Rooster_Ties

Yeah, I love that version of Stormy Weather too. Seems like something that would have been totally well suited for the Lee Morgan "Standards" album from around that same time (plus or minus, I forget exactly when).

There's a brand-new Borders Book store up north of Kansas City (near the airport), so if Streetside doesn't have it by Noon tomorrow (Wednesday), I may shoot up there and give them a try. I didn't go the Internet retailer route, cuz I was only planning on getting "Passing Ships" right now, and knew that the shipping charges would kill me on one disc. (I plan to get most of the rest sometime in the future, but I have several of them already on various Mosiacs, etc...)

I'm pretty sure it's out of print, but it does turn up on eBay here and there. Personally, it's my all-time favorite Gil Evans album (sans Miles), and would be well worth trying to find (even used) as a present for someone. Edit: None on eBay at the moment, but here's one at half.com: CLICK HERE Well worth $12.50 (plus $2.50 shipping), even used -- as long as the disc is in excellent shape. (Well, I think it's well worth that. Others may differ.)

WTF?????????

Really, I couldn't believe that Barnes and Noble didn't order ANY of the Conns, and Borders only ordered one of each title. I would have thought B&N would have had one of each title, and Borders two of each title. ( And I thought it was bad that Streetside only ordered two of each Conn, or at least that's what they did the last time Conns came out. "Streetside" is the only regional independant recordstore that carries much in the way of "new" CD's, or any Jazz or Classical (besides B&N or Borders). )

By the way, despite all the " " smileys in my post up above, I'm really not as much angry about not having "Passing Ships" in my hot little hands, as much as I just want to hear the damn music, and read the linernotes. ( Now if I still don't have one after tomorrow (Wednesday), then I might start to be a little bit on the "angry" side. And if I still don't have one after Thursday -- then I'm really gonna be pissed!! )

Although it bites bit-time to have to shell-out $15-$16 per CD for a whole batch of Conns, all at the same time (like if all of them are great), I will say that when you consider them individually (or at least when I do), I think that most of the Conns are well worth $15 or $16. Let's put it this way... There have been plenty of Conns that I've bought at the $15/$16 price, where there are quite a number of RVG's that I haven't bought, even though they were much cheaper. The typical "Conn" release is something I've been salivating about for a year or more, where quite a few of the RVG's are "nice to have", but not titles that I feel I gotta own the very day they come out.

Thanks Eric, Much as I appreciate your offer, I probably shouldn't introduce another complication into this, by borrowing yours when you really won't have had time to spend with it. I'm pretty sure Streetside will get theirs in tomorrow (since they didn't get hardly any new Jazz CD's in today, and none of their "new release" Classical titles). But if I can't score this thing by Thursday, I might consider your offer, which is much appreciated. (I live near K.U. Med myself, on the MO side.)

I'm pretty sure I can pick you up a used 'Modernistic' for something in the $7 to $9 range, if you're interested. Heck, I may even have an extra copy around the house, come to think of it. I'll take a look, and get back to you in a few days...

How true!!

Ditto!! Son of a bitch!!! Free For All and I got together to buy the new Hill Conn, and listen to it together for the first time. But at Noon today, Streetside Records still hadn't gotten their 'other' UPS shipments yet today. So we drive down to Barnes and Noble on the Plaza, and they don't have any of the Conns - nor was their store slated to carry them either (or at least they weren't ordered for people to buy today, "maybe sometime in the future though"). So, then we drive our asses down to Borders Books down in Johnson County, KS - and after we turn the store upside down - we finally find the crash-cart with all the new releases that they hadn't put out yet. And after 10 minutes of searching, we find 5 of the six new Conns. Anybody wanna guess which Conn they didn't have???? ("maybe it'll come next week????") So, we go get some lunch, and then drive back to Streetside, hoping that the UPS truck had finally been there by then (it was about 2:30pm by that time), and when we got to Streetside, there hadn't been any more UPS boxes delivered today, so "maybe tomorrow??".

The conns don't sell nearly as well because of their obscurity, so they try to make back some of the additional risk associated with selling them by charging more. The RVG's are more mainstream titles, and sell quite a bit better, and are often sonic upgrades of previously available titles. Like Africa Brass, I would be much more inclined to pay $10 for a Sonic Upgrade of a title I already have on CD, than I ever would if the RVG's were $15 each. ($10 and $15 are more like what I end up paying, per disc, after whatever discounts I can find.)

Son of a bitch!!! Free For All and I got together to buy the new Hill Conn, and listen to it together for the first time. But at Noon today, Streetside Records still hadn't gotten their 'other' UPS shipments yet today. So we drive down to Barnes and Noble on the Plaza, and they don't have any of the Conns - nor was their store slated to carry them either (or at least they weren't ordered for people to buy today, "maybe sometime in the future though"). So, then we drive our asses down to Borders Books down in Johnson County, KS - and after we turn the store upside down - we finally find the crash-cart with all the new releases that they hadn't put out yet. And after 10 minutes of searching, we find 5 of the six new Conns. Anybody wanna guess which Conn they didn't have???? ("maybe it'll come next week????") So, we go get some lunch, and then drive back to Streetside, hoping that the UPS truck had finally been there by then (it was about 2:30pm by that time), and when we got to Streetside, there hadn't been any more UPS boxes delivered today, so "maybe tomorrow??".

Nothing at Streetside Records, yet. There weren't any jazz titles (or classical) in any of the boxes of new releases they've gotten so far, and they usually get more stuff from UPS on Tuesday mornings. So, maybe sometime in the next hour or two - "come back at lunchtime" they said. Eric, I guess there's some real chance you'll get it in the mail, quicker than I will from Streetside!!!

Well, considering that a few titles had numbers assigned to them, and yet they never did come out "back in the day" (for instance, Sam Rivers "Dimensions and Extensions", or Blue Michell's very first album - the one with Joe Henderson), the numbering sequence doesn't necessarily mean that the LP came out at the same time as it's neighbors. (It does mean that it probably did, but it doesn't prove that it did.)

I see Dusty Groove now has a description for "Passing Ships". (They didn't as recently as a couple days ago - cuz lord knows I've been looking everywhere for any early words about this title.) So, this is the closest thing to a "review" that I've seen yet (though we all know how impartial Dusty Groove usually is )...

.....what, huh, yeah - yeah, I'm up, I'm up, I'm up. What, wait - you mean it's not Tuesday yet???? Geeze man, what the hell????? I'm going back to sleep...............

Actually, I've had a promo CD "Passing Ships" for about the last two months, but didn't want to spoil the suprise for everyone else. (HA!!!! I wish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

PS to Free For All --- I'll see you at Streetside at 10am tomorrow. We can give the disc a full spin in my car (as that's probably the best stereo either one of us has access to at the moment). It's a good system, and we can crank it -- not to "11", but at least to 6 or 7. Can't wait!!!

Are we there yet????? Oh hell, then I'm just going back to bed until tomorrow. Somebody wake me in the morning, although I'll probably wake up at 3am like it's Christmas morning.

I'm with Chuck on this. Keep it the way it is, and let the organ threads fall where they may...

Hello Kitty taxis now in Tokyo Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Posted: 12:46 PM EDT (1646 GMT) Hello Kitty cabs are equipped with the popular kitten character umbrellas, ponchos, and tissues for customers. TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- How's this for a relaxing cab ride: slide into the back seat of a pink and baby blue sedan with two Hello Kitty characters painted on the side, sit on a Hello Kitty blanket and listen to Hello Kitty music piped in through the sound system. This mobile paradise for fans of the popular kitten character is the latest service offered by a Japanese taxi company, Kanachu. The 10 Hello Kitty cabs -- equipped with Hello Kitty umbrellas, ponchos, and tissues for customers -- have been operating since April. Kanachu integrated the new taxis into their fleet of 500 cabs serving suburban Tokyo after deciding they needed a special service targeting children. They also figured there was also no danger of alienating anyone with the cute cat, said Katsuo Habu, a manager at Kanachu. Kanachu has licensed Hello Kitty from Sanrio, the character's creator, for three years. Fares -- about 660 yen for the first 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) -- are the same as regular taxis. The cars are driven only by women drivers, in part to satisfy Sanrio, Habu said. "The Sanrio people told us they associated taxis with bearded, smoking male drivers. That is why they were not really sure if they wanted us to use their character," Habu said. "But we told them that we would have female drivers and the cars would be nonsmoking." The ban on smoking alone has gotten a good response, he said. But the most popular feature is the free giveaways of Hello Kitty goods. "We hope mothers use our service when small children cry because they have to go to hospital or kindergarten," Habu said.

Also, I cannot possibly say enough good things about this CD by the 20th Century German composer Henze. This is a monster work, that is well worth $20 (IMHO), but they have it for only $3.99. Think of it as a 60-minute trumpet & piano concerto (combined), and don't let the "Requiem" title throw you - there are no vocal soloists, and there is no chorus either - it is a 100% instrumental work. 5-stars, in my book. (Also, this is performed by the same group (the "Ensemble Modern") who recorded Frank Zappa's "The Yellow Shark", so you know they're really damn good.) Henze, Requiem (9 sacred concertos for piano solo, trumpet concertante & chamber orchestra. Ueli Wiget, piano. Hakan Hardenberger, trumpet. Ensemble Modern/ Metzmacher) Add to cart | Price: $3.99 | Country: AMERICA | D/A code: D | Code: SK 58972 | BRO Code: 25775 | Label: SONY/CBS | Genre: Misc.Concerti

They also have both of the Andrew Hill "Freedom" titles circa 1974-75, for only $3.99 each. Both are outstanding. (The second one is a solo-piano date.) Webster & Kaper, Invitation. Andrew Hill, Tomorrow; Laverne; The Message; Today; Spiral; Quiet Dawn. (Andrew Hill {piano}, Lee Konitz {saxes}, Ted Curson {trumpets}, Cecil McBee {bass}, Art Lewis {drums} et al. Rec.1974-75) Add to cart | Price: $ 3.99 | Country: GERMANY | D/A code: A | Code: FCD 41007 | BRO Code: 106055 | Label: FREEDOM | Genre: Jazz . Ellington, Come Sunday. Andrew Hill, Snake Hip Waltz; Nefertisis; Relativity. (Andrew Hill, piano. Rec. Montreux, 7/20/75) Add to cart | Price: $ 3.99 | Country: GERMANY | D/A code: A | Code: FCD 41023 | BRO Code: 106053 | Label: FREEDOM | Genre: Jazz