bertrand

I am starting this thread on the Organissimo Bulletin board to express my appreciation of the wonderful job that has been done by Fantasy records throughout the years in making all the extraordinary music in their catalog available to jazz fans like myself, but also to fans of many other musical genres as well. What I particularly appreciate was how the label has been making a concerted effort to dig deeply into their catalog, thereby making available rare gems that other labels would probably have ignored. Albums such as Jimmy Woods' Conflict, Joe Gordon's Lookin' Good, Gigi Gryce's Rat Race Blues, Harold Land's The Fox, Woody Shaw's Blackstone Legacy, Frank Strozier's Jazzland sessions, Rene Thomas' Guitar Groove and Larry Young's Young Blues are just a few among the many masterpieces that I have discovered throughout the years, and which I am sure many major labels would have left languish in the vaults. In addition, and especially in the last few years, Fantasy has been releasing previously unissued performances, adding to my collection of the recordings of some of my favorite artists. One particular example is the unissued Larry Young session from 2/28/63. As a longtime fan of Larry's music, I had long hoped that this lost session would someday see the light of day, and thanks to Fantasy, we are now able to hear this date, which is a fascinating 'missing link' between his Prestige records and his Blue Note dates. Of course, Fantasy has also done an outsatanding job reissuing the music of some of the best-known artists in the catalog. I know that many people have thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful-sounding 20-bit and SACD Hybrid reissues of such giants as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane. Another unique aspect of the Fantasy label is that they have managed throughout the years to keep this great catalog in print and available for fans to buy. This is a truly remarkable commitment to their customers, and shows a deep understanding and appreciation of the historical importance of their catalog. No other label with as large a jazz catalog has been able to keep their titles in print over such a long period of time. We all hope that the wonderful catalog of Fantasy records can continue to be shown the same respect and loving treatment that Fantasy Inc. has shown throughout the years. Sincerely, Bertrand Uberall.

I spoke at length to Cynthia Patterson in Customer Service at Fantasy a week or so ago. There have definitely been some changes, but the good news is that Concord has yet to make any decisions on how they are going to run Fantasy, or even if they are going to change the way it operates (although our conversation precedes the announcement of the RVG Prestige titles). I proposed that I would start a thread on the Organissimo board for those of us who wish to express our appreciation of all that Fantasy has done in the past, especially in terms of mining the catalogue for obscure titles and keeping things in print. I will print that thread at the end of the month and send it to her, and she will forward to those at Concord who are thinking about how best to approach handling the Fantasy catalog, and perhaps that will help them decide to keep things pretty much as they are. I have no idea how much customer feedback Concord has received, but I figure it doesn't hurt to try. So I will start another thread in reissues. Feel free to add your comments, but only positive comments please (no point in shooting ourselves in the foot). If you have any reservations to express, please do so in this thread, which we can use as a discussion board on the subject if you wish. The other thread is intended to be a 'why I like Fantasy' thread for those in charge to read. If you'd like, you can also e-mail some comments to Cynthia which she will pass on: cpatterson@fantasyjazz.com I hope this helps! Bertrand.

My two cents: 1. I vote for Butch Warren, if we're voting. 2. Rouse sounds good on some Monk records, not so good on others. I can't say he's my least favorite, but he's not in my pantheon either. Depending on my mood, his tonality can be a bit jarring. Bertrand.

Concerning the 'stick with the LP' option proposed by some: LPs were fine in their day, but the main advantage of getting some of the CD reissues is the bonus tracks that were never available on LP. In the case of Drum Suite, there is an alternate that I'm pretty sure was never on any LP. With their current set-up, I will not be able to load this alternate to my iPod. And that just bites. Bertrand.

Also missing: 'Have You Met Miss Jones?' Pink Floyd's 'Have A Cigar'. Bertrand.

He should be happy he didn't get shot.

She already had one organist on her show - Bill Heid. But not because of his organ skills. He was there because he holds the title of most miles travelled by hitch-hiking. I wonder if his jazz credentials were discussed at all during the interview (haven't seen it). Bertrand.

Josh, Since Savoy is now reissuing Muse, how soon can we expect a CD reissue of the Joe Chambers/Larry Young Double Exposure album? Thanks, Bertrand.

Three questions: 1. Will this be copy-protected? 2. Why are they still listing Miles as co-author of 'Sanctuary'? I thought this was resolved years ago. 3. Which 4 of the 28 tracks are on the original Live-Evil, or were these tracks spliced together, so that the pieces are now re-assigned to where they belonged? Bertrand.

The current version on Fresh Sound has the correct song titles and (hopefully) composer credits, which the Trip versions and the old Fresh Sound did not ('See Autumn' instead of 'Ceora'? Please). Bertrand.

No Johnny Coles on the Ervin - it's only the second half of the two-fer. Tex Book Tenor sure is a lame title. Bertrand.

The albums on iTunes are not complete. Un-fucking-believable. I have a French pressing of Drum Suite, and I just planned to buy the three bonus tracks. So, you cannot have the complete Drum Suite in your iPod because: 1. The CD cannot be imported 2. The version on iTunes is incomplete. No wonder people steal music. Bertrand.

Also let us know how to move these to iTunes. Of course, I may not bother buying 'em anyway. Motherfuckers. Bertrand.

Currently, I play my iPod in the car through a cassette adapter which I plug into the tape deck. It works fine, except for a tolerable clicking sound (and a somewhat more annoying buzz in my wife's car). Problem is, I think I want to get a new car soon. Are some/all automakers making jacks for the car into which you can directly connect the iPod? I remember an article in the Post a few months back claiming most auto-makers are behind the curve on this. Ideally, you want want to be able to control the iPod from the stereo (at least skip songs). My guess is that this will be standard eventually, I'm just trying to get a feel about how long I should wait. Of course, I could just get a tape deck for the new car, but my guess is that these will be harder and harder to find. Anyone own a car with an iPod jack already? Thanks in advance, Bertrand.

I wondered about this too, but Alex Norris shed some light: apparently, Andy Gonzales has a connection to the program Jackie runs in Hartford. The connection could also be Larry Willis, who remains tight with Jackie to this day. In any case, a very successful collaboration. I need to explore this band some more, I've been taking them for granted. Bertrand.

Thanks Rosco. I bough this track on iTunes - I can tell it has Jackie's compositional 'flavor' to it, and it does not sound like anything else he recorded (although I'll have to research this more - I don't have all his compositions from this period memorized as yet). Does the CD give a recording date? The iTunes database shows 1994, but this sounds late to me. This is a great piece and performance. Latin arrangements of Jackie tunes are a rarity. I know at least two other Jackie compositions that he has yet to record on an album - 'Walter Davis Ascending', which he performed at Lincoln Center in 1990, and 'Like It Is', a theme he wrote for the Gil Noble TV show of the same name. It was played as the theme to the show, but has never made it to record. I sure would like to hear it. There is also a copyright for a piece called 'Groove One' from the fifties - I need to research this more. Bertrand.

Thank you gentlemen. The LP I was familiar with was the reissue in the French I Love Jazz series, and I guess they inverted the tracks. It was just jarring to not hear 'Far Wells' right after 'Diane'. This sequence is just burned in my brain. I love those two tracks. I agree about the alterantes/expanded tracks. Mingus had edited these down just right - he knew what he was doing. I kept my old 'Ah Um' just to have the edited stuff 'as issued'. I do not have Dynasty in this format, however. Bertrand.

Does anyone know the original LP track order for Mingus Dynasty? I seem to remember it as being different than that of the current expanded CD. Specifically, I seem to recall that 'Far Wells, Mill Valley' was track 3 and 'Song With Orange' was track 6. They are switched on the CD. Thanks, Bertrand.

Can anyone confirm that the composition 'Fort Apache' from the Fort Apache Band's CD Crossings is by Jackie McLean? Is it something he recorded elsewhere under another title, or a brand new piece? Trumpeter Alex Norris told me about it today, and it seems based on what iTunes says that this is the case. Thanks, Bertrand.

The first record I ever owned was S+G's Greatest Hits. Four tracks were live versions rather than the studio takes ('For Emily', 'Feelin' Groovy', 'Homeward Bound' and 'Kathy's Song'). Do we know where they come from? Did they show up on later compilations? Also, AMG claims the take of 'America' on Greatest Hits is an alternate, not the one from Bookends. Is this correct? Thanks in advance, Bertrand.

Another vote for The Struggle Continues. Fabulous record, Dewey's finest hour (or 45 minutes, to be exact). Bertrand.

Buttercorn Lady will probably never see the light of day as a CD under the Universal umbrella, since it is part of the 'iTunes-only' series. Unless you call an iTunes reissue a reissue. I don't, since there is no physical product. This being said, I'm not totally againts the iTunes-only reissue option, as long as it's done right (see my posting on George Russell a while ago). Bertrand.

Before you delete it, I will just add that I think this is a great record. Really mad that I still can't find a way to purchase the bonus cut. Bertrand.

The Washington Post had a very interesting, somewhat off-center obituary yesterday. Bertrand.

Mine came in yesterday. Listening to 'Peaches' as we speak. It rocks! Off to the beach this morning; I'll post my comments on my return. Bertrand.