J.A.W.

Back to the actual topic and up again for Lon's sale

Well, if Boris does indeed go for a hard Brexit on December 31, 2020 (the end of the transition period), which many EU diplomats think he will (though they'll not say it out loud, at least not now), it probably will.

I've had arguments like a queue at the Post Office, a different counter and having to fill out a customs declaration (and even the argument that someone didn't want to sell to non-Americans) thrown at me more than once when I asked why a seller wouldn't ship abroad, but the main reasons why I stopped buying stuff from overseas countries are indeed the extremely high postage rates, plus - in some cases - the hassle of having to pay customs duty/tax if the total value of an order exceeds 22 euros. I now mainly get my CDs from EU countries like Germany and France, most of the time hassle-free.

As far as I can remember Lon has never shipped outside the US.

Criss Cross' Gerry Teekens

Just before it ended? The Teddy Wilson set is still available from Mosaic and, in Europe, from JazzMessengers in Barcelona, Spain.

Sad news. He was well-liked in Amsterdam, where he was principal conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra between 2004 and 2015.

Same here, that would be great.

It is. Actually, we have to pay a bit more, VAT is now 21% here.

I'd certainly prefer a Wayne Shorter 1960s Mosaic to a Lee Morgan 1960s set - too much formulaic stuff on Morgan's BN albums, at least in my opinion.

I assume you are referring to eBay. As a buyer I find it very convenient to pay any tax that is due upfront, otherwise I'd have to go to the local postal agency (there are no Post Offices in my neighbourhood anymore) to collect the item and pay tax.

eBay itself is not a seller while Amazon is; for goods sold directly (i.e. not by private sellers on their sites) to EU citizens by non-EU Amazon sites tax is collected if the total value exceeds 22 euros.

Some stores and carriers collect import duty/VAT beforehand on behalf of the EU for all goods imported into the EU whose total value exceeds 22 euros. It makes things easier for EU customers, who don't have to pay at the door anymore. This is the case with all non-EU Amazon stores (except most private sellers) and some others. It has nothing to do with any US Supreme Court decision.

Of course, that's why I added a

People are not knighted anymore in the Netherlands, they stopped doing that a long time ago I knew Teekens personally, but lost contact with him in the 1970s after a disagreement. That was before he started Criss Cross, he was selling records at music fairs and shows and at Sem van Gelder's dad's pub at the time; I bought a lot of records from him. Feels like a million years ago...

I checked this with a few people in the Dutch jazz scene who know Gerry and it has not been confirmed. Can't find anything on the 'net either. [edit] My friend jazz/blues record store owner Sem van Gelder just confirmed it.

Sad news, which brings back personal memories...

Sad news. My condolences to his family.

The "concert hall realism" of the recordings seems to be deliberate. It's a choice more record labels make these days, like for instance Hyperion - many of their recordings also have that effect; the sound is a bit too spatial for my liking, but I try not to be distracted by it. By the way, haven't visited a record store in ages (apart from a jazz/blues store owned by a friend of mine) and have no intention to go to one - if there are any left... Besides, I live on the edge of town and my physical limitations prevent me from going too far from home on my own. Thanks for the tip, anyway.

Have only heard the Levit set on Spotify via my crappy PC speakers, so I can't really comment on its sound quality. However, after listening to many sonatas more than once I liked Levit's interpretations a lot better than before. The set is now on my wants list.

Same here

Assuming you're referring to the Peter Takács set, I agree. I've listened to several pieces and, though the sound is good, his playing sounds kind of detached to me; so far it doesn't do much for me. Pity, I'm always interested in complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas sets (I only have thirty or so ). What I've heard of the new Igor Levit set didn't really convince me either.

I've read several reviews and they were mixed. Everyone agrees the sound is excellent, but some found Takács emotionally lacking; they said that his playing, though technically very good, isn't "emotionally involving". Other reviews didn't mention this aspect, and raved about the set. I haven't heard the set and I'm interested. Where did you get it? It seems to be OOP and private sellers are asking insane prices on Amazon.

Maybe something like a no-deal Brexit, with all its consequences...

That may change if City are indeed suspended from CL football by UEFA.