Time was when we had an “About” page here at Bags, a place were biographical blurbs & faux photos of the bullpen hung as explanatory fodder for curious passerby. That section still exists somewhere in the cyber-ether, but cobwebs & mildew now festoon its content & any formal links on the homepage have long been severed. The upshot is that it’s not always clear who’s in the authorship orbit and who’s since spun off into the void (Ground Control to Major Crawjo…).
Two newish conscripts definitely deserve commendation (as well as remuneration, if only it weren’t beyond the reach of Bags’ perpetually-penurious coffers). Michael Anton Parker is a familiar face by now, firing off penetrating dispatches like the exceptional one directly below from secluded digs on his rustic Pennsylvania spread (Milazzo just might have an heir apparent, IMO).
Occupying an address in my neck of the woods (though perhaps for not much longer?), Clifford Allen made his auspicious debut over this past weekend with the engrossing interview at the right and a doubleshot of disc reviews. Readers will likely recognize his byline from his prolific posts over at Paris Transatlantic and All About Jazz. The man knows his ESP-era free jazz backwards & forwards, Ayler to Zito, and is a master at nestling invaluable anecdotal kernels within his own insightful prose.
Please join me in raising a tumbler in hoary toast to them both.
In other news: Emory’s still an unseen behind-the-scenester, but I have high hopes that the rubber Perry White mask that’s been his preferred method of disguise will come off before summer’s wane.
Posted by derek on June 7, 2005 4:08 PMI don't know about a hoary toast, but I'll chip in a hairy taste. Besides, Parker's been here forever, right? I'm sure he's already eclipsed most of us in wordage! Welcome, fellas.
Posted by: Brian Olewnick at June 7, 2005 4:33 PMAny day now I'm sure Master Milazzo will return to remind us how it's really done!
Derek, I think all that old-timey music is making you a bit sentimental!
:-)
And drinking a bit much of that doctored mint julep to suggest anyone here could fill Joe's shoes!
While we're indulging in gaudy back-patting, I must say you have an uncanny knack for coming up with ingenious lead photos, Derek. I don't know how you do it. I have to rely on the prosaic contents of my point-and-shoot archive.
Posted by: Michael Anton Parker at June 7, 2005 4:39 PMWell as long as you keep letting Brian loose with his veritable smorgasboard of musical metaphors I am happy with the way Bags is looking, thanks guys.
What is missing though is a Lois Lane... has a woman ever dared venture onto these hallowed pages?
The reason I found Bags was that this past December my e-comrade of sorts Meidad Zaharia passed along a link to Dan's reviews of a batch of MIO discs, which I take great interest in, especially the (definitive) Begnagrad reissue, which I'd had on my curiosity/want list for years. Then three things happened in rapid sequence:
1) I saw Dan's reference to my main man Ivo Papasov, which was like a light-bulb trigger, and so I speed-clicked my way over to Wayside with cc in hand to get Begnagrad on its way to my mailbox (it was everything I hoped for and much more by the way);
2) Even though I'd had occasion to briefly visit for the purpose of reading a specific review or two in the past, it finally sunk in that, yikes, Dan's PT site has an unbelievable wealth of unique and deep content, and so I spent a few hours reading some back issues with great fascination and pleasure, during which I caught a reference to Bagatellen;
3) clicking over to this heretofore unknown site, I was shocked to see all kinds of discussion on familiar topics near and dear to me and involving a fair number of acquaintances or familiar names. I wish I had been around much earlier.
It was the fascinating in-depth writings of Joe Milazzo that especially caught my eye and gave the site an air of fresh and ambitious purpose, enticing a few more visits to skim the archives. Feeling so inspired by Joe, I joined the fray as soon as some "free time" presented itself. I would vigorously encourage anyone new to the site to spend some time digging through the archival treasure chest here and read the many interactively transformed gems from Joe, Derek, Dan, Brian, Al, Walt, Nate, et al. There's nothing else like it.
Posted by: Michael Anton Parker at June 7, 2005 5:19 PMThanks Derek and Dan (and everybody else) for the welcome. It's nice to be here, and I'm already gleaning a lot from ends of the earth I probably wouldn't have hit upon otherwise. Cool!
Posted by: clifford at June 8, 2005 10:36 PM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................