John L

I use Catraxx, and am generally happy with it. It is a real time consuming pain to have to enter each disc into the database through the CDROM, however. Has anybody come up with a database, where you can just go to the CDDB database, check off the discs that you have, and transfer the information to the database? That would seem to be relatively easy to set up, and would save SO much time, not to mention the wear and tear on your CDR drive.

At any rate, given that I am also racing toward 50, myself, I will take the liberty of wishing both L. Armstrongs a very happy birthday!

As I recall, another L. Armstrong was born on the same day. No?

Sad news indeed. RIP

I just heard it for the first time (and 2nd and 3rd. I kept it going.) Fantastic! The sound is so good that it almost feels like being there. This is one of the great historical and musical documents of jazz.

No Sam Cooke? And you call yourself Soulstation?

YES! I didn't think that I liked Whitney Houston at all until I heard "Exhale." That is such a beautiful and powerful track! I had no idea that she had that in her. If only she would do more of it! My God, to think of all that wasted potential. ← Yeah, that's the song where it sounded logical that she was Cissy Houston's daughter and had grown up singing in church. ← From that point of view, maybe Whitney came a little after her optimal time. If she had come up in the 50s or 60s, she probably would have devoted all of that talent to a different tune. Given how well Babyface captured her on Exhale, I hope that he gets a chance to producer her again. I wouldn't say the same thing about Mariah. With her, I get the feeling that what you hear is what there is. She is in her proper time.

I am sorry to hear the disappointment with this one. I haven't heard it yet. I really liked Layin' in the Cut, and was hoping that this would be something a bit similar.

YES! I didn't think that I liked Whitney Houston at all until I heard "Exhale." That is such a beautiful and powerful track! I had no idea that she had that in her. If only she would do more of it! My God, to think of all that wasted potential.

Sorry about that. I guess that's what happens when you come to a thread late and read through it too quickly. One of the reasons that I like the quartets with Charlie Rouse so much is that I consider Rouse to be a perfect foil for Monk's comping.

No mention of Monk yet? I LOVE the way Monk comps. Of course, some horn players feel differently...

What about some of the stuff from "John Coltrane Plays...," the live version (included on the CD) or Nature Boy, for example? At least one version of Naima should probably be there. I would choose the one from Live at the Village Vanguard Again, although the live Paris 65 version is also a killer.

I second the recommendation for an external hard drive. I never assumed that my iPod is indestructable.

I love Gladys Knight. Her singing didn't end with the Pips either. Anybody who doesn't have this album should RUN and get it:

I confess to be one of the guilty ones who underrate him.

I've seen those: "Allen Lowe: I Cover the Waterfront"

I haven't heard enough of Brown to form my own opinion, but I really don't see any reason to get hung up on what public image a "truly serious jazz musican" should be projecting. Let's judge him on the basis of the music that he produces.

I could do without ever hearing another version of Giant Steps, or Countdown for that matter. Sax players are welcome to continue cutting their teeth on those in private.

Because that's what you said?

It can be downloaded from emusic (at least they used to have it). Heavy Love is one of the prime jewels that I downloaded during my 3 month membership to emusic several years ago. It has been getting heavy rotation love in my place every since.

Grant Green made a lot of good ones. If I had to choose one, it would be the first disc of the Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark. It don't get much better than that.

The electric cool was already born a while back...

Yea, a box set of this quintet would be something like the Holly Grail. They just have to do it. There was nothing like this band before or since. It is a piece of jazz history unto itself.

Are you the one on the left or the right? In any case, I would say that you are looking well for your age.

I vote for Talking Heads: "More Songs About Buildings and Food."