The Magnificent Goldberg

That's a nice one; he really doesn't look well in the others. MG

I can't trace it now, but I've seen something on a BB about it, or maybe had an e-mail from Mosaic that I didn't keep (unlikely). Apparently, it's only going to include records Les made as a sole leader, so the ones he made with Groove Holmes, Jazz Crusaders, Teddy Edwards & Clifford Scott won't be included. MG Edit - It's not in the Mosaic upcoming projects list yet. First of all, I say this as a fan of McCann. I have most if not all of his PJ records. Considering that MC is on record as saying that he can't see a full-blown Three Sounds Mosaic set, why would he possibly be planning, or even considering, a Less McCann set? It would suffer from the exact same drawback: There's no variation in the albums, and too damn many of them (necessitating such a large number of discs that it becomes a very expensive set). In fact, the more logical approach would be to make a Select that brings together the sets that had guests on board. I would be very surprised if this comes to fruition, and if it does, I may just have to drive to Stamford myelf to point out to Michael that he no longer has an excuse for not doing a full blown Three Sounds Mosaic set. You're right, of course, about the Three Sounds. I wish I could remember where I heard this. I was disappointed that the Edwards, Scott & JCs albums weren't going to be included, so I doubt if I made it up. MG

Now I have an excuse to spend even MORE money on cds ! I thought you had both versions... (scratches head) How did we find out the two heads were different? MG Edit - Just looked back. It's BERTRAND who has both versions, it seems. Come on, then Bertrand, put us out of our misery. MG

Question begging: are there any other differences between the mono and stereo versions? MG

Bertrand, is that discography on line anywhere? MG

Mine is Atlantic mono 1494. I didn't time it but the jacket says 6:35. Mine is SD1494 - yes, maybe the answer is that the mono and stereo versions are different. And that would explain why the CDs are like my LP - they're stereo. I didn't think that one actually came out in mono. Just checked my 1969 Schwann - apparently it did. However, the mono version was never imported into Britain. I only had a mono system then so I'd have bought the mono copy in preference, had one been available. NOW, Harold, you have to listen all the way through to both versions to determine whether it's an edit or an alternative take. MG

I'm all for that!! OK, but they're great albums. Apparently the one with the JCs is coming out later this year. That is a killer! MG

I've got all the Helen Humes CDs on OJC scheduled to buy early next year. The only one of hers I have is a compilation of her '40s and early '50s material. Really good! MG

OK, mystery deepens. I have the Japanese CD (AMCY1285) and they play the head once. So that's the same as the new CD. I have the original LP, as well, and they play the head ONCE! WTF? MG

As do I. The arrangement reminds me of a Morricone soundtrack. Yeah; 'bout time I pulled this off the shelf. MG

This was one of the first jazz albums I ever bought. The CD is at least my third, or maybe my fourth copy. One Lee album I like very much, which has a definite small group FEEL to it, though it isn't, is "If you go", which was arranged by Quincy Jones. Some really lovely songs you won't hear anywhere else and very unobtrusive but strangely dramatic arrangements. MG

Dan posted that earlier. I thought it WAS his last recording. What came afterwards? MG I should not have missed Dan's post Mobley's final appearance on record is his guest appearance on the Tete Montoliu 'I Wanna Talk About You' March 1980 session for SteepleChase. Never heard that one but I understand it is a sad farewell! Thanks. MG

Dan posted that earlier. I thought it WAS his last recording. What came afterwards? MG

Not sure what "late period" means. I reckon anything after the '50s is late period. So there's "If I should lose you" from "Soul Station", "Hello young lovers" and "Three coins in a fountain" from "Another workout" and "The more I see you" from "Roll Call". As a sideman, there are I wish I knew - from Freddie Hubbard's "Goin' up" Stella by Starlight - from Grant Green's "I want to hold your hand" - done slightly up, but still retaining its ballad feel - my favourite version of the song And there's "Corcovado" and "At long last love" on the same album Ill wind - from Lee Morgan's "Cornbread" I got it bad and that ain't good - from Donald Byrd's "Mustang" - can't offhand remember if Hank solos on this; perhaps he doesn't What now my love - From Lee Morgan's "The Rajah" - another one I can't remember Hank's solo That seems to be it, apart from what's already been posted. MG

I've recently found a couple of slightly under-appreciated gems in my collection, which I'm getting onto the turntable quite a bit. Maynard Parker - Midnight rider - Prestige PR10054 Maynard was Earland's guitarist in the early '70s and this is his only album as a leader. He had everything: a great, individual, sound; great chops; and very funky, but somewhat off the wall ideas. Larry "Wild" Wrice - Wild - PJ24 Larry was a drummer. This is the only recording he ever made. He has another unknown on organ - Bobby Blivins, a good trumpet player - Bobby Bryant, and a good reedman on alto, tenor & flute, one Jim Spaulding - James' first recording. The ten tunes are all originals by Bryant and, yes, a bit short - 3 1/2 mins on average. It's not sensational, but it's so very satisfying. MG

I didn't think it was amateur at all; I thought it was one of the most professional, focused, sites I've ever bought from. In the first place, it was very easy to use; I found and ordered five albums in only about three minutes. I ordered eleven CDs in the Collectables sale last week and the rigmarole I had to go through to get each item into my bleeding basket I just couldn't believe. The process took nearly an hour! Second, I could see everything very clearly. Koester probably has a good idea of his customers' age group and has had the thing designed so it can be read easily by people with poor eyesight. Third, there weren't three billion adverts clamouring for my attention. Fourth, moving from screen to screen was quick. Fifth, the details they wanted were a bit less than other sites and it was clear what they wanted. In particular, there was a drop down menu for state with an option "outside US", which is extremely helpful for us "furriners". To me, all that suggests that someone has done some deep thinking about what customers want. And that is the height of professionalism, in my view. MG

I thought Jazz Record Mart had a pretty good web presence. Judge for yourself. Do a search for, say, 'Cannonball Adderley' and see if this is the place where you want to do your online shopping. jrm I had a look, too. Didn't confine myself to Cannon; had a shufti at Ernie Andrews and Etta Jones. Found 5 Muse deletions I hadn't got (2 on K7, 3 on CD) at better than decent prices. Thanks mucho Montg. MG

MG

I think the only Payne I've got (apart from in my back) is with Jimmy Smith, on "Six views of the blues", which has a bit of a strange sound to it. But Cecil's playing is very nice on that, though I prefer Leo Parker, Leroy "Hog" Cooper & Ronnie Cuber. Those Delmarks that have been posted look interesting. Can I see Marcus Belgrave's name on "Scotch & milk"? MG

Oh well, if he's English, he's from the wrong side of Offa's Dyke. MG

How about some Boogaloo Joe Jones? Snake rhythm rock? For a Lou Donaldson cut for this friend, I think I'd go for Bag of jewels; the groove on that is CRAZY! Les McCann/Eddie Harris - Compared to what Gene Ammons - Big bad Jug David Newman - Captain buckles Jazz Crusaders - Ooga-boogaloo (from Lighthouse '68) For Jimmy Smith, I think The sermon is wrong for a funk fan - Root down will get him going better, or Papa's got a brand new bag or even Honky Tonk For Earland, Black talk is fine, but Mr Magic would be even better Finally, well not really, but Groove Holmes - Gemini MG

Generally speaking, I prefer violinists who make the violin sound like a riti (West African instrument). My favourite riti player is Djulde Kamara. MG

Good point. Certainly there were updated production techniques; Malaco had bought the Muscle Shoals studio and inherited a lot of that aesthetic. But I remember either Tommy Couch or Wolf Stevenson being interviewed and talking about the market they were going for, and it was the older people, who wanted what they'd always had. MG

That's it exactly. My question is this - since it is now everybody's music, what's the point of imitation? If you use a bit of last week's spaghetti sauce as a starter for this week's, hey cool. But if you just use the old sauce as is, what's the point? It's kind of sick, really. Make a new, fresh sauce with the old ingredients. Just because there's a market for it doesn't mean that it's healthy. Popular music can be a wonderful stimulus that wakes us up to the now and propels us positively into the future, or it can be a crippling sickness that keeps us tied down to the past. No matter how great the past was, its results are already known. So what's the point of playing a game where you already know the outcome? As a hobby, sure. Or as a study. Gotta study. But anything beyond that and you end up being a willing participant in the whole big ugly machine that has no intention of letting anybody move ahead. Because moving ahead requires having ownership of yourself. And there's a huge system out there that has every intention of not letting you own yourself past the point of allowing you to create the illusion of ownership. This is not a question of "individual credibility" nearly as much as it is of waking up to the fact that there's probably better things to do with your time than trying to define your present in terms of somebody else's, anybody else's, past. And yeah, I've been guilty of that too. And yeah, I'm trying to stop. It ain't easy. Wish me luck. I agree with you, really, Jim, but I just want to qualify what you said a bit, because it looks a bit too absolute. There isn't one market out there, there are many. Some communities, and their markets, move at a different pace, and maybe in a slightly different direction, from others. Reading your post, I was continually referring back to Malaco's business plan in the '70s. The owners perceived that there was a group out there - specifically middle-aged black southerners - for whom little had changed and who therefore wanted the same kind of music they always wanted. You wouldn't expect the majors to cater for the market; but even the black music independents weren't catering for it. So Malaco signed Bobby Bland, Johnnie Taylor, Little Milton, Denise LaSalle, Dorothy Moore etc on the secular side, and the Jackson Southernaires, Willie Banks & the Messengers and a lot of other quartets on the Gospel side and provided what was, effectively, out of fashion black music for this market, which wasn't interested in George Clinton, Earth Wind & Fire, Sade, George Benson, Whitney Houston etc. What Malaco were doing seemed to me similar to what Syd Nathan thought he was doing with King records; "making music for the little people". This was backward looking stuff, but I don't see anything wrong with it. I readily agree that those artists weren't imitating anyone; they were doing their own things, albeit past their sell by date for the majority of the black music market, which DOESN'T look back. I just thought you were being a bit too all-encompassing, there. MG

NOW you've got some organ playing on that Griffin album! Paul Bryant is one of my all time favourites. MG