Ken Dryden

I don't even designate Kenny G's music "smooth," I call it "hairdo music." This clown focuses so much on packaging himself that he can't be taken seriously.

Your subject line looked funny in the organissimo preview window, showing "Actress Maria Schneider dies by Brownie."

I ordered it and enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for working to make it available, Ted.

Not all that many, depending on what you call major anymore. Blue Note, Sony/Columbia/RCA and Verve release relatively little new jazz compared to a few years ago.

I remember finding Morganna's dreadful recording of "Human Nature" and left it on a saxophonist's answering machine. The response was, "What in the heck was that? It was awful!"

I'd like to get: Tiny Grimes with Jerome Richardson – Tiny in Swingville Jimmy Heath – The Quota James Moody – Wail Moody Wail

I'm guessing that this is the same Anne Phillips: http://allmusic.com/album/ballet-time-r1410348

I guess I could go through my log of new releases received or purchased to figure that out, but it would be time-consuming, plus there are titles I didn't hear until after I compiled my list. Between new arrivals and purchases of new releases, I received around 700 titles. I have no idea how many of them that I found time to hear.

Blues Bag was reissued by Koch on CD in 2000, though it is surely out of print. It replaced the LP I had.

Allen: John Murph is on Facebook. I'm not sure if any of the others are JJA members.

Anytime one puts Yoko Ono on a stereo system, it is a mistake, except in this case: [

Test it on a Yoko Ono LP, that way no sane music fan can whine.

I don't run across too many 9Winds CDs in my city at any price.

Giant Soaps? My Shining Shower? After the Drain? A Loofa Surpreme? As Gregory Peck replied to Norman Fell's joke during the filming of "Pork Chop Hill": "Whimsical, very whimsical." These "complete" sets can get ridiculous, like the World Broadcasting series of Transcriptions of Duke Ellington that not only featured every incomplete track, but even 3 and 4 second breakdowns.

I wasn't familiar with Richard Grossman, but his 9Winds CD In the Air looked worth an investment of $4 at a local used CD store. I was right!

I guess I could go through my log of new releases received or purchased to figure that out, but it would be time-consuming, plus there are titles I didn't hear until after I compiled my list.

Coming soon: the unissued recordings of John Coltrane Singing in the Shower.

What is the sound quality of this release? The 2 or so Rare Live Recordings I've acquired are of poor quality.

One thing I've learned: Swapacd says it will accept burn on demand CDRs from Amazon for trading. No, thanks, I want the a real manufactured CD...

I no longer can access my Lord discography, but I don't think so. Why not ask Phil through his website bulletin board?

Just to give you an idea of a portion of Phil Woods' CD output, all of which I own and recommend: Phil Woods Quartet At the Vanguard Antilles 3320003 Phil Woods Quartet Birds of a Feather Antilles 422846165 Phil Woods & His European Rhythm Machine At the Frankfurt Jazz Festival Atlantic 90531 Phil Woods The Rev & I Blue Note 4 94100 Phil Woods The New Phil Woods Album BMG Japan 37521 Phil Woods Rights Of Swing Candid 79016 Phil Woods The Little Big Band: Real Life Chesky 47 Phil Woods Astor & Elis Chesky 146 Phil Woods Here's to My Lady Chesky SA 268 Phil Woods Quartet Vol. One, A Live Recording Clean Cuts 702 Phil Woods Quintet Bop Stew Concord 4345 Phil Woods' Little Big Band Evolution Concord 4361 Phil Woods Quintet Bouquet Concord 4377 Phil Woods Quintet + One Flash Concord 4408 Phil Woods Quintet All Bird's Children Concord 4441 Phil Woods/Jim McNeely Flowers For Hodges Concord 4485 Phil Woods Quintet Mile High Jazz-Live In Denver Concord 4739 Phil Woods & The Festival Orchestra Celebration! Concord 4770 Phil Woods Quintet Gratitude Denon 33 1316 Phil Woods Quintet Song For Sisyphus DCC 632 Woods/Flanagan/Mitchell Three For All Enja 79614 Phil Woods Quintet An Affair To Remember Evidence 22125 Phil Woods Quintet Souvenirs Evidence 22177 Phil Woods/Lew Tabackin Evidence 22209 Phil Woods/SWR Big Band Matinee Hanssler 93009 Phil Woods/Carl Saunders Play Henry Mancini Jazzed Media 1002 Phil Woods This is How I Feel About Quincy Jazzed Media 1004 Phil Woods Groovin' to Marty Paich Jazzed Media 1005 Phil Woods & the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra Unheard Herd Jazzed Media 1013 Phil Woods & DePaul University Jazz Ensemble Swingchronicity Jazzed Media 1029 Phil Woods The Children's Suite Jazzed Media 1040 Phil Woods with the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble Solitude Jazzed Media 1048 Phil Woods/Gordon Beck Live At the Wigmore Hall-London JMS 18686 Phil Woods Quartet Stolen Moments JMY 1012 Phil Woods Quintet American Songbook Kind of Blue 10005 Phil Woods Quintet American Songbook II Kind of Blue 10022 Herbie Mann/Phil Woods Beyond Brooklyn MCG Jazz 1012 Phil Woods Quintet Full House Milestone 9196 Phil Woods Quartet 'More' Live Mobile Fidelity 755 Phil Woods Freedom Jazz Dance Moon 19 Phil Woods Quartet/Quintet 20th Anniversary Set Review Copy Mosaic MD5 159 Phil Woods Musique Due Bois Muse 5037 Phil Woods Live Novus 3104 Phil Woods Quartet Woodlore OJC 052 Phil Woods Septet Pairing Off OJC 092 Phil Woods/Gene Quill Quintet Phil & Quill With Prestige OJC 215 Phil Woods/Donald Byrd The Youngbloods OJC 1732 Phil Woods/Gene Quill/Sahib Shihab/Hal Stein Four Altos OJC 1734 Phil Woods with Red Garland Sugan OJC 1841 Phil Woods Early Quintets OJC 1865 Phil Woods Pot Pie, With Jon Eardley OJC 1881 Phil Woods/John Coates Giants at Play Pacific St. 22 Phil Woods/John Coates Giants at Work Set 1 Pacific St. 26 Phil Woods meets Big Bang Orchestra Embraceable You Philology 25 Phil Woods & Space Jazz Trio Phil's Mood Philology 27 Phil Woods/Catania City Brass Orkestra Philology 38/39 Phil Woods Ornithology-Phil Salutes Bird Philology 69 Phil Woods A Jazz Life Philology 74 Phil Woods/Franco D'Andrea Our Monk Philology 78 Phil Woods Trio Just Friends Philology 106 Phil Woods & Space Jazz Trio Corridonia Jazz Festival Philology 211 Phil Woods/Enrico Pieranunzi Elsa Philology 216 Phil Woods/Irio De Paula Encontro Philology 301 Phil Woods/Barbara Casini Voce e Eu Philology 302 Phil Woods & The Italian New Generation Dameronia Philology 303 Phil Woods The Solo Album Philology 304 Phil Woods/Franco D'Andrea Balladeer Supreme Philology 305 Phil Woods Quartet Woods Plays D'Andrea Philology 306 Phil Woods & The Italian Rhythm Machine Woods Plays Woods Philology 307 Phil Woods/Lee Konitz/Enrico Rava 6tet Play Rava Philology 308 Phil Woods/Lee Konitz 5tet Play Konitz Philology 309 Phil Woods/Lee Konitz 5tet Play Woods Philology 310 Phil Woods/Lee Konitz Phil & Lee: Two Brothers in Three Flats Philology 311 Phil Woods & Franco D’Andrea The Gershwin Affair Philology 325 Phil Woods & Irio DePaula Blues For New Orleans Philology 335 Phil Woods/Jazz Class Orchestra Porgy and Bess Philology 856 Phil Woods Quartet Warm Moods Portrait 44408 Phil Woods Quartet Live From New York Quicksilver 4011 Phil Woods Quartet European Tour Live Red 123163 Phil Woods Quintet Integrity Red 123177 Phil Woods Bird Calls, Vol. 1 Savoy 1179 Phil Woods Bird's Night Savoy 0143 Phil Woods Quintet Plays the Music of Jim McNeely TCB 95402 Dizzy Gillespie Meets Phil Woods Quintet Timeless 250 Phil Woods/European Rhythm Machine Alive and Well in Paris Toshiba 9410 Phil Woods Quintet Ballads & Blues Venus 1021 Phil Woods Chasin' the Bird Venus 35040 Phil Woods with Strings The Thrill is Gone Venus 35314 Phil Woods Round Trip Verve 314559804 Phil Woods & His European Rhythm Machine At the Montreux Jazz Festival Verve 440065512

I've given up on counting. Estimated totals: 15,000-16,000 CDs (all jazz except 700-1000 of them) 4000-5000 LPs (all jazz except 500-600) 150-200 Jazz DVDs + a countless number of non-commercial jazz broadcasts (800-1000?) on cassette and CDR Even though I'm a jazz journalist, I collected for 15 years prior to getting my first promo and still spend thousands every year for interesting things, though I've slacked off a bit the past two years.

Chuck, I can't speak for anyone else, but I listed items some items that I paid for in my list for the VV poll. Nat King Cole & His Trio: The Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert Hep Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra Mosaic I don't know about being an "arbiter of taste" by listing favorites of the year. I have never been comfortable with the use of "best" as opposed to "favorite."

Will it also filter out Willie the Lion Smith's growling and Oscar Peterson's grunting from his 1950/1960s albums?

I think most journalists don't claim that their personal "best" lists are definitive, after all, not all of us get serviced with the same releases and there is never time to hear all of the ones we receive. There is a certain arbitrary factor to compiling them. I wonder if a label or instrument is over-represented, am I picking the same artists as last year, etc. What puzzles me is when someone can choose multiple boxed sets without including a single Mosaic. But I'm flattered that Francis Davis has invited me to take part in the VV poll for the past few years. I enjoy reading other's lists, simply to see what I didn't hear or possibly overlooked. It's no different than those who try to compile the ten best or hundred best jazz recordings of all time, no one is ever going to agree with every selection or the ranking of them.