Big Al

FWIW, they're listing Andrew Hill's "Eternal Spirit" as in stock. Get it while it lasts!

Can someone check to see if they have Blakey's MOSAIC and Dex's A SWINGIN' AFFAIR? If so, can someone grab them and I'll PayPal the funds plus shipping. I'm serious about this; doesn't look like they're ever gonna be RVG'd.

I mean, really, why would you put lemon in your beer?

Much as I love LFR, my favorite Jackie Mac/Higgins date is ACTION!!!!

RECORDING RECORDING RECORDING RECORDING RECORDING RECORDING RECORDING I'll bet that in the studio fo GO! that Billy wasn't at all loud. I'll also bet that Alfred had Rudy record him a little hotter than usual, and that the digital remastering accentuates that. Yeah it is! I’ve got it on right now, and while the spirit and the style of playing are the same, the mastering is definitely night and day! Billy’s recorded EXCEPTIONALLY hot on GO!

I have never heard Let Freedom Ring, I was ONLY talking about Go, which wasn't that hard to figure out. But JK, the whole discussion revolves around LET FREEDOM RING! I'm sure you can appreciate how your comments were taken out of context!

Spinning HUB-TONES right now, and have been enjoying READY FOR FREDDIE all week, and I didn’t even know his birthday was this week! 67!!! What a pup!

Well, yeah; but I meant on LFR.

One more, regarding the high-end squeals: why, oh WHY, did McLean kill "I'll Keep Loving You" with one of those squeals? I guess the answer lies in the passion behind the playing, particularly in light of what JSngry said about the friendship between Bud & Jackie (which I heretofore had not known). But it's still grating to these ears!

Is his snare even ON on this recording? Sure doesn't sound like it to these ears! Hey, there's a part in "Melody for Melonae" right around the 7:00 mark where Walter lays out and Jackie goes it alone with Herbie & Billy for about 45 seconds. Pure bliss!

Me too. I'm never heard Higgins play with anything other than taste and finesse, and yes, an intense, swinging drive. When I see a recording with Billy in the drum chair, I always have a good feeling about the music, even before I hear it. In fact, I will buy a recording based solely on the fact that Billy's the drummer. One of my all-time favorites. A-frickin'-men, brothers! And especially when he's playing with Jackie!!! Having said that, this album's taken forever for it to grow on me. Make no mistake: I love this album; but moreso for the rhythm section than for Jackie. Those high-end squeals just rip my eardrums to shreds! I know for a lot of people, that's part of the charm of this record (and, FWIW, it works for me on "Omega!"). I wish I could remember where I read that Billy only had one drum on this whole record, either a snare or a tom, but I can't remember. Either way, he gets more out of ONE drum than a lot of other guys get with 10+ drums (did someone say "Neil Peart?" Hmmm, must've been ME! ) Kevin B gave me his McMaster years ago, that's how much he couldn't stand this album. I wasn't crazy about the McMaster, and for me the RVG really smoothes out those high-end squeals! And then there's "Omega!" As in "oh, MEGA!!!" That is one HELLUVA beat goin' there, and Walter Davis's piano solo is definitive soul-jazz-in-an-outward-setting. Those chords, gimme more of those CHORDS!!!! One more thing about Billy & I'll shut up: Billy always sounds happy when he plays. In fact, the picture of him in the Fickle Sonance RVG pretty much sums up how I always envision Billy when he's playing. And this album is definitely no exception!!! Been listening while I was typing, and "Omega" is on. So, gotta run; GOTTA SWING!!!

Someone mentioned them once earlier in the thread, but I'll brnig them up again: SONIC YOUTH!!! Their last couple of albums (Murray Street & Nurse) made me go back and check out some of their stuff from the late 80's/early 90's. Now I know why everyone calls Daydream Nation a masterpiece: it's that GOOD!!!! I like most of Washing Machine, and I just happened to pick up the Deluxe Edition of Dirty, which is much better than I expected! (Hopefully, DN will get the same treatment soon!) They've gotten to the point now where I eagerly anticipate their next album, something that hasn't happened with me and a band for YEARS!!! And another vote for Weezer. Saw them in concert a couple of summers back with my daughter and her friends. It was like going to a KISS concert (without the makeup and the leather!). Sure wish they'd put another album out, since their previous two came, like, within a year of each other!

The guy's been caught. He apparently tried to kill himself, as the police found him under some trees with self-inflicted gunshot wounds, bleeding profusely.

Just ordered the Hawk, Fats, Duke, and BG from BMG with a 60% off/free shipping deal. Total was something like $33. Not a bad deal!

Yeah, the plans are still there. I have no idea when, but it'll be sometime before July (that's when the package expires). I'll definitely let you know when we do, though!

Thanks!!!

Strangely enough, the RCA Bluebird site doesn't list them. These are the ones I know of: Fats Waller Duke Ellington Benny Goodman Artie Shaw Glenn Miller Any others?

There's LOTS more! Wodehouse wrote over 90 books. About 30-odd are top-drawer. Check out "Code of the Woosters." Oh yes, I know of Wodehouse's polific pen (that's the problem listening to the audio version, now I'm starting to TALK like him!); what I was wondering is are there more audio versions of the Wodehouse books!

Forgot to mention: during the QO gig last Wednesday, the bar had a TV with a DVD player hooked to it. The movie they were showing was Lost in Translation, with Bill Murray & Scarlett Johannsen (sp?). I’ve not seen this movie previously, but the subtitles were turned on, so I would divide my time between watching Quartet Out wailin’ away and Lost in Translation (and may I just say that Ms. Johanssen is one of the most beautiful ladies on the planet? Wow!!!!) Anyway, the whole point of this is that there was a kind of irony watching a movie called Lost in Translation while listening to music that, to a lot of people, gets “lost in translation” (not to those of us at the gig, mind you). Also, just like watching The Wizard of Oz with Dark Side of the Moon, there was that kind of experience as well. I may just go rent the movie and listen to my Quartet Out CDs at the same time!

Managed to get a copy of FLOOD from a very generous Board member, and it is more than the shit: it is downright DIRRRRRTY!!!! Had to clean the room after it was all over, it got so greeeeeeazy in there! Been spinning Fat Albert Rotunda nonstop the past few daze. Fat, funky, and greeeeeazy, this is the record I was hoping The Prisoner would’ve been when I saw the lineup on THAT record. Fat Albert has some of my favorite Joe Henderson solos, especially on the alto flute on “Tell Me a Bedtime Story.” And then there’s “Jessica,” as lovely a free-form ballad as I’ve ever heard! Pity this lineup didn’t record further together. As far as Mwandishi and Crossings go, I tend to respect them for the direction Herbie was taking more than I actually listen to them. I think I listened to them both only once, and while the experience was an enjoyable one (laying on the floor with my head between both speakers; now THAT was a trip!), I rarely felt the urge to ever listen to them again. When I did, my interest waned quickly with each tune (the lone exception being the ultra-groovy “Ostinato”). Music like that makes me wish I could actually see it being performed; something just seems to get lost in the translation when it’s just listening to it from a record.

Kickball league? Now THAT sounds like a blast!!!

Thanks for the good words and wishes, guys. This is the main reason I posted that, because I knew I could share something like that amongst friends. Glad it brightened a few people’s days! Yeah, I remember driving home last night and telling Nathan that even if he didn’t get another hit for the rest of the season, even if his team didn’t win another game for the rest of the season, last night would still have made this season a great one! Cheers, and thanks again, my friends!

Not to be a curmudgeon or anything, but I named "Green Onions" as my favorite track because it's really the only track of theirs I dig. Nothing else I've heard from them really does anything for me. Just my two cents. Changed offered at the customer service window, providing you kept your receipt!

At my son Nathan's baseball game tonight, his team was facing the toughest team in the league. The other team had their ace on the mound, who probably hurls around 60 mph (these are 3rd & 4th graders, BTW). Nathan's hitting confidence has taken a beating in this young season, as he told me he felt like the pitches were coming faster than he's used to. So, he was about to bat and I went up to him in the dugout, and the conversation went something like this: Me: Now remember what I told ya, just go up there swinging. Nothin' to be afraid of. Jr: But this kid throws FAST! Me: I know, but he also throws strikes. So you don't really have to worry about him hitting you. Just go up swinging. Jr: But I'm still kinda nervous. Me: I know, and that's okay. Just remember: you're as good a player as he is, so you got nothing to fear. So just go up and start swingin'. Jr: Swing at everything? Me: Yup. This kid's throwing mostly strikes, so you've got a good chance of connecting. You can do it. So then I went and sat back down, then ran back over him one more time: Me: Good luck, son; and remember, ain't nothing wrong with striking out swinging. At least that way, you fought all the way. So he gets up there and the first pitch, the ball was in the catcher's mitt before Nathan even started swinging. YIKES! Second pitch, another swing, another miss, but he's getting closer. So I yelled, "Just like the 60 mph cage [batting cage, that is]." It was like a light went on in his head. Next pitch, foul tip. He's still alive. Only now, he's grinning from ear to ear. It's like, "Hey, I touched it this time! I can get to this guy!" Next pitch, I mean you could see the fire in Nathan's eyes. AND HE HIT IT!!!! Grounder to second and he beat out the throw!!!! His teammates were goin' bananas, cheering & hollering for him! The confidence level skyrocketed, not only in Nathan, but in his teammates who also came up swinging! The other pitcher was noticeably rattled, but he settled down and was able to get the rest of our guys out (Nathan managed to steal 2nd and 3rd, but was unable to score). So, despite the fact we didn't get any runs, at the end of the at-bat, our kids were jumpin' up&down all sorts of excited!!!! Our guys ended up losing the game, but only by one run. This is significant because, as I said, this is the best team in the league. They're used to winning by ten-plus runs. Our guys gave' em a run for their money. So after the game, the coach was awarding game balls, and Nathan got one of them for his confidence and his big hit. We were walking to the car, and I was telling him how proud I was of him, not so much for getting the hit and winning the game ball, but for just going up there and TRYING. He said, "Well, I have you to thank for that. If you hadn't come over and talked to me and gave me the confidence to go up swinging." I coulda cried. I am not worthy, I'm tellin' ya right now. So as I was tucking him in bed, I said "Y'know, I would've been proud of you even if you'd struck out. Y'know that, doncha?" He smiled and said, "Yeah." I said, "You know why?" He said, "Because I went up swinging!" Swingin' all the way, my friends! Thanks for letting me share.

Thanks bluesbro!