Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Jimmie Vaughan - Dengue Woman Blues


Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli - Lady Be Good (1937)


Jeepers Creepers - Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli


Brazil - Django Reinhardt


Dizzy Gillespie & Thelonious Monk & Sonny Stitt - Round Midnight (Newport Jazz Festival 1971)



Тrumpet - Dizzy Gillespie
Piano - Thelonious Monk
Sax - Sonny Stitt
Trombone - Kai Winding
Drum - Art Blakey
Bass - Al Mckibbon

Dizzy Gillespie/Sonny Rollins/Sonny Stitt-"The Eternal Triangle" from Sonny Side Up



Sonny Side Up is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and the tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins, recorded in December 1957 in New York City. It was released the following year on producer Norman Granz' just launched Verve label.

Pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Tommy Bryant, and drummer Charlie Persip provide the rhythm section.

A Million Or More Times - Sonny Criss


Sonny Criss Quartet 1949 ~ The First One

Sonny Criss - Alto Sax
Hampton Hawes - Piano
Iggy Shevack - Bass
Chuck Thompson - Drums

Friday, February 20, 2015

"True Blues" (Milt Jackson),Modern Jazz Quartet in London.



Milt Jackson: vibes,
John Lewis:piano,
Percy Heath:bass,
Connie Kay:drums.

Milt Jackson and John Coltrane - Bags & Trane (1959)


Paul Quinichette - Blue Dots



Paul Quinichette - tenor sax
Curtis Fuller - tromobone
John Jenkins - alto sax
Sonny Red - alto sax
Mal Waldron - piano
Doug Watkins - bass
drums - Ed Thigpen

Friday, February 13, 2015

Back to the Nineteenth Century

The latest column from Robert Reich.  Please follow link to original.
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http://robertreich.org/


My recent column about the growth of on-demand jobs like Uber making life less predictable and secure for workers unleashed a small barrage of criticism from some who contend that workers get what they’re worth in the market.
A Forbes Magazine contributor, for example, writes that jobs exist only  “when both employer and employee are happy with the deal being made.” So if the new jobs are low-paying and irregular, too bad.
Much the same argument was voiced in the late nineteenth century over alleged “freedom of contract.” Any deal between employees and workers was assumed to be fine if both sides voluntarily agreed to it.
It was an era when many workers were “happy” to toil twelve-hour days in sweat shops for lack of any better alternative.
It was also a time of great wealth for a few and squalor for many. And of corruption, as the lackeys of robber barons deposited sacks of cash on the desks of pliant legislators.
Finally, after decades of labor strife and political tumult, the twentieth century brought an understanding that capitalism requires minimum standards of decency and fairness – workplace safety, a minimum wage, maximum hours (and time-and-a-half for overtime), and a ban on child labor.
We also learned that capitalism needs a fair balance of power between big corporations and workers.
We achieved that through antitrust laws that reduced the capacity of giant corporations to impose their will, and labor laws that allowed workers to organize and bargain collectively.
By the 1950s, when 35 percent of private-sector workers belonged to a labor union, they were able to negotiate higher wages and better working conditions than employers would otherwise have been “happy” to provide.
But now we seem to be heading back to nineteenth century.
Corporations are shifting full-time work onto temps, free-lancers, and contract workers who fall outside the labor protections established decades ago.
The nation’s biggest corporations and Wall Street banks are larger and more potent than ever.
And labor union membership has shrunk to fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers.
So it’s not surprising we’re once again hearing that workers are worth no more than what they can get in the market.
But as we should have learned a century ago, markets don’t exist in nature. They’re created by human beings. The real question is how they’re organized and for whose benefit.
In the late nineteenth century they were organized for the benefit of a few at the top.
But by the middle of the twentieth century they were organized for the vast majority.
During the thirty years after the end of World War II, as the economy doubled in size, so did the wages of most Americans — along with improved hours and working conditions.
Yet since around 1980, even though the economy has doubled once again (the Great Recession notwithstanding), the wages most Americans have stagnated. And their benefits and working conditions have deteriorated.
This isn’t because most Americans are worth less. In fact, worker productivity is higher than ever.
It’s because big corporations, Wall Street, and some enormously rich individuals have gained political power to organize the market in ways that have enhanced their wealth while leaving most Americans behind.
That includes trade agreements protecting the intellectual property of large corporations and Wall Street’s financial assets, but not American jobs and wages.
Bailouts of big Wall Street banks and their executives and shareholders when they can’t pay what they owe, but not of homeowners who can’t meet their mortgage payments.
Bankruptcy protection for big corporations, allowing them  to shed their debts, including labor contracts. But no bankruptcy protection for college graduates over-burdened with student debts.
Antitrust leniency toward a vast swathe of American industry – including Big Cable (Comcast, AT&T, Time-Warner), Big Tech (Amazon, Google), Big Pharma, the largest Wall Street banks, and giant retailers (Walmart).
But less tolerance toward labor unions — as workers trying to form unions are fired with impunity, and more states adopt so-called “right-to-work” laws that undermine unions. 
We seem to be heading full speed back to the late nineteenth century.
So what will be the galvanizing force for change this time?

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Funky Blues by Johnny Hodges

Alto Saxophone – Benny Carter, Charlie Parker, Johnny Hodges
Bass – Ray Brown
Drums – J.C. Heard
Guitar – Barney Kessel
 Liner Notes – Dom Cerulli
Photography By – Roy DeCarava
Piano – Oscar Peterson
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster, Flip Phillips
Trumpet – Charlie Shavers

Parker is the second sax solo.

Disorder At The Border - Dexter Gordon & Wardell Gray



Bass- Harry Babison (tracks: A, D) , Red Callender (tracks: B, C)
Drums- Connie Kay (tracks: B to D) , Ken Kennedy (tracks: A)
Guitar- Barney Kessel
Piano- Hampton Hawes
Saxophone [Alto]- Sonny Criss
Saxophone [Tenor]- Dexter Gordon , Wardell Gray
Trombone- Trummy Young
Trumpet- Howard McGhee

Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt: 1962 Rare Session



Dexter and Sonny are with the Paul Weeden trio with Paul on gituar Don Patterson at the Hammond and Billy James at the drums

Lucky Thompson Octet Live 1946 ~ Oodie Coo Bop (Ornithology)



Howard McGhee - Trumpet
Les Robinson - Alto Sax
Jack McVea - Tenor Sax
Lucky Thompson - Tenor Sax
Irving Ashby - Guitar
Jimmy Bunn - Piano
Red Callender - Bass
Jackie Mills - Drums

Joe Newman - Wednesday's Blues (1960)



Joe Newman (tp)
Frank Wess (ts)
Tommy Flanagan (p)
Eddie Jones (b)
Oliver Jackson (ds

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Friday, February 6, 2015

John Coltrane & Frank Wess - Robbins' Nest



John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette (ts)
Frank Wess (ts, fl)
Mal Waldron (p)
Doug Watkins (b)
Art Taylor (d)

Count Basie, "Cute" (Hefti) featuring Frank Wess on flute



Count Basie Orchestra:
Thad Jones, Snookey Young, Sonny Cohn, Joe Newman, trumpets.
Billy Mitchell, Frank Wess, Marshall Royal,Frank Foster,Charlie Fowlkes,saxophones.
Al Grey, Henry Coker, Benny Powell, trombones
Count Basie,piano
Freddie Green,guitar
Eddie Jones,bass
Sonny Payne,drums

Milt Jackson: Round midnight




Milt Jackson, Mike LeDonne, Ira Coleman, Mickey Roker

Frank Wess - Rainy Afternoon



Frank Wess - Flute, Tenor Saxophone
Tommy Flanagan - Piano
Eddie Jones - Double Bass
Bobby Donaldson - Drums

Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Jordu. (full version)



Clifford Brown -- trumpet
Harold Land -- tenor saxophone
George Morrow -- bass
Richie Powell -- piano
Max Roach -- drums

Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet - Daahoud



Clifford Brown (trumpet), Harold Land (tenor sax), Richie Powell (piano), George Morrow (bass), Max Roach (drums)

Max Roach Quintet 1957 ~ Valse Hot



Kenny Dorham - Trumpet
Sonny Rollins - Tenor Sax
Ray Bryant - Piano
George Morrow - Bass
Max Roach - Drums

Lucky Thompson 1953 - Flamingo


Blue Gala Gato Barbieri


Thursday, February 5, 2015

Gentrification

Whenever I listen to talk about what is called "gentrification", I have t laugh..  Things ALWAYS change. 

The old "gashouse" district of New York City was transformed by Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.  The "trendy east side " of the 60's and 70's was born when they tore down the 3rd avenue elevated  --  property values soared.  The west side became middle class not that long after The New York Times called W83rd St. "the worst block in N.Y."

As housing ages, and folks get old, changes occur.  Look at the Bronx.  Values fall.  Then "urban pioneers" find inexpensive housing  --  and that area blooms while formerly "popular", "solid", "firmly middle class", areas fall out of favor  --  only to be "gentrified" ten, twenty, or so years later.  It's ongoing change that all living cities go through. 

Turn them into museums and they die.

UK Anti-Semitic Incidents Hit Record In 2014: Report

When "they" get finished with all the the other crap   -----   they come for the Jews.  They ALWAYS come for the Jews.

Put a stop to antisemitism.  First by recognizing it in yourself, no matter how "liberal" you see yourself as.  Today most "anti-Zionism" boils down to ANTISEMITISM
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/04/uk-anti-semitism_n_6618790.html?cps=gravity_2684_2407387100693474729

LONDON (AP) — The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain hit a record high last year, with reactions to the conflict in Israel and Gaza last summer the biggest factor accounting for the jump, a charity said Thursday.
The Community Security Trust said it recorded 1,168 incidents across the country in 2014 — more than double the 535 cases documented in 2013, and the highest yearly total since the group began monitoring anti-Semitism in Britain in 1984.
Mark Gardner, a spokesman for the charity, said last month that it received an unprecedented number of calls from Jewish people fearing a Paris-style terror attack in Britain.
Concerns about anti-Semitism in Europe have risen after a kosher supermarket was targeted in France's deadliest attacks in decades. Four Jewish people were among the 17 people killed last month by the three gunmen, who also died.
Garry Shewan, Britain's national police lead for Jewish communities, said the charity's report was in line with increases in anti-Semitic crimes reported to police in recent weeks.
The charity said it received 81 reports of violent anti-Semitic assaults last year, including a victim being verbally abused and hit with a glass and a baseball bat in London.
Most of the reported incidents were not as extreme.
"The most common single type of incident in 2014 involved verbal abuse directed at random Jewish people in public," the group said in a report. In many cases, "the victims were ordinary Jewish people, male or female, attacked or abused while going about their daily business in public places," it said.
Other forms of abuse included hate mail, threats and abuse on social media, graffiti, and the damaging of Jewish property.
Most of the incidents took place in London and Manchester, the two largest Jewish communities in the country

When My Indian Mom Divorced My Dad, She Became an Outcast. It Also Saved Her Life. - Gursimran Sandhu

This from "World Post", in partnership with "Huffington Post" It shows how immigrants and first generation Americans struggle with their transition into this "brave new world they have been thrust into.  It's about courage, a willingness to break free, and the willingness to embrace change.  By the way, I hope the old "Wisdom Of The East" crap has finally dies out.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gursimran-sandhu/indian-divorce-mom-saved-life_b_6574426.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Eight years ago, my mom divorced my dad. But we're Indian, and that never happens. It just isn't something we do -- not in India, not in America and especially not initiated by a woman.

My parents had an arranged marriage. She was young when they wed, and he was ten years her senior. She earned a law degree from UCLA at 21 and took (and passed) the bar exam a week after having me. For years, my mom was a dutiful Indian wife -- providing all domestic services, raising me and my two brothers and taking care of my dad's parents and brother, who all lived with us. On top of it all, she held down a full-time job as an
attorney.
 
My mom was very unhappy in the marriage, for personal reasons that will remain unnamed. And yet still, for years, she did everything in her power to save the marriage.
Finally, my senior year of high school, she moved out. And while I know divorce has become quite common, it really isn't in the Indian community. It's like signing up to be a leper. Everyone shunned her (and us) because only a "dishonorable" family couldn't keep its house in order. At temple, parties and family functions, people would gawk and whisper. Any chances of me having an arranged marriage were shot. (Thank goodness, I prefer a love marriage, thank you very much.)

As my mom struggled through the divorce, her career took a hit. Her new "single mom" status, coupled with her "focus on children," made her a "poor candidate" for partner at her law firm. She was finally on her own but every single aspect of her life fell apart.
My parents both belonged to the farmer caste -- Jat Sikh's from Punjab -- but he came from a military family, while her parents were from the "pind" (village). Her family immigrated to America when she was seven, so when she was ready to be married off, her family's social rank within the caste had risen due to its green card status. Someone like my dad, who was "higher" within the same caste, would traditionally only be willing to marry a village girl in exchange for something extremely valuable, like American residency. I was told that their marriage never would have happened in the old country
According to Indian culture, she should have been eternally thankful to be wed to someone with his education and solid family name. A good wife should show her appreciation by keeping her mouth shut and silencing any disagreeable thoughts. A good wife should honor her husband by pretending she is happy and ignoring any infidelities. A good wife should be completely and utterly subordinate to her husband and like it.
My culture teaches us that "boys will be boys" and that our role is to deal with it. A good wife can manage her husband and police herself so as not to displease him or upset the balance. Any physical or emotional violence is simply a byproduct of a woman not doing her part and knowing her place. Divorce is not an option. Chastity is prized in our community, and a woman that has lain with a man can never be seen as a suitable bride again. A man would never think about divorce because he can carry on extramarital affairs, physically abuse his wife and children, have a free cook/maid and basically do whatever the hell he wants, to no consequence.

The only real reason a man might initiate a divorce would be if his wife cheated but in the rare case of that happening, I honestly think he'd kill the other man (and/or his wife) before it ever actually got to legal proceedings. Vengeance is a strong theme in my culture, and "maintaining honor" is of the utmost importance. It may sound archaic but first generation Indians have brought this way of thinking to the U.S., and our communities are just big enough to support and reinforce this mindset.

When my mom left my dad, she risked everything. She had been bred for domesticity. For two decades, her role was to be seen not heard. She had no identity, no voice and no confidence within the community or in her personal life. Every single day hurt more than the last. She had brought shame to herself and her family, and it seemed like we were doomed to be outcasts forever.

Life went on like this for a while. Then, one weekend, I came home from grad school and found my mom trying on some new clothes. She had found some amazing sale on designer jeans and scooped up several pairs. (Indians always love a good deal.) She bought some jeans for me too and insisted I try them on. There we were, in our designer denim, and for the first time I saw my mom for who she really was.

For so many years, she had slumped around with no self-esteem to speak of. She had had terrible posture and wore ill-fitting clothes because she was overweight and depressed. But that day, she was beaming. She stood tall and looked fantastic in a pair of Rock & Republic jeans that hugged every curve of her beautiful figure. For once, she wasn't afraid to admit that to herself or to show it off to the world. A kernel of confidence had grown within her heart, and from that point on, there was no stopping her
Today -- many years after her arranged wedding, 12 years after she moved out and 8 years after the divorce became final, my mom has risen from the ashes and is now a partner at one of the biggest labor law firms in California. We thought this day would never come. As hard as it was, the struggle was completely worth it.

My mom was a broken shell of a woman when she was married. Had she "done the right thing" and stayed married, she surely would have lost her mind by now. By standing up for her right to happiness, she opened up a world of possibility that I never knew existed. She showed me that my thoughts and feelings mattered. She showed me that we can't live for other people. She showed me that we are in control of our lives, and we have the power to make changes.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Bill Watrous Stardust from One more time LP 1976


Bill Watrous and Red Rodney ''For Dizzy'' from The 1978 Red Tornado LP


Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane, Idrees Sulieman & Kenny Burrel - Minor Mishap



Tommy Flanagan - p
John Coltrane - ts
Idrees Sulieman - tp
Kenny Burrel - g
Doug Watkins - b
Louis Hayes - d

Curtis Counce Group - Nica's Dream



Curtis Counce - b
Harold Land - ts
Jack Sheldon - tp
Carl Perkins - p
Frank Butler - d

Hampton Hawes -- Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams


Dizzy & Stan - All The Things You Are



Dizzy Gillespie (tp), Stan Getz (ts), Arnie Lawrence (as), John Lewis (p), George Duvivier (b), Shelly Manne (dr)

Grant Green_All The Things You Are



Grant Green (guitar); Wilbur Ware (bass); Al Harewood (drums) (1961)

Grant Green & Hubert Laws Main Attraction 1976



Arranged By -- David Matthews*
Bass -- Will Lee
Drums -- Andy Newmark
Electric Piano -- Don Grolnick
Engineer -- Don Hahn
Flute -- Hubert Laws
Guitar -- Grant Green, Steve Khan
Mixed By, Mastered By -- Rudy Van Gelder
Percussion -- Sue Evans
Percussion, Congas -- Carlos Charles
Producer -- Creed Taylor
Saxophone [Baritone] -- Ronnie Cuber
Saxophone [Tenor] -- Joe Farrell, Michael Brecker
Trombone -- Sam Burtis
Trumpet -- Burt Collins, Jon Faddis

Grant Green - Flood in Franklin Park - 1972 [Soul-Jazz]


Grant Green - Just friends


Grant Green - Blues In Maude's Flat