Now's the Time: The Last of the Blue Devils

It’s time to bring out the biggest gun in the arsenal.  “The Last of the Blue Devils” is an invaluable film about Kansas City jazz.  Its ongoing availability as a free stream on YouTube astounds me.  The first 15 minutes of the documentary in the embedded video capture a reunion of titans at the Mutual Musicians Foundation.

Now's the Time: Count Basie

It may not cure the coronavirus, but vintage footage of an all-star band led by Count Basie joyously riffing on Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce” is surely good for what ails us.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Jeff Harshbarger’s presentation for GuildIT streams at YouTube.

*The headline of a KCUR feature- “How Robert Altman's 'Kansas City' Helped Revive The Jazz District”- is provocative.

*Brandon Draper was interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Rudy Harper- AT SIX: A portion of the old Mardi Gras building in KC’s Jazz District collapsed while renovations were underway. I’ll have a live report on @KCTV5

*From a press release: The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University–Newark recently acquired the full collection of late great jazz icon, William J. “Count” Basie Jr… The collection, which features nearly 1,000 artifacts, including Count Basie’s pianos, Hammond organ, photos, correspondence, concert programs, business records and press clippings, will become available to the public in the near future.

*From a press release: After focusing on his vocals for the past decade, David Basse has returned to the drums, his first and primary instrument. David has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist and producer Greg Richter and bassist Joe Straws to create The David Basse Trio… This past Thanksgiving the trio picked up a Nebraska Music Hall of Fame award.

*From a press release: Founded as a premier student jazz opportunity for students in grades 9-12, the philosophy of the KC Area Youth Jazz organization is to develop selected jazz repertoire for refined performance opportunities… The organization has strategically teamed with BRC Audio Productions and its owner, Bill Crain.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Joel Castillo and Alex Abramovitz were interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*The Irish Times pulished a revealing interview with Pat Metheny.  Here’s one of the rapturous reviews Metheny’s new quartet recently received in Europe.  (See the press release below for more Metheny-related news.)

*Helen Borgers, a jazz DJ on KKJZ in Long Beach who was born in Kansas City, has died.

*Marc Myers ponders the evolution of Count Basie’s sound.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Casino Guru- Fantastic place, not to mention right next to the American Blues Museum. It is a must see in KC, I also recommend Buck O'Neil's book

*Comment o’ the Week: Anonymous (presumed bot)- It's a shame you don't have a donate button!...

*From ECM Records: Over the past week we have begun the process of entering the world of streaming, and from November 17th, the full ECM catalogue will be available to subscribers to services including Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and Qobuz. This simultaneous launch across the platforms – facilitated by a new digital distribution agreement with Universal Music – invites listeners to explore the wide range of music recorded by our artists in the course of nearly five decades of independent production. Although ECM’s preferred mediums remain the CD and LP, the first priority is that the music should be heard…

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The Kansas City Star reviewed a concert by the Bad Plus with Joshua Redman at the Gem Theater.

*Hermon Mehari promoted a gig at the Blue Room with an appearance on a morning television program.

*Nonesuch Records shared another track from the Pat Metheny Unity Group’s forthcoming The Unity Sessions album.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Brett Jackson- Got to hear one of my idols tonight. Didn't let me down... Awesome picture borrowed from Herschel McWilliams

*The lineup for the 2016 edition of the Detroit Jazz Festival includes Ron Carter, Stanley Cowell, Brad Mehldau, Roy Hargrove, Chris Potter, Jason Moran and Randy Weston.

*Comment o’ the Week: Anonymous- Hope you're all better now. You could do a lot worse than pre-war Basie that's for sure. Love Plastic Sax but got to admit that reading your occasional reviews of Thrash Metal concerts makes MY ears ring!

*From a press release: “My Kansas City”: David Basse-Joe Cartwright Septet. The great Kansas City jazz tradition will be celebrated on Saturday, May 7th at 8 PM at the MTH Theater at Crown Center, with songs made famous by Count Basie, Jay McShann, Mary Lou Williams, Charlie Parker, Pat Metheny, Mike Melvoin, Kevin Mahogany and Cab Calloway… David Basse – vocal, Joe Cartwright – piano, Seth Lee – bass, Taylor Babb – drums, Jason Goudeau – trombone, Stephen Martin – saxophone, Nate Nall – trumpet...  Find out more about a subject that is often mentioned and seldom explained: Kansas City and its music!… $20.

(Original image of 19th & Vine by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Gale Tallis, the executive director of the concert hall, recently announced that the next season of the Folly Theater's jazz series will include concerts by Cecile McLorin-Savant and the Donny McCaslin Quartet.

*The Pitch touts Saturday’s Patti Austin concert.

*Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle and the Project H are playing at a day party hosted by Nextbop in Austin this week.

*Chris Burnett filmed a conversation with Marcus Hampton.

*Brett Jackson was interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*Chris Burnett reports that the Italian pianist Dino Massa will perform in the area next month.

*Tweet o’ the Week: John Levenstein- @realDonaldTrump You should also consider bringing up Kansas City jazz legend Count Basie. Something about jazz now being made in China?
 
*From Ron Carlson: After a hiatus from Live Jazz Fridays at the Lucky Brewgrille at 5401 Johnson Drive in Mission KS, we are now ready to schedule Live Jazz Thursdays there in April from 6 - 8 pm.  I am looking forward to this chance to play there with great players on a quieter night.  In the meantime, I am spending a good bit of time scheduling and periodically performing at The Art Factory near 135th and Nall Ave in Overland Park KS. This is the best new venue in that part of town since Take Five. Upcoming players schedule there include Bob Bowman, Stan Kessler, Matt Otto, Todd Strait, Laura Caviani and many others. We are even working on scheduling big bands for the room.

*From Michael Shults: Really happy to be bringing pianist Phil DeGreg back to KC next week. Phil was one of my teachers in graduate school at Cincinnati Conservatory and is really one of the best I've ever heard. He has an amazing story - studied psychology at Yale but caught the music bug while in college, moved to KC in the 80's and got it together in a hurry. Essentially went from a novice to touring with Woody Herman in a few short years. I wrote about him for allaboutjazz.com in 2011. We are playing two shows next week - Tuesday (March 22) at the Majestic, and Wednesday (March 23) at Green Lady with New Jazz Order.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Concert Review: Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra at Celebration at the Station

Several thousand early birds at Sunday's Celebration at the Station heard vintage Kansas City jazz performed in a setting that would have been familiar to a young Charlie Parker. 

Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra's delightful "pre-show" performance in front of Union Station resurrected 80-year-old ghosts that were visible to at least two patrons.

As saxophonist Brett Jackson soloed on Count Basie's "Blue and Sentimental," a seemingly unstable vagrant seated next to me shouted "this is the sound!"  I shared his phantasmal enthusiasm for the band's stated mission of "celebrating the legacy of Kansas City jazz in the 30's and 40's." 

The set began with a couple of Jay McShann numbers and included at least one Bennie Moten composition.  The ensemble features notable players such as saxophonist Steve Lambert, trumpeters Al Pearson and Jay Sollenberger, trombonist Jason Goudeau, guitarist Rod Fleeman and pianist Joe Cartwright. 

Vine Street Rumble's 45-minute excursion seemed far too short.  Organizers would be foolhardy not to make the ensemble a permanent attraction at the large-scale annual event.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Pat Metheny's recording of John Zorn's Tap: The Book of Angels, Vol. 20 will be released May 21.

*KCJazzLark considers the ongoing evolution of Kansas City's jazz scene.

*A critic for The Guardian lauds a recent London performance by Bobby Watson.

*Hunter Long provides an update on the Black House Collective's ambitious new project.

*Eldar's recent activities are monitored by Pamela Espeland.

*"Kansas City's signature art form continues 'The Long Goodnight' as jazz becomes just another dead language they teach at UMKC, like Latin or American Literature," Tony Botello suggests in a Jardine's-related post.

*Joe Sample's conversation with Steve Kraske is archived here.

*Comment o' the Week: Thomas- We're not playing with musicians in mind. We're playing for the people that paid to get in and are spending their hard earned money. The guy who writes our check prefers it that way.

*Tweet o' the Week: Classic Las Vegas- Its 1965 in #Vegas and if you want to know how hot a ticket Sinatra with Count Basie at the Sands was, read this. (newspaper clipping).

*From a press release: Since her emergence onto the adult contemporary/urban jazz scene in the early 2000s, Carol Duboc has generously shared her wisdom and insight about love and romance in song-via both compelling original material and uniquely stylized covers of pop classics, as on her most recent recordings Songs For Lovers (2008) and Burt Bacharach Songbook (2009).  On her multi-faceted new album Smile, the sultry singer and songwriter-who penned songs for top pop/R&B artists like Patti Labelle, Chante Moore, Stephanie Mills and Jade before emerging as a solo artist-goes deeper emotionally than ever before…  Duboc co-produced Smile (and co-wrote all but one of its songs) with GRAMMY® nominated keyboardist, recording artist, composer and producer Jeff Lorber…  (Here's a music video for "Smile", a track from the forthcoming album.)

*From Jim Mair: One of Kansas City’s best known and most popular pianists, Tim Whitmer, will headline the last in the 2012-13 “Jazz by the Lake” series at Kansas City Kansas Community College Thursday, April 4.  The director of the “Spirituality and All That Jazz” programs at Unity on the Plaza, Whitmer will perform from noon-1 p.m. in Conference Center adjacent to the Campus Lake on the KCKCC campus at 7250 State Avenue.  Whitmer will be joined by Grammy-nominated guitarist Rod Fleeman and James Albright on bass with jazz saxophonist and KCKCC Jazz Band Director Jim Mair expected to make cameo appearances. “A toe-tapping great time,” promises Mair. The performance is open to the public without charge.   Light lunch is served.

*From Jim Mair #2: One of the most important trumpet players/composers in the world will present a master class at KCKCC in the band room.  (Dave Douglas) will also be joined by drummer Rudy Royston.  Monday April 8. 10am till noon.  $5.00 admission.

*The Kansas City Jazz Calendar has been updated.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*KCJazzLark suggests that the People's Liberation Big Band is squarely in the tradition of Count Basie's bands.

*Marilyn Maye received another rave review in The New York Times.

*Howard University presented Bobby Watson with the Benny Golson Jazz Master Award last week.

*The anniversary of Charlie Parker's death is acknowledged by Tony's Kansas City.  (Warning: don't read the accompanying comments.)

*KC Metropolis published a review of Mark Southerland's collaboration with New Ear.

*Mark Edeleman takes note of a few of the city's jazz offerings.

*The name is Collective.  Black House Collective.  In a related post, Chris Burnett documents his work with the ensemble.  Another participant offers a "post-mortem".

*Last week I reported that Dave Douglas was giving a master class as Kansas City Kansas Community College on April 8.  He will also perform that night at the Blue Room.

*Lisa Engelken, a Kansas native and regular visitor to Kansas City, is seeking funding for her forthcoming Little Warrior album.

*Tweet o' the Week: Clint Ashlock- Midwest Shuffle is my favorite record of all time. Bobby. Time Will Tell.

*From Rob Scheps: The Rob Scheps/ Jerry Dodgion Quintet. Spring Tour 2013.  Rob Scheps - tenor sax & soprano sax.  Jerry Dodgion - alto sax & soprano sax.  Roger Wilder - piano.  Bob " Dwight" Bowman - acoustic bass. Brian Steever - drums.  Scheps & Dodgion are from New York, and the rhythm section is from Kansas City.  (Area dates are listed at the end of this Plastic Sax post.)

*David Basse provides new details about the forthcoming Joe Sample appearance: 12th Street Jump, public radio’s weekly jazz, blues and comedy jam will record a live performance by Jazz Crusaders founder, Joe Sample, at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, March 26 at the White Recital Hall…  Presented in partnership with KCUR-FM 89.3 and recorded for broadcast on 12th STREET JUMP’s 42-station network, tickets for this special performance are $10 in advance, $15 at the door…

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Clarence Smith and two students enrolled in KC Youth Jazz chatted with Jabulani Leffall on KCUR's Central Standard program.

*KCJazzLark cleverly chastises himself.

*Kevin Mahogany is featured on the Pace Report.

*Chris Burnett considers the concept of competitiveness.  He also cites KC Youth Jazz as an positive indicator of jazz's future.

*Lee Langston, an R&B artist who performs frequently at the Blue Room, is the subject on an excellent feature on KCUR's KC Currents. 

*KC Metropolis offers a review of the Experimental Music Showcase at last week's Fringe Festival.

*Pauly Cohen recalls a dispute with Count Basie.

*Bobby Watson received another positive review from a jazz critic in London.

*Gigs by Pat Metheny's Unity Band and Harold O'Neal were previewed by the New York Times.

*The Kansas City Jazz Calendar has been updated.  It looks thinner than usual in part because Kansas City's best jazz club is one of several venues that have yet to publish dates for August.

*Tweet o' the Week: Brandon Draper- Cicadas make the most dope rhythms

*Comment o' the Week: Anonymous- Hey folks, Three givens in Kansas City. KCJO concerts always sell.  Jazz in the WOODS always attracts large audiences.  Tim Whitmer productions have longevity and huge followings.  Get out of your own miopic worlds. Not everything in Kansas City Jazz is a downer.

*From Brad Cox: The People's Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City celebrates the fourth anniversary of Jeff Harshbarger’s Jazz Series at the RecordBar with a “Year in Review” performance Sunday, August 5, at 8:00pm at the RecordBar (1020 Westport Rd, Kansas City, MO). Admission is $5.  The performance will feature material written for People's Liberation Big Band within the past year by composers Patrick Alonzo Conway, Brad Cox, Hunter Long, and Matt Otto, as well as arrangements of music by Virgil Thomson, and an appearance by The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City’s Special Mobile Tactical Unit.

*From Michael Pagán: Kansas City Youth Jazz organizers in collaboration with Piropos have announced a Dueling Piano Summit to be held Sunday August 19th 2012 at 3:00 PM inside Piropos Piano Bar in Briarcliff. The concert will last two hours. Participating in the event will be four of the Kansas City region’s premier jazz pianists – Roger Wilder, Joe Cartwright, Michael Pagán, and Bram Wijnands. The pianists will match up in different combinations and play two-piano jazz for approximately two hours. Proceeds will benefit Kansas City Youth Jazz...

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones

Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones is a book that merits a video trailer. Jones was, as the embedded video suggests, "a complex man." The new title on the University of Minnesota Press about the longtime drummer for Count Basie has an appropriately complicated backstory.

One More Time... Frank Foster

A tweet from Nicholas Payton alerted me to this hilarious scene from a 1961 comedy. "Blues In Hoss' Flat" was composed by Frank Foster. The original version is available on Count Basie's Chairman of the Board album from 1959. Far less amusing is the story of Foster's publishing woes revealed in the trailer of a documentary about the jazz great. Foster died July 26.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Did you know that Count Basie and John Coltrane once met? Here's proof. (Discovered via Jazz Wax.) And I don't know why this footage of Count Basie has received an astounding 10,000 views in five days, but it's a real treasure.

*Robert Trussell spoke with Mark O'Connor. The fiddler performs January 23 at The Folly Theater.

*KCJazzLark tells a charming story about meeting Andy Kirk.

*The American Jazz Museum will feature a day of Mary Lou Williams-related activities on January 23. The authors of a new children's book about Williams are among the participants.

*Joel Francis hangs out with Mouth.

*Pat Metheny's Orchestrion is currently ranked at #51 on Amazon's list of best-selling music titles.

*The University Daily Kansan touts Kansas City's jazz clubs.

*Suburban Prairie Village, Kansas, has seemingly caught the jazz bug. Air Force ensemble The Noteables perform at Asbury Methodist Church on January 31. And I spotted the following notice in the Village Voice (ha!): The 1st Annual Prairie Village Jazz Festival, on September 10th and 11th, 2010, is looking for volunteers to help plan and implement this premier event for our City, as members of the “Friends of PV Jazz Festival” ensemble. Please join us on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 6:30 pm to sign up as a member and learn more about how you can help make this fabulous opportunity a big success enhancing our City’s appreciation of the rich and plentiful jazz culture shared by many in our community.

*A new round of 12 O'Clock Jump has been announced. (Tip via a friend of Plastic Sax.) From a Theater League press release:
January 23- Featured Artist Django Reinhardt; Special Guests Rod Fleeman and Dan Bliss
January 30- Featured Artist Stan Getz; Special Guests Kim Park and Doug Talley
February 6- Featured Artist Walter Page; Special Guests Bobby Watson and Sean Jones
February 13- Featured Artist, Harold Arlen; Special Guests Harry Allen and Grant Stewart
February 20- Featured Artist David “Fathead” Newman; Special Guest Horace Washington
February 27- Featured Artist Richie Cole; Special Guests Jim Mair and Kerry Strayer
March 6- Featured Artist Bix Biederbecke; Special Guest Barry Springer
March 13- Featured Artist Quincy Jones; Special Guest TBA
March 20- Featured Artist George Benson; Special Guest Danny Embrey
March 27- Featured Artist, Red Norvo; Special Guest Kent Means

*The twenty comments in response to last week's Confirmation post set a Plastic Sax record. Thanks, one and all, for reading and participating.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Social Media Killed the Jazz Film Archive

I've previously expressed skepticism regarding the John Baker Film Collection. The stuff has been moldering in storage for decades. Next month, however, some of the material will finally go on display at the American Jazz Museum.

It would have been a really big deal twenty years ago. Today? Not so much.

Since the acquisition of the collection by the government of Kansas City, Missouri, a virtual revolution has entirely upended the old way of preserving and disseminating media. YouTube is one example. Another, of course, is Plastic Sax, an ad-free blog created by a passionate Kansas City jazz fan.

It's not as if the art documented in the John Baker Film Collection has lost any of its value. Quite the contrary. In 2009, however, people don't need to visit a museum to access similar material. Gems like the clip featured here are available to anyone with an internet connection.

On a related note, a friend of Plastic Sax just forwarded me an email about an intriguing event scheduled for this Saturday, August 22 August 29. The "1st Annual Yardbird Jazz & Film Festival" will take place in the jazz district.

Who knew?

Because the festival doesn't have a site and there's literally no information online, I've uploaded the festival's flyer myself. Grab it here.

Wynton Marsalis On Bill Basie

Wynton Marsalis offers a preview of a Jazz at Lincoln Center tribute to the Count Basie Orchestra. "We're here to have a good time and not get in our own way," Marsalis pledges. The program has a three night run in February 2010.

Count Basie Introduces Duffy Jackson

Drummer Duffy Jackson "puts the grin on the groove and aims the beat at your feet" in this brief live clip ostensibly shot at a Kansas City concert in '79 or '80. Still with the Basie Orchestra, Jackson was the clear audience favorite at the ensemble's 2007 performance at the Folly Theater. It's one of eight videos Jackson has recently posted at YouTube.

Count Basie In 1979

There's a great deal of internal bickering at the Plastic Sax office complex about whether this site should focus on the past or the present. We take pride in staying on top of recent developments. Nothing makes us happier than promoting a promising young artist who might possess the talent and drive to push Kansas City jazz forward. That's why we lament the paucity of contemporary videos. In this era of $150 camcorders, why does it remain vastly easier to find old jazz footage than new material? That said, the Count Basie Five featured here is sublime. And how about Cleveland Eaton!

The Ten Best Kansas City Jazz Recordings

Nine of the ten discs I've selected as the best Kansas City jazz recordings have one thing in common- they exude a sense of joyful celebration. The melding of blues and jazz that characterizes the Kansas City sound is intended as the soundtrack to a party. Even Frizzell and Metheny, the two artists on my list who veer farthest away from the city's traditional sound, radiate positive vibrations. The revolutionary work of Charlie Parker, manic and confrontational, makes him the odd man out. But he never fit in. In chronological order:

1. Bennie Moten- Band Box Shuffle (recorded 1929-32, Hep Records compilation released 2000)
Kansas City jazz didn't begin with Moten, but he was the first significant area bandleader to be extensively recorded. This set contains two-and-a-half hours of intoxicatingly vibrant music featuring the likes of Count Basie, Harlan Leonard, Hot Lips Page and Jimmy Rushing.

2. Count Basie- The Best of Early Basie (recorded 1937-39, Decca compilation released 1996)
The mother lode. Just the names of the participants- Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Claude Williams, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Jo Jones- inspire awe. When someone in Tokyo or Paris thinks of Kansas City, they have "Jumpin' At the Woodside" or "Doggin' Around" in mind. This set also includes Jimmy Rushing's reading of "Blues In the Dark," which may be my favorite recording of the twentieth century.

3. Jay McShann- Blues From Kansas City (recorded 1941-43, Decca compilation released 1992)
Impossibly hip titles like "Say Forward, I'll March" and "Hootie's Ignorant Oil" hint at the good times provided by these classic sides. And yes, the young Charlie Parker's first recorded honks are here.

4. Julia Lee- Kansas City's First Lady of the Blues, (recorded 1944-47, JSP compilation released 2001)
A full sixty years later, many of Lee's raunchy songs are fully capable of inducing blushes. Local legends like Sam "Baby" Lovett play alongside stars including Benny Carter and Red Norvo on these wild and wooly sessions.

5. Charlie Parker- Complete Dial Sessions (recorded 1946-47, Stash compilation released 1993)
As with his personal life, Parker's discography is complicated and somewhat messy. This selection comes down to personal preference; I really dig the mind-bendingly creative Dial sessions, which emphasize Parker's compositional skills.

6. Dwight Frizzell & Anal Magic- Beyond the Black Crack (recorded and self-released in 1976; reissued on Paradigm in 1998)
Does this obscure title by Kansas City's favorite oddball actually exist? Does it matter? The Sun Ra-obsessed Frizzell went on to make many experimental recordings with BCR, which for years was arguably the best band in Kansas City, jazz or otherwise.

7. Pat Metheny- American Garage (recorded and released in 1979, ECM)
As with Aaron Copeland's most popular works, the majestic compositions of American Garage evoke the generous vistas of the American plains. Metheny's incorporation of folk and country elements paved the way for explorations by both fellow guitarist Bill Frisell and new-grass acts including Bela Fleck and Nickel Creek.

8. Count Basie- Kansas City Shout (recorded and released in 1980, Pablo)
This late-career summit of Basie, Joe Turner and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson reminds me of great late-night sessions at the Mutual Musicians Foudation, except there's nothing casual about the sophisticated big bands charts on "Blues For Joe Turner." Swinging came as easily to the old veterans as breathing.

9. City Light Orchestra- Raised Spirits (recorded and released in 1984, City Light Entertainment)
The sound captured by swinging traditionalists Dave Basse, Tim Whitmer, Ahmad Alaadeen, Jano and Laverne Barker continues to dominate Kansas City's jazz scene twenty-three years after this perfectly-titled set's release.

10. Myra Taylor- My Night To Dream (recorded in 2000, released in 2001, APO Records)
Even at ninety-years-old, Taylor shows more energy and spunk than almost every other entertainer in town. With Sonny Kenner's guitar and Eddie Saunders' tenor sax, this crisp recording unites Kansas City's jazz and blues legacies.

Disagree with my selections? I should hope so. Please add your list and thoughts to the comments section.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Reviews for Love Letters From Ella range from "charming" to "a shameless cash grab." Some critics are concerned that Fitzgerald's voice is transposed over contemporary recordings on most of the new release's tracks. The current version of the Count Basie Orchestra is one of the groups providing new sounds. Those are the living versions of Fitzgerald and Basie in the 1979 video above.

*The August 3 Star ran a flattering profile of Gregory A. Carroll, the new executive director of the American Jazz Museum.

*The same issue of the Star reported that new management at the Phoenix "hopes it will reopen Aug. 10." As of August 8, however, the club's site doesn't confirm this news.

*Here's an interesting hand-written letter from Mary Lou Williams and a photo from the related Vancouver gig. (Tip from my friend M.)

*I'm just as annoyed by mimes as the next guy. Yet this dramatization of a "jazz dispute" between Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie is pretty well done.