duaneiac

I think Sonny Rollins replied to his critics with this Take it or leave, it's all the same to him at this point, but don't go expecting him to become something different just to fulfill some one else's hopes/desires.

Oh yeah. Sign me up for that $100,000 package right now!

That's good. I hope they get good crowds for these shows. I have only been to that club once and it seems like a good venue. I have a job requirement which precludes me from being able to stay out late these days. I really regret having to miss Joey Defrancesco there last week. they even had Lee Konitz awhile back

Thanks for posting that video, Cyril. That was truly wonderful!

http://youtu.be/izKWfBNP0ac http://youtu.be/2JoO2vQfjb0

Tim Hauser, founding member of the Manhattan Transfer.

I viscerally dislike "O Holy Night" -- an utterly spineless piece. How about something with a bit of sinew to it?: "Spineless"? Huh -- never would have thought of using that particular word to describe "O Holy Night". And now Christmas has to have some "sinew" to it? I guess Christmas just isn't manly enuff fer us 'Mericuns. Here's a song with some sinew to it . . . Gilda Radner: There's a little guy in Utah with a single Christmas wish For one special thing that can't be substituted Doesn't want to get electric trains, get toys or get pet fish All he really wants to get is executed Cast: So let's kill Gary Gilmore for Christmas Let's hang him from atop the Christmas tree Let's give to him the only gift that money can't buy Put poison in his egg nog, let him drink it, watch him die [Dan Aykroyd talks while the others hum softly:] Dan Aykroyd: Let's throw another yule log on the fire And then let's throw Gary Gilmore on there too With a ribbon so gay and a card that will say "Dear Gary, Merry Christmas to you" Jane, Laraine, Gilda: In the meadow, we can build a snowman One with Gary Gilmore packed inside John, Garrett, Dan: We'll say "Are you dead yet?" He'll say "No, man" Cast: But we'll wait out the frostbite till he dies Gilda: I've one Christmas wish Jane, Laraine, John, Garrett, Dan: Just ask it Gilda: Please put Gary in a casket Cast: So let's toll the silver bells for him While he can still hear what they say Ding dong ding dong You're dead, so long We can thrill Gary Gilmore If we kill Gary Gilmore On this Christmas Day

I surprised no one has mentioned "The Chipmunks Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" yet. It wears out its welcome very fast. For those who say they hate all Christmas songs, I am assuming (hoping) that a distinction is being made between commercial/pop songs written for the holiday and the hymns that are associated with the holiday. I'm an atheist, but I still find "Silent Night" and "O Holy Night" to be incredibly moving pieces of music (the former almost solely because of its simplicity and sincerity) and each is ideally suited to its purpose as sacred music reflecting upon the essential meaning of the holiday/holy day. "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" -- also very beautiful. One of my favorite parts of Advent from my Catholic boyhood was "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" , since that was the only time of year we sang it. I can understand being sick and tired of the constantly cheery and upbeat Christmas songs which assault one at the malls of America from the day after Halloween onwards, but it's hard for me to fathom some one viscerally disliking, say, "O Holy Night".

Dr. Herb Wong.

I, for one, actually love Christmas music. I hate Christmas and all the commercialism that it has come to represent, but I LOVE Christmas music. I must have over 100 Christmas albums in my collection, many of them jazz, but also pop, rock, country, blues, cajun, Hawaiian, etc. The one song I could best do without is "The Litte Drummer Boy". There have been a couple of interesting interpretations of it, but by and large it is a song that goes nowhere. Also, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" never did anything for me. To me, the concepts of "happy" and "Yoko Ono" are mutually exclusive. There are a few songs that I enjoy hearing maybe once or twice during the holiday season -- beyond that and they wear out their welcome. "Santa Baby", "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas", and Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" fall in that category. One of my very favorite songs seems to get relegated to the one week between Christmas and New Year's Day, as far as radio airplay goes. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" is such a well written song. The lyrics sound convincingly conversational and the melody is just right for the tentative tone of the lyrics. In my mind, I picture a person practicing this speech in front of a mirror as they work up the courage to actually try it out on the person on whom they have long held a secret crush. The song is a love song -- a longing song -- more than a holiday song and could easily be played other times of the year.

The Lyle Ritz album was reissued on CD by Verve (or whoever owned Verve at the time). It's quite good if you happen to like jazz ukulele music.

Just a reminder that the birthday of Clark Terry is Dec. 14th. He will be 94. In addition to being a major figure in the history of jazz, he is also just a wonderful human being and an inspirational individual. I'm sure he would be delighted to hear from his many fans on his birthday. And if you should feel like making a contribution to help fund his ongoing healthcare, I'm sure he and his wife Gwen would be most appreciative. You can find the address to send birthday wishes or a contribution on Clark Terry's website: http://clarkterry.com/#/donate/

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2014/1201/12-Days-of-Christmas-gifts-cost-116K.-Geese-a-laying-prices-surge-74-percent I'm not sure how they go about figuring the cost of the human gifts. I mean, the 12 drummers would make about $238 apiece at the rate listed. Is that a flat rate for the gig or some sort of union scale? The 11 pipers, for some reason, would make slightly more -- almost $240 apiece. The 9 ladies dancing would come home with $839 each. For that price one might expect some rather "exotic" dancing! And how about the 8 maids a-milking? They would make what appears to be less than minimum wage! But are they paid on an hourly basis or on the basis of total volume of milk produced? Is the milk included in the estimated value of the gifts? Because that would be a bonus since a lot of folks advocate for drinking raw milk these days. And the milk would have to come from cows (or goats, I suppose), so how come they don't list the value on 8 head of cattle. Or do all the maids milk the same cow? And $1,000 each for the stupid swans!?! Surely Costco or WalMart can beat that price.

One day only deals Downton Abbey Season 4 $15.99 http://www.deepdiscount.com/masterpiece-classic-downton-abbey-season-4/841887019705 Adam-12 Season 6, $10.99 http://www.deepdiscount.com/adam-12-season-six/826663128765

Mr. Death has a lot on his plate, so somehow I got lost in the shuffle for an extra 2 minutes and 3 seconds . . . http://youtu.be/SEaQDKiahi0 I'd be very happy to exit this world on the last note of this song.

This CD has the Plays Jazz For Dancing and Let's Face The Music And Dance albums combined on it:

Welcome HutchFan! I'm glad to see you will be posting here.