[New CTI reissues]

These are all Japanese imports? Where are you guys scoring them? Who's your connection? I need a CTI fix, dammit! That Mulligan/Baker looks good...

[Clifford Brown remasters?]

The Vogue CDs are out of print. You may still find volumes one and two around (my store has them, but not for much longer) but I think volume three is pretty rare.

I'd snag 'em (I love Brownie's stuff) but all those damn alternates! I have quite a bit of Brownie, anyway, so I think I'll just be happy with what I have.

Oh, and "At Basin Street" was recently reissued as a VME. The old edition is still floating around, but don't be thrown...there is a new one with lots of extras and terriffic sound.

[New Fantasy reissues]

Who's on the Stitt? When's it from?

[Kenny Garrett - Standard of Language]

You know, I still haven't picked up that Haynes' disc; thanks for reminding me about it, Alexander!

You must get it! It's fantastic! Great line-up too: Haynes, Holland, Hargrove, Garrett, and Dave Kikoski (the first time I'd ever heard him, in fact. I have a couple of his albums now, plus those two BeatleJazz discs he participated in). Real top notch playing all around. Check it out!

[chet baker sings]

Alexander: So maybe there is hope for me yet? I have never really been able to "get" Chet Baker. It is not that I hate him. I can more or less enjoy listening to him, especially with Russ Freeman, who I do like quite a bit.

But I don't hear the magic. Maybe it is just not my cup of tea.

Maybe. Maybe not. You may come around to Chet someday. Then again, you may *never* really enjoy his work. I used to say that the difference between Miles, Chet, and Tom (Harrell) (all of whom have a similar middle range trumpet style) was to say that Miles sounded stand-offish, Tom sounds abstracted, and Chet simpered. To a certain extent, I still think that's true. There is something almost "effeminate" about Chet's playing (not that there's anything wrong with that B) ), just as his voice is somewhat androgynous (people always ask me if that's a man or a woman singing when they hear Chet sing for the first time). That can be a bit off-putting, I'll admit, but I don't think that it stems from any preconceived notion of "manliness". Chet played the way Chet played. Either you like it, or you don't. I didn't like it, now I do. Why? I don't know.

I highly recommend Chet's Prestige albums with George Coleman. You can only get them as imports, but they're not too terribly expensive and they are usually available through Amazon.

[Here's One For Y'all....]

Fat Gumbo Davis...

Yas, yas...

B)

"I ain't got no Lincoln Continental, Lawd...Sho' ain't got no Ford Windstar...

Lawd, I ain't got no Lincoln Continental...An' I sho' ain't got no Ford Windstar...

Gotta drive down that ol' dirt road

In my low down dirty Honda Civic...My Honda Civic, lawd..."

Who says white guys can't sing the blues?

[BNBB refugees]

So has anyone heard from Greg since the BNBB when down with all hands?

[Missing Teen Elizabeth Smart Found Alive!!!]

Yeah, being an atheist I don't hold with all the "power of prayer" crap. The Smarts are *extremely* lucky that a *real* nutjob didn't kidnap their kid. They were fortunate to get a "second teir" loony and not a "first teir" loony (a la Samantha Runion's kidnapper). Otherwise, and I'm very sorry to have to say it, all the prayer in the world wouldn't have saved Elizabeth. Again, I say, it's good news that she's safe and sound. I couldn't be happier for the Smarts right now. But ascribing cosmic significance to a human event...please. If there is a God, he's hearing about it on CNN just like the rest of us. To imply that the Smarts were somehow "in" with God in a way that the Runions weren't (or the ten million people who died in the holocaust, for that matter) is actually remarkably insensitive (I know, pot calling the kettle black). Sorry to drizzle on everybody's parade, but I'm the kind of person who likes to remember all the bad things in life whenever something good happens. I look for the cloud in every silver lining.

[Alegria]

Being that I live in the U.S. (where the album has not been released) and in a lame city (where advanced copies of cool new albums don't turn up in used bins), I'll have to wait until 3/25 for this one to come out before I'll hear it. But I can personally *guarantee* that it *will* be going home with me THAT VERY DAY. Oh yes...

[Kenny Garrett - Standard of Language]

In fact, some of the tracks (originally intended for "Happy People") were recorded on September 11, 2001. They were left off of that album because they were deemed "inappropriate" for some reason. As if Kenny could have known what was going to happen when he scheduled the date. A lot of albums were released on 9/11 (it was a Tuesday, recall, and that's when new albums are released) and got lost in the post-9/11 shuffle (like Roy Haynes' excellent "Birds of a Feather"). I haven't heard the new Kenny, in any case, but I have it on hold at work and plan on getting it in the next week or so.

[The Grand Unification Theory]

I think the liner notes are flakey, but the music is excellent (the whole). Not really news, though. I've thought Harris was a major talent for a long time. He keeps growing by leaps and bounds.

[Missing Teen Elizabeth Smart Found Alive!!!]

It is good news, indeed, and I am glad for the Smart family. However...

Is it really necessary for CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News to devote all of their coverage to this particular news item? I just checked a few minutes ago, and they're STILL talking about it. What's to discuss? She's alive. She seems to be physically well. The details of her abduction will become known over time. Do the talking heads have to repeat the same information over and over again until some new news surfaces? I HATE cable news!

[chet baker sings]

For a long time I *hated* Chet Baker. I hated the way he played. I hated the way he sang. I hated the pathetic cult that grew up around him after his gradual disintegration from drug abuse and his mysterious death. I hated the way people romanticised him (the same way I used to hate the way people romanticised Billie Holiday). Then, a few years ago, I got "Chet" (because of Bill Evans, really) and I was surprised to find that I liked it. I picked up the stuff he did on PJ with Gerry Mulligan and on his own with the great Russ Freeman, and I found that I liked that stuff too. While I wasn't crazy about the vocals, I did like his playing with Getz in the 80s. After that, the only remaining hurdle was the singing. I picked up "Chet Baker Sings", and I never looked back. I'm a fan now. I love his playing. I love his singing. Still hate that stupid cult, though. I don't think his life or death were glamorous. He was a sad, but talented, man who lived a rather pathetic life. That's the odd thing about Getz: he abused himself as badly as Baker did, but it never interfered with his playing.