John L

Great stories, Chris! I'll have to use that line sometime on Monte in the Jazz Corner political threads. As Billie Holiday once said, "get out of here, motherfucker, I'm talking to Chris!"

Does anyone know a reliable US company that makes an effort to stock all of the Lone Hill releases? Dusy Groove seems to carry only a select few.

What do you mean, Chuck?

you mean the jsp hot 5s and 7s box? because i am not seeing it on my copy. Harold is referring to the version and remastering on this 2-disc set:

Too late, Chuck. The poll is fucked.

Blackburn and Hill also played with Gerald Wilson in the 1960s, and appear on the Mosaic box in a number of sessions.

I go along with majority opinion here. For me, it is a toss up between the Complete Miles and Gil or the Bitches' Brew box. I don't really listen to much on the Miles and Gil box beyond the original LPs of Miles Ahead and Porgy and Bess. I've never really liked Sketches of Spain very much and I don't listen to Quiet Nights very often. The alternates and extensive studio chatter make a fascinating historical document, but don't really interest me too much from the musical point of view. For someone making a serious musical study of the whole production process, they are probably invaluable. The Bitches' Brew box has some great and important music. For some reason, however, I am rarely in the mood for it.

Lou Blackburn-tb Freddie Hill-t Horace Tapscott-p John Duke-b Leroy Henderson-d Hollywood, 1963 Apparently, this Fresh Sound reissue of two rare Imperial LPs has been around since 1999. Where have I been? I just picked this one up, due primarily to curiosity about what Tapscott sounded like in 1963. What a surprise! This working band was incredibly together and ready to play, just waiting for the opportunity to put on wax the fine music that they had worked out. The opportunity apparently only came once, and they sure made the best of it. "Seamless" is the word that comes to mind. This band lives and breathes as a single unit. Most of the material is Lou Blackburn originals, many of which are which very distinctive and compelling. There would appear to be a goldmine here of off-the-beaten-track material for new covers. Why isn't Blackburn more well known? Freddie Hill also plays EXTREMELY well. Leroy Henderson swings his ass off. (I only knew him before from the live Jug-Groove Holmes disc.) Horace Tapscott was already close to maturity at the time of this recording. This extensive portrait of Tapscott in 1963 is notable not only for being the very first Tapscott on wax, but, other than the few precious cuts that he made with Blythe in 69, the only Tapscott on wax until 1978! His trademark percussive sound is already quite evident, if not as dominant as it would become later on his recordings as a leader. All in all, this is high quality music with a flavor all its own from a group of musicians who sure should have had more opportunities to record. Almost every track is a joy. It's been a while since I picked up a reissue that has brought more smiles to my face.

If the music is rare and not commerically available, I usually feel little or no guilt for the simple reason that most jazz boots are a labor of love. There is no big money in it, and the artists or their estates lose little if nothing. It is collectors trying to make important music available. On the other hand, things have gone much too far in Europe. Laws are certainly needed to protect companies that do invest in remastering and making music available, only to find their work immediately pirated by some budget label. I try to avoid "Definitive" for that reason. That isn't to say that I don't own any Definitive releases.

Sounds good! Those are two tough subjects.

Good to see you here, "7" !

Thanks, J.A.W. Good Lord! I had never seen that before. Maybe they should remove that wart from an otherwise fantastic site?

Hnmmm ... tasty flame wars. What?

I'm very very tempted to state an opinion. By given that I haven't heard it, I won't.

Eric: If you still feel confused, check out this fabulous website: http://home.elp.rr.com/valdes/

You might start with volume 1. Along with other gems, the 8:00 DB Blues on that disc is SO sublime.

What Lon said. There are no bad Charlie Christian recordings. So it is hard to go wrong. If the Columbia set is a bit pricey, there are very cheap alternative box sets on JSP or (I believe) Proper.

1956 was a exceptional year for Lester Young. There are also the great 1956 Verve recordings with Teddy Wilson and live recordings from the Cafe Bohemia and Paris.

AMG also said at one time that Swedish Schnapps was recorded in Sweden. They must not have been paying too much attention to the liner notes that they thought would save them from actually listening to the CD. Swedish Schnapps has no strings. It is straight classic quintet sessions. Tremendous music.

I have learned not to be suprised at the lack of awareness of the general American public about their great musical artists. But this is Ray Charles. When the American mass media first heard of his passing, it appears that they needed some time to figure out who he was. The first headline that appeared everywhere only identified him as an American pop musican who once won a Grammy. Unbelievable!

Ditto the Carnegie Hall Concert?

Good stuff! I recall that fantastic scene from the Wayne's World movie. I think that Garth was having a nightmare. It was a Kenny G concert. They showed the audience of middle-aged emptied-headed suburbanites, each with the same wide empty smile on his or her face. Then they showed Garth in the middle of it all looking absolutely terrified.

Here we go. We have the makings of a genuine southern soul versus northern soul battle here. But we have to get the Britts involved. I recall the first time that I heard about the British "Northern Soul Scene." I thought, what is that? Is it Britts who dig soul from the northern part of the United States, or is it Britts from the nothern part of England who dig American soul. Answer: both. Now that is some scary shit.

They DID foul Shaq, but at exactly the wrong time. Up by 6 with seconds left, they could have just let Shaq dunk and won the game. At the very least, they would have made the Lakers put them on the foul line. But they gave Shaq a 3-point play to set up Kobe for the tie! Great game!