jazzbo

I saw the Ellington Orchestra about five years ago and it was a great show. . .though I thought his grandson was a bit too Cab Callowayish . . . I would have prefered him to act differently but it's no business of mine! The sound was amazing and the charts they played were fantastic! I'd see them again if they came to town, indeed.

The JRVG of Sunday Mornin' that I have does NOT have any additional tracks. That very consistency that is mentioned about the TOCJs is one reason I'm a little dissatisfied with some and often prefer the sound of the JRVGs. That consistency seems to be eq application across the series to make it all sound the same. Date after date from RVGs studios and other studios did NOT sound the same. Anyway, to each their own--we're lucky to have several versions to choose from when we do!

I like both series, but actually prefer the JRVGs if I have a choice. If you adjust for polarity (yes, I'm a believer in this) when necessary, the sound is very good or suits me I should say. I like the packaging.

He did fine. He was sooooooooo laaaaaaaid back. You know you don't get Oscars unless you throw temper tantrums!

I agree, this is a very good cd, and probably my favorite of Carter's.

Okay, I've never watched more than three minutes of that show, and then in the original airing, and I thought it was very square. (Though I was so much hipper then, I'm squarer than that now). So I went to see the movie and I liked it. I'd say that as quoted above is accurate, not Royal Tannenbaum funny, but not American Pie either. In between somewhere. The tone was just about right if you ask me. Some great moments. Hey, I'm becoming an Owen Wilson fan. I actually liked "The Big Bounce," even though I might have been one of the 174 people who saw it nationally. . . .

It's a nice novelty thing to have. I would say don't go out of your way. But if it falls from the skies. . . don't pass it by.

Hey, if it was YOUR guitar, I can see being upset. I worked with guitar players that polished their axe every four minutes and would drape themselves and the axe in velvet to protect the darned things if they could. They were NOT the great players I worked with. . . . I love machines that work right and use the heck out of them. I try not to damage them, but I don't worry about dings and scratches. But that's just me.

Hey, it's his instrument. I hope that with the price tag it has that guitar sounds fantastic and is a great playing instrument. And the fact that he is playing it, using it as his axe and putting it through its paces and not treating it like a museum piece is in my opinion a good thing. Aren't these things made to be played with gusto?

Yes, I've seen some news stories about this. This is one of the most pernicious aspects of this film in my opinion, the merchandizing. That and the potential for misuse against "nonbelievers" of all types. . . .

In my case it was electric Miles and Louis Armstrong.

More and more I think that the first fifteen years of Blue Note may be the best (for my continued listening.) I wish this stuff (and more, like the wonderful Hodes dates) could stay in print. But no. . . .

Well JVC let me know that "Helen Merrill Sings the Beatles" will appear as an XRCD possibly this month, and that "Screen Favorites" may be out this year as an XRCD. . . .

Yes, those Goodman HEPs compiled by arranger are very very nice releases! As is the Peggy Lee collection on Columbia.

Soundies were sort of videos of the day, short films of bands that were actually in a sort of film-jukebox as well as used to open feature films, etc. http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/Pro...s/soundies.html

If you ever see it anywhere, grab "How High the Moon" on Moon Records cd; this is Basie Octet live (Soundies?) and excellent.

PD, in all due respect, I don't think that these are targeted to you, I don't think that Cuscuna would have considered these (and they haven't hit the street yet, I don't trust Alan's list to be GOSPEL) unless he did have a target audience in mind. I view this thread as "Mosaics that PD Disapproves Of." Okay. But there may be a fan base asking for these that will respond with acclaim and sales. The Slack may or may not sell better than the Hackett; unless you have actual numbers from Mosaic, I wonder how you can even begin to know how well that is selling or compare it to others. The Woody Shaw and Mobley sets weren't/aren't exactly leaping off the shelves, were they mistakes to produce? The Goodman Capitol set seems to have sold well, so wouldn't that seem to make a producer think a Columbia set could as well? Anyway, not sets that I am pretty interested in either; I have the Ella Mae Morse Bear Family set and some other Slack sides here and there, and I have a lot of Columbia Goodman in various media. But I'm not going to criticize Mosaic for thinking of producing these sets; Mosaic is not a slave to my idea of what they should direct their attention to. Just my two cents.

The cd is quite good; if the same band is involved this would be a good show.

Cuscuna should put all the Roulettes out, one by one. That would be a great jazz service. I grabbed the lp with strings last year and was glad to! Oh I'm a Basie nut.

YAWN.

Berkeley Daily Planet Edition Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Article Back to Mainpage Index of Sections Fantasy Records Up For Sale By Matthew Artz (03-02-04) Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, which owns many of the greatest recordings from the Golden Age of jazz, is for sale, according to a report in Billboard magazine. Fantasy executives refused to comment on the story published Friday, but one source confirmed the label was on the market. Billboard quoted an anonymous source that said the label, which generated sales of about $30 million in 2002, is being offered at $100 million, though a sale price will likely range from $64 million to $85 million, depending on yet unreleased 2003 earnings data. Fantasy?the largest record label in Northern California, with about 80 employees?owns legendary recordings by Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. It is also home to Creedence Clearwater Revival, a famous rock group. The company is the product of decades of record label acquisitions that allowed it to amass one of the largest troves of jazz and rhythm and blues music in world. Much of the company?s profits come from the repackaging of its catalog and selling songs for commercials or compilation albums, though the label does maintain an active roster of performers, including Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Scott and Berkeley High graduate Dave Ellis. Typically when a record label is sold, the buyer keeps the operation in place to preserve relations with its musicians, said David Card, media analyst for Jupiter Research. But Fantasy?s emphasis on its catalog business has some wondering if a sale would mean the label would leave Berkeley. Fantasy spokesperson Terri Hinte said, ?It was way too premature? to talk about what would happen to employees if a sale went through. Possible suitors include the label?s distributor, Beverly, Mass.-based Rykodisc, Beverly Hills-based Concord Records and New York-based Redux Records, Billboard reported. None of those companies returned phone calls Monday. Fantasy is a private company, and sorting through its financial data could be messy. Billboard speculated that this could result in a long due diligence period and a soft sales price. Fantasy also owns music studios located at its Berkeley headquarters. The company is headed by Saul Zaentz who has produced several movies, including The English Patient. A few years ago Fantasy backed out of a deal to sell its record business, said former Oakland Tribune Music Critic and Down Home Music Store employee Larry Kelp. He guessed that declining CD sales and the rapidly changing music business was driving their renewed interest in a sale. ?Their money is in CDs and CDs might not even exist soon. They might not want to figure out the next step,? said Kelp, adding that Zaentz was no longer actively involved in the record business. Despite declining revenues in the record industry, Dave Zaworski, associated editor of Down Beat Magazine said Fantasy would attract heavy interest. ?Their stuff will always sell,? he said. ?It would be enticing for a lot of labels.? Though the record industry has been racing towards consolidation, Zaworski said jazz has experienced an opposite trend. Major labels, including Atlantic and Columbia have dumped their jazz divisions, he said, offering more opportunities for smaller record companies. Fantasy was started in 1949 by Max and Sol Weiss. Zaentz bought the company in 1967. After the success of Creedence, he went on a buying spree and purchased top jazz labels, including Milestone, Riverside and Prestige. Kelp said that Fantasy maintains a family atmosphere, which makes the prospect of a sale even more unsettling. ?There?s probably almost 100 people who have been there most of their lives,? he said. ?It?s not a cutthroat company where the management is separate from the people.? ? http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article....4&storyID=18377

Thanks Claude.

Thought I remember that Spain did not sign off on the international agreements? Maybe it's just oldtimer's disease at work, but that would explain some of what goes on. . . .

Conn, unless one has one's head in the sand one should be able to see Imperialism at work today.

I agree with you D. It's quite an impressive book in many ways. It is NOT aimed at this audience as its target. And "opinion" is heavy everywhere in jazz writing. It's a plague! Many pointing fingers I find simply have a differing baggage of opinion behind them. Anyway, I bought one copy with a gift certificate to Tower from my dad, for the pictures and the facts within. Then the next year, Xmas 2002, he gave me a copy that he found remaindered! I gave that away to a friend.