old stuff
Kansas City Six (Buck Clayton, trumpet; Lester Young, clarinet; Eddie Durham, electric guitar; Freddie Green, rhythm guitar; Walter Page, bass; Jo Jones, drums), “Pagin’ the Devil,” 1938
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lagniappe
reading table
in blossoming trees
suddenly he’s hidden . . .
my son—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
Some singers are so distinctive that when you’re in the mood for them no one else will do.
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009), “They Say It’s Spring,” 1958*
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lagniappe
reading table: Albion Beatnik Bookstore, Oxford, England
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*BD, vocals, piano; Herb Ellis, guitar; Ray Brown, bass; Jo Jones, drums.
Happy 100th Birthday, Teddy!
Teddy Wilson, pianist, November 24, 1912-July 31, 1986
“Rosetta,” 1934
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“Body and Soul,” with the Benny Goodman Trio (BG, clarinet; TW, piano; Gene Krupa, drums), 1935
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“Foolin’ Myself,” Teddy Wilson Orchestra (TW, piano; Billie Holiday, vocals; Lester Young, tenor saxophone; Freddie Green, guitar; Jo Jones, drums, et al.), 1937
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lagniappe
radio
WKCR-FM’s celebration of his centennial, which I mentioned the other day, runs through midnight Sunday.
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musical thoughts
John Cage (whose centennial we recently celebrated), Conlon Nancarrow (ditto), Teddy Wilson—they’d make a helluva band.
old stuff
The great thing about the 21st century is that it’s so easy to leave.
Count Basie Orchestra (Don Byas, tenor saxophone; Harry “Sweets” Edison and Buck Clayton, trumpets; Freddie Green, guitar; Jo Jones, drums, et al.), “Dance of the Gremlins,” “Swingin’ the Blues,” 1941
It’s easy to forget, sometimes, just how great somebody could be.
B.B. King, “How Blue Can You Get?”
Live, Sing Sing Prison (Ossining, New York), 1972
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lagniappe
last night
W. S. Merwin, who just finished a term as U.S. Poet Laureate, gave a reading at Chicago’s downtown library, where he talked about this and that:
The English language is a great dump. Everything that has come into it has stayed there.
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Poetry begins . . . with listening.
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I wanted to be open . . . to anything that sounded like poetry.
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To animals the meaning is the sound—and that’s pretty close to poetry.
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Time is one of the great human fictions.
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Many of the most important things we do are not calculated. They take us by surprise.
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What the arts are made of is nothing but pure attention.
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radio
Happy (100th) Birthday, Papa Jo! WCKR-FM’s Centennial Festival, mentioned Monday, continues until noon tomorrow.
why I love radio
Beginning yesterday afternoon and continuing until noon Saturday, WKCR-FM, which broadcasts from Columbia University, is celebrating the centennial of Papa Jo Jones—the “greatest drummer who ever lived,” according to the station’s Phil Schaap—in the best possible way: they’re playing his music (with Count Basie, Billie Holiday, et al.), and nothing but his music, 24 hours a day. Breakfast, he’s on; lunch, he’s on; dinner, he’s on; bedtime, he’s on—and it’s all free.* Is this a great life, or what?
Here at MCOTD, we’re celebrating Papa Jo, too—with this clip, a favorite.
*****
He doesn’t pummel the beat, the way so many drummers do.
He pulls it out of the air.
Jo Jones (“Papa Jo” [as distinguished from “Philly Joe“]), October 7, 1911-September 3, 1985
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lagniappe
[W]hat really distinguished the great drummers I heard growing up, what really attracted me to men such as Sonny Greer, Chick Webb, Sid Catlett, Jo Jones and Kenny Clarke was that they all thought like composers, they all had their own way of hearing a band. They were all original thinkers who identified themselves when they played. And they stood out. They played like leaders.
—Max Roach
(Originally posted 8/5/10.)
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*“Free” is a bit misleading; it costs money to keep this daily miracle on the air, so, periodically, WKCR-FM solicits contributions. If you tune in and like what you hear, perhaps you, too, could kick in a few bucks.
Happy Birthday, Lester!
Lester Young, tenor saxophonist, August 27, 1909-March 15, 1959
Lester Young (ts) with Carl “Tatti” Smith (trumpet), Count Basie (piano), Walter Page (bass), Jo Jones (drums) (10/9/36, Chicago)
“Oh, Lady Be Good”
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
“Shoe Shine Boy”
Vodpod videos no longer available.
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lagniappe
radio: 72 glorious hours
Assuming Irene doesn’t crash the party, the folks at WKCR-FM (broadcasting from Columbia University)* will be playing Lester Young all day today and into tomorrow, when, at some point, they’ll make the transition to Charlie Parker, whose birthday is Monday. As I wrote last year: “Something happens—something delicious—when you surrender your ears and yourself to someone’s music for such a sustained period of time. Little by little, that musician moves in, taking up residence in your brain. Their distinctive voice becomes, for a time, inseparable from everything else you’re hearing and seeing and thinking and feeling.”
*Later note (2:45 p.m. [CST]): When I just checked, their website seemed to be down; you can also get them via iTunes (radio/college).
He doesn’t pummel the beat, the way so many drummers do.
He pulls it out of the air.
Jo Jones (“Papa Jo” [as distinguished from “Philly Joe“]), October 7, 1911-September 3, 1985
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lagniappe
[W]hat really distinguished the great drummers I heard growing up, what really attracted me to men such as Sonny Greer, Chick Webb, Sid Catlett, Jo Jones and Kenny Clarke was that they all thought like composers, they all had their own way of hearing a band. They were all original thinkers who identified themselves when they played. And they stood out. They played like leaders.
music clip of the day 