Justin V

I have had The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady near the stereo for a few weeks ready to go, so I'll be sure to play it soon to celebrate Mingus.

I received a replacement disc from Savoy maybe two years ago after buying a used set on Amazon. I was impressed by the fact that they sent the replacement so many years after the set came out.

The great Richard Davis turned 88 today. I hope that he had an enjoyable birthday, and I will be listening to some of his work in the upcoming days.

I hope someone picked up the soundtrack to hear that Hartman album, which is amazing.

He did a four-night stand at the Blue Note last month to celebrate his birthday and did another gig there back in September. I caught the September gig and had plans to catch two sets last month, but I couldn't make it to New York due to circumstances beyond my control. I have been bummed out about it ever since.

I have gone nuts buying used CDs from Reckless on rare trips to Chicago and have ordered online many times from them. I have bought two items from them that were defective, but it wasn't an issue returning them. One faulty disc was one of about 40 I bought and they refunded my card with a quick phone call. The other was an online order for an Art Blakey Mosaic. I had listened to it once and then found out two months later that my new stereo didn't like one of the discs. Despite a significant amount of time having passed, they still refunded me promptly when I sent the set back. To sum up, I have had hardly any issues with defective discs and their customer service was excellent. If I were you, I'd order the set.

Thanks, Kevin!

The new DownBeat with the summer festival guide is out. I am assuming that the Detroit Jazz Fest has an ad with some lineup spoilers like they normally do. Could someone list the artists mentioned in the ad and save me the trouble of tracking down a place that sells DownBeat?

There is a new one listed on eBay for about 40 bucks after shipping. There may be other listings as well.

I was at both shows when Brotzmann and Leigh played the Beachland Ballroom. Although Brotzmann is known for his intensity, I think that in duos he shows that in his heart he is actually a very melodic reedist. I know that Brotzmann puts his pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us, but it was kind of surreal to see him perusing the Whole Foods salad bar with Leigh. He comes across as a pretty quiet, self-effacing man, but I have never spoken to him at a gig.

I need to pick up more of Charles Lloyd's music. I hope he had a happy birthday. I'll have to spin Which Way Is East soon. I think that it is a moving recording documenting a close friendship between two deep musicians.

Thank you for the music, Mr. Neidlinger, and rest in peace.

The great Roy Haynes turned 93 today. I hope that he is having a happy birthday, and I wish him the best.

I'm glad to hear he is doing well.

I talked very briefly with Mr. Cables and Mr. McBee once after catching The Cookers and they both struck me as being genuinely nice men on top of being two of the greats. It warmed my heart to see so many people stepping up to help Mr. Cables. I hope his recovery goes well.

Allen, people from this forum have supported your rwork throughout the years and yet you complain about people from the forum not attending your shows, this time with a dig in your thread title. You left in a fit for months only to return and continue to promote yourself here. If you don't value the support you have received, maybe you should move on or just keep the snarky comments to yourself.

I saw Sonny at the Detroit Jazz Fest the fall before he retired, I believe, and I had front-row tickets for a concert he had to cancel due to his health issues. I'm glad that I got to see him perform three times and that he is still with us and engaging with people. If Sonny were to go on a speaking tour, to promote an autobiography or to just speak, it'd be a must-attend event.

Speaking of Byers, that reminds me that it has been too long since I've listened to The Hawk in Hi Fi.

Most is on Frank Strazzeri's Frank's Blues, which is an underrated gem.

Billy Wallace's playing on Max Roach's Jazz in 3/4 Time is brilliant. I knew that he was suffering from dementia, but I am glad that he spent his later years being such a beloved fixture of the Denver scene. Thank you for the music, Mr. Wallace, and rest in peace.

Crap. My wife and I are expecting our first child this month and I believe that is the chair that is sitting in the baby's room.

This is just a random observation, but I had literally never before seen a trumpeter mainly play with two fingers while having their ring finger tucked to the side; I found myself staring at her hand to see when she would use her ring finger. As for the music, I tend to listen to free music more often live than on record, and I am pretty surprised that the local promoters haven't brought her to Cleveland yet. I'd check her out live to see what she's about.

Trumpeter Melton Mustafa passed away on December 28th. I was familiar with him through his work with Jaco Pastorius and Horizon. Thank you for the music, Mr. Mustafa, and rest in peace.

I haven't heard as much Roswell Rudd as I should have. Thank you for the music, Mr. Rudd, and rest in peace.

If HBJ doesn't grab it, I'd like to figure out a trade.