Jimmy Lyons - alto saxophone Karen Borca - bassoon Hayes Burnett - bass Henry Letcher - drums Syd Smart - drums

Inherited that one from my late father in law.

What is this one? Looks fun. Why is Zappa I American?

world's smallest dog ("Pearl" - 3.6 inches tall) meets world's tallest dog ("Reggie" - 3 foot, 4 inches tall)

This one is good. As I said above, I do like Joel Ross. What I really don't like is that feeling that I am going to a jazz gig to learn and improve myself: Straight faced and studious players, opening with a speech about the importance of the music, and total silence solemn from the audience. That last factor has become a particular bugbear for me. I went to an Evan Parker show recently at OTO and accidentally fell over someone on my way to the loo. I tried to apologise (quietly) and the person I'd squashed actually shushed me. Fingers on the lips, like I was a schoolchild. I think it is a great thing for a musician to play the music that he or she loves, and hard bop and post bop is music that I love to hear.  The tradition to which these musicians have decided to dedicate themselves is a raucous one where the music was played to be enjoyed.  Quality wise I think that these modern Blue Note records can be hit and miss, but I do make sure to check them out, because they're rarely rubbish and some are good. I think that the hit rate is probably higher than the likes of International Anthem or Clean Feed. That doesn't mean that they're all great but current output is pretty good.