Ken Dryden

They don't even have a place for Art Pepper. You call this a jazz section?

I can't blame Yoshi's for wanting to feature music recorded there on a compilation CD. But it seems like brand new recordings, vs. collecting previously released tracks, would have been the way to go. Then the CD wouldn't have had such limited scope.

The station I work form began broadcasting in HD format last year. You won't notice the difference unless you can compare a signal on a regular radio then hear a HD radio air the same thing. Even spoken word sounds better. One oddity of the setup: because our station uses a dedicated DSL phone line to get the signal to the transmitter, there is a seven second delay of the HD broadcast, so I can walk from the studio to the outer office and feel like I'm briefly going back in time.

I have all of the following, though I once owned titles that have since been reissued in Mosaic collections, so I sold those: Billy Bauer - PLECTRIST INTRODUCING JIMMY CLEVELAND AND HIS ALL STARS Dizzy Gillespie - PERCEPTIONS (great J.J. Johnson here) Illinois Jacquet - THE KID AND THE BRUTE (w/ Ben Webster) Hank Jones - URBANITY Meade Lux Lewis - CAT HOUSE PIANO Paul Quinichette - THE VICE PRES Jack Teagarden - THINK WELL OF ME CLARK TERRY THIS IS TAL FARLOW Sonny Stitt - ONLY THE BLUES Harry Edison - THE SWINGER/MR. SWING (2 CD set)(Jimmy Forrest is basically co-leader) Lee Konitz - MOTION (3 CD version - as opposed to the replication of the original LP only for the more recent edition) JOHNNY SMITH Lawrence Brown - SLIDE TROMBONE Art Blakey - BLAKEY (w/a bonus date led by Joe Gordon) Ray Brown - BASS HIT! Roy Eldridge - SWINGIN' ON THE TOWN The Jones Brothers - KEEPIN' UP WITH THE JONESES (originally on MGM) Walt Dickerson - IMPRESSIONS ON A PATCH OF BLUE (ditto) Buddy DeFranco/Oscar Peterson - THE GEORGE GERSHWIN SONGBOOK Modern Jazz Society - A CONCERT OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC (John Lewis, Getz, Lucky Thompson, and others) HERB ELLIS MEETS JIMMY GIUFFRE (some nice Art Pepper on this one too) George Russell Sextet - AT THE FIVE SPOT (which isn't live, but a studio recording!) Wynton Kelly - IT'S ALL RIGHT! Stan Getz and the Clarke-Boland Big Band - CHANGE OF SCENES Louie Bellson - SKIN DEEP Lalo Schifrin - DISSECTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF MUSIC FROM THE PAST AS PERFORMED BY THE INMATES...(and it just keeps on going, you have to see the title to believe it, this is not a joke!) Ed Thigpen - OUT OF THE STORM (w/Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell) Various - ELITE EDITION COLLECTORS' DISC

I have all five volumes of the original Twilight Zone series, though I haven't watched all of them yet. It even includes shows that were not syndicated for later rebroadcast. I'm still debating whether to acquire the Homicide: Life on the Streets series. The later seasons were marred by inconsistent writing and the addition of a few less than interesting characters.

I also bought this LP back in the 1970s and didn't own it for long. Evans sounded bored and wasn't improvising in his distinctive style, while most of the songs themselves were pretty forgettable.

Lots of jazz artists recorded inappropriate pop songs: Bud Shank played the music of the Lovin' Spoonful (on a long oop LP appropriately titled A Spoonful of Jazz) Carmen McRae did Alice Cooper's "Only Women Bleed" (so should have the producer or person who suggested this turkey to Carmen)

I just received both of Art Pepper's CDs issued by Widow's Taste and what I've heard so far is exceptional.

I find it sad that anyone would be so dismissive of Ella Fitzgerald's obvious contributions to jazz. She was revered by the musicians who worked with her and most critics. Yes, she kept performing when she was obviously past her prime, she sometimes chose inappropriate songs (Marvin Gaye's monotonous "What's Goin' On" on her Carnegie Hall concert of the 1970s and the insipid "Wives and Lovers" to name two) and the Grammy for her final release should have gone to Carmen McRae for Carmen Sings Monk. But at least Starbuck's is featuring Ella rather than all of the thin-voiced singer/songwriters who have been promoted as jazz artists in recent years by major labels. I am more concerned about those who are promoting the remixes of Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, as if this music has to be dumbed down for consumption by youth.

The sound on the Harkit recordings I was sent was pretty noisy, with lots of microphone bumping and such. The interviews heard on some of the discs were rather amateurish in nature. Congrats to Sonny for beating the crooks.

Carla was a good friend, we met back in 1990 at the JazzTimes Convention in New Orleans and we kept in touch. Our last time to hang out together was during a quick trip to New York City last fall, she was always a delightful person to spend time chatting with over lunch. I finally tracked down her long out of print debut LP, Andruline, a few years ago and always looked forward to reviewing her latest release. She will be missed.

I was saddened to learn that jazz vocalist Carla White died yesterday in New York City after a long battle with cancer. Carla was a talented singer who recorded eight albums under her name. Her debut recording for Stash, Andruline, was jointly led with Manny Duran; her last release was A Voice in the Night. Her frequent musical collaborators included Peter Madsen, Dean Johnson, Matt Wilson and a good friend, Lew Tabackin, who would often make a guest appearance on a few numbers. A memorial service is scheduled for St. Peter's Church (Lexington at 53rd St.) in Manhattan on June 8th at 5 pm.

Elling wasn't bad as a part of Dave Brubeck's Cannery Row Suite, premiered at last year's Monterey Festival. I've just never warmed to his voice, though I think his choice of material and the presence of Rob Mounsey are serious drawbacks on his first Concord CD.

Lack of research doesn't seem to keep some writers from get publishing contracts for new books... Examples include the recent Wayne Shorter and Grant Green bios, which were full of errors, faulty judgements and often sloppy research.

Murphy still had that ridiculous toupe on his dome when he sang at IAJE (2006?) with Kurt Elling, Jon Hendricks and Kevin Mahogany.

I have both these DVDs and have enjoyed them. Has there been a discussion of the upcoming Mingus Sextet 2 CD set at Cornell 1964, to be issued by Blue Note in July? I already have an advance and it is a good performance, even if it seems to be in mono.

I didn't request a copy of Elling's new CD, as I recognized it for what it was. I had forgotten about the Michael Franks song, he is always one for writing forgettable songs. "When the cookie jar is empty (Barf!)..."

Gee, Kurt Elling is no longer on Blue Note... Instead, he has signed with Concord and recorded such lame songs as The Guess Who's "Undun" and also utilized boring smooth keyboardist/arranger Rob Mounsey (of "I Like the Orange Thing" fame) on his latest CD. Yawn...

I highly recommend Harold Danko's Prestigious, an excellent tribute to Eric Dolphy. Of course, I've enjoyed all of Danko's releases for the label that I've acquired.

I have had a few dealings with unsavory individuals through ebay/half.com who either didn't ship discs ordered or badly misrepresented items for sale (one clown sent burned DVD copies and represented them as "the only way to get them,") yet I still was in touch with them before filing claims. Regarding the DVDR crook, he refunded everything, including shipping both ways. The same is true for informal direct sales through boards. Although it might be tough to get a refund or an adjustment from a seller in this type of transaction, I still feel that the seller deserves the opportunity to offer a replacement, partial refund, or full refund before a buyer goes public complaining about a purchase. Put yourself in the seller's shoes and ask how you would react to a posted bb complaint before hearing from a disgruntled buyer. I probably won't be shopping at one used CD store in NYC again. I purchased a Paul Bley disc on Steeplechase there and didn't look at it closely enough. When I finally got ready to play it a few months later, I discovered it was a CDR with a glossy photo (but definitely copied) book. If they actually took this thing in via trade, they should have pitched it or played it in the store. I know it is too late to get a refund, as they would claim I burned it myself.

Any buyer with a perceived problem should contact a seller directly first if there is a problem rather than venting on a bulletin board. I used to be a retail manager and it used to surprise me that customers would occasionally contact the Better Business Bureau before giving me a chance to offer a solution to their problems.

Willis Conover was also responsible for assembling a great jazz lineup for the initial New Orleans Jazz Festival. Now jazz is second tier behind headliners like Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart, making the name of the festival the worst kind of false advertising.

I am anxiously awaiting the Monterey series. I wonder if Carl Jefferson left behind the masters of the various Concord Jazz Festivals that he recorded that have never seen the light of day? Among them is a Woody Herman set with Duke Ellington sitting in; a former Concord rep once had a copy of it that Jefferson gave to him. By the way, who's George Washington, Jr.? Was it supposed to be GROVER?

I just heard Cyrus Chestnut's Trio last night. A nice set that was wide-ranging, with originals, standards, hymns and spirituals, plus even a few entertaining reworkings of tunes associated with Elvis Presley that are from his upcoming Koch CD (and I've never particularly been a fan of Elvis).

One of the strangest problems I had was paying an extra cover to sit close to the bandstand to hear Kenny Barron & Ray Drummond at the late lamented Zino in NYC, only to have some yuppie women talking loudly throughout the set at the next table. Why in the hell did these morons pay extra to sit so close? Another weird experience was during a jazz party, when Rebecca Kilgore was singing with Dave Frishberg backing her and a hotel employee was making popcorn in the back of the ballroom during the set.