Jim R

Barbados?

Well, I'm a little late, but I too finally snagged this, and I wanted to bring this back up in case anybody might have overlooked it. What a fantastic album this was. Like Kevin, I'm not sure what happened to that other track, but the 8 tracks they included are definitely a great addition to anybody's collection. I had heard some Billy Mitchell with Al Grey on Argo, Thad on BN, and a few others, but this was a terrific showcase for the man to step out front.

I picked this up recently, and just remembered to return to this thread and make some comments. First of all, this is one of my favorite Burrell CD's in years, and he's rarely made a weak one, IMO. This session offers a wonderful balance between old classics and new compositions; gentle, introspective ballads and energizing swingers; instrumentals and vocals. Kenny has never sounded better as a singer, which is pretty amazing considering his... er... advanced years. That's the thing about this disc- I don't hear any signs of decay or decline, either in terms of his technique nor his energy. It's just a beautiful display of talent all around (everyone plays their asses off), and KB really opens up his soul on this (the dedications to his wife, and friends living and deceased are powerfully demonstrated in the music). This man continues to be a jazz treasure...

I was just doing some searching online for photos of Joe Albany, and although I haven't really found anything yet, I did come upon some information about a new book that was written by Albany's daughter. It looks pretty interesting (if potentially a bit gruesome): AJ Albany book review

I should have added one thing... Dexter Gordon // Days of Wine and Roses (from the TANGERINE album) B)

Tony, my heartiest congratulations, and best wishes to all of you. Adventure indeed. I wish I could turn back the clock and go through it all again with our kids. What a joy to have little ones in da house! Cherish every moment of every day- it goes by VERY quickly!!

No. Looks good, though...

All of the above! I'm loving the piano these days (especially digging Eddie Higgins, and Bill Charlap right now). As you may know, Trice, Castro and Ball all appear on Teddy Edwards' SUNSET EYES.

I see you like the word "maybe" today, Dave. I'm sure he would have been thrilled to be playing with them... but I'm not sure you're getting my point. Well, I think I'll go listen to the Bill Evans / Scott Lofaro Trio... and maybe follow that with some Miles Davis / John Coltrane / Red Garland / Paul Chambers Quintet.

I seem to have run into a new wrinkle today. For some reason, although I can post on other threads, I couldn't post on the "Favorite Saxophone Ballad" thread. After clicking on "new reply", the normal page for posting came up, but the page was truncated (cut off just above the post icons) so that I couldn't see the "add reply" and "preview post" buttons. In addition, the space where you type in your message contained about 30 or 40 lines of computer code. Weird. I tried several times to return to the thread after I had posted elsewhere, but the same thing kept occurring.

Concert billing OR CD labeling, it's still odd. I suppose it's logical that they wanted to get Leroy Vinnegar's name on the cover/in the title... but it still seems like an unusual way of labeling a recording. If I were the drummer (Mel Brown, in this case), I don't think I'd be real thrilled.

A very minor point here, but there's something which strikes me as odd. "Jessica Williams / Leroy Vinnegar Trio"... ? Seems unusual to label it that way. Sort of like saying "Milt Jackson / John Lewis / Percy Heath Quartet"... Is it just me?

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I'd like to see Fantasy finish off Dexter Gordon's catalog by releasing BLUES A LA SUISSE on CD. Ed Bickert's BYE BYE BABY was a good call.

This one's pretty obscure (available directly from the label in Ireland, but I got mine from Hiroshi Tanno): "GIFT" (Ashbrowne label) a quartet featuring: LOUIS STEWART (guitar) BILL CHARLAP (piano) MARK HODGSON (bass) STEPHEN KEOGH (drums) Tracks: 1. LINE FOR LYONS 2. STAIRWAY TO THE STARS 3. CURTAINS 4. YARDBIRD SUITE 5. BLUE LIGHTS 6. WHAT'S NEW 7. YESTERDAY 8. THE SONG IS YOU I would also highly recommend any of the Venus (Japan) CD's by Eddie Higgins.

Chris, thanks for that info. It's a shame that recording never saw daylight. I just recently began to discover how talented Joyce is. I knew she was successful as a vocalist, but I didn't realize her other talents, nor how long she had been around. I'm going to have to keep on the lookout for that Ogerman set.

Wow- that sounds good. Where did you hear about it, Chris? Any idea what year it's from, or what songs were on it?

I've forgotten whether or not Columbia still owns the rights to it, but the Brown/Roach LIVE AT THE BEEHIVE recordings from 1955 would be nice to see on CD. It may not be for everybody, but I'm of the opinion that Kenny Burrell's vocal album (he plays some nice guitar on it as well) WEAVER OF DREAMS is worthy and overdue. I've been hoping for (and suggesting) an Errol Garner Mosaic set for years...

Rooster, you've had some cool avatars, and I know variety is fun, but this one is easily my favorite. If you're going to rotate, at least keep this one in the mix!

These days I only run and play golf, but I was involved in sports for almost my entire life. Alexander, we'd better stick together here... we're liable to get bashed for being soccer players. I played mostly football, basketball, and baseball as a kid. I was always a quarterback in our neighborhood football games, and (if you'll forgive me for saying so ) I was good. I could run past or around just about everybody I ever played against, and I had an accurate and strong arm (I could heave the ball about 60 yards). One of my regrets, though, is that I didn't played organized football in school. I think I saw myself as too small- even in the early 70's, most of the guys on the high school football team were bigger and more muscular than I was (I was 6' and about 155 pounds soaking wet). I played soccer all 4 years in high school instead, and we won a couple of championships. When I started high school in 1970, soccer was only just beginning to be offered as an organized sport. By the time I graduated in '74, I was interested in the international game, and have been following the World Cups and our national team since then. I get more excited (and nervous) watching the U.S. national soccer team than I do watching just about any other sports team- except perhaps when the Niners are in the Super Bowl or the Giants are in the World Series... or the Warriors are in the... oh, never mind that last example. I played recreation soccer until I turned 40, and started to get too many ankle and knee problems. At least now I can play sports with my kids. Golf is a bitch, BTW, for those who haven't tried it. I've been playing more regularly over the last couple of years with my brother, and instead of improving, I think I'm gettting worse...

This thread is making me feel old. Most of the shows being mentioned are much later than the ones I would choose... I have a nostalgia for 60's-era shows. We have cable, but TV-Land doesn't quite have the variety I'd like to see. It IS good to see them airing things like Dick Van Dyke and Get Smart, though. The Hallmark channel is also offering some classics. For DVD, I'd like to see some things that are hard (or impossible) to find on cable. COMBAT!, the WWII drama starring Vic Morrow, would be my top choice. I'm actually more of a comedy fan when it comes to TV shows, but this show featured some great writing, and great acting. I used to watch it in reruns during the 70's, and I recall one local station doing a marathon where they ran all the episodes sequentially. Wish I'd had a VCR at the time. Anybody know if "The Wild Wild West" (the original TV show) has come out on DVD? Mission Impossible? McHale's Navy? How about "F Troop"?

PAGE ONE is still the Henderson BN that I return to most often. One of the greatest BN's of all time, IMO. I too enjoy some of the Verves, especially LUSH LIFE and DOUBLE RAINBOW. I agree about many of the fine dates by Joe as a sideman too. He was involved in some classics! IDLE MOMENTS, THE SIDEWINDER, SONG FOR MY FATHER... etc Of course, one of the greatest compliments we can pay him is that he had a distinct and highly developed sound. One of the great masters, to be sure.

Actually Jim, it's an L5 (but you were close ). No, it's not mine... I wish. It was put up on eBay last January, and the seller pulled the old "I'm ending the auction early" trick, and tried to sell it via e-mail bidding. Long story short, the situation got weird, and I dropped out of contention, despite the fact that this was a rare DREAM guitar. It was originally made in 1957 as an acoustic instrument, but was customized at Gibson in '59 with the legendary "Charlie Christian" pickup. Very rare bird. Kenny Burrell used one like it in the early 60s. I could go on, but that's already probably more than you wanted to know!