Ken Dryden

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!

Even with the presence of the notable personnel, I long ago disposed of my review copy. Given that GRP was known for hyping a lot of mediocre artists (yes, they had a few good ones, too), I'm surprised that Murray didn't end up getting more exposure.

The story behind Amani A. W. Murray. Someone at GRP heard this teenaged alto saxophonist and decided to give him a shot. He played one track on a Christmas sampler then was given his own record date. Clark Terry and Sir Roland Hanna were among the notable sidemen hired for the kid's debut. As the late Duke Dubois told our station's program director, "I'm not pushing this CD. He blew one take after another, Clark and Roland were getting really mad. I pulled him aside and said, 'Son, if you're going to make it in this business, you're going to have to practice.' We ended up having to do a lot of splicing to put out the CD." Such honesty is refreshing from someone you would expect to promote his label's CDs, but Duke Dubois wasn't one for puffery. Needless to say, the CD barely made a ripple, Murray was dropped from the label and never heard from again, while the last time I saw a copy of Amani A. W. Murray's self-titled debut CD in a used music store, it was priced 99 cents.

Koch reissued this music, Atlantic was the original label. Koch also did another Mooney CD, a compilaton: The Happiness of...the Greatness of... Joe Mooney. Music from Columbia/Sony.

"...making a case for this vital and exciting genre..." (from the pitch for the Mosaic Contemporary series) Talk about ad hype, those are two adjectives that one doesn't associate with smooth/contemporary jazz...

There sure is a lot of Warner crap....I don't see the likelihood of my acquiring any Mosaic Contemporary titles.

Unless you're planning to kick the bucket quickly, there's no sense in labeling your LPs with prices, as they can fluctuate. The best you can do is to teach whoever you designate as your heirs to grade covers and vinyl by Goldmine standards, then do some research prior to offering things for sale. One idea: post for sale lists in free bulletin boards like organissimo and allaboutjazz.com, which should attract a bit of interest from serious collectors. But dealers have to make a markup and those that journey any great distance have to cover their cost of travel, so one can't expect miracles from them. One LP I bought a few years ago at Jazz Record Center in NYC from Fred Cohen for $60 is supposed to be fairly rare (<100 copies exist), yet one recently sold on ebay for $6.95 + shipping. I guess the seller wasn't aware of its rarity...

Even if I were rich, I would hardly spend several hundred or thousand dollars to pick up an original pressing of an LP readily available on CD. The money spent would be better invested in numerous out of print CDs and LPs I'm seeking.

Some sellers evidently choose a large shipping/handling charge for two reasons: That amount is not subject to ebay fees. Refunds of shipping charges in event of a return are rare. (I had one case as a seller misrepresented a set of DVDRs as DVDs). I insisted that he refund shipping both ways and got it; I still gave him a negative rating. Frankly, I don't see why anyone should be able to charge much over $1.50 over the cost of postage and packaging to ship anything and I avoid sellers who aren't specific up front about what shipping charges will be.

It is funny, as grouping a number of titles together, especially when each is valuable in its own right, would end up fetching lower prices. That's just common sense, as most people don't want to bid for items they don't want or already own unless they can get them for a song and resell them quickly.

I just got a review copy. I haven't had a chance to do more read a few random pages, but it looks like a very promising bio. Tristano was an interesting character from what I've read elsewhere.

I interviewed Gerry Mulligan over the phone in 1995. One thing that annoyed him was Jerome Klinkowitz' Gerry Mulligan: Listen, an inept discography/critique of his work. Mulligan reacted to the author's dumb comments about his "Lament For Two Clarinets" by explaining that "He thought I didn't like the instrument because there wasn't one heard in the piece. The reason was it was a lament for two clarinetists who had passed away." (Pardon me for forgetting which two they were, it's been a dozen years or so since I've played the tape. He was also very supportive of Dave Brubeck and was pleased with his collaborations with the pianist.

From the Oliver Nelson/Lou Donaldson compilation Back to Back...

Probably someone caught his soon-to-be-ex-wife listing his prized Mosaics on ebay!

After remembering how many weekends I invested in constructing shelving floor to ceiling against a 21 foot long wall, I'll gladly pay for prefab units again. Thirty minutes or so apiece and then load the CDs. Not to mention the lost writing income from the time spent sawing, sanding, painting, fastening, troubleshooting, etc.