Ken Dryden

If you list ten Miles Davis albums in a list of top one hundred albums, then obviously you haven't listened to the amount of jazz that many of us have (my jazz collection is well over 12,000 and I know of several people with larger collections). I tend to avoid creating this type of list as I consider it an exercise in futility, as it is hard enough to pick top tens by favorite artists who record (or did record) prolifically.

I sold the only two Yes albums I ever owned when I graduated from Tulane University in 1976. I have never missed them, as they came up with some of the worst rock lyrics of all time and their supposedly progressive rock style failed to develop into anything meaningful for me.

A retailer either has the CD in stock or not. They don't have any business billing a credit card until the order is ready to ship, it is not like they have to manufacture it. I've done business with Caiman through half.com and they have been rather erratic about shipping things promptly, which half.com requires--a seller is supposed to be able to ship within two business days or issue a refund. But the thing is that a few too many multiple location sellers never individually list titles as they are in stock, they simply put a generic description, then the orders are confirmed automatically and it is up to the buyer to complain. That's a very unsavory way to do business and such sellers ought to be banned from half.com.

Don Byas on Blue Star is a great compilation of his work from the late 1940s and early 1950s. I think this music was also reissued (under a different title) in the Universal Jazz in Paris series, but those titles have all been deleted and they will start getting to be hard to find, too.

I also remember him sitting beside Sarah Vaughan at a piano in a 1960s era photograph, but James has long since dumbed down his chops playing smooth jazz b.s.

Bonds is a joke where it counts...delivering a world championship. I still remember how the Braves kept intentionally walking Bobby Bonilla to get to Bonds, who inevitably failed to hit in the 1991 playoff series. This surly steroid user has tarnished the game and has no business in the HOF.

I would be hesitant about doing any business with an ebay seller who didn't accept Paypal or a credit card for a purchase, unless it was a small amount (say under $20). That way you have recourse in case of failure to ship. (or being vague about shipping charges or failing to specify how and when an order will be sent) for expensive purchases, it should be via insured UPS, FedEx or insured USPS. There is no reason for not receiving an order within 10 days of the seller getting payment. I had one crook who tried to pass off home made DVDRs as a boxed set. I insisted on a full refund (including shipping both ways) and got it, then I trashed him with an appropriate rating. If you don't get satisfaction, contact ebay's fraud department and contact the US Postal Service's postal inspector (if you sent payment via mail) if it appears that you're dealing with a crook who never had the goods in the first place.

I'm well over 100, with many of the boxes, all of the Selects, all but two of the singles (on order)--and I'm not rich, divorced or crazy.

You have to remember that the archives of jazz labels like Verve, Blue Note or Riverside changed hands several times and could be mislabeled, hidden on the inner part of reels marked something else, or indeed lost, after numerous individuals handled them over the decades. Of course, it may just be that everyone who has heard this session doesn't think it is worth releasing. I wouldn't get my hopes up, as the conglomerates that now own landmark jazz labels seem to be content reissuing previously available titles in new packages rather than spend money and time looking for unissued treasures in their vaults.

Don't let Sue Mingus know where you live, Allen, or she'll beat your door down and walk out with your copy of Meditation.

What's really funny is that there are press releases out now that describe both Kirk Whalum and Bob James as "legendary..." First of all, neither of them qualify (is there such thing as a legendary smooth jazz player?), I doubt that either have the potential to be honored as NEA Jazz Masters, though not all of their honorees qualify as legendary in my book. If you liked the Onion spoof, check out the allaboutjazz.com website next April 1st and enjoy the fun! Past reviews and articles are also still part of the website.

Sounds like it may have been a broadcast rather than a commercial release.

Very simply, I love Jarrett's playing and can live without his humming/singing along.

Did anyone correct the oddball photo credit which listed Jaco Pastorius and Lew Tabackin as "unknown" and Denny Zeitlin as Lew? It is a shame that the author gets the blame for mistakes that were corrected but not added by a publisher rushing a book to print. I've had my fill of Stuart Nicholson's poorly edited books, whoever is at fault... There are some things that weren't likely to be improved with editing, such as the author's overzealousness to praise her subject and her comparison of the output of Shorter and Zawinul to Ellington and Strayhorn (not close by a long stretch in either quantity or importance).

In response to Chuck's comment, I think piano duets are much like other jazz outings, requiring co-operation, being able to alternate between lead and supporting roles with finesse, without producing a train wreck. The worst duo piano release I know of is Mary Lou Willliams' ill-fated concert with Cecil Taylor, who ignored Williams' ideas and made a mess of the performance. Marian McPartland has shared a funny anecdote about her broadcast with Dorothy Donegan. After a blazing finale ("Little Rock Getaway," I think) to end the program, she said, "Dorothy, you wasted me." Her guest responded, "It was no contest!"

Jaki Byard & Earl Hines: Duet! (MPS) Jaki also told me about a never-issued duo session with Tommy Flanagan. It supposedly isn't in the Prestige recordings in Concord's vault, but maybe it was for another label. Marian McPartland and Dick Hyman have done duo dates with other pianists. I know that I have a ton of duo piano recordings and I'm coming up blank at the moment.

Don't forget the pc school districts that had George Washington's name removed because he was a slaveholder. It is very difficult to apply today's standards to behavior of a half-century ago, though I guess Mosaic could have always removed the song or issued a warning in the liner notes, as did another record label where a hapless white announcer kept calling Fats Waller "boy" (which would be grounds for violence today).

Larry Coryell recorded a solo guitar version on a Phillips CD (Le Sacre du Printemps) issued in 1986. It is a decent effort.

Yeah, most of us who have to shop with their wives on occasion spend far too much time in stores with nothing of interest to us, but stop for 10 minutes in a record store with a great jazz section and the ladies get impatient!

Bud had been battling some ill health for awhile and he evidently got a little worse recently. He discussed his recent health problems (not in any detail) during a June phone interview with me, which was scheduled for the July issue of All About Jazz-New York. I bet he will be back up to speed and appearing in New York City this fall.

I am pretty sure that I ran into Brian while shopping at Euclid Records in St. Louis around 2004. He spent more than I did (and I spent hundreds of dollars, as I drove all the way from Chattanooga to attend the Record Collector's convention). His wife was looking pretty bored so I suggested that she head back to the conference motel and I offered to give him a ride back. I wasn't prepared for what happened: I shipped my purchases back home to save the sales tax, yet Brian didn't go that route. Because my Miata convertible had a tiny trunk, he had to hold this huge box of LPs in his lap, not an easy trick as he was around my height (6' 3") or perhaps a bit taller, I think we had to take down the top. I hope that I have the right guy, as I remember the man I encountered also worked for the post office and lived up north somewhere around Michigan...

A far greater problem than the changing of Blue Note tracks from the original releases is the labels who combine two or three albums in a reissue then leave out valuable tracks. If the artist is any good, you're going to collect all of the reissues anyway. It is a shame that a few whiny people caused Michael Cuscuna to change his way of doing Blue Note reissues.

I can't imagine that, it must be a screwed up link.

I think that I have a couple of their collaborations, but given the small interest in accordion by most jazz fans, the commercial potential for such a set is probably very limited.

Murray is probably stuck working in fast food or some other equally depressing job. What a way to blow a major opportunity!