Big Al

Does anyone else have access to the new blogs? When I click on the link, it says I don't have permission.

Not a month goes by without me pulling out Hugh Masekela's HOME IS WHERE THE MUSIC IS. Thank you Verve for reissuing this, but no thanks for the crappy pressings. Gonna get this on vinyl eventually!

Anyone heard his recent "Jazz in the Key of Blue?"

"Zanzibar." Yes, nice tune indeed, and one of my favorite Freddie solos of all time. Also forgot to mention the intro/outro to "The Stranger" as being a perennial favorite.

He speaks well to high-school age males, and most of them (myself included) don't realize just how selfish and self-centered all of Joel's songs are until they reach adulthood. But, like Journey, even he has his good moments: I've always liked "Allentown," which is about as honest as he gets, and manages to do so without his usual self-aggrandizement (sp?). "The Longest Time" is fun, and I always admired the fact that he released an acapella single like that in 1984. "She's Right On Time" has a killer hook that lures me in every time. And, finally, "New York State of Mind" is one of the greatest songs ever written about the state, but take that with a grain of salt from someone who's never been to New York. Which is probably why that song works so well for me. But beyond that? Just a lotta "it's all about me" posturing without the musical cajones to back it up.

Drat! You beat me to it! I was gonna post this as soon as I logged in this morning! Ah well! Nice to know there's other CTI Nuts out there! And I recently picked up the King reissue of GIANT BOX as well, but I'm gonna get this issue because a) this is a desert island disc for me and b) I've been mightily impressed with the sound on all the other CTI Masterworks that I'm getting all of them. Dang, I haven't been this excited about a reissue program since the heyday of the Blue Note RVG reissues! :party:

WOOHOO!!!!! YEEAAHHHH!!!!!!! *runs around the room in a tizzy*

I don't know how user friendly this site was before I replaced my old ManPhone with the Xperia I'm now carrying around, but I gotta say, the site sure looks nice and is mighty easy to navigate from my phone. Hooray!!!!

My pleasure!

Duke Ellington/Johnny Hodges "Stompy Jones" from SIDE BY SIDE. It's all great, but it jumps to another level when Duke starts to solo, then Papa Jo starts egging him on and Duke finishes it off by playing the highest and lowest notes on the piano simultaneously before Sweets & Rabbit come back in for an ending so fiery I'm surprised the studio didn't burn down!

Sure: LIVE AT HOLLYWOOD HIGH (a bunch of these tracks also appear on disc 2 of the ARMED FORCES Rhino). Also, the Hip-O deluxe editions of MAIT & TYM contain entire live shows on their respective bonus discs. I can't speak of those two shows, but I do know the HH show contains no loudmouth drunks.

Couple days ago: Curtis Fuller Blue Note & UA Yesterday: Hank Mobley Blue Note Today: Stanley Turrentine Blue Note Quintets & Sextets, the IN MEMORY OF SESSION right now. Sure like it when I get on a Blue Note kick. It's been far too long!

'twas yesterday, but I figure if people didn't notice, it may not have happened and therefore I haven't aged another year! Ultimate sub = 3rd greatest night of my life (behind marrying Mrs. Owl and Jr.'s birth)!

LIVE AT EL MOCAMBO suffers from the loudmouth drunk in the front row with the shrill voice who, unfortunately, was too close to the mike. Too distracting for me.

Like you don't have enough to do right now??? Lookin' forward to it, man! Thanks again!

Of course!

Thank you kindly, gents! Been spending the waning hours of birthday #41 (apologies to FacePage friends for being a lazy cut-n-paster) listening to KIND OF BLUE, not just because it's a great album, but because side one was cut 11 years to the day before I was born! "Bi Gal?" FFA, you promised you wouldn't tell!!! Alles gute zum Geburtstag, mikeweil mein freund! Evan, that has to be the sickest picture I've seen in the last five minutes. I shall cherish it always! Ghost, once KOB reaches the run-out groove, some kinda CTI-bliss will be spun!

If y'all are even thinking about going, and they're anywhere near you, GO SEE THEM!!! Of course it's a treat to be able to see Jim swingin' his ass off, but I'll tell y'all right now: Janiva is SMOKIN' HOT!!!! And she can shout it & preach it like few others! Damn, I wish y'all would swing thru here again soon!

Did anyone else experience technical difficulties extracting track 6 of the mp3 download? The message I got said track 6 was corrupt, and that there was an "unexpected end of archive."

So, if one wanted everything (which I don't), one would have to buy both editions? Yep, at least in some cases on the early albums. And the differences aren't just a stray track here and there. Plus, it just depends on how much you want to spend. I don't remember there being a big difference (sonically) between the Rykos and the Rhinos. OTOH, I've seen places where the Rhinos have been the same price as the Rykos.

Rhino 2-CD sets all the way. Great sound, tons of factoids, extras out the wazoo, demos that simultaneously stand on their own, yet make you appreciate the finished product that much more, etc, etc, and ETFREAKINCETERA!!! Every reissue since then hasn't held a candle to the Rhinos, AFAIC. These aren't too difficult to find, too; I'll keep an eye out for them around here if you'd like.

Rest assured, I never read anything you post. Okay then, we're good to...wait a minute...

Matthew, man, nice score! Gabor Szabo: Mizrab is, like most of Szabo's output, an underrated beauty! Same can be said for Freddie Hubbard: Polar AC! Idris Muhammad: Power Of Soul more than lives up to its name. I'd love to hear your opinion of Johnny Hammond: Gambler's Life. Is that a one- or two-LP set? Also Hubert Laws: The Chicago Theme; I see that from time to time, but have yet to actually get it. Would love to hear your opinion of this one, too.

Such as...

This would be the best place to start a music-related blog, AFAIC. Nobody reads 'em on my FacePage.