Big Al

I've been chomping at the bit to get this week here. This record absolutely COOKS!!! Wall to wall GREEEEEEEAZE!!! Even on the spiritual cuts. I got this the day I drove to Austin, and I'm tellin' ya, this is one great cruisin' record! The ballads let me take a breather, but on the real cookers, like "I'll Fly Away" and the title track, I was bouncin' all over the car--and the highway! Also wanna mention "Smooth Sailing" and "Blue Greens and Beans" because they are good, greeeeeazy cookers as well! I'm glad this one was the winner! I'm with Dan: this would make for a GREAT Mosaic Select!

What DrJ and B3-er said. RIP, and thank you.

Bud Powell. I've had Time Waits for a few years now, and even that was bought because it has Sam Jones on it. Saturday, while driving around, KNTU played something by Bud, but failed to say which tune it was. It sounded like a quintet number with Sonny & Fats. It's still ringing in my ears, and I intend to get both CDs of The Amazing Bud Powell, and hopefully Bud! as well!

Truth be told, I always thought it was Blakey! This is just as good!

Yeaaaah Rooster!!! That's precisely what I was thinking. My feeling is that all three CDs could be open for discussion (Nefertiti, Sorcerer, and the first three tracks on the Water Babies CD); that if someone was without any of these discs, they can all be easily and cheaply purchased. Those who own the box could also chime in with comments about all the extras only on the box (to get others to get this box; hey, it was my first jazz box that I ever bought! Worth every penny, too!) I'm glad most everyone likes the idea, and thanks for (so far) not making me have to choose one or the other!

I know I haven't been nominated (yet!), but I've been trying to decide which of these albums to talk about should that time ever come. I like both of these albums equally, and I thought it might be nice to talk about both of them simultaneously for the following reasons: 1. Same lineup 2. Recorded at the same time (May-June 1967) 3. Interchangeable, as far as the music goes. But if you all would rather we do only one, that's fine with me. Whatever the poll decides is what my pick will be. The poll ends at the end of this week! Thanks in advance!

Please! Don't bother the artistes while we are working! The label is Concord, but the website doesn't give any info.

Just to reiterate, in case y'all haven't figured out, Al and I.... I mean JIM and I are old buddies. Well, I'm not old, but you get the idea! I wonder why this session has been sitting around for the last three years? (Again, assuming that CD Universe is correct!)

MOLTEN SWING, of course, is that lost great KB album that was left unissued for several years before ALMOST being lost in a great CTI warehouse fire. It was originally to be titled Kenny Burrell Plays the Hits of Stan Freberg, but was renamed after the tapes apparently had melted together, hence the title. The lineup, oddly enough, is the same as that on Blue Muse, and many have speculated (well, I have anyway) that this reunion is a way to recreate some of that magic that was supposedly lost in the great fire. Bad enough for ya?

An e-mail from Borders announced pre-orders for this. Anyone have any info on it, like a personnel list or something? The Borders "review" indicated it was similar to Midnight Blue. I wonder if that means he's goin' piano-less again? I can only hope!

I can't WAIT for this one!!! Wheeeeeee!

Abso-fucking-lutely ridiculous! Oh, the kids will definitely learn something from this, as Cali clearly pointed out!

I don't care which one wins: it's all so good! Great selection, Dan!

Great choice, catesta! I've never heard this one; this oughta make for a fun AOTW!

My curiosity is satisfied, and I'm wanting to sell it to anyone else curious. $15.00 postage paid, PayPal or checks from known board members. If anyone wants to trade for this, I'd like to get the remastered III and Presence in return. E-mail works best: acrearick@hotmail.com Thanks.

I saw him live back ni '87, when he was opening up for the Monkees (on their first reunion tour). Just as funny live as he is in the videos. He called for a bass solo, and the bassist played one "thunk" on his bass and that was it. Brilliant! I saw the track list the other night, what are the songs that he parodies?

Y'know, as long as Organissimo is an organ-trio band, we never have to worry about Heaney posting over here. All the more reason to call this place home.

Beautiful! There was a picture of Art Blakey at the Mosaic site that I set as my desktop background at home. Can't seem to find it now. But, it's the picture used on the cover of THE BIG BEAT!

Yes, this is a nice little album. I agree with the comment that it reminds me of Good Gracious!, yet in a good way: nothing spectacular, just lots of good vibes and greeeeaze; nobody pours it on like LD & Co. Like Dan said, this is a wonderful PARTY record, but I kinda wonder about putting a ballad as the second track--maybe to give everyone a chance to cool down after shakin' so much during the first track! I had to listen to "Don't Get Around..." a few times, but around the third or fourth listen, that groove just locked me in and it was sweet swingin' all the way home! Don't ya love it how the record ends with "Coppin' a Plea?" Makes you wanna jump up and start the record over again! I wonder why they didn't get Grant Green on this session. Not a knock against Roy Montrell (although he does try to cop a Green lick during "Signifyin'", although maybe it was more in tribute than anything else); it's just that Green's thick, fat, juicy tone always squeezed more greeeaze outta the proceedings! Ah, another great choice!

I always thought Lisa was far more attractive than Christine. Personal preference, I guess. Another bit I always enjoyed: the opposites! Where kids would be enjoying Barfy Burgers without getting sick (or he'd actually make them with real ingredients!). That guy, Les Lye, all of his characters cracked me up: the dad, the producer, Blip, the teacher, the dungeon master, the executioner, etc etc etc. And speaking of the whole "Don't encourage him" shtick, one that I always remember is a scene at the dinner table, one of the kids wants a big piece of pie and the mom says Dad gets the bigger piece of pie. "Why?" says the kid. "Because your father is the bread winner," says Mom. "Then give him the biggest piece of bread," says the kid. "She's got a point, dear," says Mom. "Don't encourage her!" says Dad, as he grabs the piece of pie anyway!

Ahhhhh, NOW I get it! I was just thinking that there are other empty objects that might inspire a feeling of "emptiness" than an empty drum, but then again I'm having trouble coming up with anything; so I guess it's as good an analogy as any. I was in a hurry when I posted my last post, and forgot to mention that while I don't make it a point to listen to it by myself, I find I enjoy it when I listen to it with my daughter (like when we're driving around, f'rinstance). There are a few songs on the album that remind me of my daughter, especially the second track, "Seven Years." Right up to about the title track, it's actually quite enjoyable (and I really dig her version of "Cold Cold Heart"), but then I lose interest. Still, anything that bridges the generation gap can't be all bad. And I'll take Norah Jones over Creed, Staind, Default, and all the other "I'm-so-poetic-and-deep-yet-I-can't-get-laid-so-it-must-be-my-dad's-fault-that-I-can't-be-as-famous-as-Nirvana" sludge rock that I'm usually subjected to.

Anyone remember this show that ran on Nickelodeon back in the 80's? Man, I LOVED that show! Fast-paced, non-stop, bad gags at every turn; green slime and water; torture chambers where kids dreamed of the day of seeing "blue skies, Barfy Burgers, GIRLS!" Executions where the "executioner" always seemed to live to see another execution despite being gunned down only five minutes earlier. I think my mom summed it up best when she said that it was like "Laugh-In" for a new and younger generation. There were so many good scenes, but one I always remember was when Alasdair (sp?) walked into the arcade and was stopped by Blip, the gameroom operator, for carrying food. "No food allowed in the arcade!" "This isn't food," explained Alasdair; "it's a Barfy Burger." "No pets, either" was Blip's response. Cut to Barfy playing a video game who turns around and says, "Hey! I hearrrrrrd that!" This series is BEGGING for some kind of DVD reissue!

There's a place around the corner from where I work that serves soul food. I need to get over there and try some of this stuff, just to see if it's as good (or bad, or baaaaaaad) as everyone says it is!

I bought this for my daughter for Christmas; she likes it enough, but doesn’t listen to it as much as she used to. She still likes “Don’t Know Why” when it comes on the radio, but I can’t remember the last time she went out of her way to listen to it. Truth be told, I liked this at first. The sound was soothing, her voice gentle. I even enjoyed her piano-playing. Then she won the Grammy, the BN Board became the Norah Jones BN Bored, and it’s been non-stop Norah ever since. Now, every time I hear “Don’t Know Why” on the radio, my reaction is the same as that to any overplayed song: resigned revulsion. (And what’s with the line about feeling as “empty as a drum?” A drum?!?!? Okaaaaaaaay. Did she fail Remedial Poetry or something? )

I've seen it referred to in various places, most recently in the liners to Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy when Avakian describes going out for "ham and greens" with Louis. And of course, there's Mo' Greens, Please (which should be reissued domestically for the cover alone). Anyone know?