Ken Dryden

I can't find the file of a great Steve Kelley cartoon which asks "What will O.J. do when he comes face to face with Nicole's killer?" The answer was "shave."

I know that Ray Spencer died awhile back. I exchanged a few emails with Arnold Laubich years ago. A 2001 NYT article described him as a retired real estate attorney. Laubich told me there were some things he had in his collection that would remain unissued. I had a friend who evidently had dubs of some of them but he has since passed away.

You might try posting some of them here. I'm sure there are more than a few classical fans among us. I don't know how much classical sells on Discogs, but that may be worth a shot. Decluttr.com buys a lot of CDs, though like Dusty Groove, they have to be in flawless condition. Prices they pay vary greatly, but they do provide prepaid shipping if you sell them 10+ CDs.

Sorry to hear this sad news. I always enjoyed his playing.

Dick Gregory was a part of a panel discussion on humor at my alma mater, Tulane, around 1974. Russell Baker was the moderator and the rest of the group included Jimmy Breslin, Art Buchwald, along with an obscure feminist comedian named Robin Tyler who had everyone puzzled as to why she merited being in such austere company. I'd love to have an audio tape of that evening.

There are also some radio broadcasts on that website. I've recorded a solo concert by Roland Hanna and a performance of the music of Edgard Varese, emceed by Frank Zappa.

I wrote a series of liner note bios for a series of European compilations. Unfortunately I never saw the playlists or personnel, otherwise I would have made a lot of corrections for them. Nearly every liner note job I've had has had either spelling mistakes, missing instruments, wrong or missing song titles (like a medley that omits a song), incorrect or missing composers/lyricists in the information provided to me by the label or artist. Since my name is going on the final product, I like everything to be correct. Of course, if we talk jazz books, no one seems to beat Stuart Nicholson for typos and outright errors.

She played some piano when she appeared on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, one of the few dozen broadcasts issued on CD. https://www.amazon.com/Marian-McPartlands-Piano-Carmen-McRae/dp/B00006EXDP

I'm glad somebody bought that obscure Joe Lee Wilson album. It was a nice surprise among a package deal of liner notes for 6 CDs, though I wasn't too crazy about the Jorge Dalto reissues.

Bassist Bill Crow had fun describing what happened the night that Pee Wee forgot his name and had to ask someone in order to schmooze for his tip.

I wonder if he hit up Letterman for money...

Thanks for sharing the link to the article. I emceed a Sun Ra concert when he and his Arkestra came to Chattanooga. It was after his stroke and he was in a wheelchair. I only saw about half of the concert, because Michael Ray tore a tendon in his knee doing cartwheels on the wet outdoor stage during "Stargazer" and I road in the ambulance with him to the hospital. Another memory is that there was no microphone for me to use, so I was directed to use June Tyson's, which was in a stand. As soon as I finished, the band got underway and I was fumbling trying to get her mike back in place. I'm glad I got to experience the band while it was still touring with its founder.

Brenda Starr Kay Starr Kay Kaiser

My grandmother made arrangements with the Neptune Society and was cremated after her death in 1984. A couple of weeks ago we finally scattered my parents' ashes on some mountaintop property they owned. It's one of those discussions people need to have with their loved ones, after my father died, I was the only one in the family who knew he wanted to be cremated, he left no funeral instructions for my mother. The funeral industry is still a racket, watch out for chain homes (even when they keep the names of the local homes they bought), they are notorious for overcharging.

I grew up in Broward County and haven't set foot in it since 1984. I have no nostalgia about growing up there, have never been to a high school reunion. I do still have some cousins on the west coast that I wouldn't mind visiting, but I'll fly rather than drive down the state.

I tell everyone I escaped Florida...

If more students took a jazz survey course or attended a concert while in college, the numbers could grow. But the current generation doesn't seem to be willing to give jazz a chance.

King Oliver Duke Ellington Earl Hines

I never met Joe Fields but when I called Jimmy Ponder to seek a phone interview for background in writing liner notes about an unissued solo live recording, he responded, "They recorded that?" Joe Fields got involved because Ponder was a HighNote artist and he was trying to block its release. I didn't pursue the project out of respect for Ponder, though a well known writer took it on and was evidently unaware of its sketchy history. Joe Fields had a Jimmy Ponder session already in the can and hired me to writer liner notes for it, Somebody's Child, which turned out to be Jimmy Ponder's last release prior to his death.

While my recent shipping delay and boxed sets received in error were a minor frustration, I realize that no one is perfect. I appreciate their quest to put together unique boxed sets with detailed liner notes, historical photos and attempting to find every viable take from each session they document. Even then they aren't perfect as sometimes the performances they seek are hidden elsewhere in the licensing label's archives or turn out to be in private hands and unknown to them. Michael Cuscuna was disappointed that they managed to overlook one previously issued track in the Paul Desmond boxed set, but compare that to many labels which goof on a regular basis and get a pass.

The problem with selling Mosaic sets on Amazon is that they would have to raise prices significantly to make up for the ridiculous amounts that Amazon charges. It used to be 15% plus 99 cents, but I noticed they were taking a far larger hunk out of my sales. I have basically abandoned Amazon. Half.com was a great place until eBay bought it and ruined it. A lot of stuff that used to sell could no longer be listed. For example, they treated all cutouts as promos and banned them, even though numerous cutouts were to prevent retailers from getting credit at full price on closeouts. I think the main issue is that younger generations aren't interested in owning boxed sets, as they opt for downloads, streaming on Spotify or sharing digital music with friends. I'm not about to tell Mosaic how to run things, I don't blame them for dropping their printed catalogs, as they were expensive to print and mail. That's something many brick & mortar music retailers have let go, though I still get them from Jazz Messengers.

Audie Murphy Jimmy Stewart Charles Durning

Edition Longplay is all 180 gram LPs, with limited editions of 500, plus a smaller amount of @ LP sets with alternate takes. He is thinking of switching to limited editions of 50.

In a recent interview with Rainer Haarmann, founder of the boutique LP only label Edition Longplay, he told me that he is having quality problems with European pressing plants, due to their overuse and poor maintenance of the equipment. Remember that as the LP era was coming to an end, many of these plants closed and the machines were scrapped, while the people that knew how to use them retired, found other work, or passed on. There are still too few machines in existence for the current demand.

Doc Holliday Philip Blaiberg Edgar Buchanan