Big Al

Very nicely done, Jeff, and thank you once again for taking the reins so splendidly! Eventually, I hope to be able to participate more actively again (I still haven't listened to 78 or 79, but I'm signing up for 80 anyway!)

Got "Morning Star" yesterday and I really dig how warm and deep it sounds. I'm gonna pick up the rest as well. Seems like SUGAR is a good deal just to have "Gibraltar" on there. Hopefully this reissue campaign continues past January.

A ton of apologies for not participating beyong guessing the Goodman track. Lots of good stuff on here, now to start diggin' deeper!

Always had a soft spot for that record he did with his dad, "Standard Time Vol. 3" I think. It's the one where they do an absolutely stunning "Where or When." (After typing that, I did a Google search to make sure I was ID'ing the right record and clicked the link to the official Marsalis website. The page has a self-congratulatory blurb describing the album, and (as an addled bonus) a reprint of Stanley Crouch's liner notes. Make of that what you will, but there've been better ways to start a morning....)

Interesting. Thanks, Claude! Knowing, that, I now feel that much better about getting the new edition, but not ever giving up on my search for the vinyl (which has as much to do with watching the red Columbia label spin around as it does for listening to the music)!

Question from Mr. Obvious: if the Japanese Mastersound is the Macero mix, what tapes did they use? Did they use the tapes used to make the original LP (i.e. the mix-down tapes), or did they take the time to faithfully re-create the Macero mix using the original masters?

Green & greeeeeazy: I like that. And of course you see me in it, Chuck. Like I said, I don't wear that jacket for just anyone.

i finally got to listen to (and enjoy) this BFT!! thanks for your hard work. The skit at the end had me and my kids in stiches! Cool!!! But did you notice track 9? That one was especially for you, which I'm gonna detail in the answers (which I promise I'm gonna write!) indeed i did! Groovy!

Download please!!! I can't promise timely responses (poor Ptah is still awaiting my responses to his BFT!), but I sure wanna hear this one!

i finally got to listen to (and enjoy) this BFT!! thanks for your hard work. The skit at the end had me and my kids in stiches! Cool!!! But did you notice track 9? That one was especially for you, which I'm gonna detail in the answers (which I promise I'm gonna write!)

Very enlightening, to say the least! I'll very likely pick up this new edition, not having this album in any form any more. (Had the remaster, made my own single-disc mix, thought I should trade that in for the box, didn't care for the box and sold it, never got around to replacing the 2-CD set) Whattya wanna bet that as soon as I buy the new re-master/re-mix, I'll find the original vinyl?

Man, you must be reading my mind! I just came across this the other night and realized I never finished it (never finished BFT 54, either. Yikes!). Thanks for the reminder, though!

Y'know, I don't wear that green suit for just ANYONE.....

Can a "Latin Side of Ron Carter" and/or "Latin Side of Tony Williams" be far behind?

Have only just kinda skimmed over everything (the usual procedure, which is to skim thru to see if there's anything on the BFT which I own, and which I can run here and act all knowledgeable and say something like, "Well, of COURSE this is the (jazz group) with their version of (jazz song), and if nobody else gets this, then what is this world coming to?"). Without having looked at anyone else's guesses, I can say with great assurance that of COURSE track 6 is the Benny Goodman Orchestra doing "Roll 'Em" from that wonderful compilation On the Air that Columbia put out a long time ago that, AFAIC and IMOSHO, completely annihilates the Carnegie Hall concert, and if nobody else has gotten this, then what has this world come to? More listening later, more comments probably MUCH later, but I sure like what I've heard so far!

It's 2:19 in the morning, I've been home for about a half-hour, and the adrenaline is STILL rushing thru my veins. Janiva Magness's tour swung through Dallas for a night, and I *finally* got to see what all the excitement's about. First, I'll tell you that, though I'm hardly an expert on blues singin/shoutin, I feel pretty comfortable in telling y'all that this woman has few peers! Singers don't move me much to begin with, but Janiva makes you FEEL all kinds of bluesy: bad blues, sad blues, happy blues, pissed-off blues, so many kinds of blues and the best part was every song felt like it was directed at YOU! And the band! Tight, right, and fulla might!!! They started the 2nd set with a couple instrumentals, a standard blues and then a kick-ass reading of James Brown's "Super Bad" that actually shot past the expectations of the title! All of this would've made for a helluva night of blues except that I was there to see Jim, so the night coulda sucked and it would've been worth it just to finally be able to see Jim play live. Those of you who've had the pleasure of seeing him live know why I'm all sorts of giddy right now. Randy and Joe especially, cuz you guys got to PLAY with Jim on a regular basis! (Yeah, I'm just a little envious, but then I remember I got to play with Sangrey. So there! Nyah! ) At first, I thought I'd caught the end of the gig, cuz I walked in and the bandstand was right by the entrance and Jim was literally next to the door. I walked in just as he was taking off on a B3 solo that circled the stratosphere a few times before blasting completely off into the nether regions! (I think the last time I was that awed by a musical performance was the first time I saw Quartet Out and a Dennis Durick drum solo that, had he let go of either those sticks, could've killed anyone within a 100-yard radius! I tell y'all: I've been waiting a LOOOOOONG time to see Organissimo play, and while that dream no longer appears to be achievable in a group context, I can still dream about seeing them individually (and, shame on me, I should've seen Randy & his dad this summer! Still bugged about that one!), and one of those dreams came true tonight!) Thankfully, that was only the beginning, as intermission began and not only did I get to yak it up with Jim for a few minutes, but also got to meet kh1958! Sweet! And I buy the next round of sodas! Set two kicked off with the aforementioned instrumentals, then Janiva took the stage and OWNED it for the rest of the night! At one point, I found myself yelling, "TELL IT, BABY!" during one particularly slow & aching blues, right at the end when it's slowing down and she's got us ALL wrapped around her fingers! DAMN, she's good! Afterwards, kh & I were walking to our cars and I said, "That was almost as loud as the Metallica concert!" But the Metallica concert, as monumental as that was, wasn't nearly as direct and inspiring as tonight was! This was easily the best show I've seen all year, and it's gonna take a LOT to top it! Unless, of course, I get asked to play bass behind Greg & Sangrey again, then all bets are off! Seriously, Jim, it was an absolute pleasure and well worth the wait after all these years to finally hear you tearin' it up. I hope you know that not only do I consider you a friend, but still consider you one of my heroes, musical and otherwise. (That and a few bucks will get you a coffee at 7-Eleven, assuming y'all stop there from time to time on the road) Tonight only cemented that. Take care, man!

Gerry Mulligan/Paul Desmond - BLUES IN TIME (Verve V-8478, MONO baby!)

Infrequent visits to this place these days leads to discovering threads long after they've been started, discussed, and put to bed, but.... As long as I live, one of my greatest regrets will always be not ever seeing Organissimo live, and while that certainly doesn't make me any less fortunate than everyone else out there, my sadness lies in the fact that I was so close yet so far: I was in Michigan visiting family and the band was set to play in Grand Rapids the week I was up there. So what happens? I get to the club only to find out the gig's been cancelled because of power outages all across the city from storms earlier that evening! {{{sigh}}} We all hung out that evening and had a great time: Jim, Joe, Randy, Chuck, Skid, and the bass player who's name escapes me now. In a way, perhaps it wasn't too terrible that I missed the gig because, in its place, I had the pleasure of hanging out with guys who I still call good friends to this day. Thanks for the music, guys. But even more importantly, thanks for the memories.

I hope so. We got a Labor Day invite from a friend for that night, but we haven't committed yet. I say that because, despite the fact that I've been told many times on this board that the gig is Saturday night, my addled brain continues to think that the Magness gig is SUNDAY night and so I was planning around that! AARRGHHH!!!!

Isn't that a great album?!? Oh my goodness, YES!!! Am I imagining things, or are there a lot of great sessions with Sonny Clark and Art Blakey that went unreleased for the longest time? Right off the top of my head, I can think of: Ike Quebec - EASY LIVING (aka CONGO LAMENT) Sonny Clark - MY CONCEPTION Grant Green - NIGERIA Okay, maybe not a bunch, but still.... a damn shame these weren't released during Sonny's lifetime, y'know?

Quebec arrived on Friday, just now getting to a computer to say THANKS!!!

Download for me, please!

Never really thought about the religious aspect of distortion, just always figured that believers and non-believers alike had differing opinions on ..... what? aesthei... aestht.. huh? Oh. NEVER MIND!

My wife and I went to Beijing in November 2007 as the madness of preparing for the Olympics was in full swing. We had the time of our lives, and the food there was fantastic!!! I came back ten pounds heavier than when I left! Once you start to get homesick for American food, believe it or not, there's a Pizza Hut there that serves the most delicious pizza (i.e. nothing like here in the states): light flaky crust, light (e.g. not heavy) ingredients. I couldn't believe this was a Pizza Hut pizza, and still wonder why they don't serve that recipe here??? Also, make sure you go before the government shuts down the A/C for the season (sometime in October, I think). Those hotels get kinda stuffy without air circulation, and you sure don't wanna open the windows until Thursday at least! Hope you guys have a great time!

This could seriously jeopardize our FacePage Friendship!