Larry Kart

Probably not, but all that means, I would think, is that obstruction calls are pretty rare, period.

Late to the party, but to all you McCarver bashers, here FWTW are two Facebook posts from my friend and former Chicago Tribune colleague Alan Solomon, the best baseball beat reporter I've ever read (he covered the White Sox for seven years) and the husband of Carrie Muskat, the veteran Chicago-based AP baseball writer. Before the Series began: "Best two teams in baseball. And a final round for the vastly underappreciated Tim McCarver. Those of us who know appreciate him." After last night: "...and as pal Tim Clodjeaux correctly observed earlier on another thread, in all the chaos, Buck and McCarver did a great job of immediately picking up on what happened and explaining it. Not a false word -- no mistaken call, no confusion, no outrage. Imagine, if you can stand the pain, Chip Caray or Dick Stockton on that play."

I first encountered Whittle on this Johnny Keating album, way back when: http://www.discogs.com/Johnny-Keating-And-His-All-Stars-Swinging-Scots/release/3352141 Just listened to samples from his Warm Glow and Blues in the Dark on Amazon. Very nice; he had his own thing. Also, now that I think of it, I have a very good Whittle quartet album from 2003, "Grace Notes" (Spotlite). Mostly standards, plus two tasty originals from the '50s, Lucky Thompson's "Tom-Kattin'" and Hank Mobley's "Funk in the Deep Freeze."

As we all know, they're the worst kind.

Really? You think it's correct to prosecute a satirical publication for racism? Yes. Here the question of interpretation lies in the offence given. In this article, an individual is slurred with racial epithets. That offends Jews, not just him. Otherwise the excuse for racism becomes 'oh I was only joking'. In any case, what happens in a joke? This joke focalises racial aggression. There is no point in dignifying it by analysing its layers. In my book this is actually classic anti-semitism. The message to Jews is: look, you have to put up with this language, one of your kind has stepped out of line - watch out, there's plenty more where this came from. That's completely absurd. This joke does the opposite of focalize racial aggression and the only way to figure that out is to understand the context -that is, to analyze its layers. The whole point of this joke is to lampoon the patronizing attitude of most Americans (and particularly Dan Snyder) who keep saying that "Redskins" is not racially offensive even though this is the easiest and cheapest opinion for those people (since they are not themselves Indians) to have. It does this by setting up an analogous example that's OBVIOUSLY AND INTENTIONALLY racially offensive to point out that these same people would never stand for it if their ethnicities were caricatured like this. It has nothing to do with making Jews "put up with this language" and everything to do with illustrating the ways in which powerful people make others put up with the same kind of language every day. Well put.

Darcy James Argue on Gunther Schuller's mis-transcription of "Mood Indigo" in "Early Jazz" and why what actually happens in the piece is darn important: http://musicalexchange.carnegiehall.org/profiles/blogs/arranging-ellington-the-ellington-effect

FWIW, Adam Schatz: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/arts/music/05archive.html?_r=0 contributes an enthusiastic review of Crouch's Bird bio to the current New York Review of Books. It's behind a pay wall, unfortunately: http://www.nybooks.com/issues/2013/nov/07/

In the words of Russ Freeman, Hugo Hurwey.

Here's something from one of the Sakata performances I heard (wish the sound and image were better, but it was an amazing band and night):

At age 71, still lots of enjoyment but probably not as much excitement as when I was, say, 21 or 31 or 41 -- probably because I associate excitement, by and large, with novelty and/or sheer intensity, and by now I've heard so much music of so many sorts that I don't run across much these days that seems that novel to me, while in the sheer intensity realm certain standards were set in my brain by hearing the likes of Coltrane, Ayler, and Roscoe Mitchell in person, and, aside from Roscoe himself, such levels of intensity are hard to come by these days, at least in my experience. OTOH, one of the most intense musical experiences I've ever had came courtesy of alto saxophonist Akira Sakata a few years ago, so there's hope.

My people are eternally grateful for the disappearance of Dreft and Halo. We sleep better without those slurs hanging around.

Chiefs, Scouts, and Indians are fine with me -- for the reason you cite and as long as the accompanying team images and associated behavior (e.g. the Atlanta Braves' tomahawk chop) aren't racial caricatures.

Be that as it may, to me the controversy rests on the fact that the term originated as a disparaging one and was applied as such from the outside; no Native American ever woke up and said, "Hey, I'm going to call myself a redskin."

I was with Leon Kelert while he was recording the Jug and Dexter set for Prestige - Steve McCall, drums, I believe. Don Byas, before he began playing, came over to us to insist that Leon turn off the recorder. Wilbur Campbell played drums for that last set. Larry, do you remember, after the music, the 3 tenor players walking together across the street into the Lincoln Park night? Don't remember that part, but it was a pretty long time ago. I do recall Byas being fairly wound up.

That is hilarious.

Three I was at. Chuck Nessa not only was at the last of these but also IIRC played a key role in its being recorded: http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Lives-Ira-Sullivan/dp/B000A3PMPU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1382386828&sr=1-1&keywords=ira+sullivan+charlie+parker http://www.allmusic.com/album/charlie-parker-memorial-concert-mw0000313619 http://www.amazon.com/Chase-Ammons/dp/B000000ZF1

Just ran across this -- Bela Rudenko singing the Cavatina and Rondo from Glinka's "A Life for the Tsar" (aka "Ivan Susanin"):

Looks like Gary was making a sarcastic remark about something he heard the band play. No -- my friend said he was quite serious and asking for validation of his "insight."

Perhaps the most West Coast of all West Coast albums -- almost incredibly clever/precious, but the playing is expert, and the whole thing is very entertaining (too bad this reissue doesn't have the original Flora cover, one of his best): http://www.amazon.com/Collaboration-1954-55-Shorty-Rogers/dp/B000H6SUQ8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1382306505&sr=1-1&keywords=andre+previn+shorty+rogers http://www.google.com/search?q=jim+flora+collaboration&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1VNkUvXsKuibygGL7ICgAg&ved=0CCkQsAQ&biw=1047&bih=948&dpr=1

I'm usually lukewarm on Lovano, but this one is a gem, in large part because of Mike Abene's charts: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=30334#.UmPsnijFUYg

Ken Burns sure knows how to pick 'experts' for his docs... At least IMO, Giddins has done some good work, but it's important to know that you don't know what you don't know. IIRC, Giddins eventually took some lessons from guitarist Howard Alden in an attempt to acquire a general technical background, but, again IIRC, they agreed early on that things weren't working out.

Online: mostly Amazon and Amazon-related sellers. Stores: mostly Half-Price Books. There's one nearby, with a fairly regular flow of interesting stuff from the community, not just the usual corporate roster of cutouts and EU packages.

A musician friend of some prominence told me that several decades ago he was on the bill at a NYC concert at which Giddins was the emcee. Standing together in the wings before the band he was a part of was to go on, my friend was startled to hear Gary muse, in response to what the band then onstage was playing, "The blues and 'I Got Rhythm' are the same thing harmonically, right?"

Maybe not the greatest ever (it's a little too jolly for that) but what a delight:

One great melody after another (sometimes two at once, as in the probably worked-out muted tpt. solo and its accompaniment), the high point probably being the melody that the reed section launches into at 1:17: