One Saturday in 1967, I went into Canterbury Records in Pasadena, CA. As I walked in, the owner Lenny, said hello and told me a joke (this was a ritual every time I visited), it always started, "Babs, did you hear the one about?..." then Lenny would tell me a joke that was usually corny, but it was the way he told them using various voices, facial expressions etc. made them hysterically funny.
On this one particular day, after the joke du jour, Lenny told me, "I've got something you're gonna love!" and reached under the counter (where he kept the bootlegs) and pulled out a record, and said "Monk live!". The record's packaging was austere to say the least; a cheap flimsy looking black cardboard jacket, in between the cardboard and the cellophane was a photocopy on yellow paper that in big block letters that read:
THELONIOUS MONK
LIVE IN BREMEN GERMANY
MARCH 1965
LIVE IN BREMEN GERMANY
MARCH 1965
Under the text was cartoonish sketch of Monk.
When I returned home, and took the LP out of its jacket, it was poorly pressed on low grade vinyl. None of this was surprising, as such was the state of "unofficial" records in 1967. I put it on my turntable, lit a joint, and gave it a listen. The audio was more or less passable, but performance was outstanding. The tracklist was CD1 of today's freeload. A few years later I was given a cassette tape of the full show (CDs 1 & 2), which along with the LP didn't survive the ravages of time…
'Bremen 1965' was recorded on March 8, 1965, at the Sendesaal Concert Hall / Studio F in Schwachhausen, Bremen, Germany. It was released on December 12, 2025, on the Sunnyside Records label.
This was Monk's first major world tour, shortly after he signed with Columbia Records, and this recording is much more than just an archival curiosity. This is a stunning live performance from Monk with nicely extended tracks with plenty of space for solos.
The group here is that classic Monk quartet from the mid 60s – Charlie Rouse on tenor, Larry Gales on bass and Ben Riley on drums. This quartet was known for its almost "telepathic" playing. Charlie Rouse's tenor lines weave around Monk's motifs and mercurial humor with solos that are almost worth the price of admission alone. Larry Gales and Ben Riley anchor all the angularities in Monk's piano. There are moments of risky collective improvisation, and due to the aforementioned "telepathy", and those risks pay off in spades.
The set features takes of "Just You Just Me", "I'm Getting Sentimental", "Well You Needn't", "Rhythm A Ning", and "Criss Cross" that are all past the ten minute mark – plus slightly shorter versions of "Sweet & Lovely" and "Epistropy.
'Bremen 1965' nicely fills a gap in Monk's recorded chronology. This should be in your Monk collection. It also has very nice sonics.
For the freeload, tell us a joke.
At one time, I had a pretty good repertoire of jokes fit for a variety of circumstances and people. But despite having a pretty decent memory, hardly any come to mind. And those that do are of the most juvenile and callow variety. Such as:
ReplyDeleteQ: What did the vampire tell the high school girl?
A: See you next period.
Thank you for today's freeload— I can't get enough of Monk. His capacity to surprise me with weird chords and unexpected notes separates him from the merely great pianists.
Welp, I'm down to my last two or three Motown puns. Four Tops. Thanks Babs
ReplyDeleteInvented by my then 3 or 4 year-old daughter:
ReplyDeleteWhat's green and jumps?
Grass. I was kidding about the jumping.
My dad told this one, half a century ago
ReplyDeleteQ It's white and up the tree.
A My fridge, and can I tell you all, I decide where I put my freakin fridge
My father told this one:
DeleteA turtle gets mugged by two snails. When the police show up, they ask him what happened. The turtle told them, “I don’t know. It all happened so fast.”
One of my personal faves is the shortest joke I know
Delete"My ship is unsinkablub"
A penguin is driving through Arizona when his car breaks down near a mechanic. The mechanic says it will take an hour to fix. While waiting, the penguin walks to an ice cream shop, but because penguins don't have hands, he makes a huge mess eating a vanilla cone, getting ice cream all over his face and chest.
ReplyDeleteHe walks back to the mechanic, who looks at him and says, "Looks like you blew a seal."
The penguin frantically replies, "No, no! That’s just ice cream!"
I'll be here all week. Try the veal......
…Tip your waitress.
DeleteA graphic designer starts a new job at the Meyer nail company. He immediately gets his first assignment: to redesign the advertising poster. He puts in so much effort that he works through the entire night. In the morning, he proudly presents his design. The poster shows Jesus hanging on the cross. Underneath, it says: "Meyer's nails hold everything!" The boss and his colleagues are a bit taken aback and say that this simply won't do. "We'll get in trouble with the church!" they say. He's told to redesign the poster. Again, he works through the entire night and presents his work the next morning. Again, there's a cross on the image. This time, Jesus is lying on the ground. Underneath, it says: "With Meyer's nails, this wouldn't have happened..." Kind regards, Max
ReplyDeleteThat was a no-no as well, and the employee got a bit crosss, and wrote: At Meyer's they are big wails, but you can't find better nails
DeleteTwo hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone & calls the emergency services.
ReplyDelete“My friend’s dead! What do I do?”
“Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, “OK, now what?”
That reminds me of the 2 guys hiking in the woods when one is bitten by a rattler on his "privates". His buddy calls a doctor for advice and is told to suck out the venom & get him to a hospital. The victim asks what the doctor told him... The doctor said: sorry, but you're gonna die!
DeleteQuasimodo is looking for a new assistant to ring the bells of Notre Dame. One applicant with no arms comes to the door. Quasimodo asks him how are you going to ring the bells? The guy tells Quasimodo, “I'm going to ring them with my head.” So the guy runs towards the bell, hits the bell and falls out the window to his death. When the police show up they ask Quasimodo replied "I don't know his name, but his face ring a bell .
ReplyDeleteThe next day another guy with no arms shows up for the job. Quasimodo says, "I don't think you can do the job. The last guy with no arms tried, and he fell out the window to his death." The applicant replies, "That was my brother!" Quasimodo says, "Well, I guess I'll hire you." So the guy immediately tries to ring the bell with his head, falls out the window, and dies.
When the police show up they ask Quasimodo, ”Do you know this man?"
Quasimodo replied: "I don't know his name, but he's a dead ringer for his brother!"
Classic, joke that I used to tell, except.. I never heard the second part before, hilarious. I always thought the joke ended with his face rings a bell. I've missed so much. Thanks Babs
DeleteMy wife and I are the oldest couple on our block. A young couple moved next door and we invited them over for drinks. I wanted to give them some pointers on the neighborhood so I told them we often go to a great local restaurant.
ReplyDelete“What’s the name of the place?” they asked me.
My mind slips at bit these days so I groped for a reminder. “What’s the name of that red flower for Valentine’s Day? It’s got thorns…”
“You mean a rose?”
“Yeah, that’s it!” I turned to my wife and asked “Hey Rose, what’s the name of the restaurant we always go to?”
There's a new church starting up, and the preacher said you must abstain from sex for a month to join his flock.
ReplyDelete3 couples apply. After a month, they meet again.
1st couple says we've been married for 42 years, so, it was no problem.
Ok, you're in...
2nd couple says after 3 years, we almost made it, but gave in on the last day.
OK, better luck next time...
3rd couple says we're newlyweds of 2 months. We made it for 3 days, but then at breakfast, I dropped my napkin and our hands touched while picking it up, and next thing we knew we were doing it right there on the floor big time.
Sorry, but you can't join right now...
That's okay, we can't go back to that restaurant again either!
There are very few actuary jokes and we've heard them all too many times from the marketing folks who make fun of us. So we have assigned each joke a number to save time in the retelling.
ReplyDeleteAt my last conference, some colleagues met at the cocktail reception. Someone said "Number 12" and everyone chuckled a little. My partner said "Number 5", an oldie that got a few groans. Then I followed up with "Number 11". The new hire started choking with laughter until beer came out his nose. Finally composing himself, he wiped the beer from his face and explained, "I never heard that one before."
My late sister who was an actuary always used to tell this one to her trainees:
DeleteQ: How many actuaries does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 3
Q: 3?
A: One to change the light bulb and one to check the calculation.
A sailor and a marine walk into a restroom. The sailor finishes first and heads for the door. The marine looks over his shoulder and yells “in the Marines they teach us to wash our hands after using the head!” As he walks out the door, the salaries replies “In the Navy, they teach us not to piss on our hands.”
ReplyDeleteTwo professors are having dinner. One complains, "The average person is a mathematical illiterate". The other silently agrees but sees the opportunity for a free dinner.
ReplyDeleteWhen the first professor goes to the men's room his companion waves the waitress over. He says to her. "Later I will ask you a question. It will be gibberish to you but you don't need to understand. Just answer 'x-squared' and I'll leave you a nice tip. Got it, toots?"
When the first professor returns, the second says "I think you're too pessimistic. I bet even our waitress knows some basic calculus. I'll even bet dinner on it.
When the waitress returns with the check, the second professor says "Excuse me, Miss, but can you tell me what the integral of 2x with respect to x is?" The waitress replies, "x-squared." The professor says "See!" His friend admits "I guess you're right" and pays the bill and they leave.
As the waitress is counting the cash she mutters to herself "Plus a constant, asshole."
Link
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/akJgRqYdG2n
Good ones! I'd relate a couple of jokes I was told by gay friends, but they include terms that are no longer politically (or socially) correct.
ReplyDeleteGuy goes into a barber shop, asks how many ahead of him. Barber does a head count, five. Guy leaves. Next day, same thing, guy comes in, how many ahead of me? Four. Guy leaves, doesn't come back. This goes on for four days. Barber says to his assistant, this is driving me nuts - next time that guy comes in, you follow him, see where he goes. Next day, guy comes in, six ahead of him, leaves. Assistant follows him outside, comes back a few minutes later. Barber says, where'd he go? Assistant says, your house.
ReplyDeleteI laughed
ReplyDeleteMust be told in a British accent:
ReplyDeleteDuring the first Gulf war a British General is inspecting the troops in the field hospital.
Comes upon the first bed:
"What's your ailment son"
- "Gonorrhea sir"
And whats your treatment?
- Three times a day on the wire brush Sir!
And what's your fondest wish in the world?
- To be back on the front lines fights for the queen sir!
Well done son.
A few beds down the general stops again and asks
"What's you ailment son"
- Hemorrhoids sir.
And whats your treatment?
- Three times a day on the wire brush Sir!
And what's your fondest wish in the world?
- To be back on the front lines fights for the queen sir!
Well done son, well done
The General comes upon the last bed in the hospital ward and asks the soldier.
"What's you ailment son"
- Bleeding gums sir.
And whats your treatment?
- Three times a day on the wire brush Sir!
And what's your fondest wish in the world?
- To be first on the wire brush Sir!
Earlier today I was trying to remember the set-up for a joke about an Irishman in Mexico (because there's a lot to the two cultures that are simpatico, IMO). I don't have it, and I wrote to a friend who probably remembers ...but I haven't heard back yet.
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd search the Internet when I saw this topic, and... well... I'm just going to paste in this snippet from a Facebook group for people of/from Appalachia. I hope you can see a little humor in it already:
"Dreckley / Dreckly - at some point in the future; soon, but not immediately; like "mañana", but less urgent (derives from English "directly" but differs in meaning)."
D in California, who will come back with a joke :^)
What does a pig put on a pulled hamstring ? Oinkment !
ReplyDelete