BFrank

I saw them last Spring at Fez with Craig Handy, Vincent Herring and Randy Brecker - among others. It was a whole lotta fun. Check it OUT.

Speaking of sad turn of events: +++ Ex-MVP Caminiti dies of heart attack at 41 / Associated Press Posted: 9 minutes ago NEW YORK (AP) - Ken Caminiti, the 1996 National League MVP who later admitted using steroids during his major league career, died Sunday. He was 41. Caminiti died of a heart attack in the Bronx, said his agent-lawyer Rick Licht. The city medical examiner's office said an autopsy would be performed Monday, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said. "I'm still in shock," San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. "He was one of my favorite all-time players." The three-time All-Star third baseman often was in trouble the last few years. His 15-year big league career ended in 2001, five seasons after he led the Padres to a division title and was a unanimous pick for MVP. Just last Tuesday, he admitted in a Houston court that he violated his probation by testing positive for cocaine last month, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. But state District Judge William Harmon gave Caminiti credit for the 189 days he already served in jail and a treatment facility since he was sentenced to three years probation for a cocaine arrest in March 2001. In May 2002, Caminiti told Sports Illustrated that he used steroids during his MVP season, when he hit a career-high .326 with 40 home runs and 130 RBIs. He estimated half the players in the big leagues were also using them. Caminiti returned to baseball this year as a spring training instructor with San Diego. "When I saw him in spring training, he didn't look good," Towers said. "I'm not surprised." "The best way to describe him is that he was a warrior in every sense of the word. I can't tell you how many times I remember him hobbling into the manager's office, barely able to walk, and saying, 'Put me in the lineup."' Licht said Caminiti was in New York this past weekend to help a friend, but did not go into detail. "Man, that's just a tough one. I played with him for eight years," Dodgers outfielder Steve Finley said Sunday night, learning of Caminiti's death after St. Louis eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs. "He was a great player, but he got mixed up in the wrong things - taking drugs. It's a sad reminder of how bad drugs are and what they can do to your body. It's a loss all of us will feel." Caminiti batted .272 with 239 homers and 983 RBIs with Houston, San Diego, Texas and Atlanta.

No way to know. As I said......."one game at a time"

Dodgers finally WIN one! Lima pitches the game of his life. 5-hit complete game shut-out. Still got a BIG hole to climb out of, but if they play "one game at a time", there's still hope.

Listening to "Planet Love" right now. Ernie certainly throws off some RIPPING licks on this album. After that I put on Don Menza's "First Flight" and realized how similar their styles are.

I sort of remember it. That Columbia stuff was never among his best work, though.

Yeah........mine, too! When I tried to pull it off, it was tearing the paper, so I left it on. BTW, maybe "swiss style" is referring to the font? Swiss is a popular sans serif font.

I really didn't mean "smooth" in the quiet storm kind of way. Only that he doesn't have the harsh tone of Ervin.

Did you notice the graphics on the INSIDE of the box?

Well, maybe a bit like Booker.........but smoother (not in a bad way, either). Someone should re-issue this set, for sure.

Mine arrived today. Starting with disk #2, it sounds great! I have the vinyl of "In Europe" and the audio quality is a million times better here. I can only imagine the rest of the set. This one's a keeper, for sure! B-)

Sure....he's still active. I saw him in '03 with McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson & Jack DeJohnette. Great show!

Only for the rest of the week???? Then what?

One not mentioned is "Montreux Suisse Air" on Novus from 1978. Basically, it's hard to pick a "best" one - they're ALL good!

After a screening of "The Big Lebowski," Patrick Evans laughs at Billy Doyle as The Dude character. Chronicle photo by Mike Kepka SF Chronicle Bowling, 'The Dude' and 200 'Achievers' Showing of cult film 'The Big Lebowski' draws the faithful - Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, September 27, 2004 The cult of Lebowski has arrived in the Bay Area. That's Lebowski -- as in Jeff Lebowski, the protagonist in the 1998 Coen brothers film, "The Big Lebowski." But please, call him "The Dude." The movie about a middle-aged stoner/slacker anti-hero played by Jeff Bridges has grown in popularity since its paltry box office debut. And, in only a few years, it has joined that special class of cinema that inspires some fans to go a little nutty. "Lebowski Fest" -- a celebration of all things Lebowski -- has been held around the country, and a showing of the film Saturday night in a parking lot near Oakland's Jack London Square attracted more than 200 people. Many of those same fans attended a party later at the Oakland arts cooperative Oaklandish, which sponsored the showing, competing in a costume contest and a trivia challenge. Melissa Schaefer, a 26-year-old "Achiever" (the preferred name for the Lebowski faithful) who organized the event, has seen the film a mere 15 times. "That's not average for Achievers at all," she said, somewhat embarrassed. Schaefer was dressed as Saddam Hussein, who makes an appearance as a bowling shoe cleaner in one of the movie's dream sequences/drug trips. She envisioned such a showing as a way to connect different groups of friends who constantly quote the movie. "I was like, 'I need to get them together so they can quote at each other and away from me.' But the funny thing is in watching this a million times and organizing it, I am now one of them," she said. The movie's fans in Oakland couldn't pinpoint why the movie resonates with so many, but they had an even harder time articulating what the movie means. "What's it about? Good question. I can't really say," said Billy Doyle, a 33-year-old San Franciscan who dressed as The Dude, for the event - pajama bottoms, sandals, a Corona Baja pullover and a White Russian in hand. His shaggy hair was pulled into a pony tail. "I think why a lot of people like it is they see The Dude, and want to have a life like that. Not particularly like his, but one that's carefree," he said. Generally, the film's plot revolves around The Dude's quest to replace his living room rug. In a case of mistaken identity, thugs looking for a different Jeff Lebowski, who is a millionaire, beat up The Dude, then urinate on his rug. He's upset because -- and here's an oft quoted line -- the rug "really tied the room together." The Dude, whose only real interest is bowling, finds the other Lebowski. The film continues in a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" style where the plot results from the interacting personalities of the characters rather than life events guiding the development of those characters. Or simply: The characters don't learn from their mistakes. John Goodman plays The Dude's closest friend, Walter, a Vietnam veteran who fluctuates between states of post traumatic stress disorder and devout Judaism. Other characters include a feminist artist seeking a sperm donor, the ex-porn star wife of the millionaire Lebowski and an arch nemesis bowler/child molester. "I think it's really about the characters," Schaefer said. "You think of your friends like this who you can't deal with and you love them anyway." The movie is so popular more than 4,000 Achievers attended a "Lebowski Fest" in Louisville, Ky., in June and 1,500 packed a bowling alley in Queens in August for the New York City stop. The Bay Area is not an official festival site, so Saturday's showing was a guerrilla event. For Dan Moore, a 34-year-old Mountain View resident who set up lawn chairs and a coffee table on top of a Dude-esque rug, the film gets funnier every time he watches it. Many of the film's scenes have subtleties that appear elsewhere, in effect tying the film together, he said. "It's about The Dude; for him, he has a really simple life. And something for him that tied it all together was taken and he is trying to get it back. He's not really sure how he's doing it and all these forces are acting for him or against him. He just goes along trusting that it will work out," said Moore, who has seen the film more than 30 times. Moore said that philosophy resonates with him, and it's a connection with The Dude that seems to draw most of the film's fans. "Everyone can understand The Dude. You know, sometimes you just got to let go, just like The Dude," Schaefer said. "The Dude abides."

I say......go for the Patton Select and either the Gerald Wilson box (since you're thinking of Carmell Jones anyway) or the Byrd/Adams set. Good luck!

I have an album I picked up in the 70's on World Pacific Jazz that I still think is great. Ernie Watts Quartet - "Planet Love". After finding that I scrounged up a couple of cut-outs at the time: Richard Groove Holmes & Ernie Watts - "Come Together" (also on WPJ) and The Ernie Watts Encounter (on Vault) - "The Wonder Bag", a collection of Stevie Wonder tunes. Aside from some work he did with FZ, I haven't listened to his more recent work.

I would get the Gerald Wilson before I get the Carmell Jones. I've found that the Carmell Select doesn't hold up as well as I would have thought. Besides.....the Wilson set is just a hell of a lot of FUN!

I've got the Pullens except for the last solo set. I think I'm OK without getting that one. The Dexter sounds interesting. I always liked "Manhattan Symphonie" and thought that was a bit under-rated. I saw that quartet at the Keystone in '77 and although I don't remember the set specifically, I'm sure it was smokin'.

Mosaic craziness!! Curtis Fuller - $250 Thad Jones - $150 Lee Morgan - $200

Some of those are still in print, so you could check the Mosaic website and make him an offer based on what you could get it for new. Thad Jones and Curtis Fuller are on the hard bop side, if you want to get those. They both went OOP about a year and a half ago and are 3CD sets (orig price $48). They typically sell on ebay for between $70-$100. [update] - There's a Thad Jones on ebay now that's up to $150, but I think that's an aberration.

#701

September 18, 2004 Tape of Hendrix Stockholm Concert Found By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Technicians at Sweden's public television have unearthed an unexpected delight for music lovers -- a complete original recording of a Jimi Hendrix concert in Stockholm from 1969 on a tape long thought to have been destroyed. The unmarked tape was recently found stashed on a shelf deep inside the station's enormous archives during a project to transfer archived material from tape and film to digital, SVT spokeswoman Catarina Wilson said Friday. "They looked through the tape and found it had some Jimi Hendrix,'' Wilson said. "Then they saw it had a lot of Jimi Hendrix -- the entire concert, which is what makes this tape unique.'' The black-and-white recording from Stockholm's concert hall was ordered destroyed by a producer in 1969, a time when it was too expensive to keep all raw footage, Wilson said. Hendrix died in 1970. Wilson said it was likely that one of the state-run network's workers, perhaps a Hendrix fan, stashed it on the shelf, where it sat for 35 years gathering dust. Part of the 56-minute concert was broadcast on SVT in 1969, before the Jimi Hendrix Experience disbanded, but it has never been shown in its entirety. SVT is determining if it still has the rights to show the entire broadcast of the concert. "Of course we realize that this is great material that we would love to show,'' Wilson said.

Not exactly earth-shattering prices. But a nice gesture, anyway.

If you list them, someone will surely be able to price them out for you.