Mark Zeger

Ray Charles, Wurly 120 “What’d I Say”

I’d say the Mellotron flutes are linked most closely to Strawberry Fields Forever and Stairway To Heaven. Mellotron choir probably has the closest association with In The Court Of The Crimson King. Mellotron strings & brass, a toss up? Wakeman (Yes & Bowie)? Banks? Pinder? John Paul Jones?

Prophet 5 $3,599 Prophet 10 $4,399 Moog One 8 voice $6,999 Seems like $5,000 is comparable.

It’s either a controller for the laptop on the piano or an electronic instrument with sounds on board.

May her memory be a blessing.

Correction: I think the device is a controller for the laptop on the piano. The only other keyboards are a Yamaha synth 90° off the right of the piano and a B3 behind the piano.

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I agree with your thoughts, Carlo. As a competent trumpet player and struggling keyboard player, I’ve long wanted to connect my horn playing with synth sounds. Though I never tried the Steiner EVI, I could not get my head around using the “canister” at the end of it to change octaves. I know the Akai EWIs have a trumpet mode where 3 keys become valve buttons + use of the octave key. The KeyWI seems like something I could easily adopt. You’ll like the concert. It’s edited together rather than a continuous presentation. Bassist Linda May Han Oh is simply incredible. Brian Blade always looks like he’s having a great time at the kit.

I watched the International Jazz Day concert just now, which I highly recommend. During Youn Sun Nah’s performance (she’s an extraordinary singer), keyboardist John Beasley soloed on a KeyWI which looks & sounds like synth/melodica hybrid. I never heard of it. A quick web search produced a product presentation out of Sanford and only a photo of what looked like a 1st generation prototype. As you see in the screenshot, Beasley was playing something that looked ready for market. Here’s a link to the concert. Youn Sun Nah’s segment is at 45:35, Beasley’s solo at 47:55.

Edgar Meyer plays so much bass.

For my money, it starts (and possibly ends) with Jaco playing “Donna Lee”. It’s arguably the most audacious solo bass recording ever. Let’s take a twisting Bird head that EVERYONE knows and present it in a way no one dared. Accompanied only by congas, Jaco inventively plays the head then blows a few choruses without the safety net of anyone comping. Then just for fun, let’s make it the opening track on a debut album as a leader. While we’re at it, let’s just use a black & white headshot for the cover. And then there’s the beautiful solo ballad “Portrait Of Tracy”. Jaco had balls. Big, solid brass ones. Yeah, I know it’s easy to talk about Jaco on this topic. But I think of Wynton Marsalis’ quote about Louis Armstrong (which I may not have verbatim here): “Even if you had the words to say how great he was, you couldn’t express how great he was.”

I was a few years away from my first MSG concert: Yes 9/8/78

Look up recipes for venison & treat it the same way. Bacon or pancetta can add an appropriate amount of fat to a very lean mean, and also flavor. When I was much younger & didn’t keep a kosher home, my dad had a friend who was a meat packer. He would package deer meat as a side gig during hunting season. He’d give my dad some venison leg steaks, sausages, and/or ground venison every season. We marinated the leg steaks for a day or 2 in red wine, whole garlic, peppercorns, & bay leaves. Take out of the marinate, Pat dry, & grill no further than medium rare. Chili is a great use because the acid in tomato (like red wine) softens the gamey taste of wild red meat. Fruit like dark berries, currants, or cherries go well with venison and probably elk. Ex, if you get dried cherries, reconstitute them in port to make a compote. I do that for duck, as seen here.

Yes, I love the movie of the same name. My fondness for ratatouille came from a trip to St Martin with my wife nearly 15 years ago. The hotel stay included breakfast served poolside. There was ratatouille on the buffet every morning and it was fantastic. I reverse engineered it. This is a no-recipe recipe which is how I cook. You need: A deep sauté pan or wide Dutch oven Onions Bell pepper Eggplant Garlic Zucchini Cherry or grape tomatoes (or canned crushed tomatoes) Dried basil, oregano, crushed red pepper How much of each vegetable? That depends what you like, what’s in your house, or what’s in season. I use about the same amount of eggplant & zucchini. I peel & cube eggplant. Scoop seeds out of zucchini and cube. Finely dice onions & less finely dice peppers. Sauté the onions & peppers in olive oil until soft. Add garlic (minced or garlic press). Add eggplant and sauté until it begins browning. If you want to use cherry or grape tomatoes, add now and sauté until they begin opening. (If using canned crushed tomatoes, those go in later.) Add zucchini and continue cooking a few minutes. Add dried basil, oregano, & crushed red pepper (if desired, can make spicy). Season with salt. If using crushed tomatoes, add now. Here’s a controversial part: balance the tomato acid with sugar. The dish in St Martin had a slight sweetness than definitely came from sugar. Stir and stew the ratatouille until done. Serving ideas: Over Israeli couscous In a baked potato Topped with eggs or cook eggs in ratatouille like shakshukah Omelet filling Take chunks of cod and cook in ratatouille (becomes a fish & vegetable stew) Also, if you add ratatouille to vegetable stock and beans, you’ll have minestrone. This is salmon over ratatouille & couscous. I was showing off at home for my wife. I formed the stack in a resealable container. Use cooking spray in the container. Ratatouille on the bottom, couscous on top. Press down with a spoon then invert on a plate & top with fish.

Parm is one of 2 ways I like eggplant. I want it breaded, sauced, & cheese beyond recognition. The eggplant is just a delivery device for everything else. I’d make eggplant parm without the eggplant if I could. Oh, the other way I eat eggplant? Ratatouille. Again, it’s buried in other ingredients. I’ll post a recipe separately. Also, no unpeeled eggplant ever.

dB, I posted another almond based gluten free recipe. This one is chocolate.

Dave, since you liked having a GF cake recipe, here’s another. I’ve also made this in creme brûlée dishes as individual cakes. Freezes well. Goes great with coffee ice cream. Note: Don’t forget the reduce the oven to 300°F after toasting the almonds. Also, don't overbake the cake or its texture will be dry and tough. Whereas most cakes are done when a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, a toothpick inserted into this one should come out with sticky, fudgy crumbs, similar to brownies. From America’s Test Kitchen 233 grams (2⅓ cups) sliced almonds 5 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (see note), roughly chopped 199 grams (1 cup) packed dark brown sugar ½ teaspoon table salt Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Spread the almonds in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once about halfway through. Cool to room temperature. While the almonds cool, reduce the oven to 300°F. Mist the bottom and sides of 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray, line the bottom with kitchen parchment, then mist the parchment. Crack the eggs into a liquid measuring cup and add the vanilla; set aside. In a food processor, process 185 grams (2 cups) of the almonds until finely ground, 20 to 30 seconds. Add the chocolate and pulse until the chocolate is finely ground, 10 to 15 pulses. Add the sugar and salt, then process until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping the bowl as needed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle evenly with the remaining 48 grams (⅓ cup) almonds. Bake until the center feels firm when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out with moist, fudgey crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cake, then invert onto a rack. Peel off the parchment and reinvert the cake onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Jejefunkyman, I know you know this. Here’s another track where hip hop is filtered through jazz, or the other way around. Roy Hargrove co-wrote & played horns. Questlove on drums. I LOVE Charlie Hunter on 8 string guitar and he has his hands full covering bass & guitar here.

I cooked Passover Seder for 100 at our synagogue. Along with Passover brownies for dessert, I made this flourless orange almond cake from the NY Times. It’s unusual because you boil whole oranges, remove any seeds, then purée the whole oranges in a food processor. I should have put parchment paper in the bottom of the pans to prevent sticking. They author suggested serving with berries. I’d choose blueberries or blackberries here, either plain, macerated with sugar and maybe some Grand Marnier, or slightly cooked with a little sugar to make a compote. Ingredients 2 large oranges 6 eggs ½ pound ground almonds ½ pound sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder Step 1 Wash the oranges and simmer them, unpeeled, in water to cover for 2 hours. Cool, cut them open and remove the seeds. Puree the oranges, including the peel, in a food processor. Step 2 Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat the eggs in a food processor or large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, including the orange puree, and mix thoroughly. Pour into a buttered and floured cake tin, with a removable base if possible. Step 3 Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out. Step 1 Wash the oranges and simmer them, unpeeled, in water to cover for 2 hours. Cool, cut them open and remove the seeds. Puree the oranges, including the peel, in a food processor. Step 2 Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat the eggs in a food processor or large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, including the orange puree, and mix thoroughly. Pour into a buttered and floured cake tin, with a removable base if possible. Step 3 Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out.

I’d agree. If you listen to Django vs Western swing, there are connections through similar harmonic vocabulary and use of the two beat rhythm. Like most elements of jazz (a sense of swing, blues expression, improvisation), it comes from New Orleans. Here’s Wynton to explain the two beat rhythm:

There are more fusions than jazz-rock. Ex Jazz-R&B: George Benson of the late 70s-80s, Roy Ayers, CTI albums of the 70s Jazz-hip hop: A Tribe Called Quest, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Robert Glasper Jazz-classical = Third Stream: Gil Evans (with or w/o Miles), John Lewis/Modern Jazz Quartet, Maria Schneider Jazz-“world music” (hate the term): Oregon, Hugh Masakela, Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), Shakti, Getz/Gilberto

I have a big problem with this announcement. Big. Why? - I have lusted for a Oberheim 4 or 8 SEM voice ever since hearing Heavy Weather, the Pat Metheny Group “white album”, and a 2 manual SEM 8 voice bought by someone who worked at a local music store. That 8 voice could loosen dental fillings. - Owning an Oberheim would be purely scratching a 40 year itch. I won’t be gigging or making any money with it. - The last analog keyboard I bought? A black/gold ARP Odyssey in 1978. I still have it. - I haven’t bought any new keyboard gear in a VERY long time. In fact, I’ve been planning to sell off nearly all my home studio gear and going to software. - I have a big birthday in the fall. - I can feel the GAS approaching. So, yeah, big problem. Thanks a #%^ing lot, Tom Oberheim.

I’ve been taking Swing University online classes from Jazz at Lincoln Center. The album cited as the start of jazz-rock fusion is Gary Burton “Duster”. Burton, Larry Coryell, Steve Swallow, and Roy Haynes. Other than seeing some of the song titles in the original Real Book, I wasn’t familiar with it. Worth seeking out. https://www.allmusic.com/album/duster-mw0000197259

I bread the eggplant, put on parchment paper on a baking sheet, and in a 425° convection oven. Turn once. They get crispy without frying, although frying is a treat. Sometimes I lightly sauce and cheese each piece before baking again, sometimes I layer them. Great either way.

Unless I missed something last night, notable jazz musicians missing from the Grammys memorial segment: - Curtis Fuller - George Mraz - Dr Lonnie Smith - Pat Martino - Slide Hampton - Ron Miles Every award show has significant omissions from this segment and can’t include everyone. The Grammys memorial was very well done with Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, and Rachel Zegler singing Sondheim. Chick received 2 Grammys last night for jazz instrumental album and solo. Lyle Mays’ posthumously released “Eberhard” received the instrumental composition award.