Ed S

I've been mostly lurking for the past while, but had to come out of hibernation for this thread. As a participant of the first BNBB since 1997 or so, I guess I've "known" you for almost 10 years now. I am SO sorry to hear the news of your father's death Kevin. Your tribute to your dad really touched me. It is so apparent that you loved, respected and enjoyed your relationship with your father. That is such a wonderful thing. I hope that the memories of your dad and your relationship with him give you the strength to deal with your loss and to continue your life with the wonderful memories that you and he created. Best wishes to you and your family at this time of loss and reflection. It sounds like your dad was a really great guy. You are VERY lucky.

I probably follow the tour more closely than the average American. And this has nothing to do with patriotism, as I'm not very patriotic, but I can't wait to see if Landis can pull it off in the time trial Saturday. His race in the Alps on Thursday was nothing short of unbelievable. What a story. If you read the American press after the disaster at the 16th stage, Landis jad NO chance to win the Tour. But to see him perform so remarkably and win the 17th stage - AND make up so much time has to be one of the most remarkable stories ever in the Tour de France. I find this guy SO much more likable than Lance - and I know that really does not matter as I a, a huge Armstrong fan - but I'm really hoping he wins. The hip issue adds a lot of drama to his saga - as if the meltdown on the 16th stage and the fabulous performance in winning the 17th stage doesn't have enough drama on its own!

I picked this last week and am really digging it. I only had one of the albums included here, so it was a very attractive release right from the start. I checked out the disc 4 stuff and find the Steve Allen stuff pretty amusing. I'd like to have been there to see the look on the faces of the everyone when he could not figure out that Cotrane was on tenor. Have to say that I LOVE the packaging. With a list of $60 or $15 per disc (I paid $41 at CDU) I just feel that from a packaging perspective I am getting SO much more than I get from Mosaic and their Selects. They are about the same $$$ per disc and the crappy outer box on the Selects really cheapens the look of the product, IMO. I have to wonder how much the cost of leasing the music figures into the ability to package something attractively. All that said, I know it's all about the music and have every Select released thus far - with the two most recent releases on the way. Just wish Mosaic had packaged the Selects differently.

I spotted this release while I was ordering the latest batch of Capitol/PJ releases last week. Thought I'd check it out as I've heard a bunch of other BN releases of European artists and have always been pleased. This one does not disappoint (me). One of the more interesting BN releases of contemporary musicians in a while, IMO. The trombone, electronica, Monk, Ellington and original compositions. All very interesting.

Just orderd the entire first batch. I thought the samples on the Mosaic site were excellent. Looking forward to hearing the entire batch.

Random thoughts: I think that you can honor the breaking of a record from players of different eras without having to resort to trying to compare eras to argue which player is greater. Steroids have been a controlled substance in the US since 1990. Use of them outside the realm of medicine is illegal. Human growth hormone is a prescription drug and therefore should be prescribed and used only under a physician's supervision. The fact that until recently they were not banned by baseball speaks to how poorly baseball is run and/or how badly baseball wanted to return from the labor strife in the early 90s, but should not be used to condone Bonds' and others use of these substances to enhance performance. From 1985 through 1999, Bonds hit an average of 32 HRs per season. That's enough to consider him a great home run hitter. Starting in 1999 at age 35 - a time when one would expect performance to begin a gradual decline - through 2004, Bonds averaged 52 HRs per year. As far as I am concerned, it's not that someone who is generally perceived as a jerk is approaching the Babe's mark and then eventually Aaron's record - it's that he's done it by cheating. And yes there has been cheating for years in baseball of various types. But I think there's a not so fine line between grease or spit or a file on a baseball or stick 'em in a glove or pine tar on a bat and enhancing your ability to perform artificially through the use of controlled and/or prescription medications. Bonds is way past that line. He's admitted to some use and evidence gathered in the writing of that book points to full blown steroid utilization - as does one look at before and after photos. I took my boys to the baseball hall of fame last year and was disgusted to see the list of active leaders in most hitting categories - Bonds, Palmiero, Sheffield, Sosa. All suspected steroid abusers. Throw Mcguire in there too when talking about disappointment, though he had retired. Baseball as an institution should be ashamed of the way it handled and even tolerated the steroid era. I am not saying Bonds records should be stricken or even astererisked. All I am saying is that for me, his passing of Ruth and perhaps Aaron has become completely meaningless. For that matter - the McGuire and Sosa season has become a joke. I still like watching a baseball game. But these guys and baseball itself have taken away one of the truly enjoyable aspects of the game - the assault on records that have been established over a century or more of play. Shame on all concerned.

Very nice I'd go with a little darker colored sock though

A lot of the Blue Note enthusiasm was, IMO, resultant from the combination of the popularity and camaraderie of the old BNBB as well as Blue Note's marketing strategy that kept releases in circulation for only short periods of time. On more than one occasion, I found myself springing for the BN Conn or the title that was announced as going OOP before buying the same artist or similar maerial on OJC or some other label. For me, BN is a great label with great music and was an excellent way to explore hard bop. Now that I've done that - while I still enjoy BN - there are other artists/releases/styles to discover.

The whole steroid thing has totally tainted Bonds' numbers and pretty much rendered what should be a historic event meaningless - at least in my opinion.

Just wondering if anyone has ever used one of these.? I'm traveling to Paris next week and exploring some options for money. I'll be taking some cash, credit card as well, but have read that Travelers checks are still something worth considering. So I checked out the American Express site and it seems they have something called the Travelers Check CARD. Supposedly, it works like a pre-paid credit card. It's re-loadable, can be used at ATMs and affords the protection of Travelers checks. Acceptability is somewhat of an issue but I'm guessing a city like Paris would not be too much of a problem. Plus the ATM capability would give me access to cash. Sounds ideal but I have to wonder if anyone ever use one of these things? Thanks

For Prog Rock fans

Thanks for the input! Seems like my hotel is in a good locations - a stone's throw from the Paris Jazz Corner.

Thanks T - I'm hoping that things settle down by the time I arrive - April 23. I planned on doing a LOT of walking. Perhaps a little more that I had first anticipated

Well Hans, I live in a very cold area of the US as well - Buffalo, NY. Snow is in the forecast for Tuesday and they are still skiing in the ski country just south of where I live. The 10-15/50-60 degree range sounds perfect! I think that because I live in a traditional cold area, spring temps in that range are really something to look forward to.

I checked out some of the other threads about recommendations for restaurants and entertainment. Just wondering about a couple of other "climate" related issues. Should I be worried about the student/labor demonstratons disrupting my trip? Things still seem fairly heated. I'm staying - as luck or poor planning would have it - in the Latin Quarter area. As a frequet traveler in French speaking areas - mostly Montreal and Quebec but also including Paris in the early 90s - I'm fairly good at making my way through restaurant, museum, directions sort of interactions. I know that a smile and respect and some basic French go a long way in breaking down the "ugly American" vs "rude Frenchmen" barriers that exist in the mindset of some. Just wondering, though, how the current political climate with Bush/Iraq influence the view towards Americans. Now - a real climate question. I'm expecting temps in the high 50s/low 60s F (what's that like 10-15 C?) with evenings still somewhat chilly. Perhaps a little rainy. That said, I love springtime and am looking forward to spending a week of "April in Paris"

My first Mosaic set

I remember the thrill of discovering Jackie McLean music when I started listening to mainstream jazz in the 80s. The McLean Mosaic was my first Mosaic set. I'll be spinning a ton of Jackie this weekend.

I almost pulled the plug on the CD Universe deal, but decided to wait - and was rewarded for my patience. I was not quite as patient with the Nelson, though. I really wanted to check that one out and picked it up directly from Mosaic last week. Digging it a lot.

Up for preorder at CD Universe - $83.99 Oliver Nelson at CD Universe (linked through the board!)

It appears that the Nelson has made it to CD Universe. Pre-order price is $83.99 Oliver Nelson at CD Universe(linked through the board)

Placed my order for the Euopean version of the Rich set with CD Universe on December 7th for $91. Just came in today I was not in any hurry to get it , so I waited through the seemingly endless backorders and changes in release dates. With $2.99 for shipping, the whole thing ran $94.20. The reason I mention it is that I just saw the Oliver Nelson available at CD Universe for around $85. If you're patient, you could get a bargain.

Interesting..... Your comment is interesting . . . . Your comment that my comment is interesting is interesting......

Interesting.....