The Magnificent Goldberg

Doesn't the movie industry have a certain technological advantage in that US DVDs won't play on European players? So I'm told, anyway. MG

If I remember correctly a quid is 20 shillings plus 1 pence? At least in 1969 when I spent the summer on the road (music gig) touring Great Britain. How that equates to today's euro is a mystery to me. A quid is slang for 1 pound. In the pre-decimal system a guinea was 20 shillings and 1 pence (20 shillings = 1 pound, while 12 pennies = 1 shilling) £1 = €1.49 or $1.86 / €1 = £0.67 or $1.25 / $1 = £0.54 or €0.80 at today's exchange rates. Nope, not quite. A guinea was a pound and one shilling (1.05 decimal). You got the rest right Hans. MG

I have a very biased collection. Decided in the '60s not to bother too much with acknowledged masters because I'd be able to buy their stuff "any time". Didn't feel that would be true for Don Wilkerson, Baby face Willette, Patton, Patterson, Lazar, Freddie Roach and several hundred others. And I was often right - what can you buy on CD by eg Billy Larkin & the Delegates? But "any time" took a long time coming. MG PS - this isn't really clear. In Britain in the '60s, Soul Jazz was really HARD to come by. I didn't anticipate the Acid Jazz movement of the '80s, of course, which made a lot of these musicians quite popular enough for reissue programmes to look into. And it was expensive; Blue Notes cost almost a week's wages when I started work. It was '65 before I could afford a new BN. And critics hated the stuff; I already guessed (as I posted elsewere last night) that they were working for the ruling classes. Even Hobsbawm, who was (probably still is) a Red, though he understood a good bit more than the others around here at the time. So there was a certain political element in my choices. It felt like a great achievement when my mate and I had, by 1970, converted Derek Stewart-Baxter, a critic who lived in Brighton, to the point where he wrote a piece called "Green is beautiful" in Jazz Journal. (Course, it wasn't ALL down to us )

I've only got 6 of the 9 Gates CDs so far. It's not on any of them. In which year did 25 April fall ? This must be a late recording - post the Crash. This material is covered in vols 7, 8 & 9, of which I've got 7 & 8 so far. Vol 7 is 18 March 1929 - 25 April 1930 (is this the year? If so, it ain't there.) Vol 8 is 12 December 1930 - 2 August 1934 MG

Thanks Clem, but I'd already sprung for it. The stuff is so cheap though, I couldn't resist. And it's so cheap that, if I decide I want to look more/better into any of these guys, I shan't mind ditching these CDs or simply filing them in the garage. MG

Maybe, Clem. Thanks for the offer - PM me details if you like. MG

Why would he want to? I can take a dressing down from my boss at work, but it isn't something I go out of my way to get in my leisure hours. It's a new dawn, a new day, and I'm feeling good. So, working backwards through last night: HP, no dressing down occurred. You want dressing down - work for a right wing politician! MG

The two together cost me 21.79 GB pounds, incl post, which is about half what you normally have to pay for Japanese CDs over here. (Something in the region of $20 each, I guess.) I think it's not too bad. Both albums are really worth the money. The trouble is, when you go onto the HMV site, you'll find a load of other JOS albums you haven't got (That's why I got two, rather than just the one I'd intended to buy.) MG

What a great montage that was. And I MUST get to see Rhoda live. So who was playing in carpet slippers, then? MG

Thanks Harold. I checked US Amazon and found they all came up when I put in "Quadromania". So I tried Amazon UK and found them all - and cheap from the market traders. So I ordered all five for 22 quid, inc post! That's a proper price to pay for a CD! These all appear to be the German issues you referred to. Thank you, too, Brownie. NOW it looks as if I'm facing a too-much-to-listen-to problem! MG

Art should not abide tyranny, period. When it does, it becomes mere propaganda, even if it might well have been something else entirely when it was created. Art has ALWAYS abided (abode? aboded?) tyranny. Art is expensive. For thousands of years, the only people who could afford it were the ruling classes. And most of them were tyrants. But art served their interests. He who pays the piper. Great man theory of history (Hot Ptah referred to later on) was the same. Who was the target market for history? Same bunch of people. Not unreasonable, therefore, to write great man histories - only readers were the great men (or their relatives). Most people couldn't read anyway. Criticism was the same. Who was the target market for criticism? Same bunch of people. What were their views on culture? Easy - "we are cultured" (and the masses/peasants aren't). Not a lot different now. Ruling classes much bigger. More can afford art. But they still want what they want. And artists and critics still provide it. Same cultural rule pervades criticism. Art of "the underclass" not so regarded; "commercial/showbiz". JAZZ IS SHOWBIZ. (And if so, why not?) MG

The Secret Seven The Famous Five Enid Blyton

Red Allen Cab Calloway Johnny Dodds Jimmie Lunceford Kid Ory Jazz record mart is flogging a bunch of Japanese 4-cd sets on the Quadromania label for $12.99 (including the ones listed above) until the end of the month. They don't appear to be available in Britain and, from this perspective, the price seems to be pretty good. I don't have anything of any of these guys and it strikes me that these boxes might be a good way to get into them. Does anyone know what they're like? I'm thinking of things like: are the contents good/representative? are they complete in terms of what they are or a more or less random sample? what's the sound like? (it sez they're 24bit Japanese masters - does that mean I don't need to ask?) are there cheaper places to get these boxes? are there better sets to get to introduce myself to any of these people? Thanks. MG

Long John Baldry (who used to duet with Jagger in the Ealing R&B club) Ray Charles The woman they sang about

Cohen the Barbarian Twoflower The luggage

I have the name "Wally" written on some of my LPs, too. Where did you buy that? MG

http://www.jazzdisco.org/bluenote/1961-dis/c/#610622 Looks like some groovy tracks in there. MG

Not yet. From what I've seen of it, George Lewis's forthcoming tome on the AACM will be chewy in spots but often brilliant and as close to comprehensive as could be possible. The non-AACM Chicago AG scene has not found its Boswell (don't look at me -- I couldn't get past the Vandermark barrier, for one thing), nor has it been continuous, as far as I know, in the way the AACM has been since its inception. Probably the key figure of continuity there was, as Chuck pointed out on that thread from 2005 I linked to, the late Hal Russell. (Chuck recorded Russell as well as Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Leo Smith et al.) Also, when I say the "non-AACM Chicago AG scene," I don't mean to suggest that there's any sense of opposition at work here; in fact, there's a good deal of friendly, open-eared contact, sharing of bandstands, interactions among players, etc. Ok, thanks. I'll do what I always do then - thrash around a bit and see what turns up. MG

Kay. Yes, very. Thanks. AA can write really nice stuff. I could feeel Ascension again, as I read it. MG

Thank you Larry Thank you Larry Sorry, I can't get this. I bought the Sun Ra Transitions when they came out on Delmark, and noticed Roscoe Mitchell's "Sound" coming out; concluded it wasn't right for me at that time. For decades I had other priorities and didn't keep up. As a result, now I'm interested, I've lost the plot and what you and others have written doesn't give it to me (not that that was the intention, of course). Straight, simple question - is there some book out there that can fill in the last 40 years of Chicago avant for me? MG

I've looked at the links now Clem. Thanks. Strange. Surprised Sista's is charging so much if it's getting a multiplicity of subsidies. Thought the point about arts subs was to encourage attendance. MG

Oliver Dombey Son

Amazon UK had a cheap copy. Worth a try for a fiver. MG I've listened to this a few times now. It's kind of odd, and changes from Trane to Funk, but I do like it. Thanks, Jim. MG

Blind Blake Ran Blake Blake's 7

Are you putting me on, CLem? MG