Kevin Bresnahan

One of my favorites in the "mellow" genre:

It's been many years since I've traveled to the UK, but I remember really enjoying Timothy Taylor's Landlord Ale. Good stuff.

I really like this date. It's something I play when I'm in the mood for some mellow Jazz. My only disappointment with it is that it's too short.

I've never seen Jason as a leader. I think he was the drummer for his dad's last tour and I saw him then. He seemed like a decent drummer. I've seen better and I've seen worse. From his discography, it looks like he's been touring with the Lionel Hampton Big Band for a few years now. Is that what you saw? I've never seen him play vibes so I can't comment on that.

I wish I had access to any pub near me that offered cask-conditioned ales. I really enjoy cask-conditioned ales and I miss being able to get one at a local pub. There was an English pub called the Coat of Arms in downtown Portsmouth, NH for many years but they closed. I do get that it seems like many beer makers are going all in on overly hopped IPAs but I can't really blame them, as it seems to be all the craze. That said, it's worse when beer makers go the other way too. Bland lagers & pilsners are no better than over-hopped IPAs. I'm more of a stout/porter man myself, with my preferred being a milk stout.

From the cover, I would guess "Soft Shoulder Miles".

I'm kinda with Jim on this one... what's weird about people stealing the most steal-able cars in the world? This might be for an "Interesting News Tonight" thread.

Some of this material made it to CD on the OJC label: I never did pick that CD up. I'm not usually a fan of the head/solo/head 2 & a half minute stuff from the 78 era. Looking at this, maybe I should re-think that.

I have to think that Ernie has retired from the Jazz scene. He hasn't recorded or toured since 2020. I consider myself very lucky to have seen him with Quartet West several times. Such a great player. I once owned this but I can't seem to find it right now. I'm pretty sure I had the XRCD version. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I think it was released to kick off the "rebirth" of the Prestige label but I don't think too many titles were released on it afterward.

Samara Joy's tickets are pricey in Austin too. My niece lives there and I was going to recommend that she check her out but then I saw the prices. Ouch.

Considering that this is from September 13, 2024, I would be curious as to how this list looks today.

Paul Motian Trio - One Time Out (Soul Note). Trying this one again and it's just not my kind of music. I guess the "out" part of the title is literal, as they swing out a lot more here than on any of the other CDs I have with this band.

Since I retired back in 2023, I've been hitting the elliptical daily and I'm up to about 3 miles/day now. I like the elliptical because it's less stress on my knees and ankles. So I am not relying on just diet & drugs to keep my weight down & hopefully slow/stop the plaque. My biggest problem with exercise near the end of my working career was that my work day was typically 6 AM to 6 PM when including my 1 hour commute. Those work hours made it nearly impossible to work out and keep a social life with my wife & children. Now I can get up and work out at my leisure and still have the rest of the day to do what I want. Before I moved up to Maine, I lived in NH and my main exercise was playing volleyball 3 to 4 times per week. I can't do that anymore so this elliptical is a lifesaver, particularly in the winter.

I really like that live Jazz Messengers date. I first heard it on that single RCA disc from 1992 but when it came out "complete" on 2 CDs, I had to get that too. They were on fire that night.

I have been taking statins since I was in my late 20s after I had a free cholesterol check at lunch hour at work. I did it expecting no big deal when the person doing the tests came and found me and said, "You need to go to your doctor. Your cholesterol is over 300". My cholesterol has been "good" for a long time because of statins but apparently, it wasn't good enough to prevent plaque from building up. I do miss Chinese food too. That said, there are low fat options at most Chinese restaurants but there are no low fat version of General's Chicken.

D&M Holdings used to include Boston Acoustics speakers. I bought several home theater speaker systems with my employee discount before D&M shut them down. I always liked Boston Acoustics speakers for their "bang for the buck".

My diagnosis is clogged arteries, so a change in my diet isn't enough for me. Yes, I've had to cut way back on my fat intake and avoid foods that raise my cholesterol. Additionally, they upped my Lipitor dosage to the max to help get my LDL number below 80 and put me on a low dose of blood thinner (Plavix) to minimize the chance of one of those clogs causing a heart attack. Sucks getting old but it's better than the alternative. FWIW, I've only managed to lose ~30 pounds, but I'm still watching what I eat so I may lose a few more pounds in the future. I do miss french fries and maybe a nice ribeye every now & then but I am managing.

I've been going to quite a few Jazz shows lately where this style is in play. I wouldn't call it boring but comparing it to a lecture hall is a good analogy. To be honest, seeing a whole set of this style of music isn't my idea of a great show. Not a bad show, but not great.

So I take it you don't like it? I have yet to pick this up but it sounds like maybe I don't need to.

For over 20 years, I worked at Analog Devices. We supplied a lot of components to Marantz/Denon. When they were part of DM Holdings, I used to get a 40% "employee discount", so I bought quite a few pieces of gear from them over the years. I bought several turntables, several Denon cartridges, a CD/SACD player, a CD recorder and at least 3 Denon multichannel receivers for myself and family members. After they got sold, the discount went down to 30% and I bought my last piece of gear before I retired, a Marantz PM-7005, which is still my main amp for my living room system. I have had good luck with their stuff. I hope this new ownership doesn't go Onkyo with these product lines.

Bob was asking me if I had heard the Japanese-only release, "The Piano", saying it was one of Herbie's best recordings. When I told him I had never heard it, he sent me a bunch of takes from the session. It turned out that he was in the middle of producing the 2004 reissue of this session.

Does anyone know who got all of Bob Belden's tapes? There might be a copy in there. The only other person I know is Louis L. and I don't know how to get hold of him anymore.

Someone else with industry experience can correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought royalties only went to the leader. If every sideman has to be part of the deal, how do they ever release any big band records?

I recommend any of you over the age of about 55 to ask your doctor to get your cardiac calcium score. It's a simple CT of your heart and even if your health insurance won't cover it, it only costs about $150 out of pocket. My cousin Dan recommended I get it done because of my family history and my lifelong battle with high cholesterol. His dad (my uncle) had to get two triple bypass surgeries before he was 45. At the age of 54, Dan got his cardiac calcium score & it was 700. One of his arteries was 95% blocked. A week later, he got a quadruple bypass. I decided it was better to be proactive so I had it done. My score was over 1200! A cardiac catheritization showed that I have some pretty significant blockages but they are not recommending surgery so here I am - diet & exercise. Thank god I retired in 2023 or the stresses at work may have already killed me.