Rooster_Ties

I'd buy four or five discs from the Black Jazz folks in a heart beat, if there was some way to be sure they'd come through with them. Heck, maybe even six or seven titles, actually.

Lord, I didn't realize that "Satchmo" was on his grave-marker. Yikes!! Did anyone here ever meet the man?? How far "in the know" did one have to be to refer to him as Pops? Was that pretty much exclusively a musician thing? And how far back did the "Pops" vs. "Satchmo" thing go? (Or rather, when did the "insider's" nickname "Pops" come into play?)

Word.

Great that the kitty has been found!!! Something I didn't dare share before is my luck in having two cats (both females) that have absolutely NO interest in going outside. They'll stand right by the door, and look out the glass storm-door -- but as soon as you open the door to come in or out, they step right back, and have NO interest in going out, none at all. My wife and I got them from the Humane Society, and both had been strays just prior to being brought in to the shelter. But clearly both of them had probably been housecats before that (one had even already been "fixed"). Our theory is that because both of them have had to fend for themselves out in "the wild" (and maybe in the dead of winter), they must realize they've got a pretty darn good deal living with us (with endless food and attention).

So true. So true.

PM sent, re: the Kirk Mercury box.

Has anyone else here heard Civilization Phase III??? That may Frank's magnum opus, IMHO.

For me the glass is definitely half full, at least. Yes, Zappa was an asshole. So was Frank Lloyd Wright. So too was Miles (at least quite often). We could fill thread after thread with the names of great artistic folks (note, I didn't say brilliant), who were also real jerks. Much of Zappa's music moves me quite a lot -- both the actual recorded artifacts themselves, AND the tunes (compositions), and their lasting value in the world. Given a few moments (that I won't spend here and now), I'm sure I could easily mention 20 or more Zappa tunes right off the top of my head that I still take great delight in singing along with (and not so much in singing just the straight vocal parts, but rather those plus the instrumental fills betweeen the vocal lines -- that's where Zappa so often gets really interesting for me.) Many of those tunes are "standards" to me -- tunes that have stood the test of time for me. Yes, there certainly are some frat-boy aspects to Frank -- some of which one can easily take or leave (some of which I tire of too, to be sure). But it's those tunes , plus the musicianship of many of the bands he put together. THAT'S what has me sold. Frank in the early 80's doesn't really do it much for me, sure. But most of the rest of the Zappa catalog is something I revisit quite frequently. Every four or five years or so, I so to go through a brand new Zappa phase -- where I rediscover a body of music that really has left it's mark on the world -- or at least on me. I would even probably argue that Frank is one of the top-100 most interesting musicians of the entire 20th Century. Some years I might rank him in my top 50. Some years in the bottom 50. But he's always there in my list, somewhere. The glass is definitely half full for me, and often quite half full - almost to overflowing.

Yes they are.

Prince and Miles

e-mail sent...

Lot's of vocoder on Trans. Neil also used the device live on tour for a couple years in the early-to-mid 80's. Somewhere I have a tape of a live concert of his from about 1986, where Neil sings through a Vocoder for about 4 tunes total, including two or three tunes from Trans, and one or two of his older (more popular) songs. (The tape was taken from a live radio broadcast.) Most people hate Trans, but I sorta like it -- and I really LOVE that live tape with Crazy Horse backing Neil while he's singing through the crazy thing. Works for me!! (Wish to heck I could find another copy of that same or a similar Neil concert circa 1986 on CD (or CDR) somewhere. My old cassette hasn't been played in years, and come to think of it - I probably haven't seen it in years either.)

I try to purge my collection by about 10% once every two or three years, and I think I have a much better collection for having done so. I think my Jazz CD's currently number about 800 or 900, though at one time I'm sure they were much closer to 1,200. Can't say I really miss much of what I've gotten rid of over the yeras. Maybe one or two dates, here and there - but I so often buy things that look interesting -- particularly out of bargain bins -- that some of them never live up to my expectations at all. And there's no point in keeping things that I'm just not ever gonna listen to much. I've only gotten rid of one Mosaic set over the years (the very first one I ever bought - the Don Cherry set), but only because all of it became available for purchase as Conns.

Does anyone know why Green was either dropped by BN circa 1965, or why Green choose not to renew said contract -- or whatever the reason was for the end of his first contract?? Green recorded a LOT on BN prior to '65 (and it must have sold pretty darn well -- or why would he have recorded so darn much). It would seem to me that BN would have kept him in their roster, if he was selling pretty well. What's the scoop??

Give me a fucking break. Do these people not have anything better to do, than worry about whether Superman is fighting for "The American Way"???

I might well be up for this set sometime (maybe when I get the new Hill select). Further discussion of the individual sessions would be welcome, and I guess then I'm looking for reviews. Thanks!!

I've never heard a Billy Harper album that I didn't like, nor one that didn't grow on me more and more deeply over time. I can't understand why he isn't better known, or why he doesn't have a contract with a more high-profile label (BN - I'm looking at you). Or if not BN, then at least something with better distribution than what he's had over the years. He ought to have placed somewhere in the top five in the jazz polls every year for the last 20 (or 25), and his discs ought not be rare as hens' teeth either.

To answer your question, from one of the various on-line instances of "A Critical Discography of Woody Shaw"... Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival; July 5, 1973 Bobby Hutcherson - vbs; Cecil Bernard - p; WS - tp; Ray Drummond - b; Larry Hancock - d. 1. Anton's Bail (Hutcherson) 12:34 2. The Moontrane (WS) 10:42 3. Farallone (Hutcherson) 13:11 4. Song of Songs (WS) 13:50 Bobby Hutcherson -- Live At Montreux (CD) Bobby Hutcherson - Live At Montreux: tracks 1,2,4 (LP) Probably more worthwhile from the standpoint of a Hutcherson fan, but WS has some very good moments. Unfortunately, Bernard drops the form of "Moontrane" during Woody's solo, and keeps playing the A section with the first ending -- and throws Woody off. The band in general sounds a little underrehearsed on the first two tracks. The previously unreleased track "Farallone" is very good.

What Dan said.

FYI, here's some audio-clips (real-player) for both volumes of the Jackson Five remix discs (well, volume one anyway - now that I look). http://www.universal-music.co.jp/polydor/a...kson5/1220.html

Can't stand the new Superman movie commercial they're running (at least here) with the rap/rock soundtrack. Rap/rock + Superman?? - you've got to be kidding. I'll probably skip it. I think I saw the first and maybe the second of the recent (last 15 years or so) Batman movies - and they left me totally nonplussed (well, maybe the first one was not half bad). I did see the most recent Batman film, however, within the last year ("Batman Returns"?? - was that the title? -- or maybe "Batman Begins" -- something like that) --- and I thought it was MUCH better than I had expected. I hesitate to say I really loved it, but my expectations were pretty low going in - and they were greatly exceeded.

If the version of "California In Love" that you had were a CD instead of an LP, I'd be bidding on it in a heartbeat. (I don't buy vinyl all that much - what can I say.) Also, the vinyl of "California" isn't all that hard to come by, and I suspect those really interested in it have already gotten theirs. I'd also guess that the first Hill Select must be selling pretty well (perhaps even "pretty darn well") for them to be already coming out with another Hill Select so soon. "Passing Ships" generated a LOT of interest, and there seem to be a new Hill Conn almost every year. The interest is clearly there - so they are rightfully striking while the iron is hot (and it was geting hot long before anyone knew of Andrew's health concerns).

Not half-bad cover art, for a boot (half-serious).