Bill Nelson

Above link is the best explanation and backstory of Bill Potts and his legendary 'Porgy and Bess' recording sessions of Jan. 13, 14, 15 of 1959 at Webster Hall. The 1991 CD on Blue Note/Capitol could only be culled* from the best vinyl copies since the master tapes had been lost. * by Cuscuna, Addey, and McMaster

During many a burning solo, Albert pulls his lead solo string at least one or two notes higher than ANYONE -- well into sharp territory. Notice how Mike Bloomfield, on 'Super Session', often cops Albert's string pulls and goes the next note beyond. And I say this with respect.

Perhaps it was not terribly 'out of character' for Blue Mitchell to join John Mayall's band in 1971-72 to tour and record two albums ('Jazz Blues Fusion' and Moving On'). However, it was out of character for Joe Henderson to join Blood, Sweat, and Tears briefly in 1972* (post-Fred Lipsius and pre-Lou Marini Jr.) For both of these cats, it was a relief from managing their own groups and the money was exceptionally good. * Joe didn't record with the band

Not a BF test but a DB March 19, 1970 Valerie Wilmer interview at the home of Ginger Baker (pgs. 16-17) and brief response by Elvin. Baker's put-downs of other drummers didn't include any in the rock field but concentrated on current U.S. jazz drummers. on Buddy Rich: "Once you become a drummer, your hands and feet can work together and this is where I think Buddy Rich is a lunatic. He considers himself the world's best drummer but his feet are nowhere at all! He hasn't got any feet -- he plays like a man with one foot." on Elvin Jones: "In the early days with Coltrane, Elvin had a period when he really knocked me out," he went on, "but from then on he's gone into this 'no time is cool' thing and is getting away from basic time." "There aren't very many jazz players I can say I dig because they just can't play simply." Elvin on Ginger (after hearing Baker's solo on 'Do What You Like'): "Nothing happening. Cat's got delusions of grandeur with no grounds. They should make him an astronaut and lose his ass!"

Jo Ann's exuberant energy and radiant smile are powered by a mega-Duracell tucked inside her blonde bouff. As for the band members, no worries ever, as they're drug-tested prior to all of Welk's shows. Of concern are Welk's spellbound TV viewers who are able to watch in lieu of taking sedatives.

As Keepnews would say, "If the money-losing venture might affect a potential deal of mine, I can't provide you with any names." Keepnews frequently withholds names in his autobiography, 'The View From Within' (1988). As if to tell the reader, "I'm glad you're interested but I'll keep it to myself."

The 'loss prevention experts' found no problem with customers cruising along the sales floor with backpacks, saddle bags, and over-sized purses. When viewing a blatant theft in progress while sitting at their remote camera post, they couldn't get off their fat asses and move fast enough to nab the absconder. After the loss prevention consultants had finished, the store owner might say, "Thanks a million -- nothing gets past you guys!"

When playing the pristine Music Matters vinyl and holding one of their smart jackets, I often imagine how I could be employed somewhere in the album assembly process. The dream ends when I see photos of a grimy factory floor with rusty cabinets and greased-up machinery. Maybe they're hiring help in the cafeteria?

Y'all are killin' me by leaving Joe Chambers out. I've been digging on Joe my jazz-conscious life, starting with nearly all the Bobby Hutcherson albums on Blue Note. His compositions are so strong, he's got at least two each on classic Hutch LPs 'Dialogue', 'Components', 'Oblique', 'Patterns', and 'Medina'. Joe was the leader on two great albums for Muse -- 'The Almoravid' (1974) and 'Double Exposure' w/ Larry Young (1978). He's led several more since then.

Jeff, what intrigues me is how James Houlik made his way into a Dixie Dregs jacket and cohabitated with the sleeved 'Free Fall' vinyl -- and for several years. I've found this sort of thing happens in the manic whirl of DJ-ing a lively event and there's no time to finesse jacket inserts when cueing-up the next track. But when the party's over, the separation ends when the loose vinyl slabs are matched to the pile of empty jackets. Maybe one of your private lesson students pulled a fast one when you stepped out for a minute?

Reminds me of what Mickey Katz said when comparing the expensive hotels in the Catskills: "At the Fontainebleau... they gotcha by the 'rooms'."

Jim, the quotes from FS and FS Jr. came from a piece in The New Yorker several years ago. It was in one of those non-fiction half-page bits that run in The Talk of the Town. The story and words are recalled by FS Jr. himself.

One of the last conversations between Frank the Chairman and Frank Jr. went like this: The senior Sinatra, recently retired and having grown a white beard, is sitting alone at the beach, when Frank Jr. approaches. Frank Jr. : "Hey pops, you know you look like Ernest Hemingway?" Frank the Elder: "What's YOUR problem?"

What Sangrey said. And yes, her best and closest to jazz happened on 'Granted... It's Gogi', the last of her five albums for RCA (1960). Fortunately, producer Dick Pierce was able to secure the arranging services of Johnny Mandel, just prior to him being chosen by Sinatra to provide same for the 'Ring-A-Ding Ding' debut on Reprise. Gogi's recording career was relatively short, lasting eight years. Her 1956 debut at the top-o-the-charts -- the million-selling single of 'Wayward Wind', would likely provide her meal ticket for the next 60 years. All of her LPs were done in Hollywood/L.A. until her last -- a country music production in 1964, with Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer in Nashville (still produced by Dick Pierce). At 40, Gogi seems to have thrown in the towel with recording. She doesn't get as much as a paragraph in Will Friedwald's 'Biographical Guide to the Great Pop and Jazz Singers'. However, her run of six LPs provides us with that withering vibrato fueled by 'that restless wind that yearns to wander".

"Whatever he did, it worked." No doubt, after receiving a hefty three-figure settlement from Joe Fields. Some artists on Muse have referred to their label of indenture as "Mis-use".

Ahh, the thought of digital-sourced tracks from Universal's storage mountain, EQ'd and compressed into various artist configurations and JATP box sets... ... fills me with inertia.

Then there's k.d. lang singing in '93 with Branford M. and Tain Watts:

As I said to the TSA screener when examining my carry-on, "Who needs a home when you have a colostomy bag?"

That's also the one for me. There's a certain dynamism present on this digital recording of March 16, 1984. By comparison, on 'Power of Three' (also recorded in 3-D), Petrucciani is restrained and less spontaneous.

Let me say, "Si, si!" about the RCA Bluebird CD of 'Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra: The Post-War Era' (1993, BG2-66156). Twenty-two tracks from 1946-50 were personally selected by Bill Finegan and Loren Schoenberg, with eight tracks either previously unissued or available only on compact disc. I got my copy just a month ago and played it steadily for several days. It's very adventurous, full-bodied swing, minus the looming thunder of Kenton and post-1950 cerebral touches of Eddie Sauter.

You could always spot Creed Taylor's influence without even hearing the record -- it was the look and feel of the jacket. Impulse, Verve, and CTI albums were sturdy gatefolds, with unique graphic designs and lettering, artist photos taken by top professionals, and all wrapped in a deluxe laminated sheen. Taylor insisted the Impulses have their very recognizable 50/50 orange and black spines. Fortunately, Bob Thiele maintained the spine color and type fonts after Taylor left to run Verve.

Atlanta, GA on Aug. 17, 1991 at Variety Playhouse: the Frank Morgan quartet featuring George Cables. Morgan was too sweet for words and his playing was cool and together. His eyes twinkled as he blew kisses of gratitude as the audience of about 150 applauded his final number. Note: the Variety is a converted movie house in Atlanta's hipster district called Little Five Points. During the hot summer months of the 1990's the Variety would book jazz artists such as James Moody w/ Mike Longo, Phil Woods w/ Tommy Flanagan, and the regular groups led by Joshua Redman, Joe Lovano, and McCoy Tyner. Often two or three co-promoters and backers per show were needed to help cover each band's guarantee and many shows didn't make it. The Atlanta market is not supportive of real jazz and many promoters who tried it alone lost their shirts.

If Palmer is somehow convicted by U.S. felony charges for trafficking in endangered species -- and does jail time -- he'll experience what it's like to be mounted and stuffed.

Van Alexander arranged four of Kay Starr's best LPs in 1959-60, just after she left RCA and returned to the Capitol fold. 'Movin'', 'Loser's Weepers', 'Movin' On Broadway', and 'Jazz Singer' are fully mature, professionally-realized recordings of Starr at her pinnacle. They're free of her earlier Capitol novelties and RCA's efforts at big-selling pop singles. When critic Will Friedwald selected the Alexander-arranged LPs 'Movin', Movin' On Broadway', and 'Jazz Singer' with Gerald Wiggins' small jazz combo backing on 'I Cry By Night' (Capitol, 1962), he praises them "...so terrific as to give the impression that Starr knew her option wouldn't be renewed and wanted to end her stay at the top with four of the most colossal jazz vocal sets ever recorded." (Friedwald in 'Jazz Singing', pgs. 217-18, Da Capo, 1996).