Ken Dryden

So that's why Verve has let go of artists the caliber of Kenny Barron and Geri Allen and signed such "exciting" artists as Jamie Cullum and other lightweights... Major labels like Verve are overlooking too many jazz veterans that have plenty to offer if they were only promoted seriously.

The pitch on the piano is inconsistent on Jackpot: Live in Las Vegas, you might enjoy it because of the performances. There aren't any sound problems on The Last Time We Saw Paris and I think it merits being reissued.

I forgot to mention that at least one unissued Columbia session with Bill Smith remains in the vaults. It was tentatively titled "Witches' Brew" (long before Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew") but it seems unlikely to appear anytime soon. There was also a live recording made in India, but numerous brownouts evidently made this tape unusable. I am not clear whether this concert was recorded for Columbia, but that seems likely.

There are two specific Columbia LPs that Dave Brubeck has told me that he doesn't want to see reissued: Jackpot: Live in Las Vegas--This live date was recorded on a brand new baby grand that had problems holding its pitch in the polar air conditioning of the nightclub where it was taped. The Last Time We Saw Paris--Brubeck won't go into details about this one, although Paul Desmond is missing from some tracks. I have enjoyed both of these LPs.

Be aware that the Tatum Group Masterpieces CD boxed set has some bonus tracks not available on the vinyl set.

If that's the case, maybe they have to make room for pallets of CDs by some of the ridiculous artists signed to the label in recent years.

I lucked into the opportunity to do liner notes for The Last From Lennie's because of a passing remark that Jaki Byard made during a conversation with me circa 1990. Regardless of its perceived flaws, including Farrell's drumming or his fluff on sax in the introduction to "Dolphy" (version 2), I think it adds an important chapter to Byard's legacy.

It would seem that True Blue is just dropping them, I doubt that they are such slow sellers that Concord/Fantasy would drop them all together.

They are!

I had that problem with a set that were around 18 years old, I trashed them and bought new speakers, as the technology had improved over time.

That's not completely fiction. The Modern Jazz Quartet + Paul Desmond played the theme from "Jesus Christ Superstar" on the posthumously issued LP recorded at Town Hall on Dec. 25, 1971.

I guess many of you know that Jim Hall did jam on Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" with a string quartet on a live CD. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0l6zefrk1gfn

Frankly, I would like to hear more of Fats Waller's early recordings on pipe organ, as they have generally been overlooked by reissue labels. The only one I have is Fats at the Organ, Vol. 3. Too bad that he didn't live another 3-4 decades.

Waller fans should purchase Stephen Taylor's excellent book Fats on the Air: The Radio Broadcasts and Discography. http://www.scarecrowpress.com/Catalog/Sing...data=0810856565

I wouldn't write off Till Brönner entirely. Bob Brookmeyer was very impressed with him and you might want to check his CD Generations of Jazz on Minor Music. But I'll pass on the smooth stuff.

In the south, a Copenhagen convert is one who switched brands of snuff... just a pinch between cheek and gum... Yuck...

How about "McCoy Turner" listed on piano on one of John Coltrane's early Impulse LPs... My favorite typo, evidently since corrected in later editions, was on Will Calhoun's Live at the Blue Note. McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance" was listed as Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance." And the poor guy who covered it in a Jazz Times corner piece evidently didn't know the difference. Another huge blooper was on The Paris All Stars: Homage to Charlie Parker. The opening track was labeled "Birks' Works" and it was actually "Steeplechase." Nearly every review I've seen of this release catches this error.

I don't think that management at most stations take format changes lightly. It is a major disruption and there obviously will be a degree of support lost. But in our market, the jazz numbers never were what we expected them to be. The jazz programming during the week is long gone, with a couple of syndicated shows still hanging on. NPR isn't the only network available, though it is the major dog. But all of the networks had better be careful about offering too many of their most popular programs on satellite services, or stations will be wondering why they're paying tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars while people in their markets can get the same shows elsewhere. Let's face it, for some markets, underwriting and membership received a huge boost once NPR news programming was added to the mix.

I obviously don't have insider's information as to what pledge levels, underwriting support and Arbitron ratings have been for WBEZ's jazz programming. But I doubt that the management's decision was made without serious review of these matters, vs. potential opportunities with alternative programming. Again, I'd rather be listening to jazz myself than any talk show you can name, though my time is spent listening to new CDs, both in the car and at home. I don't have the time for anything else.

If you want to go crazy with creating a wish list, just look through a copy of any edition of Tom Lord's Jazz Discography on CD-Rom. You'll discovering recording sessions, labels and releases that you've never heard of. One obscure 2 LP set issued under Fats Waller's name was on a label called Ristic. I recently learned that this was a John R. T. Davies production and only 99 copies were made. Fortunately, my informant is sending me a CDR dub of it in exchange for some broadcast recordings of salutes to Fats. BTW, I still have at least two editions of the Lord Discography CD-Rom for sale or trade. PM me if interested, a part cash, part CD trade is also possible.

True, NPR shows aren't cheap. Some changes, like extending the hours for drive time news programming, don't cost a station anything extra if it already carries the programs. But don't forget there is a considerable amount of overhead in running a public radio station, even if the programming is "free." Equipment upgrades and maintainance (including conversion to digital studios and transmitters), salaries & benefits (though the cost of benefits is likely to rise more quickly than salaries in most public stations) and webcasting-related expenses are just a few of the items in addition to network membership fees, satellite access fees and carriage fees for syndicated programming. If the numbers for listenership and fundraising drop sufficiently during local programming, they have to be reviewed by station management. They may very well determine that paying for syndicated shows is more beneficial to the bottom line than continuing to air local programming in the same daypart. Be clear, I am a jazz fan first, but if jazz programming isn't paying the bills for a station, I understand the desire to make a change. I would personally prefer to hear jazz as I drive around any city.

As a long time public radio professional and former jazz show host (15 years on WUTC-FM), I understand the disappointment about WBEZ's dropping of jazz from their format. But I can also tell you that the financial pressure on public radio stations is intense. Funding can no longer be taken for granted, as community stations that may be funded in part by local governments or university stations must continuously re-evaluate their support of public radio stations. If underwriting and individual listener gifts are not growing substantially and listenership is stagnant, then increased costs may force management to make changes. I miss the annual Labor Day weekend broadcasts that WBEZ hosted for years (that were also fed live on selected NPR stations until a few years ago). I'm afraid that jazz may be on its way to disappearing from many of the larger stations, though I hope that other stations will attempt to pick up the slack.

I almost immediately edited out my description of Clive Davis as "moronic," but evidently my server problems never got my update through to the website. (I'm firing my internet service at the end of my contract, far too many untimely disconnects). There's little sense in editing my comment now, since it has been copied into another post. Chuck: I don't know what you would consider "better information" but at that point in Thelonious Monk's career, I would have thought it very insensitive to suggest that he record an album of 1960s pop songs, any more than any other long time Columbia jazz recording artist of that time. I know that every record company executive has the responsibility of getting the maximum exposure and profit out of each release, but jazz is a funny animal, since bestsellers are extremely rare. Why did they sign him in the first place? Tom: As far as Joe Pass, I'm sure his extensive exposure through numerous releases on Norman Granz's Pablo label (as a soloist, leader and sideman) helped fuel interest in his concert bookings and made him financially comfortable. It would be interesting to compare his typical income from a Pablo album vs. those for Pacific Jazz or World Pacific, but that's not in the cards.

Fred told me that the one the one LP set he reissued with Sue Mingus' assistance was that Music Written For Monterey (Not the one reissued by Fantasy, but the rarer one sold only through mailorder by Mingus). The last time we discussed it he had them available for $40 new, while the reissue readily goes for much higher sums on ebay.

My money would be on the moronic Clive Davis coming up with that idea. Anyone ever heard the dreadful Joe Pass World Pacific album The Stones Jazz? I'm sure Pass felt insulted to be asked, but a paycheck was a paycheck at that time and he probably didn't have the luxury of saying no until after he started making some serious money with Norman Granz. As for the typo, oh well, I'm still recovering from a root canal and my eyesight isn't all that great reading the tiny fonts these bulletin boards utilize. I guess I could always increase them, then some folks would think that I was shouting like using all caps.