John Tapscott

Not sure it's hit the stores yet. I believe the first retail mailing went out today. I hope to have it by the end of the week and will report.

Dizzy Reece Select - Disc 2. This is the first time I've heard any of the music on this set, and I think it's wonderful!

BTW, that Mantooth CD is a really good one overall. Paul's a great player. He's a Fontana man, and believe me, for a 'bone player that's a VERY hard style to master. Only the best dare to go down that path. Paul has done some great work with big bands, for example, the Woody Herman Orchestra, before and after Woody's death. Also with the Jim Widner midwestern big band where Paul is often featured. And Paul has a nice CD under his own name - darned if I can remember the title and label off the top of my head.

No, because the CD's I buy I generally listen to within a day or two. Even box sets I listen to in the first week after I've purchased them, usually by listening to one CD of the set per day. But CD's that people lend to me or give me, either as promos (I have a friend in the business) or CD-R's tend to pile up for a while, though I eventually get around to listening to them, too. At the moment I have only two purchased CD's I haven't listened to - the new Dave Holland Big Band CD and Disc 3 of the Bob Brookmeyer Select. They will be listened to tomorrow.

I am definitely among those who likes big jazz bands, and just ordered this one. You've got to listen to the recommendation of someone who can made a CD like "Convergence Zone" (also on Origin and highly recommended). This "SGUD Missile" guy knows his stuff!

Elvin Jones - Disc 1 & 2 - One of my favorite Mosaic sets!

I'm guessing they don't need them anymore, since the Selects seem to be such good sellers and give them a pretty good cash flow. I recently got the Brookmeyer set, #3405. Now I know that we don't get these in order and so on, but I suspect that this relatively high number after only a year indicates that this one is a good seller.

Bob Brookmeyer Select. Another from Mosaic.

Duke Ellington - The Great Paris Concert Count Basie - April in Paris Charles Mingus - Great Concert Stan Kenton - New Concepts Jessica Williams - The Victoria Concert Woody Herman - Woody's Winners Tommy Flanagan - Jazz Poet Kenny Barron - At Maybeck Phil Woods - Rites of Swing Zoot Sims - The Gershwin Brothers Oscar Peterson - Tracks Stan Getz - Focus Sonny Rollins - The Bridge Dizzy Gillespie - Gillespiana

By piano-less jazz, I presume you mean with no other chording instrument, either, like vibes or guitar. Personally, I like it just fine and the sense of openeness it brings, but it really depends on who the players are, especially the horn player(s). Second-rate players couldn't handle it. I really dig those Elvin Jones BN recordings you're referring to. Joe Farrell was a monster player on those recordings. He played tenor, soprano and flute. So along with Jones and Jimmy Garrison, there's lots of variety which really makes those albums work well. I also think it sounds great when the horn player maintains the changes for his solo. That really helps to keep the listener involved and gives some guideposts along the way. I heard Joe Lovano play 2 hours with nothing but his tenor, bass, and drums, and that worked very well, too. It was one of the greatest jazz concerts I've ever attended.

Hank Mobley's Roll Call, and not only because of the music!

I've got to say this is a fascinating discussion. I will be hearing Rollins live for the first time at the end of June, and I DO have my fingers crossed. A couple of points from a much less elevated level than Jim or Allen. 1) Not all Rollins' Milestone recordings are poor,. There's a couple of decent CD's that I kept which have Tommy Flanagan on piano, which suggests to me that the quality of the sidemen really DOES make a difference to Sonny. Playing with the best generally seems to bring out the best in Sonny (a truism throughout his career, it seems). He does himself a disservice when he surrounds himself with second-rate players. 2) So Sonny has a psychological problem with recording. So what? I'm sure he's not the only one. We wouldn't let anyone else off the hook with that excuse. Like, deal with it. People who buy your recordings deserve your best effort, with the best musicians you can get for the session. Far lesser musicians can go into the studio and make decent recordings which approximate their live performances. FWIW, my guess is that while Sonny is a great saxophonist and musician, he is a reluctant leader. (I'm guessing that if Sonny were a painist he would do little else but solo piano concerts). Actually he probably lacks leadership skills. That's OK, so do I. So do lots of us. But leadership and organizational skills CAN be developed, at least to a rudimentary degree. And you can develop a band and group concept. It seems Sonny has put little effort into any of this. And yes, that is our loss.

The Coleman is a good Cd. If you like it, don't walk, RUN to get the Miles Seven Steps box or at least the single CD's with Coleman on them. He is a greatly underrated player, IMHO. Brilliant technique and a finely honed, though not huge, sound in all registers of the horn. His influence has been felt mainly through teaching. Many of today's tenor greats have studied with George. Back around '77 Coleman made an LP with an Octet called Big George, which has been a long-time favorite of mine. Worth keeping an eye out for in used vinyl shops.

I'm going to see Sonny at Massey Hall in Toronto on June 24. Man, I hope he has a good night. My ticket cost $75. I've never seen Sonny in concert and figured I'd better take the opportunity while I still can. I must admit to being a bit worried about Sonny's reputation for inconsistent performances, though. From a paying fan's point of view, there's a certain advantage to a Sonny Stitt auto-pilot type of performance. It may not always be great, but it will always be at least decent, and you feel you've got your money's worth. I gather that with Rollins it could be either great or a real drag. I'll be happy if it's least part way in-between.

Yes, indeed, a very fine and clear review, Jim. You have a gift, for sure. Like Lon, I feel the FEVER rising.

Oh boy, I buy too much cold sober. I can't imagine what would happen with a few beers. I'd be clicking every "buy it now" icon I could find!!! In any case, I don't have the Mr. T. set, but I have at least half the set on LP. You're going to love it!!!

DIZZY GILLESPIE!!!!! Clark Terry Louis Armstrong Clifford Brown Thad Jones

I don't know for sure, but I suspect it's closer to 3,000 (or less) than 10,000. For some reason 5,000 world-wide sticks in my mind. (Don't know whether it's because it's a nice round number, or because I read it somewhere.)

In no particular order Ben Webster Lester Young John Coltrane Hank Mobley Zoot Sims (# 6 - Dexter Gordon)

Oh! That wasn't in the heading. Sorry!!

Not to mention Ben Webster and a rather obscure player named John Coltrane. B-)

Oh boy, just catching up on today's news. What a sad and shocking loss this is (and I just heard that drummer Stan Levey died today - not a good day for the jazz world.) I know a lot of people here don't dig Oscar Peterson but if you can tolerate him, you should listen to the track "On Danish Shore" from Oscar's "If You Could See Me Now" CD on Pablo from 1983. I'm listening to it right now and has truly awesome playing from everyone esp. NHOP. Clear, fast, anchored, strong. All his strengths on display on this 8 minute plus track. (The tune was written by both Peterson and Pederson). Joe Pass and Martin Drew round out the quartet. This is a good album all round. Our thoughts and prayers must be with Niels' family, but also with Oscar, as someone pointed out. How must he be feeling today? Not in the best of health himself and losing his two long-time bass players and close collaborators in the past couple of years.

Guess I couid look this up, but I'll just ask here. What's on the 7th disc in the box set that's not included on the single Cd's? A brief answer is fine. Thanks Looks like I'll have to go for "Four" and "Valentine" after all. $$$$$$

FWIW, I'm going for the single CD's. So far - Seven Steps to Heaven, In Europe, Live in Tokyo, Miles in Berlin. It's strange, but the indvidual CD's in total are cheaper than the box. Haven't decided on Funny Valentine and Four and More yet, since I already have the double CD set on Columbia from more than a decade ago.

The second Cd "Deep Cove" listed on her website is a 2003 CBC recording by the Ryga/Rosnes Quartet. (Campbell Ryga is a Canadian saxophonist). I picked it up yesterday and it is excellent in every way. Superb sound. Wonderful playing and writing by Renee (and the others), plus a couple of standards. Not to be missed.