Christiern

Irene was a sweet lady and I am sorry to hear that she had been in poor health. Don't know when the above picture was taken, but the bottom one is from my TV show, which she graced in 1971.

Thanks. Pardon my ignorance, my last real first-hand experience (i.e. prolonged) was with MS-DOS.

I may well be, Chuck. The one I hear bad reports on is the latest one--is it not XP? Or is XP the one people are reverting to?

I agree with your endorsement of Mac and memory requirement, MA61. As you note, 2GB is better and current memory prices favor upgrading--at least in the US. I have never used Windows' XP, but I hear only horror stories and find that many PC people I know are either switching to Mac or reverting to the older version of Windows. Conrad and MG are among the fortunate, I think, but it may also be that they are not putting XP to the test with demanding applications. Clunky, all new Mac should ship with Leopard. If you are being offered one with Tiger, don't buy it. I have been using Leopard since it was introduced and it is much better than Tiger, good as Tiger was.

to you, David!

Very nice site, both visually and intellectually. Ted Gioia sent me a note about it a week or so ago and I signed in. They deserve all the encouragement we can muster up.

"Now I have a question for all the respectable posters of the vinyl forum: Where did you spend you Christmas Holyday?" I'm not sure...had too much rum and remember only that I had to carry piles of vinyl discs into the tropical night. Trip after trip, it was exhausting.

sometimes Roman, more often not.

Avant garde

Conrad, I sent you a PM (lengthy, I'm afraid).

Most decidedly not!

Don Cherry Symphony For Improvisers w. Pharaoh Sanders, Gato Barbieri, et al Kenny Dorham Whistle Stop w. Hank Mobley, Kenny Drew, et al Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore Blowing in From Chicago w. Horace Silver, Curly Russell, and Blakey

I agree with Chuck re Rose--I think he takes himself far too seriously. As for Tavis, his interviews are painfully shallow. Give me someone like Bob Costas or Linda Ellerbee, but their questions were too informed, I suppose.

If it has a heart, you can cash in on it by making medical history, which should bring you enough income to rent a superbly furnished room in a dream neighborhood, and lure Wonder Woman in. I bet you'd have a sizable fortune left for further exploration. Give it some thought.

Cramer's strained theatrics make it impossible for me to watch him.

I need not be forgiven for liking Hank Williams (senior), Lotte Lenya, Carlos Gardel, and disco music. Nor do I apologize for never missing an episode of The Young and the Restless!

I concur. Chris XDB Guy

MANY HAPPY RETURNS, NATE AND MAY THE COMING YEARS BLOSSOM

There is, of course, no set of rules and I agree with you that the profession has attracted too many unprepared writers in recent years. Some of them have the writing skills but lack the ear and listening experience. I think the main requirements include having open ears, a yardstick by which to make valid judgements, and an ability to convey one's feeling in writing. Jim makes good points when it comes to what he looks for in a review. I have spent many decades listening to this music, both on and off records, so my yardstick and perspective are in order--I also think I have reasonably good taste in music. That said, a limited education (pre-high school dropout) and language barrier have definitely impeded my ability to express myself as eloquently as I would like to. I can thus look back on piles of liner notes and reviews that I wish nobody had ever seen, but I would be disingenuous if I didn't acknowledge a much smaller pile of writing that does not embarrass me. What I am trying to say is that one should aim high but not expect to hit the mark with every assignment. Above all, don't be discouraged--if what you express is honest, it will appeal to some and not to others. It has been my experience that people who read reviews find themselves drawn to the work of writers whose taste in music they generally share, and that they eventually find themselves relying on that source for direction. Times have changed, but in the pre-internet days, when I spent 28 years writing monthly for one magazine, it became clear to me that quite a few readers who lived in places where there was a dearth of jazz on the air or in the record bins, used my reviews as a purchasing guide. That does not necessarily mean that they bought what I praised--some took my dislikes as a must-buy signal. I love to read anything Whitney Balliett wrote, but I did not always agree with what his ears heard--other writers impressed me more with their opinions than their prose. You should not even give a thought to how your reviews will be received, just maintain integrity and never feel obligated to maintain a good or bad opinion of an artist. If a reader or artist finds you taking a u-turn from previously expressed opinions, they know that you are being honest, and they will respect you for that. To be critical of your own work gives you an incentive to improve it. When others are critical of your work, it can be a good thing--propel them to a u-turn with your next piece.

I think people who purchased jazz 78s tended to also subscribe to Down Beat and/or Metronome, two magazines that routinely listed sidemen/women.

Not really a jazz performance, nor a concert, but I recall being very embarrassed on behalf of Betty Davis when she went through her strenuously provocative body language as an accompaniment to her own I-don't-have-a-singing-voice-but-I'll-give-you-dirty-lyrics routine. I have mentioned this before, she was so bad that author Jamaica Kincaid, who was seated at the next table didn't wait to hear the end of the first number before she slammed shut her notebook, downed her drink, and walked out. I stayed, to see if her act could rise out of the gutter--it didn't, but neither did she get a published review from me. That, of course, was to her advantage.

Thanks, Dan, I rather like it!

Flush your minds, McG and Chuck!

Check this out.

It also makes an excellent jigsaw puzzle...