Ed S

When the Braves were in Buffalo, I was a huge NBA fan. Bob MacAdoo, Jack Marin, Randy Smith, Tom McMillen, Jim McMillian, Gar Heard, Ernie DiGregorio, Adrian Dantley - they had some great teams and players back in the day. From the time of their departure 'til the mid 90s I was more of a casual fan. Now I rarely watch. My favorite of all time is Wilt, followed by Kareem as a close second. I'd rank Bird and Magic as a tie for 3rd. After that, I have a number of favorites none of whom stands out from the others. That list includes West, Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Jordan, Bill Russell. I was a big fan of the Willis Reed/Walt Frazier/Bill Bradley/Dave DeBusher (sp)/Dick Barnett(with that crazy looking jump shot) Knicks, though none in and of themselves were great enough to make an individual top 10. I was a big fan of the Bulls back in the Jerry Sloan, Bob "Butterbean" Love, Chet "the Jet" Walker, Tom Boerwinkle, Bob Weiss days.

I love to travel, though budget and family commitments limit choices at this point. I've travelled a lot in Canada - Montreal (every year for the jazz festival), Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, The Canadian Rockies. We took our young boys to a place in Alberta called Dinosaur Provincial Park last summer. One of the world's richest sources of Dinosaur bones. It's out in the badlands east of Calgary. What a fascinating place. I also like to camp and canoe. When I was a boy, we'd travel up to Algonquin Provincial Park about 4 hours north of Toronto. 3,000 square miles of interconnected lakes - bears, loons, wolves, moose and some beautiful scenery. I've travelled as far North as James Bay and someday would like to go to Alaska or the Canadian North. Before we had children, my wife and I travelled to France. Spent a week in Paris, a week in Cannes and about 2 weeks driving around France and surrounds. We stayed in Lyon, Geneva, Chamonix, and Florence. Geneva and Lake Geneva and the parts of Switzerland we saw were beautiful. We did the usual tourist things like boat rides, art museums. We travelled to Montreaux and a little beyond. Stopped at Chateau de Chillon which is pictured on one of the Bill Evans albums. Driving through the valleys was interesting. There were ruins of castles everywhere. In Chamonix we took the cable cars up the Aiguille du Midi (sp?) to 13,000 feet elevation. The air's a little thin up there to be sure. It's right in the shadows of Mont Blanc. Skiers, mountain climbers, hang gliders and tourists in cable cars made for quite an interesting scene. Standing on the platform above the clouds and seeing the peaks of various mountains as far as the eye could see was one of the more awe inspiring sights I've ever seen. Coming through the tunnel du Mont Blanc on the way down to Florence was a bit of a disappointment. Looks like a very poor area. By the time we hit Tuscany though, Italy had turned into the beautiful country I had seen in pictures. In Florence, we hoped to see the great museums. The night we arrived, we walked to Il Duomo, found a great courtyard restaurant which to this day is the single best setting I've ever eaten at. Everything you could imagine. Brick courtyard, anciant fountain, small gardens, lights strung around for atmosphere. Picture perfect. The next morning we awoke to the new that a mafia car bombing outside the Uffizzi killed 6 and did substantial damage to the building and several paintings. All the museums in the city were shut down. We spent the day touring various sites and had one of the more interesting lunches ever. Right on the Piazza della Signora - which is right in front of the Uffizzi - we found a great little restaurant where we ate pizza, drank wine and watched anti-mafia demonstrators, riot police and CNN reporters do their thing. It was pretty exciting to be on the scene of a major news event like that. My wife even got on Italian TV we found out later as she could be seen in the background of an interview on the news. We left Florence a day early, and on the way to Cannes, stopped at Pisa. That tower was leaning as far as it ever had and was quite impressive. Cannes was fabulous. We traveled quite a bit around Provence hitting Monaco, Nice, Antibes, Juan les Pins, Menton, Grasse, St Paul du Vence. The Fondation Maeght was very impressive for both the quality of the collection and the setting. The beaches were fabulous and it was quite a thrill swimming in the Mediterranean. And the light. I now know what Matisse and the fauves painters saw when they described the light in Provence. Another thrill was the TGV from Cannes to Paris. Excellent ride. Another great trip was a short trip to London a few years ago. What a gas. Now that we've got children, we're doing more family oriented stuff. In the future, we'd like to do one of those jungle eco-tourist things. I've never wanted to go to Hawaii, but I'd love to go to some place like Tahiti or Bora Bora. New Zealand and Australia are two other hopeful future destinations.

Better late than never!

I'm pretty sure this is the first time they actually posted about returning defective CDs, and apologized at that. They must have really f'd it up big time. Usually they'd just give us the shaft, hope no one notices and sweep it under the rug.

Thanks, BW. As far as samplers go, that one looks okay. So it'll cost me about $.75 in postage to get the sampler then. Unless of course I crack the Soulive disc in half and send 'em the pieces in by conventional mail.

I ordered this online as well. I think I still have time to cancel though as my order is not going to be shipped until the 22nd with the Rare Grooves. I wonder what free sampler they're giving away? The thing that gets me about looking at the website today was that it does look like they sold out. Looks like they cleaned out the notices of reissues just in time to get the Soulive crowd and not have them look at some of the reissues and wonder "Who the hell is that????" But they didn't even do a good job of "selling out" They've got the Rare Grooves coming out and these could appeal to the Soulive bunch. They've got an Erik Truffaz on the horizon. Paul Jackson Jr . too. I hate to think that I have to be a quality control guy when I get my CD shipment. There really is no excuse for the mistakes they repeatedly make. And yes, this Soulive snafu will cost them a bundle. Notice that the hardore jazz fans did not get an apology for the Hutcherson mistake (or any of the others). Then again, maybe those courses at the local comunity college are starting to pay off.

By the way, I was looking for some info on new and upcoming releases. No info on the upcoming Rare Groove releases, none on the new Dexter 2 CD set. Nothing about the upcoming SACD releases. Not a mention about the May or Junw releases of EMI jazz labels. On the new release page, Madlib featured again. Recent releases by Jane Bunnett, DJ Smash, Soulive, Marissa Monte and the Norah DVD featured. No recent reissues featured. I did find out though that the Madlib disc is scheduled for a June 24th release.

Was over at BN site and found this in the "news". Looks like they've "pinpointed the problem" and are apologizing "to the fans for giving them a less-than-perfect CD when they've dropped their hard-earned cash " Dig that lingo, man. These cats are pretty hip to the whole scene. Looks like Tom took that class in customer relations at the local community college that I recommended SOULIVE REPLACEMENT CD To everyone who has purchased the new Soulive live album and is having trouble: first and foremost all of us at Blue Note Records apologize for the audio glitches that people are experiencing. This is especially embarrassing for a label like Blue Note that prides itself on presenting the finest musicians in the world performing music on their own terms in the best sonic atmosphere possible. We have pinpointed the problem and will happily replace any CD that people view as defective. To insure that you receive a fixed copy, it is best NOT TO RETURN THE CD TO THE RETAILER, as the retailer won't necessarily have a fixed version just yet. Simply mail JUST THE CD (hold on to the packaging) to: Blue Note Records Soulive Return 150 Fifth Avenue 6th Floor New York, NY 10011 Include in your package YOUR COMPLETE RETURN MAILING ADDRESS and we will in turn send you a replacement CD in a blank sleeve as soon as is possible that represents the band as they're truly supposed to sound. Also we'll include a free Blue Note sampler for your trouble. Your information will only be used for the purpose of delivering a new Soulive CD and will not be put into any kind of database. Once again, we apologize to the fans for giving them a less-than-perfect CD when they've dropped their hard-earned cash and we apologize to Soulive for poorly representing them musically. Humbly yours, Blue Note Records

Isn't "cyberspace land" an oxymoron? At any rate, welcome to the board. Go get some much needed sleep.

Geri Allen - what can you say? First as part of M-base, then Ralph Peterson's group as well as on her own she has demonstrated versatility fro mainstream to the avante garde. She's creative, versatile, and exciting to listen to. Someone who's pretty influencial in the Montreal area - Lorraine Desmarais. She's well respected and has contributed mightily to the Canadian and particularly the Montreal jazz scene. She's a ceative improviser and handles a variety of styles - hard bop, swing, fusion - equally well Jane Bunnett - I'd say she's been instrumental (no pun intended) in bring the music, rhythms, and musicians of Cuba to the forefront and keeping them there. Made some pretty nice records too.

Dex

I guess this is the sort of thing you have to do to sell records these days. It should be noted that it's a cross promotion of EMI family labels and artists on the Angel website. Looks like they're going after the classical musicand/or yuppie crowd with this indulgence theme. From a jazz purist standpoint, I guess it looks sort of like the continued Norahnization of the label, but I think it's a decent enough marketing angle. Throw some popular EMI artists together in the same ad campaign, appeal to the target audience with some hook - that being the indulgence thing, cross promote with some co-sponsors and see if they can sell some albums. You could do worse than picking up Cassandra Wilson, Jacky Terrasson, Bill Charlap, Patricia Barber and Dianne Reeves. I even went to cd universe to see who this Melissa Errico babe is. Unfortunately, not even remotely my cup of tea. The compilation is - what's the word - interesting? I did enter the contest to win the trip to Switzerland but I'm not telling any of you how music, chocolate and wine effect my life. If I'm lucky enough to have been amongst the first 1000 contestants, though, I'll be getting a free copy of the sampler.

I never buy from them at their list price. I agree that is too high a price to pay, especially compared to other online stores. I find the weekly Blue Note specials and the specials that they run on the True Blue website to be certainly lower that brick and mortars and competitive with non-sale prices online. So if they have a couple of older releases on sale for $9.98 or a newer release for 12.98 or 13.98, I'll pick 'em up. That is if there are enough to offset the shipping cost. Their shipping cost structure is out of whack if you're only buying 1 or 2 discs. CD universe sells their $12.98 list stuff for $10.09, their 16.98 stuff for $13.79 and their $17.98 list for $14.79. Can't beat the pre-order prices at CD Universe though. I've been going the pre-order route on a lot more discs these days. Does anyone know why True Blue sells everything at list?

I can tell you that when you hear Green featured in the context you've mentioned you're getting way more Green than you'd be getting on this disc. Based on your preferences, it seems like you've mad a good decision This Green is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

I just picked this one up today and have only given it one listen. I think my opinion on the disc is somewhat tempered by my expectations. First of all, I'm a fan of Green's late 60s and 70s BN period. So I knew what to expect there. Secondly, I went in to this knowing I'd be listening to a movie soundtrack on which Grant Green is featured, not a Grant Green record per se. As a movie soundtrack, you invariably get some mood music, some action music, some theme music. Given that set of expectations, I'd say the record is actually pretty good - for 1971 sounding movie soundtrack. Green is featured on a number of typical soulful/funky tracks but blends into the background on an equal number of ensemble and mood pieces. Some of those ensemble pieces are pretty funky, however. If you're looking for a Grant Green record, don't buy it. If you like late 60s/early 70s funky sounding movie sountracks, this one's not bad. (Not that I'm an expert) The fact that it's a late 60s/early 70s soundtrack featuring Grant Green makes it worthwhile having, in my opinion. I admit that I tend to be more generous in my rating of something like this. There's only a small, finite set of unreleased Grant Green material out there. This has finally become available, so I'm glad to have it.

Mosaic/True Blue do handle the sales at the Blue Note site. I always check the BN site for their weekly specials and pick them up from time to time. I like to try to throw them as much business as practical.

It took me a while to find the two Bennie Wallace releases. A little less time for Jack Walrath. The US release of Tommy Flanagan's Lonely Town is scarce and one I'm looking for. I'm still looking for Tommy Smith - Paris. Anybody have a copy they'd like to part with?

I have all of the releases in the series. I think it was a nice concept and pretty well executed. Perhaps a little on the smooth side, but I find them to be very nice to throw on while entertaining. I think you guys got all the titles. There definitely was a Ronnie Laws - "Harvest for the World", I think. I'm not home and would have to look it up to be certain.

I was there about 6 or so years ago for about 5 days, so I've got the 5 day plan all set for ya' The museums mentioned above are a must. I'm a big art lover and went to the Tate and National. The Tate Modern was still under construction. I also stopped at the smaller Courtald Gallery which was very nice. I stayed very near the V and A, which I visited. Had no time for the British Museum unfortunately. I was also just down the street from Harrod's. I would not make a special trip but if you're in the neighborhood by all means do walk in. Very interesting place. We were there just before Christmas so there was lots of Holiday shopping to do. I took the Underground everywhere. It was safe, convenient and fast. Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral are musts. You don't have to be religious to appreciate the history, beauty and architecture. I'm not (religious) The Tower of London was fabulous. One can spend all day there. The Tower bridge is right around the corner from the Tower of London. My wife and I had a fabulous time the night we went to Ronnie Scott's. We actually did not get in to Ronnie's as it seems that the extremely long line that we entered at about 7 PM (thinking it was for the early show) was actually for the second show. We decided to take a walk through Soho instead. It was one of the more memorable walks I've ever taken. If you don't mind some of the more lurid aspects of urban life - strip joints and porn shops with lots of neon lights and beads instead of doors - I highly recommend it. You'll see all sorts of urban curiosities, people having a wild time and just about anything you can imagine. We walked for hours, stopping at the odd pub for a brew and the moving on. The dimly lit and winding streets of London just added to the appeal. It was like Blade Runner meets Charles Dickens. Picadilly Circus was quite a scene. Punk Rockers, Hari Krisna, preachers with bullhorns mixed with tourists like me and those sketch artist types. The whole night left quite an impression. We did tons of walking through the city neighborhoods. Very charming. We walked through Hyde Park and Kensington gardens. We checked out the palaces but did not get inside. I'm not even sure if they were open to the public then. One thing that sounds corny but ended up being a ton of fun was the "Jack the Ripper Tour" I know, it seems ultra touristy. My wife insisted so naturally what could I say. They took you on a nice ride through London at night and headed for the Ten Bells Pub, where all of the victims were regulars. After a couple of brews, there was a walking tour through White Chapel conducted by a guide who was as much an actor as a guide. But it added to the "charm" as we walked through the dimly lit streets and alleyways. After the tour, we had a fish and chips dinner at one of the local pubs. Touristy? yes. but entertaining and fun. I should note that I'm not a gourmet eater by any means. We ate at the Hard Rock cafe one night. The rest of the time, we just went in to the local pubs - had a great time, had more than a few of the local brews and ate - well, we ate ok food. Have fun

Very sad news indeed. I agree that a Mosaic Select of her work would be a fitting tribute.

Thanks Looks excellent.

As a rule, I'm not an automatic upgrader. But I picked up the Miles RvGs and gave away my old copies.

You guys are killing me.... or my bank account. Do you usually get Proper sets at the usual US online places or do they have a website?

Yeah - that's right. I'm going to steal his lunch money AND give him a wedgie. And it'll be the same for anyone else who pisses me off.

Not according to the PMG website