Eric

Good call on the Phoenix. There is usually a good, fun crowd. Another place (at the Plaza) is Jardine's which is ~ 46th and Main.

Odd, I had the same issue with a box set (wonder if it was the same guy). I may have to try some of these suggestions.

Think the concert is at the Folly (Yup), not The Gem. (Do feel free to check out the Blue Room if you're so inclined, Michael, but FYI - it's a good mile or two east of the Folly.) Yikes, thanks for catching that Tom (I was thinking the Gem). The Folly is downtown - you will probably be staying there as well. Sadly, there is relatively little of interest downtown, either from a dining or entertainment perspective. Are you going to have a car? I would recommend it - KC is a lousy cab town. There are some worthwhile destinations in the Westport and Plaza areas, which are south of downtown - these places sort of replace our downtown for anything fun. I would still suggest either Bryant's or Gates for lunch, both are off Brooklyn, which is east of downtown off I-70.

The sound on the Jorgie's set is iffy. Belgium is worth the $$$.

Arthur Bryant's for lunch. It is close (not walking distance but short car ride). Definitive KC BBQ. There is also a Gate's close by that is quite good. After the gig, cross the street and check out the Blue Room!

Early listens for me that got me hooked on jazz (25 years ago): Wes Montgomery - So Much Guitar Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack McCoy Tyner - Sahara Miroslav Vitous - Mountain in the Clouds (not an obvious choice, but a nice bridge from my rock-oriented tastes, plus it is a nice record) I also had "101 Best Jazz Albums" by Len Lyons perpetually checked out from the local library. It was a great resource. A few other early ones: Art Pepper - Meets the Rhythm Section Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage Freddie Hubbard - Hubtones Sonny Rollins - Work Time Coltrane - My Favorite Things Art Ensemble of Chicago - Nice Guys and AEC with Fontella Bass David Murray - Murray's Steps Woody Shaw - Little Red's Fantasy Horace Silver - Doin' the Thing My advice - don't get bogged down in sub-genres or styles. Do not assume that you won't like something because it is "difficult" or "not good for the uninitiated". Take chances - you can alway trade it back! I loved everything (and still do) on the list without really knowing that some of it was "soul jazz", "hard bop" "west coast" or "avant garde". I was also fortunate enough to get to know the jazz studies professor at college, who I talked into creating a one credit hour course (I was one shy of gradulation) that involved mapping all the guys that came through the bands of Miles Davis and Art Blakey. Spend a lot of money on "books" to get that one done. Have fun!!!

From his website (I was guessing I would not find any of these at Best Buy): The first quarter of 2007 will see the release of a George Duke MPS albums Box set. So far, except for my website, it will only be available in Europe. Individual albums and songs will be available as a digital download from iTunes and other legitimate digital download services. The box set will include: Faces In Reflection, Feel, The Aura Will Prevail, I Love The Blues, She Heard My Cry, Liberated Fantasies.

Where best to find examples of this work?? Thanks

There are a couple good used places in Raleigh not too far from NC State. One is Reader's Corner and the other is (yes) Nice Price books. They are both on Hillsborough.

An alternate version of the cover - from the CD perhaps?

There are a few Mainstream records on iTunes. There is a Land and the Farmer mentioned above. Maybe a Charles McPherson too.

Yes Bertrand, I remember going to Tower in the Village in the mid-90s on business trips and dropping one or two hundred each time (hauling away many TOCJs). Same for the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago and Jazz Record Center in NY. And Amoeba & Rasputin in Berkeley. Fortunatley these large independents are still with us (I think). Ironically (and wonderfully), they seem to be the winners in all of this, plus the used record stores (although they too are becoming scarce). On the flip side, between Amazon, Gemm & ebay, there is almost nothing I cannot find in a matter of minutes (if you want to pay the price). But I completely agree that the experience is nowhere near the "off line" version. PS - I cannot remember the last time I visited a KC record store - maybe early in the summer. Aside from a great used store in nearby Lawrence, there is nothing here of interest (in a 1.5 million metro area with a decent jazz background).

I agree, although frankly it has been a number of years since even Tower provided that experience.

Buck was a very visible and active member of the KC community. It sounds cliched, but he will truly be missed. And yes, he got royally dicked on the HOF voting

I love this record ...

Nope, I received the same CD today - plus they Fed Ex'd it overnight, which was an upgrade.

This can now be downloaded at iTunes ...

I am less enthusiastic about this one ... I much prefer Backlash and High Blues Pressure, but of course, YMMV ...

Try doing a label search at CD Universe. They list almost 350 titles (note that a number of them are blues CDs). I am pleasantly surprised that they seem to have staying power.

Steve Coleman??? (although I don't own of his CDs)

Anybody"?? I'm guessing that more than half of us here on this very board own at least one leader-dates by the person in question, and several of us probably own 5 or even 10 of his leader-dates. Gotta be Kenny Garrett!!! No, NOT Kenny Garrett -- but that's a GOOD guess!! Heck, I might have even guessed that myself!! Also, I just checked, and the guy I'm thinking of wasn't on the "Blue Turtles" tour, but rather he was on the "Nothing Like The Sun Tour" in 1987. I've never heard any tapes, but would like to sometime. Back to Google ...

Anybody"?? I'm guessing that more than half of us here on this very board own at least one leader-dates by the person in question, and several of us probably own 5 or even 10 of his leader-dates. Gotta be Kenny Garrett!!! What do I win? Hope it is not a Sting CD

I am in tears (again). Very, very funny

Yeah, I have this on lp and think it is somewhat lame compared to the ones Blue Note issued on CD. Grooves are just a little too simple/repetitive. Flame away

Tom - I think the acoustic version of WMGGW is included in the video clip I linked to above.