Coventry: Phish Blog and Music Blog

Phish Festival 8 Videos: Puppets, Unicorns, Aliens, & Parrots on Molly

2009-11-04T04:20:00.000-05:00

he gang at Coventry are well versed in puppetry as you will see in this video. I also captured an intimate moment between an unicorn and an alien. And then there was that jacked up parrot who was snorting molly before the acoustic set.

Phish Festival 8 Video - The Return of the UPS Man

2009-11-03T16:20:00.002-05:00

The Joker was up to his old tricks at Festival 8. He put together 40 packages and attempted to make all of his deliveries. Here are some of the highlights...

And click here to view those hysterical videos from Vegoose that started it all.

Here are a few photos of deliveries that didn't make the video, as well as the official delivery list:

Costume that PWNS - The 99 albums website

YipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYipYip

Giving my Fishman Dress to Motor Bike Matt

Esquandolas Polo Club

Max (Where the Wild Things Are)
Jesus Just Left Chicago, stopped at 8 on his way to New Orleans

Phish Festival 8 Videos: Halloweeen Montage

2009-11-03T07:07:00.003-05:00

Here you go... another montage from yours truly.

Other montages include Hampton and The Gorge.

Pauly's Festy 8 Photos

2009-11-03T04:20:00.001-05:00

You can find a full gallery of Halloween photos here.

And here's some of my favorites...

Click here to view more pics from Festival 8.

L.A. Times Review of Festival 8

2009-11-02T16:20:00.001-05:00

We're still washing the dust off our feet from this weekend's festivities, but did stumble upon the L.A. Times review of Festival 8. Here's a few choice quotes:

"Besides the Rolling Stones, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, it's hard to think of many rock acts that could crowd the Empire Polo Club in Indio for a three-day festival featuring no supporting acts or other live entertainment. But the legendary Vermont jam titan Phish has long operated outside the realm of normalcy, with a rabid fan base closer to addicted acolytes than casual admirers."

"Against the soft pink lights and palm trees, the band reworked the Stones' rotgut-blues opus with symphonic syncopated groove, backed by the celestial harmonies of Sharon Jones and Saundra Williams and a three-piece horns section.

It was a masterful stroke and contrasted with the band's acoustic set the previous afternoon, revealing a versatility surprising only those who haven't followed the band's career closely."

Stay tuned for Festival 8 recaps, photos, videos and more!

Phish Festival 8 Setlists

2009-11-02T04:20:00.000-05:00

10.30.09 Phish Festival 8

Set 1: Party Time, Chalk Dust, Moma Dance, NICU, Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan, Stash, I Didn’t Know, Poor Heart, Cavern, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Ocelot, Time Turns Elastic

Set 2: PYITE, Down with Disease > Prince Caspian > Wolfman’s Brother > Piper > Joy, David Bowie, Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus

Encore: Character Zero

* * * * *
10.31.09 Phish Festival 8

Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Divided Sky, Lawn Boy, Kill Devil Falls, Bathtub Gin, Squirming Coil, Runaway Jim, Possum, Antelope

Set 2 (EXILE ON MAIN STREET): Rocks Off, Rip This Joint, Shake Your Hips, Casino Boogie, Tumbling Dice, Sweet Virginia, Torn andFrayed, Sweet Black Angel, Loving Cup, Happy, Turd On the Run, Ventilator Blues, I Just Want to See His Face, Let It Loose, All Down the Line, Stop Breaking Down, Shine a Light, Soul Survivor

Set 3: Backwards Down the Number Line, Fluffhead, Ghost, Circus Comes, YEM

Encore: Suzy Greenberg

* * * * *
11.1.09 Phish Festival 8

Acoustic Set: Water in the Sky, Back on the Train, Brian & Robert, Invisible, Strange Design, Mountains in the Mist, Curtain With, Army of One, Sleep Again, My Sweet One, Let Me Lie, Bouncin', Train Song, Wilson, McGrupp

Acoustic Encore: Driver, Talk, Secret Smile

Set 2: AC/DC Bag, Rift, Gotta Jibboo, Heavy Things, Reba, The Wedge, Guelah Papyrus, Undermind, Sparkle, Split Open & Melt

Set 3: Tweezer > Maze, Free, Sugar Shack, Limb By Limb, Theme from the Bottom, Mike’s Song > 2001 > Light > Slave

Encore: Grind, Esther, Tweezer Reprise

FEST 8 Video Teaser Halloween Mix

2009-10-31T23:14:00.006-04:00

Eclectic Method Goes Phish from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

This was shown right before the band took the stage for set II. After teasing phans for the past month the last album standing out of the 99 possibles is: The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street. Phish is joined by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings who are providing the horns. Exile on Main Street was the Stones 10th album and draws heavily on the blues. Expect the crowd to go wild when they launch into Loving Cup.

Set II, Day II currently in progress.

Festival 8 Soundcheck

2009-10-29T16:20:00.008-04:00

Here is the unofficial setlist:

10/29/09 Festival 8 Soundcheck, Indio, CA

Festival 8 Soundcheck Jam
Undermind>
Devil with a Blue Dress>
Gloria
Starship Trooper
Gone
Fuck Your Face Tease
MGMT Kids Tease
Liquid Time
Lengthwise tease

DOWNLOAD NOW - Yes, this is a soundboard recording.

Coventry Music Blog on Twitter During Festival 8

2009-10-29T16:20:00.002-04:00

Most of our crew will be at Festival 8. We will do our best to provide Twitter updates through our main feed @CoventryMusic and through our individual feeds. In addition, we'll be posting plenty of random goodness here at Coventry Music Blog throughout the festival depending upon the reliability and consistency of the internets in Indio.

If you recently started up a Twitter account, or don't follow us, here's who we are in the Twitterverse...

Coventry Music Blog = @CoventryMusic
Dr. Pauly = @taopauly
The Joker = @neillybop
Change100 = @change100
BTreotch = @btreotch
Broseph = @BrosephLives

And some friends..

DiscoSis1 = @DiscoSis1
Benjo = @BenjiDiMeo
DJ Ocean = @DJOcean

Just a reminder that we tweet. A lot. Take this into consideration if you decide to follow us (especially on your mobile phone via text messages if you don't have unlimited messaging).

And if you see us wandering around all spun out in our group costumes... definitely stop by to say hello.

Have a safe and trouble-free Festival 8!

Phishead on Conan

2009-10-29T04:20:00.000-04:00

Love it. Thanks to Ace Cowboy for the video...

Phish Parking Lot

2009-10-28T16:20:00.000-04:00

Question: What do custies smell like?
Answer: MONEY.

Phisheads Have Higher SAT Scores Than Kelly Clarkson Fans

2009-10-28T04:20:00.001-04:00

If it's in the Wall Street Journal, then it must be true... Books and Music That Make You Dumb.

Thanks to DJ Ocean for the article.

Trey Discusses Big Cypress on Sirius/XM

2009-10-27T04:20:00.000-04:00

Trey Discusses Festivals...

If you haven't heard, Sirius/XM will be broadcasting all of Festival 8. I believe you can sign up for a free 3-day trial and listen this weekend.

Festival 8 Tweet-Up

2009-10-26T16:20:00.002-04:00

Our buddy @Unolker is organizing a tweet-up on Saturday afternoon at Festival 8. Ever wanted to see what happens when a bunch of music nerds get together? Want to see our cool Halloween costumes? Want to get a presciption from Dr. Pauly? Come on and say hi. Looks like right now we are going to meet in the beer garden picnic area. Follow @coventrymusic and @unolker or click the tweetvite for more details.

Vanilla Ice to Play Vegas

2009-10-26T04:20:00.002-04:00

If you couldn't get a ticket to Festy 8, then head to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas because Vanilla Ice is scheduled to perform on October 30th.

Here's one of my favorite Vanilla Ice moments when he goes ape shit...

And Jim Carrey is fuckin' hilarious...

Festivalography Downloads (updated)

2009-10-25T04:20:00.000-04:00

Coventry Reader Jesse pointed out Festivalography Links via Jamtopia... Than ks to PTr duanebase for part 3 upload..

Part 1: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yln0wcj0hml

Part 2: http://www.mediafire.com/?m2ymmhdynty

(Update) Part 3: http://www.sendspace.com/file/1xvryb

Turn off the emo and heady jams brah, it's an old school Funk and Soul Mix: Hooptie Got's Ta Purify!

2009-10-23T16:20:00.005-04:00

mix by racecar, image by Jef Aersol

Much like Lee Dorsey, everything our good friend racecar does is funky.. Check out her old school funk and soul mix that has some classic and rare tracks - a great mix for the few hour wait you'll face in the Phish 8 traffic line.. download link

Playlist:
House Music - The Free Association
Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) - Lee Dorsey
Sister's Got A Boyfriend - Rufus Thomas
You're Losing Me - Ann Sexton
I Just Want Some Love - The Mighty Hannibal
I've Got To Go On Without You - Shirley Brown
Hard Times - Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters
Be Thankful For What You Got - William De Vaughn
Baby What You Want Me To Do - Erma Franklin
Carry On - Jean Knight
Get Out of My Life Woman - Lee Dorsey
Sookie Sookie - Tina Britt
We Be's Gettin' Down - Graham Central Station
Get It - The Triplett Twins
Baby You're Right - Helena Hollins
Cissy Strut - The Meters
Johnny Coolman - Toots and The Maytals
It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who To Sock It To) (Live) - Marva Whitney
Hot Butter n'All Pt2 - Mr. C & Funk Junction
Do It In The Name Of Love - Candi Straton
Please Take Care of Our Love - Lee Dorsey & Betty Harris

Printable Festival Checklist

2009-10-22T04:20:00.001-04:00

That time of year again, here's a link for a solid festival camping checklist: PDF Link

Alternate excel file for super thoughoughness: Excel Link

And as always: Don't forget your A Game !!

Chuck Klosterman on Michael Jackson

2009-10-22T04:20:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite scribes, Chuck Klosterman, sounded off on the death of Michael Jackson...

Festival 8 Map Leaked?

2009-10-21T16:20:00.005-04:00

It seems a worker's? map of Festival 8 has been leaked. Download the .pdf here.

I found this through (where else?) a link on PT...yesterday it was hosted by our friends at Jamtopia.

Here are some good points about this map I tend to agree with (assuming its real):

Campground areas are labled:
Electric Ladyland (Jimi Hendrix)
Purple Rain (Prince)
Hunky Dory (David Bowie)
Larks Tongues In Aspic (King Crimson)
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis)
Exile on Main Street (Rolling Stones)
Kid A (Radiohead)

...Are these the final album possibilities?

CC before the section means car camping, RV means RV, and TC means tent camping with no car. As you can see there is less space per spot in "TC" sections.

Whats a Burble?...Im curious to find out.

Thao With the Get Down Video: "When We Swam"

2009-10-21T04:20:00.003-04:00

This is dedicated to BTreotch....

Click here to download the single Know Better.

David Byrne Interviews Phish

2009-10-20T04:20:00.006-04:00

11 years ago today. Bits of these were used in the Sessions at West 54th broadcast. Here are the full interviews of David Byrne chatting with Phish...

And here's Ghost from the West 54th performance...

Bleeding Head Of Jesus Candle Says "Jazz On Sale - Buy None, Get Two Free!"

2009-10-20T04:20:00.005-04:00

(I'm refreshing post old post as well)

I keep having this recurring argument with Dr. Pauly that this Coventry joint needs some more jazz. He thinks that's great, but insists that most of y'all wander over this way because you're fans of live music.

So I'll compromise.

How about two discs of live jazz to start out your week? Disc One features some pretty straightforward accessible stuff, while Disc Two has some tracks that are just another step or two outside the mainstream. Links below.

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UPDATE: LINKS ARE FIXED - 410PM MONDAY - APOLOGIES

DISC ONE - DOWNLOAD

"My Favorite Things" - John Coltrane from Newport '63 - Coltrane (ss), McCoy Tyner (p), Jimmy Garrison (b), Roy Haynes (d)

The review from AllMusic.com says this is arguably the best live version ever captured of this iconic Coltrane classic. This whole disc is actually pretty damned good overall too, as you've got the novelty of Haynes sitting in for Elvin Jones, and a pretty solid reading of a favorite ballad of mine, "I Want To Talk About You."

"All The Things You Are" - Sonny Rollins from A Night At The Village Vanguard Vol. 2 (1957) - Sonny Rollins (ts), Elvin Jones (d), Wilbur Ware (b) (It's either these two or Donald Bailey (b) or Pete La Roca (d))

This set is a Dr. Pauly favorite, and for good reason. Rollins alone with bass and drums was a risky venture back in the late 50s, but he managed to create some pretty spectacular music without a piano involved.

**iTunes Alert** - There's a $19.99 Sonny Rollins "five disc" set on iTunes from Blue Note Records called The Complete Blue Note Recordings that collects the two discs of these trio sessions, plus the albums known as Vol. 1 & 2, and a pretty nice set from an album called Newk's Time. Vol. 2 in particular has some cuts with Thelonious Monk that are pretty fucking worthwhile, if you're so inclined.

"Poinciana" - Ahmad Jamal from Live at Oil Can Harry's (1976) - Jamal (p), Calvin Keys (g), John Heard (b), Frank Gant (d), Seldon Newton (conga)

Ahmad Jamal is one of a short list of highly influential jazz artists who always sat on the outside looking in in terms of popularity. Jamal influenced Miles Davis a great deal, mostly through his thoughtful use of space and silence in his solos. This album never made it to CD (I don't think), and, like much of Jamal's recorded work, remains out of print.

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" - Cannonball Adderley from Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - Live at "The Club" (1966) - C.Adderley (as), Nat Adderley (cornet), Joe Zawinul (elec. piano), Victor Gaskin (b), Roy McCurdy (d)

Little boogaloo? Don't mind if I do.

"A Night In Tunisia" - The Quintet from Jazz at Massey Hall (1953) - Charlie Parker (as), Dizzy Gillespie (tpt), Max Roach (d), Bud Powell (p), Charles Mingus (b)

A fun, if not groundbreaking, set from true icons of bebop, touring in Canada as their musical style was circling the drain. Parker sounds good here, despite playing a borrowed plastic (!) alto. I forget if he pawned his personal horn to buy heroin in this case, but let's just say that wouldn't have been the first time.

"Walkin'" - Miles Davis from The Complete Concert 1964 - Davis (tpt), George Coleman (ts), Herbie Hancock (p), Ron Carter (b), Tony Williams (d)

My favorite story about this set is that the concert was that Miles came in to the dressing room for his band just prior to taking the stage and told them they were going to give up that night's paychecks to charity, as the show was thrown by the NAACP to benefit voter registration in the deep south. None of the guys in the band were stars at the time, and between their nerves performing at New York's Philharmonic Hall and their anger at playing for free without their consent, they pushed the ever loving hell out of Miles that night. Great show, top to bottom. Probably my favorite live set from my jazz collection.

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DISC TWO - DOWNLOAD

"Aggression" - Eric Dolphy from At The Five Spot Vol. 2, 1961 - Dolphy (bass clarinet), Booker Little (tpt), Mal Waldron (p), Richard Davis (b), Ed Blackwell (d)

The three discs that make up the Five Spot sets this band played are a testament to the musical chemistry between Dolphy and trumpeter Booker Little, who would pass away three months after this set. Little was just getting his personal sound into shape, and could have emerged with another classic recording or three under his belt as one of the superstars of the free jazz movement, but he was cut down by complications from uremia at age 23. Regarding Dolphy, some people can't stand the squawking chaotic bass clarinet soloing he's famous for, but I think it's brilliant and unique. To each, their own.

"Walkin'" - Miles Davis from Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel 1965 (disc 5) - as above, replacing Coleman with Wayne Shorter (ts)

I thought this might be a fun additon for comparison's sake to the 1964 version on Disc One. The Plugged Nickel sets found Miles helming his second great quintet (the first was the late 50s group with Coltrane), and it's amazing how much these young musicians have grown behind him. Herbie's playing sounds a little darker, more impressionistic. Williams' drumming is more assertive, and replacing Coleman with Shorter traded muscle for angularity. The style becomes more adventurous and elastic, pushing in and out of the rhythmic structure and unmooring the traditional blues of "Walkin'" and drifting into freer territory.

"I'll Remember April" - Charles Mingus from Mingus At Antibes (1960) Mingus (b), Eric Dolphy (ts), Booker Ervin (as), Ted Curson (tpt), Dannie Richmond (d), Bud Powell (p)

I think I'm going to have something more to say about this concert at some point soon, but I posted about this song on MetaFilter awhile ago, and that's as good a place as any to start. The last five minutes of the song are, for my money, the most exciting five minutes of music I've ever heard. Dolphy and Ervin trade fours, then twos, with Dolphy providing the fractured mirror image of Ervin, dismantling his blues licks and building them into something altogether different. Oh, and if this whole song doesn't get you off your ass, you've got no soul.

"Directions" - Miles Davis from The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 - Davis (tpt), Gary Bartz (ss), Keith Jarrett (keys), John McLaughlin (g), Michael Henderson (b), Jack DeJohnette (d), Airto Moreira (percussion)

Let me just state for the record that this is a pretty difficult era of Miles' output to approach. It's kinda space-funk-jazz that stabs at you with malicious intent, and isn't at all easy listening. That being said, if you dig this, there's a TON of material +/- five years from this recording that are going to appeal to you. Let me know. I'm guessing that out of any of these cuts, this one is going to be the one that meets the skip button more often than not.

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Enjoy the music, and let me know in comments what you think.

BG's Coventry Jazz Mix - A Few Of My Favorite Things

2009-10-20T04:20:00.004-04:00

(I'm taking the liberty of refreshing this classic post from April of 08)

Hey y'all, BG from Gambling Blues here. Dr. Pauly and I were talking music the other day, and, as usual, I started to get evangelical about my love of jazz.

See, all you jamband lovers who dig it when Trey plinks around on that guitar of his for twenty solid minutes know where improvisational American music was born, right? Louis Armstrong begat Duke Ellington, who gave rise to Charlie Parker, with Miles Davis, John McLaughlin and those guys from Galactic as your logical heirs from there.

So give my guys from the 50s and 60s some love, and let me introduce you to a few of my favorite performances, conveniently located in a zip file on Rapidshare, and burnable to a single CD for your listening enjoyment.

Download BG's Coventry Jazz Mix... here.

Favorite Piano Solo: "Bags' Groove (take 1)" - from Bags' Groove by Miles Davis (1954) Miles Davis (tpt), Milt Jackson (vibes, songwriter), Thelonious Monk (p), Horace Silver (p), Percy Heath (b), Kenny Clarke (d).

You know the old saying, "Two wrongs don't make a right?" Thelonious Monk, starting at 6:45 of the track, sets out to prove that thesis incorrect. Monk is famous for his ability to stretch and twist rhythm and melody, and this solo is all about playing with the empty spaces around his untraditional phrases to allow you, the listener, to fill in the blanks and resolve them in your own head.

The blues, as a structure, is to make a statement, repeat that statement, then resolve it. AAB structure. Something like:

I got my mojo workin', just don't work on you
I got my mojo workin', just don't work on you
I wanna love you so bad, don't know what to do

This song is very clearly a blues structure. Monk will make his A statement, muddy the waters with a seemingly wrong chord and misplaced rhythmic beat in the repeat, and then play something in his B statement resolution that, while wrong "on paper," makes enough sense to your ear from the context of the "AA" lead that it seems to work out in your head.

I'm not very well versed in music (can't read it, am no scholar), but once I read a quote about this solo that essentially said, "Monk expects the notes to resolve themselves in the empty space," it made perfect sense to me.

Favorite Non-Traditional Take on a Standard - "On Green Dolphin Street" - from Outward Bound by Eric Dolphy (1960) Eric Dolphy (bass clarinet), Freddie Hubbard (tpt), Jaki Byard (p), George Tucker (b), Roy Haynes (d).

My friend Gracie doesn't like Eric Dolphy. She thinks he sounds like a shrieking goose.

Well, to be fair, he is playing the bass clarinet.

This version of this song is likely my favorite jazz cut of all time. Dolphy, still a couple albums away from stepping more fully into "free jazz" (music without melodic underpinnings), seems to have an instinct through his bass clarinet to push at the outer edges of the chords in the melody without fully breaking any of the rules. Regardless of all this pseudo-intellectual crap about tonality, this shit just fucking swings. My favorite part is the restatement of the theme after all parties have soloed. Dolphy makes this yelping noise with his horn as he leaps into the final verse that just gets me every time.

Favorite Original Jazz Composition - "Gingerbread Boy" - from On The Trail by Jimmy Heath (1964) Jimmy Heath (tsax, songwriter), Kenny Burrell (g), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b), Al Heath (d).

It was relatively simple in the 60s to get lost in the tenor sax shuffle. Coltrane was killing it, Sonny Rollins was an established star, and Blue Note Records seemed to be able to land a new Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin or Stanley Turrentine LP on the shelves with frightening regularity.

Jimmy Heath is, in my opinion, a founding member of the 1960s All-Underrated Team. Jimmy came from a jazz family (his brother Percy is on the Miles Davis track above, and his brother Al sits in on this one), and really made his mark as a composer more than soloist. This track in particular is likely his best known contribution to the standard songbook, and it burns. Kenny Burrell has a pretty solid solo on the guitar to lead off, with Jimmy following with a serpentine dance around the melody.

Between Dolphy, Heath and Mal Waldron below, I feel like I should be going door-to-door to casual jazz fans, trading them their Coltrane Greatest Hits albums straight across for something just as interesting from a lesser-known artist. It's a shame that guys like these end up largely forgotten, except by collectors willing to dig through the era carefully enough to unearth a gem. Forty years later, all this stuff still sounds fresh to me.

Favorite Saxophone Solo - "Blue 7" - from Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins (1956), Sonny Rollins (tsax, songwriter), Max Roach (d), Tommy Flanagan (p), Doug Watkins (b).

There are guys who play a lot of notes, and there are guys who thoughtfully play the right notes. Rollins is in the latter camp. Look, I like Coltrane as much as the next guy, but listening to the guy blister through "Chasin' the Trane" for eighteen minutes gets tiring. Rollins is a guy who tells a linear story, almost has a conversation through his horn, and it's largely absent the byzantine hyperkineticism that marks Coltrane's style.

"Blue 7" was really Rollins' first great step forward as an individual voice. It's a thoughtful, intelligent and maybe even witty solo, that is as much planting the flag on his own territory as it is a reaction against the prevailing Charlie Parker and bebop freneticism of the day. Max Roach and Doug Watkins give Rollins all the room he needs, and he proves you can stretch out without filling every available empty moment with a sixteenth note. This whole album can be had for cheap, and comes highly recommended.

Favorite Guitar Solo - "Unit 7" - from Smokin' at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio (1965) Wes Montgomery (g), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (d).

Speaking of high recommendations, this is a jam band blog, and this is the standout track from one of the great live jam records of the jazz era. Some people even list it in the top three all-time.

I'm not one to argue.

Wes Montgomery had a fairly unfortunate career arc, mainly because someone showed him a series of big fat checks to play elevator music. It's a shame, too, as his limited output prior to selling out really highlights the guy's talent. Smokin' is a true jam date, with the greatest working rhythm section of the mid-60s letting Wes sit in for these sessions. This track in particular has, in jazz guitarist Pat Metheny's eyes, the greatest jazz solo ever played.

I'm not one to argue.

Favorite Obscurity - "Duquility" - from The Quest by Mal Waldron with Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin (1961) Mal Waldron (p, songwriter), Eric Dolphy (alto sax), Booker Ervin (tsax), Ron Carter (b), Charlie Persip (d).

Booker Ervin was rooted in the blues, Ron Carter a Philharmonic-schooled classicist, and Eric Dolphy a dissident of dissonance. With Waldron and Persip providing a thin pencil sketch framework around which to play, it's really interesting to hear these three styles come together, especially through headphones. In both channels, you get Carter's plaintive bowed cello work, with Ervin anchoring to tradition in your right ear, Dolphy pushing against tonality in your left. It's really Carter's show though. No fireball solos in this cut, just four minutes of mood music that ends far too soon. Carter wouldn't join Miles Davis' second great quintet until 1964, but this cut foreshadows some of that group's greatest work - especially works like "Mood," "Orbits," and the classic deconstruction of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints."

Favorite Trumpet Solo - "Moanin'" - from Moanin' by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1958) Art Blakey (d), Lee Morgan (tpt), Bobby Timmons (p, songwriter), Jymie Merritt (b), Benny Golson (tsax).

Ow! The Lee Morgan! It buuuurrrrnnnnsss! The kid was 20 years old when he laid down this swaggering solo. How good were you at anything but bong tokes and inventing reasons to skip Econ lectures at age 20?

Thought so.

Favorite Guest Appearance - "Someday My Prince Will Come" - from Someday My Prince Will Come by Miles Davis (1961) Miles Davis (tpt), Hank Mobley (tsax - first solo), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (d), John Coltrane (tsax - second solo at the 5:55 mark).

This was the first album Miles recorded post-Coltrane, and the first with his new-and-soon-to-be-ex-tenor sax player Hank Mobley. Now, I like Hank. I like Hank a lot, actually. He's a bluesy player, full tone, swings hard. But listen to the difference between Hank's solo, then Coltrane's. Thom Jurek at the All Music Guide says, "Mobley plays a strictly journeyman solo, and then Coltrane blows the pack away with a solo so deep inside the harmony it sounds like it's coming from somewhere else."

That's about right. It's graduation day for Coltrane, who had learned all he could from Miles. Miles, Coltrane and Mobley went off in different directions after this album, each having a great deal of success as leaders on their own, but for this one song on this one album, Coltrane is clearly a man among boys.

Enjoy! Let me know in comments if you've got favorites I've missed...

Mon Morn Link Dump: The Best of Last Week

2009-10-19T04:20:00.002-04:00

In case you missed it (or were too busy following along with the adventures of Balloon Boy)...

Hurley LOST Lot T-Shirts
Phish: Festivalography
Phisheads: Betty Draper
Concert Review: Neon Indian with Sunbears! and BC the Black Child at Crowbar
Happy Birthday Bob Weir