Ron S

Speaking of modifying and refinishing and soldering guitars, this is what the FedEx tracking site currently says about the Agile Cool Cat I ordered from Rondo Music thanks to Jeff : "On FedEx vehicle for delivery."

Thanks once again to Alan's Jazzmatazz site , I now know who will be with Dave and Marian on 3/16: w/Dave--Robert Militello (sax, flute), Michael Moore (bass), Randy Jones (drums) w/Marian (apparently as a trio, even though the tickets and the Kimmel Center say duo!)--Gary Mazzaroppi (bass), Glen Davis (drums)

Sheesh! I thought getting back into the guitar meant just working on chords and picking and sight reading again, but from the way you guys talk it sounds like I better start working on my soldering technique.

Thanks for those recommendations. I generally buy discs off the net, so it's nice to learn about some of these brick-and-mortar's in town. In terms of Alan's phone number--I'm pretty sure it's available only to high-level jazz record company execs and members of the National Security Council.

Well, there's Alan Lankin's house.

"To Serve Man"

You need to get Volumes 1-4. Even better than 5. And in my opinion (see my post way up this thread), it's not so much the soloing that makes this set so great, as much as the incredibe ensemble playing. For example, listen to the way the rhythm section interacts with each other and the front line during solos.

The Organissimo Guitar Corner has Ron for dinner:

six but on strange days, seven or eight. DUH, stupid me! Of course there are 6. One for each finger.

Yeah, this is the lesson where I got screwed up the last time I tried to learn. Now, how many strings are there again?

Somewhere between virtuoso and legend. But when I'm not indulging in psychotic fantasy, somewhere near beginner. I played (badly) as a kid, but haven't touched it in over 30 years. So if I call myself a beginner, I'll feel better about my progress.

Any recommendations for good self-teaching jazz guitar books, videos, software, web sites, etc.? There seems to be a large selection available, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Actually, that IS my kid. And I taught him everything he knows.

Well that gives me some hope. I ordered the Bob Brookmeyer from them for $36.20 on 2/4/05, and they're still showing it on back order.

You can go to Ebay and do a search for "Mosaic" and either of these 2 names, and put a check where it says "Completed Listings" under "Search Options" on the left side, to see what they've sold for in the last 30 days. But I believe you have to sign in under your Ebay User ID to use that function.

I've also had great luck with Fantasy's customer service--e.g., once or twice I've heard something weird on a Fantasy CD (similar to what we're discussing here) and called them, and an engineer has listened to the track and called me back to report it's in the source tape. I also once found a printing error on the spine of the Shelly Manne at the Black Hawk Vol. 4 CD (it said Vol. 1 on the spine--confusing when on the shelf), and when I called Fantasy they immediately pulled all the Vol. 4's from stock, ordered new tray cards, and sent me a corrected one. I've had similar experience with Blue Note. And of course, Mosaic is also great when it comes to stuff purchased directly from them.

Then if it's a problem, I'd try--maybe in a coordinated effort by all those who have the problem--calling the Verve number I posted above. If that doesn't work, return it to Caiman or whoever your seller is. I'm still wondering based on the descriptions of the sound, and the fact that it only affects part of one track, whether this really is a CD manufacturing defect, or just a source tape flaw that is only revealed on certain playback equipment.

Let us know how it turns out, Jeff. And if I were you, I wouldn't refer to it as the "European" set--there's really nothing in the set to indicate it's intended only for European distribution and, as we've discussed before, it's clearly produced in the US. And another thing: if you really want results, let Cat Shatner make the call.

You might want to try calling The Verve Music Group (distributor of the set) in New York City at 212-331-2000. I've found on a few occasions--although with other record companies--that by calling and being bounced around from person to person to person, I've eventually spoken with someone who can deal with a defective CD issue.

Acquired through Mosaic's latest licensing agreement:

Then I say return the set to Caiman and get another one. It may have been a terrific deal, but it's still 50 bucks and you're entitled to a perfect set. And Caiman will pay the return shipping and send you a brand-new set. Unless it doesn't bother you at all, and/or you have no huevos--oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry about your wife--maybe you should try serenading her with one of your 57 guitars.

I'm almost tempted to have you call me on the phone and play it for me.

Hey, it's not like these are bootlegs or stolen or anything illegal. They are being widely and openly distributed in the US by some pretty big players (CD Universe, Amazon, Tower, etc.). I'm sure that if Mosaic had a problem with this, they'd have done something by now to shut it down.

Could one of you guys with the possibly defective disc 6 rip a copy (WAV or MP3 file) of the section of track 1 where you hear the problem, and make it available for some of the rest of us to hear and compare to our discs? That could clear up whether this truly is a defect in your disc, and not just something on the source tape. Since many of us received "European" Farlow sets without a problem on Disc 6, it would probably be worth returning your set if it is defective to get another one.

I'm too busy looking at flat wound jazz guitar strings on the internet. B-) Someone told me to do that.