Dave James

Hypocrites. They train the hotline staff to talk customers out of canceling their account. Exactly my reaction. Absolutely. This guy is not some random carbon atom. He's been trained to operate in this manner. Up over and out.

At a total cost of $3.87, how is it possible to go wrong? Even if it sucked (and it doesn't) you'd be out the cost of another steak sandwich. Read my lips: "GO FOR IT." Up over and out.

A tempest in a politically correct teapot. Can someone make this go away? Up over and out.

Why? IMO, there are few comtemporary jazz musicians who can hold a candle to the guys you've been listening to. Even if there were a bunch of them, they are mostly doing variations on the same theme. Why not stick with the originals? Up over and out.

Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" has been playing off and on in my head for so long I can't even remember when it started. It's like tinnitus. "Make a new plan, Stan...get off the bus, Gus." I'm going crazy after all these years. Up over and out.

Appreciation is like respect. It must be earned. Up over and out.

"Something New, Something Blue" is one that's available from time to time from Dusty Groove. That's where I got my copy. It sounds fine and the music is top notch. I bought this on the recommendation of a fellow board member, although I can't recall who it was. Here's the Dusty blurb: Manny Albam, Bill Russo, Teo Macero, & Others -- Something New, Something Blue . . . CD . . . $12.99 Columbia/Fresh Sound (Spain), 1959 The cover of this one makes it look like a no-name leaderless session, but this one actually features some great work by some very hip players! Half the album features vibist Teddy Charles leading a group of modernists that includes Hal McKusick, Frank Socolow, Bill Russon, Bob Brookmeyer, Mal Waldron, and Donald Byrd -- on tracks that have a bluesy base, but a bit of an edge to them. The other half features Manny Albam leading a combo with Al Cohn, Teo Macero, Art Farmer, Bill Evans, Phil Woods, and Eddie Costa. The session was done to showcase the talents of 4 of the best modern arrangers of the late 50s -- Manny Albam, Bill Russon, Teo Macero, and Teddy Charles -- all of whom contribute some great charts to a set of tracks that includes "Swinging Goatsherd Blues", "East Hampton Blues", "Blues In The Night", "Night Crawlers", and "Blues For Amy". Up over and out.

NBA officials stopped calling the game by the rules years ago. When was the last time you saw someone called for palming the ball, yet it goes on almost everytime the ball is brought up the court. How about three seconds in the key? Or how about calling Shaq every now and then when he backs someone down low and bowls them over on the way to the hoop? I know the game is fast and the athletes are better than they've ever been. If the league can't figure out how to keep up, then Cuban is probably just the tip of the iceburg. One other observation. What's the average age of an NBA referee? They've got some guys out there who are older than dirt. Up over and out.

Being from Portland where we've had to tolerate Paul Allen as an owner, I can say I would kill for someone like Mark Cuban. He's exactly what pro sports needs more of...someone who wears his emotions on his sleeve and who is not unwilling to show it and to take on the suits as necessary. I know he goes overboard sometimes, but if I lived in Dallas, I would absolutely love this guy. Don't necessarily discount the possibility that the officials are tilted against the Mav's. When you've been ripped by an owner as often as Cuban has ripped the NBA's referees, how could you not have it in for him? I'm not saying this is officially sanctioned by the league, but Cuban has been a burr under a lot of folk's saddles for an awfully long time. There is no way David Stern wants to see Dallas as league champions. I don't care how much he flaunts his neutrality. Who knows, maybe this is their way of sticking it to the man. Up over and out.

I'm not much into solo piano, so I'll pass on the Hill, but the Hutcherson looks very inviting. The fact that none of these have been released domestically makes it a virtual slam dunk. Up over and out.

GA, Don't get me going on the old Western Hockey League. My whole family was Portland Buckeroo fanatics. We even went up to Seattle to see them win the Lester Partick Cup in 1960 playing against the Totems. There were many seasons when my mom, my brother and I would see 25-30 home games. Remember those yahoos from Spokane, The Comets? Colin Kilburn, Red Johansen, Bev Bell, Jim Holdaway, Connie Madigan...God I hated those guys. Eddie Johnston was their goalie. You're right about the WHL. It was pretty much a league for has been's and never were's. We even had Al Rollins in goal for awhile. He was playing in the NHL in the late '40's with Chicago. Andy Hebenton spent four or five years here too. And we did have a few guys who actually made it to the NHL after they expanded beyond the orignal six. Dale Rolph, Jerry Korab and Pat Stapleton are names that come to mind. Boy those were the days. Thanks for reminding me. Up over and out.

Weizy, Nope, the headgear we were required to wear never had face masks. Crazy for sure, but when you'd gotten used to playing without a helmet, even those were hard to get used to. No mouth guards either. The only person who was thankful for that was my dentist. I lost five front teeth and in my last season had something like sixty stiches in around my eyes and chin. None of that would have happened with a face mask. But, as you know, hockey is nothing if it's not a gut check. I can remember getting stitches several times and then coming back to play the rest of the game. It was kind of expected. Now that you look back on it, it was really stupid. At the time, it didn't seem so at all. Up over and out.

Only one word for that. Tasty. He plays trombone a lot like Jack Teagarden in that he never moves his slide hand much below the bell of the horn. Also, did my eyes deceive me, or was that a six string upright bass? There are other vids here too. One of the 1961 Jazz Messengers w/ Morgan and Shorter doing "Dat Dere". One of some Japanese guy interviewing Miles Davis and one of Sammy Davis Jr. doing a pretty good impression of Michael Jackson. I didn't look at it, but there's a Cannonball Adderley video as well. Up over and out.

FYI, I got a note back from Mosaic last week in response to a suggestion that they consider putting together sets from Earl Bostic and Georgie Auld. They said they had tried to gain access to the Bostic material from King Records, but that their overtures had been rebuffed. They were more receptive to the Auld idea saying that this suggestion was of some interest to them. They may just be patronizing me, but as long as there's even a ray of hope, Lonesome Dave is a happy camper. Up over and out.

I'm not a fan of either of these teams, and the fact that the Oilers beat my Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs ought to turn me towards Carolina, but, nonetheless, I'd like to see Edmonton pull it out. If there's any good reason for this I guess it would be because they lost Dwayne Roloson early on and they've had to go with a third string goalie in Jussi Markkanen, who hadn't played in a single game in the last two months. So, while my heart says Edmonton, my mind says 'Canes. As John mentioned, it is a home game for them and that's historically worth about a goal. Add to that the fact that the home team in a game seven has almost never lost and it makes for a pretty potent pro-Carolina argument. The first goal tonight will be huge, and Markkenen needs to be on his best behavior. All things considered, Carolina by two. Weizy - Christian Brothers huh? I was a Northland first and Victoriaville second guy. We used to bend our own blades using hot steam and a drainage grate. Some of the bends were so severe you could do obscene things with a shot. Not much for stickhandling though. In the entire 12 years I played, I never used anything other than a wood stick. Hell, when I first started, you didn't even have to wear helmets. Up over and out.

JP, Congrats on the nups. Just remember, you've most likely eaten your last ice cream directly from the container. Then there's that thing with the toilet seat.... Up over and out.

Someone better run for cover. There are quite a number of rabid Patton fans on this board. Up over and out.

I sure hope this isn't anything permanent, or more importantly, that everything is OK with Alan. It would be hard to replace something as valuable and useful as Jazzmatazz. Up over and out.

Put me in the Justice League of America category. I was only ever a DC Comics guy. No one has mentioned J'onn J'onzz, The Martian Manhunter. He was green. I liked him. Didn't they do a movie of "Swamp Thing" with the lovely and possibly even talented but who cares Adrienne Barbeau? Up over and out.

While I'm sure this will cost them from a bottom line standpoint, you have to give them credit for staying away from a compiliation filled with nothing but laid back ballads. When I saw first saw this thread title, I'd have bet you a dollar to a donut that that's what this woud have been. How much would you give to have been fly on the wall when they (whomever "they" is/are) were deciding what tunes would go on this disc? Up over and out.

Oh man...Zeppelin I by a country mile. This was the raw, unaffected Zep, before they took themselves too seriously. Great blues ("I Can't Quit You Babe") some Eastern influenced finger picking ("Black Mountain Side") and two of the all-time great kick-ass rockers, "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times". All that and more and it was recorded in less than a single day. I liked songs from II and III too, most notably "Whole Lotta Love" and "The Lemon Song" from II and maybe their best ever slow blues "Since I've Been Lovin' You" from III, but for sheer, knock your socks off, unadulterated power, the first one beats the rest of 'em like a rented mule. Anything after IV (and that only because of "Stairway") doesn't do anything for me at all. I was fortunate enough to see LZ three times in Portland; May of 1969, March of 1970 and the last time in June of 1972. The two things I remember the most were Jimmy Page playing his guitar with a violin bow and the Ricky Nelson medley they did the first time I saw them. You haven't lived until you've heard Robert Plant do "Hello Mary Lou". Up over and out.

As I've said before, the bass should be heard but not heard. If one must solo, make it quick and make it pizzicato. Agree with Ken as to Chambers' arco ability. It always sounded to me like someone getting mugged in an alley. I love the recordings of The Red Garland trio on Prestige, but I still run for cover when Chambers cranks up a bowed solo. Up over and out.

Dan, I'm with you 100% when it comes to the skills these guys bring to the table. The club I was in back in the day had the only clay court in city of Portland. I played on that surface whenever the opportunity presented itself. A different game for sure, one that slows things down enough that it puts a premium on placement, shotmaking ability and good footwork. Nope, my only beef is in the personality department. You have to admit that when McEnroe was playing, there was always that on the edge element...the very real possibility of one of those I can't believe he did that moments, that kept me coming back over and over again and made me a huge fan of his game and the attitude he packed along with it. I remember the Sampras win, but for sheer emotion and the ability to engage, mesmerize and elevate every butt that was in (or out) of a chair during his matches with Patrick McEnroe and Aaron Krickstein, Connors win in 1991 was the stuff of legend...one for the ages and the capstone of a brilliant career. And, lest we forget, he was 39 years old at the time. Up over and out.

Tranemonk, I wish I could tell put my finger on exactly what it is about the Eldridge set that doesn't get it done. There's no questioning that at one time he was as fine a trumpter as you're likely to hear, but I think when these tunes were recorded, he may have been a bit past his prime. At least it seems to me that on some of the sessions, he's having intonation issues. I don't know, maybe I was just expecting too much given some of the reviews this set garnered from board members whose opinions I value, or maybe it's just the style of music. Even though I like a good ballad as much as the next guy, there seems to be a plethora of thusly tempoed tunes here, both with and without strings...more than you might normally expect to see on a set like this. And, needless to say, I really struggle with the Trad stuff. On the upside, I do like the Benny Carter material. Don't get me wrong, of the half a dozen or so sets I mentioned on my "mistake" list, this is the one I struggled with the most in terms of whether I should include it. Up over and out.

Handy's Roulette material would make for a helluva a Select. Up over and out.