John Tapscott

Me too. Glad you had a good one, Dan! All the best.

This should be no great surprise. You can often find CD's cheaper on various retail sites than on the label's "home" site. The retail vendor probably buys "x" number of copies of a particular CD from Mosaic at around $8 per CD with no return. They then sell them for whatever mark-up they need (or can get). Like every other label, Mosaic has to move "product."

Of the ones you listed, I voted for Compulsion, which is one of my favorite Hill sessions and one I look forward to hearing again and again. Of course it's challenging, yet I find it fairly accessible. I think the extra percussion gives this date a very satisfying rhythmic feel. But overall, I agree with Guy. Go with Black Fire first.

Toronto Argonauts 35....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 22 The score flattered the Ti-Cats. Picking up Printers was smart move for the Ti-Cats, but won't help this this year. It certainly improves the CFL overall (or will next year for sure). I can't wait to see Printers go head to head next season against Michael Bishop. I like Bishop but we'll have to see how he handles the big test next week against B.C. (in Vancouver).

I have half a dozen Bryant recordings. My favorite may be "Plays Ellington and Basie" on Emarcy.

Hmm - obviously fake. I thought there was only one of those. C'mon, there are so many rural banks, they had to hire him as Regional Branch Manager. You may not know this, but banks in Ghana are now competing over how many ATMs they offer their customers and how convenient they are. Community wells are an especially popular and convenient location. Unfortunately now that Catesta has replied, he's going to a LOT of these offers. But hey, he's going to have as much coin as Wynton Marsalis!

Having received "Drum Suite" only yesterday, I've given it a couple of spins. It's the first time I've heard it, or any of Slide's Octet recordings. After the first listen I was mildly disappointed that I'd chosen it. It doesn't go in the "significant" category (which I feel an AOTW should be), but rather in the "enjoyable" category. But now having accepted that, I would say that it is a decent and enjoyable session, perhaps slightly above average. I was more than a little surprised by the huge sound of the group and by the lack of subtlety in the arrangements.. And that's understandable, really, given that Slide had just come from Maynard's band. The powerful rip through "Our Waltz" is really quite a shock, given the gentle way this tune is usually treated. Nothing gentle about this version. Max is quite outstanding on "Our Waltz" and "The Drum Suite". Enjoy Lateef and Coleman, too. Yes, a decent session, but not quite as outstanding as I'd hoped.

Total agreement from this corner. I love it!!!

But the question remains: Is WM "worth" over a million a year? I know you take what is offered, but from what I've heard, no way. And I'm not a real Wynton basher. I enjoy some of his music; some of it I find quite dull; truthfully I find myself listening to him less and less all the time, not that I was ever really 'into" his music in a real big way. When I want to listen to a big band - I rarely reach for a LCJO CD- I much prefer Maria Schneider, Bill Holman, Bob Florence or the Vanguard Jazz Orch. Lots of creative new music from those circles. I recognize that Wynton is a top-notch trumpet player, but again when I want to listen to current trumpeters, there's others I enjoy as much or more. (These days I'm really digging Brian Lynch). As for having WM being a "spokesman" for jazz, well maybe that's important for some people (especially the moneyed cultral "elite", who need to feel they're "doing something" for jazz). But I think the music can speak for itself. I was able to discover and explore jazz music (and I'm sure it's true for most of us here) without Wynton's help, thank you very much. I predate him anyway. My biggest help in discovering and exploring jazz was Martin Williams "Jazz Tradition" book which I "lifted" from my high school library over 35 years ago and "forgot" to return. Overall, Wynton is neither the destroyer nor the Savior of jazz. I just find him increasingly irrelevant and if Wynton and all his music suddenly disappeared it wouldn't affect me very much at all (and maybe jazz in general). The point is: Compared to what other jazz musicians make, is Wynton worth 10 or 20 times as much per year? I think the answer is quite obvious.

I'm guessing that the discography is no longer there for out-of-print sets. IMO, the Rich/Roach recording while looking "goofy" on the surface works quite well. It's definitely worth listening to, at least. Each drummer's group was a good one and Buddy and Max often light up some fireworks in their solos and exchanges. They were surprisingly compatible.

A choice that will extend our appreciation of Max Roach for another week. I ordered this CD 10 days ago in the August Mosaic Singles sale, but it hasn't arrived yet. Hope to have it Monday or Tuesday so I can join in the discussion.

On the bright side, if he lives in New York City, he probably has an effective tax rate of around 50%. That's essentially what our total tax rate is up here in Canada. But now I know how Wynton affords all those nice suits. Come to think of it, he probably doesn't have to buy them himself. It's probably part of his 'benefit' package with J@LC. I was watching a Phil Woods DVD last night in which Phil talks about "the people who have died for this music..." Wynton sure isn't one of them. Nice work if you can get it, though.

I don't think the issue is quite as clear-cut as you guys are making it (the church is completely bad, muisguided, etc.) I'll probably get hammered for saying this, but reading the article suggests to me that there could easily have been a compromise. The church made a generous offer in offering to hold the service for someone who was not a member of the church (most churches struggle with requsts for "rites of passage" for non-members). Yes, the man's brother is the janitor of the church, but that in and of itself does not mean that the deceased man has a "right" to have a funeral service there. To do a funeral service for a non-member ties up significant staff time and resources (that's why funeral homes have chapels - to hold funeral services for people who are not members of any church). Churches believe what they believe (and if you don't agree you don't have to become a member of that church). The church could have done the funeral service but had the final say over what went into the video, and if there were particular images or pictures of the man's life which the church chose not to display within it's walls because they conflicted with their beliefs - well, it's their place of worship and their beliefs (whether you agree with their particular point of view).

I could hardly believe the score when I saw it. Wow! Glad to see Hamilton finally win a game. Hope they catch and pass the Argos. I'm really cheesed off right now with the Argos. And it's good to see our Canadian lad Lumsden doing so well. The Ti-Cats, unlike the Argos, realize that you need a running game to succeed in the CFL.

Yeah, but only if you're getting Keith Jarrett money! Then you can afford to. And make sure you throw in the part about "leaving the city," not just the stage, but the city. That part really cracks me up.

A friend of mine said Keith did the same thing at the Montreal Jazz Festival this year - twice apparently - before and after the show. Flash photos - all I can say is - big friggin' deal! Keith really thinks he somebody, doesn't he? Pompous, arrogant, no class - you name it. No audience should be treated like this. But I guess when your trio gets $80,000 a concert, you figure you can say anything you want.

My prediction that the Argos will not win another game until Michael Bishop returns is holding fast. Seems that Damon Allen's injury might be career ending. Hard to say this, but this may be a good thing. I loved Damon in his prime, but his prime is way past. He should have retired before the season started. And Pinball's motivational skills are wearing a little thin.

Happy Birthday Lon! My thoughts and prayers are with you and Helen. All the best. Knowing how much you like Ellington I'm going to listen to some Duke today in your honor!

The Basie "Live" Roulette set .

Just what I was going to say.

Pre-ordered the Davis and the Jordan. Strange to say, but I've never had (or heard) either of these dates in any format. Thanks for the heads-up.

I wouldn't choose his sides with Miles as the best way to show-off Hank's playing, but I've enjoyed his work with that band on the Blackhawk and Carnegie Hall albums. Just imagine yourself in Hank's shoes. It would be hard to do your best, when your employer didn't appreciate you for who you are but wishing you were someone else. In Hank's case that would be Rollins or 'Trane, and wasn't Miles quite vocal about the fact that he wished he had either of those men rather than Hank? Not the most relaxed setting for doing your best work.

I was away on vacation and didn't see the press. But I did see the Argos at Calgary on TV. McMahon was awful, missing receivers constantly, throwing to the wrong receiver, not able to adjust to blitzes, and so on. The reason the press are coming down on him so heavily is because of his oversized ego. He came in and expected to be handed the starting job, because he played in the NFL. His constant whining over his second-strong status has been very annoying. And when he did get a chance to start, he didn't show a thing. I don't know how this guy ever started in the NFL. I can't imagine the Argos winning another game (well maybe against Hamilton) until Michael Bishop returns. McMahon isn't half the QB that Bishop is. And the way the CFL is, a team can stink at the beginning of the year but still make it to the Grey Cup. Part of the Argos problem for the past few years is that they have no consistent running game. That's not such a big problem for Bishop since he can run the ball himself better than any of their running backs (through that's what led to his injury).

"Live in Tokyo" on Xanadu. (I have the LP, don't know whether it's on CD). There are others, but I think this is a good one to start with.

Wow! Full props to Brian. He sounds like our kinda guy. But I'll bet we have several members here with even larger collections (of course they probably have a few years on Brian). I read somewhere that drummer Kenny Washington has a similar sized or even larger collection.