paramount ABC 155 5413 Blinuet - 5414 The Trouble With Me Is You - 5415 Where You At - * ABC-Paramount ABC 155 Zoot Sims Plays Alto, Tenor And Baritone Zoot Sims Quartet Zoot Sims (tenor,alto,baritone saxophone, vocals) John Williams (piano) Knobby Totah (bass) Gus Johnson (drums) NYC, November 19, 1956 5416 Pegasus ABC-Paramount ABC 155 5417 Major-Major - 5418 Noshin' - 5419 Minor-Minor - * ABC-Paramount ABC 155 Zoot Sims Plays Alto, Tenor And Baritone John Benson Brooks Septet Nick Travis (trumpet) Zoot Sims (alto saxophone) Al Cohn (baritone saxophone) John Benson Brooks (piano, arranger, conductor) Barry Galbraith (guitar) Buddy Jones (bass) Osie Johnson (drums) NYC, November 5, 1956 G4PB8109 Wayfaring Stranger Vik LX 1083 G4PB8110 Darling Corey - G4PB8111 Randall My Son - G4PB8112 Joe's Old Folks - * Vik LX 1083 John Benson Brooks - Folk Jazz U.S.A. John Benson Brooks Septet same personnel NYC, November 6, 1956 G4PB8113 Shenandoah Vik LX 1083 G4PB8114 The New Saints - G4PB8115 Scarlet Town - G4PB8116 Betsy - * Vik LX 1083 John Benson Brooks - Folk Jazz U.S.A. Zoot Sims Quartet Zoot Sims (alto saxophone) George Handy (piano) Knobby Totah (bass) Nick Stabulas (drums) NYC, January 11, 1957 I Await Thee Love ABC-Paramount ABC 198 J'espere Enfin - Let's Not Waltz Tonight - Quicker Blues - See, A Key Of C - The Last Day Fall - Slower Blues - * ABC-Paramount ABC 198; MCA 29069 Zoot Sims Plays 4 Altos

Greg, what album is that on? GA, I have it on the Complete Riverside Sessions box. Don't know if it was ever issued on one of Monk's Riverside albums, since I don't have those. gregmo I have it on an old Riverside two-LP set.