Daniel A

Thanks for bringing the thread somewhat back on topic, Kevin. Naturally, it's quite up to everyone to decide how much time they want to invest in setting up ripping/encoding software. However, as has been pointed out, it's not too difficult to get EAC/LAME going. If only sound quality is of importance a lossless format is the way to go. But the most common reason for encoding audio is the need for reducing the file size as much as possible while retaining a chosen quality level. There are better formats than MP3, but for many (me included) hardware support matters too. My portable player plays OGG, which is a more modern and efficient format, but I also have an MP3 player in my car, and sticking to one format is more convenient for me. And if MP3 is the format of choice, LAME is the best codec available. Regarding ripping, there's probably no audible difference between different rippers for most undamaged CDs. Personally, I wouldn't want to use use anything but the best software available since it works reasonably fast as well.

For those who want to keep up with the latest improvements of the LAME encoder, but who haven't visited Hydrogen Audio or some similar forums of late: For a while there has been a new LAME version out with slightly faster encoding speed and supposedly giving somewhat better audio quality. Check this thread at Hydrogen Audio : http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=28124 Recommended version of LAME is 3.97 beta 2, available here http://www.free-codecs.com/LAME_Encoder_download.htm In short, the alt-presets for VBR (variable bit rate) encoding have been replaced with ten different presets, ranging from -V 9 (lower quality) to -V 0 (highest quality). The recommended commandline equivalents of the old alt-preset standard are now: -V 2 --vbr-new (stereo) -V 2 --vbr-new -mm (mono) -V 2 --vbr-new --lowpass 15 (FM stereo recording) (The -b previously used for setting the minimum bitrate is no longer needed)

Wikipedia entry on Bluetooth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth

My guess is that more gigs will always be on the horizon. The recent video iPod's poor use of the front space with a square and small screen makes me think they will hastily lauch new models, and new models will always have to offer greater storage space not to become obsolete too soon.

Thanks for the link and the somewhat discouraging info, Claude. I pretty much knew what to expect in terms of sound-quality, but at this price I think I'll swallow that. It's not easy to find these albums (this) cheap in some other form, and I hope to just about get my money back if I'd like to trade some of these in somewhere. I'll get back with information on the proceedings.

Shipping rates: Domestic International

Just ordered the following: Soundtrack / In The Soviet Union - Charles Lloyd $3.98 Oh Girl / Somethin' Sanctified - Young-Holt Unlimited / Slide Hampton $3.98 Journey Within / Charles Lloyd In Europe - Charles Lloyd Quartet $3.98 El Juicio / Life Between The Exit Signs - Keith Jarrett $3.98 Do The Bossa Nova / My Kinda Groove - Herbie Mann $3.98 Straight Ahead - David Newman $6.98 Soulero / Law's Cause - Eddie Higgins Trio / Hubert Laws $10.48

On oldies.com some of the Atlantic reissues from Collectables Jazz Classics are on sale; a bunch of them, many of which are twofers, are only $4 apiece. http://www.oldies.com/browser/clearance.cf..._audio-cds.html Not the easiest website to navigate, but if you select category "Jazz" on the left you're able to browse the jazz titles that are on sale. Good prices on a couple of Charles Lloyd, Jarrett, Mingus, Fathead albums etc.

Same here today, but I experience the time out problem with profiles almost all the time.

Generally it seems that HMV Japan, for instance, is roughly representative when it comes to what is in print/available.

Thanks!

Does anyone have any idea how I should go about to get hold of these recordings? Are they only available from sfjazz.org? http://www.sfjazz.org/store/categories.asp?cID=10 This definitely looks like something I'd like to hear, but the SF Jazz Shop only offrers shipping to the US. Inaugural Season Live (2004) SF Jazz Records Disc One School Work Una Muy Bonita Lonely Woman When Will The Blues Leave Peace Happy House Disc Two Lingala Rise And Fall March Madness From Darkness To Light Disc Three Of This Day's Journey Wages Overground (Invocation) Fred Sanford Went To Spain To Siesta Miguel Zenón, Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Josh Roseman, Bobby Hutcherson, Renee Rosnes, Robert Hurst, Brian Blad 2nd Annual Concert Tour (2005) SF Jazz Records Disc One Moment’s Notice Naima Africa Crescent 26-2 Love/Dear Lor Disc Two Love is Enough (Rosnes) Scrambled Eggs (Payton) Half Full (Redman) Hmmm….(Smith) Sega Games (Penman) 2 and 2 (Zenon) Psalm for Peggy (Hutcherson) Development (Harland) Joshua Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, Nicholas Payton, Renee Rosnes, Miguel Zenon, Matt Penman, Isaac Smith, Eric Harland

Fast typing here! And unison advice from me and Hans as well!

Maybe he's uncomfortable operating in those genres. Anyway I gave him the catalog numbers and it didn't seem like a problem. That was two years ago.

While jazz seems to be his main business he's been able to get Japanese pressings of pop LPs for me in the past, so I'd say go ahead and ask him!

Jazz: Live from 1997 would probably be the best point to start. http://www.actmusic.com/act9258.htm#track Alas, no sound samples from taht album on the ACT website.

They are indeed great singers and have over ten albums behind them by now. However, they seemed to largely move away from jazz material after a couple of years (the group formed in the late 80s), and have lapsed into some kind of soul/pop-ish style, which is nevertheless somewhat soul-less. Still popular, and still very skilled of course, but I think their best efforts with jazz content are behind them. But I do enjoy the earlier albums. They have also done things completely outside jazz/pop, more out of the Nordic choral bag, some of that is very beautiful. If you want to hear them do jazz, I think that the live albums with mostly standard tunes are the best.

I'm still on the BN mailing list because I'm too lazy to unsubscribe; got a mail with info about this a few days ago. I thought I would be getting the info I needed elsewhere, but this time it was good I got to know about the deletions before the fact.

But could you really call Lou a non-pedal organist, the expression the starter of the thread is using? In later years he seems to have used pedaI bass regularly; for instance I heard him live in Bergerac, France in 2000 and then he used a distinctly synthetic pedal bass sound. (in fact it was not unlike the bass sound from a 1980s Super Mario Bros. video game)

His "promotional" threads are gone. I would think he deleted them himself.

I missed the real action in this thread, so I couldn't tell if and how much anyone would be offended, but don't lose any sleep over Jazzis - he seems to be a somewhat unreasonable character.

Thank you, Peter! The only Vortex LP I have is Keith Jarrett's "Life Between the Exit Signs", and from what I can remember it sounded good. Maybe the Vortex albums were produced differently, although it was an Atlantic subsidiary (or was it?). I'll probably get the Zawinul LP at some point soon anyway; even if it does not sound better than the CD it's somehow easier to accept it when you can read the liners from a nice LP cover!