Ken Dryden

Dave Brubeck told me that there are at least two unissued sessions in Columbia's vault featuring clarinetist Bill Smith in Paul Desmond's place. One was tentatively titled "Witches' Brew" (long before Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew") but it never was released. I would love to see a thorough series of CDs covering 1930s Duke Ellington and Count Basie sessions.

I can't understand why anyone would feel the urge to climb over a wall to "get a better photo," though I'm sorry the woman fell to her death at Yellowstone. I visited the old Miami Serpentarium years ago and noticed that the retaining walls were low enough on which to sit above a poisonous snake pit and also a crocodile pit. A few years later, some father and his son sat on the latter wall, throwing berries at crocodiles, when the kid fell and was immediately attacked and killed by a croc. While I'm sure that if this produced a lawsuit, the plaintiff's attorney claimed it was an "attractive nuisance," but anyone with common sense would have kept their distance and avoided sitting on the wall. Another memory from my teen years was an unsupervised child sitting on a balcony rail some 30 + feet above the lobby of the Ringling Mansion in Sarasota. Although no accident took place, you have to wonder where the parents were and what the hell they taught their kid.

I don't have kids, but if I did, the only computer on which they would have access to the internet would be located in a family room, with plenty of supervision and knowledge that their web traffic would be checked, for their protection. Cyberspace has opened doors for too many sick people who need to be put behind bars.

Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Center knows what he's doing. He must have a lot of international traffic bidding up the prices of vintage vinyl. $2000+ for Tommy Flanagan's Overseas? Whew!

Of the new batch, Lou Blackburn's The Complete Imperial Sessions is the one that got my attention. Great stuff with Freddie Hill on trumpet and Horace Tapscott on piano.

I don't know whether or not Michael Cuscuna actually likes The Three Sounds and Les McCann or not, but I think he has to consider whether or not such a set by either Harris' trio or McCann will sell enough copies. I think the earlier edition of the Three Sounds is far better than the later groups, as the change in drummers definitely gave the group too commercial a sound. McCann's music has never been of much interest to me, though I imagine that his stuff would sell if they would reissue his Pacific Jazz titles.

Reminds me when Amazon had a blooper in the listing of a CD by a Japanese jazz pianist, listed as Crapping Music instead of Clapping Music...

I dunno, I'm not familiar with those guys so I'm not going to completely dismiss the very notion of bowed bass. It's possible it's just him. Then again, I'm not too crazy about any bass solos... except very very short ones. You're not familiar with Milt Hinton (probably one of the most recorded bassists in the history of music)? Or Michael Moore (known for his work with Gene Bertoncini, currently with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and also on a fair number of other recordings)? You really should check them out, as their work is far superior to any Paul Chambers' bowed solo.

I just imagine a cartoon with this caption: "And this wall of shelves is for my Mosaic jazz boxed set collection, that's why there isn't any furniture in my house..."

Thanks for sharing the 20% discount code for DeepdiscountDVD.com. I just saved $105 on my order.

The ladies might give him too hard a time!

It took awhile to nail down a final time for my interview with Geri Allen, but she was working on the final stages of recording and remixing her upcoming CD. I had no problems talking with her, she seemed very friendly. I'm sorry that I missed a recent opportunity to hear her at the Atlanta Jazz Festival. I don't know how to access Paul's interview with her.

Updated with additions. Please note that the list is also updated as items are confirmed for trades. Not all items requested in this thread have resulted in trades, so if you see it listed, it is probably still available.

The word from my Telarc publicity contact is that Geri Allen's CD Timeless Portraits and Dreams will be released on August 22.

You're probably just sayin' that, in case you ever happen to end up on a speaking pannel with her sometime. If Paul de Barros is the interviewer, it will be worth reading. I don't pull punches, though there are probably a few artists that I'm not eager to run into at IAJE after some scathing reviews (not that I write that many). I contribute to Coda, All Music Guide, Allaboutjazz-New York, Allaboutjazz.com and Hot House (NY). Once in awhile, I also do liner notes (1-2 a year at best).

I got a review copy a few weeks ago, but I really haven't had time to explore it very much. It looks very thorough.

It's due out this month, but it is not strictly a trio affair. Telarc sent me an advance to help me prep for my interview with her, which was the source for my recent Hot House article. It's a great CD, with a lot of variety!

No matter how U.S. copyright law reads, I can't imagine any musician or label making a fuss about a CD owner making a personal copy on Ipod or a CD-R exclusively for his own use. For example, some folks might not want to take CDs into a hot car, preferring to leave CD-Rs instead. Not only would a label have trouble tracking such dubbing by individuals, I think it would probably be laughed out of court in most jurisdictions. Making copies for anyone else is another matter. I don't burn CD-Rs from my vast CD collection for anyone. I don't have the time to tie up my stereo and my computer doesn't have a burner.

I can't say that any of the Tyner CDs that will be included in a Mosaic Select set is among my favorites. Better are his solo Blue Note efforts, the duet with Bobby Hutcherson, and meeting with Jackie McLean (It's About Time). My guess is that Mosaic is giving some folks a chance to save up their money for future projects by promoting them way in advance. I doubt that their relationship with EMI has deteriorated all that much and I doubt that Blue Note will focus on much of the material that Mosaic seeks to lease these days.

Perhaps if Manilow had attempted some standards, maybe things could have loosened up. In any case, it would have been a better outing than the recent, ridiculous Michael Bolton CD Bolton Swings Sinatra, issued by Concord. The late Carl Jefferson is spinning in the ground...

From Mosaic's website: Future Projects Mosaic Select: McCoy Tyner (3 CDs) This set contains all six sessions recorded by Tyner for Blue Note between August 1968 and September 1970. This includes "Expansions," "Extension," "Asante" and three sessions not issued at the time which later appeared on the double album "Cosmos." This was one of Tyner's most overlooked and highly creative periods. The first three have been reissued on CD, though I don't know if they're still in print at this moment. They should be easy to find. A little tougher to acquire may be the 2 LP set Cosmos, though I can't imagine it would be a long, hard, expensive search.

I have two of the earlier editions of Tom Lord's Jazz Discography on CD-Rom Version 5.0 $180 via 1st class mail, insurance is extra Version 4.4 $150 via 1st class mail, insurance is extra This valuable research tool is of great help to serious collectors, writers and broadcasters. I am also open to trade proposals, if you wish to send a PM with a list of jazz LPs and CDs available.

Part of the problem you may have with Chambers' bowed bass solos is that he really wasn't in the league of Milt Hinton, Michael Moore and others who have far better technique playing arco bass. Then again...maybe you just don't like bowed bass solos!

It may be a problem similar to proposed DVDs of television series, which also require royalty payments for music included within them. The issuers want to pay a flat rate, the music publishers want a per piece royalty, in case the DVD is a hit. Therefore, nothing happens. It may be that the that huge conglomerates holding long unavailable material are just too short-sighted, looking only for the next megahit, instead of producing income from stuff they already own and would have minimal costs to make available as CDs.

The Oslo set by the Mingus Sextet is complete, as on earlier releases: So Long, Eric Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk Ow (sometimes labeled Parkeriania) Take the A Train On the last track, Jaki Byard takes a wild stride piano solo, but it is Dolphy's wailing bass clarinet that steals the show.