So Today Albuquerque Same As 8th Century Ch’Ang-An

Louis Armstrong window art downtown Washington DC on E Street near 13th ---- March 18, 1995 -- photo by Mark Weber

Louis Armstrong window art downtown Washington DC on E Street near 13th —- March 18, 1995 — photo by Mark Weber

The Thursday Jazz Radio Show

August 31, 2o17 Jazz @ Noon every Thursday (starts at 12:07 after the satellite news) Host MARK WEBER KUNM Albuquerque, USA 89.9 FM (Mountain Standard Time) also streaming on the web KUNM.org Current time zone offset: UTC*/GMT -6 hours (*Coordinated Universal Time)/Greenwich Mean Time)

SO TODAY ALBUQUERQUE SAME AS 8th CENTURY CH’ANG-AN

Today I will share a friend’s long grief
as we paint her mother’s house who
died four maybe five years ago maybe longer
even as
I awoke with forebodings
a cool darkness pervades my mind, why?
as the fucking noisy rooster next door bellows
his insane strangled squawk (and all for just a few
eggs does this bird come to our neighborhood)
and the cars
on the boulevard accumulate going off
to work in a roar, I read Wang Wei
who had troubles of his own living in
the noisy city, as if
neither of us will ever find peace
watching the river flow away from us
far off in the distance
and beyond that, the mountains so quiet
disappearing in cloud

Here are Wang Wei’s own words:

Migrating birds are leaving endlessly,
fall colors come to mountain after mountain.
All the way up Huazi Hill a sadness
staining every far boundary, drifts on.

I always like to be sure and snap a few shots with the audience included, it's the anthropologist in me, simply because jazz culture is not just the musicians on stage, it's the gathered audience, the college stage band rehearsals, the music reviewers, the ticket takers, the disk jockeys, the weekend players, the concert promoters, the historians, the record collectors, the union officials, the arrangers & copyists, the young people on a date on a Sunday afternoon like this, the club owners, the rent-a-cops keeping the winos away, all that, and here's the mighty Gerald Wilson Orchestra at John Anson Ford Theater, October 25, 1981 Los Angeles -- photo by Mark Weber -- Orchestra this day: John B Williams(bass), Paul Humphrey(drums), Shuggie Otis(guitar -- I think he was married to Gerald Wilson's daughter), Harold Land Jr (piano); Trumpets: Frank Szabo, Bobby Bryant, Oscar Brashear, Ray Brown; Woodwinds: Harold Land, Roger Hogan, John Stephens, Hank Vega, Jerome Richardson, Bobby Bryant Jr; Trombones: Maurice Spears, Thurman Green, Jimmy Cleveland, Garnett Brown, Clay Lawrey; and Gerald Wilson, conducting

I always like to be sure and snap a few shots with the audience included, it’s the anthropologist in me, simply because jazz culture is not just the musicians on stage, it’s the gathered audience, the college stage band rehearsals, the music reviewers, the ticket takers, the disk jockeys, the weekend players, the concert promoters, the historians, the record collectors, the union officials, the arrangers & copyists, the young people on a date on a Sunday afternoon like this, the club owners, the rent-a-cops keeping the winos away, all that, and here’s the mighty Gerald Wilson Orchestra at John Anson Ford Theater, October 25, 1981 Los Angeles — photo by Mark Weber — Orchestra this day: John B Williams (bass), Paul Humphrey (drums), Shuggie Otis (guitar — I think he was married to Gerald Wilson’s daughter), Harold Land Jr (piano); Trumpets: Frank Szabo, Bobby Bryant, Oscar Brashear, Ray Brown; Woodwinds: Harold Land, Roger Hogan, John Stephens, Hank Vega, Jerome Richardson, Bobby Bryant Jr; Trombones: Maurice Spears, Thurman Green, Jimmy Cleveland, Garnett Brown, Clay Lawrey; and Gerald Wilson, conducting

3 bad-ass blues dudes: Rusty Zinn(guitar), the late Lynwood Slim(harp), and the incomparable Jr Watson (hat) in Salt Lake City -- November 26, 1990 -- photo by Mark Weber ---- one of my favorite Rod Piazza bands had Jr Watson playing guitar for years back in the 80s (he later went on to play with Charlie Musselwhite, and Canned Heat)

3 bad-ass blues dudes: Rusty Zinn(guitar), the late Lynwood Slim(harp), and the incomparable Jr Watson (hat) in Salt Lake City — November 26, 1990 — photo by Mark Weber —- one of my favorite Rod Piazza bands had Jr Watson playing guitar for years back in the 80s (he later went on to play with Charlie Musselwhite, and Canned Heat)

Art Ensemble of Chicago in Los Angeles -- June 26, 1976 -- They played 4 nights during a heat wave and I think Rope-A-Dope was taking place, too, I remember them watching it backstage on television -- We went all 4 nights and it was the real deal -- photos by Mark Weber

Art Ensemble of Chicago in Los Angeles — June 26, 1976 — They played 4 nights during a heat wave and I think Rope-A-Dope was taking place, too, I remember them watching it backstage on television — We went all 4 nights and it was the real deal — photos by Mark Weber

Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard arriving backstage at Hollywood Bowl Playboy Jazz Festival -- June 21, 1980 -- photo by Mark Weber

Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard arriving backstage at Hollywood Bowl Playboy Jazz Festival — June 21, 1980 — photo by Mark Weber

A smoking bluesy country rock band from Los Angeles calling themselves The Blasters -- September 11, 1981 -- Whisky-a-Go-Go ---- photo by Mark Weber ---- My friend Nels Cline had sent a postcard yelling at me: "If you don't go check out The Blasters, you're blowing it!"

A smoking bluesy country rock band from Los Angeles calling themselves The Blasters — September 11, 1981 — Whisky-a-Go-Go —- photo by Mark Weber —- My friend Nels Cline had sent a postcard yelling at me: “If you don’t go check out The Blasters, you’re blowing it!”

Warne Marsh and Lou Levy at Donte's -- October 7, 1976 -- photo by Mark Weber

Warne Marsh and Lou Levy at Donte’s — October 7, 1976 — photo by Mark Weber

John Carter and Roberto Miranda during the Ibedon Arts Festival May 20-22, 1977, Los Angeles -- photo by Mark Weber

John Carter and Roberto Miranda during the Ibedon Arts Festival May 20-22, 1977, Los Angeles — photo by Mark Weber

Local Albuquerque outfit known as Jazz a la Carte -- And that's the legendary Clyde Hankins on guitar, with Dick Trask(alto), Dick Rock(trombone), and my guess is that's Kent Erickson on flugel (for some reason I didn't make a note, but Kent was the regular trumpeter in this band) -- October 10, 1999 -- photo by Mark Weber -------- of Clyde's many accomplishments are the years in L.A. he played with Johnny Richards, he got away from us in 2006 (Johnny Richards was the guy who wrote Kenton's masterpiece CUBAN FIRE! (1956))

Local Albuquerque outfit known as Jazz a la Carte — And that’s the legendary Clyde Hankins on guitar, with Dick Trask(alto), Dick Rock(trombone), and my guess is that’s Kent Erickson on flugel (for some reason I didn’t make a note, but Kent was the regular trumpeter in this band) — October 10, 1999 — photo by Mark Weber ——– of Clyde’s many accomplishments are the years in L.A. he played with Johnny Richards, he got away from us in 2006 (Johnny Richards was the guy who wrote Kenton’s masterpiece CUBAN FIRE! (1956))

Ray Anderson Pocket Brass in Albuquerque -- October 11 or 12, 1999 -- photo by Mark Weber ---- Ray(trombone), Johnny Vidacovich(drums), Joseph Davila(tuba), Eddie Allen(trumpet), Outpost Performance Space ------ I think there's a recording of these two concerts floating around somewhere, whew, it was good

Ray Anderson Pocket Brass in Albuquerque — October 11 or 12, 1999 — photo by Mark Weber —- Ray (trombone), Johnny Vidacovich (drums), Joseph Davila (tuba), Eddie Allen (trumpet), Outpost Performance Space —— I think there’s a recording of these two concerts floating around somewhere, whew, it was good

Meg Okura and Sam Newsome in the KUNM music library after our radio show August 10, 2017 -- they were tremendous on-air guests and we covered some very interesting ground in our conversations -- digital photo by Mark Weber

Meg Okura and Sam Newsome in the KUNM music library after our radio show August 10, 2017 — they were tremendous on-air guests and we covered some very interesting ground in our conversations — digital photo by Mark Weber

In the search for the beginnings of language we know that homo sapiens was wearing beads as early as 100,000 years ago in North Africa -- the wearing of beads being a symbolic statement ---- languages begin with symbolism, the first words are metaphors for something else, evidence of abstract thought, evidence of self-awareness and self-consciousness ---- And before that, around 160,000 years ago, we know that homo sapiens used ochre (iron oxide) as pigment ---- This photo is of Fremont Culture (could be as early as 2,000 years ago) on Moore Road Cutoff, San Rafael Swell, Utah on April 7, 1990 ------------ Octavio Paz looked at me questioningly when I handed him my old dog-eared copy of THE LABYRINTH OF SOLITUDE (Grove Press, 1961) as usually collectors want mint copies signed by the author, he looked at me then realized that this copy was special to me, it was the one I had read several times, and even took it to Baja California once to read to see how it felt to read this great book in Mexico ---- Anybody who has ever spent time in Southern California should read this book, the essay on pachucos and lowriders, especially ---- At the time I was working swing shift at the post office in Salt Lake City and when I told my supervisor (aka "stupervisor" as one of my colleagues referred to them) that I will be late for work this day he said, "I can't allow that, you have to be here," I was only hired as supplemental help, and if they wanted my whole loyalty they needed to hire me and pay a respectable wage, I told the guy: "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you I won't be here, I'm going to meet a great poet." October 20, 1989 at the King's English bookstore ---- Both photos by Mark Weber

In the search for the beginnings of language we know that homo sapiens was wearing beads as early as 100,000 years ago in North Africa — the wearing of beads being a symbolic statement —- languages begin with symbolism, the first words are metaphors for something else, evidence of abstract thought, evidence of self-awareness and self-consciousness —- And before that, around 160,000 years ago, we know that homo sapiens used ochre (iron oxide) as pigment —- This photo is of Fremont Culture (could be as early as 2,000 years ago) on Moore Road Cutoff, San Rafael Swell, Utah on April 7, 1990 ———— Octavio Paz looked at me questioningly when I handed him my old dog-eared copy of THE LABYRINTH OF SOLITUDE (Grove Press, 1961) as usually collectors want mint copies signed by the author, he looked at me then realized that this copy was special to me, it was the one I had read several times, and even took it to Baja California once to read to see how it felt to read this great book in Mexico —- Anybody who has ever spent time in Southern California should read this book, the essay on pachucos and lowriders, especially —- At the time I was working swing shift at the post office in Salt Lake City and when I told my supervisor (aka “stupervisor” as one of my colleagues referred to them) that I will be late for work this day he said, “I can’t allow that, you have to be here,” I was only hired as supplemental help, and if they wanted my whole loyalty they needed to hire me and pay a respectable wage, I told the guy: “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you I won’t be here, I’m going to meet a great poet.” October 20, 1989 at the King’s English bookstore —- Both photos by Mark Weber

17 Comments

  1. Mel

    Mark–

    You are something else. I love the respect you show to these musicians, noting the names of all of the 20 folks in the Gerald Wilson Orchestra 36 years ago, along with a note about who was married to whom. I’m also happy to see that you had your priorities straight vis a vis the post office job and Octavio Paz and weren’t shy about letting the stupervisor know.

    Best– M

  2. Paula

    Mark: love your rooster poem and bow down the skill of your research in Asian poetry!

  3. Marty Krystall

    That shot of Moye’s kit was at Studio Z on Slauson Avenue. I asked Don where they were staying, and he replied: “Our bus.” I tried to imagine them fitting in that bus with all of those axes. Our group, The El Monte Art Ensemble played live on the air there a few weeks before. My newly wed Trini was playing soprano sax. We were married a month earlier in a horizontal ceremony. Frank Zappa heard that radio broadcast and called me the next day to audition for his band with three horns (from 8pm – 4 am) but the other horn players, from San Francisco didn’t show up until 3 am, and they couldn’t read. But I played with the quartet for six hours straight until they arrived. Although he said I “won the world record for sight reading my music” (he gave me guitar parts and had me play them on every flute, clarinet and sax I had) he didn’t hire a horn section after all.

  4. Mark Weber

    Yeh, Mel, you have to tell these bozo stupervisors to fire me if they don’t like it

  5. charley

    Wow, beautiful shot of Warne…you got to see & hear him way before I did….!!

  6. Sheila Jordan

    As always incredible work. Thanks so much for including me in your fantastic art. Much Love ….. Sheila.

  7. catdiva

    Always love your work.
    I think of The Blasters as a rockabilly and–and I loved playing them on Freeform. So many roads in and out.
    That’s some take on Asian poultry. Er, poetry.

  8. catdiva

    That’s “rockabilly BAND.”

  9. Kirk Silsbee

    My journal contains a couple of notes about that Gerald Wilson Orchestra gig, Mark. As you recall, the Sunday afternoon jazz concerts at the John Anson Ford Theatre were mandatory for all L.A. jazzheads in those days. They made us feel as though we were part of a community. That was when Local 47 could afford to sponsor a spring and fall free concert series each year that surveyed L.A. jazz bands. Now the Union is selling its historic building on Vine Street and running to Burbank.
    Gerald was a charming frontman and he spoke of his players as though they were part of his family. And he related to the audience as though we were part of that family, too. Oscar Brashear’s fiery trumpet feature on “Lomelin” was preceded by Gerald telling us: “Oscar just spoke to me and said, ‘Kick it off and duck!”
    Your personnel listing is spot-on but you left out a name. If you recall, the band was ready to hit but the piano chair was empty. Gerald waited as long as he could before he asked if there was someone in the audience who could hold down the chair for a number. Up jumped a young man and Gerald told him: “We’re just playing the blues in C.” GW counted off a bright tempo and the band was off like a runaway freight train. The young man could sure play the blues, and he could sure swing the jazz. Alto saxophonist Henry DeVega, a human bowling ball in a dashiki, stomped down on a solo. The young pianist got smiles from the reed section and head-turning looks from the soloists; the band was clearly digging him. Gerald took the tune out and the audience responded as it would at the end of a concert–applauding wildly and some even standing up. Gerald checked with the young man and introduced him as Bob Balipole. He got a big individual hand.
    Judging from the way he fumed from the sidelines during that tune, the pianist of record probably learned something about punctuality that afternoon.

  10. Mark Weber

    2 THINGS

    1) Thanks Chris ————–Yes, that’s the word I was searching for: Rockabilly ! It was eluding me. Chris Martin (aka The Cat Diva) is former KUNM disk jockey for a million years and the person who took the exquisite photo of Sheila Jordan on top of Sandia Peak over-looking Albuquerque and Rio Grande used on the cover of Sheila’s album THE CROSSING

    2) The other thing about that stupervisor was that I worked all those ridiculous hours for the post office, around 50 hours per week, a lot of “overtime” and even managed the dock on weekends (until the some dummy complained that a “Casual” (that’s what they called us supplemental workforce) a non-union worker was managing the dock instead of one of their own morons, SO, they installed a union guy and I still managed the dock as the guy was clueless——————-I somewhat liked that job————–That was before we moved to Albuquerque———–Janet was doing a 2-year surgical internship at the V.A. Hospital, and I worked nights at Uncle Sam’s Nutfarm ——I wrote a book (as yet unpublished) about the post office called BIG WEB BRINGS HOME THE BACON————-So, I had never called in sick, always did (mostly) everything they told me to, and when this one measly time I say I’ll be two
    friggin’ hours late, this stupervisor says No I can’t allow that —- an idiot——(I did so much work for them that he would have looked stupid if he fired me) LONG STORY . . . . . .

  11. Kirk Silsbee

    On Johnny Richards’ “Cuban Fire”: A few years before he died, I spoke to Philadelphia saxophonist Billy Root (1934-2013). He’d had an interesting career–in the East Coast clubs, in Dizzy’s Big Band (with the young Lee Morgan) and the Kenton Orchestra, recording with Hank Mobley at Birdland, and playing in the Vegas show bands. He said the highlight of his entire playing life was sitting next to Lucky Thompson and hearing him solo on the “Cuban Fire” album.

  12. Mark Weber

    ——————————–playlist——————————-
    We’re thinking of Houston jazz radio show
    August 31, 2o17
    KUNM Albuquerque
    Host MARK WEBER
    1. Warne Marsh quartet “On Purpose” –21feb76 w/Lou Levy(piano), Fred Atwood(bass), Jake Hanna(drums) — 21feb1976 Chicago ———– Warne and the group in town with Supersax who had 4 nights at Ratzo’s (February 19-22) and in daytimes of Feb 20 & 21 Warne took the Supersax rhythm section into the
    studio for Nessa Records and made ALL MUSIC ——— *On Feb 22 at Ratzo’s the rhythm section plus
    Warne played 2 tunes with Zoot !
    2. Freddie Hubbard “Suite Sioux” — Jan.1970 album RED CLAY w/ Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Lenny White
    3. Sheila Jordan w/ Serge Forte Trio Live in Switzerland “Comes Love” — 8nov2003 cd BELIEVE IN JAZZ
    4. Jimmy Smith “Blues No.3” –16july58 w/ Kenny Burrell(guitar), Cecil Payne(bari), Donald Bailey(drums) cd SIX VIEWS OF THE BLUES (Blue Note)
    5. Joe Henderson “Recorda Me”(JH) –3june63 w/ Kenny Dorham(trumpet) album PAGE ONE (Blue Note)
    6. Ray Anderson trio “Right Down Your Alley” –3feb84 album RIGHT DOWN YOUR ALLEY (Soul Note) w/Mark Helias(bass), Gerry Hemingway(drums)
    7. Gerald Wilson Orchestra “Freddie Freeloader”(Miles) w/ alto solo Anthony Ortega –2dec65 Los Angeles
    box set COMPLETE PACIFIC JAZZ RECORDINGS (Mosaic)
    8. Joe Henderson sextet “Nardis”(Miles) –10aug67 album THE KICKER (Milestone)
    9. Johnny Smith quartet “Embraceable You” –1960 w/ Hank Jones(piano), Ed Shaughnessey(drums), George Duvivier(bass), Johnny Smith(guitar) — box set COMPLETE ROOST RECORDINGS (Mosaic)
    10. Freddie Hubbard “Body & Soul” w/Wayne Shorter(tenor), Reggie Workman(bass), Cedar Walton(piano), Philly Joe(drums), Freddie(trumpet) — 27dec62 NYC album HERE TO STAY
    11. Ray Anderson & BASSDRUMBONE –26sept97 cd MARCH OF DIMES w/ Gerry Hemingway(drums), Mark Helias(bass), Ray Anderson(trombone)

    *Houston is currently drowned in flood disaster Hurricane Harvey

  13. Mark Weber

    Kirk,
    I have to admit I was a little unaware of CUBAN FIRE! until about eight years ago when Bobby Shew mounted it at the Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater with 22 musicians and it blew my mind

  14. Mark Weber

    in fact, it was after hearing CUBAN FIRE! live that I went out and bought everything I could find by Johnny Richards, that cat is a baaad dude

  15. Mark Weber

    ———————————————playlist———————————
    THe tHursDay jAzz RAdio sHOw
    KUNM Albuquerque
    September 7, 2o17
    Host MARK WEBER

    1. Greg Osby Trio “Mob Job” –Feb.2005 cd CHANNEL THREE (Blue Note) w/ Matt Brewer(bass), Jeff Tain Watts(drums)
    2. Art Pepper Quartet “The Trip” –Sept.1976 L.A. cd THE TRIP (Contemporary) w/ Elvin Jones(drums), David Williams(bass), George Cables(piano)
    3. Zoot Sims & Harry Sweets Edison “How Deep is the Ocean” w/ Roger Kellaway(piano), John Heard(bass), Jimmie Smith(drums) –Dec.1978 cd JUST FRIENDS (Pablo)
    4. Pat Malone Trio “Soul Eyes” w/ Cal Haines (drums), Michael Glynn(bass) — session from KUNM Studio A 16jan2o12
    5. as previous “Out of Nowhere”
    6. Shelly Manne Quintet “If I Were a Bell” — March 1961 Live at Shelly’s Manne Hole Vol. 2 (Contemporary) w/ Conte Candoli(trumpet), Richie Kamuca(tenor), Russ Freeman(piano), Chuck Berghofer(bass), Shelly(drums)
    7.Michael Anthony First Take Trio “Recollections of HR” –8spet2o13 w/ Cal Haines(drums) & Michael Glynn(bass)
    8. Art Pepper Quartet “Pepper Pot” –25nov56 w/ Gary Frommer(drums), Russ Freeman(piano), Ben Tucker(bass)
    9. Adam Rogers “Hourglass” w/ John Patitucci(bass) & Clarence Penn(drums) & Adam Rogers(guitar)—- 19dec2oo8 cd SIGHT (Criss Cross)
    10. Ornette Coleman w/ Pat Metheny “Mob Job” — dec.1985
    11. as previous “Kathleen Gray” cd SONG X (Nonesuch)

  16. Carol Tristano

    Dig your poem Mark, and Wang Wei’s poetry – beautiful.

  17. Carol Tristano

    I like your Octavio story and beginnings of your language essay….

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