James

Yeah, Billy Kilson was a *big* part of the performance when I caught the big band in Orange County about a year ago. The concert was presented in an acoustically nightmarish hall, but I had a good time nevertheless given the strength of the soloists and general tightness of the group. My biggest frustration was not being able to hear Mark Turner, sitting in for Potter. And as I recall there was a bit of "stiffness" that I've never noticed with Dave's quintet.

Well, I answered the question I posed to Larry by going to AMG. (Duh!!!) Sonny appears with Nat's group on "Blue Autumn" and "Autumn Leaves." In the case of the latter, Vincent Herring joins the group. Scott Yanow gives the session 4.5 stars, and speaks highly of Sonny's contribution to the date. Hmmmm. Teased once again.......... Ron Wynn gave both On the Move and Blue Autumn mixed reviews. I recall having mixed feelings about this guys take on things, but I'm going to spin On the Move now for a reality check. It's high time to revisit this date anyway -- if for no other reason than to enjoy Sonny Fortune!

Larry ----- I guess we agree on the quality of that N. Adderley group with Sonny! Are you aware of any other recordings they made other than "On the Move?" (I don't believe that there are any, but this is one of those instances where you *really* hope that you're wrong!!) BTW --- there are copies of this smokin' recording on half.com. Get your hands on one --- you won't regret it!

I was able to catch Marty live just last week with Darek Oles and Peter Erskine. Really bright moments ----- I really enjoyed Marty's sound on alto (sax) and bass clarinet. He also played Bb clarinet. There was some really nice telepathy happening, and I left with a greatly renewed respect for all three players.

I've got one of those BN's (From Now On) and have enjoyed it. Are you guys hip to the Nat Adderley disc "On the Move" recorded live at Keystone in '83? *Great* session ------ Sonny sounds marvelous on it!! Check it out if you get a chance......

Very cool site, and very nice to see this initiative! I'll be visiting it regularly, and trying to figure out how to get the radio program to work.

A little while ago I stumbled across this 3-disc Verve set in a public library, and was surprised that I'd not encountered this one sooner. Trouble is, the booklet is missing --- and hence I can't determine the personnel on the smaller ensemble performances. If anyone can mail me a copy of this booklet, I'll be happy to compensate for the time/effort by sending back an OOP CDR. Thanks in advance!!!

Inasmuch as life is stressful right now, more melodic spiritual stuff is running in my head. But hey Mike -------- you've given me the idea to listen to some Ellington. That always feels great.

My last two Margitza purchases are the ones ubu has listed. The other two I have are "This is New" [blue Note] with J. Calderazzo, T. Hagans, R. Hurst and J. Watts and "Work It" [steeplechase] with J. Williams, G. Mraz and B. Hart. Both very nice recordings. .....and edited to say that Rick was in *fine* form when I caught him with Maria Schneider's orchestry in Orange County a couple of years ago.

Well, this is good news to me since I ordered the Continuum disc as well. What I find distressing is that Lanny Morgan's "It's About Time" has not arrived, nor is it now listed as back-ordered, nor has QuickSilver responded to my queries.

This *is in fact* a wonderful recording. Phil's writing and arranging are compelling, and the disc takes the listener through a variety of feels; result being that the recording is a *great* pleasure from start to finish. I grabbed this session the moment it was available simply based on the respect I've felt for Phil from his postings on various BB's --- and now feel this to be one of my best purchases of 2003.

I recall having a conversation about Tina with Lamont Johnson, and Lamont shared with me that while he and others made a strong effort to "mentor" Tina away from drugs, their efforts ultimately went unrewarded. It wouldn't surprise me if this was the primary reason why Tina wasn't recorded more frequently. And count me among the group that prizes True Blue the most, followed by Back to the Tracks, and Minor Move.

DAMN - Man with the Golden Arm - I had one of those too!!! In fact I STILL HAVE IT!! Now I have misc. hardware in it, but it still has remnants of a decal I put on it when I was a kid, as well as my name (written by my father) in black marker on one side. Of course, when I was a bit younger I did have one of those metal jobbies, but I can't remember which cartoon hero was pictured on it. My sister remembers a lot of this stuff ----- I'll have to ask her.

I live in the northernmost San Diego community of Oceanside --- no threat imminent here, but my best friend narrowly averted losing his home. I guy I work with lost his, and I have two friends who I can't contact who live in the "extreme danger" zone. Don't know about them. This is really horrible stuff --- the whole town is surrounded by a dense, devilish haze/smoke. The sun is red. Hotels are filled with evacuees, who are now being forced to flee in the direction of Borrego Springs ------ our eastern desert. Everyone here knows someone who is being to a greater or lesser degree impacted by this. My whole family lives here, and all of us live in one of the "safe" areas. I'm counting my blessings tonight.

Barak - thank you. Actually I found the disc in question the next day, having mis-filed it. Tom Storer (and others) have mentioned Scott Robinson, who's been a member of Maria Schneider's orchestra for some time --- had the pleasure of talking to him after one of Maria's concerts where he (and the rest of the players) sounded absolutely *brilliant.* And Nick Brignola ---- very glad to have heard him live once in an intimate setting. I told him how much I enjoyed his recording "It's Time" where he plays 8 different woodwinds. He told me that it sold relatively few copies. Tremendous player!! I've got the famed Adams/Brignola collaboration on Beehive on cassette only. I'll have to dust if off and give it a listen soon.

Glad to see Jim Hartog getting some props here. Have you heard his arranging work on the 29th St. Sax Quartet recording "Milano/N.Y Bridge"? OHHHHHH MYYYYYY GAWWWWWD it is AMAAAAAAZING!!!!!!! (His blowing is mighty fine as well!) And a big thumbs up for Glenn Wilson also. I'm embarrassed to say that I can't recall the name of the guitarist he recorded a duo with on the Sunnyside label, though it's it's my collection somewhere. The relatively new Pepper Adams reissue "Urban Dreams" (Quicksilver) came in the mail just yesterday. Pepper + Rowles, Mraz and Hart. Extremely nice, despite the odd "spongy" sound quality of Mraz's bass. The Knife was in excellent form on this date!

Correction to make here: robert h's theory re. Capra Black was correct. I received my two Billy Harper discs in the mail yesterday and Capra is in fact a CDR. Black Saint is a "CD." I don't believe for a moment that I was misled into believing that both releases were CD's, but rather that there was misunderstanding re. what I was asking when I spoke to Helen --- who is CLEARLY a person of great work ethic & integrity. And as Robert pointed out in his post - who cares when the quality of the music is at this level? I've been enjoying both recordings enormously.

This is great input, all. I'll e-mail this page to Helen Scott - I'm sure Billy would appreciate the feedback.

(Huge sigh of relief) I'M NOT ALONE ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll second Aggie 87's rec. for the Jazzpar disc. As I recall, I grabbed it based on a suggestion by JSngry, and am very glad I did!

Yeah man - Capra Black & Black Saint are en route to my place, along with a Billy Harper T-shirt. Can't wait to dive into these recordings!!

There was speculation on page #2 of this thread that the Capra Black CD release for sale on the link that Jim posted (page #1) might in fact be a CDR. Nope. I spoke to Helen Scott yesterday (chairwoman of the B.H. fan club) and she informed me that both the Capra Black & Black Saint releases for sale were *CD's.* Just thought you'd like to know.

Pacific Standard Time is a fine recording --- don't own it. If memory serves I preferred his V.S.O.P. outing with Tom Ranier, Bob Maize and Frankie Capp titled "Lanny Morgan Quartet." This one I do have. Incredible version of Subconscious Lee, and *very* strong outing overall. After I get "It's About Time" I'll probably end up searching for P.S.T. to round out the collection. Editing to correct info. here --- the actual name of Lanny's recording is "Pacific Standard."

Upon going to the QuickSilver Record website following the discussion on the recording "Continuum: Mad About Tadd" I made a discovery which has made my day. (And probably *week* for that matter!) An old favorite Palo Alto recording of Lanny Morgan's (alto sax) is available through the Quicksilver site -------- Lanny's "It's About Time" features Bruce Foreman, Lou Levy, Monty Budwig and Nick Ceroli. I ordered it immediately, along with the back-ordered Continuum disc. This is a really solid outing from a largely underappreciated player -- I recall the unison blowing on Ko-Ko with Lanny and Bruce was nothing short of amazing. Lanny mailed me a cassette copy after I talked to him in L.A. during a Bill Holman rehearsal -------- such a gracious guy. I'll have to post more about this recording when I listen to it once again, but until then I'm curious if anyone else remembers this one.

I credit Billy Harper with deepening my passion for this music during my "formative years." Seeing Billy live with Thad & Mel just blew me away - his command of the horn from upper to lower register, his intensity, his attitude of "humble search", I could go on & on...............he seemed to steal the show. On Billy Harper threads I'm usually the only one who seems deeply committed to his recording "Soran-Bushi, B.H." That's O.K. I'll keep plugging it!!! Smokin' in parts, meditative in parts, and both qualities together. Featuring Everett Hollins (trumpet) Harold Mabern, Greg Maker (bass) Horace Arnold and Billy Hart (together) on drums. Here's the number for the Billy Harper fan club - apparently he's followed by quite an entourage when he plays in N.Y.C. (410) 467-4328. I had a fairly long conversation with the woman who heads up his fan club ---- very cool lady. I'm sure any questions re. CD's vs. CDR's could be cleared up by calling. For the record, the copy of Soran I picked up a couple of years ago is a CD.