vibes

Johnny Smith, disc 8.

Gary McFarland - Soft Samba Saw a few enthusiastic reviews for this album on this board, and since I've liked other things I've heard by him, I ordered a Japanese CD pressing. Quite possibly the biggest CD purchase mistake I've ever made. Syrupy arrangements, annoying humming, and not a single exciting thing happens.

I'm flying to Salt Lake City this afternoon. I went to school at BYU and my wife's family lives about an hour south of SLC, so I know the area pretty well. I've got a few meals with friends planned, and my wife's family will be doing a barbecue on Saturday. Other than that, it's anyone's guess. I don't particularly care for my in-laws, so fortunately I'll be back home on Sunday afternoon.

Larry Young Mosaic - "I Want To Hold Your Hand" session I've had this one for years and have never paid much attention to this session. I started listening to it again yesterday, and I'm loving it. It has the same laid-back vibe as "Street of Dreams," which I love. Great music.

Sounds like my uncle's office (orthodontist). Every time I went, that's what they'd be listening to. My aunt, the office manager, told me they had a 5-disc changer in the office, with 5-discs of Kenny G in it.

Happy Birthday, Jim. Thanks for the board and for the great music!

I ordered 10 CD's from BMG a couple days ago. I just logged in to their site to check on the status of the order, and every item on my order was listed as being "temporarily out of stock." Some of my order was jazz, some was rock, and one CD was rap. Has this happened to anyone else lately? Seems kind of strange that EVERYTHING would be out of stock.

Elvin's passing feels a lot more personal to me than other, recent deaths of jazz greats. I've been listening to jazz only for about 6-7 years now, and Elvin Jones has been with me on much of that journey. He appears on some of my favorite albums: Andrew Hill - Judgment Grant Green - Street of Dreams Larry Young - Unity I've also been listening to his own "Poly-currents" and "The Ultimate Elvin Jones" albums a lot in the last few months. I love Elvin's playing because not only did he keep time, but he was also a driving force in the music...and more so than most other drummers, he strikes me as having been an integral part of whatever band he played in. Elvin's creativity and love for the music will keep me smiling for many years to come. Thank you for the music, Elvin.

Thanks for the heads up. I just ordered both.

She actually found it very entertaining. And, I was able to throw it back at her when she told me she was going to work out before cooking me dinner. "No," I said, "there should be a delicious meal waiting for me when I get home from the office." Nevermind that she usually only gets home 30-45 minutes before I do. She laughed about that, too. She probably won't laugh when she finds out tonight that I wasn't kidding.

I saved it and then emailed it to my wife. Cross your fingers...

Just ordered some SACDs from CDUniverse: Godsmack - The Other Side Gil Evans + 10 Cal Tjader - La Onda Va Bien

Don't know if you're interested in all these attractions, but if so, this might be a good deal: Citypass My wife and I bought the Chicago version for our trip a few weeks ago, and saved quite a bit of money. We also didn't have to wait in ticket lines at most attractions because we had the Citypass.

Depends on which store you go to, but this should be happening at most Best Buy stores. Shrink (theft/damage) is often a big problem, so they generally check receipts to make sure that everything is OK. Best Buy stores have shrink budgets, and if they're missing their budget, you can be sure they'll be very strict about not letting people out the door before their receipts have been checked. Don't feel offended - that's just how things are when a few people can't be honest and ruin it for the rest of us who are honest.

Gary McFarland - Soft Samba

"Pop" isn't just a Midwest thing. I noticed that most people in Utah called it that when I was going to school there. I'm from the Los Angeles area. Most people call it "soda" there. I do live in the Midwest now, and yes, "pop" is definitely the word of choice.

Congratulations, Jim!

I have and highly recommend the Pioneer DV-563A. I've seen them for as low as $140 at Best Buy. The nice thing about this player is that in addition to progressive-scan DVD, it also has DVD-Audio,SACD and mp3 capabilities. It's a very nice multi-format player at a great price.

We need a "both" choice. I use both. I much prefer to use my desktop, but my wife complains that I'm "hiding from her" when I do, so I usually just hang out with her and use my laptop, connected to the internet via a wireless LAN.

Jim, where did you see apple Fanta? My friends and I were addicted to this stuff when I studied in China, but I've never seen it anywhere else. I would love to have it again.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Alanis Morissette to the board!

The correct way to say that, I've been told, is "go boldly," rather than "boldly go." I can remember one of my high school English teachers complaining that Star Trek had caused millions of people to use adverbs incorrectly.

43F and cloudy. Heavy wind and thunderstorms last night, which made my drive home from Iowa very interesting. It got so bad that I even had to pull over for a few minutes. Gotta love those Midwest thunderstorms.

Good choice...I think I would rather hear him on vibes than piano, though.

Walt Dickerson