skeith

Please, take the strings and/or sappy choirlike vocals off of: Bird with Strings Clifford Brown with Strings Ben Webster's - Music for Loving Ray Charles's - Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music (especially the Marty Paich arrangements!!!) If these are already available "naked" please let me know. I'm sure you have your own list

An interesting story about Horace's business acumen. Like Sangrey I have heard Horace is a good businessman. However, the only time I saw him live was in the mid 90's at Fat Tuesday's in Manhattan. It was before he got that recent contract with Verve or Impulse of whoever it is. After finishing an excellent set, he pulled out a ratty cardboard box from under the piano and proceeded to attempt to sell these cds from his own label to members of the audience. This actually brought me to tears!

I got interested in my middle to late teens and my first jazz album was "The Inner Mounting Flame" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra which I got right when it was released and this led me to Miles and Trane etc. and within about a year I was getting a lot of the nonfusion classic jazz stuff. I think that my prior interest in rock groups that used a lot of improvisation(Cream, etc.) and my interest in the blues prepared my way for liking jazz.

No one has mentioned Bird with Strings???? And for the record, despite some great solos, I hardly ever play it.

I owned the LPR and compared it to the 3 cd set. The sound might be a tad better in terms of fidelity, but I find that the LPR has an echo or reverb that I found very annoying so I sold it. I agree with Chuck that Nick Stabulus's playing is quite good. I even once did a blindfold test on a jazz knowlegeable friend and he couldn't tell Elvin from Nick. Of course Elvin is not playing like he does with Trane.

I agree with Dave James on this one. I picked it up and am loving it. Somewhere I read that this set won't replace the Fillmore set as the greatest live rock concert ever recorded, but this set is definitely not inferior. ABB fans will love it. One thing though, the liner notes say that Johnny Winter guest stars on one track (Mountain Jam- second day) but I can't discern that he took any solos.

SEK, does The Mountain contain the complete EKAYA album?

Thanks for the list Mikeweil, but no it wasn't on the list.

My favorite is called "Ekaya" - I wish it were out on Cd!

DRJ I guess everyone's equipment and ears are of course different. I am liking this FSS Conn a bit more than on first listen. I don't hear the air in the sax that you mention, but more and more I am liking the Conn. I still think Tony is down in the mix more than I would like and that the treble is a bit rolled off. Nevertheless, I might agree that it sounds better. By the way, my copy goes haywire in the last minute of track 10, seems a manufacturing defect so I will be returning mine for what I hope is a copy that works. I suggest everyone check theirs.

To those who say the new Conn of Fuchsia Swing Song sounds better than the Mosaic version, I have a few comments. I just got the Conn and immediately compared it to the Mosaic. The first track I played - Beatrice, obviously. I noticed that the tape hiss is gone on the Conn, but also it seems to me that Tony Williams is down in the mix (I hate that) and that maybe the treble was a bit rolled off-leaving less "air" in the mix. But in other ways, maybe it sounds better. I am still not sure what I think at this point.

Just got it and on first listen, I like it. It features Joe Lovano and Gonzalo Rubalcaba as other soloists. AfricaBrass might be interested in one of the tunes. Anyone else have it?

Just got this one and I like it better than Grass Roots or Lift Every Voice, but not as much as those first five Blue Notes, it is just not as adventurous in the writing and the soloists aren't quite up to that level. But hey, overall, I am enjoying it!

Jeez Lon, The only reason to come to NYC is to visit the Armstrong house? You are making us New Yorkers feel bad about our hometown. what about a visit to Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx where you could drop a flower on the graves of Duke, Miles, Hawk, Bags and others? You could visit Bird's apartment. And yes, there are even some living, breathing musicians in NYC that are worth seeing!!!!!!!!!! And you can always check out your organissimo buddies.

One reason to actually buy the Times as opposed to just reading Dan's links are all the great color photographs that accompany the article.

Some of Gato's finest playing and compositions are on Under Fire, which is to me actually better than Bolivia (which is the lead album under this cd), which is also good. This is before Gato went commercial with Herb Alpert on A&M, and if that's all the Gato you have ever heard, this will be a revelation. the sound is quite good (24 bit) and superior to the european jewel box version.

I have finally listened to all four discs and have to give it on balance (except for the Cedar noise reduction which I don't like), thumbs up!!! In spite of the Cedar, overall the sound is better than previous issues. The liner notes are superb. Ok, it is not a completist box, but as Lon said, if you get past that, you can deal. I also enjoyed the live cd very much.

Armstrong fans will enjoy this one. Several great articles.

Well, as a matter of fact there is a "lost" Hill from 1965 and that's the session that has Joe Henderson and I think Freddie Hubbard. (Maybe it is on the Mosaic box, I am not sure). I think that session beats "Lift Every Voice" and "Grass Roots". And to repeat what others have said, the fact that "Andrew!!!" has never been not out as a single is criminal (maybe because it was on the Mosaic box?). I haven't heard Ships yet, but as soon as I get it...

This is a difficult choice, but I do want to say that the Pat Martino "Live at Yoshi's" (with Joey DeFrancesco on organ) cd is one of the most satisfying new cds I have purchased in a long time.

I picked up this box and have only listened to Disc 1. My initial impression on the sound quality is that while better than a lot of previous issues, it is somewhat disappointing. I note that they used Cedar noise reduction on this box and it renders some tunes somewhat muted on the high end. For example, the best sounding version of Lester Leaps In I have ever heard is on the Ken Burns Cd called Lester Young, it has plenty of surface noise, but lots of fidelity. The new Basie Box gets rid of the noise on that track, but I feel a bit of the fidelity too. However, the sound quality on some of the other tracks appears to be superior to the Chronological Classics versions of the same tunes.

I believe what you guys are saying about the circuit. But it is sad and somewhat ironic is that the audience for authentic blues is becoming all white. That's a shame. To quote one of my favorite black political philosophers "in this great future, you can't forget your past".

Now I understand what you mean by taking chances and I agree, none of the solos get "hot" so to speak. But I very much associate this with the ECM sound, it is a laid back, more of a quiet fire kind of record.

I did not care for Bobby Rush. The guy clearly has talent, but most of the music featured in the program had little to do with the blues, seemed closer to James Brown. Also, I was very turned off by that "watch the butt" sequence. I thought it was demeaning, showy, and frankly nauseating. Sorry, but he ain't fit to even carry B.B.'s guitar case.

I don't have a problem with current performers doing the blues and transforming the songs. My issue with the program that featured James and Lenoir is what is Wenders's point in showing me these contemporary performances? Is he saying "see this music is still relevant because Beck is doing this song"? If so, Wenders insults my intelligence - I don't need Beck to show me it is relevant. If I want to see the blues performed by guys like the Stones or Clapton or whomever (and I like much of it), I can easily to find it, BUT in a program that has relatively little time to devote to a genre that has so many important artists, I think is a monumental waste of time to show these contemporary guys.