John L

Lighnin' Hopkins did good stuff for Mainstream.

For all you knew, some of the AEC were just playing very very small instruments. I had the opposite problem. My first purchase of Mu on CD turned out to be Jackson in Your House/Message to Our Folk. Now that was a lot of sounds out of just Blackwell and Cherry.

Sorry, Brownie. I wasn't even able to answer for you faster than you answered for yourself.

What I think Brownie has in mind are 1) Parker's studio recordings on Savoy, Dial, Verve, and smaller labels. 2) Some of the best live recordings that are not included on Philology because they were available elsewhere (Philology only tried to supplement what was not otherwise available). That includes Carnegie Hall (1947, 1949), Massey Hall, the Royal Roost recordings (1948-49), Birdland 1950 with Fats and Bud, Cafe Society, Bird in Boston, Bird in Washington DC, Storyville, 1951 Birdland with Diz and Bud, Rockland Palace, and some others. The above recordings tend to be in good sound and are often complete performances. Most of the Philology recordings are only Bird solos in variable sound quality. The Benedetti box is more of the same. These recordings are worth picking up if you already have everything listed above and still hunger for more. That said, there is at least one Philology disc that every Bird fan needs. I forget the volume number, but it has the subtitle of "Bird in 1950." It contains private recordings that have become widely known as "The Apartment Sessions." They have to be heard to be believed.

I love the Wicked One, but I have trouble getting with him on Sugar, Sugar. I'll have to go with the Archies as well. They have a dorky enough sound to go along with the composition. They succeed in putting the bubble in the gum. (I would be scared to chew the shit after Pickett got finished with it.)

Anybody that sticks his Cedar into Weatherbird is taking his jazz life into his hands.

Reese and the Smooth Ones is definitely worth a listen.

A Les McCann Select of "special encounters." I guess that confirms that Cuscuna is completely against reissuing the Pacific Jazz Les McCann trio dates. Damn! That is my favorite McCann.

I don't know that Aric's question is all that simple. Wes' sideman apprearances were extremely few if compared to other top jazz guitarists of the time. Why is that the case? Didn't you work with him at Riverside, Chris? Was he difficult for other musicians to work with? Did he play hard to get? Now if only those recordings as a sideman with Coltrane would see the light of day!

So obscure that it was not even intended to be a Tolkien reference. I just thought that the comment about him being in his underwear in the middle of all that was extremely bizarre, to say the least. Is there some hidden significance about wearing underwear when you get stabbed to death?

That is to say all it can do is suck?

Good thing he was in his underwear.

Good Teddy Edwards has no business sitting unissued in any vaults, let alone those controlled by Michael Cuscuna. Shame on you, Michael! You don't like McCann? Get over it.

I remember when Winchester Cathedral was all you could hear on the radio. I got real tired of it real fast. Mellow Yellow I can understand. But Winchester Cathedral?

Unfortunately, in this case the "price" is the wage that jazz musicians are paid.

Allen: Nobody here is questioning the fact that greedy oil companies are looking for ways to manipulte the market and sell at higher prices. The only point that some of us are making is that this is not inconsistent with the market or supply and demand.

The argument here is not about the validity of supply and demand in determining the price. That is beyond dispute. The question concerns only the factors that are behind the supply and demand curves. 1) The first question that Allen raises concerns competition. Yes, it is generally the case that competition will increase supply in most markets, as monopolists (or sellers with market power) would like to limit supply in order to generate a higher market price. That does not violate the idea of a supply curve. It simply changes the nature of the supply curve, creating a curve where somewhat less supply is offered for a given price. How much less supply will depend on an assessment of how demand responds to price (the elasticity of demand, as discussed above). If demand is very sensitive to price (is very elastic), a monopolist will want to supply less, as supplying more will drive the market price down faster than the additional revenues that can be gained by selling more items. (Of course, special discounts and sales to groups people willing to pay only less are used by businesses to get around that problem somewhat.) 2) The second of Allen's questions concerns energy prices. Yes, supply has not gone done. It has increased, and so has the price: reason? Demand is higher. New demand from China and Asia has shifted the demand curve outward, meaning that the market is willing to pay a higher price for the same amount. Suppliers are meeting this higher demand, but at a higher price and higher costs. 3) The case of OOP Mosaic sets is a special one, as the supply is fixed. Certainly, a greedy seller with 240 under his bed would like to hide them and sell them off one at a time at auctions, getting the maximum that any buyer is willing to pay at each auction. As some posters have commented, the primary question is what to do about it? Forbidding their sale and forcing the seller to keep them under his bed is not going to make anyone better off. 4) Copyright laws. It was noted that they limit markets. Actually, more often, they create markets. Without copyright laws, there would be no Mosaics, period. 5) Nat's solo on Body and Soul. Now there is the problem! That is what is driving the market price up so high. There ought to be a law against solos that jack up prices!

If Jimmy Smith isn't enough for one week... I loved Tyrone Davis' voice. His influence on soul singing is a lot stronger than a lot of people realize. I still hear new singers with Tyrone trademark licks. He made a LOT of great songs, most really uplifting stuff in the great classic soul tradition: Can I Change My Mind? Turn Back the Hands of Time The Turning Point A Woman Needs to Be Loved I Wish it Was Me One-Way Ticket Let Me Back In There it Is. You Keep Me Holding On He was still at the top of his game too. Damn.

Is that Little "Milton" Willie John?

Interesting! I never knew that it existed. Has anybody heard it?

Figures. I got the John Litw part alright, but the last few letters kept me away from Hank.

Thanks, guys. I guess that the Rudd goes on my "must" list right away. The fact that he has made so few recordings as a leader also makes this quartet date look especially appealing. If it wasn't for the price (over 17 EUROs a pop), I would have picked up the whole set right away.

I picked some of these up when I was in Paris a few weeks ago. Very nice packaging. I had never heard AEC's Phase One before. Quite nice. Certain Blacks is always a lot of good fun. The Clifford Thornton is also nice, a fairly rounded portrait of his talents in a quartet setting. I hadn't heard the Shepp before either, but I am not too crazy about it after an initial listening. Any reviews on the Rudd or the Bley?