Rooster_Ties

Amen to that!!!

Me too, too. But I sure wish he hadn't... Let it go. What's done is done. Yeah, you're probably right. His deleting all his threads here really soured me on the guy, even though I miss his contributions. I don't feel like we 'deserve' an appology from him, but if he offered one (with sincerity) - I would appreciate it. Not gonna happen, I realize (and it's not like I've lost any sleep over it either). What's done is done.

On the one hand, Hardbop can be an interesting guy, narrowminded as he is. I've had it out with him a number of times, and I finally got on his shit-list when I started a thread on AAJ specifically to ask if his tastes in Classical music were in any way similar to his tastes in jazz. We all know that jazz that Hardbop likes is (definitionally speaking) music that can be considered "jazz". And jazz that he doesn't like, isn't "jazz" at all, but rather is crap, or worse. I wanted to see if he thought 12-tone serial music was as evil as organ trios, and Miles in 1973, or even 1969. I even tried to pick this 'fight' with him in a nice, joking, totally "kidding around" kind of way - so as not to be too hard on the guy. He wasn't having any of it (lord, it's not like the guy can laugh at himself - sheesh!!), and he sent me a PM saying I needed to get a fucking life. Whatver. I deleted the thread, and haven't responded to any posts of his ever since. I once got him to try to define where the line was that he drew with Miles, and Ornette. He said he could sorta slightly get into Ornette's first OJC (Contemporary?) album (the one with piano), and everything by Miles up through late 1967 was OK -- but from 1968 on, it was all varying degrees of 'crap' to him. He never seemed to exactly think Andrew Hill was crap (rarely did he plug anything in, or play with anything plugged in), and Hill wasn't nearly as evil as Cecil Taylor, or most Sun Ra. Still, you could tell that he thought Hill was pretty substandard, since (of course), he doesn't really know how to swing. But then didn't Hardbop appear to actually kinda like Wayne Shorter's recent live disc, "Footprints Live"???? What's up with that???? Or am I remembering that wrong. 99% of the time, Hardbop conformed to exactly what my expectations were of him. But every once in a blue moon, he's surprise me a little bit. And that was the ONLY reason I ever gave him the time of day. Well, that - and the fact that he liked Charles Tolliver quite a bit. PS: On further thought, it was Hardbop's inability to look introspectively at his own tastes in music that really limits my interest in having much of a discussion with him. Like Wynton, Hardbop confuses his own opinions with "truth", and his own tastes with some universally objective definition of "quality". Ultimately I have little patience for those sorts of people.

Me too, too. But I sure wish he hadn't deleted all his threads here on this board, especially the really long one where we were discussing the new Cons (long before they actually came out). But people do stupid shit sometimes, even people who are normally otherwise good to have around. (I don't mean to dredge up the past -- and for the record, I'd generally be glad if Kevin did came back. I lobbied for him not to leave in the first place, but whatever. -_- )

I've never heard an Ives symphony performed here in the U.S. either (at least not anytime in the last 10 years, in either Kansas City or St. Louis.) A couple times, however, I have heard Ives' first orchestral set (as he liked to call them), better known as "Three Places in New England". The second movement of "Three Places..." is perhaps one of the best known 'tunes' of Ives - also known as "Country Band March". (It's the one with two marching-band tunes 'on top' of each other.) NAXOS has recently released new recordings of Ives #1, #2, and #3 (with a #4 likely on the way). I think all are from new 'critical editions' of the scores, with a number of errors corrected for the first time (supposedly). I have #1 and #2, and like them as much as any recording I've heard of them. (And the Naxos recording of #1 has the added bonus of being paired with the world-premier recording of a long-lost Ives piano concerto!!! Get it!! )

What about Slim Man?? Actually, a top-drawer sax-playing friend of mine once played congas for Slim Man (as a local pickup musician), at some dance-club here in Kansas City. He (my buddy) had been co-listed in the back of the local jazz rag, both in the 'sax' section, and also as a 'percussionist'. He and Slim Man played with canned background tracks, with about 3 layers of synths, and a drum machine. My buddy's wife, his brother, and I -- we all got half-drunk, and actually went to the gig at the dance club. Some of the worst "live" music I think I've ever heard, but the crowd seemed to dig it, at least slightly. That, or maybe the syncronized lights from the dancefloor (where Slim and my bud were set up), when they piped the canned background tracks through the club's sound-system.

Specifically to "There It Is". Your rooster avatar was compin' along with the rhythm guitarist. Funky as hell! I've since changed my Avatar yet again, but in case anyone missed it - it was briefly this...

Andrew Hill!!!!!

CLICK HERE to hear Casey Kasem go nuts (another .wav file, not safe for work).

Don't CLICK HERE if you are at work, and have the speakers on your PC turned up. (Link just goes to a .wav audio file.)

A strong second for Tubin. I haven't spent enough time with his symphonies (not enough to feel like I really know them yet), but I always am glad when I think to put them on.

Which one(s)???

Well, I'll take #8, though I might defer to a higher number, depending on when #8 really turns out to be.

I'd like to compile a Blindfold Test sometime after the first of the year, maybe in late Jan. or anytime in Feb. - no rush. I only have a handful of tracks in mind, so far, and want to dig for some more -- and I know I won't have much time in December. -- Rooster T.

You know, none of this would have happened in the first place - if only Musicboy had been in charge.

I'm sure others here will have more insight about this topic than I do... But it's my understanding that most of these bargain recordings fall into roughly two categories... 1) Reissues of older recordings that have already paid for themselves. Not necessarily really old recordings, but even fully-digital recordings from the 80's and or even early 90's. Of the labels you listed, I'm pretty darn sure that EMI Classics falls in this category, and Seraphim Classics probably does too (though I'm having a tough time remembering the Seraphim series - but I'm sure I'd recognize it if I saw one). 2) Now Naxos is a different story, as I understand it. They record primarily less well-known orchestras and chamber groups (and frequently non-union orchestras - I think), and they have a fairly "medium tech" recording process and set-up that they use. (I don't want to call it "low tech", but I'm sure they use somewhat less than "state of the art" equipment, and they have their own engineers that probably do their thing on the cheap (to some extent) too). Naxos also always has fairly generic cover art, which requires relatively little expense (or at least less than the norm for any release on Sony Classical, for instance). And the conductors and soloists they employ are usually not very well recorded folks who can command higher wages. I love Naxos. Most of their recordings are very good, IMHO. Is every Naxos recording the best version of a given work?? Probably not. Are most Naxos discs fairly good versions, most of the time?? I think so. And often their recordings are really great. And while they don't always hit a home run, every time, with every recording --- I have yet to find a Naxos disc that I really disliked. (And I've probably got close to 200 Naxos CD's) AND, Naxos' WONDERFUL "American Composers" series is worth it's weight in gold. Many of the works are receiving their world premier release on CD, or even world premier recording (in any format). And in most cases, I would gladly pay nearly double for most of the "American Composers" series. And as a direct result of all of them being priced at $6.99 to $7.99 per disc - I own nearly the entire series.

Dual Mr. Tillman Anthony

I wish. 10 or 12 years ago I went so far as to send a snail-mail to Val (in London, or at least somewhere in England – as I recall), in the hopes of purchasing a print of a particular B&W photo of Ornette (with a full beard!!), Dewey, Charlie, and Ed Blackwell - practicing in some sort of “loft” type space, with high ceilings, and exposed rafters. And huge windows behind the band, with lots of light coming in. Never did hear back. PS: I just found the photo in John Litweiler's excellent bio of Ornette "A Harmelodic Life". In my hard-cover edition, it's one of the photos between pages 124 and 125 (the 'photo' pages are not numbered). It's right opposite the picture of Ornette and Anthony Braxton playing pool (also a cool pic). It's this picture (below), except not so damn cropped. They've chopped poor Charlie and Ed Blackwell clean out of the photo!!

I may have to disagree with you, my friend. Have you heard this material? It's some amazing stuff- I think a lot of the the pre-Wayne Miles recordings get overlooked and underrated. I personally am a fan of George Coleman, plus you've got some very interesting Sam Rivers here, too. I do think the quintet really came into its own w/Wayne, but don't sell this one short. Some of the most amazing rhythm section work you'll EVER hear. Maybe not the most radical or innovative period, but one worth checking out without a doubt. Tony is amazing. Herbie is amazing. Ron Carter is a rock. Excellent music. Absolutely agree! Love the My Funny Valentine/Four & More concert and the Antibes set! Will Miles in Berlin be included in that box, too? Should be, no? That's a beautiful SOUNDING album! You get the idea you could hear a feather falling to the floor on that one! (I've got it on a japanese Sony or CBS or whatever CD, sounds marvellous). And I never ever heard the Rivers album (and as I might not be the only one who needs this *problem* fixed, the set might hold at least one surprise...) ubu I meant to say that as far as PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED studio material goes, I can't imagine that the "Seven Steps To Berlin" box will have anything even half as interesting as the unreleased material from the Jack Johnson box. I didn't mean to dis those early 60's years quite that much. I like that period, sure - who doesn't. It's just that it doesn't 'excite' me the way later Miles periods do. I just meant to say that as far as previously unreleased studio material goes -- we've heard just about everything that's of major interest, now that the Jack Johnson box is out.

Look at the track-listing for both the Smitsonian and the big Ken Burns box. Pick a subset of tunes from those two sources, and suplement it with a few tunes of your own choice, from your own collection. I think the Smitsonian set is getting a bit on the 'old' side, in terms of favoring earlier styles (with very little after 1960), but it's not like the Ken Burns set covers the whole gambit either. Don't forget a couple circa 1970 gems, like maybe Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus" (the version from "Power to the People"), and maybe a Charles Tolliver big-band tune off "Music Inc & Big Band". ( My wife has responded relatively well to Tolliver tunes for some reason - and the only jazz she normally likes are piano trios ). Maybe a track off Herbie's "Speak Like A Child", since the horns don't solo, but provide such a nice harmonic framework for things. Maybe a ballad from a 1967 Miles Davis studio recording. Just some ideas to get you started, in terms of things to add beyond Smitsonian and Ken Burns -- which are both good starting points.

A-fuckin'-men to that, couw.

Just called my mechanic, and the problem was just a blown fuse. Didn't ask him how much, but I'm sure it's like $2 or so. And the tow didn't cost me anything either - covered under my insurance. Cool beans!!!!

I totally agree with you on this, Dan. Child endangerment of the highest degree.