John L

Yea, on that CD you practically had to take their word for it that it was in fact Bird playing in front of Diz's big band.

Yes. On "With John Coltrane," the later three tracks (Trinkle Tinkle, Nutty, Ruby My Dear) are gems. Monk and Trane are completely together there. The other tracks, as well as those on Monk's Mood, which were recorded earlier are also fine. But there is a difference. I don't think that Coltrane sounds quite as comfortable yet with Monk's rhythms.

"Poundng away on an F major chord" my ass.

The art of the Fuque goes at least as far back as Bach, maybe even to Adam and Eve.

I have never had the slightest trouble really enjoying this record from start to finish. In fact, I would even give up "Seach for the New Land" before I would give up "Sidewinder." (Downright blasphemy!) Is it, objectively speaking, one of the greatest Lee Morgan records? Who cares? I don't listen objectively. I don't try to.

I've got a BIG eye on the Chu Berry.

Given that Cuscuna is a major influence in what appears on both Mosaic and Blue Note, my major regret is his apparent extreme dislike of the Three Sounds and Les McCann, which has kept their catalogs conspicuously out of print in the US while other Blue Note and Pacific Jazz titles get continually reissued over and over again.

Jason: I appreciate you posting that. Thanks.

Jason, Thanks for your thoughtful remarks. Don't get me wrong. I am a Braxton fan, myself. In this case, I don't really understand what musical advantage can be exploited by having musicians play simultaneously on different continents or planets (as opposed to bringing musicians from different places together to play in the same place). I guess that with different countries, you might argue that physical locatation in completely different cultural environments might change the mindset of the musicians, and thereby affect the nature of the musical interaction. But different planets? Why not just have people perform in space suits on earth? Is Braxton seriously contemplating the effects of different gravitational fields on the music? Well, I guess that is why they call him a genius.

Great story and joke, Chuck. I remember when Braxton told the media that he was writing music to be played by several orchestras simultaneously on different planets. The scary thing is that he didn't seem to be joking. Does he do that as a deliberate attempt to stir controversy about the seriousness of his music?

...not to mention that for the price of buying all the o-p Mosaics on the market today you could acquire just about every jazz CD that you would ever want to hear.

I am also a fan of Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff is proof that you don't have to make music "of your time" to make great music for all time. Although I am not a huge fan of Horowitz in general, this recording of the third piano concerto has a special place in my heart. In fact, Rachmaninoff apparently composed it with Horowitz in mind. Really moving.

I submit for your consideration the liner notes for Shirley Scott's Soul Shoutin' by Robert Levin. I just can't imagine what Shirley Scott must have felt like to see this crap scribbled on the back cover of HER album. "All jazz directly, or indirectly, has come out of Harlem, but not all of it has come very far out...It is a comparatively elementary kind of jazz...is informed principally (technically and spiritually) by the very basic sources, gospel and the blues. The scope and breadth of its expression is pretty much restricted to only the experiences and emotions which these sources are about... ...The limitations of the music result from the limitations of the community from which the music comes. Harlem is, after all, a ghetto, and many sources are not easily accesible to it. The art it produces is one where the controlling emotion is frequently anger - an emotion which is unquestionably valid...With anger as the force, one can feel and perceive much that might not otherwise be felt or seen. But there is so much that cannot be experienced and discovered when anger is the controlling energy, for it results in an esthetic myopia tending, finally, to close, rather than open, the senisibilities and to narrow, rather than broaden, one's persepective.... ...Such Negro jazz musicans as, say, Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman who have, by one means or another, managed to transcend their origins (i.e. escaped these trappings and so learned how their origins can nourish rather than confine their work) have, as a result, been able to discover and explore broader areas of material and expression and have found the means with which to portray experiences and emotions not reached by earlier forms..."

Jamming in Moscow, Russia with the local blues crowd

Yes, Blakey and Sam Jones were a great combination. It's too bad that they didn't play together more often.

What do your wives think about you guys having a Mosaic or two on the side?

The question is, however, when can Jazz do Christina?

The joke of Michael Bolton is one that I have never gotten.

They play sequential solos on "Lonely Boy Blues" from 1942. You can say that Jackson pretty much holds his own with Parker there. On the other hand, from that track, you might not guess that either one of them would cause a revolution in jazz a few years down the road.

For me, that is the best reason not to buy it. Studio chatter is interesting to listen to once, but I sure don't want to hear it over and over again when I can be listening to the music instead.

My first post so I hope I have the protocol right. #1 This new release appears to be the August 1963 (no exact date) Showboat set. The titles and timings match up except that what has been listed as "Afro Blue" is in fact "The Promise". Also, Roy Haynes is not the drummer. Elvin Jones is back on drums for this date. #2 The date for the earlier Showboat set, which does feature Haynes, is June 10, 1963. #3 "Resolution" is not from the Showboat. It was recorded in Philadelphia at Pep's on September 18, 1964. Thanks, Ed. September, 1964 is a little less surprising.

That is pretty much my feeling too. The music is consistently at a very high level. The arrangements are excellent, and every note and beat is in its proper place. This is bop at its most prim and proper. I enjoy it in small doses, but have trouble staying with it too long.

One full CD would probably suffice for the masters. If they include the alternates, it will probably be two.

Melvin Sparks is one of my favorite guitar players. I wonder why he doesn't get more attention. He always has something interesting to say musically in almost any context.