Head Man

I've just heard from one of my UK retailers that his major supplier of OJC CDs in Europe has deleted the whole catalogue of Fantasy OJCs! Does anyone know what is actually happening re the takeover of Fantasy by Concord? Surely it can't make financial sense for Concord to delete the whole back catalogue, can it? Is it just a problem for UK retailers or is the same thing happening in the US & elsewhere?

Or NEVER, if you live outside the USA!

Marital Solal? Is that his married name?

Why bother? Get them from Hiroshi!

Does anyone have experience with them replying to emails? I've sent two emails to them this week (the Yahoo email address indicated on the website) asking for the shipping cost to Luxembourg (for 10 CDs) but haven't received a reply yet. I have used The Woods for many years and they are always reliable, if a bit slow. However, they are not quick in responding to queries by e-mail so I have always found the best way is to ring them for information - they are very helpful on the phone. If you do decide to place an order with them then you can do this by e-mail and they have an automated response system that confirms they have received it. Your credit card does not get debited until the CDs are shipped.

Mine just came the other day--I've been listening to disc 1. The music sounds beautiful, esp. with all the windows in the house open for the first time this year (we're enjoying spring-like weather here in Bloomington). Yeah, you're sure right about that piano--that's from the Argo session. Kenny Berger says in the liner notes that it sounds "as if it had recently been salvaged from the wreckage of the Titanic" and calls it more suitable for a saloon scene in a grade B Western. Hope this set results in Nelson getting more praise for his big-band work. I've had mine for about a week now but I've only managed to play it right through once. First impressions are: 1) it is up to Mosaic's usual high standards for presentation and sound quality. 2) Of his own recordings I seem to prefer the two earliest dates - Full Nelson (Verve) & Fantabulous (Argo). Perhaps that's because they are the ones where he actually plays alto/tenor sax instead of just conducting/arranging. 3) The Kennedy Dream (Impulse) sounds so much better than my original vinyl that it could be a different recording! 4) I don't think the Shirley Scott album - Roll-em (Impulse) is going to grow on me 5) The Pee Wee Russell album - The spirit of '76 (Impulse) is lovely. I have never heard him play before, having always associated his clarinet playing with Dixieland Jazz which I'm not keen on. However his playing with the big band is absolutely stunning and has meant that I will be investigating other recordings of his. 5) There is probably too much Jimmy Smith in the set but it does sound so very good, if perhaps a little too familiar. If you like other of his albums or you just want to upgrade existing vinyl then I don't think you will be disappointed with this set

So Free For All, what do you (and others who have it) think of it? Eagerly awaiting a report. I've had mine for about a week now but I've only managed to play it right through once. First impressions are: 1) it is up to Mosaic's usual high standards for presentation and sound quality. 2) Of his own recordings I seem to prefer the two earliest dates - Full Nelson (Verve) & Fantabulous (Argo). Perhaps that's because they are the ones where he actually plays alto/tenor sax instead of just conducting/arranging. 3) The Kennedy Dream (Impulse) sounds so much better than my original vinyl that it could be a different recording! 4) I don't think the Shirley Scott album - Roll-em (Impulse) is going to grow on me 5) The Pee Wee Russell album - The spirit of '76 (Impulse) is lovely. I have never heard him play before, having always associated his clarinet playing with Dixieland Jazz which I'm not keen on. However his playing with the big band is absolutely stunning and has meant that I will be investigating other recordings of his. 5) There is probably too much Jimmy Smith in the set but it does sound so very good, if perhaps a little too familiar. If you like other of his albums or you just want to upgrade existing vinyl then I don't think you will be disappointed with the set

I've not been disappointed with the four I bought: Dave Burrell - After love Clifford Thornton - The panther & the leash Roswell Rudd - Roswell Rudd (The best!) Frank Wright - Uhuru Na Umoja In fact buying these led me on to discover further releases by the same and similar artists including one I have taken a great shine to : Sonny Simmons. Aaah, but that's a different story!

My recollection is that the songs are different, but I have never compared the two. The songs are completely different. In fact they are so different that I hadn't even realised until now that they had the same title!

This is the only one of Anita's Verve CDs that I have been unable to buy and because of licensing restrictions (what ?????), it is not available outside the USA and I am unable to download a copy from the Verve vaults. Does anybody know how I can obtain a download copy in the UK or is there someone in the USA prepared to let me have a copy on CD-R. Yours in desperation..............

On my copy of the Jazz View CD the tracks & timings are: Scoochie 6:22 Cycles 5:31 Embraceable you 4:44 Blues de Tambour 5:44 Take Three Part Jazz 12:04 The confined view 8:09 Stardust 3:34 Its not one I play very often - the recording quality leaves something to be desired!

Whoa..... good news - the Oliver Nelson boxset is shipping within the next 24 hours! It should be in my sweaty hands sometime next week!

Jazzbo, thanks for the heads-up. What a great site - a real trip down memory lane!

Andy, excuse my ignorance but who or what is 'Gokudo'?

The recording was made in New York on October 23, 1978 and the personnel are: Charles McPherson - alto sax (tenor sax on 'Chuck-a-luck' & Estrellita') Lou Levy - piano Peter Sprague - guitar Monte Budwig - bass Charles McPherson Jr. - drums Kevin Jones - conga & percussion

Don't forget Alan Jackson who played with everyone on the London jazz scene in the 1960s - John Surman, Mike Westbrook, Mike Osborne etc etc. He's not very well represented on record but you can hear him at his best on two Howard Riley CDs that were re-released on Sony about five years ago: 'The day will come' and ' and 'Angle'. Both are still available and are well worth buying.

Not too much to get excited about there, all the OJC releases have been out before. Why don't Concord put out more of the work in boxsets? Two artists that come to mind are Booker Ervin - a 'Bookset'? plus Jackie Mclean whose OJC work is all over the place on different releases. I'm also not certain whether all Jackie's work is still currently available on CD. Does anyone know whether Concord have any future plans to issue more sets like the Bill Evans 'At the Village Vanguard' & the forthcoming one of the Miles Davis/John Coltrane Quintet?

Panic over - they've put the 'Future Projects' page back!

Hi etherbored. Do you know whether the Tubby Hayes releases use the same poor masters that were used when they came out originally a few years ago. From what you say it seems that they are straight re-releases albeit at a cheaper price

Simon Spillett did the liner notes. OK, I realise that Stan has made many recordings over the years and played in many different formats so it is obviously impossible to state that one recording is better than all the others. However I do not believe he has ever made a better or more exciting quartet recording than 'Captain Adventure'. Buy it and decide for yourself!

My copy arrived this morning & what a fantastic recording! I've had it on vinyl since it was issued in 1976 (I think) and always loved it, but this double CD includes a mountain of unissued music which is every bit as good as the music on the original LP. This must be Stan's best quartet and probably his finest moment. Everyone plays their socks off. Stan hammers the keyboard as if trying to destroy it; Art seems to be running in four directions at the same time and both Bryan and Dave are in absolute top form. The quality of the recording itself is also excellent with everyone clearly heard - not always the case with live 1970's recordings. Whilst Stan & Art are at the front of the mix the bass & drums still sound fine. Finally, well done Simon for an excellent set of liner notes. All in all a MUST BUY!

I've had two of them on order for about a week: Jimmy Giuffre - Tangents Gerry Mulligan - Presenting the Gerry Mulliagn Sextet so it's good to hear that they sound good. A poor French translation is no problem to me! They don't seem to be available on any websites in the UK yet. When I contacted Membran I was told that they were not going to be available and to order them direct from one of the German on-line retailers shown on their website. However when I saw them on the musicexpress.com site I decided to order them there since I have used that site in the past. The two CDs arrived this morning. The sound is excellent as is the packaging. A decent tracklisting & liner notes plus a facsimile of the original LPs. For $23.55 including shipping - that's about £13.50 in real money! - they really are good value.

I've had two of them on order for about a week: Jimmy Giuffre - Tangents Gerry Mulligan - Presenting the Gerry Mulliagn Sextet so it's good to hear that they sound good. A poor French translation is no problem to me! They don't seem to be available on any websites in the UK yet. When I contacted Membran I was told that they were not going to be available and to order them direct from one of the German on-line retailers shown on their website. However when I saw them on the musicexpress.com site I decided to order them there since I have used that site in the past.

I've just checked the Verve Vaults again and neither the Gerry Mulligan or Paul Bley CDs are available outside the USA. BTW the Paul Bley session was reissued recently on Fresh Sounds together with another trio session from 1952 on Debut with Charlie Mingus & Art Blakey. It is well recorded with good liner notes. I realise that many of these reissues have dubious provenence & I would much rather buy the music direct from the owners of the copyright but with Verve making it impossible to buy from them, what am I supposed to do?

I suspect that Verve has added the Gerry Mulligan after finding out that it is being released in Germany by Membran on the OLP (Original Long Players) label. There are a number of other interesting CDs being issued at the same time: http://www.membran.net:8080/db_php_eng/index.php I'm not sure how legitimate the re-issues are, but I have a couple on order. PS The last time I tried to download something from the Verve vaults - Anita O'Day & The Three Sounds - I was told that it was not available for downloading outside the USA. So Verve don't make it easy to buy from them, do they!