stephenrr

Congratulations indeed, Aggie87! There were some horrendous weeks. I'm certainly glad I don't have to make a living picking games. Thanks for providing a place to do this; and thanks for the competition. It was a fun season. I only hope that in the end we're not reduced to a Patriots/Cowboys Super Bowl. I'll turn down the sound and spin a few LPs.

2014 Ferren Silver Eagle Chardonnay...between 50-100 total case production....and 2013 Arnot-Roberts Trout Gulch Pinot Noir.. (around 300 total case production.

What a career! Thank you doesn't seem to come close. We're losing giants at too great a rate to honor them properly. Good night, RVG.

My better half convinced me to catch the Eagles last summer in Vegas. I was pleasantly surprised by close to three hours and 27 songs that really took me back to the 70's in a comfortable, simple, close-harmony concert that had everyone singing along. The harmonies were almost as tight, Walsh's guitar licks sounded fine without the alcohol and drugs. Simple pop songs with a country edge are obviously a guilty pleasure for me. Thanks for all the tunes, Glenn.

I would think 100% markup on a shrink-wrapped collectable 5 LP Record Store Day box set might seem excessive in a business where many brick and mortar stores are working on 30 %...but the more I think about it, more power to them. I love their selection and I can at least visually inspect the albums... try that on eBay. And those brick and mortar stores for the most part no longer exist.

Let us know if you need more, Jim. The site is unique and worthy of support and you should't get stuck with the bill in addition to all your work in keeping it functioning. Sent you a bit via PayPal.

In the past six months, since I installed my turntable, I've purchased between 125 and 150 LPs from Dusty Groove. One of them had a noticeable skip and none had pops, clicks, or hisses that interfered with the music. I visit them every two weeks and dutifully trek home with my pile of vinyl that ranges in price from 1.99 to 119.99. I'm pleased as punch to have them in the neighborhood. My only unpleasant experience was when I tried to trade an item for credit that I had mistakenly purchased elsewhere. Obviously in business to make a profit, they lowballed the item and them sold it for double within 24 hours. Gotta love Capitalism.

Not sure I'm ready to do any generalizing on bottoms, middles, or tops of the Mosaic market. I own between 25 and 30 of the large CD Mosaic sets and probably 15 of the 3-CD Selects. I'm seeing prices all over the map on these based on desirability...I saw the Nat King Cole set at Dusty Groove today on sale for $600. Clearly no bottom in sight here. I am purchasing LP Mosaic sets and pricing appears to require you to do your homework. I just purchased the 4-LP Complete Pacific Recordings of the Chet Baker Quartet with Russ Freeman an hour ago at Dusty Groove for $120. Copy is listed "near mint" and box, LPS, and booklet in nice shape. There are currently two of the same set offered at Amazon by secondary sellers...one for $260, the other for $310. Also two sets offered on eBay...one Buy Now for $200 the other with days to go with a minimum bid looking for $190. Also two sets of the same Mosaic set offered by European sellers on discogs....one for $166 and the other for $178...both without shipping. Looks to me like a healthy resale market for Mosaic LP sets especially with prices fluctuating wildly. I'm looking to purchase more LP sets because I happen to like the media. But I'm not likely to try and resell any of my sets...LP or CD in an effort to make money.

Yes, indeed! Thanks for pointing this out. I won the Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Don Cherry, and Chet Baker Studio auctions....and snapped up a second-chance auction on a Bud Powell set. The CD sets are not so dear, but the LP sets seem hard to find at reasonable prices.

I will punch the next person who tosses off "It is what it is"...Words are the only tools we have to express ourselves...cliches are lazy, missed opportunities to paint a verbal picture. I'm afraid we're raising an entire generation of boring, tiresome net-addicted illiterates.

PM sent: all three of the Stanley Cowell Trio CDs, Song of the New World, Together, Inner Voices, 13th House, Song for my Lady, Trident, Atlantis, Quartets 4 x 4, Supertrios, and Reaching Fourth by McCoy Tyner When Words Fail, David Weiss and Endangered Species: The Music of Wayne Shorter the three Point of Departure CDs both the New Jazz Composers Octet CDs

So very sorry to hear this. I remember mine like it was yesterday, though it's coming up on almost twenty years. The confusion, doubt and deep sadness nearly drowned me in questions about self-value, finances and simple everyday changes. Gather your friends and family around you, seek some professional help if you need it. Seek some refuge in the simple tasks of getting through each day. Take personal inventory and use this shock as motivation for making positive changes. Get healthy, start some new activities, and try to come through this break without hate or blame (admittedly difficult). I know it's hard to see a future when pain makes breathing difficult. I took walks, found solace in music and books, wrote page after page of journals. My divorce and healing were slow hard work, and once I got past the cliches about divorce, I found most of them true. Take care of yourself. And yes, my divorce was in the end, a positive but painful step.

Contibution sent via PayPal. Thanks again, Jim.

Change is such a vicious two-headed monster...buried my mom in April....today is wedding anniversary number twelve. We are demolishing the basement of my 90 year old home for a complete rebuild in the spring. Still finding out how to use my new stereo system....Bryston amp and preamp, Clearaudio Concept TT, Ayre DAC, Aerial 6T Rosewood speakers...I cry with those who have lost and are losing...I celebrate with those who are opening new doors to the future...Jazz is jazz and I lift a glass to what I learn at this site every single day... but, sometimes the realities of life intrude and I send out props, and love, and thanksgiving to a bunch of people I have not met and probably will not meet.

Just saw this. I'm in Jim; happy to help. Thanks for keeping this place up and running while balancing what has to be a very full life.

15 inches of snow over the past 36 hours with temps tonight around zero. Get ready as the storm moves towards east coast. This storms for real and Chicago has slowed to a cold icy crawl.

If this survey is anywhere near accurate (which I seriously doubt), I'm drinking for several others. I currently have a wine cellar of over 600 bottles, start most evening meals with a rye manhatten (preferably made with 13 year old Pappy Van Winkle or Sazerac), and really enjoy our tri-yearly "drink Steve's cellar" parties in which everyone is encouraged to pick a bttle or two from the cellar. Career-wise I've been a professional enabler for almost 30 years selling investment grade wines either at wholesale or retail. Wine for me is a hobby that got completely out of hand-- much like jazz.

So happy to find my cd and DVD sitting on my doorstep this afternoon. Congratulations Jim! The music is smoking and moves directly to the top of my playlist. I've heard the occasional Organissimo cut on Sirius or XM; any chance of some airplay for this project?

Thanks Jim, I'm in via PayPal.

I'm in, Jim. Let us know if you need more. Easy to take the forum for granted....I've gained far, far more in knowledge than my contributions. Thanks again.

In here...and bummed that Chicago is further than 120 miles from Lansing.

In at the $50 level now....possibility for more later.

PM sent....I'm interested in the Andrew Hill snd Jackie McLean sets. Thanks.

Can't say enough good things about Amazon Prime...once you get over the sticker shock of paying your yearly dues, you'd be surprised how often you end up using it...from coffee, kitchen gadgets, all my holiday gifts, clothing, glassware, music, books, whatever...whenever we need something, we check Amazon first. Not a week goes by that UPS doesn't make at least two or three visits....all for zero shipping, zero tax, and second day delivery. And on big ticket items...like my new computer...we saved over a hundred bucks on sticker price alone rather than ordering from HP...and HP was charging a hundred bucks for shipping (not second day) and sales tax. Apart from the ethical qualms of avoiding state sales tax, I just don't see a down side. Great marketing, superb merchandising, and for me, incredible service. Wish to hell I'd bought stock in Amazon ten years ago.

Wow, what a great question. Thanks for revisiting it. Nice to stop and reflect on a quiet New Years weekend about my own musical pilgrimage. Sergent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) still remains s huge perspective shattering release for me... Santana's Abraxas (1970) still makes me smile and say, "wow!". Leo Kottke's My Feet Are Smiling (1973) took me by surprise and one person's technical mastery and ease at live music making opened up yet another path. Oliver Nelson's Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961) was one of the first jazz recordings I stumbled onto in 2003 when the lights finally went on about what was for me a totally overlooked musical genre. And finally, Harold Land's often overlooked Xocia's Dance (1981) helped me to move towards something a bit more "open". The journey continues, and when I'm totally honest with myself, I know my years of "lurking" here at Organissimo are responsible for three things: a growing jazz budget, a collection that takes up far too much space, and a suspicion that my jazz interests will continue to expand.