I was a kid living alone in Fun City when Al Jarreau first did Take Five. WRVR-FM (Riverside Church Radio) was still all Jazz in those days, a real eye-opener for a life-long habitue of shit-kicker music. One of the huge gifts of the data processing revolution has been to give a vast host of classic recordings a new life in the long tail. So-called catalog titles are continuously available now. Jazz is America’s music, and be-bop is the America of Jazz — a land of total freedom for hard-headed, hard-charging, hard-working dogs. It’s very cool to have so much of it available.
Want to have some Texas-sized fun? Go to Pandora.com and program for Thelonious Monk or Dexter Gordon. You’ll hear recordings no one around you has ever caught a hint of, and they’re all as perfect, acoustically, as the day they were made. The one unambiguous — unborrowed — way America has come up with to thank the Greeks, the Romans and every individual innovator who came before us, and it’s all there available for you for free. Remarkable!
Oh, thanks for this! I have been a huge Al Jarreau fan for years and have been fortunate enough to see him live.
For any Dexter Gordon fans, I highly recommend a film made back in the 80’s called “Round Midnight”. Gordon played the lead and was nominated for an Oscar. Totally compelling and Gordon was brilliant.
Greg, you made my day. I appreciate you!
> For any Dexter Gordon fans, I highly recommend a film made back in the 80’s called “Round Midnight”.
My ringtone for Cathleen is the Miles Davis cover of “Round Midnight.” There’s a lot of Monk on my phone, but my main ringtone is the frenetic Stan Getz cover of “Tempus Fugit.”
Thomas Johnson says:
Thanks! I took 5 for a very nice 8:03.
January 8, 2010 — 6:44 pm
Greg Swann says:
> I took 5 for a very nice 8:03.
I was a kid living alone in Fun City when Al Jarreau first did Take Five. WRVR-FM (Riverside Church Radio) was still all Jazz in those days, a real eye-opener for a life-long habitue of shit-kicker music. One of the huge gifts of the data processing revolution has been to give a vast host of classic recordings a new life in the long tail. So-called catalog titles are continuously available now. Jazz is America’s music, and be-bop is the America of Jazz — a land of total freedom for hard-headed, hard-charging, hard-working dogs. It’s very cool to have so much of it available.
Want to have some Texas-sized fun? Go to Pandora.com and program for Thelonious Monk or Dexter Gordon. You’ll hear recordings no one around you has ever caught a hint of, and they’re all as perfect, acoustically, as the day they were made. The one unambiguous — unborrowed — way America has come up with to thank the Greeks, the Romans and every individual innovator who came before us, and it’s all there available for you for free. Remarkable!
January 8, 2010 — 7:16 pm
Beth Incorvati says:
Oh, thanks for this! I have been a huge Al Jarreau fan for years and have been fortunate enough to see him live.
For any Dexter Gordon fans, I highly recommend a film made back in the 80’s called “Round Midnight”. Gordon played the lead and was nominated for an Oscar. Totally compelling and Gordon was brilliant.
Greg, you made my day. I appreciate you!
January 9, 2010 — 10:31 am
Greg Swann says:
> For any Dexter Gordon fans, I highly recommend a film made back in the 80’s called “Round Midnight”.
My ringtone for Cathleen is the Miles Davis cover of “Round Midnight.” There’s a lot of Monk on my phone, but my main ringtone is the frenetic Stan Getz cover of “Tempus Fugit.”
> Greg, you made my day. I appreciate you!
Same here!
January 9, 2010 — 4:38 pm
Tim says:
I have been Al Jarreau fan for years and just love him! Never managed to see him live though…Thanks for this post!
January 10, 2010 — 12:44 pm