Daniel A

Otherwise you're more than welcome to move to Europe. No such plastic on the CDs over here.

I'll differ: I prefer the earlier album. Partly because of the music, partly because the recording is much better.

Probably the remastering is better, though.

R.I.P., Val. Watched 'Quatermass 2' on TV a late night some 16 years ago. As Shawn says, a great movie.

I think "Alone" on Verve is his best solo effort. The earlier sessions for Riverside(?) which were not released until long after his death are touching performances, but they get me in a kind of sad mood; I don't think Evans was feeling too well. "Alone" was reissued with additional newly discovered bonus tracks as a VME just a few years back (unfortunately leaving out an excellent "A Time for Love" which was on the first CD reissue and the complete Verve box. It had very good liner notes, which were left out when it was just recently reissued again. Daniel A, My VME has two takes of a Time For Love, do you mean there were actually 3 takes? The VME has the orginal liners by Evans himself and some updated notes by Phil Bailey in 2001, whose notes got left out? Yes, the alternate of "A Time for Love" is a different one on the first CD. The six tracks which was added with the 2001 release are good to have, no doubt. But while the sound quality of the "old" 'A Time for Love' alternate is a bit muddier than the rest of the album, I think it's the finest take of them all. Which were probably composites anyway... The most recent release only has the original LP notes by Evans.

Is the obvious product placement from the book present in the film - Neveu's SmartCar?

I was astonished that Russia actually got a lot of votes from Estonia et al.

I think "Alone" on Verve is his best solo effort. The earlier sessions for Riverside(?) which were not released until long after his death are touching performances, but they get me in a kind of sad mood; I don't think Evans was feeling too well. "Alone" was reissued with additional newly discovered bonus tracks as a VME just a few years back (unfortunately leaving out an excellent "A Time for Love" which were on the first CD reissue and the complete Verve box. It had very good liner notes, which were left out when it was just recently reissued again.

Are you sure? That would mean that anything recorded before 1936 was now pd. I'm quite sure he's sure, because that's the way it is!

I read the book and I admit I fount it rather absorbing, while it's perhaps not a great piece of litterature, though. I read "Digital Fortress" and found it pretty weak. The film has gotten a lot of bad reviews over here; not sure I'll want to see it.

No consensus about the title mix-up, but an interesting post from Bertrand: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=12869

Some of the tracks are mistitled on both the LP and the CD. Let me check if I can find some notes about that somewhere. If I remember correctly there was a mix-up of two or more titles.

It's good! Sound quality is not splendid (a bit muddy, dubbed-in applause; it was in reality a studio date), but his playing is thoroughly enjoyable. I like his albums on French Columbia a little better, mostly because they are nicely paced, sound well-rehearsed without losing a feel of spontanity and are in much better sound. But they are mostly only available as expensive hard-to-find second hand LPs. Solal is a great artist and has made very few bad recordings. It all comes down to if you like his style or not. I think of the 1960s as a somewhat transitional period for Solal, half-way between swing/bop influences and the more abstract style of years to come. Personally I've approached Solal chronologically; it's good to have his Vogue recordings (and others from the 50s) in the back of the head when plunging into his 60s work.

The Sony Legacy reissue of "Red Clay" sounds very good and is available at midprice. Probably the CTI Hubbard album to start with for those who are not fond of CTI productions in general. "Straight Life" is even cheaper at CDUniverse ($7.85). The almost 20 year old reissue of "First Light" is available at CDUniverse for $7.85 as well. The 2003 reissue was for some reason only released in Europe, I think. It's no striking improvement over the earlier remastering, but it's mastered at a normal sound level whereas the earlier version was a bit muted. It also features an additional (live) bonus cut. "Sky Dive" is out of print, but still available from CDUniverse. Those interested should grab the opportunity (espescially at $7.95), since CTI reissues from Sony seems to have come to a halt "Keep Your Soul Together" is long gone, and "Polar AC" has only been reissued on CD in Japan, where it is also OOP.

I've recently listened quite a lot to Freddie Hubbard's CTI albums and though I know there are mixed opinions regarding Hubbard's 70's recordings and CTI albums in general, I enjoy much of these recordings a lot. The jazz content is higher than on many another CTI album and I also think they have aged better than some of Creed Taylor's other productions of the early 70s. I can see why some might be disappointed that Hubbard did not evolve as much as a soloist/improviser (even during his Blue Note years he didn't really develop that much stylistically). On the other hand I can't help to think that the CTIs would be looked upon somewhat differently if he had played in the same way, but in completely acoustical settings. Some of the albums feature Don Sebesky arrangements for woodwinds, brass and/or strings, and I still think they are among the most tasteful within the genre. Everybody might not like the way Ron Carter's bass sounds on these recordings, but I think the quality of on these productions, from sound quality to arrangements and ensemble work, is uniformly high. One could argue if there is one single oustanding album among these. Red Clay is usually considered the album to get. The other albums are more mixed, usually let down by one or two less satisfying tracks. But I also think that the best tracks fully match the best ones on "Red Clay". I've written down a few comments for every album; I would like to say more, really, but then it would result in an absurdly lengthy initial post. I hope to return to the subject later on. But I'm quite interested in what you others think of these albums. Red Clay (1970) Freddie Hubbard (tp); Joe Henderson (ts, fl); Herbie Hancock (el-p, org); Ron Carter (b); Lenny White (d) 1. Red Clay (Freddie Hubbard) - 12:05 2. The Intrepid Fox (Freddie Hubbard) - 10:40 3. Suite Sioux (Freddie Hubbard) - 8:40 4. Delphia (Freddie Hubbard) - 7:25 5. Cold Turkey (John Lennon) - 10:26 6. Red Clay - (Live, 1971) - 18:45 [bonus track] A terrific group, and alhough they could probably have handled more advanced material than these tunes the results are as good as one could expect. It is probably the most consistent album of Hubbard's CTIs. The live bonus track from the recent CD reissue is done with a different group consisting of Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Johnny Hammond, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham and Airto is a bit too hysterical for my taste. Without doubt you had to be there. Straight Life (1970) Freddie Hubbard (flh, tp); Joe Henderson (ts); Herbie Hancock (el-p); George Benson (el-g); Ron Carter (b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Richie Landrum, Weldon Irvine (perc) 1. Straight Life (Freddie Hubbard) - 17:30 2. Mr. Clean (Weldon Irvine) - 13:30 3. Here's That Rainy Day (J. Burke/J. Van Heusen) - 5:10 This album has a rather different vibe than "Red Clay"; groovier, but also a bit more "out". I'm not sure it fully succeeds; Henderson seems to appreciate the setting and I think his solos are the best of the album. Hubbard displays a bit too much of what usually is called "fireworks" (or is it "pyrotechnics"?) and Hancock seems as if he's trying to play as inventive as possible, but ultimately comes out sounding rather pointless and unattractive. First Light (1971) Freddie Hubbard (tp, flh); Hubert Laws (fl); Richard Wyands (el-p); George Benson (el-g); Ron Carter (b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Phil Kraus (vib); Airto Moreira (perc); Don Sebesky (arr,cond); strings and woodwinds 1. First Light (Freddie Hubbard) - 11:00 2. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Paul & Linda McCartney) - 8:12 3. Moment to Moment (Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer) - 5:40 4. Yesterday's Dreams (Don Sebesky/Norman Martin) - 4:55 5. Lonely Town (from "On The Town") (Leonard Bernstein/Comden & Green) - 6:55 6. Fantasy In D / Polar AC (Cedar Walton) - 6:56 7. First Light - (Live, 1971) - 16:04 [bonus track] Undoubtedly, this must have been one of the more expensive albums to produce. Fo me it also represents an unmatched mix of tasteful orchestral backgrounds, good tunes and consistently interesting solos. Hubbard's tone on trumpet and flugelhorn was never better in my opinion. As on several of the other large-group albums Hubert Laws is featured quite prominently. I still think of him as one of the best jazz flutists, even if he sadly has chosen to move out of jazz almost completely for the last 30 years. The reworking of the Cedar Walton tune is the outstanding track. For the live bonus cut, the same commments as for the bonus "Red Clay" apply. Sky Dive (1972) Freddie Hubbard (tp, flh); Hubert Laws (fl); Keith Jarrett (el-p, p); George Benson (el-g); Ron Carter (b); Billy Cobham (d); Ray Barretto, Airto (perc); Don Sebesky (arr,cond); brass and woodwinds 1. Povo (Freddie Hubbard) - 14:43 2. Sky Dive (Freddie Hubbard) - 7:40 3. In A Mist (Bix Beiderbecke) - 7:04 4. Naturally (Nat Adderley) - 5:54 5. The Godfather (Nino Rota) - 7:21 6. Naturally (alt take) - 5:03 [bonus track] The unusual name in this line-up is of course Keith Jarrett. It astonishes me that he fits so well in this setting, although I don't think I could have recognized him from just his playing. Much in the same style as "First Light", this album has even more of a film score feel, which in my opinion is not a bad thing. Maybe "Povo" is slightly overlong, since it locks into a rather unimaginative groove rather soon. However, the rest of the tracks more than make up for that. The two takes of "Naturally" are very good (the alternate take has a solo from Jarrett as well). Keep Your Soul Together (1973) Freddie Hubbard (tp, flh); Junior Cook (ts); George Cables (el-p); Ron Carter (b, el-b); Ralph Penland (d); Juno Lewis (perc) 1. Brigitte (Freddie Hubbard) - 9:07 2. Keep Your Soul Together (Freddie Hubbard) - 9:52 3. Spirits of Trane (Freddie Hubbard) - 9:07 4. Destiny's Children (Freddie Hubbard) - 10:19 5. Keep Your Soul Together (alt take) - 14:18 [bonus track] A hint of the direction of Hubbard's albums during the following years. Still, nice to have Junior Cook on board. On the whole: the solos are getting less interesting, as well as the tunes. But "Brigitte" has a beautiful Hubbard solo. Polar AC (1971-73) Freddie Hubbard (tp, flh); Hubert Laws; Richard Wyands (el-p); George Benson (el-g); Ron Carter (b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Phil Kraus (vib); Airto Moreira (perc); Don Sebesky (arr,cond); strings and woodwinds - (1971) 1. Fantasy In D / Polar AC (from "First Light") (C. Walton) - 6:56 Freddie Hubbard (flh); Hubert Laws (fl); George Cables (el-p); George Benson (el-g); Ron Carter (b); Lenny White (d); Airto Moreira (perc); Bob James (arr,cond); strings - (1972) 2. People Make The World Go Round (Thomas Bell/Linda Creed) - 5:50 Freddie Hubbard (flh); Hubert Laws (fl); Bob James (el-p,arr,cond); George Benson (el-g); Ron Carter (b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Airto Moreira (perc); strings - (1972) 3. Betcha, By Golly Wow (Thomas Bell/Linda Creed) - 8:09 Freddie Hubbard (tp, flh); Hubert Laws (fl); Keith Jarrett (el-p, p); George Benson (el-g); Ron Carter (b); Billy Cobham (d); Ray Barretto, Airto (perc); Don Sebesky (arr,cond); brass and woodwinds - (1972) 4. Naturally (from "Sky Dive") (Nat Adderley) - 5:54 Freddie Hubbard (flh); Junior Cook (ts); Hubert Laws (f); George Cables (el-p); Ron Carter (b); Lennie White (d) - (1973) 5. Son Of Sky Dive (Freddie Hubbard) - 13:20 This album was a way to get out three unissued tracks after Hubbard had left CTI, padding them out with two tracks which had already been released. The result is a very listenable album, which actually is the one I return to the most. "Son of Sky Dive" (which is just another version of "Sky Dive") is good as anything Hubbard recorded during the 70s (or after, for that matter). His flugelhorn solo combines lyricism and fire in a way that strikes me every time. Junior Cook is also playing better than I've ever heard him play on this track. He could not be mistaken for Joe Henderson, but he reminds me of Henderson in a positive sense here. The Columbia albums that followed took a further inevitable step into commercialism. John Snyder's liner notes for the CD reissue of "Sky Dive" aren't the best ever written - aside from hyping up the CTI albums to an unreasonable extent (talking about "the magic touch of Creed" etc.), they also rather unusually (and unfairly) explicitly comment on the subsequent "decline" of the main artist - but I found it interesting to read the passage about how Hubbard left CTI: "It [Hubbard leaving CTI] happened when Freddie's contract was up, and neither he nor Creed would make the call that would preserve the relationship. Freddie wanted Creed to call him and ask him to stay, and Creed took the position that if Freddie couldn't see what he, Creed, had done for him, he may as well leave. And so Freddie did. I remember thinking at the time, "This is crazy." It only got crazier. Freddie's career went downhill from then on, and Creed lost most of the artists that comprised one of the great jazz rosters, many for the very same reason he lost Freddie." There is also this anectdote (true or not): "Now picture this. It's 10:00 a.m. at Rudy's in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, in the woods. There's no coffee, and doughnuts are not allowed at Rudy's. And some days, doesn't even allow talking. [...] On one of Freddie's dates, he lit a cigarette, and blew smoke into Rudy's new mic (Rudy would cover the labels with tape or remove them altogether, so nobody could cop his moves), and Rudy stormed out of the studio and didn't come back until the next day. That cigarette cost Freddie about three grand. But, let's face it, he probably has gotten three grand's worth of use from retelling this story over the years."

Some Solal recommendations (from brownie and others) in this thread: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...opic=17964&st=0

From what I know the TV series has not been out on DVD. Already a few years ago I heard from somewhere that there would be releases in connection with the third MI movie. We'll see...

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=18104

The only case where it would make a difference is if both you and badguy bid the exact same amount, and in that case it would be better to bid with 3 seconds left than with 1 second left, since the first bid of a certain amount will take precedence.

But if that bid from you had been placed with only one second left you would have lost anyway, wouldn't you? Scenario 1 2 minutes left: niceguy bids $10 - Highest bid $10 3 seconds left: porcy62 bids $20 - Highest bid $10.50 2 seconds left: badguy bids $30 - Highest bid $20.50 badguy wins at $20.50 Scenario 2 2 minutes left: niceguy bids $10 - Highest bid $10 2 seconds left: badguy bids $30 - Highest bid $10.50 1 second left: porcy62 bids $20 - Highest bid $20.50 badguy wins at $20.50

I went to see the latest Mission Impossible movie yesterday. Haven't seen MI II, but I saw the first movie when it appeared. I'm quite fond of the original TV series, which despite the varying degrees of low budgetness managed to establish a certain kind of atmosphere. The recent movie is more like any other contemporary action film. But I admit I found it entertaining. I'm still not sure how much I like Tom Cruise as an actor, though. To me, it's often too obvious that he's acting. Anybody else seen it?

Some Japanese CDs arrived this week: George Gruntz 'Noon in Tunisia' (Saba/MPS, 1967) Sahib Shihab, Jean-Luc Ponty, George Gruntz, Eberhard Weber, Daniel Humair, Salah El Mahdi, The Beduins. Hank Jones 'Happenings' (Impulse, 1966) Hank Jones and big band arranged by Oliver Nelson. 'Dave MacKay & Vicky Hamilton' (Impulse, 1969) Dave MacKay (p, voc); Vicky Hamilton (voc); Ira Schulman (reeds, flutes); Ray Neapolitan (b); Joe Porcaro (dr); Frasncisco Aguabella (perc) Paul Desmond 'Summertime' (A&M, 1968) Desmond and big band arranged by Don Sebesky (rhythm section including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Airto). Harold Land 'The Peace-Maker' (Cadet, 1968) Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample, Buster Williams and Donald Bailey.

Actually, I think it happened to several "founding members". I know that several threads started by Ghost, brownie and even Jim Alfredson himself showed up with no topic starter.

It's just a side-effect from the crash of the member listing last week: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...ndpost&p=501383