Dave James

Boy does that picture of Will Farrell ring a bell. That SNL skit is one of my all-time favorites too. After I saw it the last time I went out in the garage and dug out my LP copy of Agents of Destruction so I could listen to the song again. Boy was I disappointed when I realized the cow bell was barely audible. Put me squarely down in the MORE COW BELL camp on this one. Up over and out.

The Beatles on August 22, 1965 here in Portland, Oregon. Ticket cost me $6.00. Up over and out.

This will be my third year carrying the aforementioned Lady Precept. I've put up with all the wink wink nod nods that go along with using a woman's ball, but that doesn't make them any less soft or any less long. For those who can't deal with the emasculatory potential of being caught using a Lady, Precept addressed that last year with the addition of the Laddie. For all intents and purposes, the same ball, just with a more macho name. Up over and out.

Very sad news indeed. My sympathy to you and yours. Up over and out.

I haven't bought anything from Mr. Tanno for awhile, but a couple of years ago, we had three or four interactions. His customer service / responsiveness is by far the best I've seen in the entire CD online industry. Not to mention his prices. You absolutely cannot go wrong doing business with this gentleman. Up over and out.

Here one way to determine if you've gone around the bend. I'm aware of this line of reasoning only because I've fallen back on it more than a few times to rationalize a particular buying decision. I recently used it to help justify my purchase of the Coltrane Prestige box. Here's how it works. In this formula, we'll call the cost of the box "X". I already own six of the CD's that are included in this set. We'll call these "Y". I know I can sell "Y" for $24.00 at my local CD recycler. So, in my screwy little world it doesn't take much to convince me that the box really doesn't cost "X", but (X-Y). What the truly troubled like myself find a way to ignore, though, is the fact that the six CD's I already own originally set me back around $72. This we'll call "Z". So, the total cost of the box is really not (X - Y), but (X-Y) + Z. You know what I say to that? I say, get out the checkbook, I'm about to make a killing. That, my friends, is what addiction is all about. Up over and out.

Soul of Things is a recording that should be in any respectable collection. I believe it was Bev Stapleton who first championed him on the old BNBB. At least that's the first time I can recall hearing of him. To these ears, there's a fair amount of KoB in SoT. It doesn't get much better than that. Up over and out.

Agree with everything that's been said about Mr. G, the particularly odious Yanni and anything else that hasn't been said about others who are cut from the same cloth. What's really scary is the numbers of people these lame-o's draw to their live performances. It just serves to confirm what I think we all already know. No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public...especially when it comes to music. Up over and out.

Last I heard, Bat Boy had been comandeered by the U.S. Army to help them pursue Osama Bin Laden in Afganistan. He obviously has an affinity for caves as does OBL these days. Wonder if he's gone AWOL? Up over and out.

For me, it's Gil Evans. No one uses instruments like he does. Up over and out.

Looks like you're in the enviable position of being able to take the time to find a job that meets your employment criteria. First of all, hit your knees every night and say thanks for a wife who's willing to support you while you look for the right spot. Then ask yourself, "what do I have to lose by applying?" The worst thing that can happen is that you don't get the job and you're right back where you started. The best thing that can happen is you get it. But, you'll never know anything more than you know now if you don't throw your hat in the ring. One thing for sure...you don't want to wind up second guessing yourself and endlessly wondering "what if?" And don't forget, even if you get the job and it turns out not to be what you thought it would be, it's not like you're signing a lease. It sounds like an interesting spot for which you are well qualified. Up over and out.

Rooster - I also collect trainwrecks. Which Tyrone Washington are you referring to? Up over and out.

Miles, Coltrane, Duke, Krzysztof Komeda, Monk, Basie, Chet Baker, Hank and Nat King Cole. After that, round up the usual suspects. Lots of Grateful Dead too. Mostly Dick's Picks. Up over and out.

Mike - I got my copy of Song Everlasting from a guy in England. The information about this being a Capital release came from the AMG website. I'll have to check my copy when I get home tonight. Seems to me at one point, there were some joint releases. Up over and out.

FIrst of all, I'm assuming that the criteria for inclusion in any Select release is Blue Note first, Pacific Jazz second and United Artists third. I don't think any other labels have been represented thusfar in that catalog. Don Pullen recorded no less than eight different Blue Notes if you count the Capital release, Song Everlasting, as a BN. Titles were Breakthrough, Song Everlasting, Kele Mu Bana, Sacred Common Ground, Ode to Life, New Beginnings, Random Thoughts and Live...Again. Adams recorded three Blue Notes, Nightengale, America and Old Feeling. None of these included Pullen. George Adams appeared on just two of the Pullen dates, Breakthrough and Song Everlasting. So, if the criteria for the Select is just Don Pullen, there should be plenty to choose from. Or if it includes "solo" Adams on BN, then all the more so. If it's Pullen and Adams together, then it looks like they'll have to go outside the BN/PJ/UA box to populate this new set. As long as Breakthrough and Song Everlasting are included, everyone should be happy. I went "cost be damned" nutso a couple of years ago and hunted down six of the Pullen BN's on e-bay, so I'm probably not as jazzed as others about this upcoming Select, unless, of course, it includes some non-BN material. I will say, though, that there are some tunes on these outings that will flat blow you away. Not the least of which, as Shrugs so aptly pointed out, is We've Been Here All Along. That one is at the very top of this heap...or, for that matter, any other heap. Up over and out.

Impulse, Atlantic, Europe, Vanguard, Miles & Trane and, as of last Friday afternoon, the Prestige. Got it used for a pretty good if not great price. I've listened to about 4 of the discs and I have to say "Soul Eyes" on "Interplay for Two Trumpets" is as good a tune as I've heard in awhile. Up over and out.

When I was working in jazz radio, I had access to the station's rather substantial collection of vinyl recordings. I admit to spiriting a few out of the studio from time to time to dub onto cassettes. For whatever reason, the station has a nice selection of Marshall Royal led small group sessions. I think I must've taped at least 4-5 of these....all uniformly good. Nothing fancy, just the sort of thing you'd expect from a Basie acolyte. Jim's post reminded me of how much I enjoyed his recordings as a leader and how much I'd like to see them issued on CD. But, most of all, I wish I still had the tapes. Unfortunately, all the obscure stuff from the station that I recorded got ripped off in a car break in. Guess it was some sort of pay back for borrowing things I shouldn't have borrowed. Seems to me Royal led one iteration of the Basie band after Basie passed away. Didn't he have a brother, Ernie, who was also a musician of some repute? The book sounds very interesting. Carpe Diem indeed. Up over and out.

Late - Thanks a bunch. That is indeed the one. Up over and out.

There's a DVD that came out a couple of months ago, or at least that's when I first noticed it, that's a collection of famous jazz films. Included among them are a Lester Young short from the '40's, Miles Davis & Gil Evans, Davis and Coltrane, and the CBS show "The Sound of Jazz." I saw it at Dusty Groove once and it was in the last Collector's Choice catalog, but for the the life of me, I can't remember the name of the DVD. Can someone help me out with this? Thanks. Up over and out.

I think in smaller doses, strings are good. As Chris A. points out, there are a handful of jazz with strings recordings that are classics in every sense of the word. What I find amusing are the liner notes that almost always accompany recordings within this genre. Invariably, whomever pens the notes goes out of their way to differentiate the recording at hand from the hoards of jazz with strings efforts that feature overblown, maudlin, cloying or pretentious string arrangments. So endemic is this kind of commentary, that one wonders where the "with strings" CD's are that are truly rotten or if. in fact, any really exist. Up over and out.

It's official. The Eagles will get Owens. Great news for Eagle fans everywhere. In return, they give up Brandon Whiting to the Niners. I hate to lose him, especially since they play defensive line by committee, but with the addition of Jevon Kearse, he was probably not as much in their plans as he would have been otherwise. All the Ravens get is their draft pick back from San Francisco. If I was a Ravens fan (which I'm not) I'd be pissed. Didn't they give up one of their up and coming wideouts to free agency while this Owens thing was percolating? Now if the Eagles can just figure out how they'll put a secondary on the field, everything will be fine. Up over and out.

Don't rely on The Oregonian. Willamette Week has the most comprehensive listing of upcoming performances. Plus, it's free and readily available. Any coffee shop (and there are hundreds if not thousands of these) worth its salt should have them available. As far as venues go, Jimmy Mak's is a good bet. Check their website at jimmymaks.com. That will give you a listing of upcoming gigs, location etc. Or if your nostalgic for the Brasserie, their website is brasseriemontmartre.com. Unfortunatley, Jazz de Opus closed their doors several months ago. Much is the pity. Up over and out.

Even though he's pretty well represented in my collection, I would not call myself a big Jimmy Smith fan. Nonetheless, I voted for his "Standards" BN. I chose to approach this like AMG approaches their CD ratings, i.e. stars are granted and relative worth measured only in the context of a given performer's body of work. I know I may pinch a lot of nerves by saying this, but outside of "Crazy, Baby", I'd rather listen to "Standards" than just about anything else Jimmy Smith has done. I really think it's one of his better efforts. Up over and out.

Gotta go with the Davis Evans collaboration. I could listen to this stuff for days on end and never tire of it. It's absolutely unique music. There was never anything quite like it before and there hasn't been anything quite like it since. The quintessential "motive meets opportunity" pairing. Even the lesser lights in the box shine like a new dime. Up over and out.

I probably have a couple of dozen Swedish jazz CD's in my collection, mostly on the Dragon label. This is real deal...these guys can play with the best. Lars Gullin and Arne Domnerus are probably the two most recognizable names, but there are all kinds of lesser known guys who are top of the line players. If you want to take the plunge into Swedish jazz, I dare say you will not be disappointed. Up over and out.