Leeway

Thought it might be a good time to throw out some questions about Art as an alto sax player. It seems to me that Art does have a fairly unique sound. I was wondering how others viewed Art's playing. Where does he fit (or not) into modern sax players? Are there others he influenced? As for influences on Art, he always struck me as someone who was influenced by Benny Goodman and Lester Young. I know he went through a Coltrane period at the midpoint of his career, but his later playing really doesn't show any substantial Coltrane influence. The Marsh album is interesting because Warne seems to me to have a similar sound on tenor. Is that generally true of Warne's playing? And, anyone have any thoughts on Art as a clarinet player?

Auction has been pulled. What was it?

I'm sure stacking the vinyl in a pile helps the value Even in the seller's photo, the stuff looks quite worn. How many warning flags does this send up? Ridiculous from start to finsih.

That's pretty much what Dizzy says in "To Be or Not to Bop." He was not afraid to use it either. What actually worried Diz was getting his lip busted, so that he wouldn't be able to play.

I think the primary reason for color vinyl is that it looked SO DAMN COOL Especially when "mood-enhanced." Anyway, one problem from a collector's point of view is that it is hard to spot defects and wear in the vinyl. But I get them anyway. I have some cool yellow ones, blue and red too, though don't think I have any green ones.

I'm a Netflix member, and I really like it. I mostly rent European films, like Godard, Truffaut, Antonioni, et al; these are impossible to get locally. I also rent a lot of older films, film noir, etc. In fact, Netflix has really got me going on movies again, as I can now easily obtain these sorts of films. I have no idea how they do with "blockbusters," and currently popular films, although I would think they are pretty good on that; however, that might be a factor in which service to pick, as Blockbuster has always been a, well, "blockbuster" type of supply house. Netflix service has been excellent. One of their distribution centers is near me, so returns take 1-2 days, and I get the next title in 2-3 days. My only limitation is time-- I wish I had more time to watch.

Liberty pressing. Hutcherson with Harold Land, Chick Corea, Reggie Johnson and Joe Chambers. This album really knocks me out. Should be a Conn or part of a Hutcherson Mosaic Select.

Well, if it's just too many beers, all is forgiven Bad grammar, of course, is unforgivable.

In his memoir, Dizzy talks a lot about carrying a knife, something he apparently did over his lifetime, and about the various scrapes, fights and brawls he got into; of course, these are told from his point of view. Even given the obvious bias towards putting everything in the best possible light, the recitation of these events in the memoirs begins to raise real doubts about Diz. In addition, Diz got hit with a number of paternity suits, and something of the attitude Val describes seeps through his account of these problems.

Well, I wasn't looking to earn any "points," but I did want to make the point that if you are going to dish it out, you've got to take some too. The insult to Italians was simply gratuitously made, but I see some of my Germanic tribesmen have pretty thin skin after all.

Hey, it's my pleasure and duty to do so. I just want to keep our Teutonic friends honest on things like this . I believe a little "push back" is a healthy and necessary corrective to some of their, er, tendencies. Truly, though, nothing personal!

Sounds like a good program to me I suppose Germans break a sweat watching their imported Turks do all the heavy lifting?

It was McPherson's "Free Bop!" which I just picked up that got me to start this thread.

I wasn't referring to Switzerland, but to Germany, from which Mikeweil hails (or is that "heils" ). I know that, but Italy entered the war on Germany's side on June 10, 1940, and German troosp later occupied Italy, and that's what I was thinking of. Those Italian remarks, especially coming from a German, strike me as pretty tasteless. Odd, too, as I read a survey recently, that Germans change their underwear the fewest times per week of any European nation. I also read another survey where the biggest workplace complaint voiced by German workers was the body odor of their co-workers. My guess is that the Italian side of the Alps probably pick up a lot of trash from those visitors to the north. Just kiddin, of course B-)

I agree with Larry Kart, but much of Art's early work is the coolest, bebopingest playing you are likely to hear from that period. Smooth (or maybe fuid would be a better term) AND swinging. I also agree with Wolff's comments about Art's ballad playing, which is superb, and which is a hallmark of the later phase of his career. They are so emotionally honest and compelling, I think very few jazzers can match him in this category. For purely beautiful ballad playing, I recommend "Winter Moon," which is Art with strings, but don't let the string thing put you off; it's all beautifully and honestly done. Other favorite Art albums? Let's hear about them.

I've picked up a number of Xanadu LPs recently, which got me curious about the history of the label. I know that Don Schlitten founded and operated it, although don't know much more than that. I found an online Xanadu discography (to which our own Chck Nessa contributed): Xanadu Discography Looks like there are a lot of good albums that went away with the label. How much of this was picked up on other labels? Or is currently available? Also, are there any particularly strong dates in the Xanadu catalog worth dearching out?

First of all, I'd ask: why do you want to replace what you have? Then: what do you hope to get in your new system? Then: how much are you willing to pay for it? Then: where are local dealers who can give me a chance to do some listening? Then: what do I like from what I've heard? You need to ask yourself these questions. When you have all the answers, you are ready to buy. Good luck.

Rockin in the USA: Ginger Baker takes a lot of knocks, some well-deserved no doubt, but I always liked Cream, and Blind Faith, for that army of drummers (or maybe it was Army Drummer) effect that Baker gave And: From America's greatest rock group.

Boy, haven't heard that kind of attitude since, oh, about 1941-1945.

Charles McPherson - FREE BOP Xanadu Records, 1978. "OUT FRONT" - A great, great album, with Booker Little, Eric Dolphy, Julian Priester, and Max Roach. Barnaby/Candid Records. I think this is a 1977 re-issue. Leon Thomas - "FULL CIRCLE" - Flying Dutchman Records.

An Official Happy Birthday Wish from the Nation's Capital: I can't imagine why anyone would trade DC for San Francisco . May your iPOD battery always be on full charge

Nate, that could be the case. I can't recall what Art or Laurie might have said about it in "Straight Life" but in the liner notes Art wrote for "No Limit" (January 1, 1978), he says he wrote "Rita-San" for Laurie, "whose middle name is Rita." Art goes on to say: "I've always had an affinity for this kind of tune, and I'm glad jazz fans are opening up to it now." There's another Latin-samba number on "No Limit," "Mambo de la Pinta," which Art says "is a tune I wrote for the guys in the joint, 'la Pinta', a long, long time ago." Art offers a lot of insights into his playing and his musical thinking in the liner notes of "No Limit."

A good place to check on things relating to Art Pepper, including discography, is: The Art of Pepper Web Site

Wolff, I hope you'll contribute some of your thoughts on Art Pepper to the AOW.