crisp

Great, but how can you bear the noise? It's not annoying like Jarrett's grunts, but genuinely disturbing, like an angry wild animal.

Try Masabumi Kikuchi then. Paul Motian's albums with him are rendered worthless by Kikuchi's creepy, unpleasant growling.

Excellent, my pleasure.

The old edition of Oscar's songbooks is £4.74 at Amazon UK.

Vintage Grappelli -- two Concord albums in one package, £2.98 at Amazon UK

Looks like it's back in stock: JPJ

That's great. I'm pleased you got one.

It certainly concerned me!

Still in stock at Jazz Messengers -- quick! https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/70815/james-p-johnson/classic-james-p-johnson-sessions

After a £30 VAT charge/Royal Mail ransom on the Savoy set I bought the new Teddy Wilson from Jazz Messengers. Didn't compare the cost vs Mosaic, but I had no complaints about the service and packaging. Also bought the Beehive PDQ after Mosaic's recent announcement. Mosaic may (or may not) be cheaper, but in the UK at least it's a gamble over whether or not it will slip through customs.

Thanks. Perceptions is one Elite I missed. Also the Dizzy Duets passed me by. I might get the Thielemans and the Lincoln; everything else I have or don't want. The Astaire Story is a remaster, not part of the Italian project (I think), with one alternate take; details here.

Not box sets, but Universal Italy are reissuing a number of long oop Verve albums, including former Verve Elites: http://www.universalmusic.it/jazz/bassoprezzo/

New year sale

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Books-Oscar-Peterson-Trio/dp/B075SVK2CQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1514331391&sr=1-1&keywords=Oscar+Songbooks US: https://www.amazon.com/Song-Books-Oscar-Peterson/dp/B075SVK2CQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1514331409&sr=1-5&keywords=Oscar+Songbooks

I wonder what they are bringing out in March

So would I, but other sources disagree. Either way, it's a strange choice for improvisation, although a beautiful song.

That's what I thought. I'm not a musician but I can imagine getting lost in improvising on a tune that breaks the 32-bar limit.

One of the most beautiful verses of all. The song was put together from memory by Oscar Levant after its composer, George Gershwin, suddenly died. The verse suggests that Ira Gershwin's lyrics, written after his brother's death, are also about Ira's relationship with George: The more I read the papers The less I comprehend The world with all it's capers And how the thing will end. Nothing seems to be lasting. But that isn't our affair; We've got something permanent, I mean in the way we care

I'll Remember April is 48 bars: A-B-C-D-A-B with the last section a variation. I always thought it was A-B-A. Harold Arlen was prolific at writing extra-long melodies, although Cole Porter did quite a few. Since this is the musicians' forum, can I ask the musicians here: are songs like this harder to play than 32-bar AABA or ABAB songs? Or more interesting?

Great news. Any idea how long it takes for Mosaic to appear on Jazz Messengers?

I haven't played The Source yet but the Blakey EP was very good. Not knowing anything about Allen or his band I was pleasantly surprised.

Quentin Blake, yes? I read that Cooper novel some years ago although its appeal escaped me, I'm afraid.

I believe Norman Granz wrote those early unattributed Verve sleeve notes. At least the critic Benny Green told a story in which he told Granz how awful the notes on his Verve albums were and asked who wrote them. "I did," said Granz and gave Green the job of doing them instead. Regarding Feather I became aware of him very early in my jazz-album collecting life because he wrote so many sleeve notes on famous albums. He struck me as a bit of a blowhard from the off and at that stage I didn't know anything about him -- just a vibe, I suppose, since confirmed as correct. Nat Hentoff and Stanley Dance seemed to write all the other sleeve notes of that era. They seemed fine to me then and still do.

Thanks. Good to know it's possible.

Where did you find it? All the SH copies I've seen have been pricey.