Shrdlu

Pardon me, boy, but you're right, Kenny! But start with the master takes, Greg. Then, later, you can sell that box and get the whole tutti. Tony Williams, of Spotlite records in England, did the original hard work to get all the Dial takes out, so you should get the complete Dial set (4 reasonably priced, and very full CDs) from him. The contact details can be found at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/jazzitoria/kjrot.htm If you are in North America, and you want to phone him, dial 011 44 (127) 983-4175 No, he isn't related to Miles's drummer. I think he has the Dial masters. I know he worked with Dial owner Ross Russell to get the LPs of it all out in the late 60s. Man, that was exciting, after scratching around for some of them on budget LPs.

Aha! A male chauvinist!

No need to be apologetic, catesta. Your opinion is very valuable. I sure agree with you, too. The track "Street Singer", on "Back To The Tracks", is in a special world of its own, and, of course, comes from a different session from the other (quintet) tracks. It is a masterpiece. So let's consider the other four tracks, with the quintet. It would have been good if they had succeeded in getting a good take of "David the King" that day; then, an album that focused on that session alone could have been issued. The session has a superb, calm, mellow vibe, and the group is very together. There's nothing that knocks you flat to the floor; it's just a great feel and groove - the same could be said of "Silver's Serenade". You could not buy the feel of this session with money, and it could never be created again. After I play just the first track (the title track), I immediately want to play it again. Sal, you will really like the album. I have the TOCJ CD and also the U.S. one, and they both sound good.

After several listenings, this set has really become a favorite! The band was never better. I hope you can all hear this sometime. On "Broadway" (mislabeled "Moten Swing"), Buddy Clark and Mel Lewis really LOCK that tempo and groove, and they go for nearly 13 minutes. Wow! There is a fantastic trombone solo by Willie Dennis, where the track peaks. It is one of those performances where something really special happens that could not be planned in advance. If I had been playing on that track, I would not have been able to shift the chord changes out of my head for awhile! (I have a similar performance on video tape, by a Lionel Hampton big band. They get into one of those R&B grooves on "Air Mail Special", I think, and they can hardly end the piece; they try to stop it and it just re-starts, like a car engine that runs on after you cut the ignition.)

My record 3 was Joe Loss and His Orchestra. Love that strict tempo. Must also dig out the Victor Silvester.

All joking aside, it would be nice if it did come back, and with a composition that did not scratch. I would particularly like this if they also used the sound balance that is on the old LPs. It's usually better than on the corresponding CDs. One thing I really like is Musicmatch, which transfers LPs to CDrs with the same sound spread as on the LPs and no loss of sound quality (that I can detect). So, if'n you can find a used LP which is not badly scratched, you're all set.

Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, of course - also not listed. Dropping (a long way) down to ones that aren't God, for me it's a toss-up between King James I (of England) [and VI (of Scotland)], who commissioned the final, perfect Bible in English in 1604 (that's why they tried to blow him up that year), and Queen Elizabeth I, whose wise rule saw things settle down in England after a lot of killing and other unrest. A great example of tolerance. Another high scorer would have to be Queen Victoria. You can tell how good she was by the way they always try to put her down - the latest feeble attempt being the superbly produced and acted movie "Mrs Brown".

I can't wait to hear Lon's vinly version.

Michel, this is the set that this thread began with. One place where you can get it is the U.K. HMV website http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProduct...1;-1&sku=878241 Le voix de son maître!

Once again, I'll mention that Malcolm Muggeridge resigned as editor of the U.K. "Punch" magazine because he said that the things that happened in the real world were more ridiculous than anything that they could make up. Anyway, there's a complete Bird on Verve box elsewhere.

Can do, Brownie. He was on several of the Buck Clayton Jam Sessions, and solos there. Everyone, even the studio cat, solos on those performances. And, a big welcome back to you, Barak, via Washington and Alaska.

Thanks, Michel. That is a good list. Mundo's price for "Pais Tropical" and "Primal Roots" is a little better: $19.00 plus postage. I assume that Early Records (Hiroshi Tanno) would have a good price, too. The Japanese Mendes CDs have a very intimidating boast about something called "rubidium atomic clock" laser mastering. I am very impressed! Seriously, though, they do sound very realistic, and I wish that whoever did these could do all the other CDs that we buy. Imagine the BN catalog, if it were done by that person. After a few evenings listening to these, I am like the cat that got the cream. For me, the music comes first, then the engineering, but a good CD reissue enables me to enjoy an album much more, and even to like some albums that I did not really like until I heard a good copy. "Look Around" is an example. The U.S. version, which was sent to me as a gift by a friend, sounds very drab, and the Japanese CD is way better.

In the obscure category, there's the Fred Jackson, whose disappearance after just a few tantalising albums we lament, playing a fine baritone solo on the title track of John Patton's "The Way I Feel". I think this session showed up in the recent Mosaic 3 CD set.

Supoib!

I don't know where you would find it, but my wife (a classically trained violinist and pianist) said that she heard Dave Brubeck playing some Mozart, and that it was excellent. I am not surprised, as Dave's touch and technique are top class. He also has huge hands, and can span a twelfth!

Yeah, Tubby the Tuba! Isn't that awful on that date with Trane? It's almost like a prank, and sure brings a grimace or a chuckle!

Ronnie Lang, who also plays fine alto sax and flute, has some nice, light baritone solos on the "Peter Gunn" albums. No rasp at all! I would like to have heard more from him. (Although a sax player myself, I have never gotten into the baritone. But I was at a blow in Ottawa, Ontario in 1977, and one of the other guys had a Selmer MK VII with the low A. I blew a few notes on it, and was surprised to find that that model was very easy to blow, and didn't weigh as much as you might have expected.)

Just got the new Japanese CD. Wonderful sound! It says that it's only available for six months! Why the rush to delete? I do have one minor complaint about this CD. In their enthusiasm to get the best sound quality, 24 bits and all, they overloaded the equipment and you can hear some 60 Hz hum during the quieter bits - rather like a turntable or mike would make if the ground wire was loose. A bit careless, and I feel like asking Universal to re-do the CD and send a replacement.

I lived there in the fifties and sixties. There were not many top-notch players, but those that were good were terrific. I wonder who's still around. I know that Bob Bertles and Don Burrows, superb reedmen, still play.

A parcel from Japan just arrived, and it included a copy of the new reissue of "Primal Roots". It's too early for me to say what I think of it all, but I sure did enjoy that long track. Thanks for the recommendation! (None of it is in the 2 CD set, by the way.) Some of the vocals on the earlier tracks remind me of Blakey's 2 Volume set "Holiday For Skins". This album is a planned suite. A CD bonus track (about a crab) at the end is fun, but doesn't fit in with the suite. Next time, I will play it separately. It is a cousin of "The Frog", by the same composer, on the "Look Around" album. According to the CD notes, these Japanese reissues went OOP last March. They sure don't give you long, do they? You can still get this series, but I guess it won't be long until they vanish.

Great idea! I guess several of us have been acquiring vinyl copies of albums that are not likely to make it to CD. I have a growing pile. My latest is a fairly good copy of the "Peter Gunn" LP, the purchase inspired by an engineer's comment that none of the CD versions that he had heard had as good a sound balance as on the LP. I have only one CD version, and the LP sound spread does sound better. Sadly, you have the scratches on an LP. If only there were some way to eliminate them!

Yes indeedy! I recently recalled a terrific LP by Denny Zeitlin called "Expansion" (from 1973). It was sold by mail order only, and a pianist friend of mine had it. I made an open-reel tape copy, which I no longer have. I was delighted to find a copy on the Gemm website (www.gemm.com). When it arrived, it turned out to be mint! I was surprised to find a copy at all, let alone a good one. It is now safely transferred to CDr, in case the dog chews it.

My favorite, especially for hard bop, is Pepper Adams by a wide margin. Gerry Mulligan is of course outstanding, and more broad in his style; a fabulous musician all-round. My Dad and I always liked the "Blue Serge" LP after I found a used copy in a flea market. It's sad that Serge did not make more records. My old woodwind book, "Woodwind Instruments and Their History", by Anthony Baines, discusses the members of the sax family; when he came to the baritone, he really praised Harry Carney's amazingly delicate control. He said that it was one of the most expressive sounds on a woodwind instrument. Beyond these guys, and a few other good ones, I generally don't welcome the instrument on a session, as the also-rans on it just make an unpleasant, raspy sound. I also prefer a sax section not to have one, normally, as my favorite one is the Hymie Scherzer-led Benny Goodman section. The absence of a baritone is a major part of its sound.

Rudy remastering The Beatles. Ya gotta be kidding. What a waste of his valuable time. Lon, there is a nice remaster of "Tide" already. It has U.S. and Japanese versions, which are sonically the same. (There is just the one problem: this latest reissue left out a bass flute overdub by Joe Farrell on "Takatanga".)

I maintain two Hotmail addresses, and, oddly, one gets about 30 unwanted messages a day (some in the junk folder, some in the main inbox) and the other gets none! I also have a Yahoo address, but their software stops all junk mail from getting through. I wonder how many more messages we will receive about lengthening your wotsisname. I know we live in days of filth and a deluge of sex, but who really would open these garbage messages?