Muskrat Ramble

Hehe, the cops should be setting up stakeouts at Tower and Borders--they've been fighting the wrong drugs all this time Seriously, I find when I cut back on my buying/collecting, I can better enjoy just listening to a disc more: you know really "living with it" for a few weeks, replaying it and picking up the nuances, instead of jumping from one new disc to the next to the next.

I've been cooling my jazz purchases considerably, too. There's only so much time in the day to listen, and I already have a big backlog of unheard discs. As long as I have a good number of really top-notch discs in a wide variety of styles, I figure that's enough. What's the point of having 100 sound-alike hard bop discs? (Don't answer that ) Plus, I'm running out of shelf space

Chill out, man. Btw, I was a frequent poster on the BNBB and have tons of classic BN CDs, which I love. Actually, many of my all-time favorite jazz discs are BN releases from the 50's and 60's. Be that as it may, I'm aware that discussion, while covering a broad range of jazz and non-jazz topics, was often skewed at the BNBB (understandable given the host). I'm further aware that there are indeed uncritical BN fanatics whom I would justly label "fanboys" (as distinct from "fans"). There are people who'd buy a turd if it said "Blue Note" on the side. They're entitled to do that and I'm entitled to think that's silly. To each his own. But as I said, I for one am glad that my jazz horizons were indirectly broadened by the death of that board and my subsequent move to other forums where the discussion is wider, or at least more likely to provoke me into exploring new musical avenues. As noted, I was also extremely disappointed in the way BN handled/didn't handle the demise of their board. They basically told us all to go take a flying leap. I resent that.

In hindsight, I'm glad the old BNBB crashed and burned. By hanging out at AAJ a lot, for instance, I've been exposed to all kinds of stuff I wouldn't have heard of at the BNBB because of the predominance of BN fanboyism there. There's a vast world of jazz beyond the old American classics or 50's/60's BN releases in particular. No way I'll be heading to another BN board, for that reason and for the rude way the first one was canned.

In addition to the various BN cats mentioned here, two current artists I strongly recommend:Tom Harrell (and http://forums.allaboutjazz.com/showthread....=&threadid=2982 ) and The Bad Plus. While his first jazz album is quite good but not incredible, I really dig what Alex Skolnick is doing for jazz through his choice of playing standards for a younger generation. Btw, http://www.gregosby.com has tons of free live mp3's if you're interested in checking out his work. See here for other artist sites with free mp3 downloads.

This thread is too long to search, so apologies if this has been mentioned already. I saw a Norah video last night on VH1, presumably off the new album, and the video itself was dreadfully bad. (The one with the neon-colored kid's show landscape and Norah supposedly fishing but actually looking bored or confused.)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who wants to make sure others will enjoy the music when we're gone. You all might also want to consider donating other items, like books, to public or university libraries, charities, etc. Of course, if you have any questions, make sure to ask your attorney first, so that your will doesn't cause more problems than it solves.

No problem! Cool to see others here are interested in classical music. It's one of my great musical loves.

Appropriate for a discussion of Conover in a book thread: http://www.hplovecraft.com/study/bios/atlastcsp.htm (For those who don't know, Lovecraft was America's greatest horror/SF/fantasy writer after Poe.)

On a somewhat related note, you all may find Gottschalk and Anthony Davis (wrote an opera about Malcolm X) of interest.

I don't know, but Twins currently appears to be available in the UK and should be soon in Germany. Seems to be listed as import-only in the US atm. It's not even listed on Rhino's site, afaik.

I know, but I've been buying the discs individually. I normally avoid jazz box sets unless there's a big monetary savings or lots of significant tracks unavailable elsewhere. Just as importantly, I like discs with the original cover art and liners, original track order, etc., and it's fun to discover an artist's work over time instead of getting a big pile o' music all at once, imo. Since Rhino will apparently be reissuing Twins in March (at least in Europe), that means almost all the material will now be available on single discs. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up.

If by "rough" you mean "atrocious," I'd agree (Think Goodman Carnegie Hall concert.) Smokin' jazz, though.

Want to hear some great Timmons and one of the most smokin' Jazz Messengers live sets all at once? Check out A la memoire d'Art Blakey: Art Blakey et les Jazz Messengers au Club St Germain 1958 (RCA/BMG Ariola France ND 74897 (2)).

I'd certainly like to see the rest of the classic Ornette material released. Ornette on Tenor, for instance, is only available as an import atm, afaik.

Since you already mentioned Caine, check him out on Dave Douglas's The Infinite--awesome album with the same lineup as Strange Liberation, minus Frisell.

I tend to appreciate the "compositional" camp much more for the following reasons: I also love classical music and rock, where composition is king, but clearly no enemy to emotion. (It's worth noting that both those genres also feature improvisation). Those genres, among others, have shown the enormous artistic potential for edited composition (as distinct from real-time improv). I love jazz, but I'd never want to be without the glorious musical edifices built by Beethoven and Bruckner and so on. Music is in part sonic architecture. More often than not, I find both jazz albums and individual solos by composer/players far more interesting and memorable than work by "just blowers" (to borrow from the aforementioned article). Jazz composers enrich the art and push its boundaries by contributing new pieces and by seeing just what can be done with the form beyond merely blowing over the changes of old standards. After all, in blues and rock, people improvise over changes--even if generally simpler ones--so what would differentiate jazz then? A different rhythmic feel and generally different instrumentation, sure, but jazz can be so much more. At least theoretically, a composer/player will understand the importance of melody in music, something that generally gets short shrift in jazz compared to rhythm and harmony. Imo, to be a truly well-rounded musician, you need to be able to compose, improvise, and play others' works in different styles. *** Either way, to answer your question, in my experience, no, "compositional" jazz generally has greater emotional (and intellectual) impact, not less. I certainly haven't found that it becomes overly cerebral or emotionally sterile--quite the opposite.

Check out Alan Moore's classic V for Vendetta. It's been a while since I've reread that one--I wonder about my fond memories of it, too

Another vote for Oberlin. Try the Carnegie Hall concert, too.

That doesn't strike me as a particularly accurate characterization. Many of the posters there have been playing or listening to jazz for decades. Still, that board does, fortunately, attract new members, which is a good thing for jazz. Instead of just talking about the same old BN reissues again and again, those people are in for a whole new world of discovery. Plus, more than a few of the posters there are really into contemporary and European jazz, which you hear relatively little about on some other forums.

Wouldn't know. I go to All About Jazz and their forum. Recommended.

Yes, thanks for the pics and descriptions!

That reflects poorly on critics, then, not Pops. Critics usually run out of things to talk about (and ways to see themselves as important) when faced with art that's fun and joyous, as opposed to solemn, self-important, and conflicted.

If you include yesterday, too: Joe Henderson--Mode for Joe Jason Moran--Black Stars Shostakovich--symphony No. 4, string quartets 8 and 13 Copland--Billy the Kid, Rodeo Janacek--Sinfonietta Holst--The Planets

"My whole life has been happiness. Through all the misfortunes...I did not plan anything. Life was there for me, and I accepted it." --Pops Pops was beautiful in large part because he apparently felt no shame in being a popular entertainer--big grins, sweat rolling down, raspy vocals, silly scatting, and all. That was who he was, he was comfortable with it, and we're better for it. If you can make people smile and laugh and sing along, if you can remind them of true joy, then you've performed a great service. No need to pull the serious, aloof artist bit like Miles.