Ken Dryden

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.

here 'tis If that's not one of the most atrocious album covers of all time, then it is in the top ten. Charles McPherson was very unhappy with the cover photo and interior shot that Venus used for his recent CD. He posted a disclaimer on his website.

Honey Dew put out an album called 'Oil & Vinnegar' with a nude Hispanic male and a homely, nude African-American female holding the same lettuce leaf in their teeth. The LP featured separate sessions by Dave McKenna (solo) and the Wilbur Little Quartet. McKenna hated the cover and told me "I never got paid and it sounded like it was recorded in a toilet!" If I can find a way to post a photo, I will.

The problem with moving tapes and not involving an archivist like Stuart Kremsky is that things are bound to get misfiled in the process. I hope he finds a good job somewhere else, as he was extremely helpful about to me when I was working on the liner notes to Jaki Byard's The Last From Lennie's. I would have had no idea what to make of the title "St. Mark's Place Among the Sewers." A sad day, indeed!

Collectable also has that bad habit of combining two albums on a CD then leaving off songs.

If your collection isn't big, but I can't imagine having a bunch of different chests of various heights and widths lining the walls... This is the style unit I purchased earlier from bellacor.com, though I'm not sure whether they still carry it. I paid $203 (including shipping) for each one.

You'd be surprised how many musicians fell for my 4/1/2005 CD reviews: Michael Bolton Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook + Yanni: A Tribute to Art Tatum Somedays people just aren't looking for gags...though I thought Cyrus Chestnut was trying to pull my leg when he said he had recorded a bunch of tunes associated with Elvis Presley for his upcoming CD.

Nellie Lutcher made a guest appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz in the late 1980s. She still had plenty of chops and there was a charm to the senior citizen singing her hit "Hurry on Down."

I pretty much had most of this music and bought it anyway. Great music! No label is as thorough as Mosaic and I hate cube sets, long boxes or the infernal cardboard sleeves on a spine where the disc drop in without protection. Long live the big box!

I bought four CD storage units from bellacor.com for around $203 each by a manufacturer called Leslie Dane (including shipping) that each hold 1500 CDs (more if you cheat and use the top shelf, which I do for boxed sets and Jazz DVDs). They are only made of pressboard, but they work well and were easy to assemble. Rather than put them against the wall (I already have one entire wall with floor to ceiling custom built shelves (about 21 feet by 8 feet), I put them back to back in the middle of the floor. I'll probably run out of shelf space this summer unless i pull more of my non-jazz stuff.

Maybe it's like a bridal registry where you can get loved ones and friends to pick something that you really need and don't already own!

I didn't feel rich, but I knew they would be impossible to get once OOP, so I took the plunge and bought all three at once, while they were in print. I saw all three sets available at Jazz Record Center for $2400 a few years ago, but occasionally they have sold for bargain prices on ebay. I remember seeing Vol. 3 sell for just $200 + shipping, a steal!