Patrick

My one and only DG order was this New Year's Day to take advantage of the aforementioned Jazz in Paris sale. Probably won't visit again until there is a similar great sale (or maybe to go back for more cheap JIP titles, if any stock remains). But who knows. Right now, I am digging Elek Bacsik...

Thanks for posting the coupon code. I rarely order from these guys, because their prices, especially on used stuff, have drifted upward. [Another potential transaction cost for individuals that don't live alone is that the loose confederation of stores ship their items separately, so if you place a large order, odds are you'll be collecting numerous packages, over a course of weeks, in your mail.] We'll see if the Jarrett "Bye Bye Blackbird" and new Stanko (my first foray into this artist) that I selected arrive (methinks the latter may not actually be in stock). Django stockouts annoy me less than receiving an item in a completely crushed jewel case. (I know its a used item, but if I was in the actual store, I'd know about a crushed jewel case before making a purchasing decision, and would ask for a replacement. Online customers should not be taken advantage of in this fashion.)

For the first time in a long time, I made an online purchase at djangomusic.com. My cart checked out with a lot of Lateef: The Golden Flute, Cry! - Tender, Into Something, and Other Sounds. Also got George Russell, New York, New York, Art Pepper, Intensity, Cannonball Adderley, Sophisticated Swing, and Peter Gabriel Plays Live [...sometimes high school calls back to you...]. All for about $72 delivered. Really digging The Golden Flute right now, and wish some of the short Prestige/New Jazz sides would have been doubled up on single CDs.

I just picked up a copy of the Cannonball Small Groups set from Django's. Looking forward to listening to it this weekend.

Thanks for the outstanding tax day tip. $9.74 is a resistable price for a new RVG, $8.28 considerably less so. So after patiently waiting for some lower prices on these, I made the following order of RVGs new to me (Conquistador, SHB, FF, RN, RFF), RVG upgrades (AA, BT, SFTNL), something that maybe should be an RVG (BW), my first Tristano (Intuition), Konitz/Mehldau/Haden (based in part on raves in the modern BN classics thread), and a pair of used items (Parker (only $70.54), and Pharoah): Blues Walk, Lou Donaldson Blue Train [Remaster], John Coltrane Search For The New Land, Lee Morgan Adam's Apple [Remaster], Wayne Shorter Sweet Honey Bee [Remaster], Duke Pearson Ready For Freddie [Remaster], Freddie Hubbard Conquistador [Remaster], Cecil Taylor Free Form [Remaster], Donald Byrd Right Now [Remaster], Jackie McLean Intuition, Lennie Tristano/Warne Marsh Alone Together, Lee Konitz/Mehldau/Haden The Complete Savoy & Dial Studio Recordings, Charlie Parker Jewels Of Thought, Pharoah Sanders All for less (okay, not much less) than $170 delivered. Now the waiting game for when it all finally arrives!

from ecmrecords.com Jun 09 Seattle, WA Triple Door Jun 10 Edmonton, Alberta Yardbird Suite Jun 11 Portland, OR Blue Monk Jun 12 San Francisco, CA San Francisco JazzFest - Florence Gould Theater Jun 13 La Jolla, CA Athenaeum Music & Arts Library Jun 14 Los Angeles, CA Jazz Bakery Jun 16 Indianapolis, IN Jazz Kitchen Jun 17 Ann Arbor, MI Firefly Jun 19 Philadelphia, PA Slought Foundation Jun 21 Washington DC Blues Alley Jun 22 Baltimore, MD An Die Musik Jun 23 New York, NY Merkin Hall - JVC Festival

Perhaps more humorous than bizarre, I've always enjoyed (...concentrate on proper pronunciation...) "Cunning Stunts".

No more tickets available for the Library of Congress show. There also appears to be no more tix for their 4/29 performance at the Virginia Arts Festival in Newport News.

Hey couw, [a digressionof sorts] sudden-thoughts looks promising, and (unlike some other jazz boards) they've even linked back to organissimo for Chuck's remembrances of Malachi Favors. Nice writeup on a new Malachi Thompson disc (Delmark). Anyone here heard that one yet?

I have a number of Mehldau discs, and enjoy the "Art of the Trio"ones the most. Perhaps they are safe in some sense. I haven't heard Largo at all, am still getting into Elegiac Cycle, and haven't been grabbed by Places. Suppose (for a moment) that Keith Jarrett decided only to record the Standards Trio material [eg Whisper Not, Up For It, Tokyo '96 etc.]. Would there be similar complaints about Keith not stretching out enough? (I enjoy many of the Jarrett standard trio recordings--still growing into non-standard Keith)

A performer that appears on many lists above, but not at the top of anyone's, is the most frequent in my (modest) collection: Monk (23). Miles is second (18), and then several of the usual suspects follow (Blakey, Mingus, etc.).

My first Mosaic purchase was the Blakey 1960 set in 1990 or 1991. I had just passed all of my qualifying exams after my first year of grad school. Passing them all on the first try was an accomplishment worthy of such a reward. Despite living by modest means at the time, one must properly celebrate special personal achievements!

Hallelujah! I will eagerly replace my cassette dub of a store-bought cassette circa 1985. An excellent collection of material from their early days (Talking Heads: 77, etc.), including "Building on Fire" and "A Clean Break" which I believe don't appear elsewhere on official LPs (if we can still call them that), and material from the Remain in Light era which I think holds its own against SMS. As I understand it, issuing delays were caused at least in part by disagreements between Byrne and the rest of the band. The website mentioned above used to have threads discussing this [They may still be there, I will confess to not visiting this excellent site in years.] One of their FAQs even addresses the unavailability of this great album. The expanded SMS does improve it as a "concert document", but not to the level of The Name of this Band Is... . I'm looking forward to this one. ...you pulled me up, you pulled me up, you pulled me up, up, UP, UP

I have about 70 of these. Several of the recommendations above are absolutely essential (especially the Miles, Monk, Trane titles). Truly essential in my book (a quick, short, list): Cannonball Adderley Quintet in SF; Coltrane - Coltrane, Soultrane; Davis- Workin', Relaxin', Steamin', Cookin', Walkin'; Dolphy at the Five Spot; Evans- Sunday at VV, Waltz for Debby; Monk- Plays Ellington, Brilliant Corners, Misterioso; Pepper- Meets Rhythm Section, + Eleven; Rollins- Saxophone Colossus, Way Out West Other great, though less heralded, titles: Burrell- Ellington is Forever; Haynes- We Three; Lacy- Reflections; Lateef- Eastern Sounds; McIntyre- Looking Ahead; Reece- Asia Minor; Russell- Ezz-thetics; Waldron- The Quest

Well if it's a silly poll, gotta put a vote in for that Ian Hunter classic (or Presidents of the United States of America remake), "Cleveland Rocks". Okay so there isn't much to the vocals. Yeah, there isn't much else either, but it gets many a head boppin' and body rockin'. Of course, if one is seeking inspired lyrics that include the names of northeast Ohio towns--and I'm sure there are many of you--then tread no farther than the final verse of that Tom Lehrer classic "In Old Mexico". Come on now, everybody together... "Now it's fiesta time,... in Akron, Ohio. But it's back to old Guadalajara I'm longing to go...."

61. More than I expected. 38 were first acquisitions, 23 were upgrades. I give away the old versions to folks that are curious about jazz but have few, if any, titles. I also refrain from purchasing any RVGs, especially upgrades, for more than $9 delivered (this has gotten a bit tougher given the Tower demise). Great series, but as others have noted elsewhere, it causes me to hesitate picking up non-RVG items in the back catalog (Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, anyone?).

61. More than I expected. 38 were first acquisitions, 23 were upgrades. I give away the old versions to folks that are curious about jazz but have few, if any, titles. Great series, but as others have noted elsewhere, it causes me to hesitate picking up non-RVG items in the back catalog (Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, anyone?).

Bob Belden / Black Dahlia (Blue Note) large ensemble, but very noirish

Okay, I'll play. Perhaps more enthusiastic than idiotic, the first thing I thought of was Ira Gitler's notes for Booker Ervin's The Blues Book which include the following warning: "The loudness or hardness of a musician's delivery doesn't necessarily stand for true depth or sincerity, but if it does, look out, for you are in for a steamcleaning from the convolutions of your cranium down to your entrails." So the next time your entrails need a little sprucing up, just remember this additional health benefit...

In the late 80's, Frank Morgan was a point of entry (or re-entry) for me into hardbop. Compact discs were growing more available, and cheaper, and his "Mood Indigo" (Antilles) album got rave reviews (...at least in some quarters). I had cassettes of KoB and MJQ, and had been scared off by Coltrane's Om. Save for an opening/closing theme composed by George Cables, "Mood Indigo" is all standards (Wynton Marsalis sits in on a pair of tracks). While perhaps not essential listening in the greater jazz fermament, MI is a fine album for a newbie to (re)familiarize with some of the standard tunes. While I don't listen to it as often as I once did, it is a familiar and comfortable listen (an old pair of slippers, I suppose). I have a few of his other titles, and my favorites are MI and the aforementioned "Listen to the Dawn" which is a great late night listening experience. I too saw Frank play at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. A show I will not soon forget, not so much for the quality of playing, but for the timing. I saw him on September 14, 2001--just a few days after 9/11. After sitting in front of the television for a few days I had to get out, and figured Frank might provide some healing music. Alas, there were about 8 people in the audience, but to their credit, the show did go on. Frank played with Willie Pickens, piano, Marlene Rosenberg bass, and a drummer I don't recall. The mood was extremely subdued, but smiles appeared on some faces (at least mine) when they launched into some Monk striding. Between sets, I spoke briefly with Frank. He had left NY on 9/10, and, much like me, had been glued to a Chicago television set for the following few days. I asked him what it was like playing with McCoy Tyner. He smiled and recalled that Trane had suggested McCoy listen to Frank way back when. After our brief conversation about current events and jazz subsided, he started the second set with "Search for Peace". Healing music indeed.

For many of the great Blue Note artists of this period, I find my first purchase is often my favorite, even after many years of additional acquisitions. This may be due to (perhaps obvious) recommendations made by others, but I know that I acquired some based only on the sidemen or the cover design. Nothing like the first time, I guess. For Burrell, it's Midnight Blue. For Shorter, it's Adam's Apple. [i know, that's another poll.] For Hubbard, it's Hub-Tones. Fabulous albums. For Herbie, it was his debut "Takin' Off." Great Dexter, great grooves, a fine album to play at social gatherings (especially for a crowd that is not too into jazz). In some sense, it may be more a "favorite" than "most interesting." Perhaps not as elegant as other HH dates, but it is hard not to smile when these tunes get cranked up.