Ken Dryden

(1) The Sinatra and Zappa are there because I picked the 100 highest-rated jazz recordings from a more generic highest-rated recordings list on rateyourmusic. I could have omitted them, making space for a few more recordings. Nevertheless, I felt they were close enough to jazz to merit inclusion. (2) I don't understand the "too many listings by the same artists" argument. Some artists recorded a lot of classic albums. Guy Sorry, I don't think any well thought out top 100 jazz list is going to have so many recordings by any one artist as this one does. My two cents...

This top 100 list represents a rather myopic view of jazz history, with far too many listings by the same artists and non-jazz artists like Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa (yes, I've owned a copy of Hot Rats for over 3 decades, but it doesn't crack the top 100, even if it is a memorable jazz-rock disc).

He will be missed. He was in great spirits when I talked to him in June, as he was preparing to go on extended tour.

I would be very surprised if the reserve was met. This seller would have been better off selling them individually, as most collectors would only target a few sets and bid them up. But it was the seller's choice...

I've got over 100 Mosaics, but haven't to take time to separate them into big boxes vs. Mosaic Selects or other 3-4 CD sets.

It's also pretty sad when people list collectable titles likely to sell for over $100 then refuse to make insurance available for purchase.

I seem to recall that there was an incomplete take not listed but heard on the Mulligan-Desmond Verve CD reissue. Mandolinist David Grisman makes a habit of including hidden tracks on most of his Acoustic Disc CDs, though they usually are complete tracks.

It was only a matter of time before that cartoon appeared. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh will be spinning in his grave, in an elliptical manner (if there's room in the coffin).

I don't doubt you, Chris. I can't remember if my delayed reviews were a set of Butch Thompson CDs or Phil Woods' Mosaic set (the latter which was particularly irritating, since the other Mosaic releases issued at the same time had reviews printed promptly in the next issue)

Like many writers, I pitch a ton of independent releases for review to publications and websites, but editors make the final choices concerning assignments. There are outlets that give writers a free hand as to what they cover, but that seems to be the exception. While Cadence provides little compensation to writers, even "regular" writers, Bob Rusch does not play favorites. My experience during a 2-3 stint as a Cadence contributor was that he left my copy alone and didn't care if my review trashed a label advertising in the magazine or one of his own products. The biggest headache for me was his seemingly random order of printing reviews; I once submitted a set of reviews a week after getting the assignments, but they didn't run for 6 months or so.

I remember hearing Bill Milkowski bragging that he had gotten JazzTimes contributors fired on two different occasions for demonstrating an obvious lack of depth in their knowledge of jazz (One comment was something like, "Gee, Wayne Shorter is great, has he done anything else?"). Yet some of the pop critics they've hired masquerading as jazz critics repeatedly demonstrated a rather shallow jazz background. That's why I dropped my subscription a few years back, after taking it for 13 years.

Pseudo-jazz...

Looks like they were able to either locate the missing original masters that Blue Note failed to find for the American CD, restoring the solos of Red Mitchell and Carl Perkins. By the way, Hall told me that the US CD listed two takes of "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," but the track labeled as alternate take was, in fact, the unedited master, while the other was the edited version.

Don't take any critic seriously until you have evaluated his or her work over a range of reviews. 'nuf said...

Martha doesn't know jazz, there are too many awful tracks in that collection. She would have been better off picking true greats, along with chestnuts like Eric Doney's treatment of Bill Evans' "My Bells" on his CD Christmas in a Small Town. Chris Botti, Steve Tyrell, Eartha Kitt?

Aside from Pure Desmond, I've never been particularly fond of Paul Desmond's albums for CTI.

I bought 30 for myself, 2 for a nephew for Christmas gifts, plus one duplicate in error (The Poll Winners). The rest I already owned or didn't want.

It's sad that nothing but poorly stocked, high-priced chain music stores are all that is available in a lot of markets. Trying to merchandise jazz via home office bozo buyers means that there'll be little of interest for most jazz fans, reinforcing the attitude that "jazz doesn't sell." Eventually the download kings will not be happy when their ipods, hard drives and burned CDRs start malfunctioning, not to mention when they discover how lousy the audio is in comparison to a manufactured CD.

I'll add my two cents that The Ellington Suites is an excellent album. Having purchased both the original LP when it was issued and acquiring the CD as well, I think any Ellington fan ought to buy it. My Concord Sale order showed up Saturday while I was in New Orleans.

Order 5599, confirmed 7/12, no shipping notice or CDs so far. I'm off to New Orleans tomorrow, so no chance to follow up for awhile.

Hot, humid, with rain that never lasts long enough, so I'm heading to New Orleans next week.

Remo Palmier's self-titled LP for Concord hasn't been reissued on CD and is doubtful to appear unless the current label owners license it to someone else.

Trying to incorporate Marxist b.s. into a review of a jazz CD is a waste of the reader's time. I remember buying Watson's book on Frank Zappa, Negative Didatics of Poodle Play, but it wasn't long before I put it down for good.

My order # was 5599, with the email sent to me 7-12. No package yet...