Jim Alfredson

Welcome, cooltrane. Don't mind these fools. They're a prickly bunch, but harmless and very helpful. It's all in good fun. B-) I'm 27 and I play organ. My trio's website hosts this forum. We're called "Organissimo" and you can hear what we sound like on the real home page which is at: www.organissimo.org The saxophonist on our record is Ron Blake, who records and tours with Christian McBride (the bassist) among others. He's a fantastic musician. Enjoy!

Quantegy bought Ampex back in the mid-90s. Ampex tape used to be the best tape you could buy. In the last few years, the quality has suffered enormously, to such an effect that I know many studio owners who actually look for old-stock, even if it has been used before (usually if it's only been recorded on once, you're ok, but you could still have dropouts) and they pay good money for it. No other company is currently producing reel to reel tape, the kind used in recording studios. So once the current stock of G9 is used up, that's it unless somebody else comes along and bails the company out or starts making their own tape. The smart thing to do, in my mind, would be to buy the Ampex name, which has a lot of clout, and start making really high-quality reel to reel tape and charge double what it was going for previously. People would still pay the higher price if it was as good as it used to be. I read this news awhile ago and was pretty bummed since an upcoming project with the trio was going to be tracked to 2", 24-track analog. It will probably be tracked straight to ProTools now. And yes, it's true that most studios are using harddisks so this doesn't cripple the industry. To my ears, however, analog tape still sounds better. The problem is that, like vinyl, it is now a boutique format.

It's professional audio, so I wouldn't want to risk it. Not like I can afford a new Mac, whatever the cost anyway.

Yessir, it's Big Ben Wallace from the Detroit Pistons! Don't mess with Big Ben.

Yes, but they are few and far between. Only like today when the snow is about 8 inches deep and still coming down do they close the schools. On topic, my wife decided that work is just too much right now (thank God!) She gave it her best go, but she is completely wiped out today and feels really bad (both physically and emotionally because she feels like she's giving up). I called work for her and they understand and I've tried to tell her it's not her fault. She gave it a go, it's just too early. I feel bad that there's not much I can do. She's lying down now and I'm watching little Zora (who is a crawlin' machine!)

Well, I just read that it won't have a PCI bus, so it's worthless to my current studio setup. I'd have to sell $1300 worth of computer audio interfaces and replace them with newer, firewire interfaces. Boo.

That's nuts. I wonder if whoever bought it will be able to turn a profit on the investment.

Thanks for posting that Blindfold Test, that was a great read! My favorite quote? Yeah, no kidding. Thanks a lot, John Hammond, for mixing the organ so far in the background you can barely hear it! He hated the organ so on those two Benson records for Columbia with Lonnie Smith, the organ is mixed waaaay back. Those records are great except that you can't hear Lonnie!!

Thanks for the concern, everyone! Alison went back to work for the first time yesterday. She is managing her symptoms... they have not gone away. She is still getting dizzy spells now and then and has the numbness, the constrictive feeling in her neck, etc. We are scheduled to see a specialist on January 25th in Ann Arbor. Until then, she has 14 working days to decide if she is able to work or not. So far, she is doing all right, but it is very hard and she is definitely not working up to her full potential. Today is sort of a snow day here in Lansing. Every single school is closed and she is waiting an extra hour to go to work since none of the roads have been plowed. Woo hoo! SNOW DAY!

As long as it has one PCI slot, I'm there with bells on my damn toes... http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0412expo2.html I love my PC that I built for music, but I know deep down that it would run even better on a Mac. Sometimes my PC freaks for no reason.

Sundog's post sums it up for me. I love both... I don't even know why we need to compare. That said, when I hear a Wes Montgomery solo, I am usually left speechless... and I'm not a guitarist. Wes was(is) a true genius. His command of the instrument, his harmonic sense, his melodic sense, his rhythmic sense, are almost unbelievable, especially considering he was completely self taught. When I hear a Grant Green solo, it makes me laugh... in a good way. He plays the same licks and riffs, splices them together in different patterns, but is always funky and fun. To me, it's like comparing Jimmy Smith and Charles Earland. One redefined the instrument and is a genius. The other doesn't have the same chops, but is still fun to listen to and his records can always be counted on to be funky and make you happy. The music world wouldn't be the same if either of them didn't live.

I like to think of them as the, "Oh yeah... that stuff is pretty good, I guess..." categories.

I would change George Braith's selection to "Boop Bop Bing Bash" or "Braith-a-way". But that's just me. Concerning Don Patterson, I just could not leave "The Good Life" off the list. If we had to go with an uptempo number, it would be "Little Shannon" for me.

Well,,,er...ummm...guess I left out Wild Bill Davis too, now that you mention it....and um, Milt Buckner...and...um....oh, yeah did I mention this was a 50's-60's ONLY thread. I would argue that until Jimmy Smith, the organ was basically a novelty. Sure, Fats and Wild Bill and Bill Doggett and Jackie Davis did some nice stuff, but it was kind of schmaltzy and for someone who has no exposure to the genre of "organ jazz", not very important. Jimmy Smith covered all that and then some.

If anyone wants to make one, I'll put it in. I ain't got the time nor the inclination.

It's all right looking, but not as cool as my SpongeBob watch from Burger King.

Soul Stream, the ultimate Don Patterson track is his take of "The Good Life" from The Exciting New Organ of Don Patterson. No one has done that song better.

Go get it anyway... and mail it to me.

Don't let that fool you. The opening track is worth the price of admission by itself.

Where can I buy some mitochondrial salad dressing? That sounds tasty!

My good friend and magnificent drummer Robert "Bubba" Grudner. He was a local cat (but did record with Dolly Parton) but he swung like a mofo and was a real sweet guy as well. I did organ trio hits with him now and then that were a lot of fun.

If you no want it, buy it and I buy it from you! All happy!

A fine choice, sir. Next, pick up The Cookbooks!!!

BTW, Soul Stream, it's good to have you back here posting again regularly, my organ-playin' brother from another mother!! We missed you!