What are you listening to right now?

[Jack of All Parades]

Otis- thank you for that. In one sense this poem by John Ashbery speaks to your thought:

How to Continue

Oh there once was a woman
and she kept a shop
selling trinkets to tourists
not far from a dock
who came to see what life could be
far back on the island.

And it was always a party there
always different but very nice
New friends to give you advice
or fall in love with you which is nice
and each grew so perfectly from the other
it was a marvel of poetry
and irony

And in this unsafe quarter
much was scary and dirty
but no one seemed to mind
very much
the parties went on from house to house
There were friends and lovers galore
all around the store
There was moonshine in winter
and starshine in summer
and everybody was happy to have discovered
what they discovered

And then one day the ship sailed away
There were no more dreamers just sleepers
in heavy attitudes on the dock
moving as if they knew how
among the trinkets and the souvenirs
the random shops of modern furniture
and a gale came and said
it is time to take all of you away
from the tops of the trees to the little houses
on little paths so startled

And when it became time to go
they none of them would leave without the other
for they said we are all one here
and if one of us goes the other will not go
and the wind whispered it to the stars
the people all got up to go
and looked back on love

John Ashbery

Not so odd the pairings we long for in this life.

[Jack of All Parades]

Fridays with Lee-- "The Procrastinator" by Lee Morgan. A mid sixties date featuring Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson on exquisite vibes, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins. Could not ask for a finer way to spend the morning. The title song is exceptional and has an almost symphonic feel to it- there is a majesty in its melody as it is spread out and developed by the individual instruments. I swear Shorter is channeling John Coltrane on his solos and Hancock does his usual superb support of the others, subtly enhancing their lines with his melodic comments. I also like the masculinity of Morgan's "Soft touch"- its toughness enhanced by an insoucient tone. Wonderful record that I am only beginning to familiarize myself with this morning.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 4429,d.dmg

[Otis Westinghouse]

This Ron Carter?

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/peo ... ald.carter

Went to a talk by him yesterday, funnily enough. They've worked on a new language corpus for tweets, texts, emails, blogs, etc. 'x' is something like the 28th most commonly used item. 'the' is 1 and 'I' is 2. In terms of two-word phrases of any sort, number 9, bizarrely, was 'credit card'.

He's a busy man that Ron Carter.

[Jack of All Parades]

No that would be this one:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 4429,d.dmg

The great Doctor of Music who is indeed a very busy man!

[Jack of All Parades]

Yet another friday with Lee in the 'cube' - this one featuring his 1965 record "The Rumproller". The title song is a righteous and riotous romp through the blues stretching 12 bars to 24 bars and filled with a scrumptious trumpet solo from Lee and and equally impressive tenor solo from Joe Henderson. I cannot get enough of the undercurrent melodies provided in the tune by the piano player, Ronnie Mathews. Inspired playing and music. There are also two excellent tunes penned by Wayne Shorter- a sublime "Edda" and "Venus di Mildrew". This one is making the day pass effortlessly.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 7550,d.dmQ

[Kevin Davis]

Any opinions on the new Miles Davis Bootleg Series, Jack? I've been playing it pretty obsessively all week. It's a period of Miles's career I'm thrilled to see finally being given official treatment.

[Jack of All Parades]

Kevin- I really enjoyed the Bootleg VOL 1 Live in Europe from 1967- I bought the best of compilation two years ago and quite liked it particularly the way he took tunes like "On Green Dolphin Street" and "'Round Midnight" and amplified them. The music has a spontaneity and flow to it that is near seamless. Songs do not seem to end. I have yet to hear the newest volume. If I understand correctly it jumps to 1969 and the phantom quintet that never officially recorded an album just before he goes into the studio to make Bitches Brew. I will be eager to hear this one because this is where he begins to truly remap the way his music will go into rock, fusion and free form. I recently met Dave Holland at a tribute to my father in law. I am interested in your thoughts. You have good ears and perceptions.

http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/ ... =170662462

[Poor Deportee]

New Jill Barber coming. Chansons. This shoots right to the top of the ol' 'must buy' list:

http://www.amazon.com/Chansons/dp/B00AO ... ill+barber

[Jack of All Parades]

Oh Yeah!!!!! But no cd just mp3 that is a bummer. Am awaiting in the mail my copy of Endeavor Forever.

[Poor Deportee]

Oh Yeah!!!!! But no cd just mp3 that is a bummer. Am awaiting in the mail my copy of Endeavor Forever.

I'm assuming there will be a CD version...mostly because the media reports I've read mentioned nothing about its being MP-3 only.

I do think we have to face facts, though; it's only a matter of time before most releases are virtual in nature. My daughter asked me today how the world would be different when she was grown up. Having just bought Ron Sexsmith's latest CD in her presence, I said, 'well, there won't be any CDs around anymore...'

Haven't listened to Forever Endeavour properly yet, but on initial hearing it seems to be exemplary. Ron only does one thing, really - he just does it so exquisitely you keep coming back for more. Not entirely sold on Froom's fulsome use of strings on this one, though. Initial impression only.

[Jack of All Parades]

Yes- that is it- my listening to the songs as he initially gave acess to them on his web site was harmed by the excessive layering of strings. Their lushness creates a sonic tipping point for me toward dislike. I like sad but their usage on this record is deadening.

[Poor Deportee]

Yes- that is it- my listening to the songs as he initially gave acess to them on his web site was harmed by the excessive layering of strings. Their lushness creates a sonic tipping point for me toward dislike. I like sad but their usage on this record is deadening.

Having listened again on my commute this morning, I think the strings are mostly an irritant, but one that on balance doesn't really compromise the songs. At times they work very well. Other sonic elements, such as horns, are deftly used here.

For my money there is really one way to use string in pop music: for that 'chiselled' sound that George Martin secured for The Beatles. Those strings don't sound sappy or orchestral; they sound incisive, like the playing of a tight and archly evocative quartet. Beats me why that sound is not more commonly achieved. Instead Phil Spectre's overload, or - worse - where strings become a soft 'pad' on which the song's chordal structure reposes, like bland synthesizer notes - seem to have defined strings in pop.

[Jack of All Parades]

Yet one more Friday with Lee- this time "Peckin' Time" even though it is a Hank Mobley led session from this date back in 1958. Session and Miles mates Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers help to round out the sound. The playing is bright, energetic and efficient. Nothing outstanding, just established pros playing in the studio. The real treat is Mr. Morgan and his assured playing with its strong, vibrant tone in the manner of Clifford Brown. He might be all of 17 here but he plays with the assurance of a veteran. I really like the two of the Mobley tunes- the bop tinged "High and Flighty" and the energetic, brezzy "Stretchin' Out" in which everyone gets a chance to strut their musical chops. Fun music for a gloomy, snowy day in the cube.

I also have been listening to a secret joy- Miles Davis's "'Round About Midnight". I know there are many albums by this performer that stand above this one but in my heart of hearts this is the one I return to secretly for fun, succor and to be just immersed in the joy of 'pure' music. It is that second great quintet in 1956 and Miles never sounded more intriguing to my ears- his playing on this record has the jagged urgency of bop combined with the fluid yet languid playing of the cool sound. I can never get enough of the tone he achieved on this record with his relaxed breathy sound-amplified by his intelligent usage of the mute. For me heaven is "Bye Bye Blackbird" from this record. Listen:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 0656,d.dmQ

[Poor Deportee]

Yet one more Friday with Lee- this time "Peckin' Time" even though it is a Hank Mobley led session from this date back in 1958. Session and Miles mates Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers help to round out the sound. The playing is bright, energetic and efficient. Nothing outstanding, just established pros playing in the studio. The real treat is Mr. Morgan and his assured playing with its strong, vibrant tone in the manner of Clifford Brown. He might be all of 17 here but he plays with the assurance of a veteran. I really like the two of the Mobley tunes- the bop tinged "High and Flighty" and the energetic, brezzy "Stretchin' Out" in which everyone gets a chance to strut their musical chops. Fun music for a gloomy, snowy day in the cube.

I also have been listening to a secret joy- Miles Davis's "'Round About Midnight". I know there are many albums by this performer that stand above this one but in my heart of hearts this is the one I return to secretly for fun, succor and to be just immersed in the joy of 'pure' music. It is that second great quintet in 1956 and Miles never sounded more intriguing to my ears- his playing on this record has the jagged urgency of bop combined with the fluid yet languid playing of the cool sound. I can never get enough of the tone he achieved on this record with his relaxed breathy sound-amplified by his intelligent usage of the mute. For me heaven is "Bye Bye Blackbird" from this record. Listen:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 0656,d.dmQ

Hey, Jack - since when is Miles Davis a 'secret joy,' as in guilty pleasure? Did I miss the memo???

Besides the obvious, like Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain, I confess a weakness for Birth of the Cool. And not just because the title tops my list in that other thread!

[Jack of All Parades]

Well, silly me. Yes guilty but more a secret pleasure for me. I just adore the ambiance of this album. Another secret pleasure is his Afternoon Jazz at the Plaza Volumes 1 and 2. This one with Miles and my father in law-Al also wrote the tune- brought a nice check recently to my wife as the song was used on a Soundtrack for The Sopranos- and surprise, surprise the record sold:

http://youtu.be/zw0mnNT0I-4

[Poor Deportee]

Well, silly me. Yes guilty but more a secret pleasure for me. I just adore the ambiance of this album. Another secret pleasure is his Afternoon Jazz at the Plaza Volumes 1 and 2. This one with Miles and my father in law-Al also wrote the tune- brought a nice check recently to my wife as the song was used on a Soundtrack for The Sopranos- and surprise, surprise the record sold:

http://youtu.be/zw0mnNT0I-4

My envy knows no bounds. Great stuff.

But Chris, my post wasn't wholly in jest. Is there something 'uncool' nowadays about Miles Davis such that his music becomes construed as a guilty pleasure? I leave it to the jazz afficionados to educate me as to the state of current thinking about the mighty Miles.

[Jack of All Parades]

PD, no I do not think there is anything inherently 'uncool' these days about liking Miles Davis. Perhaps the standard backlash to one who has passed on and is now in the process of being reassessed for his place in music history. If one likes Jazz he is one of those protean figures who has to be acknowledged. And he has such strengths but he equally can be criticized, especially for some of the turns the latter career took.

My comment, however clumsily I stated it, is just about my own listening favorites. There are the acknowledged musical peaks of his career and you list some of them. I just find when I am alone I often gravitate to the albums by him that I listed. I would also add his soundtrack album to the film "Elevator to the Gallows" as a secret treat for me. A very late album by him, "Aura", is also a favorite for private listening. It is a suite in 9 parts which musically explores his interpretations of the colors of the spectrum. It often rivals some of his earlier collaborations with Gil Evans.

I am no aficionado, just a fan. I, myself, have been gravitating more to the Lee Morgan/Clifford Brown school of jazz trumpet. Their clean, muscular tone appeals to my ears and heart. I also think that Mr. Morgan was a gifted composer who was pushing his unique combination of jazz and blues into promising directions up until his untimely death in the early 70s. It is a big musical world out there with so much to learn by me. I continue to take baby steps in my appreciations.

[Otis Westinghouse]

I think any Miles is eternally cool. He was there at the birth, and stayed with it.

My enjoyment of Psychedelic Pill has taken me back to my newly acquired but very well known (from cassette, which someone was laughing at - 'you were still buying cassettes in '94?!?) Sleeps WIth Angels. I think I played it hundreds of times in the 90s, so hearing songs for the first time in a decade or more again was like meeting up with old friends. I surprised myself singing along word perfectly with lines I didn't know I knew. It is a magnificent record, spanning much of the range of what makes the sound and world of NY&CH so compelling. I always loved the way he fashioned two similar but worthy songs out of almost the same backing track with Western Hero/Train of Love. The title track and the magnificent Change Your Mind are two other standouts.

I seem to be having a Celebrate Canada phase with the above, the newly arrived Joni x 10 CDs (at £1.95 per CD), where, as above, reacquainting with Hejira was like an old friend returned, the new Ron and a side order of Feist's excellent Metals.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Kevin: no, I have a lot of Dylan but by no means all of it and Hard Rain is among that. Funnily enough I was looking at it in our wonderful Fopp store yesterday where it was only £5 and thinking 'I should really get this'

Now I got it for £2.25!

Curiously for a live CD, and for a Dylan one (among the ones I have, anyway), it contains the lyrics, but very annoyingly not any details other than personnel. So the 9 tracks were recorded in May '76, one week apart, and four were from the above-linked Fort Worth bootleg:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Rain_ ... lan_album)

I may be hurrying down to Fopp to shell out on a bunch of cut-price items if they go into liquidation. As part of the HMV chain, the 8 stores that remained when they closed most of them a few years ago have an uncertain future, with signs in the shop telling us the returns policy has changed now they're 'under administration by Deloitte. I'd be sad to see HMV go but I wouldn't miss it, whereas Fopp going would be a tragedy. I pop in most weeks when in town and have a look at new stuff and see if there are any offers. It would be such a drag to only ever buy stuff online. The Cambridge branch is invariably heaving with people. I would think it must turn over a decent profit, though their careful prices and endless special offers must squeeze their margins a lot.

[Jack of All Parades]

It is sad times on the brick and mortar music store front. I too often am the only individual browsing in the music section of my local Barnes and Noble- the last standing place in my neck of the woods where I can go to find a possible treasure, reacquaint myself with an old favorite or try something new. I know it is fashionable to bash a geezer like me and my bemoaning of the loss of these gathering places. But that is what they are, or were. Tribal meeting places where news and personal tastes could be shared and judged and discarded, if merited.

I am with you in spirit as they vanish on your hometown streets.

My favorite tracks on "Sleeps With Angels" are the opening two- "My Heart" and "Prime of Life". They are two of Neil's most life affirming declarations and their sense of shared humanity never fails to move my heart and mind. The chords that emanate from that old timey piano on "My Heart"- as rickety as they sound- there is a fragile strength that resonates from them.

Thank you for bringing me back to that album, too.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Agree they are both excellent. And the sequencing is perfect. It would definitely be in my top 5 NY albums (and here's hoping would get some high rankings in the Countdown Kid's list, should one ever happen!).

Talking of Hard Rain (and with an earlier Kevin comment from this thread in mind), hope you're getting sufficient shelter from the storm. Turning out to be a pretty wild winter in those parts. The story of the 11 year old's car death is heartbreaking.

[Jack of All Parades]

Thank you for the concern- it has been a challenge. Where I am we got close to 18/19 inches of snow with drifts as high as 2 to 3 feet with the wind gusts. Never lost power though. It has been a challenge moving the snow. I feel for that father with the loss of his son. I have friends in CT who have it much worse. And forget the Boston area- my family sent us photos of their home in Brookline from the front door. There has to be 3 feet of snow in places and really no place to put it as the individual homes take up so much of the lot the house sits upon. Hard to move the snow from the driveways. They had emergency declarations with no cars allowed on the roads. Am glad my oldest daughter chose to stay in town this weekend and not visit her boyfriend in Boston. I will be up there in a few weeks for Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris and Richard Thompson so hopefully the snow will have melted by then. Here we are supposed to be in the forties over the next few days with some heavy rain. That will be some meltoff.

It definitely rivals this one from my past:

http://www.wcvb.com/weather/-/9850416/1 ... index.html

I was at Columbia at the time and remember marveling at the site of people skiing down Broadway because it was one of the only ways to get around efficiently.

[Jack of All Parades]

Oh my- I am one proud uncle. My niece, Shaye Cohn, gets some very kind words said about her and her band, Tuba Skinny, in this recent piece. So if you are in New Orleans this week for Mardi Gras- check them out at the Spotted Cat or Maison. They are getting to ready to leave for a tour of Australia starting in late February- catch them now:

http://www.offbeat.com/2013/01/01/the-n ... explosion/

On the heels of EC in Australia- Tuba Skinny's tour schedule dates:

http://www.facebook.com/events/33137145 ... dmin_added

[Jack of All Parades]

Another Friday with Lee in the cube and this a special one because I have the very first group recording he did as a leader on Blue Note- "Lee Morgan, Indeed" to listen to today. November of 1956 and this youngster is in the studio leading a group of muscians at the age of 18, putting them through their paces and he through his, as well. Prodigious is the right word. On the cover with a curved belled horn like his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, and sounding everything like his hero, Clifford Brown, he is attacking the material on this record looking to impress all listeners with what he can do. And there is seemingly little he cannot do. From up tempo pieces like Horace Silver's "Roccus" with its propulsive latin beat to the ballad "The Lady" by Owen Marshall where he demonstrates an admirable economy of notes as he puts forth this gentle tune. Talk about coming out fully formed. He clearly is in command of his instrument and of the players with him that day in the studio, Horace Silver, Wilbur Ware, Philly Joe Jones and Clarance Sharpe. I am in awe.

[Jack of All Parades]

Have been listening attentively to Nick Lowe in the cube over the last few days. In particular the more recent records like "Dig My Mood" and "The Convincer". I am struck by his total reinvention as a perfomer going back to "The Impossible Bird" record. He is now the epitome of a suave and sphisticated lounge act. It is not corny or contrived. The songs are filled with a hard earned restating of one's life lessons and of the vagaries of love and growing old and falling away from friends and the things that used to give one pleasure. I like how his lyrics have evolved from the poppy and smart alecky lines of the 70's and 80's morphing into the subtle and relatable observations of a late middle aged man. I could not ask for better company in my cube these days.