Larry Kart

How come it took the Bears so long to start playing in Soldier Field? Here's the gist: "The Chicago Bears began playing their games full-time at Wrigley Field (then known as Cubs Park) in 1921, and continued to play there for 49 years. In 1970, the National Football League ruled that all teams must play in stadiums that seated more than 50,000 fans, and the Bears were forced to find a new home." Here's the whole story: http://www.bearshistory.com/lore/soldierfieldhistory.aspx As that article says, the old Soldier Field was a terrible place to watch football. In Wrigley Field from the upper deck down the third-base line toward the middle of the field, the view was superb. The game was in your lap; you could watch entire plays, especially pass plays, unfold without turning your head -- like game film but better.

My friend's father: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=60034156 Hell of a nice guy. Didn't know that he was drafted in order to help teach T-formation quarterback play to Sid Luckman. I do recall that the reason he threw a pass for an extra point toward the end of the Bears' famous 73-0 championship win over the Redskins is that the referee told him that he had to because this was the last football they had left, and if it was kicked into the stands, the game would be over.

Went to my first Bears game in 1953 or '54. Was in the stands for the '63 championship win over the Y.A. Tittle-Frank Gifford Giants -- what a game. Went with a friend whose father was the backup QB to Sid Luckman on the 1941 team and who (my friend) had broken his leg in in a motorcycle accident in November, which meant that we had to get to the game (at Wrigley Field) at about 10:30 a.m. so he could make his way to our great upper-deck, 40-yard-line seats on crutches (he was still in a large cast). Game-time (1 p.m.) temp was nine degrees; I recall that we were so out of our minds with excitement that we hardly noticed.

Are you suggesting that this as was not 100% developed and approved by the Columbia marketing department before it ran? I'd find that hard to believe, myself. The thing exudes pro calculation to me. Sure -- but marketing departments are on one level, and the big bosses are on another, especially after questions are raised, if they are/were. OTOH, I was just envisioning a perhaps amusing scenario and not suggesting that there actually was a big fuss at the Black Rock after that ad ran (if indeed CBS was at the Black Rock then). P.S. They were: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS_Building

Put out "At The Fillmore" and then kill Miles -- hey, that's the ticket.

Wow, indeed. I'd like to have been a fly on the wall at Columbia the day after that ad ran.

Found a copy of this one: http://www.amazon.com/Meets-Saxophone-Masters-James-Williams/dp/B000008CKR/ref=tmm_other_title_popover the other day, and even though the three tenor saxophonists involved (Joe Henderson, George Coleman, and Billy Pierce) did not/do not always warm my heart, all are in exceptional form on this date, where they are backed by the late Williams, James Genus, and the late Tony Reedus (all vividly recorded by our friend Jim Anderson). This was Williams' project (he picked the personnel and all the tunes -- one by himself, one by Coleman, the spiritual "Calgary," "The Song Is You," "Old Folks," and Harry Edison's "Centerpiece" (which is, as we know. really Johnny Mandel's "Keester Parade")-- and he seems to have been inspirational. One fairly sure sign of this is the togetherness of the ensemble work on what essentially was a blowing date; another is that the every tempo is just right. I'm neither a Henderson nor a Coleman scholar/completist, but I'd guess this is top-level playing for both men in this period; Henderson very focused/committed (compared to his at times rather diffuse IMO Verve recordings of the '90s), Coleman unusually (again in my non-completist experience) expressionistic/adventurous. And Pierce more than holds his own. The date was somewhat nostalgic in intent, which normally would be a turn-off for me -- "I wanted us to go in and do it and do it as a classic session that could have happened throughout the years, "Williams said, "like at JATP, but a contemporary version" -- but this is really intense, in-the-moment playing. OTOH, looking back at it from 2011, it inspires a frisson of nostalgia in itself.

Atlanta's on the receiving end of a old fashioned beatdown. I didn't expect that! Pack is definitely looking like a serious contender. Hope the Bears get to play them. Green Bay is a better team, but we do match up pretty well with them. Matchups do matter, as Atlanta can tell us. Ouch.

I think you mean "spelled correctly". No doubt you know this, but both are correct.

Here, Josh Marshall's Talking Points, Dave Kehr's movie blog, Col. Pat Lang's site, U.C. Berkeley economist Brad DeLong's site, Pro Football Talk -- those would be tops.

More on the strange Tupper Saussy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/apr/21/popandrock http://www.tuppersaussy.com/museum/html/foyer.html Definitely a "boheminan."

Of the Birmingham Ras? Fixed it. Wish I could be that funny on purpose.

Early Woods for me, almost without exception. The top two below are top notch, the third one is IIRC the dividing line, the point just before things began to go haywire. The fourth doesn't have Woods on all tracks, but he is in excellent early form, and this is Quincy Jones' best album by a mile. For an example of what Woods became by and large almost overnight, a "jazzy" musician, check out the fifth one below. It's nice for Zoot and Al, but Phil sounds like his instrument is made out of razor blades -- lines made more out of accents than notes (i.e the actual pitches almost seem beside the point). http://www.amazon.com/Early-Quintets-Phil-Woods/dp/B000000ZA3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295118092&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Pot-Pie-Phil-Woods/dp/B000000ZAJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1295117970&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Sugan-Phil-Woods/dp/B000000Z9F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1295118035&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/This-Feel-About-Jazz-West/dp/B000JVSWMS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295118142&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Live-Night-Half-Note/dp/B003JZEVH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295118210&sr=1-1

There were two "Various Artists" LPs, Monday Night at Birdland (Roulette R-52015 mono/SR-52015 stereo), released in 1958, and Another Monday Night at Birdland (Roulette R-52022 mono/SR-52022 stereo), released in 1959. One of those albums was rather snottily reviewed at the time for The Jazz Review by a young composer-pianist named Tupper Saussy, who had recently been a student at the celebrated School of Jazz At Lenox Inn (John Lewis, Ornette, Giuffre, et al.). Mr. Saussy went on to have a colorful career to say the least. It's not every onetime jazz musician who makes common cause with James Earl Ray -- and that ain't the half of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupper_Saussy

More research may reveal the exact personnel, but I can tell you that the great brazilian pianist and composer ( of "The Dolphin", for example) Luiz Eça played on some of those tracks. Eça was a formidable talent on piano, and went on to expand his range and talents as a jazz player in his later years. Dick Hyman also contributed, but according to my sources he played organ only. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Jobim was indeed the pianist on some tracks. I've always felt that he was far more accomplished as a pianist than as a guitarist, and I think he showed in his later years that he was a pretty formidable pianist. I'll see if I can dig up any more details. Oh, and speaking of sublime, check out "Terra Brasilis" (Jobim w/Ogerman, ca. 1980) Many thanks for the info. I've got "Terra Brasilis" on LP, must have bought it way back when.

As far as chartage goes, can I assume that you are familiar with the Claus Ogermann charts for the first Sinatra/Jobim collaboration? Nope. Will try to remedy that.

I'm far from encyclopedic when it comes to Jobim, so this may be old news to some of you, but today I found an LP copy of the Jobim/Nelson Riddle Warner Bros. album from 1964, "The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim," and am entranced by it. It's beautifully recorded (my copy is mono), Jobim's voice is captured as well I could imagine it ever being (full, close-up, but not too breathy), Riddle's charts are lovely (in Peter Levinson's Riddle bio, FWIW, he says that these are the best charts Riddle ever wrote), and if it's Jobim on piano as well as guitar, he plays superbly (some sources say he is on both, but I half suspect it's someone like, or on the level of, Lou Levy -- seems too jazz-like and strong for Jobim). Best of all, as the album says, Jobim "sings his new songs," and while some are familiar ("Aqua De Beber," "A Felicidade," "Dindi") there are at least two that are new to me and really special IMO -- "So Tinha De Ser Com Voce" and "Por Toda A Mimha Vida." I'd like to know the personnel but lots of luck. All I can find is Dom Um Romão on drums, Danilo Caymmi on flute, and Pete Candoli. There is a lovely, languid trombone solo on "A Felicidade."

Open-horn soloist sounds broader in tone than Fagerquist to me.

Wish I knew, but I suspect that Edison wasn't on the date - by that point Riddle's trumpet features were typically reserved for Cappy Lewis or Shorty Sherock. Thanks -- Lewis sounds look a good bet for warm, big-in-tone unmuted trumpet on "I Can't Get Started."

Allen -- Drop the "whoopee cushion" stuff, please.

Yup.

Paul -- I'm looking right at that album, and while it is on Criss Cross, not Steeplechase, it is titled "In Good Company."

Right -- for all the Tostitos.

To repeat what I said earlier today in response to a Facebook post by Paul McKee: Neither team seemed that great. Defensive battle in this case was mostly offensive ineptitude. College FB is in a rather sorry state IMO. Saw just a few guys who could play on the so-called next level -- maybe one on Oregon, three or so on Auburn's defense. Newton looked like he'll be another Jamarcus Russell.

Let's hear it for the vibories! http://jazzrecordscene.com/swinginontheviboriesabc110.aspx http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,84808,00.html