Larry Kart

This probably is the disc you want, though it's not all orchestral and the largest pieces are for ensembles of twelve or so: http://www.amazon.com/Leon-Kirchner-Concer...3716&sr=1-2

All on Columbia. Not on Columbia. Are you saying that the label and its distribution system was the only reason or the chief reason? I don't think so.

What I've read is that the concert was recorded in Carmel by a serviceman from Ft. Ord, Will Thornbury, later the well-known DJ, who wanted to play it for his buddies. If so, Friedwald has confused from Ft. Ord with at Ft. Ord. Again, if so, it wouldn't be a first time for him.

Stan Getz (and Charlie Byrd) became household names with Jazz Samba, which was a few years later. I think that would trump Concert by the Sea, don't you? Yes, but as great as Getz was, "Jazz Samba" is not great Getz IMO (nor I believe in Stan's), while "Concert By the Sea" is great Garner -- not that Garner was ever far below that level. "Jazz Samba" was essentially a "this is new and cool" phenomenon, though Stan's artistry made an undeniable contribution to it.

Here's a link to Will Friedwald's Garner piece: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...4002886930.html He's right that "Concert By the Sea" was a big hit, but Garner had hits before and after that; "Concert By the Sea" was no one-off but a highwater mark for a long-running phenomenon.

Haven't seen the WSJ piece, but here's part of an e-mail I sent to a friend ten days ago: 'Last week I picked up a decent LP copy for 50 cents of Garner's famous best-selling "Concert of the Sea" album. I could be wrong, but Garner may be the latest instance in the history of jazz where a great artist (and I think Garner is great) became immensely popular doing exactly what he would have done anyway. Other instances, e.g. the Paul Gonsalves "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" solo on "Ellington at Newport," Brubeck, etc., are not really great (Brubeck) and/or were tremendously popular for reasons that were not that closely linked to the core of what that artist was up to." I would add Gene Ammons to Garner, now that I think about it, though I don't believe that Ammons' popularity, while broad and deep, was as broad (in sales and socially) as Garner's was.

This is one crazy book, in the best sense of crazy. John takes our current "realities" of race and culture, holds them up to an oblique bright light, and whacks them like a diamond cutter. Perfect title, too.

I love you, a bushel and a peck.

Nice to be thought of as a gold standard of probity/reliability, but one doesn't always live up to one's credentials.

Count me in, too -- big time.

"Studio pro guys" and "trumpet whisperers" is an oxymoron. There was and would be no place for the latter in a studio setup of the time. What trumpeters are you thinking of? Joe Newman played tightly muted on a lot of RCA dates of the '50s, but he could also ring the rafters. Bernie Glow? Ernie Royal? Two of the greatest lead players of all time. Dick Collins was fairly mellow in a neo-Hackett manner and made two RCA dates under his own name, but his regular gig was as a section man with Woody Herman, not a place for "whisperers."

Also, he means the "500 year goggles test," not "googles test." The phrase, as Fielder writes, comes from Hampton Hawes' autobiography "Raise Up Off Me," in which Hawes refers to some cat 500 years down the road looking back at our time with "space goggles" and properly assessing the value of the music of Hawes and like-minded artists.

Just picked up a reissue today of the Feb. 1957 Four Brothers reunion date. I recall it as being something of a damp squib, but no, not at all -- lovely ensemble playing, very committed solo work from everyone, including the very ill Serge Chaloff.

Great shot.

But Al Hurt was big on the sadist market.

Shoot me, but I found it amusing -- a hoot all the way around. No one is going to be "hurt" by Lou's remarks, which are an inseparable blend of genuine crankiness and schtick.

Yes, it's paired on Collectables with the Allen Ganley-Ronnie Ross Atlantic, a good date. "Groove, Funk, Soul" IIRC is a bit better than "Teddy's Ready" -- not that there's anything wrong with "TR," but "GFS" was just a darn good day in the studio.

I've had several. Kinds and duration of pain have varied. The first one, the pain was excruciating beforehand (maybe the worst I've felt this side of a broken leg, and even then) but was instantly relieved by the procedure. Other times it's been more like what you're feeling. It's been my impression overall that mouth-jaw-nerve-tooth pain is very tricky/volatile, at least potentially, because we're talking about swelling and pressure among other things, and when things are swelling and pressing on other stuff, it can be a real daisy chain. Dentistry is not the same as laboratory science; assuming skill on the part of the oral surgeon, the specific human material involved plays a big role. In my case(s), everything worked out OK in the end.

P.S. I thought Archie Shepp's set was pretty bad, but I was reminded afterwards that he had had cancer of the mouth (or something of the sort) and thus it's remarkable that he can play at all.

Ben Paterson, Von's pianist, did an outstanding solo set on Sunday at 1 p.m. Very Tatumesque at times, in a natural, non-imitative manner. There also was a very witty (as is appropriate) tribute to Garner, and a superb version of "Dat Dere." Highlight of Von's set later on was a very intense, slow version of "Blame It On My Youth." Kind of ripped my heart out. Buddy DeFranco's salute to the album he and Tatum did together really kicked into gear after a while. At age 86, Buddy on a good night is as fine as ever. Later on I ran into bassist-composer Stafford James, who volunteered that Buddy's reading of "Memories of You" was the best he'd ever heard, adding that it was song that meant a great deal to him. Muhal's big orchestra piece, which wound up the night, is too big for me to get my head around at this point -- I'd like to hear it again and prrobably think about it some. Of the featured soloists, Roscoe was on fire/austere/noble, George Lewis was agile/intense, but the duo of bassist Harrison Bankhead and tenorman Ari Brown didn't do much for me -- the tempo for their part was so fast that what they played seemed just a blur.

Fred Anderson played a fine set tonight. Very inventive and soulful.

Should be there day and night throughout, though on Friday night I'll leave after the Muhal-Roscoe-George trio set to catch the debut of an 8 p.m. multi-media show at Links Hall for which my son is doing some apparently elaborate audio work. Girls in leotards too, though I've been warned that the vibe is sternly feminist.

And Jimmie Rodgers as The Singing Brakeman.

Reassure them that "organ" is a five-letter word.

P.S. I think they were talking about one "jazz czar" per major urban area, not a national one, but that too may be in their hope chest.