Stefan Wood

The Fresh Sound website doesn't list everything they have but they have their entire catalog in stock. You just have to email them. I bought some cds from them in January, and the overseas shipping must have been done by teleportation, because I got the package in two days!

It's a jungle in here........ AND it's a tough crowd.

It might seem a bid weird at first to compare the two cds that have been recently released. Both are piano trios -- the Bad Plus garnering a lot of attention for their playing and covers of rock tunes; Brad Mehldau for his explorations that have been compared to Bill Evans, but in recent efforts like Places, he has done some terrific sounding works with electonica. I bought both cds recently, and upon first listen, I am not that enthusiastic about either. The Bad Plus cd pumps up all the things that everyone thought was so interesting about the first cd -- meaning loud sounds, lots of pounding drums, and LOTS of riffs. And it makes this cd so less compelling and listenable -- I got tired of the music halfway through, because it sounded like the same stuff over and over again, just with variations. The playing is definitely tighter, but the compositions are weak. Sure, it's cool to hear Black Sabbath as done by a trio, but I don't think they go far enough to play around with the song and make it more than DA-DA---DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAAHHH! It seems they are too much in love with the rhythms of the songs they cover rather than making any new interpretations. The Brad Mehldau cd is also a cd of covers -- standards. And while I think he and his sidemen are fantastic players, I don't think their interpretations are that interesting. Mehldau will do quotes and phrases here and there to remind you of the tune they are doing, then go off in his own direction, but I felt something lacking. Soul? It's hard for me to say. I'm sorry if this sounds like ranting; it isn't, but I found it interesting that two different groups with different approaches to jazz have hit a stumbling block when it comes to presenting a contemporary, "popular" version of a jazz trio. I'd like to hear other thoughts about this.

Hard to find.

I agree that this is an excellent album. Seeing him live, and listening to his recordings, I find Osby's music to be challenging and rewarding. Big thumbs up on this, as well as his last cd, St Louis Shoes.

You don't know about Don Friedman? Well, time to start! He's an excellent if relatively not well known (outside jazz world) player -- you can start with Day in the City, or Circle Waltz, on Riverside, or check out the recordings with Atilla Zollar, in the mid 60's (Metamorphosis, Dreams and Explorations), which are probably closer to what you are looking for in "advanced" piano jazz. Okay, Metamorphosis is a quartet session, but man does it smoke!

I would drop by as well but the time is not good for me. Enjoy your stay here!

I rarely watch sports these days, but I caught the Maryland games both Saturday and Sunday -- they remind me of the Maryland team of two tears ago when they won the whole thing. I don't think they'll run the table, but they definitely will go deep in the tournament.

Guys, it is anal discussions like this that make me throw my hands in the air and go -- who REALLY gives a damn???? So the photo is reversed -- the world isn't going to end.

I think the reason for the late feedback is many of us have these sessions already -- except for Goin West. I got that and the Duke Pearson, the latter mainly in hope that the sound would be much improved. All of these are excellent sessions.

This is the one and only cover for Goin West. Unfortunately......

I've been on the fence regarding DecWare for way too long now, but I have good reasons -- I bought a place (on the waterfront in DC!!), and I have this kick ass HH Scott 230C tube amp that has blown away everything else I have listened to (quite a bit, because I sampled a friend's massive tube stereo collection -- he just needed someone to play them once in a while). But maybe if I can sell some art work this year (my goal), maybe I take finally take the plunge by getting a Select.....

Both sessions are available on cd through Dusty Groove (the bastards!). I like New Africa a lot -- a cross between Moncur's music from Blue Note and the music that BYG typified in the late 60's.

Trying to organize my life: Dizzy Gillespie - The Greatest Trumpet (Verve) Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy and Strings (Verve) Blue Mitchell - Graffitti Blues (Mainstream) Bebop Revisited - vols 5 & 6 (Xanadu) Oliver Nelson - Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse) Peter Brotzmann & Walter Perkins Horace Tapscott - Dial "B" for Barbara (Nimbus)

done

Weizen, if they are new tubes, it will take a while to break them in -- days or weeks, in fact. But if they have been "broken in" then you can turn them on and enjoy it immediately.

A late response. I burn at home. I also agree the quality of the burner varies, so it is important when looking for one to check for things like buffer overrun protection, software, etc. We're dealing with 0s and 1s guys, not analog audio waves. Also, the set up of your computer is just as important -- if you don't have enough RAM, it will affect the performance of your burning. Same as quality of your hard drive, how much processor speed, your operating system, etc.

Got my discs yesterday. Listened to the first one in the car today. I LIKE it!!!! Good job. B)

They'll get their stuff directly from Mosaic, so it will be unlikely that anyone who orders through Collector's Choice will get the Smith box.

Brandon, I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. Loss of signal? If you get that then your burner and/or software, or media is defective. I have never, ever had any problems or loss of quality when burning at high speeds. And the time issue? Another falsehood. 80 minute discs sound just as good as 30 minute discs.

Sure, they have been reissued (except for a couple of sessions in the box set), but even those reissues have been OOP for some time now.

Vultures, all of youse! The body is still warm!!!

They played here in DC at Twins last night. I'm shocked that us jazz junkies living in the nation's capitol would even be blessed with their presence, but they came, to the most packed house I have ever seen. Standing room only, people on the stairs, going all the way down to the street. They were introduced as "Die Like a Dog Trio", which brought a lot of guffaws from Brotzmann and Parker. They played some solid music for three hours (time includes an intermission). Loved it.

Which would never happen because the Smithsonian just doesn't have the funds to run that kind of an operation, especially at a non profit. Remember they severely cut Folkways back some years ago....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH With our luck, BMG will buy them out and not reissue a damn thing.