xybert

Regarding Apple ditching paid downloads at some point in the future, i read about that somewhere too. Nothing official announced etc, from memory the article i read was speculative, may have cited anonymous insiders etc. I think the gist was that times have changed since the iTunes store first opened: everyone's streaming now. Yes, Apple has had it's own lossless audio codec for a long time in ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec rather than Free Lossless Audio Codec or FLAC). Last i checked, which was a long time ago, ALAC wasn't an option for iTunes downloads purchased from the iTunes store. This frustrated me at the time because i use ALAC for ripping CDs and don't want to pay full price for lossy downloads (even if they're good quality and you arguably can't tell the difference etc). There was talk that they might start offering albums/songs in the ALAC format from the store but i don't think it ever happened.

New Taylor Ho Bynum and Mary Halvorson albums are coming out. The preview tracks for each album on Bandcamp sound nice as f@&!! Can't find personnel for the Halvorson but that sounds like Steve Lehman taking a solo. Will be intersting to find out whether that's him (edit: it's not). http://firehouse12records.com

Eri Yamamoto has a new album out on Aum Fidelity: http://www.aumfidelity.com/aum099.html I'm quite a big fan of her trio which has been recording and playing together for quite some time. Relaxed but warm and with a lot of flavour (as opposed to relaxed but cold and flavourless). I've been checking the Aum site for ages hoping to see a new release from her and i'd almost given up. News of this release made my day.

The full Corea album is on Youtube: Can't comment on the Marion Brown sorry but thanks for the heads up on these!

I haven't followed hip hop for many years but in the late nineties/early two thousands i was massively into stuff which i'm not quite sure if it qualifies nowadays but seemed quite left-field and noisey at the time. Stuff like El-P, Cannibal Ox, Nephlim Modulation Systems, Infesticons, Antipop Consortium etc. El-P's Fantastic Damage is one of my all time favourite albums.

We can quibble about pre/post 1990 but, yeah, agreed. It's one of the reasons that i feel like Threadgill's music potentially has a lot of cross-over appeal for people that normally aren't in to Jazz as such.

Yeah, that is partly it for me. It's like it evokes scenes from an imaginary movie. That, and the music is soundtrack-esque in some ways. But also, it's almost like the music is narrating a story, like it's an aural movie.

Love this album! For some reason i've gotten the impression that it was slightly underrated among Threadgill fans, although i'm not quite sure where i picked that up from. I've always thought of it as being quite a cinematic album, although i'm not sure whether that will mean the same thing to me as it does to you (i'm not even really sure of what i mean myself). Like others have noted, Grief is a highlight. I've always loved that bit that starts about halfway through Crea where there's that strumming guitar riff and then the horn comes in over the top. Regarding Threadgill not playing on a couple of tracks... different strokes, sincerely, but i've never had an issue with stuff like that with artists like Threadgill. I guess for some it would be like "why have a Sinatra album where he's not singing?" And i get that... the instrument(s) that you play and soloing are a huge part of jazz... but... case by case i guess. If say Hard-bop is your thing, i get that it's part of the language (although, even then it might be cool if sometimes the leader felt free to lay out on the occasional track). I just feel like, if you're a composer and you're coming up with stuff... wouldn't it feel kind of constraining to feel like you have to blow on everything, even if it doesn't suit the song? I guess if that's you're thing you would compose with featuring your blowing in mind. Anyway, the thing that kind of opened my mind on it was all the recent Zorn albums on which he doesn't play, and some Pat Metheny albums where it's just like "this song is awesome, but fine as the solos are, are they needed? It feels obligatory because this is an album from a guitar player. Do you really need to set aside these bars for guitar solos?" Possibly bad examples depending on how favourably you view Zorn and Metheny as soloists, but the point remains. Ever listened to a track where the leader is laying out and wondered "what if he never came back?" Miles voice on trumpet is indelible... but there are times where i'm listening to tracks of his and... he's not playing at this moment, and it's awesome, and it's still Miles. It's a very small step to "what if he didn't play on this track at all?" Anyway, this is something that has always interested me.

Sad to hear of Bobby Hutcherson's passing. His name on a record is always a good sign.

Cheers Steve. I found Fictive Five on Bandcamp. Had a quick listen and it seems really good, though a bit 'heavy' for me at the moment (although i'm listening as i type and there are obviously peaks and valleys). Will have a proper listen later.

I haven't really been keeping up with new releases this year; there hasn't been a lot of must haves for me and i've passed on quite a few that i probably would have picked up in previous years. Some 2016 highlights for me: Anthony Braxton - Quintet (Tristano) 2014. Great stuff. 7 discs is a lot of material but i found it very engaging throughout. Easily my standout album of the year so far. Audio One (Vandermark) - What Thomas Bernard Saw. Came out on on December 25th 2015 so pretty much a 2016 release. If you like this group's previous albums you'll dig this one. Apart from that, really enjoyed Harris Eisenstadt's old growth forest. I'm a fan. Ellery Eskelin's Trio Willisau is the Trio New York with Gary Versace but with Gerry Hemingway on drums instead of Gerald Cleaver. Again, i'm a fan of Eskelin's albums with Versace so this is another treat. Picked up the new Nova Express album, Andras. It's part of Zorn's Book of Angels series and is quite good. Only minor quibble is an apparent mastering error on one track (Kakabel) which adds a lot of irritating distortion. Not what i'd expect from Tzadik but i guess they're only human. If, like me, you're a fan of the previous Nova Express albums you'll want to get this too. I'm a pretty big Threadgill fan but haven't given the new one a huge number of spins. Having said that, not every album is designed for heavy rotation. The new Claudia Quintet album... i've enjoyed it but wasn't too knocked out by it.

I went ahead and ordered this set. I have a second hand copy of the Basie Decca set and most of the rest in a (admittedly not too bad) PD set, so it'll be nice to have it all collected new, legit and in good sound.

Regarding OJC CD-Rs, definitely not just US re-sellers/Amazon marketplace in my experience. I've definitely received them straight from Amazon where there was no mention of CD-R. With OJCs i don't know if there's a way to tell whether it's going to be a CD-R based on whether it's Fantasy or Universal or from the States or Europe but for me it's a crap-shoot at the moment. I have my own methods of making an educated guess which others may poo-poo but it seems to steer me right. If i can see that an OJC hasn't been reissued since '91 and i could swear that i've seen it 'out of print' on Amazon (or whatever words to the effect they use) and miraculously it's back in stock and still showing the '91 release date i tend to be wary. Took a chance on a new copy of Afro Eurasian Eclipse recently and got a CD-R (edit to add: this was new direct from Amazon Japan). I knew that was a risky one but rolled the dice and lost (luckily i already have a second hand copy, but it's not in the best shape). Regarding Storyville, i know there's a precedent in that the Fargo set was previously available (and still is) as a CD-R on demand from Amazon (not sure of the technicalities of whether Storyville are 'responsible' for that though). I avoided getting it elsewhere for fear of getting a CD-R but was delighted when it got reissued in legit CD form in 2013. Bringing it all back to DETS, i freakin love these releases. It would have been cool to have been on board from Volume 1 as it came out and just enjoy them in real time as the subsequent volumes trickled out over the years. My plan was/is to pick up the back catalogue here and there over the coming years but the CD-R thing, while not the end of the world, is a bit of a fly in the ointment. Anyway, Cheers.

That sucks. I've been wanting to get some of the older volumes but noticed that some were showing up on Amazon US as CD-R on demand. Or at least they were; when i had a quick look now i didn't find any listed however if the cover image has that blue and black frame (example) i'm sure that indicates CD-R on demand (i've only ever seen that type of frame on CD-R on demand product listings). So i've just been sticking to the newer volumes as they come out and getting some of the more recent ones. CD-Rs, eh? I recently spent a lot of time listening to McCoy Tyner and wanted to expand my collection of his Milestone albums. Ultimately didn't pull the trigger due to the uncertainty about OJC CD-Rs. Hopefully i'll find some second hand in the wild.

Curiosity finally got the better of me. After a shit-arse day at work, looked this up on Spotify expecting to have a quick listen and have my scepticism confirmed. Instead, got totally sucked in. Enthusiasm for Weather Report re-invigorated, ordered the set.

alankin might have already solved it, but are you referring to the 'announce time off here' thread?

After being caught out a couple of times where i had to go to a fancy-ish shindig and had 'nothing to wear' (i.e. nothing suitably dressy enough), i purchased a really nice and expensive jacket that i keep in the closet in case i need it for an event of some sort. Of course, i never need it, and it's so nice/expensive that i'm terrified to wear it anywhere 'normal' in case it gets damaged. So there it sits. But hey, it'll all be worth it if when i get invited to anything! Music wise, i have a habit of buying new/sealed copies of albums that i already have second hand copies of. I guess it comes from the paranoia that, although they play fine, the second hand copies might conk out one day and then where will i be? Sometimes the new/sealed versions have new masterings and unreleased tracks that i will never hear because i want to keep it new/sealed. I'll also buy box sets when i have all the material aside from some unreleased tracks or alt takes, but keep the box sealed... so that it's kept nice... for when i need it... ummm... I always knew that it was kind of dumb, but as the years fly by i increasingly, painfully see the pointlessness of it, for so many reasons.

Kyuss - ...And the Circus Leaves Town

You can also just google 'rat race organissimo forums' if you forget all the site:/.org stuff. I frequently google 'whatever organissmo forums' if i want to find a related thread. Quick and easy.

Well, may as well tie this up. New Zealand ended up winning the cup. I missed the first half due to being too lazy to get out of bed, and when i started watching the ABs were up 21-3. I was a bit underwhelmed as it looked like it was going to be a bit of a non-event, but then a player got sent off and the Aussies scored two converted tries to bring it within 4 points at 21-17. The Aussies seemed to have the momentum and i got that familiar sinking feeling however the kiwis managed to hang in there. A skillful drop kick took it to 24-17 (which meant the Aussies would need at least a converted try to tie the score), and then a penalty took it to 27-17. There were still nerves (even with minutes to go i could see the Aussies getting a converted try and then a penalty to take the game to extra time) however a runaway try at the end sealed it at 34-17. Good on ya boys.

I was thinking about getting it. It's on Spotify and i had a quick listen. Definitely liked what i heard and if i had money to burn i'd get it but ultimately i didn't pull the trigger. I've wishlisted it for now. I'm a big fan of the Wayne Shorter Quartet and from memory (i listened to this album once a few weeks ago) this album does not sound like that group minus Shorter, which totally makes sense but may have lead to some 'minor disappointment due to self imposed expectations not met' syndrome. Probably also doesn't help that, despite usually enjoying jumping around all eras with my listening, all i want to hear piano trio wise lately is pre-seventies stuff leaning towards the less ostensibly progressive stuff.

In general i've found Iverson to be reasonably humble. That's been my impression anyway. Wow. I really need to get around to seeing this movie. Everyone's a critic here to a certain extant. A lot of artists get shit on and i don't think that due diligence has always been done. Not that that excuses Iverson's errors in his article, obviously he's working at a higher amateur-professional level, but it's funny that people here are taking issue with his tone and attitude etc.

Got mine today, thanks! Skimmed through and first impressions are very good... I actually didn't intend to do any proper listening tonight but i started listening to the album with DJ Logic (Man With Guitar) and got hooked, am about half way through now and yeah this is great stuff.

But a wrong decision is still a decision. I`ve seen a great match of rugby today. And yes Julian Savea..........................a new star player, indeed. Regarding the decision, yeah totally. It'll be debated and picked apart after the fact but the ref had to make a call in the moment and he made it.

Fantastic set. Desert island material for me. I'm only on early listens but i'm VERY happy with the music on this set. I know i'm late to the party but, damn, better late than never and this is an absolutely brilliant set. There's so much Ellington out there that it can be numbing (as in "Early Ellington? Add it to the pile of the 150 other Ellington albums/sets that i need to check out. Oh, it's very well regarded? Add it to the pile of the 150 other Ellington albums/sets that i need to check out that are very well regarded") but yeah, this set is a real standout.