Stefan Wood

A funny story: I had this lp, and I sold it on ebay to -- none other than Gil Melle himself! He had been looking for a copy for years, and was happy to have won it. Got positive feedback.

Eclipse seems like a newer incarnation of the HVe (Home Vision entertainment) dvd line that had stopped a year ago.

No, they are not overpriced. For the research, restoration and other extras they provide it is worth the extra money. Who else will reissue the films that they are releasing?

damn!!!!!!!!!!! RIP to a music giant

It happens. There's so much music out there.....

It's amazes me that this group did not make a dent in the US music pop culture. I first became aware of this group by reading a review in Mike Stax's entertaining magazine Ugly Things, many years ago. I think it was a review for the double cd "Music in the Doll's House/Family Entertainment." I remember buying it, loving the music but hating the voice, and sold it thereafter. Some years passed, and I stumbled across a copy of "Fearless," and for a buck, I got it, played it and loved it. Roger Chapman has one of the most distinctive voices in rock (I never heard a man bleat before, but Chapman has a tremendous voice), and both he and Charlie Whitney are a great songwriting team. I've been listening to "Bandstand" a lot lately, and I put it right up there with Abbey Road for sheer creativity and terrific music. Family is a relevation,and I'm thankful for the reissues that are available (UK only of course).

I resolve to make my life a happier one in 07. I've been too hard on myself, in all aspects of my life. I just want to do well. Happy holidays guys!

Larry Young "Unity" Lee Morgan - "Cornbread" Jackie McLean - "Action" Sam Rivers - "Fuscia Swing Song" Horace Silver - "The Jody Grind" Grant Green - Matador" John Patton - "That Certain Feeling" Wayne Shorter - "ETC" Bobby Hutcherson - "Dialogue" Art Blakey - "Mosaic"

I have three Pat Thomas lps, the Strand and two MGM lps. Desafinado is the most fun of the three, with its infectious bossa nova grooves, but I do like the Strand one as well. The Moody date (the other MGM lp) is decent vocal jazz. I had no idea who the personnel were on the Strand!

Soul Connection is vinyl only. Never been on cd, but dammit, it SHOULD be. Grachan Moncur is great on this as well.

I second the Reiner Mahler 4th.

Same here. There's a wealth of good music from these sessions, that I am surprised that the two chosen for lp release are not the best tunes. That's not saying they are bad; it's just that the other tunes are much more interesting, and lively. I am surprised at the freshness of the music and how different they are from his group albums from that time. Fun, relaxing, and intimate.

The high pressure worked for me -- put in my order! Whew!!!

I agree that some of those guys go a bit overboard. Many of them are great guys whose opinion I value. Don't put too much into reading one thread, particularly this one. Why? This thread is an example of when it's a bad idea to solicit an opinion over at the Steve Hoffman forums: when SH has worked on the master for another label. NEVER talk about another version of a session if there's a SH version. You'll never get anyone to agree with you and you'll likely get booted for disagreeing with Steve. In my experience, Hoffman never seems to "like" any other version of a recording he worked on. Proof? Check his post #172 in the thread in question. Hoffman says, "Well, I have not heard the new mix but I understand what you mean by "space" or lack of it." Say what?? He's posting on a thread about a newly remastered CD and comes on and tells everyone, "Try and find the common and cheap "old" Fantasy CD", when HE'S NEVER HEARD THE NEW REMASTER?? I love Steve Hoffman's work but sometimes, he's wrong. I have to say, this may be one of those cases. The worst thing about topics like this is that you simply cannot argue this with SH. If you do, you'll be "gorted" off the site quicker than you can say, "Steve, aren't you wrong to...". That's a big weakness at those forums. Steve's opinion is gospel, even if he has never even heard the CD being discussed. Kevin You are right, Kevin. It is just one topic -- though I have seen variations of this discussion regarding jazz, classical and rock cds as well. The world of audiophiles is an eclectic mix. No more than any other obsession. But the posts in that topic were really trite!

After reading several pages of this topic on Hoffman's forum, I realize that those guys are a bunch of old hens clucking away. I really question how those guys "listen" to music -- bunch of anal retentives.

Happy Birthday!

While I have been listening to jazz and classical, I have begun to find the late 60's/early to mid 70's rock scene fascinating. I'm going at it backwards, since a lot of my friends who are also jazz fans began by listening to fusion or jazz rock first. I have been listening to "lesser" known (at least here in the States) prog or hard rock groups like Van der Graaf Generator, Eloy, Egg, If, Buffalo, Leaf Hound, Groundhogs, and Family.

I used to have the Roots of a Revolution set, and I consider this to be a sonic upgrade. Better liner notes as well.

No, based on the various djs tastes that seems about right. Its a mixture of hard bop programming with creamy smooth jazz or vocals. They do have a killer latin music line up several times a week.

Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time" (as done by Miles Davis)???

According to their website, their online shop is down while they are relocating their entire inventory to another place. Hmm......

So what's wrong with itunes?

Yah. The only audiophile upgrade that I did was to change the outlet - there are audiophile outlets. It does make a difference.

I received this email last night: Rufus Harley - Courage: The Atlantic Recordings The late Rufus Harley didn't take “no” for an answer when it came to music. As a youngster in Philadelphia, the novice saxophonist twice retrieved his instrument from a pawn shop to which his mother had tried to consign it. But after November 25, 1963, the sax would play second fiddle in Rufus' jazz career. That was the day of John F. Kennedy's funeral procession, and leading the solemn march through the streets of the nation's capital were nine pipers from the Black Watch of The Royal Highlanders Regiment. Listening to them play, Harley dreamed up a whole new kind of music... Jazz bagpipes. On paper, it was a pretty unlikely combination, but for anyone who gave them a fair hearing, Rufus' performances quelled all skeptics. When he won over local Philly DJ and aspiring record producer Joel Dorn, Harley earned a contract with Atlantic Records, which issued his debut in 1966. Bagpipe Blues was a success, and through the remainder of the decade, Harley and Dorn completed three more albums for the label: Scotch & Soul (1966), A Tribute To Courage (1967), and King/Queens (1970). Though he was also a skilled sax player and flutist, Rufus was seen at the time as a novelty act -- “the world's first jazz bagpipe player.” But in hindsight his music is of a piece with the sonic boundary-breaking of such greats as Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Pharoah Sanders in the 1960s - a time of heightened interest in exotic sounds and styles from around the globe. In the years since his innovative Atlantic releases, Harley toured with his idol Sonny Rollins, and made guest appearances on recordings by the likes of Laurie Anderson and The Roots. The Rhino Handmade collection Courage: The Atlantic Recordings gathers all four of the jazzman's albums for the label, along with a previously unreleased version of “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” from the King/Queens sessions and “Pipin' The Blues” from Sonny Stitt's 1967 LP Deuces Wild, a track which prominently features Harley's bagpipes. Featuring remastered sound, rare photos, and producer Daniel Goldmark's insightful liner notes, this ear-opening 2-CD set goes a long way toward proving Rufus' contention that “this thing about the bagpipes not being for jazz is all in the mind.” Courage: The Atlantic Recordings is available for $39.98 as an individually numbered limited edition of 3,000 copies. Get it now at: Rhino Handmade Rufus Harley box set

Shit man, that is a classic Willie Colon lp. Mandatory purchase!