Dave James

I think it was the Serge Chaloff, but it could have been the Tina Brooks. I keep the receipts in he boxes too, but I'd have to look to be sure. Up over and out.

Does anyone have any idea where I could locate a CD copy of Cecil Taylor's "One Too Many Salty Swift And Not Goodbye"? I believe it's a 2 disc set on the Hat Hut label. Thanks. Up over and out.

To coin a phrase from Seinfeld, "It's gold, Jerry, gold." You should not be disappointed. Up over and out.

Dan, With regard to the format of my last e-mail, I knowingly replicated your approach. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. However, I must tell you that I deliberately left out a most important piece of the puzzle. The one arrow in the Yankee's quiver about which Red Sox Nation can only whisper. I speak of ghosts my friend. The ghosts of 1978, 1986...the same ghosts that reappeared on a cold, late, October evening last Fall in the House that Ruth built. Dare I say it? THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO The three "B's"...Bucky in '78, Buckner in '86 and Boone in '03. The fact that the Sox have been in but four World Series since 1918 and have lost all four in the 7th game. I'm not one who generally holds with this sort of mumbo jumbo, but in this case, the evidence rises to a level that's at once indisputable, irrefutable and undeniable. Woe is you. I know both of us are looking forward to the coming season with more anticipation than ever before. Should be fun. Let the games begin. Up over and out.

Under no circumstances would I stick my neck out far enough to say the Yanks are a lock. There's no such thing. For a round object, a baseball has been known to bounce in some mighty strange and unpredictable ways. I still like the Yank's chances, but to say they're a cinch to win it all, or even to win the AL or the AL East for that matter would be sheer folly. I know the Sox have beefed up and the Yanks lost some key players, but consider this. The Yanks won 101 games last year and added the following players: Javier Vasquez - 13 game winner 3.24 ERA for MONTREAL! Kevin Brown - 16 game winner 2.39 ERA. Paul Quantrill - 89 games 1.75 ERA. Tom Gordon - 77 games 3.16 ERA. Not to mention Jon Lieber who won 20 for the Cubs two years ago, He may be the key piece of the whole pitching enchilada. Or, Steve Karsay who may be ready by mid-season. On the offensive side: Gary Sheffield - .330, 39 HR, 132 RBI's. Kenny Lofton - .296, 30 steals. Alex Rodriquez - only the AL MVP. Tony Clark was signed to back up Giambi, so while he's no Nick Johnson, he won't be asked to do what Johnson was asked to do. I also expect that the Yanks may work Eric Almonte at second base. He's probably their best minor league hitter. I'd also like to see Jeter at the "4" but that isn't going to happen. As I said earlier...I like our chances. Up over and out.

Dan, Well that's not exactly what I said, but now that I think about it, I can probably live with your interpretation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but with all this October trash talk, my cheek has begun to smart. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's almost like someone has throw down the perverbial gauntlet. Can this possibly be true? Up over and out.

I haven't commented under the Hot Stove League thread as I haven't been able to get my hands to stop shaking since the Yanks landed A-Rod. They finally settled down this morning. I'll tell you one thing, if you're either a Yankee fan or a Red Sox fan, this is war. I love it. Now, having said that, you'll get no argument from me that what The Boss is doing isn't good for baseball. Nonetheless, he is still coloring inside the lines, no matter how antiquated and unbalanced those lines may be. Baseball needs to get its financial house in order and if this kind of thing in any way hastens that eventuality, then more power to it. I will also say that I'd rather have an owner like Steinbrenner who's not afraid to plow money back into his franchise. That's a whole lot more than you can say for an ownership group like the one that has the Mariners. The M's sell out Safeco Field for almost every home game and you absolutely know someone is making a boatload of money, so what do they do...they go out and sign tomato cans like Raul Ibanez. If I was an M's fan, I'd be marching in the streets. You had to love the smackdown The Boss laid on Sox owner John Henry last week. Someone said it reminded them of that famous picture of Ali standing over Cleveland Williams after he'd knocked Williams into the middle of next month. Henry should know better than to haul that weak s__t into George's kitchen. Up over and out.

Chris - I think your review was right on the mark. Part of any reviewer's job is to point out the plusses and minuses of that which is being reviewed thereby affording those who read the review and who may be to a greater or lesser extent influenced by or dependent upon it, a fair and balanced perspective. Like many others, I had been curious about the Benedetti for years, but I was reluctant to drop $112 on something that was so obviously flawed. Finally, I took an exploratory plunge when I won an auction on e-Bay for CD's 3&4. I was also able to get ahold of Phil Schaap's notes, so having the booklet was less of a reason to buy the complete box. However, after listening to the two CD's, I find myself no closer to a decision than I was before. The recording quality is, in a word, abyssmal. But, the musical documentation itself is fascinating. I guess it would boil down to what others have said...if you're a big fan, it's certainly worth having. If you're not, you'll probably play it once and wonder what you were thinking about when you decided to buy it. My bottom line? I'll probably end up getting it. Just not for awhile. Up over and out.

After observing this new board closely for the last several days, I have drawn two conclusions. First, it walks like a duck. Second, it sounds like a duck. I have therefore determined that it is, in fact, a duck. Point being, you can "Europe up" this board all you want, but for all intents and purposes, it's the reincarnation of the original BNBB. My question is, why are they going to the trouble of disguising it? Why not just put up a new BNBB? Can someone help me understand what I'm missing? Up over and out.

According to the March issue of Downbeat, the following boxes on on the horizon: Mosaic: The Complete Argo/Mercury Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet Sessions. Prestige: The Complete Dexter Gordon Prestige Recordings. Verve: The Complete Norman Granz Jam Sessions. This is the studio equivalent of the JATP. I assume it will include players like Parker, Webster, Hodges, Shavers, Peterson, Kessell and Heard. Downbeat says most of these sessions have never been released on CD. Had not heard any of this before. The Jazztet recordings are particularly welcome. I had been toying recently with the idea of picking up Japanese reissues of all these recordings. Now I can just sit tight and wait for the Mosaic. Up over and out.

Gotta go with Wingy Manone. Up over and out.

I guess I'm not surprised. Tower isn't very diversified, and this kind of niche marketing operation is going to stuggle in the face of the online Hun. We used to have two Tower outlets in Portland. One closed a couple of years ago but the other is still kicking. They had a two hour customer appreciation sale last Friday with all CD's and DVD's 30% off. Hopefully, they'll stick around long enough to have a few more of those. Up over and out.

What Chrome said: All Along the Watchtower Red House Crosstown Traffic Never saw Hendrix, although he did play a number of times here in Portland. Get this. One of those times, he was the opening act for The Monkees. Nice pairing. I think if I was Mike, Peter, Davy or Mickey, I'd have hidden in my dressing room. Up over and out.

Who cares about Janet Jackson? Up until Sunday, she was flying so low, she wasn't even on the radar screen. Of course, this will temporarily boost her otherwise sagging career, but in a few weeks, pop culture will have refocused on the latest flavor of the month. I'll give Jackson credit for one thing...knowing how to attract attention. This is the personification of the old Hollywood adage, "you can say anything you want about me as long as you spell my name right." What leaves me slack jawed is the extent to which this insignificant event has captured the attention of the entire country. If this doesn't tell you all you need to know about the decline of Western Civilization, I don't know what will. Up over and out.

Rooster - Hope everything resolves itself as positively as possible. A trying time for you and your family no doubt. There's something about a parent falling into harm's way that causes us to confront our own mortality. Nothing about any of this is very pleasant. Keep us posted when you can. Up over and out.

The March issue of Jazz Times includes a very interesting article on George Braith. It's part of their "Overdue Recognition" series. Lots of "shop" talk about what he's been up to, some interesting historical information, including some tasty stuff about his relationship with John Coltrane and everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask about the Braithophone. Up over and out.

Gary Giddens column in the March Jazz Times is about the three "new" Ellingtons scheduled for release in February. Good article. Up over and out.

Johnny, Ibanez' earlier stint in the Queen City would not lead one to believe his return trip will be the stuff pennants are made of. In his entire career, he's had one good season and that was with Kansas City, in a ballpark that's arguably the most hitter friendly digs (outside Coors Field) in the bigs. I'd be surprised if his numbers are anywhere near what they were last year. Up over and out.

Conn 500 - I guess I just have a hard time seeing his style fit with present day players. He's old school all the way and today's NFL is a brave new world. I'm not saying it would have been impossible for him to adapt, but I think it might have seriously compromised his values and I'm not sure he'd be willing to do that. I'll tell you one thing, I'd love to put Joe Horn in Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine, send him back to Green Bay in about 1963 and have him pull that cell phone stunt. He'd have hit the waiver wire the next morning. I think it was Lombardi who espoused the "act like you've been there before" approach when it comes to scoring. I just don't see actions like Horn's or Tyrell Owens' or sack dancing or choreographed multi-player post TD celebrations peacefully co-existing with the Lombardi philosophy. Up over and out.

I think Lombardi demanded from others exactly what he demanded of himself and that tended to set the bar pretty high. Of course, no coach is going to be "great" unless he wins and in order to win, you've got to have the horses. As we all know, he had 'em in spades. Even now, I can could probably name 15-20 of his players from that early '60's era, and I couldn't stand the Pack. But, having great players is one thing. Molding them into a great TEAM is something else entirely. I still love some of the motivational phrases he coined. Wasn't he the "there's no "i" in team" guy? And I know he originated one of my favorites, "show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser." I've used that phrase to justify my less than exemplary behavior in a number of different sports. You have to wonder how a guy like Lombardi would have made out in today's NFL. I have to think not so well. Up over and out.

I think Boone's a genuinely nice guy, but in spite of his hitting one of the bigger home runs ever hit in Yankee Stadium, I'm not convinced he's cut out to play in the Apple. Let's face it, up until he dialed 9 that fateful night, he'd been a major disappointment. So many times, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights, especially in the playoffs. And I don't even want to get into his cutting off the throw to the plate in game 2 that may have cost the Yanks a win. Assuming Boone is gone for the '04 season, that really puts the Yanks in a bind. Wilson and Cairo are not everyday players and Drew Henson hasn't givne anyone any reason to believe he can play in The Show. I have no idea who they have down on the farm, but it could give someone a real opportunity. Otherwise, it's going to be a patchwork situation all year long. Not good. No use to discuss the stupidity of playing basketball when that's specifically excluded in your contract. How dumb do you have to be to do that? Wow. I could understand it better if it had happened to his brother, who's so juiced up on steroids, he probably doesn't think very clearly. Up over and out.

This is my favorite Grant Green session...period. Up over and out.

Jim - Glad to see this. It has to be extremely gratifying to start making some serious headway in what has to be one of the toughest businesses around. Up over and out.

I noticed in the most recent Mosaic brochure that the Eldridge set is one of those that will be made available over the counter. The insert said it would be released to retail shortly after its initial issue in November of 2003. Was wondering if anyone had come across this. If so, how was it priced? Up over and out.

I've become a shaving switch hitter. For Christmas, I was given a Braun electric, the kind that dispenses lotion as you shave. My S.O. got if for me because she was tired of me complaining about razor cuts. The Braun does a passable job but it doesn't get as close as I like. So now, after I'm done, I wait about a half an hour and then do a light once over with a bit of shaving cream and the old Gillette triple track. Cuts appear to be a thing of the past and it makes for the closest shave I've ever had. Up over and out.