Royal Oak

Winston Davis Ezra Moseley Patrick Patterson

I like the Chet Baker version, from "Let's Get Lost"

Randy Newman Alfred E Neumann (spelling?) Neumann from Seinfeld (again, spelling?)

Wank Melvin (my dad's nickname for Hank Marvin) Jet Harris Cliff Richard

I heard that joke on a Bill Hicks show - "Smoking causes low birth weight - fuck it! Found my brand!"

By "too flat" do you mean "too dull, or boring", or are you talking about problems of pitch? If the latter, I have no complaint about Jackie, but always find Gigi Gryce too sharp. Any views on this? I mean flat, as far as pitch is concerned. And I don't like his tone that much. I listened to the CD this afternoon, and I can hear that he plays very well, and I appreciate it, but I just don't like his sound. I hear that Gigi Gryce is sharp, sometimes, but since I like his tone and phrasing, I don't mind. It's a personal thing: You like a player's sound and conception, or you don't. As Ornette famously said, "You can play flat in tune and you can play sharp in tune." IMO Jackie usually plays flat in tune, especially on Blue Note; in his Prestige days a bit less so (i.e. less in tune and more just flat), though his sound still moves me. Some time ago, I expressed my unease about pitch/intonation in the late recordings of Serge Chaloff, but found no one who was prepared to say about him the sort of things which are being said in this thread about Jackie McLean and Gigi Gryce. Any views on Serge in this context? Bill - I only have "Blue Serge", so I couldn't compare with any of his other recordings. But, talking of "sharp" alto players, how do you like Charles McPherson?

I like the Penguin Guide's description - "menthol sharp". I think it fits - his tone blows away the cobwebs, unblocks the ears as it were.

By "too flat" do you mean "too dull, or boring", or are you talking about problems of pitch? If the latter, I have no complaint about Jackie, but always find Gigi Gryce too sharp. Any views on this? I mean flat, as far as pitch is concerned. And I don't like his tone that much. I listened to the CD this afternoon, and I can hear that he plays very well, and I appreciate it, but I just don't like his sound. I hear that Gigi Gryce is sharp, sometimes, but since I like his tone and phrasing, I don't mind. It's a personal thing: You like a player's sound and conception, or you don't. I too love Gryce's tone and phrasing. If you haven't heard Rat Race Blues I'd recommend it, my favourite Gryce album.

By "too flat" do you mean "too dull, or boring", or are you talking about problems of pitch? If the latter, I have no complaint about Jackie, but always find Gigi Gryce too sharp. Any views on this? On "Rat Race Blues", I think Gryce sounds not unlike McLean.

Giant Steps, a recent purchase.

William Hill Fred Done Stan James

Well, at least you gave it a try, and were not made ill from listening to it! I'll have to remember use the first 2 lines of your post for future BFT's! On the contrary, I liked some of it (only listened to disc 1 so far) - track 5 I enjoyed, as well as tracks 1 (especially) and 6. I thought track 13 sounded like it may fit in a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. The "Tea For Two" reminds me of the theme tune from "Pot Black", a snooker programme of yesteryear. That isn't exactly a compliment BTW.

Try his mid- and later-sixties albums (The Turnaround, No Room For Squres, Dippin', A Caddy For Daddy, High Voltage, Far Away Lands), where he uses a harder tone (as well as more economical phrasing). Thanks for the recommendations Bill, I probably will.

Saxondale Alan Partridge Paul Calf

This was one of my first jazz albums. I remember having it on pretty heavy rotation with Joe Henderson's "Page One" and Dexter's "Our Man In Paris". I find Hank suffers a little in comparison with those two; I find his tone a little too woolly for extended listening (I have the same problem with Curtis Fuller on trombone). Having said that, I think Soul Staion is a classic album - "Remember" is a tune I really like, and I love Wynton and Blakey - Wynton especially on the title track. I bought "Workout" after this one, and thought it OK, but never explored Mobley any further.

SPLASH.........gurgle (Sound of man out of his depth) I've listened to disc 1 and have less than nothing! It's a real ear-opener, listening to all this - I think the oldest record in my collection is from 1947! The one thought I had was that track 5 puts me in mind of Monk's "Genius of Modern Music" records. (Sets disc to repeat)

David St Hubbins The Saint Greavsie

That was fast! Much faster than Newbury Comics and Caiman USA!

Conrad - disks arrived today, many thanks. Richard

Colonel Tom Parker Colonel Korn General Dreedle

Michael Vaughan Andrew Flintoff Andrew Strauss

Napoleon Murphy Brock Ray White Ike Willis

Lassie Old Shep The Littlest Hobo

Bernard Bresslaw Sid James Charles Hawtrey

Glyn Pardoe Alan Oakes Mike Doyle