BruceH

I own three of them, the McGhee Vol. 1, Foster/Wallington, and Gil Melle, all of which are great. For sheer ear-opening uniqueness I'd vote for the Melle. I was tempted to vote for the one I want the most, Howard McGhee Vol 2/Tal Farlow Quartet. I ended up voting for the one I listen to the most: Frank Foster/George Wallington Showcase. Others have said this, but I'll reiterate---I wish Blue Note would keep these valuable re-issues in print a little longer.

Hey, I wish somebody out there who hasn't voted would toss one to Sonny's Crib. It looks awfully forlorn there with zero.

Afraid it is that good, Bruce. Glad to see that others recognize it too. OK, I'll have to keep an eye open for it. Still, it's good to see True Blue has pulled ahead. Yaye Tina!!

Basra is the ONLY one on this list I don't have...and it's winning! Is it THAT good? I had to flip a coin to vote.

So far, it's unanimous! 100% of respondants vote for Along Came John. Can it be toppled? WAIT! Now it's a dead heat. The crowd's going wild!

Not a bad idea. It gets my vote.

OK, I'm ready: Bring on the final (heartbreaking) poll!

I almost voted for McGhee, a worthy choice, but finally had to go with my man Cliff Jordan.

Down With It only got one vote? Damn. At least I know who it was...

I should have mentionsed Grant Green's Solid---one of my favorites.

OUCH!!!! This was the hardest choice yet! I'm still smarting.

Hey! For once the one that I vote for is actually winning. What a feeling! It's close, but with only one vote allowed, I had to go for True Blue, probably one of my favorite Blue Notes. Time to RVG the damn thing! The people (of Oganissimo) have spoken!!

Tina Brooks--True Blue Further Explorations by Horace Silver Sonny Clark--My Conception Jackie McLean--Vertigo Sonny Criss--The Complete Imperial Sessions Honorable Mentions: Byrd/Watkins---Transition Sessions Hank Mobley---Straight No Filter Larry Young---Into Somethin' Dizzy Reece---Comin' On John Jenkins---Jenkins With Kenny Burrell Sonny Clark---Sonny's Crib Freddie Hubbard---Goin' Up Tina Brooks---Minor Moove, Back To the Tracks, and Waiting Game Hey, it's hard to choose!

Another vote for Shiny Beast! I like a lot of Beefheart, but seem to play that the most lately.

Considering how many older Conns have been released as RVG's later, perhaps someday we'll see Ready For Freddie and Davis Cup as domestic RVG's. I hope so, because I completely missed the Conns of these two when they were in the stores.

Vibes---the Delmarks are a great place to start, not least because they are produced by Tom Wilson (of Transition label fame) so they're sonically cleaner than most other early Sun Ra. Great music too. Supersonic Jazz and Jazz In Silhouette are also good starting places, sort of a sci-fi B-movie version of Ellington. I've also got to second the recommendation for Futuristic Sounds and Greatest Hits, although the latter has some overlap with many other albums of course.

You are one cosmopolitan dude, Brad!

Ubu beat me to this, but I'm gonna say it anyway: Monk recorded his best stuff for Riverside. They also put out a ton of other great music. And Contemporary has got to be one of the best West Coast labels of all time. If memory serves, Rollins' "Way Out West" was a Contemporary album.

I always thought Getz should have released an album titled "What Stan Wants".

That's what I heard, John; Weston himself didn't want Destry re-released. If it's that bad, maybe he's got a point. His call, if it's anyone's.

A considerable chunk of the Getz box consists of the Live at the Roost material, which you may already have. Still worth having, though IMO.

Keep in mind that Gioia's "The Imperfect Art" came out back in 1988----about a decade before his History of Jazz. He had plenty of time to change his mind on some scores, and, perhaps, mature a bit.

I second the suggestion of Blowin' In From Chicago; also Jody Grind or Minor Moove. As for me, how about Gettin' Around--Dexter Gordon Arts & Crafts--Matt Wilson Riding the Nuclear Tiger--Ben Allison Soul Food--Cyrus Chestnut, or (dare I say it) Confict!--Jimmy Woods I also like the idea Africabrass had of a thread focusing on a particular era/artist per week. Coleman Hawkins' work of the '30s was an example; I'm sure everyone could think of more.

Berigan, I've got the Lucky Millinder----it's great. I would love to get the Kay Starr also. Propers are very easy to find around the Bay Area....too much so for my pocketbook.

I looked and looked for Slice of the Top for years before finally seeing a copy at Streetlight Records a few months ago. By that time I had just about given up hope.