[Live jazz in South Africa]

So, I'm going to the World Cup in South Africa next month--soccer, music, and good food being the things that keep my world turning--and I'm interested in catching some live bands. I'll mostly be staying in the Johannesburg area but will probably be making side trips to Cape Town and Durban. Are any of you beautiful people familiar with the jazz/other-music scene in SA? Good clubs, venues, etc.? Also, is the crime in Johannesburg really as bad as they say it is, or is it a case of "don't go looking for trouble and it won't find you"? I don't want to be one of those nitwit tourists who won't go anywhere after dark because they're afraid of getting stabbed. Is it like, say, south side Chicago on a Friday night? Or more like mid-90s ninth-ward New Orleans? Or is it something else entirely?

[Treme]

I think that Sonny and Annie might be fictional versions of a real-life couple that became infamous in post-Katrina NOLA. If this is so, spoiler alert: It doesn't end well.

[Chicago Jazz Fest!]

An interview with Muhal Richard Abrams: http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/musi...-jazz04.article

A review of the first night of the festival: http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/musi...-fest06.article

Both articles got cut between the writing and the printing. Aram Shelton played lovely alto sax in Rolldown.

Peyroux's diction and contralto range are "masterful"? Hmmm....

[Verve Originals, complete list]

I believe that there was also a jewel-case "Decca Original" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Lullabies of Birdland."

[Chicago Jazz Festival]

IMO, the Rollins concert last night was very boring, but based on recent recordings and accounts of other recent SR concerts, that's what I expected it to be. There were moments of, gestures toward, an interestingly complex, oblique-notey shagginess on Rollins' part, but these were just moments and gestures in the midst of pieces that, typically of SR of these times, more or less circled in place. And SR's sound, with that attached-to-the-bell mike, was (I'm sorry) virtually goat-like, though it might have sounded better if one were more close-up than I was. Gives me no pleasure to say the above; just my honest reaction.

I've started to use the expression "trading fours with a cross-eyed percussionist" as a phrase meaning "minor boredom tinged with a little embarrassment." On the other hand, the little guy playing congas with Eddie Palmieri was smokin'.

[Verve LPR Series]

Here's the list I have, ordered by when the "limited edition" batch was supposed to expire (in fact, they're mostly all still available in stores or through Amazon):

Available Until May 2005

Count Basie: King Of Swing

Willie Bobo: A New Dimension

Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond: 1975: The Duets

Rosemary Clooney: Swing Around Rosie

Alice Coltrane: Universal Consciousness

Ella Fitzgerald: Whisper Not

Stan Getz: Stan Getz And The Cool Sounds

Astrud Gilberto: The Shadow Of Your Smile

Dizzy Gillespie: Afro

Woody Herman: Woody Herman 1963

Stan Kenton: The Formative Years

Carmen McRae: Birds Of A Feather

Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66: Equinox

Wes Montgomery: Willow Weep For Me

Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band: At The Village Vanguard

Anita O'Day: Incomparable!

Oscar Peterson: Soul Español

Mel Tormé: Olé Tormé

Sarah Vaughan: It´s A Man's World

Margaret Whiting: Margaret Whiting Sings The Jerome Kern Songbook

Available Until September 2005

Ernestine Anderson: My Kinda Swing

Buddy De Franco: Mr. Clarinet

Slim Gaillard: Slim Gaillard Rides Again

Terry Gibbs: Plays Jewish Melodies In Jazztime

Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory & The Cecil Taylor Quartet: At Newport

The Jazztet: The Jazztet At The Birdhouse

Sam Rivers: Crystals

Lalo Schifrin: Piano, Strings And Bossa Nova

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Gospel Train

Cal Tjader: Soul Bird: Whiffenproof

Available Until March 2006

Dorothy Ashby: Afro-Harping

Albert Ayler: Music Is The Healing Force of the Universe

Ray Brown: Jazz Cello

Buddie Emmons: Steel Guitar Jazz

Jim Hall: Live!

Earl Hines: Once Upon A Time

Steve Kuhn & Gary McFarland: The October Suite

Pee Wee Russell: Ask Me Now!

Archie Shepp: Attica Blues

Gabor Szabo: High Contrast

Available Until June 2006

Cannonball Adderley: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley

Stan Getz: Reflections

Jimmy Giuffre: The Easy Way

John Klemmer: Involvement

Lee Konitz: Motion

Billy Mitchell: This Is Billy Mitchell

Gerry Mulligan/Johnny Hodges: Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges

Sonny Stitt: New York Jazz

Phil Woods And His European Rhythm Machine: At The Montreux Jazz Festival

Available Until September 2006

Brook Benton: Songs I Love To Sing

Kenny Burrell: Have Yourself A Soulful Little Christmas

Blossom Dearie: My Gentleman Friend

Frank D'Rone: After The Ball

Ella Fitzgerald: Sings Sweet Songs For Swingers

Al Grey: Snap Your Fingers

JJ Johnson: JJ's Broadway

Hugh Masekela: grrr

Buddy Rich & Harry “Sweets” Edison: Buddy And Sweets

Jack Teagarden: Mis'ry And The Blues

Mel Tormé: Tormé

Available Until March 2007

Mel Brown: Chicken Fat

Gloria Coleman: Soul Sisters

John Frigo: I Love John Frigo...He Swings

Roger Kellaway: Cello Quartet

Yusef Lateef: The Golden Flute

Lyle Ritz: How About Uke?

Tony Scott: Tony Scott

Archie Shepp: The Cry Of My People

Stuff Smith: Cat On A Hot Fiddle

Clark Terry/Chico O'Farrill: Spanish Rice

Available Until June 2007

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: ‘S Make It

Candido Camero: Candido

Johnny Griffin: J G

Illinois Jacquet: Desert Winds

Roland Kirk: Kirk In Copenhagen

Machito: Vacation At The Concord

James Moody: James Moody

Dave Pike: Manhattan Latin

Patato & Totico: Patato & Totico

Sonny Stitt: Personal Appearance

Available Until September 2007

Lorez Alexandria: Alexandria The Great

Freddy Cole: Waiter, Ask The Man To Play The Blues

Blossom Dearie: Soubrette Sings Broadway Hit Songs

Bill Evans: California, Here I Come

Ella Fitzgerald: Hello Love

Ahmad Jamal: Chamber Music Of The New Jazz

Ramsey Lewis: Another Voyage

Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66: The Fool On The Hill

Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Portrait Of Frank Sinatra

Jimmy Smith: The Boss

Available Until March 2008

Al Cohn: Al Cohn Quintet Featuring Bob Brookmeyer

Xavier Cugat: Cugi's Cocktails

Harry Edison: Sweets

Dizzy Gillespie: Sittin' In

Gene Krupa: Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements

Joe Newman Quintet: At Count Basie's

Buddy Rich: Blues Caravan

Max Roach: Jazz In 3/4 Time

Available Until July 2008

Ernie Andrews: This is Ernie Andrews

Ella Fitzgerald: Hello, Dolly!

Milton Nascimento: Courage

Marlena Shaw: The Spice of Life

Jimmy Smith: Stay Loose

Sarah Vaughan: After Hours at the London House

Dinah Washington: I Wanna Be Loved

Jimmy Witherspoon & Brother Jack McDuff: The Blues is Now

Available Until September 2008

Albert Ayler: New Grass

Gato Barbieri: Chapter Four: Alive in New York

Yusef Lateef: Psychicemotus

Oliver Nelson: Live From Los Angeles

Freda Payne: After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!!

Pharaoh Sanders: Elevation

Gabor Szabo: Spellbinder

Michael White: The Land of Spirit and Light

The first 30 are packaged mini-LP style, and the rest are in digipacks. Mostly a pretty enjoyable lot; some fun stuff with only one out-and-out dog (the Kenton).

[New look for the Mosaic site.]

Man, definitely a step backwards. The site is ugly and amateurish, like they got some high school intern to do it for extra school credit. And does anyone else think it's a little crass that the company is now pimping the aftermarket value of Mosaic sets: "Although we believe the value of these sets are priceless, winning bids on out-of-print sets (link) listed on e-bay have topped hundreds of $ more than the original selling price. Nothing will replace what we put out." With a non-working link and bad noun-verb agreement! Thanks, Junior!

Plus, I had just repopulated my wish list for the second time and now it's gone. Sheesh.

[Six Degrees Records Recommendations?]

So, the jazz section of my local Tower has pretty much been picked over and the bones boiled to make soup. I think there are, like, three Najee albums and 11 copies of The Sermon left. Milling around the jazz/classical room with the other middle-aged dudes is getting kind of depressing...

However, I noticed today that they put a table of Six Degrees records out on the main floor. Many titles, several copies of each. The only Six Degrees CD I have is a DJ Spooky and my knowledge of what the label is about is pretty shaky. Could any of you beautiful people recommend some Six Degrees albums that would be worth my while? I like dance, good electronica, Afrobeat-style stuff, but my tolerance for snoozy, Starbucks-type world music is rather low.

Thanking you in advance.

[Doings in St. Louis?]

My girlfriend is going to be attending a conference in St. Louis next week, and I'm tagging along as "spousal equivalent." I've only ever driven through St. Louis before, so I'm probably more excited than I should be to tool around the town for a few days. I suspect that it will be more interesting in its midwestern way than the usual depressing convention destinations like Phoenix or Tampa.

Anyway, I'm hoping that some of you good people can give me a bit of inside dope on things in the jazz line to do in St. Louis. Also, how about good used CD and book stores? And, while you're at it, decent restaurants, especially in the Washington University area? Thanking you in advance...

[are some OJC limited editions going oop?]

Still no shipping confirmation for my order (#5577) of 90 CDs placed on 7/12. Do you think that they're sending out the "free shipping" orders last? Anyway, irritating...

I think they're only shipping them out to the people who call them

I've called, I've called! Status: "At the warehouse." Maybe they didn't like the edge in my voice.

[are some OJC limited editions going oop?]

Still no shipping confirmation for my order (#5577) of 90 CDs placed on 7/12. Do you think that they're sending out the "free shipping" orders last? Anyway, irritating...

[are some OJC limited editions going oop?]

What - you didn't go for the Honi Gordon?

I ordered the Honi Gordon, along with 89 other Limiteds and K2s.

Ugh. I think I'm a little sick to my stomach. The world is a bittersweet place for compulsive people.

[No More Verve LPRs?]

Thanks, David Ayers and everyone, for the interesting, if confounding, bits of information. Now where does everyone weigh in on on the pellet with the poison issue? Is it in the vessel with the pestle or the chalice from the palace?

[No More Verve LPRs?]

Does anyone know if Verve has decided to stop releasing new entries in the LPR series? It's been a while since the last batch. I e-mailed the Verve Group but got no response. I don't imagine the series made any money, but I sure did dig the out-of-the-blue album selections!

[Fantasy K2s deleted?]

So, I was going to place an order today at the Concord site for a bunch of the Prestige etc. K2s--you know, taking advantage of the sale price before the end of the year--but I can't find them listed on the site anywhere, even though they're in the winter sale catalog. And the Concord customer service line still has a canned message that the office will be closed until Dec. 27. Does anyone know what gives? Have the K2s been deleted in favor of the new RVG series?

[Ebay craziness]

I'm a longtime lurker, and I hate for my first post on this board to be on such a nerdly thread, but thisMosaic auction blew my mind. More than $140 per cd! With a scuffed box!