Bill Nelson

While it's a pleasure for Buddy Guy to get a well-deserved feature in The New Yorker, the writing of David Remnick produced a few howlers. Particularly in comparing Guy to B.B. King: "...more often he (Guy) throws in as much as the listener can take: Guy is a putter-inner, not a taker-outer." Followed next sentence by a wretched stew/gumbo metaphor: "His solos are a rich stew of everything-at-once-ness -- all the groceries, all the spices, thrown into the pot, notes and riffs smashing together and producing the combined effect of pain, endurance, ecstasy." (Block that metaphor!) And two paragraphs later with the blatantly obvious: "Guy's devotion and sense of obligation to the blues form began long before the death of B.B. King." The New Yorker is a higher-browed general interest publication which may be why Remnick chose to keep the text excruciatingly simple for the uninformed, using such terminology as "putter-inner, not a taker-outer". David Remnick's expertise has been international politics, Russia in particular. He's also been The New Yorker's editor for the last 20 years, so, yeah, it's good he personally wrote a feature on the last blues legend standing, even with the clams.

It's curious he never did a country music album. The man did everything else, which presents a problem for record stores and guys like me. I've got Previn LPs in three shelf locations for jazz, easy listening, and film music -- and in another room with the classical albums. And then there's the pop albums with Dory Previn.

A most unique voice with an increasingly personal vision. The 1986 LP 'Colour of Spring' with the hit 'Life's What You Make It' is one of my favorites.

By 1970, United Artists was done with Sonny Lester* and Solid State. Besides the Jones-Lewis band, the other SS label artists UA exercised a 'carry-forward' to Blue Note option were Chick Corea, Jeremy Steig, and Jimmy McGriff. Of the four, Jones-Lewis' 'Consummation' was the first to appear on Blue Note, which may be why they tacked on 'Solid State Series' in small print. *lots of musicians are glad to be finished with Sonny Lester

Crate-diggers for these two Sauter-Finegan United Artist LPs will be rewarded by their 'Ultra Audio' engineering --as explained inside the gatefold for hi-fi buffs circa 1961: "What you are about to hear is the ultimate in recorded sound -- ULTRA AUDIO -- and it was recorded with you, the listener, and your equipment in mind. If you are interested in the sternest possible test for your equipment, this album will provide that test. Records are pressed with exacting care, and the pressings are checked continuously. Thus every Ultra Audio record is, in fact, a hand-crafted product, produced under rigid supervision to provide the finest in recorded sound for your listening pleasure." After 1962, with just over 20 releases, the Ultra Audio series was discontinued by United Artists. I'll step aside and let TTK tell you about the music.

Al Maiorca* is credited as playing trumpet (with Joe Ferrante and Nick Travis) on all the tracks of S-F's 'Straight Down the Middle', LPM-1497 from 1957, or LSP-1497 if you're lucky to find one of the early RCA stereos. As of this album, Eddie Sauter had already split to Germany to be musical director of Sudwestfunk, the radio center in Baden-Baden. Sauter must've has one foot out the door as he only contributed four arrangements of the eleven. The title alone, "Straight Down the Middle' may indicate RCA was getting impatient with their concert jazz. The next S-F album, 'Memories of Goodman and Miller', would be their last for RCA (LSP-1634, 1958). * that's how they spell it on the jacket

And yet the mastering of 'Something Personal' was by Rudy Van Gelder, whose name is stamped on the trail-out groove. It appears Tracy handed the masters to Rudy and said, "You take it from here."

Not only can they suck ass, they lick and clean their entire rims -- something only the most skilled (and highly paid) human contortionists can do. "Ollie, I believe you've said too much."

Playing my Andorran CD of 'Brilliant Triangles', I'm slayed by the killer hypotenuse between Woody Shaw and Joe Chambers.

Don's brother, Al, was a professional weather forecaster.

I jumped at the last chance for Mosaic's Strata-East set, knowing it was very likely to be my last purchase. The Blackwell discs alone blow me away.

It was Urbie's solos on the Jobim albums which made my first awareness. Eventually I found his RCA LPs from 1958, both with large ensembles arranged by Al Cohn and Irwin Kostal 'Let's Face the Music and Dance' (LSP-1667) and 'Jimmy McHugh in Hi-Fi' (LSP1741) are both 'tastefully swinging', as one would expect -- performed by available NY studio and pit orchestra cats. And speaking of cats, my Russian Blue dug Urbie's silky smooth solos. She'd stay curled-up with her eyes closed. Anything else would make her scowl and walk away.

After two egg nogs, guest says to Mingus: "I'm drunk now but tomorrow morning I'll be sober and you'll still be ugly."

When you're as good as Jo Stafford and Paul Weston, you can pull pranks like this:

If you go up top shelf prior to Esquivel, be sure to TURN OFF the DAMN FAN.

Kimbrel came in with a three-run lead and nearly blew the save. He was throwing mostly junk, low and out of the zone. Not that home plate ump Angel Hernandez was gonna give him any calls like he did the Yanks. (see: called strike three, end of inning for Bosox with bases loaded in top of 8th.)

The rhythm section is Roland Hanna, piano, Sam Herman, gtr., Richard Davis, and Mel. To paraphrase the liners:Thad solos on flugel, then Garnett rips it up for 96 bars, Roland finishes it and then ensemble kicks for 8 bars to set up Joe Farrell's tenor solo continuing until Thad's return of the theme and then... it's all horns on deck blowing until...whoosh... into a quiet held chord.

I've got the Jones-Lewis' 'Live at the VV' recording of 'Bachafillen' on the original Solid State LP (SS-18016, 1967) and CD (Blue Note-EMI, 2005). It runs 7:07 mins.

What Jim said. The most happening tracks are the two Garnett's with Joe Farrell (not Pepper Adams), Elvin (not Mel Lewis), and Marvin Stamm in place of Dizzy.* This group plays with a vigor and energy lacking on the tracks with Dizzy (which All Music's Scott Yanow notes "some loose and rambling moments". Label honcho Sonny Lester rivals Richard Bock for tricky editing and re-packaging onto other Solid State LPs and subsequent CDs on Blue Note and Lester's own LRC label. I've got three of the four such LPs which include Garnett Brown: Vols. 1, 2, and 4 (Solid State 18027, 18028, and 18052). I didn't need to buy SS-18034 from the same date, titled 'Dizzy Gillespie Live at the Village Vanguard' because two of the three selections are from SS 1027 and 1028. A fine mess, yes? * released on vinyl in 1969 as 'Jazz For A Sunday Afternoon' SS-18052

Perhaps overheard at a North Carolina Waffle House just barely functioning with a limited menu: "I'll punch-out the next som'bitch who plays "Who'll Stop the Rain" on the jukebox."

I thought it was comedienne Sarah Silverman playing it straight.

Christy followed this with a 1960 Capitol LP of children's songs titled 'Cool School' -- but with no children present beyond the album cover. Better seen than heard.

Or as 'Tonight Show' guest Dolly Parton said to Johnny, "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap."

In 1970, Dorough and guitarist Stuart Scharf, got a contract for a 4-song EP for Scholastic Magazines. They covered 'hit' songs of the time, with socially relevant themes. However, they did a wild treatment of 'Runaway Child, Running Wild', with Dorough imitating ALL the voices of the Temptations. If this isn't crazy enough, Steve Swallow plays bass and keyboards and Bill Goodwin handles funky drums. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoRwZui_KHc Sorry, it was an upper case for one letter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoRwZUi_KHc

Here's my favorite Manhattan Wildlife Refuge track. Danny Stiles gets featuredup to the 3:50 mark and then the band let's 'er rip like a 70's soundtrack chase scene. And Dick Hyman gets funky on the keys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enJGn2cIh0s