Chrome

I was at my Borders Outlet and picked up a CD called "Dexter Gordon Volume 1 Young Dex 1941-1944." It looks like a French import, part of the "Masters of Jazz" series, which is a "collection directed by Christian Bonnet." There are a number of tracks from the Dexter Gordon Quintet, Dave Coleman and Friends, Fletcher Henderson Orch., Louis Armstrong Orch. I haven't had a chance to actually listen to this yet, but was curious if anyone else had it or has heard of this "Masters of Jazz" series.

I agree 100 percent, JS ...

JSngry: In all honesty, yes ... at least where I am, this has taken on the overtones of a holiday that's only about black/white race relations and improvements/lack thereof. My vision of a Civil Rights Day would be broader than this, as many groups have had (and continue to have) struggles similar to blacks. I'm one of those nutty idealists who would prefer a totally "color-blind" approach to things. PS: This would also address those who have problems separating King's public and personal lives.

Yet, I can't help but feel a "Civil Rights Day" instead of an "MLK Day" would be much more inclusive in a number of important ways.

What I meant by "artificial construct" was the following: One can take a saxophone and "play" it by hitting it with drum sticks. Or someone could learn the "fingerings used to produce altissimo notes and mutiphonics" and play like Coltrane. The difference between the two is artificial ... most people have decided using one's fingers on the keys and blowing into the mouthpiece is the preferred method. However, there is no natural law that says that's the only way to do it. So it's artificial in that sense. I meant kind of what couw said about "facts" vs. "preferences." If there is a generally accepted standard about how to do certain fingerings, an argument about who is accomplishing these fingerings is resolvable.

I'm an unabashed relativist, and these kinds of threads always reinforce my beliefs ... as JSngry said: "it still comes down to whether or not you 'like' the results." One person finds transcendence in 'Trane, one in Kenny G, others in pigeons, and I defy anyone to prove that any of the three is "more" transcendant than they other two. JSngry's comment about how learning about technique, etc., provides more fertile ground for good discussion is telling ... "technique" is an artificial construct, if you will, in which everyone agrees on the parameters. That's what makes it easier to discuss w/o argument.

7/4: On the odd chance you're serious, it's called "La magie noire" - "Black magic."

More Magritte

Magritte

Thanks ...

Thanks for the tip ... how about TJ Kirk, the band Hunter was in before his solo discs? AMG says they played ONLY Thelonious Monk, James Brown and RR Kirk tunes. Sounds pretty cool ...

Reading the "Bluenote offkey?" thread got me thinking about the guitarist Charlie Hunter ... I love his sound and that whole 8-string guitar thing. Was he literally dropped by BN or did he leave on his own? Does anyone have any of his post-Blue Note discs? His "No woman, no cry" from "Natty Dread" is beautiful.

Brandon: Where did you get ahold of that ... I belong to Netflix (the Internet DVD rental thing) and they don't seem to have it.

I've often wondered about Larry, Darryl and Darryl from the second Bob Newhart show (if anyone remembers that) ... the hero from W. Somerset Maugham's "The Razor's Edge" is Larry Darryl. A great book, by the way.

Today is the anniversary of Joyce's death ... James Joyce Tuesday January 14, 1941 The Guardian With the death of James Joyce there passes the strangest and most original figure which Ireland gave to Europe in this generation. The ban imposed for years upon his "Ulysses" gave a notoriety to his name without disclosing his true stature and strength. That he was a genuine artist, sincere, integrated, and profound is clear from the simplicity of his early short stories "Dubliners" and from the well-defined autobiographical narrative of "Portrait of the Artist." In "Ulysses" he attempted the difficult task of presenting a complete picture of the life of the individual in our time, both conscious and subconscious, the single, peccant, groping man with the hard unrelenting universe around him. In "Finnegan's Wake" (sic) he went farther, and in a strange inventive tongue he seemed to break through the barriers of time, though so complex is the medium that without commentary few can follow the meaning. In his background were the old traditions of Dublin and of the Roman Catholic Church. He broke with them both as far as a man can ever break with so deeply grounded a past, and portrayed the chaos of a disorganised world. "Ulysses" has been sought by some readers because its pages contain words which rarely find their way into print. If that were Joyce's sole achievement there would be many of his countrymen of humbler intellectual pretensions who could outdo him. His originality lay in his discovery of a literary form for expressing the inconsequent complexity of the human mind and the dim resemblance that its migrations possessed to the orderliness of grammatical sentences or the appearances of time and space. He annihilated the ordinary and the normal, and revealed a jungle world of the mental and emotional reactions which may come over men in a single day. Down that road his genius travelled as far as it is possible to go. If others had not strived for tradition or fought for an illusion, at least, of order, Joyce's nihilism would have been impossible, for his terms of reference would have disappeared. Europe appreciated him and yet he was at last locked out of Europe, as of Ireland, in some secret temple of his own mind, as removed from the great passage of events as his own countrymen are to-day.

I guess it depends on how much desk space you have, but I brought in a small boombox and plug my headphones into that ... and then, when it's not too crowded here, I can unplug the 'phones to listen. I'm with Chris about concentrating more on the headphones than the CD player itself when trying to listen at the office.

Regarding the prices ... the catalog has already disappeared into the void ... I'm sure they're online somewhere ... probably www.sundazed.com. Anyhow, they were definitely under $15 a disc.

I've got "Blue Head" a live concert disc from Candid w/Clifford Jordan, from 1989 ... absolutely cooks.

Big Wheel: I'm not going to get into an overall "foreign v. domestic" debate, but let me point two things: The 2002 Chevy Malibu (the previous generation) received the J.D. Power award for highest initial quality in the entry-level midsize segment ... topping the imports. Meanwhile, Toyota is trying desperately to cover up a major oil sludge problem affecting a possible 3 million plus vehicles. Oddly, one doesn't see too much of this kind of thing in the press.

I recently finished two of the best fiction books I've read in a looooooooong time. The first one is called "Altered Carbon" by Richard K. Morgan. It' set in the future when people's minds/personalities/souls/whatever can be up- and downloaded digitally into new bodies. But the story itself is a hard-boiled murder mystery type thing. I wouldn't say it breaks any new ground, but it's a great example of the genre. The other was called "Ordinary Horror" by David Searcy, and this was about a guy who has pests in his rose garden ... he orders some mysterious plants that are supposed to naturally take care of the problem but, of course, cause some problems of their own. Or not. This is the kind of book one has to read for one's self; a plot synopsis doesn't give the full flavor. The writing was fantastic and even though nothing much happens, the book still scared me.

FYI: GM owns a chunk of Subaru ... if you like the Forester and want to mix hauling cargo w/hauling ass, check out the turbocharged version, the 2.5XT. This is actually from a review of the BMW X3 in Car and Driver: "I might have thought more of the X3 had I not driven it back-to-back with a Subaru Forester 2.5XT. Yes, the Bimmer is ritzier, offers more niceties, such as a power liftgate and hill-descent control, and handles and brakes in a league above, but it's more than two seconds slower to 60, a lot harsher in the ride department, and about 15 grand more on the bottom line. And as far as I can tell, it doesn't offer any real advantage in rear-seat space, cargo room, or all-weather traction. By itself, the X3 is an able performer, but next to the Forester, it simply seems like an inflated 3-series wagon, in both size and price."

I strongly urge you to check out the all-new Chevy Malibu Maxx, which should hit dealerships pretty soon. It's got an incredibly flexible rearseat/cargo area that allows you to cram in a lot of stuff or people. The quality of the new generation of GM products is actually quite good and is certainly comparable to what the Japanese are doing. Don't get taken in by the bias toward foreign products found in most of the press, general public, etc. There isn't much of a quality gap anymore between major domestic and foreign producers ... it's all about the "perception gap" ... people are still basing their opinions on the cars/trucks Detroit put out during the 1980s. Of course, I work for GM, so I may be a bit biased myself ... but seriously, visit www.chevy.com and check out the Maxx to get started. Also, although the styling of the Pontiac Aztek is, uh, an acquired taste, they're relatively inexpensive and also offer plenty of cargo-hauling flexibility.

Thanks for the feedback ... quite helpful.

I got a catalog in the mail the other day from the record company Sundazed, and among their offerings is a disc called "Peaceful World" from the Rascals, who I only know as a late '60s rock band. Any way, among the players on this disc are: Pepper Adams - Bass (Vocal), Sax (Baritone) Ron Carter - Bass Hubert Laws - Flute Joe Newman - Trumpet Chuck Rainey - Bass Ernie Royal - Trumpet Alice Coltrane - Harp Has anyone heard of this CD before or have any feedback about it?

The Politics of Glory by Bill James is an absolutely fantastic look at the Hall of Fame and who "deserves" to be in. JSngry ... I've still got my copy of "Strange but true," too, ordered from my elementary book club back in the 1970s!