clinthopson

I'm going to break out some of those Fats' discs for Al Casey. I thought he was a great, underrated player.

My first was T-Bone Walker, now I have a couple dozen. I would happily burn copies of T-Bone for copies of the Larry Young set. Since both are out of print, wotthehell.

We caught some of the lUcky Thompson tribute while we were in NYC. The music was great but doesn't Shaap ever shut the hell up?

I've been a Ruby Braff fan since he played with Benny Goodman. "The Essential Vic Dickenson" is one of my all time favorites with Ruby, Eddie Hall, Sir Charles Thompson, Steve Jordan, Walter Page and Les Erskine. You can't go wrong with Braff.

Vinnie Ruggierio? ←

I don't know if he has been mentioned here before (I'm too damned lazy to go therough the wole thing) but I enjoy Curtis Stigers' current work very much.

I'm looking forward to hanging out with Butch at the West Coast Jazz Party where he'sa regular. As I said, a very nice guy and a competent drummer. Jeff Hamilton (IMHO the top drummer today) and Joe LaBarbera are usually also on the bill. Of course, Butch suffers in comparison with those monsters. Joe isn't there this year, I'll miss hanging with him and talking about a certain thumper from Upper NY state. I stick by my comments on DeJohnette, I've heard quite a lot of him and he just doesn't do it for me. Zutty SIngleton is IMHO the most overrated of the two-beaters.

His work with Bill Evans is superb.

Dejohnette - not an ounce of sublety. He screwed up the Bill Evans at Montreaux big time. Butch Miles is a very nice guy, he's best in a big band - he woke up the Basie band a few decades ago. And talk about lack of sublety - Gene Krupa

I have an old lp of Billy May playing the Lunceford band arrangements. May pretty much copied the disc note for note, except the irrepresable Trummy Young and Willie Smith added a few of their own thoughts. Another tribute disc is John Lewis and the American Jazz Orchestra. Lewis expanded the original charts but still caught the feeling of that great band. A hoghlight for me is Doc Cheatham sweetly singing "My Blue Heaven." A few years ago we were sitting with Geral WIlson and his wife at a West Coast Jazz Party. In between numbers bu Juggernaut we chatted and Gerald reminised about the Lunceford band. That's where I learned that Gerald has never forgiven Kenton for not crediting him with that riff.

I liked Chetty's trumpet playing ever since I first saw him with Gerry Mulligan. But IMHO he was a lousy singer.

Count me among the big Lunceford fans. From what I've read, when the Lunceford band went against the other big bands in a "battle," it always won. Jimmy may not have had the large number of virtuosos that Duke had, or the relaxed swing of Basie and his soloists, but if ever there was a band that created excitedment and sheer fun, the Jimmy Lunceford band was it. The only other band I can think of that had that excitement and fun was Woodys'. There are two survivors of the 30's band still with us, Gerald Wilson and Snooky Young. Gerald wrote "Yard Dog Mazurka" which had the riff that Kenton stole for "Intermission Riff" and never credited it to Gerald.

You will give us an update this summer, won't you? It's not like my brain cells are going to remember this until then... ← The cd release date is Aug. 9. We'll be at the Knitting Factory in the apple for the party.

I think I would rather listen to Jimmy Rowles that just about any other poianist with the exception of Bill Evans. His style is all his own, with maybe a bit of Monk thrown in. I love the rumbling chords and the open spaces. And on top of that Jimmy was a helluva funny guy.

I'm not sure if he would be in the "cool" category, but Ken Peplowski is a gas.