Big Al

Don't forget the date with Miles and Bags - best heard in the Monk/Prestige K2 box. I did let that slip my mind. Al still should get the "Plays Duke Ellington". . .it's a marvelous record in my opinion. Oh, I will, I will!!! Thanks for the rec Lon!

Man, if ever an artist deserved an hour of NIGHT LIGHTS, it's Cecil Payne!

OJC Limited Editions are 10.98, as are any remaining K2's (good luck with those). SACDs are 13.98. As far as the Hybrid SACDs go, I can heartily recommend the following: Cal Tjader with Stan Getz Gettin' Together - Art Pepper Art Pepper Plus Eleven (probably the best-sounding of the bunch, and that's saying a lot!) Happy shopping!

I only like Tommy because I remember my dad listening to it a lot, and so a lot of that music holds fond memories. It has its moments (and those moments are earth-shattering), but it could've (should've) been edited down to a single album. Few albums bore me to death as much as Quadrophenia. Then again, few albums move me like The Who By Numbers. Yeah, I know it's a record-long pity party. So what? The music is raw, the emotions are real, and they spoke to me when I first heard them and they still speak to me today, just on a different level. The Who Sell Out is, as mentioned elsewhere, one of the Who's finest moments, if not THE finest moment. Who's Next is one of those I have to be in the mood for. It also has some nice moments, but ever since classic-rock radio overplayed "Baba O'Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes," and "Won't Get Fooled Again," it's hard to muster up any enthusiasm for it. Is there no love for My Generation? Man, they could've stopped after THAT album and still have been legendary!

RIP. I particularly enjoyed his work on Jimmy Smith's SIX VIEWS OF THE BLUES. Perhaps my favorite performance of his was on Dizzy Reece's "Spiritus Parkus" from ASIA MINOR.

Don't forget the date with Miles and Bags - best heard in the Monk/Prestige K2 box. Ah yes! I just picked up that box used the other weekend! I thought I was getting a bargain at 29.99..... until this sale showed up!

Just because, I guess? There seem to be a lot of performances on there that aren't otherwise available, plus it's a good price for a 2-CD set. Although, to be fair, I wish they hadn't put performances on there that are already on the other AT NEWPORT discs.

Boy, the selections-of-the-month sure do suck this time. Ain't THAT the truth! Just what I've been waiting for: R&R by Rick Braun and some other smooth-jazz whogivesafuck.

I hear ya! I definitely need to hear some prime Monk/Klook. Best place to start? I ordered the K2's of Monk's Music and Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane from Newbury today for under $20! Can't wait to hear these!

Good question.... it was in the AOTW forum when I posted it. Okay, so I'm in the minority on my opinion (plus Blakey's my favorite drummer anyway, so I'm just a LITTLE biased), but still..... I didn't think my opinion was so radical as to knock the whole thread into a different FORUM!

Alright, gonna revive one more AOTW, then I'm going to bed. I've never been able to warm up to this album, and I blame the title track for that. Though I've tried many times to make it through this whole album, the title track wears me down and I just give up. About a week or so ago, I checked it out from the public library (AGAIN!) and forced myself to listen to the title track. Well, this time I finally made it. And I can say without reservation that I still can't warm up to this album. I can dig that the title track is supposed to be completely spontaneous, and it does have its moments. But on the whole, I'd rather spend 23 minutes listening to something else. (Off-subject, I coulda swore I posted in this thread when it originally came up. I wonder how many other AOTW threads have a post by me that say "Will post more later," and then I never actually do!)

Hey, here's another AOTW for ya: I thought about that after I recently got this CD. However, since I'm not at all familiar with this session, I guess what I don't know won't bother me. At least until I find the LP! This album isn't blowing me away, which is a good thing. It's moreorless breezing me away. I can't even pinpoint it; it just seems to wash over me in waves of modal colors that change at a moment's notice. I was expecting "A Deed for Dolphy" to be more intense than it is, and I'm glad it isn't. I really dig the version of "Boo-Ann's Grand" on here, as well as "New World." I think this is George Cables's finest hour (or eighty minutes!). His electric piano playing is flawless, his comping is spot-on, and his solos are otherworldly. I enjoy his performance on this album more than any other player of this era, including Herbie Hancock (a particular favorite of mine). And Lenny White, my goodness!!! Every time I listen to this album, I keep wanting to think that's DeJohnette back there, but no, it's this kid named Lenny White. Woody's sound is still as gorgeous as it was on his Blue Note output. This makes me want to seek out more Woody, but I don't know if anything else will top this. This is about as close to perfect as there is in this world!

Yet another AOTW I'm floatin' to the surface: The RVG is an improvement. I wouldn't dismiss "A Swingin' Affair" too readily. No kidding! Count me in as another who prefers Swingin' to Go! But not by much! "Soy Califa" gives it the edge simply because it sets the tempo for the album, which never lets up! Have to disagree about the RVG remastering, but then I've never heard the McMaster. The RVG sounds awfully harsh and bright to these ears. Seems strange to me, cuz the RVG for Swingin' is warm and easy on the ears.

Yes it's me, bringing up yet another old AOTW thread: I guess the best way I can explain it, as someone who plays an instrument despite not being able to read music, is to try and hum along with the title cut. I've tried numerous times, and it still baffles me. I can't imagine how difficult it must've been to try and SOLO around that. I will state, for the record, that Max's solo on this cut is my absolute favorite Max Roach drum solo, no small statement Icantellyou! Count me in as someone else who digs Roach on the tympani on "Bemsha Swing." Anyone else dig the celeste on "Pannonica?" That song has a real Christmas-y feel to me.

Bringing this back up because I've been on a real Monk kick lately. Will anyone else agree with me that Art Blakey was the drummer who made Monk swing? Not to discount other drummers (especially Max Roach, who did the impossible on Brilliant Corners, AFAIC. I'm pretty sure Blakey couldn't have pulled off THAT one), but Blakey's work with Monk on Blue Note, the Prestige trios & quintets, and the Giants of Jazz seemed to force Monk into a rare situation: one in which he was NOT setting the rhythm. Generally, it seemed that other drummers were following Monk's rhythm (which is challenging enough as it is). Blakey forced Monk to follow Blakey's beat. Talk about chutzpah; and yet it WORKED! So it is on a track like "Well You Needn't" where Blakey and Monk musically argue about who gets to set the pace, Blakey wins again, and everyone falls in step with him and swings their asses off! This is not to say that Monk's rhythm was in any way inferior to Blakey's; it's just that when Monk wanted to swing, he chose Blakey because Blakey knew where the right beats were to take Monk's music to that particular level that straddles the line between boring 4/4 simple timekeeping and locomotive-powered steamrolling swing that mows down everyone in sight. Just my observation. I could be completely off-track in this.

Well, it's only because I'm married to a Michiganer that I know those last two. I've also been informed that NOTHING closes down between the months of November and March. That kind of wimpiness is saved for the DFW area!

Y'know, when I saw this morning that Fran had resigned, my first thought was "Pity that Mack guy didn't step down as well, and take that alleged "quarterback" with him." I totally agree that if A&M had played with that kind of intensity all year, Fran might still be around. But if Texas is the team that supposedly has the "better talent," I've yet to see it on a consistent basis all season.

That's exactly what I do, too; hence my record of 2-for-thousands. But it still hurts when it happens, as evidenced by the last paragraph you wrote!

Last weekend, I found Basie's SIXTEEN MEN SWINGING (Verve VE2-2517), beautiful condition, nary a scratch on it. I was about to put it on tonight when the record slipped outta my hand and the first track of side three was nicked by the corner of the cabinet holding my turntable. I COULD JUST SCREEEAM!!! I am such a butter-fingered idiot! (Well, maybe not butter-fingered, but definitely snickered). So now the first track of side three (You For Me) is unlistenable unless I can try and gently force the needle on the groove through the scratch. AAAAARGHHH!!!! I HATE when this happens, which thankfully isn't often (this is the second time; the last time was Stanley Turrentine's COMMON TOUCH), but still: two times is three times too many for me!

Gad, UT sucked today. I'm sure Agg's on cloud nine right now, and rightfully so: his boys came to play today, and the Horns showed up to.... well, from the looks of it, they seemed to be completely surprised that A&M would compete with them. Colt McCoy constantly had that deer-in-a-headlight look about him. Even at the end, he had this look on his face that said, "What? I don't get the ball again to lead my team to victory?" Absolutely dreadful play on the part of UT; were it not for the kickoff-return for a TD and the 50-yard interception play, this would've been a freakin' blowout! Congratulations Agg, your team played like they wanted it more than the Horns. Which apparently they did!

All prices include shipping to a US or Canada address. International shipments at cost. Les Spann GEMINI (OJC Limited) $15 Mel Rhyne ORGAN-IZING (OJC Limited) $15 Duke Ellington ELLINGTON UPTOWN (Legacy) $8 Art Taylor A.T.'S DELIGHT (RVG, BMG issue) $8 Or take the whole package for $40. And a book: THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON by Miles Marshall Lewis (33-1/3 Series) $7 PM or e-mail acrearick@hotmail.com. Thanks! SOLD Duke Ellington MASTERPIECES BY ELLINGTON (Legacy) $8

Cool! Thanks ispep!

Count Basie SIXTEEN MEN SWINGING (Verve VE-2-2517)

Congratulations!!!! Enjoy the ride, man; it's worth every second!

Joe Henderson Milestone box, disc 5, the Multiple session. Grooooooooooovy!!!!