Ken Dryden

I only have Highway One of the four albums and I'll have to agree with HutchFan's opinion.

Please add: Tony Purrone Quartet, In the Heath Zone, Steeple Chase SCCD 31410, $7.00 Larry Willis, Heavy Blues, Steeplechase SCCD 31269, $7.00

I am looking forward to this historical release.

I was able to see Gary Burton on several occasions, leading his quartet with Tiger Oshiki, Steve Swallow and a drummer I've forgotten, with Makoto Ozone, Steve Swallow and Adam Nussbaum (though the drummer never recorded with him), during the Eddie Daniels-Gary Burton tribute to Benny Goodman tour that had Ozone in place of Mulgrew Miller, along with the duo set with Ozone at IAJE that preceded the release of Virtuosi, which featured classical music they revamped. I did a couple of interviews with Burton and he was always thoughtful and very detailed in his responses. It was a joy to hear him praise budding talents like Julian Lage and the joy it gave him to discover and give direction to prodigies. He will be missed, I hope he enjoys retirement and that his health stabilizes.

I've had very erratic service from Universal.

It wasn't about missing gossip, but some people in Golson's book seem skimmed over. It's been a few months since I read it. Duke Ellington hated saying critical things so he avoided doing so in his autobiography co-written with Stanley Dance. Mercer Ellington filled in some of the gaps in his follow up biography of his father.

Not all musicians who pen autobiographies or who are interviewed for biographies want to put down their fellow musicians or tell about their struggles with drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. Dave Brubeck's wife Iola worked long and hard on a book about his career, of which she was an important part. The family has it and I don't know if there are plans to publish it. There won't be any gossip about bad behavior in it, in any case. Golson's story was a good read but a little frustrating because of his reluctance to talk about certain topics.

Hold the following CDs for me: Jim Rotondi – Excursions – Criss Cross $5 Freddie Redd – Lonely City – Uptown $10 I'll send a PM, too.

I own a lot of these CDs and I think your prices are a bit high, given what I have seen available from some sellers elsewhere.

That is real class!

That's sad to learn. I remember meeting him during a few IAJE conferences. It was lousy the way he lost his program on WGBH.

I've interviewed Gary Burton a couple of times and think I reviewed the book when it came out. I don't remember all the negative stories but do recall the frequent discussion of his struggles with his sexual identity.

I printed a photo of Serrano and put it in a cat box and let one of them crap on it, then took a photo. I wonder if I would be eligible for an NEA grant...three guesses for the title.

I retired from working in public radio for over a quarter century in 2014. While I was working, this topic would occasionally come up about federal funding. I informed people that CPB matching grants for public broadcasting were intended to be seed money and never permanent. If the organization has value and good leadership, they will find ways to make up the difference through increased fundraising and budget cuts. At least the matching funds were based on the fundraising success of the organization. The NEA hasn't helped itself with some of the questionable grants it has made over the years. Artists trying to make a political statement shouldn't receive taxpayer funding. They can test the market and see if there is any demand for their work. The NEA Jazz Masters program has funded deserving veteran artists, which is why it has avoided controversy. The local symphony president just sent out a mass email encouraging patrons to write their congressional representative to encourage him or her to fight to keep NEA grants. Of course, every time they perform an opera, it costs around $80,000 just for rental of backdrops and props. That's a lot of money for a genre that is on life support. I think there may be some cuts, but I doubt that Congress will do away with the NEA and CPB at this time.

I just interviewed Harold Mabern earlier this month and he toured Europe with Wes Montgomery in 1965. They appeared on television broadcasts for the BBC and also in Belgium. I think those may be available on grey market European DVDs.

I guess that explains the somewhat lopsided face...

Feel free to share your tune identification with me via pm and I'll do the same.

I'm so far behind in listening to new acquisitions that I never listen to radio at home or in the car, either terrestrial or satellite stations. The backlog is always 1200 or more releases, some of them boxed sets. I produced a weekly broadcast program for fifteen years, but after the first five, jazz was moved to Sundays, where listenership is scarce. I had the opportunity to interview a number of greats for my program and I think jazz on the air has its place.

I never got to hear Jaki Byard in person, though I've collected most all of his commercial releases, including the Japanese-only issues. The three solo sets from the 1369 Club date from around 1985-1988, when the club existed. I don't know who recorded them or posted them, but it is fun to try to identify all of the songs in his long medleys. The audience is very attentive, though the piano tuning is less than perfect, no surprise for a club. Here are the links if anyone is interested in hearing them: Jaki Byard solo 1369 Club unknown date (1985-1988) Set 1 #1 30:37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yNHiXNAtH4 Set 1 #2 15:37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGKrr8ZtMwY Set 2 43:48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuvuE8N8UpI

You are getting yourself a gem with These Rooms. One of Jim Hall's more obscure albums that lapsed from print far too soon.

Add these two CDs for me: Greg Abate Quintet, Monsters in the Night, Koko Jazz Records KJRCD 003 $4.00 Peter Bernstein, Brain Dance, Criss Cross Jazz 1130, $8.00 Eric Alexander

Please hold: Joshua Breakstone, Memoire The French Sessions vol 2, Capri Records 74070-2, $4.00 Scott Colley, The Magic Line, Arabesque Jazz AJ 0152, $5.00 trio w/Chris Potter, Bill Stewart George Gruntz Jazz Band ’87, Happening Now!, hat ART CD 6008, $9.00 Lee Kontiz, Joe Henderson, Rsy Anderson, Tom Varner, Kenny Wheeler ao Bobby Watson, Altos Peak, Strong Music 100, $12.00 with Gary Bartz

It was clear than Sharony Andrews Green was not very knowledgeable about jazz, as there were numerous mistakes within the text. It didn't help that a young, overly enthusiastic Grant Green fan included almost gushing commentary with every discographical listing. Some of the stuff Green recorded in his later years was pretty forgettable.

I got it a week or so ago. It's a typical Evans set from the mid-1970s, though the fades are rapid between each number, making me wonder how much music was omitted. It is in mono and there's no version of "Nardis," which seems to pop up on nearly every Bill Evans live CD. If you're a fan of his work, you'll want to get it. It is well-recorded and the pianist is in top form.