BruceH

The October Conns! Plus the Morgan/Shorter Mosaic.

So far this is the pick of the Conn litter for me. But I've only listened to them once, and only had time to sample some of Sonic Boom. The Flip sounds much better; it'll never be one of Mobley's top five albums but now I can listen to it and appreciate it without sonic pain. The Hill sounds very intriguing; nice arrangements that manage to sound full and colorful yet uncluttered and somehow airy. Not like a "big band" sound at all, to these ears, even though it IS a big band in size, by jazz standards. Seems like another amazing, unissued Blue Note gem from the vaults, but I'll have to play it much more.

I always assumed that the stated goal of RVG titles being in print permanently meant a probable shelf life of 4 or 5 years. It is indeed a business and sales matter. Given that, Lifetime, A New Perspective, Dialogue, and the other more "difficult" or adventurous titles may well be among the first to go. It wouldn't surprise me, I'll put it that way.

I remember that! Those were the days... The days got better when RVG's went mid-price.

So, Rooster, none at B & N, only one each at Borders. That's pathetic. Doesn't surprise me that Barnes & Noble wouldn't have them, that place REALLY sucks (I'm serious this time). Borders is better, but you can't count on their music section being very good. They seem to vary from store to store, and their main business is BOOKS after all. A well-stocked, well-run independent is the way to go, although you've been having one Hell of an unlucky day. Every now and then God decides to mess with your mind---your number must have come up. I'm lucky; at my local independent micro-chain (Amoeba, 3 stores) they had all of the Conns, five or six copies each, displayed on the top row of the "New Releases" rack. Beauty.

Yeah, I sure wish the Conns were priced the same as the RVG's. Ouch!

Rooster, sounds like you've been through the trials of Job today. My sympathies. Hopefully all this frustration will make the Hill sound that much better when you get it.

If Crouch calls you a "minor man" does that mean you're a minority? Or is it like reaching your majority in reverse? (Just some minor thoughts....)

Sox vs. Cubs in the World Series would be the best. Then, whoever wins it would be great! Still can't believe the Red Sox won yesterday....the Oakland A's have become the Sox of playoffs. (When your bad luck trumps the Sox' Curse of the Bambino, you've got some serious ju-ju going on!)

I hope nobody has posted this already, but over the weekend cartoonist and author William Steig passed away. He was 95. He started as a staff cartoonist for the New Yorker in the 1930's and started writing and illustrating children's books at 60. His book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble won a Caldecott Medal and was one of my kid's favorite books when they were pre-schoolers. One of the great cartoonists, illustrators, and children's book authors of the 20th century. Rest in peace.

Many congratulations!

Yeah. Between the new batch of Conns and the recall circus I don't know whether to jump for joy or slit my wrists.

Impossible to choose..."Cold Sweat"? "Brand New Bag"? "Sex Machine"? Any of the above or the last one I listened to. Favorite drum line, though: "The Funky Drummer"

Either Soul Station or Dexter's Go! album. I got them very close together so it's hard to say for sure now. I soon started buying lots of RVG's simply to stock up on BN 'core catalog' titles that I'd been meaning to get one of these days. Then it got out of hand.

Just kidding!!

If that were true, wouldn't it mean you'd be less able to hear hight frequencies like cymbals? Seriously, I often think that the cymbals should have been put far back in the mix on a lot of sessions. One of my pet peeves, along with "Why couldn't they keep the bass solo to less than ten seconds?"

Yeah! Now that's what I call good driving music. Lately, I've been seeing Keep That Groove Going for budget prices, but it's one of those rare discs that's actually WORTH 17 or 18 bucks new. It also proves that the shopworn concept of the "tenor battle" blowing album is quite viable in this day and age if the tenorists involved are dedicated to making actual music! I'll be looking for Coast to Coast.

Seriously, what's up with Crouch? I mean, you have to assume he has enough brains to realize how silly that "minor man" stuff sounds. I don't get it. Is he trying to impress stupid people?

It all depends on whose bad luck is stronger. If I were a bettin' man, I'd bet that Boston will lose. (Of course, it would be great if they won.)

Koch Jazz has re-issues of Wayning Moments and Introducing Wayne Shorter, same track sequence as above, and they're reasonably priced. (And no, I DON'T own stock in the company!) However you do it, you should own copies of "Blues A La Carte," "Wayning Moments," and "Harry's Last Stand."

Nothing wrong with being patient, DrJ. I happen to agree with you. It's just that some of us (myself included) get a little carried away by our enthusiasm at times. Actually, I'm pretty amazed to see such a long list of RVG's scheduled for next Summer. In the U.S. they have heretofore released RVG's in 4 or 5-title batches. The series must be doing alright if they're planning to throw EIGHTEEN on the market over a four-month period. The only title that seems really questionable is Night of the Cookers, as it's gotten so much negative word-of-mouth. But I love how they're obviously throwing in the backbone-of-the-catalog staples like Henderson and Dex, with lesser-known titles. Kudos, and keep it up, say I.

Bev-- I urge you to check out more Clifford Jordan sometime in the future. He's truly one of the greats! PS-The Morgan/Shorter Mosaic gets my hearty thumbs-up, but you can get the individual albums that make it up as seperate discs re-issued by Koch, original cover photos and all.

The Edison is solid! Been in heavy rotation at my house.

Amen to that, Bob. Actually, for sometime I've been waiting for them to RVG True Blue. Seems like an obvious choice.

I haven't seen it in stores though.