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Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - with the LSO

Walter Bishop Jr.: Speak Low. Muse Records MR 5066 [US 1975]

George Coleman - My Horns of Plenty (Birdology/Verve, 1991)

From my shelf ... Various: Milestone Twofers. 2xLP Sampler. Milestone/Bellaphon BJS 4070 [Germany 1973]

The bar is being lowered, meaning reduced benefit.

I’m on to another Tom Harrell. His work captivates me and I often have to hear more than one at a sitting. I think it’s in part because his “sound” is very like my best friend’s on the trumpet, and I sense the connection. Another one on High Note, by that same great working band. Tom Harrell “The Time of the Sun” High Note

Your attitude has hardened. You view the errors as signs of irremediable character traits in the producer and have written him off. I agree with you that there have been some significant issues. Zev is not a good writer and has, in my view, kind of bad taste. He is attracted to glitzy, glossy sort of stuff. All that means is he should delegate and let others design the covers, booklets and advertising and write the copy while he handles the bigger picture with more care. Those are my constructive suggestions but the truth is I don't care much about Zev - I care about the music and focus on the product coming out of my speakers: is there benefit to music lovers such as myself in these releases?

This again: I have a bunch of Steve Kuhn records, and I think this is one of his best.

Giving the benefit of the doubt too often is just saying, hey, that's ok, it's not important. Well, it is important. And ok - how DO you not notice a totally different tenor player. An obvious difference in sound and tone. How do you get a drummer totally wrong when the source tape clearly gives the correct name. How do you not go forward with a major project without making sure that all the rights have been properly assigned/granted? These are not minor mistakes. A first-rate producer notices these things, researches them, and gets it right before taking the product to market. And I'm not somebody squawking from the bleachers. I'm a paying customer. I've got a right to bitch about stuff like this, if only because not once has this been a mea culpa issued. Not once. I believe the word that fits this guy is hubris?

What is most impressive to me is that the whole thing is free!

"All the bullshit" I assume means self promotion. He's in a business where promotion is part of the game. His advertising doesn't really harm the product and basically I don't care about it. Presumably by "blatant, oblivious fuckups" you are referring to the fact that he didn't notice the presence of a player on one disk and he endangered another release by shooting his mouth off. These are sins I find forgivable and I am willing to give Zev the benefit of the doubt. Why? Because I have made mistakes of a similar sort in other circs. I have some releases he produced that were good quality and reasonable price. All My Yesterdays by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis comes to mind. Excellent release, IMO. He could use some constructive criticism on the overdone packaging and liner notes which are long but don't really illuminate...

Fantastic.

This again:

You know who I'm willing to cut quite a bit of slack? Those who bring a quality product at whatever is a fair price - without all the bullshit and blatant, oblivious fuckups.

Well, he produces reissues and recent 'discoveries' so I am willing to cut him quite a bit of slack. Yes he does toot his own horn too much and yes I hate the idea of expensive, luxury vinyl in limited editions that I will never buy. That said I assume he is doing this as a career, has to make money at it somehow, and pricey vinyl is a thing right now, incomprehensible as it may seem to me...

Terrific!

Straight ahead but highly enjoyable session by a swinging band. Hutch was young but already in great shape.

Perfect!

How is that? Never heard