We all have them. All players, instruments, singers, composers, arrangements and all musical genre. Those moments when our favorite players "speak" to us in special, musical, emotional and sometimes earth-moving ways that can change our playing and even our lives. Most of us love sharing this stuff with friends who we feel safe and comfortable with. I think it might be an interesting thread here, because we all hear things differently and internalize musical statements in ways that mean so much, in terms of individual tastes, to us on deep and even humorous levels. Or just how god damn cool they are.
With digital read-outs on our devices today, we can pin-point a musical moment that we can share. Or we can just talk about these moments together...what they mean to us and how they might have impacted our lives.
Here's one example for me....no digital read-outs just yet.
My very first jazz record....the one that made me a bassist: "The Hampton Hawes Trio" Contemporary records.1955(available now on CD.)...Hampton Hawes, piano. Red Mitchell, bass and Chuck Thomson, drums. Cut: "Hamp's blues". I first learned to sing the head, and all of Hamp's musical statements, plus Red's great walking solo. When I got my first bass, I learned Red's solo note for note without having lessons. To this day, I can still sing and/or play most of the music on this side. It will live with me until I cash in.

As the tune goes..."How about you?"
PS...Slabbers welcome. Just don't gimme no ****. Thank you very much.

Recordings:

Mahler 10 Adagio - New York Phil/Bernstein. I couldn't move from the spot until the whole thing was done, and then was speechless for a long time.

Cello Suite #5 - Janos Starker. I used to wake up dreaming this one.

Bartok - Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste. Again, speechless.

Bonnie Raitt, singing "Dimming Of The Day" and "The Glow". If I could sing like that, I don't know if I'd ever feel the need to pick up an instrument again.

Keith Jarrett - "Stella By Starlight" with the trio. The introduction slayed me, and i remained slayed throughout.

Bill Evans - "Detour Ahead". I forgot to breathe for about a minute the first time i heard it.

Kenny Barron - "Skylark" from "Green Chimneys". If anybody is channeling Bach these days, it's Kenny.

Fred Hersch - "I Fall In Love Too Easily" from "Dancing In The Dark", then later, that entire album. After hearing it, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Chick Corea - "Three Quartets". This one had me in its grasp for months, and i hardly listened to anything else.


Live:

Fred Hersch Trio with Drew Gress and Tom Rainey, early 90's. They played an entire set without walking, and I didn't notice until it was over. That concert changed the direction of my musical life.

Chick Corea Akoustic Band. Tight chops, clean sound, and a joyous vibe all night. I ended up sitting in a Denny's in Frankfort until 3 AM with a friend who was also blown away. We ate several breakfasts and basically just sat there with our minds blown trying to figure out what we just heard.

Frank Morgan and Cyrus Chestnut - played "A Nightengale Sang in Berkeley Square". I was in tears and didn't realize it until my wife handed me a Kleenex.




I could supply a digital read out for the "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "Stella" cuts, but that's about it. Great thread idea, Pee-dub. I'll quit hogging it now. :D

Recordings:
Bill Evans - "Detour Ahead". I forgot to breathe for about a minute the first time i heard it.


That track is amazing, to me that is where I base my ballad interpretation from.

+1. On Detour, and the entire sessions. I learned the tune before I heard them play it. That was an eye opener. Another Golden was when I asked John Frigo (one of the authors) to join me in my bass feature at a jazz party. I played the melody and he just backed me up...then he took a chorus that layed me out cold.
When I was first trying to grasp what Bill and Scott were trying to do, and finally got to the point where I could listen without getting lost in the form, I was digging "My Romance" and there's a spot in Scott's solo where he plays the first bit of the melody....but he DISPLACES it. I thought..."Oh ****! I got lost again." He almost got me on that one. I you want, I'll give an exact read-out later.
DURRL, no problem "hogging". Your post was exactly what I had in mind. From those "Eureka" moments to those little precious ones. I think this thread will be a free wheeler anyway. I already like it.
I been listening to Ahmad, Israel and Vernell this morning...Golden moment after moment.....Tell you later.
Aw, what the hell....one more: Bill's solo on "Goodbye" from Cannonball's "Know what I mean?" Phew......take me now, sweet Jesus.

1: I was in high school - I'd been playing for about 5 years and had no idea how limited my playing and listening abilities were; my sense of self-satisfaction was unwarranted. Pop placed a pair of headphones over my ears, put on an LP of Art Tatum ("Tea For Two"), followed by Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown. :help: Pop didn't have to say a word.

2: Still in high school. I'd taught myself every Tower of Power song recorded - without ever having seen TOP perform. Then I attended my first TOP concert and was absolutely thunderstruck by Rocco's technique. :eek: Back to the woodshed with my tail between my legs.

3: Fast-forward several years. My wife and I were living in Denver and attended a concert by Sarah Vaughan. Turns out, it was her birthday. For her encore, she came back on stage alone, and sang another 3 or 4 songs, accompanying herself on piano. Goose pimple time.

4. Memorial Day, 2002. I accompanied my brother - a brass player - to Fort Rosecrans cemetary where he plays taps every year. After the ceremony he brings out his trombone and plays the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Grown men of all ages are seen weeping openly. I am among them.

I think the first moment that I truly felt spoken to by music was listening to Cannonball Adderly and Nancy Wilson. I had just started playing the double bass, but hadn't really found something that truly grabbed me until I heard Sam Jones on that album. It was definitely a light bulb moment for me, and I am still trying to sound like that today.

Miles Davis - My Funny Valentine/Four and More the '64 live concert. There has been so much I have loved since but that album made me want to play jazz.

Brahms 1 Finale - It was like the gates of heaven opened up,
and I knew my Destiny was in Music at that moment.

Barbers Adagio - There are no words

Bill Evans - +1 on "Detour Ahead".

Ludwig Streicher- Bottesini -I listened to this for years in awe.

Miles- Kind of Blue- Amazingly Simple yet complex. Does that make sense?

Chick Corea - "Three Quartets". The first time I heard this was in High School, and I thought it was a bunch of unintelligible crap. Three years later, I couldn't stop listening to it.:)

Mine are kind of odd because they, on the surface, don't seem that "heavy". When I first heard scotty on "Alice in Wonderland" that really clicked for me. Same with Gary Peacock on Trio 64 on "Little Lulu". Something about the way Gary bullies the beat around. There are tons of more obvious moments particularly with Coltrane, Ornette and Duke Blanton. But those are two cuts that, for some reason, really spoke to me. Certainly Charlie Haden's "For Ellen" also moved me greatly. St. Mathews Passion under the direction of Solti has had a lasting effect as had much of Casals and Jacqueline Du Pre. Funny list I think...

Quincy Jone's 1969 record Walking in Space. First bass lines I sang in my head, most of them by Ray Brown and Chuck Rainey, I think: Oh, Happy Day, Walking in Space, Killer Joe

Hearing Ron Carter's bass line on "Basin Street" on the Miles album "Seven Steps To Heaven" was the turning point for me, the moment I knew I was going to play the bass. I guess I was maybe 11 or 12.

I had been listening to a lot of rock music at the time as a normal young guy, until one day, may dad opened my bedroom door and flung that album in, "here, check this out". So I put it on the turntable, and it stayed there for about three weeks, I didn't listen to anything else. That opening track, and Ron's playing on it, exemplified everything that I ever wanted to achieve... still does, as a matter of fact. Go check it out if you have it, it's ****ing brilliant.

After about three weeks of nothing but that album, I went back to Dad and said "okay, what else you got?" So then he went back a little further in his Miles stuff, and I heard PC, and then I was just gone. There was also Monk, and Ellington, and some Basie, Mingus for sure, Bill Evans with Scotty! I can't remember it all now. It was kind of a blur for a young kid. Nice blur. Thanks Dad.

"Stone Crazy!" by Buddy Guy. The amount of energy and emotion in that album is unbelievable.

Oh man... I had the pleasure of doing a double bill with Buddy Guy once in the early eighties... that guy just laid me out flat. He was on fire.

Funny, Marcus. Buddy laid you out "flat', and John Frigo layed me out "cold". We been through some painful situations, you and I.

As a teenager, I would claw out chords and melodies on the piano, and had the sheet music to Sentimental Mood (which, not having much of a jazz background, I had never heard). When I got to the melody for the "loving attitude" line, the raw power of the melody/chord combo of the song just blew my mind. But I was too amateurish to actually do the song justice, and when I found the Coltrane/Ellington recording, I fell head over heels for it.

Funny, Marcus. Buddy laid you out "flat', and John Frigo layed me out "cold". We been through some painful situations, you and I.
Hah! I didn't even notice that.... great minds and all that.....
Hey, at least we both got laid! :D

Golden Moment, that's a great idea for a thread, destined as a sticky I think.

I think for me it might of started with hearing Ray Charles sing "What I Say", I didn't know what a bass was then, so I might have thought that his piano riff was bass. Maybe it was when I heard Chuck Berry sing "Rock 'n Roll Music". Great recording. My dad gave me lots of Mozart to listen to. Evry night in the 1970's after my C&W gig I'd listen to Duke doing "Solitude" and Wayne Shorter with Milton Naciomento "pointa de area" just to bring peace and sanity back before retiring. So, Dunno. If being in the womb counts as a listening experience, I heard a lot of good things there, like Lionel Hampton and Stravinsky. Best part for me is, the Golden Moment is always there waiting to be noticed. (Moments are tangible things to me.) Just last night I stumbled across a classic 1961 recording by Arthur Grumiaux "Bach: Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (PHILLIPS).

Gary Karr playing Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise"
Portrait in Jazz Bill Evans with Motian and Scotty
Miles ESP

I was a rock and roll teenager with a classical piano background when I tried out for "Stage Band" at my high school. The teacher said, "Go and buy some Weather Report, Bill Evans, and Miles Davis, and by the way you WILL be taking double bass lessons with Monty from the symphony". Bless his heart!

I ended up hating "Mr. Gone" but wore out "Heavy Weather" playing along to it every day for about a year. Tony Williams and Herbie and Ron -well that was a transcendent listening experience for me. . . Gary Karr gets such a vocal sound from his bass, shattering what a bass meant to me.

When I first heard My Foolish Heart by Bill Evans at the Vanguard. I consciously remember it being the first bit of "beautiful" music I'd ever heard.
Another one that had the same effect on me was Rain forest by Hampton Hawes and Charlie Haden on As long as there's music. That's what got me interested in jazz and also left me transfixed. Two Folk Songs by Pat Metheny on 80/81 also ranks up there.
Also Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club and the fist Cachao Master Sessions album. It starts with Al Fin Te Vi which was just flute and bass.

My dad was a Navy fighter pilot. he lived through WWII and Korea. He played sax in Kansas before the war and he loved jazz unlike many of the people he worked with. When I was about 12, I remember coming downstairs after an adult cocktail party (early 1960's) and watching my dad listen to some beautiful music; turned out it was Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" and I think the cut was Freddie the Free Loader. Dad was sitting on the stairs, eyes closed with a scotch in one hand and cigarette in the other. We were pretty close; still are. When he saw me come down the stairs he smiled and said, "Trey, listen to this. This is real music. Listen to that horn. We listened to the rest of the side together and obviously it made a big impression.

The Bill Evans records with Scotty LaFaro. They are ingrained into my head. Again I was first introduced to these records by my dad.


Going to see James Brown and the Famous Flames maybe 1964? I was maybe 15 and we saw him at the Pensacola, Fla. Civic Auditorium. Remember that this was the south and overall race relations were pretty strained. However, James Brown was unbelievable and everyone in that audience was caught up in the gospel revival spirit of "Please Please Me", "Baby Please Don't Go" and "It's a Mans World". Life changing....

Mozart's concert in A minor for flute and harp. So achingly beautiful!
It kills me every time I hear it!

There are so many more......

Walking into Dante's in L.A. and being so close to Ray Brown I could see him sweat and of course feel his big smile. I don't even remember the tunes he played or the combo, just his incredible power, drive and feel!

Return to Forever and how they changed everything!

One funny personal note. Joe Cocker used to sing a Jimmy Webb tune called "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress". It's a haunting ballad. I played with Joe for awhile. Anyway, we were in Europe somewhere in front of many many people and he sings this song and I just totally got lost in the moment....a total fan.....almost didn't come in on time...just turned to total absolute mush....

There are so many more but that's enough for now!

When I heard:

Sinfonía núm. 3 en mi bemol mayor, Op. 55 "Heroica" BEETHOVEN

Electric bass - Paul Cartney's line on "A Little Help From My Friends". It was like a revelation to me. It made me realize how important the bass is in a song.

Double Bass- Anything Eddie Gomez did with Bill Evans gave me Spock ears.

Chick Corea-"Leprechaun" We sat around analyzing this album in college. Opened up a whole new world to this rock boy.

Frank Zappa -"One Size Fits All" My brother was fortunate enough to work with him so when we hung we were usually listening to something of his. It was an acquired taste for me but I grew to appreciate him alot, particularly his orchestral stuff ("Yellow Shark")

Miles Davis - My Funny Valentine/Four and More the '64 live concert. There has been so much I have loved since but that album made me want to play jazz.

Same for me, Marc. While in HS, I used to put that on before going to sleep with the lights out...wow, talk about imagery. Also Sketches of Spain and Liberation Music Orchestra. These albums made me love jazz.

+1. On Detour, and the entire sessions. I learned the tune before I heard them play it. That was an eye opener. Another Golden was when I asked John Frigo (one of the authors) to join me in my bass feature at a jazz party. I played the melody and he just backed me up...then he took a chorus that layed me out cold.


Was Johnny playing bass or violin, Paul?

So many it's hard to stop. But my first ultra-deep

-- "Play It Again" JS Bach, Tocatta & Fugue in D minor
-- "Wow, Man": In a Gadda Da Vida. Yes, really.
-- "I Have To Play The Bass": Chicago V (the "Dark Wood Paneling" record)
-- "Lights Down Low": John Abercrombie, Timeless
-- Miles: Carnegie Hall
-- Coltrane: Plays the Blues
-- "I Have To Play The Double Bass": Michael Moore with Bob Brookmeyer, Live at Sandy's
-- Chick & Stan: Light as a Feather
-- Ungodly deep jazz concert experience: 1976/77, Herbie Hancock Quartet with Jaco Pastorius
-- Laser-blast of salsa: Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Un Gran Dia
-- Dave Holland concert: Duo w/ Sam Rivers, 1976
-- Avant-garde moment: Lee Rozie (now Mixashawn) fronting three tenors, three congas and a poet, 1975

Man, music has given me so much in this life.

-- "I Have To Play The Bass": Chicago V (the "Dark Wood Paneling" record)

..yeah, I always felt Cetera was an underrated player..he was a big influence on me too. Chicago was the group that bridged that gap between rock and jazz for me leading me to listen to Brecker Brothers, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu then into Thad & Mel, Dexter Gordon, Bill Evans..

You're so right Sam, we're all fortunate to have traveled this journey in some form or another in our lives. And it ain't over yet!!

[QUOTE=Sam Sherry;7380379]


-- Dave Holland concert: Duo w/ Sam Rivers, 1976
/QUOTE]


Whoa.... you caught them live?! :eek: I always dug that album. When my friends talk about "Sam & Dave", this is what they mean....

Was Johnny playing bass or violin, Paul?

Fiddle.

[QUOTE Man, music has given me so much in this life.[/QUOTE]

Perfection, maestro.:)

When I was about 8 or 9, I was flipping through the channels (all 7 of them!) one afternoon and on PBS was the slow movement from Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto in D. For the visuals, all that was shown was a beautiful red rose with water slowly dripping the pedals and leaves. I was gobsmacked. All time stopped as I struck by such serene beauty. It took me years to find out what that piece was called.

A few years later, again I was channel surfing when I stumbled on a small ensemble play The Four Seasons. The violin soloist was conducting from the scroll and he was on fire! Again I had no idea what the pieces were or what a baroque ensemble was or anything, I just knew it was amazing and something special.

Then when I was 11 Star Wars came out. The bombastic orchestral music just floored me. I forced (excuse the pun) my dad to take me 7 times!

I wouldn't touch that last sentence with a ten foot pole. :hiding: :eek:

When I heard Scott LaFaro behind Bill Evans on "Waltz for Debby," I knew had to get my hands on a bass. When I heard what Paul Chambers did with a bow on some of the tunes on "It's a Blue World," I was blown away. Still am. Every time.

I forced (excuse the pun) my dad to take me 7 times!

I wouldn't touch that last sentence with a ten foot pole. :hiding: :eek:

You demonstrate amazing restraint Mr. Warburton.

Before ever picking up an instrument, and having grown up with my Dad's psychedelic rock as a teenager, I found my slightly post-pubescent jaw on the floor after discovering the power behind the performance of-

Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue: The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ellington at Newport 1956

an additional, but predictable formative jazz musing was when, as a teenager, I first heard-

Kind of Blue: Miles Davis (the whole record)


Other early experiences that led me to further jazz exploration and eventually Double Bass as an adult were-
*Minor Swing and Dawg's Bull: David Grisman, Hot Dawg
*As Witchita Falls, So Falls Witchita Falls: Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays (mostly because it led me to other PMG albums with Steve Rodby)
*Las Vegas Tango: Michael Shrieve, Stiletto (1989) Out of Print
w/Michael Shrieve, Mark Isham, David Torn, Andy Summers and Terje Gevelt (It is the first time I heard a take on the Gil Evan's classic)

The first time I heard *The Beatles, A Day in the Life*, I was floored- still am. I had been exploring the Beethoven Symphonies as a child in the University library while my Mom was in class. I was able to relate the power of those symphonies to The Beatles pop classic.

More recent jazz discoveries to me since I have begun to try and study Double Bass seriously that have had an impact:
Mosaic: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Mode for Joe: Joe Henderson
The Procrastinator: Lee Morgan

and a whole bunch of stuff in between.

A few Live shows:

This possibly does not qualify, because although I saw him a number of times, it was not quite the same as the performance captured on- Stevie Ray Vaughan Live at the El Mocambo

I was shaking my head with delight after hearing (and seeing)-
Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, recreate the Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall

Similarly-
Roy Haynes with Birds of a Feather Band-
w/Nicholas Payton, Kenny Garrett, John Patitucci & David Kikoski

I have to admit, I had no idea what had just happened to me when I heard/saw-
The Wayne Shorter Quartet with Imani Winds

You demonstrate amazing restraint Mr. Warburton.


Ain'tcha proud of me drew?

Hey, man....I REALLY like the times in your post when you said....SEEING/HEARING and HEARD/SAW.....for my buck, too many people are seeing more than they are hearing, these days.

When I heard what Paul Chambers did with a bow on some of the tunes on "It's a Blue World," I was blown away. Still am. Every time.

Thats my all time favorite album.

London Calling - The Clash. My record of teen rebellion. Still listen to it to this day from time to time for a bit of nostalgia.

Still Warm - John Scofield. My first Scofield record. I love the vibe throughout this record. Omar Hakim is great on this disc.

Three Quartets - Chick Corea. When I Was first at Humber College a drummer dragged me out to his car and we listened to the whole disc in the car. That was my first introduction to "real" jazz.

John Coltrane - Ballads. My 4:00 a.m. disc.

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme. This one really sucks me in. I don't know why. Elvin sounds like two people.

Michael Brecker - his first solo disc. My introduction to Charlie Haden. I forget the name of the tune that Charlie takes a solo on but it's a beautiful thing. Such a contrast to Metheny and Brecker.

Alain Caron/UZEB - Alain was a huge influence as a young electric player. Not that I could play anything like him then or now but always inspirational. Same with Michel Cusson. His guitar solo on the tune 4 P.M. Gate 26 is stunning.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings. Always brings a tear to my eye.

Live Shows - I've seen many shows over the years but here are a few that left an impression.

Chick Corea Electric Band - Free concert on Queen Street in Toronto back in my teen years. Had never seen or heard anything like it live before.

Ella Fitzgerald - Concert at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto. When she came on stage she seemed very old, which she was, but when she sang she was so much younger.

Yellowjackets - Jimmy Haslip played beautifully all night. Super nice guy as well. I was in the second row of a very small theatre.

DK Imobeka with Ross McIntyre on bass - this was last year in my town. Ross knocked my socks off as a double bass player. I was left wondering how on earth I could reach that level. Intonation, time, the whole thing.

Antler River Project - this is a group based in my town. They have been together for about 12 years and rarely gig. All of the music is original. There are celtic, Latin, classical influences. Some of the tunes remind me of Chick Corea. I was lucky enough to do a couple of gigs with them this year. I got a huge charge out of being part of this group in a live performance setting. It was a small church in London close to a natural area. There was a lighting storm outside and you could hear the frogs over some of the quieter tunes. They had also added an erhu player for some new pieces. It was a musical highlight for me and magical night.


I expect that this side of the board will lead me to much more music that will leave an impression.

As I suspected, Kind of Blue pops up alot. (of course)
Trane's solo on Blue in Green is solid gold for me.

As I suspected, Kind of Blue pops up alot. (of course)


When I was in college we always knew that if we heard Kind of Blue coming out of someones room it meant "do not disturb".;)

Yes. Pretty close to a religious experience, that.

My all-time golden moment was when I first heard Coltrane playing Afro-Blue on the Live at Birdland album when I was a teenager. That was the recording that made me want to play jazz.

Fast forward to last year. Another moment happened when I heard Frank Lowe's solo on Nothin' But Love w/ the Billy Bang Quartet on the Above and Beyond Album. Then, after listening to it again and with a friend and colleague and dicussing it, he turned me onto Roscoe Mitchell and his live performance of Nonaah.

I might have had others, but these stick out in my memory right now.

Trane's solo on Blue and Green is solid gold for me.

PW, I think you might have meant to type "Blue IN Green" on your fretboard, er, fingerboard, er -- dammit!! -- keyboard?

Paul had a Golden Age Moment.

**** you, the bof of you's. :spit:
I been tryin' to hip you TWO fer neigh onto 6 years now. This is the thanks I get??:eek:
ONE leetle mistake, and I gotta deal with this ****? :help:
Sweet Mother Mary and her dear son....I'm busted. :o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o Why, I never...

**** you, the bof of you's. :spit:

Ah yes, like a ray of sunshine, that is... The world is good!

;)

As cliche as this probably is, I have to say that 5 years ago as a young 12 year old beginning electric bassist, my head was blown when my dad played me Jaco on Donna Lee.
From that day on I became aware of the possibilities of the bass.

Though even now I am much more of an upright player, I still vividly remember the feeling of being amazed at what was coming out of the speakers.

The first jazz I ever heard was probably Ellington as played by a really respectable high school big band, which I loved instantly.

After that, more or less chronologically:

Nine Inch Nails and Tool. Since I don't really play rock music (or electric bass) unless I'm being paid for it, these two surprise all my music school friends every time. For whatever reason, I still love these two bands.

David R. Gillingham- Concertino for Percussion and Wind Ensemble

The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps (from about 1999 to 2004ish)

Anything that Mingus wrote I was into in a big way

Kind of Blue. This with my prior Ellington experience made me want to play jazz.

The first Jaco album...(and word of mouth which I didn't check out till college)

Bill Evans-Sunday at the Village Vanguard.

The Bach Cello Suites

The Rite of Spring, Petrushka, Firebird, etc...I had a massive Stravinsky phase. Now I just stick to week long binges.

Bartok, Bartok, Bartok. My relationship to Bartok is like my relationship with Stravinsky

William Walton's Symphony No. 1: The best well known symphony that most Americans have never heard of.

Anders Jormin's Alone

The Strauss Tone Poems. I still listen to some portion of Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan, or Ein Heldenliben almost daily.


Really really incomplete list, but that's what first came into my head.

Several "moments". One of the 1st - Clark Terry came to our little college's jazz band festival my freshman year. I'd never heard live jazz before, but I'd seen CT on the Carson show and knew he was a good player. He not only played with our school's band, which completely floored me, but there was a jazz clinic where he listened and commented on other bands for several hours. Very illuminating. I started playing bass the following year(tuba major) and eventually got into that band. Then I moved in with a guy who had a pretty damn good record collection and remember sitting for hours on end listening to everything. The CTI guys, Ron-Hubert-Freddie-George-Stanley, etc. My first Ray Brown(Oscar), Night Train, Maynard, Quincy w/Ray & Chuck Rainey - those Sansui woofers were dancing! Dizzy, Duke, Mingus, the whole nine yards. Listened to the Evans Vanguard record and couldn't grasp it, until much later after I discovered the Portrait album, then it made sense. Jaco I of course. One of my first road trips was to DC, where I caught George Mraz with two chicks in a trio. I knew him from the Thad/Mel band, but got a nice taste of that big dry sound of his. No amp in sight! John Clayton did a cool feature with Basie - Bro. John, I think. Lately, constantly inspired by Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny on Missouri Sky. I know there's more, but will quit for now. -ike