The Magnificent Goldberg

My favorite part is when you answer that you play jazz and they say, "Jazz? Oh, I like jazz. It's so relaxing." My wife & I were sitting in a restaurant here in Bloomington on a recent Sunday afternoon, and they were playing some godawful contemporary version of "Come Rain or Come Shine." I couldn't ID the singer, but I was positive it was some washed-up 1980s New Wave star... kind of a cross between the Spandau Ballet vocalist and Boy George, but not actually either one of them. It was very schmaltzy and fatigued-sounding at the same time, with some limp brass in the background; we've had a bevy of bad Great American Songbook (or GAS, as the Yahoo Songbirds call it) tributes from fading rock vets lately, but this one really piqued my curiousity. My wife went up to the counter to order a coffee drink and asked what was playing. When she came back, she said, "Don't get mad..." Then proceeded to tell me that the guy behind the counter had said he wasn't sure what it was, because it came off an employee's ipod, "but I think it's Miles Davis." My wife said, "Uh, are you sure?" (She knows Miles' recordings fairly well.) He said, "Well, yeah... you know, it's jazzy and stuff... I'm pretty sure it's Miles Davis!" There! See what you get if you become popular! Great story Ghost. MG

So tell us who you haven't heard of. MG

William Henri Woode Teddy McRae Minton's

I think you're wrong there. IN Britain, in the early '60s, EMI 45s were issued in paper sleeves with adverts for record-related products on the back - EMItex record cleaing material, the Record Mail, EMI record tokens. And there were some with ads for LPs. By the late '60s, these had been replaced by ads for make-up. I think EMI knew who was buying all the pop singles. MG That's what I thought, but I wasn't able to explain. Pop singles vs Rock Album, I'll bet the most of the buyers of Pink Floyd Lps or Stones or Bowie were males. personally I had some girlfriends, I mean friends, really interested in music, and few of them turn their interest in a passion. That's would an issue worth investigating for a psychiatrists. On the other end collecting something, or shopping compulsion, is transgender. Oh, and don't forget all those ladies who used to chuck their knickers at the likes of Illinois Jacquet. Now, if jazz musicians were STILL playing music that made ladies want to chuck their panties on stage... MG

I think you're wrong there. IN Britain, in the early '60s, EMI 45s were issued in paper sleeves with adverts for record-related products on the back - EMItex record cleaing material, the Record Mail, EMI record tokens. And there were some with ads for LPs. By the late '60s, these had been replaced by ads for make-up. I think EMI knew who was buying all the pop singles. MG

saw that on a van (obviously!) in Tyneside last week. Someone had replied on the other door: "She is...." Perfect! MG

But does it get you anywhere? MG

I knew you're a sleeping soviet agent in the forum. No - that was my grandfather. MG

Don't know if this will work. Sue obviously isn't doing any in the office today Conversation Stopper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next time you find yourself on a plane, sitting next to someone who cannot resist chattering to you endlessly, quietly pull your laptop out of your bag, carefully open the screen (ensuring the irritating person next to you can see it), and hit this link . http://www.thecleverest.com/countdown.swf (yes it does) MG

Here are a few wacko cartoons/jokes a friend just sent I quite like these MG

Very best wishes for today Noj. And many more. MG

OK - it's not on CD. But look for Willis Jackson's "Star bag". Trudi swings her ass off on that! Can't say I like "These blues of mine" much, but I have the one that was reissued in Japan last week on its way to me. MG

Those are some very interesting things coming out on BN. MG

Various Artists - Honkers and Barwalkers vol 1 - Delmark Helen Humes - Be-baba-leba - Whiskey, Women and... MG

I don't know, but quite a bit, I expect. But I bet "Star time" hasn't got the alternative (earlier) take of "Cold sweat", which shows how much difference a slightly altered guitar part makes. MG

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I've really had it with genres. I used to keep my collection organized by genre, but I've dropped all such distinctions and let everything co-mingle. So, in answer to your last question, I don't think I would have a problem with a reunited Zeppelin recording for Blue Note... Yeah - historically, record labels have been two things: 1) a marketing tool for aiming specific types of music at specific markets; and 2) something like a statement of purpose of the proprietor(s). Generally, 2) have been independent labels and the jazz, blues, gospel, R&B & C&W worlds are full of them. But about the only ones of the great indie labels in these markets left standing are Delmark and Nessa. The others have all been taken over by Corporate America, at which point they become 1). And at that point, they have no further value as going concerns. Only the catalogue that they produced before being submerged has any value. So, yes, EMI can sign whoever they like to Blue Note; can revive labels like Aladdin, Imperial, Black & White etc etc and sign whoever they like to those labels. And it won't matter a damn. Because 1) is actually of no real consequence to music fans. MG

The beauty of a text file, for me, is the ease of hoicking a bit of text out into my endless list of stuff to buy. I never find that easy with pdf material. So I'll pass on the download. MG

Hey, nice heads up on this one! Super! ....just ordered a copy from Amazon! I heard a Kral & Pomeroy one -- courtesy of a fine gent here -- that whet the 'ol appetite for more of her material. Lady of Lavender is a 'live' one, right? I need to check that out. btw, anyone heard the Carmen McRae/Brubeck 'Basin Street' cd? Any thoughts? Is that the one where she did a vocal version of "Take five"? I always thought that was great - words and the way she sang them - but I never heard anything else of theirs. MG

Lee "Scratch" Perry Slim Harpo The Crusaders

Stan Free Patrick McGooghan Baylor the wailer

Wow! Did I have a lucky escape when Meek wouldn't give me a job at 17? Never knew that about him. MG

Elspeth Huxley Julian Huxley Aldous Huxley

I found this by accident while looking for a Don Patterson single. Haven't looked at it properly, but it appears to be a complete catalogue of everything available on Fantasy's labels just before the Concord acquisition. http://bradleyolson.bravehost.com/2004%20catalog%20.txt Don't try to play with this on line; the site is as slow as arseholes. Just save it to your hard drive - it's a 1.5mb TEXT file. It includes all the personnel details that Fantasy used to include in their catalogue. The beauty of having this is that you can enter a search term such as "Lonnie Smith" and find all the albums on which Lonnie appeared that were in the catalogue. You couldn't do this on the Fantasy site and you still can't on Concord. A bit of exploration will help you create a new list of stuff you didn't know you wanted. (Evil bugger, aren't I?) Anyway, mucho props to Bradley Olson, whoever he is/was. MG

They should have included the tune on the CD! I opt for completing sessions whenever CD playing time allows, which is the case here - I have no idea whether the tape is lost or they simply forgot to include it beacuse they didn't consult the Prestige discography. Sometimes I'm glad I'm not affected by some of those specifically "American" elements of jazz socialisation ..... I simply would like to listen to my favorite B-3 master Don Patterson on a track I never heard before. Has anyone here actually heard Patterson's version? Or do I have to go hunting for the 45? You can get it here, Mike. http://www.flipmall.com/rarekq.htm Never heard of the firm. No price mentioned. MG

Very likely - because some asshole like me is gonna say, "stay away from those albums because Larry's wife is the most awful singer ever". MG