Dave James

A video clip from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zbPWUkj_os...feature=related Interesting. iTunes has a couple of his albums available if you'd like to hear more. Up over and out.

How time flies. I bought my first VHS recorder in the mid-70's; a top-loading RCA for which I paid the ungodly sum of $900.00. Back then, that just about broke my piggy bank, but it was one of those things I just had to have. The cost of the machine was one thing, but they also nicked you pretty good for the blank tapes. If I recall correctly, those went for around 20 bucks apiece. Still, the first time you came home from work and you could watch a movie that aired in the middle of the previous night, it was some kind of rush. RIP, VHS. Up over and out.

I'm in over my head when it comes to the possible metaphysical aspects of the now you see him, now you don't Lou, but if I had to guess, I'd say he's just working up an appetite for a good sammich. Up over and out.

Either Concord's marketing department has run out of ideas for repackaging Miles and Coltrane (unlikely) or they have remaining stock of these titles that were part of the sale of the OJC catalog (likely). I can't see there's any way they would be striking a new batch of these sessions. I mean, I love Tatro's Jazz For Moderns, but realistically, what is the sales potential for something like this? Up over and out.

Ubu, Was the Wyman bio you referred to, Stone Alone? Thanks. Up over and out.

At this point in his career, Wang has shown plenty of chops during the regular season and nothing beyond that. In Yankee land, that equates to no respect. It's the same thing A-Rod has been dealing with since he signed on. Is it legitimate? Yes and no, but only in New York are the expectations so high that what someone does in the post-season is all that matters. It's all about the hardware. One thing is certain, the expectations in 2009 are going to be off the charts. For sure it's going to mean the difference between on-field employment and life as a color commentator for Joe Girardi. With regard to Texiera, what I'm hearing is that neither he or his wife wanted to play in Boston. So when the Yankees resurfaced at the 11th hour, all parties concerned were more than happy to make a deal. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out in Boston. Apparently, they are unwilling to engage in negotiations with Kevin Youklis over a contract extension. That could make for an unhappy first baseman. Combine that with no Manny, real issues about the health of Big Papi and Mike Lowell, and you wonder exactly where the offense is going to come from. Up over and out.

It's easy in our ardor for the music to overlook the fact that these two guys were running a business. That being the case and as much as we'd like to think otherwise, it wasn't always about the music. They had a bottom line to attend to and while in retrospect, some of their decisions may seem to be short sighted or even biased, I'm sure they were making their calls in the context of what was best for their business. Does anyone really think that they would have sat on Tina Brooks' unreleased sessions if they thought they would sell well enough to justify their release? The fact that "True Blue" didn't do much probably justified their decision, at least in their minds, and that's all that really counts. Sure, we'd all like it if things had turned out differently and Brooks had been as prolific as a Hank Mobley or a Freddie Hubbard, but it wasn't to be. Bottom line, I think it's a mistake for anyone to draw conclusions fifty years after the fact especially when it involves decisions and justification for those decisions that we no way of knowing much about. Up over and out.

With 6 inches of snow on the ground here in Portland, I'm watching the Cowboys and Ravens. I can't stand Ray Lewis, but the Cowboys, well, that's something else altogether. Go Baltimore! Up over and out.

I've got this one and I would agree that it's a good, solid, if not great recording. The usual kudos to Dusty for going off the charts in their effusive support for this and any other CD they put up for sale. That aside, I also agree that there is a bit of a different feel to European jazz. While not hugely divergent from its stateside equivalent, it demonstrates some of the same differential shadings that used to, at least in theory, separate West and East Coast jazz. I am a big fan of Gianni Basso and Oscar Valdambrini, so I've tended to get ahold of as much of their music as I can whether they are playing together or separately. I just broke my short lived boycott of da bastids last night by ordering two more of their quintet and sextet sessions. My bad. Up over and out.

Michel, No, it's not bad to think that if that's what you think, but I'll bet you right here and now that if, in spite of your convictions, you went ahead and got the Mosaic box that was most interesting to you musically, I'd be surprised if you weren't at least willing to reconsider your position. There's a very good reason these are widely viewed as the Holy Grail of jazz reissues even without the original artwork. Here's another thought. Let's say Mosaic decided that the inclusion of the original artwork was viable. Even if they did, they certainly could not do so in a manner that in any way replicated the visual experience of an LP album cover. All they could do is reprint the covers at a much reduced size inside the booklet. Frankly, I think there's more nostalgia for the LP era going on here than anything else. And this is coming from someone who was as into LP's as one could possibly be. I still have 3,000 of these bad boys from the '60's and '70's sitting on shelves in my garage. I haven't listened to them in years, but I can't bring myself to get rid of them either. Up over and out.

When I first saw these commercials, I remember thinking this gal wouldn't have too much trouble passing for Amy Winehouse. Up over and out.

http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/ Up over and out.

J.H. Not at all. After reading your first post, I spent the last half hour trying to gather myself. Not only did I get the winning team wrong, but the year as well. I'm supposed to be a sports guy. I feel shame. Up over and out.

Baugh was the Redskins QB when they beat the Bears 73-0 for the 1942 NFL championship. Obviously, the most one sided title game in league history. And, yes, he was a great punter back before kicking became a specialty unto itself. Guys like Lou Groza, Pat Summeral, Steve Myrah, George Blanda, Sam Baker and many others all held down regular positions in addition to doing the kicking. Back in Baugh's day, the two way player was also the norm. The last NFL'er to go both ways was Chuck Bednarik of the Philadelphia Eagles who played both center and middle linebacker in the early '60's. R.I.P. Mr. Baugh. Up over and out.

Nico, Interesting. How did you locate this website? If I recall correctly, these recordings were all listed in the Fitzgerald discography, but who knew they were commercially available. Other than the first of the bunch, the sound is good. I think I'm going to pick these up and mainline a little unheard J.R. over the holidays. Up over and out.

I'm hearing that Texiera is still in play when it comes to the Yankees. The fact that the Angels eight year offer is still on the table tells me that Texiera sees himself as still being in play as well. While in the end, I expect him to resign with the Angels, it ain't over 'til it's over. The backup plan for the Yanks is...hold onto your hats...Manny. Lowe, Sheets and Petitte also remain in the mix. Like I said yesterday, they aren't done. Up over and out.

Happy BD to Organissimo's MVP. Hope you had a most excellent day. Up over and out.

Bill - I've got the Smith Lonesome Road CD. Unless you're a completist, I wouldn't put too much effort into finding this. IMO, it isn't a very strong session. As I recall, and I haven't listened to it for quite awhile, the recording quality isn't very good even though it's a Japanese reissue. Up over and out.

Well you know what they say, there's nothing quite as funny as a crucifixion. Real laugh a minute stuff. Meader must've already been well around the bend when he made this. Not that I don't feel sorry for the guy. The Kennedy stuff he did was inspired and it certainly looked like he could spend his career lampooning the President and his family. This would have been like Bill Dana trying to keep his Jose Jimenez astronaut character going after the Challenger disaster. Up over an out.

Same here. I find that reasonably peculiar since both physically and from an acting/performance standpoint, there's zero simliarity between the two. I guess it's got to be the name that creates the confusion. Up over and ouy.

I guess I'd rather roll the dice than stand pat. I agree that the Yanks are also in need of some offensive punch, but if you buy into the fact that their stated goal prior to free agency was to bolster the starting rotation, then this can't be anything other than a mission accomplished. I agree that Burnett is a roll of the dice health-wise, but the word is that last year was sort of transitional both in terms of maturation and becoming more of a pitcher than a thrower. Also, according to Hank Steinbrenner, they aren't done. What that means or if it means anything at all remains to be seen. Up over and out.

Whoops, they did it again. Yankees have signed A.J. Burnett. Things seem to be coming together nicely. And, it's still early. Up over and out.

Some of my favorites: Command Decision, A Guy Named Joe and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, but best of all, The Caine Mutiny. Johnson was the quintessential boy next door. He was well into his 90's when he passed. A long life and a good one. Up over and out.

We've got some folks right here on this thread who have produced their fair share of recordings. I'd be curious to know how alternate takes come about. Do you go into a session with the idea of doing a certain number of takes and then choosing the best one? If not, then someone has to make the decision that an alternate is necessary. Who does that and why? When and how do you know when you're finished or do you simply run out of studio time? With regard to alternate takes themselves, rather than just throw the baby in with the bath water, those who are responsible for remastering/producing a reissue ought to be able to tell when an alternate has enough value to warrant inclusion. I'm guessing if this was the norm, not many would be selected. The reason for this is that the musicians in a recording session aren't attempting to do something that different. If they're playing from written music, isn't the idea each and every time to ace the chart? It doesn't seem to me that this would create much of an atmosphere for differentiation. Even if they're are working from a head arrangement, I wouldn't think they'd tend to stray very far from the "basics", as that would be the recipe for a blown take. Up over and out.

Has anyone else seen this? It's the direct feed from Britney Spears' mike at a 2001 concert in Las Vegas. If this is real, and I don't know how one knows for sure these days, she needs to hit her knees every morning and thank the good Lord for vocal processing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ak1cpi74RM...feature=related Up over and out.