Ken Dryden

That was certainly true for me when I started collecting Jazz. There is also the occasional writer whose taste is so opposite mine that I can easily skip any recording or film which received high praise from him or her.

A review might prompt you to check out an unfamiliar artist or possibly re-evaluate one that you dismissed in the past. There simply isn’t enough time in the day to sample ever new release, let alone hear it all the way through.

Unless there is a photo of a jazz journalist or I actually met them at a JJA meeting, during IAJE or in a jazz venue, I often had no clue as to the race of the writer.

It is hard to imagine any writer thinking of himself or herself as a “gatekeeper.” I write about artists whose music I enjoy and have no clue what the racial breakdown would be of artists I have reviewed, interviewed or made the subject of features. A lot of assignments have been entirely up to editors. I do have complete editorial control of my radio program. This new JT owner reminds me of those who buys a restaurant then immediately make drastic changes to the menu. Soon they are gone. BTW, wasn’t Crouch fired for habitual late copy?

Apply to write for JT and tell them you "identify as African-American" since that seems to be acceptable for so many other categories these days...

Another great loss to the world of jazz.

I let my Jazz Times subscription lapse years ago. One of the last straws was a writer who couldn't tell the difference between Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance" and McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance," neither of which is an obscure composition. The idiotic rambling memorial piece on Wayne Shorter in the magazine by some editor none of us has ever heard of was pure shit, like it was someone who barely knew how to write about jazz. I won't be subscribing or even visiting their website. It's a safe bet they will alienate many of their current subscribers with the writers they recruit and the magazine will be circling the drain within two years.

There are some strange people running businesses, but it will be interest how the lawsuits in this case are resolved.: https://thisistrue.com/weenie/?awt_a=6Ckr&awt_l=MIOW6&awt_m=K5iuP0ZUNyAPkr

Looks like I need that Fritz Pauer LP.

Both Jimmy Heath and Benny Goldings published autobiographies, so maybe we should check them.

Sorry, I had the label confused with one of those European labels that puts out PD box sets.

Do any of these labels pay royalties? I have my doubts about Real Gone Music. Mosaic has to honor US royalty laws, so that is an added expense.

As for those pushing full releases of licensed albums as individual CDs with bonus tracks, Mosaic tried that with Mosaic Singles. Unfortunately, that series evidently didn't pay off, because like the 3 CD Mosaic Selects cube boxes, that line is history. Evidently the acquisition + production costs and sales didn't produce a sufficient profit. Unless someone is ready to put their money with their opinion and financially back one of their suggested boxed sets, I think I will leave it to Michael and Scott to run the label.

I think adding the original art to the booklets would substantially add to costs, especially if done in color like the original releases. It is great having a box that is thorough with detailed liner notes and session photos. When you consider the times when Mosaic had sales, particularly for several of the sets licensed from Capitol, it is obvious that they have to be careful what music they license to create them. They want to make a decent profit for their considerable investment of time and money.

Didn't Benny Goodman leave Yale University his unissued recordings? You would think that Yale would welcome the additional income, although they are one of the most endowed universities around, since some of this stuff was likely duplicated over the years by engineers then leaked to European labels that don't pay royalties.

Either inheritance, estate sales, auctions...

I hope these reviews brighten your day. Werner Klemperer: Colonel Klink Swings World War II (2023) https://www.allaboutjazz.com/colonel-klink-swings-world-war-ii-werner-klemperer-self-produced Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: The Real Tokyo Blues (2023) https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-real-tokyo-blues-self-produced

I recall that one as well. I don't know if Keane's son inherited his dad's love for jazz. I haven't seen Family Circus much since we dropped the local newspaper back around 2015.

I remember Billy in the Family Circus mentioned Dick Hyman in a cartoon about his father’s piano playing. I met Bil Keane at the Atlanta Jazz Party one year. He was a big swing fan.

Believe me, I have seen a lot in the several dozen projects that I've done. Wrong titles, wrong composers, missing composers, medleys that omit some of the songs played, misspelled names of musicians and composers, missing instruments and even incorrect musicians. One of the first major jobs I had was a compilation of previously issued material and both the date and the personnel were wrong on one track. I got into a debate with someone at the label and won the argument by citing the discography of the artist, a bio of him and the previous issue of the track. The drummer cited had been fired three months before the actual recording date. Even odder was a compilation of an artist from his vast recordings for the label. When I got the advance, I pointed out that one of the songs didn't even feature a solo by the leader. I was asked for a suggested replacement and gave one, which was used. Then I mentioned one of this best known compositions recorded for them was oddly omitted, so they asked which song it should replace and they took my recommendation. For some reason, certain labels and writers seem prone to these mistakes, though I won't mention any of them in a public forum. Unfortunately, the quality of ASCAP and BMI databases have declined in recent years. Songs I used to find there are no longer present. What's the deal with "Body and Soul"? I know Johnny Green wrote the music, but the lyric was evidently written by Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton and Robert Sour, though some listings omit one of the latter two. Was the lyric revised early on, or is this just a mistake that is repeated?

And it still would come off as amateurish…

I saw Dave Brubeck demonstrate a stretching exercise before a concert that he did to increase his reach. I forget how far he could reach on the piano, but he had large hands and when he stretched his thumb and forefinger, the skin between them almost touched the table.

If Seay’s piece is typical of what to expect from Jazz Times, they will likely be bankrupt within a year or two.

Part of the problem for any discography remains the amount of incorrect information present on various releases that is often entered into the database. Obviously there isn't time to check every song title composer and instrument present on a given track, but there are some continuing problems that I run across. Bill Evans credited with writing MIles Davis' "Nardis" and Denny Zeitlin's "Quiet Now," the latter a mistake repeated on the upcoming Elemental Music CD set Treasures. Credit given only to the lyricist (or lyricists), omitting the composer of the music. This pops up repeatedly in Europe, especially with Willard Robison's "Old Folks." Doesn't the artist, label, producer or liner note writer have the ability to check this info before going to press? Since I started writing liner notes years ago, that is something I include as a part of my service, but I also don't want to look like a chump because I can't identify song titles and songwriters correctly.

Since it is behind a paywall for subscribers, I am unsure it I can post it here. Let me try to PM it. Dr. Gerri Seay, it's a doctorate in business, not music. I am unimpressed with people who use their titles when writing outside their own field, it is a vanity thing. I have never heard of this woman or the reason why she is qualified to be a jazz editor for the magazine. The article is rather amateurish.