Live at Massey Hall.

Transcendent, man.

Transcendent, man.

Bebop heaven, baby.

Here's a very well articulated review on Amazon:

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The recent hype about the discovery of the Diz-Bird concert at Town Hall in 1945 led me to compare it with their other two "live" recordings: the Carnegie Hall concert of 1947 and the Massey Hall concert of 1953. Give the nod to the Massey Hall date. The audio, though admittedly problematic, still has more "presence" than the other two dates; the solos are both more extended and more inspired; the overall level of musicianship is inarguably of a higher order (Bud Powell clearly blows away both Al Haig and John Lewis, the pianists on the other two recordings).

This edition is the closest you'll get to the original event--in terms of the programming as well as the original audio recording made by Mingus. Unlike the better-known Debut/OJC edition, this Spanish import dispenses with Mingus' later overdubbing of his bass part, has more "presence" in the treble frequencies (Roach's drum kit and the crowd ambiance are more noticeable along with slightly brighter horns), and contains 24 additional minutes of music. Any listener who first discovered Diz in the '60's (my situation) is likely to experience some eye-opening moments at hearing him on all three concert recordings with Bird. In his prime he clearly was at least the equal of Charlie Parker and very likely the greatest jazz trumpet player of all time.

Footnote: It's of particular interest to listen carefully to Bird's 4-bar break on "Night in Tunisia" on all three recordings. The 1947 Carnegie Hall date is simply unreal--a microcosmic moment of pure genius. On the Town Hall date he's fast and flashy but not as linguistically rich and complex; on the Massey Hall date he eschews pyrotechnics in favor of majestic statement.

He just chewed through the toy to the treat.

That's the Jack side, to be sure.

And, you are right, Jacks are tougher when it comes to food. Unless it's gopher flavored, they can't be assed. Still, keep trying. Especially things like cat food that smell to high heaven. Cat food tends to be higher in protein and fat, which can help with weight gain, when that is an issue.

For some of my less inclined clients, I use the cat treats that come in the spice bottle from Trader Joe's.

PG Porn: High Poon with Alan Tudyk. It's very special.

I'm debating taking the next 3 afternoons off so I can practice yoga with a great teacher who is going to do the intermediate and advanced syllabi poses, including an afternoon of arm balances. Crazy? Irresponsible? Just tired of work?

It's sort of the rock equivalent to jazz's Live at Massey Hall. (A live concert in Montreal with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Max Roach and Bud Powell. Arguably the best players on their instruments in the history of jazz.)

Every show I've seen at Massey gave me chills just because of that. (It's Toronto, though.)

I kind of don't get the point of the Broadway show of Million Dollar Quartet. I mean, the reason that people want to listen to the original recording is because of the guys on it -- most people have heard most of those songs a zillion times before, just not played by them in that sort of setting. Having a show where other people play and sing those songs seems to miss something. I mean, from what I saw of them tonight, they're very talented and do very good versions of the songs, but if it were between seeing the show and buying the album, I'd buy the album, no question.

Edit: And not just because tickets probably start around $100, and the more expensive Special Edition CD is $17.

Actually, bonny, I have a friend whose dog is having such separation anxiety that they are close to being evicted because they cannot stop the barking anytime they leave the house. I've been meaning to ask you about it but right now I don't remember the details of what they've tried. I might e you (or have her do so?) in case you have any advice.

My quick suggestions for separation anxiety are to create a quick, emotion-free routine that makes coming and going a non-event. Make sure the routine is exactly the same every time.

Resolve the issues that contribute to overall anxiety and the separation anxiety will diminish by definition.

Bartleby screamed so much when I first got him, he made his throat bleed...and I could hear him at the opposite end of my city block. It was heartbreaking and massively annoying to my landlord, immediately downstairs.

Once we got our routine together and I became the lead dog, all that went away.

The push exercise I recommended upthread also works for this.

More than anything, you gotta check your own energy.

I had a client on Friday with the exact same problem...to the extent that the next door neighbor wrote a letter about how the noise was physically harming her. When I asked about the 'putting away' routine (the dog's range area MUST be very small, dark and cool...which is why I love the crate), the woman described something very effective. When I asked her to show it to me, something else entirely came to light. She was spending 10 minutes 'soothing' (read: transferring her anxious/guilty energy to) the dog and then gritting her teeth as she closed the door.

Coming and going must be a NON-event.

These days, Bartleby sees the 'leaving treat' and runs to the same spot in his room, flops down and wishes me bon voyage. On the days when he doesn't want me to leave and practices civil disobedience (his 'we shall not be moved' stance is tragically unintimidating), I pick up his back legs and we 'wheelbarrow' to the spot. I say 'You be GOOD' in the same exact tone of voice and stride purposely out the door.

In roughly 1.4 seconds, he's jumped up on my bed and buried his nose in my pillow. An activity he would NEVER do if I was present. Everybody wins. If, when I come home, he fusses at all, the door is not opened until he is quiet.

The percentage of times that this routine works? Approximately 98.7. I'm good with that.

Crazy? Irresponsible? Just tired of work?

Sometimes fucking necessary. I'm going to bed now. I should have last week.