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It is kinda weird. It's the same way with the latest Miles Davis Plugged Nickel box. My best guess is that they make a lot more money off of the LP versions.

I thought the gold 7 CD Japanese box set was issued shortly before the US 8 CD version? Discogs says that the gold set came out in Feebruary 1995 and the US set just says 1995. I seem to remember getting ready to order the (expensive) Japanese set right when they announced the US release. I think you & I chatted a bit about this as you had the Japanese set.

I remember that business about the defective disk. 30 years ago so I am not positive it was the plugged nickel set but there definitely was a set with one cd defective, they sent replacements and eventually fixed the unsold boxes or something like that. Then when you bought it you were hoping this particular copy had the updated cd.

@bertrand I don't think we're picking fights. I know we're definitely not trying to piss you off. I have to say... I don't recall the complete Plugged Nickel set having an issue with one of the CDs either and a deep-dive Google search comes up blank. I even searched the Internet wayback machine. I would think that if this happened as you are recalling, someone, somewhere should have either a set with a defective disc or a set with the corrected CD-R disc but I am having no luck finding any for sale. Does anyone here have a set with a CD-R or a defective disc? I would not be happy if a box set with a defective disc was replaced with a CD-R. Long term CD-R reliability is all over the place, with some people losing large batches and others seeing no degradation. It may even be coming down to how they were burned at this point and not the blank media used.

Well I would not myself say that this set has been completely invisible for thirty years. Japan reissued their version of it on gold cd after the US set went out of print, and another company released more than half of it as an LP set; individual and 2 cd versions have been reissued separately and as part of the "Complete Columbia Album" box set. Much of the music has been bouncing around. I too would not recommend this to a jazz novice. . . but I also don't think it's that inaccessible to someone who is on a jazz journey.

I got some of them really digging Herbie's "Head Hunters". I could crank that and they would all seem to dig it. For some reason, straight ahead stuff just didn't work for most of them. My wife enjoys Jazz pianists. She's less enthused with reeds & trumpet players.

I was wondering why this set has been out of print for 30 years. I mean Miles Davis - they are reissuing him over and over all over the place! And yet this sat for 30 years. I was listening to it yesterday and it occurred to me that that this set is somewhat challenging for a novice jazz listener. Most of the studio stuff is fairly short tunes with theme statement, solos, theme statement, coda. But this set is sort of for the advanced class. Sometimes the melody doesn't appear till way into the tune and in a mutated form, the solos are abstract and experimental - without some background it could be hard to grok. I was very impressed with this when I got it back in the nineties but I have listened to it less than other miles. I think everybody should hear it at some point but it maybe is not the best set to play to a jazz newbie. Yes, I have had better luck bringing newbies to a live jazz performance than playing a record for them. You are there, watching them play, picking up cues from the audience - it's exciting.

Right up my alley, that ~62-65 era Kirk stuff is my favorite of his. also very fascinated to hear some more Jane Getz from this period

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Yes. Enticing, for sure!

Sounds really good!

Getting coworkers to enjoy jazz may require a bit more strategy. I once had a coworker who often listened to recordings of classical music performed on a piano. So I brought in a Bill Evans CD, and she liked the jazz that Bill Evans performed.

I’ve brought many friends to live shows. Mostly very abstract avant-garde music. Most like or even loved it. All have different backgrounds in listening. One is a huge Dead listener (like me). Others are into Tool, popular music or are into straight jazz, modern punk or post punk. None had ever heard any of the music I go see live as most of it is beneath the underground and seemingly incomprehensible. Much more “out” than the great mid 60’s Miles quintet. key is that they go in with little pre-conceived ideas about what it or or try to understand it. With an open mind most anyone will find something to like with genius master musicians improvising in a small intimate room. Mat Maneri, Hamid Drake, Gerry Hemingway, David Torn, Ches Smith, Nate Wooley, Brandon Lopez, Nels Cline, Randy Peterson, Darius Jones, Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid, Michael Foster, Tyshawn Sorey, Chuck Roth, Tom Rainey or Tony Malaby playing in front of an unsuspecting listener? Almost all can’t believe nobody knows these musicians after the shows. They know it’s “out” but they don’t hear it the way serious straight ahead jazz listeners hear it. A few struggled with the purely improvised stuff but most get into the actual playing. My wife liked it. Sometimes the screaming altissimo stuff might get her a bit nervous, but she LOVED the drummers.

Just saw this at Dusty Groove. 11-7-25 release date. From Mr. Newton's website: "In the summer of 1983, a reimagined version of the James Newton Quartet emerged onto the European jazz scene. Promoter/Booking Agent Stephan Meyner, also the artistic director of Minor Music Recording Company, organized the Quartet’s tour. After decades of being out of touch, Stephan contacted me, expressing his regret that the Quartet had not released a recording to commemorate its contributions to the art form. However, his research paid off when he unearthed a recording of the Quartet’s performance in Willisau, Switzerland. Willisau is known for its passionate love of Jazz and is also the hosting city of the internationally recognized Willisau Jazz Festival. The James Newton Quartet members for this European tour included Geri Allen on piano, Anthony Cox on bass, and Andrew Cyrille on drums. The Willisau Jazz Festival recording is among the first recordings of Ms. Allen’s long, historic, and distinguished career. Like Geri Allen, Anthony Cox and Andrew Cyrille possess great fluency with tradition and cutting-edge modernity. This trio also recorded one of the greatest recordings of the last fifty years, Printmakers on Minor Music Recording. James Newton Quartet Live In Willisau will be available in the fall 2025." In the summer of 1983, a reimagined version of the James Newton Quartet emerged onto the European jazz scene. Promoter/Booking Agent Stephan Meyner, also the artistic director of Minor Music Recording Company, organized the Quartet’s tour. After decades of being out of touch, Stephan contacted me, expressing his regret that the Quartet had not released a recording to commemorate its contributions to the art form. However, his research paid off when he unearthed a recording of the Quartet’s performance in Willisau, Switzerland. Willisau is known for its passionate love of Jazz and is also the hosting city of the internationally recognized Willisau Jazz Festival. The James Newton Quartet members for this European tour included Geri Allen on piano, Anthony Cox on bass, and Andrew Cyrille on drums. The Willisau Jazz Festival recording is among the first recordings of Ms. Allen’s long, historic, and distinguished career. Like Geri Allen, Anthony Cox and Andrew Cyrille possess great fluency with tradition and cutting-edge modernity. This trio also recorded one of the greatest recordings of the last fifty years, Printmakers on Minor Music Recording. James Newton Quartet Live In Willisau will be available in the fall 2025.

Somebody define "noodling* in an objective, quantifiable way. Please.

Jim - you did say, "that's just ignuntass bullshit reflective of an ignuntass worldview", which most people would read as implying that someone who holds this contrarian view of your opinion on this is ignorant. While I don't read it that way, you leave it open to that interpretation, especially when you added, " if somebody has an opinion rooted in ignorance and not at least a little bit of awareness, then I feel no obligation to respect it" which leaves little room for debating it with you. @Stompin at the Savoy I worked in the high tech industry for decades with some pretty brilliant people. Over the years, I tried getting a lot of them to listen to Jazz - often by playing it in the lab on a boombox to get it heard - and a lot of them came over and said that they didn't like it because it sounded like noodling. This is not an uncommon perception amongst people who don't listen to it much. I did get a lot of them to listen and quite a few started listening on their own. I even took a couple to Jazz shows. This thread is taking some strange turns.

October 9, 2025: Paul Cornish Trio, JazzTX, San Antonio October 10 2025: Paul Cornish Trio, Monk's Jazz Club, Austin Stanley Clarke, Carver Center, San Antonio Richard Bona and Asante Trio, Royal Palace Restaurant and Lounge, Addison October 11, 2025: Richard Bona and Asante Trio, Royal Palace Restaurant and Lounge, Addison Tutu Jones, The Goat, Dallas October 12, 2025: Joy Clark, Little Freddie King, Bobby Rush, Crescent City Blues Festival, New Orleans October 13, 2025: Clarence Johnson III, Scat Jazz, Fort Worth October 17, 2025: Walter Smith III Quartet, Wortham Theater, Houston October 21, 2025: Lila Downs, Jones Hall, Houston October 24, 2025: Jackie Venson, Tulips FTW, Fort Worth Camille Thurman Quartet, Walton Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas Quamon Fowler, Scat Jazz, Fort Worth Joe McPhee, Alienated Majesty, No Idea Festival, Austin Joshua Redman, The Mansion, Austin October 25, 2025: Joe McPhee, Scottish Rite Theater, No Idea Festival, Austin Shelley Carrol, Scat Jazz, Fort Worth Joshua Redman, The Music Box, Austin October 29, 2025: Chuck Redd, Parker Jazz Club, Austin November 5, 2025: Cory Weeds, Parker Jazz Club, Austin November 9, 2025: Artemis, House of Blues, Houston November 10, 2025: Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Walton Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas November 12, 2025: Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Meyerson, Dallas November 14, 2025: Nicholas Payton Quartet, Wortham Theater, Houston Wynton Marsalis, Grand Opera House, Galveston Mike Stern, Guitar Sanctuary, McKinney November 15, 2025: Wynton Marsalis, Hogg Auditorium, Austin Mike Stern Band, Walton Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas Kunal Gunjal (Santoor) & Amit Kavthekar (Tabla), ICMC, Plano November 16, 2025: Wynton Marsalis, Hobby Center, Houston November 21, 2025: Anat Cohen, The Clarion at brazosport College, Lake Jackson November 22,2025: Jim Snidero, Scat Jazz, Fort Worth January 10, 2026: Jackie Venson, Antone's, Austin January 17, 2026: Jackie Venson, Antone's, Austin January 24, 2026: Jackie Venson, Antone's Austin January 31, 2026: Jackie Venson, Antone's, Austin February 22, 2026: Branford Marsalis Quaret, Wortham Theater, Houston March 7, 2026: Pat Metheny Side-Eye, Wortham Theater, Houston March 13, 2026: T.K. Blue and African Rhythms Alumni, A Tribute to Randy Weston, Walton Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas March 21, 2026: Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival, Southside Preservation Hall, Fort Worth March 26-29, 2026: Pat Metheny Side-Eye III, Chucho Valdes Royal Quartet, John Scofield Trio, Marc Ribot, Shabaka, Mary Halvorson, Julian Lage Quartet, John Zorn (Various), Chicago Underground Duo, Marquis Hill Blacktet, Brandon Woody, Brian Marsella, Chad Taylor Quintet, Ches Smith Clone Row, Darius Jones Trio, Dave Douglas Gifts Quartet, Either/Orchestra, Harriet Tubman & Georgia Ann Muldrow, Isaiah Collier, Marilyn Crispell & Harvey Sorgen, Matt Mitchelll's Zealous Angles, Miles Okazaki: The Compete Monk, Miles Okazaki Trickster, Nate Smith, Nik Bartsch, Nik Bartsch Ronin, Openness Trio, Orchestre Baobab, Patricia Brennan Septet, Sullivan Fortner Trio, Tim Berne, Tom Skinner, William Hooker Quartet, Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee April 1, 2026: Samara Joy, Winspear Opera House, Dallas April 2, 2026: Kaia Kater, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Little Rock, Arkansas Samora Joy, Austin City Limits April 4, 2026: Samora Joy, Tobin Center, San Antonio April 10, 2026: Coltrane at 100 (Joe Lovano, Melissa Aldana, Ndudzo Makhathini, Matt Garrison, Jefftain Watts), Cullen Theater, Houston April 23-26, 2026: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival April 30-May 3, 2026: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival May 9, 2026: Hiromi's Sonic Wonder, Cullen Theater, Houston May 16, 2026: Chucho Valdes, Paramount Theater, Austin

Roscoe Mitchell, In Walked Buckner (Delmark)