501 jeans

just got myself a pair of 501s!..yah! no more of that loose fit crap!.. judging by the gap/hechts/filenes basement loose fits account for 95%+ of jean sales...

On the turntable this week: Chris Connor's Chris Craft album on Atlantic 1290 (original black label)... i was not familiar with Chris Connor.. i guess its cool jazz vocals..she sings sorta like Chet Baker.. that kind of detached no vocal pyrotechnics but can hit the spot jazz singing... anyways this came out about 1958.. includes moonlight in vermont, be a clown, on the first warm day, lover man etc...highly recommended for evenings

The Buck Stops Here on Muse by Buck Hill

Buck Hill at HR57

caught saxophonist Buck Hill's latest gig at HR 57 this past friday.... feel very lucky to have found out about the gig (only $10) at all.. HR57 does not advertise as much as say Blues Alley... anyways his handling of both tenor and soprano sax was masterly... unbelievable he's 79 years old! and worked as a DC postman for decades.. he's from the area... check out this link for more info..

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=2971

what to say bout his playing? i'm not that good at describing jazz.... but he was extremely lyrical in his playing... more towards the lester young side of things than the charlie parker side of things.. the man sang through his saxopohone on a number of classic standards..lately thats my favorite kind of jazz...

picked up two of his cds from the man himself..its always funny to have the artist himself tell you "yah..this one is pretty good.."....one of them is called the buck stops here and was recorded in 1993 by none other than rudy van gelder at van gelder studio in englewood hills (yah.. where pretty much ever legendary prestige and blue note session went down in the 50s and 60s!!!! talk about history).... anyways it features barry harris on piano and johnny coles in one of his last appearances on flugelhorn.. so buck hill with two guys that recorded here and there on blue note in the 60s!....

i must confess i was a bit dissapointed in the sparse crowd (at least for set 1) and also the crow in general many of whom- the young uns particularly- seemed more interested in taking pictures of themselves..but what are you gonna do.. they are not the ones to really come down on i suppose..its those that sit at home listening to their jazz cds or lps who don't make it out to support live jazz.... but small complaint... great show...

i have to make a point of becoming a member of hr57 and going more often...

This is a Milton Glaser Dylan Poster which was included with copies of Dylan's first greatest hits album.. considered "psychedelic" i guess it reflects the fact the hits lp came out in 67.... its pretty hard to find perfect copies of this poster nowadays....basically whenever you see a dylan greatest hits album you got to check and see... i finally found this one the other day! perfectly folded as the day it rolled off the printing press...$2

now playing; rolling stones goats head soup from 1973... all good things have to end and with this so did the rolling stones incredible win streak between 1968-1972 which encompassed four perfect studio lps and perhaps the greatest live album ever (get yer ya yas out)...its a good album but cannot reach those previous heights... i still can't crop so i included some pix from the liner .. the more interesting one is the top one..thats jimmy miller who produced all the truly great stones albums.... he even played the cowbell on honky tonk and the drums on you can't always get what you want (bet you did not know that).... i've always avoided this album... a girl i knew a long time ago caterina alvarez gave me a copy of her old cassette tape once.. i avoided it even more thanks to that.. but now that i got my own lp copy why not listen to it? the original first pressing lp supposedly has some lyrics on starfucker that were edited out.. i notice the edit on this one... the rolling stones dumped jimmy miller after this supposedly cause of his heroin addiction (the stones dumping someone cause of drugs?)... jimmy miller resurfaced in the early 90s producing a few tracks for primal scream. i always loved the scream's moving on up which sounds like a dead ringer for let it bleed era stones..

with all the programs i download my old photoeditor seems to have dissapeared so am unable to crop this one right now... goshdarnit.. anyways .. bobby womack's "understanding" from 1972.. is a fantastic underrated lp that seems to escape most people's radar (including mine)... if you like marvin gaye's lets get it on/al green/sly stone you got to check this out.. womack also wrote "its all over now" which the rolling stones covered...this lp has the great funk of i can understand it and simple man.. a cool cvoer of sweet caroline... woman's gotta have it (cornershop got their lp title from this i guess).. my favorite track on this is simple man... great stuff...this lp came out on united artists as UAS 5577

keith richards interview 2002 (RS)..right on the money!

How do you deal with criticism about the Stones being too old to rock & roll? Do you get pissed off? Does it hurt?

People want to pull the rug out from under you, because they're bald and fat and can't move for shit. It's pure physical envy -- that we shouldn't be here. "How dare they defy logic?"
If I didn't think it would work, I would be the first to say, "Forget it." But we're fighting people's misconceptions about what rock & roll is supposed to be. You're supposed to do it when you're twenty, twenty-five -- as if you're a tennis player and you have three hip surgeries and you're done. We play rock & roll because it's what turned us on. Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf -- the idea of retiring was ludicrous to them. You keep going -- and why not?

rolling stones mariner baltimore feb 1

There ain’t much I remember about the Rolling Stones show in Baltimore on February 1, 2006. So I won’t be able to write much about the music at the show itself!… or even how they looked really!… fortunately you or more importantly I can check the its only rock’n’roll site for some pictures, a setlist, and impressions from fans who obviously minded their p’s and q’s a bit better in the run up to the show at: http://www.iorr.org/tour05/baltimore.htm

It was only recently that I decided I really wanted to see the Rolling Stones live again… as I’ve explained before my boondock seats at Jack Kent Cooke renamed FedEx for the Bridges to Babylon had really disconcerted me about big shows… basically I was as far away as possible from stage and it was freezin’ ya da ya da.. but for some reason after not reacting before when the Stones played MCI center here in DC I experiences non buyer’s remorse… I guess I just like some of the music the Stones make so much I can’t help myself.. they are one of if not the only acts I guess I just don’t care about having to go out of my way to see.. having to spend gobs of money..etc…. the way I guess I look at it they are one of the few acts that still plays what I call rock’n’roll… there’s a lot of rock bands and there’s a lot of alternative bands but there are few that play that chuck berry music…

The run up to the show was as good as it gets.. and I take some solace there…a week before the show I went to Mr. Smith’s office were I was treated to hundreds of great pictures –close up unbelievable shots- of Stones shows from the current tour mainly Charlottesville. He even has a sound recording of the show and when you synchronize the sound and vision and add a bit of panama red and YOU WERE THERE!.... just incredible shots of for example Mick strumming Sweet Virginia yes in Virginia… Charlie Watts playing the kit with an edited set list to reflect the bomb scare etc….I was dazzled and woke up February 1 about as excited as you can get.. no doubt too excited… Off to Mr. Park’s… more industrial strength flava enhancer….get in a jaguar crank up december’s children and we’re off.. if that ain’t right I ain’t never been wrong…the excitement heightened in the car.. would they play this tune or that… was my ticket on the keith Richards side (yes!!!!!!!)…. A few words ticketwise… we landed to the right slightly behind stage… not bad view .. in the smallest location of US tour..13000 Mariner..first show in Baltimore since a show at same venue in 69.. part of which showed up on get yer ya yas out my favorite live album of all time (love in vain, maybe instrumental track for street fightin man)…. In any case, there’s some history going on here mr. jones…and though 13,000 ain’t exactly a club show it was a vast improvement from fedexdisgrace field

We land in Baltimore early enough to find a local bar where we grab some local brews…. Conversation is flowing.. good times..good vibes… I put down three in the space of an hour and fraction…off to the show… in like flint… unfortunately way too early! I don’t think even the opening band had gone on… whats a man to do…a beer here and there.. run into mike kozemchak boy the world is small…the electricity was palpable…. The opening act.. some country rock act closed out with a nice version of stay with me which supposedly ex faces axeman ron wood had requested…more like signed off on no doubt…. I don’t know.. big shows…big masses of people can suck..they normally ain’t my cup of tea.. but in this case I was in the best mood and the excitement at mariner was special.. there was no doubt among the crowd that we were lucky.. we knew we were 13,000 that had 13,000 crazy stories about how we happened to end up there.. and for all the talk of corporate control over the stones shows I didn’t feel that… sure some people were no doubt connected but there was a positive energy about getting to see the boys from the rolling stones multiplied by 13,000 and you could feel it.. its these times when big shows (not stadium but arena) can give you something you can never get from the subdued I got my hands in my pocket club crowds…. I did a far better job of explaining this last week to rich bindle..but this will have to do for here..…I remember talking to someone before the show..someone who’d seen a few shows on the tour..whom I can’t remember why I was talking to… beer lines too long..oh there’s some red WINE… mistake?… and we’re back to our seats.. the stones go on and its just unbelieavable..

And that’s the thing.. I think I was just blown away by the moment… for someone like me who loves music and the stones this much the intensity of seeing them.. the weight of the moment is so great…. I suppose if I’d seen them a few times this weight my dissipate but as things stand and combined with some brews... but I’ll tell you what I do remember about the show…keith looked like the midnight slasher prowling stage left…. Charlie Watts, the other guy I had a great view off (probably the best) looked like the master timekeeper he is… light blue shirt (he was situated a bit far behind the band)… keith mugged with ron wood repeatedly…. The true glimmer twins I say…. Movements were exaggerated as is wont to happen at these shows… all down the line from exile was played early to my joy and I felt someone tap my shoulder and behind me was the guy I’d been talking to about wanting to hear it….high five!...the rest of the set list was incredibly tight with classic after classic.......mick was mick prancing and preening per excellence….“oh you didn’t have to get me a beer”… The set list was incredible.. really for someone who has not seen that many shows you could not have asked for better.. they underplayed from the new album (which I like) and added a song or two they hardly play… wild horses which fits perfectly in baltimore…”what happened to the couple sitting next to me?”....i was heard repeating long into the night “man, they put on a great show!” and the mandatory self delusional “man they knew they had not played there since 69.. you can tell it was extra special!”.. the truth is the rolling stones are playing as good as ever every night (in particular mick who sounds as good as ever.. don’t believe me? Go check it out.. and charlie watts.. the guitars are a bit rougher than usual but it works... the new bassist darryl jones acquits himself admirably but i don't think he gets in the mix too much) and if you’re telling yourself it costs too much or you don’t like arena shows or worse that they’re too old to rock you… masochism ain’t all its cracked up to be, jackie!…