John Tapscott

Just paid my $2,000 annual premium for my life insurance policy to AIG (Canada) yesterday. When I took out the policy 5 years ago, my broker told me that AIG was the most sound insurance company of all. I'm not particularly worried though, since a more solidly grounded insurer will surely buy up AIG's good in-force policies . The management of these companies is really screwed-up. The whole melt-down is shades of Wall Street's Gordon Gecko ("Greed is Good"). I really feel badly for all the laid-off employees of these firms, as for the upper management , not at all. (in any case, they've already sucked out millions from the companies for their own pockets- I'd love to see the off-shore bank accounts of these greed bags).

Yes, Ephemera is a great album, which I have on vinyl, with back cover photo of Pepper in London's Soho, where it was recorded. Saw him with the Jones/Lewis orchestra (Hanna/Mraz/Lewis rhythm section) in Manchester in 1978, so they must have visited Britain more than once in the seventies. BillF. Ephemera was, I believe, recorded on tour with Thad and Mel in '73, so that was the year you would have seen the big band with that rhythm section. The pianist with the band in '78 was most likely Harold Danko and probably Bob Bowman on bass. It's easy for all the tours to kind of merge into one (especially 30+ years ago).

Ditto to all of the above to which I would add Ephemera (Spotlite) from 1973 (with Hanna, Mraz, Lewis). Pepper passed in 1986.

I really like the recent Harold Danko/Ron McClure date "Wonderland" Price here in Canada for Steeplechase is pretty good - $16 or $17 disc direct from the distributor (Verge)

Sometime in '74, I bought the Atlantic 2 LP set called "The Giants of Jazz". Still have it, actually. I bought it to hear Kai Winding on trombone, but it wound up being my introduction to bop and the other musicians on the record. Great stuff. Though it has a quite different cover, I presume it's the same as the Giants of Jazz set posted on Durium's site (though different from the Bop Fathers CD's).

What any trombone player would find amazing about that is that Jack plays most of the solo in the first three postions, rarely using even fourth position. Though there are many tromboinsts I admire greatly, I have to say that Jack and J.J. are the fountainheads. For Lon..... Thanks. I made an exception to my youtube aversion and watched that. I've seen it before. Jack was one in a million. . .especially in the thirties.\

Don't have it at hand right now for details, but the Dicky Wells CD in the Americans Swinging in Paris Series on EMI is fabulous. Not to be missed! Two other trombone CD's I've heard recently and really enjoy - one that is well-known on this list - Rosolino/Fontana - Trombone Heaven (Uptown) & Bill Watrous' "I'll Play for You" (Famous Door now on Progressive CD). A great 2 CD set that comes to mind is Frank Rosolino - "Thinking of You" (Sackville) Also the 2 CD reissue of Jimmy Cleveland on Lonehill.

Jay McShann playing 'Round Midnight from the album "Kansas City Hustle" (Sackville)

I am tempted, strongly tempted. I know I shouldn't, but I want to.... Ok, so if I preorder, I won't be paying until September or maybe even October....my birthday is in October, sure to get a little cash..., oh man, the rationilizations...and the samples sound very good....but I really want the TA/LT Select, too....

Nope. I saw it with my own eyes. Wow! From pre-order to running low to last chance to sold-out in 2 hours! Some kind of record!

I found this statement odd. "Today- less than two years after his death- is a great time to reflect on the music that first attracted attention and cemented this piano master's reputation." Why the two year time frame? True it is less than two years, but in fact right now, it is less than eight months since OP died. Dec. 23, 2007. It's as if the person who wrote the promo only had a vague idea of his date of death.

One alto player who is on fire these days is Bud Shank. It's not often that a man's best work happens when he's in his 80's, but that seems to be the case with Bud. Based on recent recordings, I that he is playing right now with more imagination and inspiration than Phil. (And I'm a big fan of Phil's).

Look Out! - such a happy, swinging session

Long wait times are the biggest problem in the Canadian health care system. (The system generally works well once you have gained access to it). It's hard to say whether the government should reimburse her for her surgery in the States - I would tend to say they should. HOWEVER, and it 's a big however, there was one more step Ms. Trelenberg should have taken before heading to the U.S. for surgery. She should have shown up at the emergency department of her local hospital or even the hospital where the surgery was scheduled, checked in and told them that the tumor was growing and the pain was becoming unbearable. I'm betting she would have been taken for emergency surgery very quickly. If the emergency dept. had sent her home and told her to wait, then the trip to the U.S. would have been even more justified. This is how it often happens - go through the regular channels and you wait, go in through emergency and things often happen very quickly.

Onzy Matthews Select - much to enjoy on this set.

Happy Birthday Lon, and best wishes for a happy year ahead!!

Whoa! She looks like a junkie! I wonder what in the world A-Rod saw in her!?

"Woe is Me" by Johnny Griffin from Johnny's 1990 "The Cat" CD - one of Johnny's very slow ballads, and especially moving under the circumstances (actually the whole CD is a masterful representation of Johnny's playing and reveals how great he was at any tempo.)

Shorty Rogers - West Coast Trumpet Ace, Bandleader, Composer - Volume 1 (5 CDs) 1946-1954 (JSP)

Are you still rating the Pendulum set more highly than 012? I listened to the samples from both sets on the website and found the music from the earlier set more interesting. The Pendulum music sounded good but three CD's of it might be a bit more than I need.

The '53 recording of "Now's the Time". Bird's solo on that track is sublime, quite free yet totally logical, with shape, an ebb and flow, then Bird climaxes the solo near the end with the full statement of a phrase he had been hinting at right from the beginning. I have played the solo a hunded times and it never fails to amaze me or tell me a story. It's probably my single favorite solo in all recorded jazz.

Peter, I thought I might have a few more, but I believe I have 34 or 35 from your list. However, I do have CD's by most of the artists you mentioned. For example, I have several Rob Schneiderman CD's, but not the particular one you listed; same with Peter Leitch and Kenny Barron and a number of the other artists. I am glad you mentioned Dado Moroni's "Out of the Night" and Danny D'Imperio's "The Outlaw" - two special favorites of mine. Maybe I'll try to come up with 100 of my own, perhaps just off the top of my head.

I hope so too. I have just been digging Slide on the recently released "Whit Williams Now's The Time Big Band" featuring Jimmy Heath and Slide Hampton (Mama) recorded in 2004. It includes 2 Slide comps and one Slide arrangement (and goodies by Heath, as well). Slide has several solos on the CD and is in excellent form. In fact, the whole CD is a gas; one of my favorites so far in 2008. Get well, Slide!

Certainly not true. Read the original article. The mother herself has suffered harm. I think she should sue the School Board big time. And the TA should be fired. What the TA does on his or her own time is his/her own business, but a person who allow a psychic's word to be the basis of, or to influence their professional judgement, well, that person has no place in the classroom IMO. Even if the administration felt they had to do something, don't you think a more subtle approach should have been used, rather than the six guns blazing approach, like do a little bit of quiet behind-the scene investigation, and make sure there are reasonable grounds for the allegation, over and above the wild-eyed speculation of some friggin' pyschic. A friggin' pyschic, for heaven's sake. Hey I'm a psychic, too. The price of gas is going up tomorrow!

A statement by a PSYCHIC does not by statute constitute an "allegation". Bank on that. I don't know the law, but that's what I was thinking, too. Psychics are nothing but frauds. Why does anybody put any store by these clowns at all? I could make 1,000 predictions too, and one of them might some day turn out to be true. We never hear about their 999/1000 blown calls. Well, I guess we have heard about this one.