patricia

Pardon me DEEP, but I've got to direct something towards myself: DUH!! I guess I thought you had written it. Anyway, no matter. Conn, An easy mistake to have made. As you say, no matter, but facinating, none the less. They are two peas in a pod, liquistically. Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall, listening to a conversation between them? I kept thinking, as I read, how language has always facinated me. Browsing through a dictionary is as delicious as being turned loose in a chocolate factory. So, I loved the notes.

I think that I made reference to that in my last post, or the one before. I think that Conn knows that too, but the styles are quite similar. All I can think is that your speech patterns are almost identical, but that is probably just a regional thing. The piece is certainly conversational. That's what makes it interesting. It's a valentine, of sorts, written by Steve, about his longtime friend, you.

That's what I thought too. Looks good. Go with it.

Conn ( A Linguist), I belive you misunderstood this sentence. The reference is to a "still" as in a distillery. We've changed it to "distillery" even though the meaning is different. A "still" is illegal as opposed to a distillery. If you missed it then the average reader will miss it so "distillery" it is. Thanks. DEEP My bad, DEEP. So sorry. My head is still in football right now. Cancel my suggestion. Patty: How about taking point next time??? You football fanatics!! A formidable task, given the unique expressions and colourful discriptive phrases of the author. I will if I'm given permission to do so by our thread-originator. The missive is written in an interesting, conversational tone and style, so it is a challenge, to say the least, to proof, without destroying the piece' originality. I'm tempted to rip out entire passages, but that's only because the thoughts are being expressed differently than I would express them. But, that's it's charm, if that's the word. The corrections you've made, along with pointing out of flat-out wrong usage of particular words are realtively easy. The problem becomes how to do more, without turning the piece into your or mine, rather than Steve's thoughts. Something to ponder.....

You're welcome.

There is no such word as "weaselike". Use "weasel-like" if you want to use that simile. Or replace it with "weasely", or "weaselish". Yes, regarding replacing "impel" with "compel". We are "compelled" to act a certain way by rules. For example, a Stop sign compels us to stop even if there are no cars coming. It's the rule, in a musical context to follow direction of the leader. A toy boat crosses the pond because it is "impelled" by your pushing it. So, unless orders to move, or play a note a certain way for example, are achieved by an actual physical push, or swat at the back of one's head, the moving, or the note is achieved by enforcement of a rule, or direction, compelling one to obey and thus move or play the note.

Thank you Double M. There's still time to "interface". I'm a year older, not dead. brownie, Yes, Pee Wee Russell. I first heard him on an old JazzTone record and have loved him [as well as Miff Mole and Max Kaminsky] ever since. Dave F, And thank you. Don't worry about being a day late. Berigan, Thank you so much. BTW, you're scary on the political threads. AND JSangry, Thank you. I blush.

Thank you, AfricaBrass. Yes, Pee Wee is as uplifting as any Maidenform bra and he plays great Dixieland too.

Thank you Chris. I'm fuzzy with good wine and full of cake. Thank goodness I have my friends here. I am half-way through my new records. Pee Wee Russell is seranading me now and for those of you who listen to Dixieland, you understand the joy I feel today. YOU ARE ALL RUBIES BEYOND PRICE!!!!

TO ALL OF THOSE UN-BIRTHDAY FOLKS: A VERY MERRY UN-BIRTHDAY TO YOU, TO YOU [that's all I remember, but, you get the idea.]

Thank you Jazz. My favourite birthday card: Front of the card says: To my favourite lady I would like to say something that is seldom said on the occasion of a loved one's birthday Open it up and it says: BE MY VALENTINE!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TJOBBE!!! If you're laughing, no matter what you're SUPPOSED to be doing, you're not wasting your time. May your life be filled with hours of wasted time.

Thanks! Hmm...haven't tried that one yet. Then.... Curiously refreshing, don't you think?????

John was 64 years old. There is now a new website, www.johnguerin.com which has a lot of interesting biographical information on this fine drummer. Sixty-four may not seem young to someone who is thirty, but it is.

Thanks Maren. When I wear purple, I am indinguishable from Prince. Hey Sheldonn!! Sing it out!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 7/4!!! To quote a line that I love, from the old Mary Tyler Moore Show, Chuckles the Clown, specifically, "A little song A little dance A little seltzer Down your pants." May you have as much seltzer down your pants as you can stand.

Thank you so much, Free For All. You're in fine voice. I see that you have been, from time to time, perusing my small contribution to the "Renegade" thread. It keeps me on my toes and has been a terrific tool for me to do interesting research. Glad somebody reads and enjoys it.

Well David, I got these: The Panassie Sessions, with Sidney Bechet, Pete Brown, Al Casey, Cozy Cole, Sidney De Paris, James P. Johnson, John Kirby, Tommy Lardner, Mezz Mezzrow and Frankie Newton. 1938 and 1939. MINT FACTORY-SEALED 2 record set, 40th Anniversary Woody Herman at Carnegie Hall. Atlantic Jazz Be Bop 1986 New Orleans' Go Go with Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, Louis Prima Pee Wee Russell 2 record set, with his Dixieland All-Stars After Hours - Prestige Classic Jam Sessions Vol 1, 1957, with Burrell, Elvin and Thad Jones, Art Taylor, Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins, Frank Wess, Paul Chambers and: then I ran out of disposable folding currency...........

Thank you Phillip. I was pleased this morning to see my reflection in the mirror, peering, blearly-eyed, back at me.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. EKE BBB [no pictures??], Evan, Thank you for your good wishes. Ghost [politics? what politics? ], SGud, you sweet man! , 7/4, thank you and, BTW, HAPPY BIRTHDAY back at ya!! The best is yet to come. Joe, [i'll try. God willin' an' the creek don't rise, as "they" say.] , Noj, you're lovely, thank you. And dear Harold, [still following "The Sopranos?] thank you. Oh, and Connosseur series 500, thank you so much. David, I didn't ignore the other very gracious birthday wish. I was down in the scary part of town [the area with the pawn and tattoo shops with bars on the windows] at the vintage vinyl emporium, copping some decent discs. I will eat cake and drink wine until I am loop-legged...............and then POST!!! Again, thank you all!!!!

In the meantime................. Our next nicknamed honouree is "Machito" [Raul Grillo], the Florida-born, Cuba raised percussionist/vocalist who, during the 1930's sang with various Afro-Latin ensembles. In 1941, with his brother-in-law, Mario Bauza, he organized his own band, which he continued to lead for forty years. He was still at it in the 1970's, beginning his touring with a smaller band to tour Europe and even farther afield. Although Machito is mainly known in the Latin music genre, he was also important in the Latin/Jazz crossover, which occurred in the 1940's. He helped to found the mambo style [especially the brass-section work] and represented the first major influence of Jazz on Latin music. Machito is said to have been the inspiration for the Latin ventures of both Stan Kenton and also Dizzy Gillespie. He also backed Charlie Parker on records. Machito employed several jazz players, such as Doc Cheatham and continued to evolve include stylistic trends such as salsa. By the mid-eighties, Machito had attracted a whole new audience of younger enthusiasts, enjoying a resurgeance of popularity. Machito died in London, in 1984 while working in London. He was seventy-two. Next...........

OK, at the not-so-subtle suggestion of our thread-originator, here's a nicknamed musician who is still alive, fitting into both catagories, which we sorely need right now. He is Michael "Patches" Stewart, a trumpet and fluglehorn player who was born in 1955 and is still up and around. Stewart was born in New Orleans, and though nobody else in his family was musical, he started playing the trumpet at eleven. He played in his highschool band at Lawless Junior High School. He then went on to play in the band at St Augustine High School and then the Purple Knights marching band. During his summer holidays, while still at school, he went on the road. Stewart first recorded professionally on LaBelle's hit, "Lady Marmalade", when he was sixteen. Of his early entry into professional performing, Stewart says, "I guess all that gave me an appetite for performing on stage...I made a youthful decision to turn down scholarships I was offered to Berklee and local universities in favour of 'real world' experiences." He has worked with the Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau and Marcus Miller, starting in the early eighties, right up to now. In 1997, Mitchell released his first album, "Blue Patches", which is an acoustic jazz project. He followed that up with another album in 1998, "Penetration", which is an electric, highly produced album. Explaining his nickname, Mitchell says, "Back in the hippie days I had a pair of bell bottom pants with patches all over them...Peace signs, stuff like that. Some guy said to me, 'If you put another patch on your pants, we're going to call you "Patches" ' and that name followed me from New Orleans to California." Stewart is known as a virtuoso trumpeter, with a full, rounded sound and an excellent range. His first favourite musician was Freddie Hubbard, but then he discovered Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Kenny Dorham. Now, he names Miles Davis as his special inspiration. What Mitchell admires about Davis is that Davis was constantly renewing himself. Next.............

"PARADE"??? I think it would be more likened to the BATON DEATH MARCH. DEEP I guess you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way. But, the reason I don't think of them as dead is that their work gives them a kind of immortality. Jazz history is, because it spans decades, full of dead people. The bios are a way of highlighting their contribution. Unfortunately, we are all part of the inevitable march toward the abyss, eventually. Now that those who were the youngsters are starting to die, it reminds us of our own mortality, a scary thought, to be sure. The important thing is whether they leave anything of artistic value behind. Guerin certainly did. Sadly, now John Guerin is among their number and much sooner than is fair. I suppose I should have said it differently, but "list" seemed so antiseptic. Because most of the honourees are from the early days of Jazz, they are part of the history of the development of JAZZ and are, unfortunately dead now or very old. But their contribution to the artform is undeniable. The best we can all hope for is that hordes of people don't show up at our funerals, to make sure we're finally dead. For the most part, we live on through the people whose hearts and souls we've touched, so, while we're still here, we still can direct our lives. If we are to make our time on earth worthwhile, this is the time to do it. After the Grim Reaper shows up, it's really too late. So, I guess what I'm saying is that all our lives are shockingly short, in the big picture and we would do well to remember that none of us have unlimited time. We're the only creatures who know for sure we're going to die, but I don't think that most of us want to believe it. It happens to everyone else, but not to us. Makes no sense, but there it is. So, whatever it is that we have assumed we would do "soon" we should do now. Enough depression. Next...........

Getting back to my parade of nicknamed artists, and staying with a drummer, in honour of John Guerin's passing, I'd like to mention the great "Big Sid Catlett". Catlett was described as a soft-hearted giant, hence his nickname, who was a splendid, sartorial peacock. He often dressed in green chalk-striped suits, worn with a flowered tie and brightened up the bandstand. Big Sid first came to New York to join Elmer Snowden's band and Rex Stewart said of him, "He was a musician's drummer. He would ask you, 'What kind of rhythm should I play for you?' That was as soon as you came in the band and, after you told him, you'd get the same thing every night." Catlett combined expert drumming with verbal asides, cavernous rimshots to accompany "business" and, listen to this -- a giant powder puff for his armpits!! His unique talent and marvelous personality kept him working with the elite of the 1930's bands of Fletcher Henderson and Benny Goodman. He couldn't help, flamboyant as he was, being the center of attention. Max Kaminsky said of Catlett, "Though he was such a powerful fellow he could play very lightly and delicately, without sounding weak and his generosity matched his size. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it." There are not many people about whom that can truly be said. Interestingly, the bebop revolution in the 1940's which pretty well killed Dave Tough, were no big deal to Catlett, who simply crossed 52nd Street and sat in with Gillespie and with Parker and kept on keepin' on. According to Billy Taylor, "Sid was the first guy I was aware of who was a complete drummer. He could play any style. I remember when Buddy Rich was with Tommy Dorsey he used to cut all the drummers, but not Sid. It used to annoy Buddy so much. He'd play all over his head and then Sid would gently play his simple melodic lines on drums - and make his point." Sid played constantly, like a demon, throughout the forties. Apparently, he seldom even went to bed. He was with Louis Armstrong's All Stars for two years, from 1947-1949. His only fault seemed to be a slight disrespect for punctuality, which meant that the curtain often went up without him and he'd amble in a few minutes later. By the late '40's, Sid was visibly ill and he had a heart-attack and was replaced by Cozy Cole in the All Stars. Then in 1950, he took his usual trip at Christmas, to visit his mother. Shortly afterwards, he collapsed in the wings of the Chicago Opera House at a Hot Lips Page benefit and died. Big Sid Catlett was forty-one years old. Next.........