martini

I love the whole Verve set, but my favorite portion is Disc 3, especially the version of "Lester Leaps In" from Jazz at the Philharmonic. That particular version of that tune destroys me every time I hear it.

If anyone here ever travels to Seattle, a must see is the Experience Music Project museum: http://www.empsfm.org/ IMO, Jimi is the best thing to have come from Seattle--better than Starbucks, UPS, and definitely my crappy Seattle Mariners. The museum is pretty small, but it is of high quality, and there is plenty to see and do. I went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was cool: they had some handwritten documents from Jimi, the Strat he played at Woodstock, fragments of some of his guitars that he smashed and burned, his actual effects rig, and some of his stage outfits. The museum also plays plenty of rare Jimi films and documentaries throughout the entire venue. The museum also has other cool artifacts, including Clapton's "Brownie" that he played with Derek and the Dominos, and several exhibits about rock music in the Pacific Northwest. It is a place worth checking out.

My Eldridge set just arrived today (#1924). Just out of curiosity, are there higher numbers out there? For a set with a 10,000 limit, it seems like this one must be close to "timing out" way before they reach the maximum run.

I've heard rumors about a Braxton Arista Mosaic for some time--I received an email from Mosaic a few years ago when I inquired about it (after first hearing the rumors--it may have been from the AB Yahoo! list, I'm not sure...), and they said it was on their radar, though with no immediate plans in the works. But that was a long time ago. I have all of it on LPs, but it would be great to see it reissued. Damn, I would buy the set just for the cardboard box and booklet. New York, Fall 1974; Five Pieces 1975 and Montreux/Berlin Concerts represent some of my favorite music that he has ever made--monster lineups too (Holland, Lewis, Wheeler et al.). I think an Arista set would be a mixed bag for most people, though, with albums such as For Four Orchestras (Comp 82) and For Two Pianos (Comp 95) also being from that label (though I dig those too, albeit infrequently). Yet those are important recordings if you want to get a better scope of his creative interests and therefore need to be included, IMO. The set might be too massive (i.e. expensive) if they inculde it all. There is also the lovely duo album with Abrams and the double album of solo material. And who knows what outtakes might be sitting in the can. Yeah, it would be spendy. I think there would be 2000 cats in the world that would drop coins for that set, but maybe not more. A Ring/Moers set would be even better, IMO. I would love to see Mosaic get more into mid-60s/post-60s material (I'd like to see a Shepp box at some point too, come to think of it). Until then, I'm just going to groove to my C. Berry and J. Hodges sets that arrived this month! martini P.S. Dave James from SIC? Matt Martini here--hope all is well, man. Music is the best. Sincere thanks for the education.

My set just arrived today, after being stuck in the DHL shipping hub in Chehalis, WA from 9:00 PM Friday through 5:00 AM today. Happily, it made its way to Oregon and onto the truck by 9:30 AM, so all is good. The number of my set is 5860. Time to DIG IN!

Woah, I must have gotten one of the last ones out of the building. My order/shipping confirmation came through today at 11:53 PST. It will be here on Monday. You probably copped one of the very last. When you get it, could you post the #? (Anal minds are just DYING to know.) Will do.

Woah, I must have gotten one of the last ones out of the building. My order/shipping confirmation came through today at 11:53 PST. It will be here on Monday.

Pulled the trigger on the set, although it is the last thing the credit card needs. Now there is the paranoia setting in of is their website accurate? Will the order go through? I hope they still have one for me. I have 50+ discs of The Duke and I love Hodges, but man, I hope this set is unbelievable. This one is taking a bite out of my a$$.

I'm pretty new to Bix, but after getting a taste of his music on an old LP a few weeks ago, I went and picked up the first four volumes of the Bix Restored series. Awesome music. I am also shocked by how good this music sounds. They did a nice job on the transfers. I'm curious about how the quality might differ from the tunes on the Mosaic set, which I have yet to round up. I have the 14 LP Bixology set (Italian Joker label, early 80s, I think) coming my way also, simply because I found it cheap ($35 shipped). I don't expect much from the quality of that set, but who knows. Anyway, I'm still working my way through Restored and it has been a true joy to experience Bix's music while reading the bio about him from Jean Pierre Lion. I highly recommend the book too, although one of the guys who runs a nice website about Bix has a few unflattering things to say about it. Unlucky for me (and the finances), I'm now collecting 78s of his music. I have two turntables, but neither can play them (just 45 & 33 1/3). I've got it bad, man. I guess there are worse things with which to litter the house than Bix 78s. . .

http://www.pdxjazz.com/ Awesome.

My copy arrived yesterday (#3003) and I've spun the first two discs so far. I must say that I'm enjoying Joe Farrell's playing quite a bit. I also like that, given the time period ('68), Elvin was experimental while still "keeping the root" of bop-influenced music. So far this set is a winner. Buy it while you can . . . Oddly, the booklet that came with my set was incomplete (missing pages 1 & 2). It was clearly a binding flaw, as nothing looks torn out of it. Mosaic, being the good people they are, have a replacement booklet on the way.

So what do people think about the set so far? I just received mine today (#452), and have just about worked my way through Disc 1. The sound is pretty good. The material with Mobley is as good as I had hoped, though I'd like to know what the hell "Hey Pete! Let's Eat More Meat" is all about; I haven't read the booklet yet, so maybe there is something about it in there. The material from the 12/17/57 session is absolutely stellar. Very nice arrangements and tight interplay. So far this set is a winner, IMO.

I just bought the Dexter Gordon Prestige set from Zweitausendeins, although I had no clue how to navigate (or read) their site. I ended up with a confirmation number, so the order was placed, but I worry how good their service is to English speakers. Has anyone in the US or UK had problems with them? What is the average turnaround time for shipping? 2 weeks? Longer?

Is there a way to bookmark a search on the page that takes one right to the jazz box sets? I'm having trouble locating the Eldridge and Pepper sets.

My contenders (in no particular order): 1. John Tchicai 8/16/04 Disjecta, Portland, Or. There were only 23 people there. I counted. In between sets, John and the other two guys in the band stood outside with everyone else and chatted. He told me about what it was like to play with Jimmy Lyons on Cecil's '84 tour. Unbelievable. He played with a drummer and a guitar player that night. He tore that place up. I could not believe how solid his chops still were. I could only thank the guy for devoting his life to creativity, and feel shame for the rest of the city for not being there. 2. Roswell Rudd and Rob Scheps Quartet 1/23/99 Community Music Center, Portland, Or. This may have been the best show I've ever seen. They did an old Ernie Andrews tune ("Slide Mr. Trombone"), some Herbie Nichols, and a smoking version of Monk's "Green Chimneys" (no pun intended). I was suffering from a fever that night, so my ears were a little screwy, but that was the best music I have ever heard live. I also heard them rehearsing at Portland State University a couple weeks earlier. I was a student/teacher at the time. They rehearsed in the cafeteria, and nobody seemed to know who Rudd was. I quietly tried to restrain my enthusiasm (i.e., "Check it out! I'm breathing the same air in the same room as a trombone player who once played with Cecil Taylor, Steve Lacy, and Albert Ayler!") Some of Roswell's work desperately needs to be reissued, including the lovely Numatik Swing Band and the impossible to find Blown Bone. 3. Peter Brotzmann Tentet +2 6/20/00 McGuire Auditorium, Warner Pacific College, Portland, Or. We don't get many decent jazz gigs here in Portland. For some reason, on a Wednesday night (I think), we had the Brotzmann Tentet and Buell Neidlinger doing gigs in separate venues on the same night. Oh, the pain. Being a big Brotzmann guy, I went to that gig. They made the paint peel off the walls. 4. Anthony Braxton 8/20/97 Yoshi's, Oakland, Ca. I drove from Portland to Oakland to catch two nights of Braxton at Yoshi's. If I had the coins, I would have stayed the whole week. I originally had tickets for the 8/19/97 sets, but on the way down I got stuck in Northern California when the transmission gave out, after it was serviced by Jiffy Lube. (Note: never let Jiffy Lube change your transmission fluid; they kill transmissions, because they never drop the pan and dispose of the debris before adding new fluid. Ok, lesson learned. . . ) Yoshi's graciously understood my plight and moved my tickets to 8/20 and 8/21. When I reached Yoshi's in the rental car (my car was still stranded in Northern Cali), I was tired but ready. Holy S--t! All of a sudden I wasn't tired anymore. I'm seeing Anthony Braxton tonight! When he strolled up to the stage and broke into what has now been released as Comp. 209 (on Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997, Vol. 2), I was lost in time and space for the next hour. There are many magic moments in life, and most of them happen when you don't expect it. This was something for which I had hoped, and it happened. I am still thankful. Honorable mention: 1. Ornette Coleman 3/20/04 Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, Ca. Ornette. Wow. The pure thrill of having a ticket in your hand that will let you see this amazing master work is an experience itself. When the show started, the music was so engaging and true that I still can't put words to it. 2. Hancock/Shorter/Holland/Blade 6/18/04 Britt Festival, Jacksonville, Or. It wasn't the best music I had heard from any of them, but it was damn good. It was nice to see them on the stage being creative together, playing completely "unplugged." It was a gift, and I am still thankful for the experience. They really need to come out with a double CD (or more) of this tour.

My next Mosaic will be the Lou Donaldson set. Can anyone tell me whether it represents some of his best work? I bought the Roach and Stitt sets on Wednesday. Oh, I am high on anticipation (come on, postman, deliver tomorrow . . . ). I have three stereos in my house, and I'm so stoked that I might just play three discs at once just to get it all in the body more quickly.

Peter Brötzmann Tentet (+2) and The Come Sunday Ensemble "Two Lightboxes" A side: Peter Brötzmann, reeds; Ken Vandermark, reeds; Mats Gustafsson, reeds; Mars Williams, reeds; Joe McPhee, valve trombone; Jeb Bishop, trombone; Roy Campbell, trumpet; Fred Lonberg-Holm, lightbox operator; William Parker, bass; Kent Kessler, bass; Michael Zerang, drums; Hamid Drake, drums. Recorded at Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago on 5 July 2000. B side: Jim Baker, keyboard; Ken Vandermark, reeds; Mats Gustafsson, reeds; Jeb Bishop, trombone; Sebi Tramontana, trombone; Fred Lonberg-Holm, lightbox operator; Lou Mallozzi, turntables, CDs, tapes, microphones; Kent Kessler, bass; Michael Zerang, drums; Tim Mulvenna, drums. Recorded at Einstein, Munich on 2 April 2000 during Come Sunday 2 "Chicago Diary". Nice pressing, plain labels, and solid music. It has been selling for around $30 on eBay, but you can still find this for $15 at http://www.tonevendor.com/item/15533 It is a limited edition of 500 copies.

The set is expensive, the booklet is brief and doesn't add anything to the set, and some of the playing times of the discs are pretty short. Still, this set is a must have if you are a Taylor fan. One might think that 10 CDs of Taylor/Oxley/Parker might be overkill, but no, it is all good. The textures and territories explored over the week were varied and quite interesting. I like the mix too, as you can hear everyone clearly. The music has a delicate nature to it in many places. Yep, go ahead and buy it--you will not regret it. I'm not sure what the exchange rate would be if you bought a copy from the US, but I picked one up from the following website last year: http://www.ear-rational.com/index.php?sear...rm=cecil+taylor They had to special order it, but that only took about 10 days. I'm not sure if they still do it, but when I ordered mine they gave me 10% off the list price because it was my first order with them. It looks like they have it for $207.50. JazzLoft has it too, but they are selling it for $224.99.

Paul, That is great to hear. Now would you be interested in selling it to me? Just send me an email if so. Matt Martini minniespawn@mindspring.com

A Lacy recording that I have really been enjoying lately is School Days with Roswell Rudd: It took me a couple of spins to fully get into it, but since then it has been hard to get out of the CD player. Besides Lacy and Rudd, the group features Henry Grimes and Dennis Charles. Allegedly, the session was recorded in 1963. It is worth seeking out. I think it might be OOP again, but you can find copies at www.jazzloft.com. I picked one up for $20 a couple of weeks ago. One Lacy/Rudd LP for which I have been searching years is Roswell's Blown Bone (Phillips RJ-7490 J rec NYC 3/26/76 3/27/76). I think it was only released in Japan. It is at the top of my list of recordings that should be reissued, simply because it has been impossible to find. Has anyone heard it?

I'm thinking about buying this: http://www.atavistic.com/artist.cfm?action...=142&itemid=234 Can anyone tell me the dimensions of the book? Is the binding decent?

I have had nothing but problems with them. They even charged me for a preorder and then informed me weeks later (after I contacted them) that they did not have it in stock: ----- Original Message ----- From: "Claire" <. . . @caiman.com> Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 6:28 AM Subject: In Ref.. order from Caiman.com Dear Customer, We regret to inform you that at this time, the item Third Season [Audio CD] Hank Mobley you ordered is in back order. It will take 2 to 3 weeks to ship. If you wish, we can cancel your order or keep it open. Please let me know. We apologize for the inconvenience. Sincerely, Claire Customer Service ________________________________ I'm glad to hear that someone is having a good experience with them, because that has not been the case with my dealings with them. To charge someone for a preorder without having the item in stock, IMO, amounts to attempted theft, even if they are good at issuing a refund upon request.

I picked up two seats for his show in Portland on 3/12. It will be the third time I’ve seen him, and it is always a treat, even though his prime is so far behind him that he cannot see it in his rearview mirror. I love him anyway, merely for his grand contribution to music. His voice, although always a source of scrutiny, really started deteriorating after 1978, IMO. Before that it was still the subject of many jokes, but he was actually was quite expressive in using it. I love the irony in his brilliant lyrics in the 60s and 70s, particularly because he could accentuate it in his singing. Bob was quite good at communicating this via his voice back then. I have always preferred his own renditions of his songs rather than others’ renditions for this very reason. I’m not expecting much, and frankly, if he plays Nashville Skyline and splits, I’ll be okay with it. If he wants to do re-vamped versions of his hits, that’s fine too. I don’t think anyone expects much. We just love Bob. That said, I hope he doesn’t play Neil Young tunes, unless he has Crazy Horse backing him up (now that might be a trip! Well, maybe not). Having read that he played ample keyboards on his last tour, I wonder if he will be playing lap steel or washboard for this one . . .

Black Sabbath from '70-'78 was fantastic and much more musically diverse (for a rock act--let's keep it in perspective here) than most people realize. Although their first three albums generally get the most attention, in recent years I find myself listening to Sabatoge and Volume 4 more often than their earliest efforts, which are also stellar. Their last two albums with Ozzy were not up to par with their previous efforts (all of which were impeccable for rock albums), but they are still pretty decent listens these days. I highly recommend the box set. You may find that Tony Iommi deserves to be ranked very highly among the greatest rock guitarists of all-time, and that there was once a time when Ozzy Osbourne was a young, talented lad who did not drool on himself on MTV. Yes, Ozzy was great back then, and we should respect that too.

I will be at the June 18th show at the Britt too. I'm looking foward to it. Can you tell me anything about the venue? I have GA tickets. Can you hear gigs pretty well from the grass (i.e., do they have speakers placed throughout the venue), or do you need to be closer? Thanks.