LWayne

RIP Hank and God Bless! Sure glad I got to hear him twice: once with Joe Lovano about six or seven years ago (2004) debuting the “Joyous Encounter” album at the Iridium and also last August celebrating his 91st birthday at Birdland. Both were great sets, full of fun, and innovative takes on treasured standards. After the Iridium show, I went backstage to get an autograph and spent a little while talking to Hank. He was very gracious and kind and spoke to me about the recent passing of his brother Elvin. He spent several minutes reminiscing about the abundance of talent of his younger siblings, Elvin and Thad. He stated that he missed them and how difficult it was for him to see them go, being the oldest. He managed a smile, looked me in the eyes and declared that he was merely the “lucky one” to have survived and played so long. His sense of humility was moving. This was truly an elegant and classy man. I will mourn his passing but celebrate his life as well. Regards, LWayne

I should have checked my post on Monday. I did wind up going to see "Honeyboy" at the Chicago Cultural Center (old library) since I had a customer meeting being delayed. Great set and I bought an autographed CD from him. LWayne

Well my expectations would have been wrong. Just called the Jazz Showcase and they confirmed that Enrico Rava had to cancel due to an injury, but his band will be there nonetheless. What a shame as I was really looking forward to catching him! Any other alternatives for Monday night? Might try Pat Metheny after all, but tickets are pricey. Perhaps there is a "same day" discount. I missed Henry Threadgill earlier this year, and now Rava. LWayne

I would expect that Enrico Rava will be there since he has the date posted on his website. http://www.enricorava.com/home.html LWayne

His New Quintet (minus Paul Motian) is playing the Jazz Showcase in Chicago next Monday. I will be in town on buisness with some colleagues and was planning on attending. Anyone else going? Also, what time should we get there for good seats, and, is there parking available nearby? Thanks. Hope to see you there... LWayne

I have been a HUGE Andrew Hill fan since I first heard "Black Fire". Probably got hooked since his sound differed so much from the standard Blue Note fare that was my constant companion. While the attraction grew slowly, the more I heard Andrew the more I appreciated his subtlety and the uniqueness of his sound. Like others have said, the best parallel that I can think of was when I first listened to Thelonious Monk. Not only did I not get his sound, but I was convinced that Thelonious couldn't play! Just like Thelonious, Andrew Hill gets better with each listen and it is difficult now, in retrospect, for me to remember the time when his sound was not so profoundly important to me. Subsequently, buying the Mosaic Blue Note box was a landmark purchase that I go back to for comfort all of the time. The music is simply sublime and it is hard for me to pick one favorite LP of the bunch. No need to either as the entirety of the box itself is very cohesive and satisfying. You can imagine my bliss this last weekend when I was finally able to find a new copy of the much sought after Les Trinitaires to complete my collection. LWayne

PM Sent. Thanks for your consideration. Regards, LWayne

Went to the Village Vanguard in January of this year to see Lee Konitz with Dan Tepfer (Piano) and Matt Wilson (Drums). Great Show! You can hear on the NPR or WGBO website as the show was recorded. Mostly his deconstructed versions of standards. LWayne

Thanks all for the kind words. Actually, I did petition E-Tix about my situation and they seemed to be sympathetic to my plight and agreed to issue a refund! However, I am still disappointed to miss the opportunity to see Henry Threadgill again. I will have to soothe myself by listening to "This Brings Us To, Volume 1" over the weekend. Did anybody actually see the show? Thanks, LWayne

Unfortunately, my trip to New York City today was cancelled due to the weather. In anticipation of the trip I had purchased three tickets to the show via E-tix from the Jazz Gallery website that will now go to waste (apparently you need the original credit card that you used to buy the tickets when picking them up at will call) otherwise I would donate them to friends in the area. That's the breaks. If anyone from the board is going to the show tonight I would appreciate your feedback. I had the good fortune of seeing Henry Threadgill once before several years back in Philadelphia at an Ars Nova Workshop event at the International House, and the ZOOID ensemble just blew me away. Feeling pretty sad and frustrated right now... LWayne:

Hoping to see Henry Threadgill atb the Jazz Standard on Thursday IF the weather permits (and that is a BIG "if" since I have to fly into NYC). C'mon warming trend... LWaye

Paul's CDs in Pittsburgh has a rather small, but very good selection, of jazz LPs in the back of the store. If you live in Germany, or don't mind e-business, then I would recommend O-Ton Jazz and World which has a fabulous selection of vinyl including rare, and hard-to-find, titles. The owner's name is Andreas. Regards, LWayne

Claude; The 180 gram remastered version of "1961" by Jimmy Giuffre has already been released in Germany as I purchased a copy when in Freiburg last November. The sound quality is fantastic, much warmer on vinyl than analogue CD, and is not typical of later day ECM production. Regards, LWayne

Also thumbs up for "Les Trinitaires". I have a copy of the CD but have been looking for the original for ages. Great to hear live versions of some of the "Dusk" material. My favorite Blue Notes continue to be "Black Fire", "Smokestack", and "Time Lines" Seeing him live twice are memories I will always treasure. Regards, LWayne

I was at one of the 3 in 1 Trio shows last February at the Vanguard and thought that the combination (Chris Potter, Jason Moran, Paul Motian) was one of the very best shows that I attended last year. Any idea of a potential date for the ECM release? Too early to be posted on the website. LWayne

Got my Mobley and Brooks yesterday from CD Pacific. LWayne

Talk about fortunate! For Christmas, I have received not one, but two, copies of this limited edition vinyl LP (only 500 pressed). Not only did my wife buy me a copy (which I will keep), but my friend got me one as well. Willing to sell the duplicate copy for $30 (plus shipping) which is what my friend paid for it. Wanted to make someone else's holiday rather than Ebay it. Merry Christmas. LWayne

Willing to sell (for $8 each plus S&H) or trade: Trio 3 with Geri Allen "At This Time" Intakt Jimmy Giuffre "Free Fall" Columbia Thanks Happy Holidays, LWayne

My top 10 new releases (just changed to add the new Odean Pope that I bought recently in Germnay. It is outstanding!): Artist Title Label 1 Fly Sky & Country ECM 2 The Monterey Quartet Live at the 2007 Jazz Festival Monterey Jazz Festival 3 Chris Potter & Underground Ultrahang ArtistShare 4 Henry Threadgill This Brings Us to, Volume 1 Pi Recordings 5 Tom Harrell Prana Dance High Note 6 Odean Pope Odean's List In & Out 7 Enrico Rava New York Days ECM 8 Joe Lovano Us Five Blue Note 9 Paul Motian Trio 2000 Plus Two On Broadway, Volume 5 Winter & Winter 10 Frank Kimbrough & Joe Locke Verrazano Moon Omnitone Happy Holidays LWayne

Looking to swap for ECM CD "At the Deer Head Inn" (KJ with G Peacock and P Motian) for your choice of either "Up For It: Live at Juan-Les-Pins" or "The Out of Towners". Both are in near mint shape and come with outer sleeve. Send PM if interested. Thanks, LWayne

A couple of weeks ago I took a well-deserved break from a business trip to New York and treated myself and a colleague to the early show at the Village Vanguard on Thursday, August 27th. While I have seen the Paul Motian/ Joe Lovano / Bill Frisell trio several times before, going back to about 2003, this night’s performance was most likely the best. Maybe it was a fortuitous combination of time and place, but the trio seemed to meld together, compliment one another, and play more single-mindedly with passion and fire than any time that I can remember. Naturally, the first set was packed. The audience buzzed with anticipation but fell dead silent in rapture once the set began. The trio began the set with a free improvisation that I did not recognize, but eventually it morphed into an upbeat and enjoyable version of "Body and Soul". Joe Lovano's expressive tenor soared over the mix and perfectly complimented the tasteful cymbals of Paul Motian and the atmospheric guitar of Bill Frisell. Next the group launched into an extended "I Have The Room Above Her" from the ECM album of the same name that provided a soothing calm before launching into Monks's "Epistrophy", and the Motian classics "Dance", and "Drum Music". On these last two songs, Bill Frisell came to the forefront with his singular blend of ringing guitar, tremolo, and his trademark mix of electronic delays and gadgetry that always seem to add immeasurably to the cohesiveness of the performance, rather than detract from the organic flow of the music. Throughout the set, Paul Motian remained the anchor and provided the perfect timbre and coloration by subtly enhancing and accenting each song. As usual, it was difficult to remember all the individual song titles as the set blended together seamlessly. Needless to say it was a blissful experience. When this trio is playing at its best, it is difficult for me to think of another non-piano trio that can match them. There is a certain natural empathy and intuitiveness that comes about within a group that has played together in one form or another for over 25 years. Not only does the trio not run out of ideas, they seems to still find new inspiration in each annual performance at the Village Vanguard. The trio seemed to gain energy and momentum from one another through the set and take the music to a higher level. Not only was this night the best performance I have seem from the trio, but this mesmerizing set was the best performance so far this year. Truly Unforgettable. LWayne

Truly a remarkable man. After years of procrastinating, I finally saw Les Paul last year at the Iridium while in town on a business trip. My wife accompanied me on that trip and was overjoyed to hear Les recount stories from the stage (some of them were a little risque which added to the entertainment). He was a great performer and will be sorely missed. LWayne

Horace Parlan "US Three" Blue Note Conn Edition for $ 10 plus $2.50 domestic shipping and handling. Great CD, but I already have the Mosaic box set. Saw some conversation on this a few months back. Send a PM if interested. Grazi LWayne

A couple of weeks ago, while in New York on business, my friend and I attended the early show of the Frank Kimbrough Trio at Birdland. For this show, the trio consisted of Jay Anderson on Bass and Paul Motian on Drums. Given that I had caught an amazing show that this trio put on at the Jazz Standard a couple of years ago in support of Frank’s recently released “Play” album, I was very anxious to catch the return of this superb trio. The group certainly did not disappoint. From the start, the group was in fine form. The interplay between Kimbrough and Motian was especially captivating as Frank seemed to be able to slow down and suspend the melody of a song while Paul has the uncanny ability to add just the perfect accent on both drums and cymbals to spark any song. The trio started out with a memorable version of “Beginning” from the aforementioned “Play” album. For the next song, Frank reached back to his earlier “Lullabluebye” album for a beautiful version of the title track. On Paul Motian’s standard “It Should Have Happened a Long Time Ago”, Kimbrough again demonstrated his ability to float above the structure of the song while never losing sight of the core essence of the melody. The trio then focused on a couple of standards “All the Things You Are” and the delightfully unexpected “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” before revisiting the “Play” album once more for the upbeat, even joyous, Monkish influenced “The Spins”. All throughout the set it was evident that the trio was enjoying each other’s company and having fun. That palpable sense of joy was contagious as the audience applauded heartily and was rewarded with an encore version of the often neglected standard “I Wish I Knew”. Certainly was a great show and a great evening. Here’s hoping that this trio gets the opportunity to record and play live together more frequently as we will be the ones who are truly rewarded. One of the best shows of the year for sure! LWayne

Naturally I was disappointed when they made they announcement last night that Lee Konitz was unable to make his scheduled show with Minsarah at the Regattabar in Cambridge, but much more concerned about his health. The waiter advised us that he called the club and advised he was still intending on making the gig, but it sounds like he was probably held at the local hospital for observation. Anybody have any information as I certainly hope the best for this legend? LWayne