Sundog

Thanks Ed. Probably just wanted to maintain the same aspect ratio of the picture as you pointed out above.

FYI- Jim Hall is being featured this week on the Nancy Wilson hosted, jazz profiles show on NPR. As always check your local listings for details.

So, I'm listening to my Mobley Mosaic yesterday for the first time, and I take a close look at the front cover insert on the CD cases. It appears that the picture was truncated. About 15% of the left hand side of the picture seems to be missing. Is it just my set or do others have the same cover? Maybe this was intentional and not a defect? Interesting design choice. Sorry if this has already been discussed. P.S. Why did I wait so long to get this one?

For everything he's done, I enjoy his acoustic blues work the most. Looking forwarg to hearing this one.

These guys are quite good, I've seen them a couple of times live and have enjoyed them immensely. They actually opened the Chicago Jazz fest last year, had a 12:30 pm slot. Too bad they couldn't play at night. They deserve the exposure. A band worth watching.

Rollins is renowned for coming in late and sneaking up on the beat. Not sure it's the case on the particular tune mentioned. However, it certainly wouldn't be uncharacteristic of Sonny's style.

What do people think about the Jim Hall & Pat Metheny disc? It's been awhile since I've listened to this, however, I seem remember liking it more than I thought I would. I'm going to have to take this one to work and give it a spin today.

Not exactly knowing your musical tastes makes it tough. My two favorites from the list you provided are the Stanley Turrentine and Gerry Mulligan sets. People have dogged the sound on the Turrentine set from time to time. I have a very revealing system and the sound quality is not even close to being a deal breaker for me. The music is kickass. Buy this one now, or buy it later. But by all means buy it! In the last year I really started to explore big bands. Gerry's Concert Band is quite simply one of the most versatile groups ever put together. Forget about the fact that this is a fairly new release and is bound to be around for awhile. Buy this one sooner than later, the music is that good. I just picked up the Mobley Mosaic about a month ago. Haven't cracked it open yet so I can't comment. Saving this one for a rainy day.

Yeah the stuff with Desmond floors me! I just listened to Glad To Be Unhappy the other day.

It's always the little things that blow me away about a "Jim Hall" performance. A deceptive passing chord, one slightly dissonant note placed perfectly among the most beautiful phrase, the fact that each chorus he plays is more revealing than the last, or something like that unison lick you refer to. It all seems so effortless.

I've been listening to a lot of Jim Hall recently. All of it quite by accident, since none of the dates have been under his name. I'm constantly amazed by the beauty of his solo lines, and the uniqueness of his accompaniment. The guy has that "Midas Touch". Sure would like to hear your opinions of his work as a leader and as a sideman, or anything else "JH-related". P.S. Just finished listening to Without A Song from Sonny Rollin's The Bridge. That song sums up everything about Jim Hall that I like, better than any words could ever say. Give it a spin if it's been awhile.

Yes BW, I'm afraid that's it. I'd say it's pretty ugly (it looks more like 70s Blue Note than 1962 BN), but I'm sure there are those here with a sentimental attachment who like it. What is that, some kind of Santa Fe gee-tar? It sure looks like everything on the cover is goin' east.......... Music-wise I've not heard this one and am looking forward to checking it out. It looks to be a little lightweight as far as the "western thematic concept", but how bad can it be w/Higgins, Hancock and Workman on board? If anyone can polish a turd, they certainly can! B) Nothing spectacular. Grant's in good, not great form. A welcome addition to my collection. However, I really glad I waited for a sanely priced domestic version.

I just usually just put on the source and let it rip. Once in a while a while I use the program function to remove consecutive alternate takes (but not always). I rarely use the random function on any of my CD players. If I want random I listen to the radio.

Melvin may be a little rough on his axe, but he ain't got nothing on Willie Nelson. Then of course there's always Pete Townsend, who's at a whole other level.

Melvin is not exactly known for his finesse. Don't get me wrong I love his playing. But whenever I hear him play I imagine that he's wrestling with his guitar. I've never seen him live, but it seems like Hardbopjazz's comments might validate my imagination. Think I'll go put on some Melvin right now. I needed an excuse to listen to some Hank Crawford.

Another good resource is The Ultimate Guitar Chord Big Book by Don Latarski. It's one of those big chord reference books. It is organized in a very practical manner. It includes "drop two" voicings for strings 1-4 and 2-5 which are some of those elusive jazz chords you speak of. This is a very thorough, usable reference book. Highly recommended. In general, Arnie Berle's books are very good. Just enough theory to get you on your way, without confusing matters. Not sure if your interested in performing solo chord melody arrangements of songs or not? It's very satisfying style to play, and you will become an authority on chord shapes. It's a necessity when performing in this style. This is really one of the best ways to discover alternate voicings of chords. It takes time, not for the faint of heart. However, it pays serious practical dividends. One last comment. Learn how different chord types are constructed. Learn those chord formulas!!! Once you know that, you don't need any books. Your imagination will be your guide. Good luck!

One of these days I'm really going to explore this genre. I've heard all the players that you've mentioned, at least at a cursory level, and really enjoyed every single note. So much music....

Nope, that's homemade (and not very well I might add). I've been toying with the idea of putting it on a T-shirt. I like the bumpersticker idea as well. One of these days! I'd buy one. A t-shirt not a bumper sticker. Uncle Skid keeps threatening to paste a soccer ball on my vehicle (all real musicians drive red mini-vans, red cuz we're cool and minivans for hauling all the stuff). Have you thought about Cafe Press? No out of pocket expenses, they handle everything. I sell Bass Clef stuff, well sell is the wrong word since I intentionally make no profit at it. I was looking for stuff with a bass clef on it and found bassically nothing. So I set up a cafe press shop with t-shirts and stuff with bass clefs on them. Surprisingly I've had over 100 people buy the stuff. You can set it up to make a profit if you want, I chose not to because I just wanted a decent t-shirt and thought someone else might enjoy it as well. I've got a red pickup. Is that close enough to qualify? Thanks for the link. That's a very cool site. I may actually have to get that shirt made. Of course being the driver of a pickup truck predisposes me to to bumperstickers. B) Another album that's been in Heavy Rotation I forgot to mention previously is... We Free Kings- Roland Kirk This one's been logging some serious time since Christmas.

Nope, that's homemade (and not very well I might add). I've been toying with the idea of putting it on a T-shirt. I like the bumpersticker idea as well. One of these days!

Last year I went through a serious phase on "Miles Smiles". At one point I must of listened to Freedom Jazz Dance 100 times, in a one week period. A good one to be obssesed with IMO.

I know, I know, the last thing this site needs is another "listening" thread. That being said, I'm going to start one anyway. My musical listening habits lately seem to revolve around a slowly, ever changing, roster of artists. More specifically, I really seem to be obsessed with a number of specific albums at any given point in time. These albums seem to be in constant rotation. Just thought it would be interesting to compare notes with board members and see what your latest obsessions are. In Heavy Rotation... 1) Morgan-Shorter Mosaic- Amazing how realized these performances are given the point at which Wayne and Lee were at in their respectives careers. 2) John Coltrane Crescent- After just coming off of a late period Coltrane binge, for me this album is the perfect antedote. A beautiful set of music. 3) Charles Mingus Blues & Roots- Some of the most visceral music I've ever heard. Mingus is a mad-scientist genius of the "n"th degree. 4) Jackie McLean Bluesnik- The Blues never go out of style. This one sounds the "same as it ever was", and that's damn good! 5) Sonny Rollins The Cutting Edge- An old sentimental favorite that I've been revisiting lately. 6) Joss Stone The Soul Sessions- Soul & R&B live! A four thumb album.

Dex has been, and will continue to be, a constant source of joy and inspiration! Happy Birthday!

I kind of like that Darkness song. I know its totally cliche but..... B) The Jet album is good. Nice and "jangly"

Open that one immediately and put on disc 3! Or 1, or 2, or 4! B)

I've listened to "The Soul Sessions" and share your reaction exactly. She can't go on singing old soul forever (or maybe she can?), so I'm curious what she does next. She's off to a great start. I'm hoping she eventually begins to write her own material. A little life experience could help on this matter. For the last 5 years or so I've been telling anyone who would listen, that we need a real R&B and Soul singer on the scene. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Anyone who can take a White Stripes song and turn it into a slinky, soulful cover is thinking outside the box. That's an extremely good thing!