Ken Dryden

After talking with Jean-Luc Ponty for an upcoming interview in the June issue of The New York City Jazz Record, I learned that part of his U.S. debut, which took place at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1967, was on video. I found the link to an old NET broadcast which had been uploaded. Here's the link if you care to view any of it. https://archive.org/details/calauem_000153 For those of you wanting song listings and musicians, here you go: Flying Home - Illinois Jacquet, John Lewis, Ray Brown, Louis Bellson Some of These Days - Ray Nance, John Lewis, Ray Brown, Louis Bellson C Jam Blues - Ray Nance, Svend Asmussen, Jean-Luc Ponty, John Lewis, Ray Brown Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Louis Bellson Gentle Rain - Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (Mike Longo, James Moody, Russell George, Candy Finch) Something in Your Smile - Dizzy Gillespie Quintet ‘Round Midnight - Dizzy Gillespie & the Modern Jazz Quartet New Horizons - Don Ellis Orchestra There are some issues with the video in the Gillespie/MJQ number, though the audio doesn't seem to be affected.

I'm not going to insult anyone who waits for a Mosaic sale, but there have been some nasty surprises like the Stuff Smith set being yanked from sale suddenly because of legal difficulties and the sets that were deleted when the pressing plant disposed of their masters without warning. So late buyer, beware... I waited too long was for the Grant Green set. They were out of booklets, but provided me with a slightly creased booklet with an X over the designated set number that had been used for reference. Of course, I missed a few early sets that lapsed from print that are still on my wish list. A good friend died in December 2012 and I imagine that his widow is still holding his collection, though she doesn't listen to them. If I can ever get her to sell any of them, I'll have her share the list on this board in place of having her getting gouged by eBay.

I enjoy Mosaic's drive to get detailed liner notes, music from the best possible sources (even when it means finding collectors with rare 78s or LPs), striving to include every releasable take and including lots of photos. They aren't perfect, Michael Cuscuna told me he was frustrated they overlooked one of the issued takes in the Paul Desmond set, but they have done an amazing job. Remember that they were the first to issue the early Nat King Cole music at the correct speed, all previous issues were wrong.

Neal Weiss is big about promoting local jazz artists whenever possible. Thanks for your kind words.

I recently talked to Neal Weiss of Whaling City Sounds, who is in negotiations to issue previously unavailable recordings by an NEA Jazz Master. He is also talking to the former owner of a jazz club who recorded many artists who appeared there. Since nothing is in writing yet, it is not appropriate for me to divulge further information. The full article can be found on pages 11 and 46 here, I was unable to upload the attachment of just those two pages due to file size restrictions. http://nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201705.pdf

Doesn't Uptown acquire the source material outright for vintage recordings? I'm not sure about Resonance, which is set up as a non-profit, though there LP sets are limited editions, I don't think they have restrictions on how many CDs they can sell. As far as I know, the only Mosaic set where they acquired the music outright was the Dean Bennedetti recordings of Charlie Parker. The rest have all been licensed and I imagine that most of the labels owning the music they seek are unlikely to want to sell it outright. The other issue is that Mosaic has to compete with all of the European labels who don't have to honor American copyright laws and can reissue stuff cheaply, though they don't always have quality source material to use and often skimp on discographical information.

I have no problem with Mosaic's prices, considering what they do to create their boxed sets. It costs more, but that's the difference their boxed sets and others' sets, much like the difference between a filet mignon at Ruth's Chris vs. a sirloin steak at Western Sizzler.

I can't speak for Michael Cuscuna, but adding color reproductions of the original albums covers to the booklets that accompany their boxed sets probably adds a significant cost. I don't think Mosaic would have lasted so long without some expertise in the reissue business, but not every project is destined to sell out within the time frame that the music can be licensed from the company owning the recordings. A limited edition download will not have much appeal to either Mosaic or their customers, as people wanting them will have no urgency and will either buy them when the owner later puts the music out or listen on Spotify. I hope this post stayed on topic enough for everyone...

Someone wasn't paying attention when it was remastered, or they used a different tape as the source.

I recently acquired a copy of the Collectables CD reissue of McCoy Tyner's Elektra-Musician LP Dimensions and noticed the last two tracks sounded like there were problems with tape speed in the last two tracks. Has anyone else noticed this problem? The tracks are also longer than the original record. I'm going to time them out, playing the CD at the same time as the LP and see what's up.

I'll have to admit the Fender Rhodes can work in some situations, but most of the time I end up thinking "Why didn't they use a REAL PIANO?" I especially despised hearing Bob James' gimpy accompaniment behind Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker at their Carnegie Hall reunion.

When Hal Galper was a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, he described how he made a clean break with the Fender Rhodes, claiming that he took it to a dock on the Hudson River late one night and dumped it, cover and all.

I'm glad that I got to hear Ella perform in concert, backed by Count Basie and his orchestra, in the late 1970s. Thanks for the tip about the new Dutch Jazz Archives release, I was just about to place an order and I'll add it.

I don't think that the Mosaic Singles sold all that well, which is why the label seems to have abandoned them. It has also been awhile since they've issued any new Mosaic Selects. Denny told me that there was around one CD's worth of bonus material worthy of issue from 'Shining Hour: Live at the Trident.' Good news: Links to webcasts of the last three evenings of Denny Zeitlin's four nights at Mezzrow last week have been shared on the SmallsLIve FB page. I don't know how long they will be accessible. I still want to hear both trio nights in full.

We had thunderstrorms pass through last evening and also ate a late dinner, so I skipped th live webcast of the Denny Zeitlin Trio at Mezzrow. What a surprise to find a link to the complete performance on Facebook this morning, as on the Smalls Jazz Club page. I don't know how long it will be available, but I'm trying to listen to some of it this morning.

I think people got to stay for both sets on the solo nights. Understandably they have to turn over the audience on Friday and Saturday night, due to three musicians getting paid and though I've never visited Mezzrow in person, it can't be all that large a club.

The feed kept getting interrupted tonight, I finally had to give up around the 50 minute mark. I think that the problem was on their end, maybe they have xFinity/Comcast....

I've enjoyed the past two nights of Denny Zeitlin at Mezzrow that have been available as live webcasts. He will be playing with his trio (Buster Williams and Matt Wilson) tonight and tomorrow, accessible through SmallsLive.com. Too bad they won't be a part of SmallsLive archives for later viewing for members.

Please hold these titles for me: Teddy Edwards, Good Gravy, Contemporary OJCCD 661-2 $5.00 Ingrid Jensen, Vernal Fields, Enja ENJ 9013 2, Steve Wilson, George Garzone, Bruce Barth, Larry Grenadier, Lenny White. $6.00 Ingrid Jensen/Project O, Then as Now, Justin Time JTR 8499-2, Gary Versace, Jon Wikan, Seamus Blake, Steve Wilson, Christine Jensen. $5.00 Alex Sipiagin, Steppin’ Zone, Criss Cross 1202, Chris Potter, David Kikoski, Scott Colley,Jeff “Tain” Watts. $5.00 Cedar Walton Trio & Dale Barlow, Manhattan After Hours, Twinz Records CD933, Billy Higgins, Dave Williams. $10.00 Sent email also...

Cat Anderson Hound Dog Taylor Mousie Alexander George Benson Michael Hedges George Winston

Spike Jones Tardo Hammer Rale Micic

I caught him at Birdland a few years ago and it was a memorable evening. He's also a fun interview.

What happened to the revived Discovery label after Marx's death? Are the heirs just sitting on the masters or have they been sold? I can't remember if Bill Mays included this story in his book, but I think he did. He referred to Albert Marx as the lost Marx Brother, Cheepo. He had a table next to the pianist during a live recording and after they finished the number, instead of congratulating the musicians, he exclaimed, "Great take! Four minutes and twenty-three seconds!" All he could think about was getting the right length for airplay.

How many pages of English text of liner notes are there supposed to be? It seems my copy has one insert duplicated and another is missing. Great music! I'm glad this was finally uncovered and issued.

HutchFan and I caught Fred Hersch solo at Spivey Hall in Clayton, Georgia last night. He played an excellent set for an attentive crowd that didn't want to miss a note.