Reading your post has made me want to check out Mahler. Beethoven built edifices, now you're telling me Mahler made mountains! What little of him I have caught in passing must not have registered. Your references to Yes and King Crimson gave me deja vu all over again. I'm OK, I'm coming out of the flashback now. I agree that jazz applies to too many different sounds. Lotta folks think Kenny G is jazz?! For complexity and arrangements it doesn't get better than Ellington does it? He is to jazz what Shakespeare is to literature. My favorite Duke era is the 50s thru the early 70s. Yeah, I know, some of that stuff sounds like the theme to the Mod Squad, but some of those tunes on records like Up in Duke's Workshop or In the Uncommon Market are either really smokin' or so hauntingly mellow it just knocks your socks off. His best recording? What about the live album recorded at the Carrollton Dance Hall? Of course, Newport is right up there, but I think Carrollton edges it out.
As far as books go, I'm afraid I'm not as well read as you are. Certain books may not be great writing but may have a lasting impact. (I'm thinking of Rand here.) She certainly had an impact on me. I like Steinbeck too. I spent a summer a few years ago reading nothing but Steinbeck. I had just discovered him and went on a tear devouring his novels. The characters he created in Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat always stay with you. I must admit I wanted to cut my throat after reading To a God Unknown, though. Not too many people who are alive are writing great novels, are they? Cormac McCarthy has written some great stuff, I hope his best work isn't behind him. He threw everything he had in that recently completed trilogy. Well, take care, time to feed the dogs. Yours, Charles
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