John Tapscott

I can't believe I didn't vote the first time around. ROLL CALL got my vote. It is perhaps my favorite Blue Note recording and defintely on my top ten list of recordings overall. SOUL STATION and NO ROOM tied for second.

Gee, what with all the football (north and south of the border) plus the baseball playoffs, I'm not missing it a bit. And I probably won't until at least January. Seriously, the NHL and the players are going to do long-term damage to the sport with this nonsense. Middling seats in the Air Canada Centre, where the Toronto Maple Leafs play, cost nearly $100 each. Experts are talking about the game getting back on ice around Jan '06! Maybe the game ought to die.

As someone who got "bit" over 30 years ago, and whose music of listening and buying choice has been 98% jazz since then, the answer is "no", not if it was a real bite by the real bug. In fact, the disease only worsens.

I don't know how advanced Max's condition is (and who on the board really does?) Though I wasn't there, the several reviews of the 50th anniversary Massey Hall concert in 2003 all said in one way or another that Max really shouldn't have been there on stage. But having read through all these posts, and having had some experience dealing with family members and clients with Alzheimer's, I think what Quincy says makes the most sense. And Dan is right, too. Let's not get carried away without knowing all the facts, especially the stage of Max's condition. No one lacks compassion for Max. I think everyone of us would like to see him have the most appropriate care under the circumstances.

Agreed that Ms. Brackeen is a very powerful musician, overlooked in a way (at least by me), though I enjoy the 4 or 5 recordings of hers I own. Who rounds out the trio on this CD? Is the program all originals or a mix of standards and originals. Often I find the latter works best for my listening.

Thanks Free for All and everyone else for your birthday greetings. I'm sure not going to forget trombone players, you or anyone else. Don't know about you, but I've been diggin' some Andy Martin CD's lately. Another good Ros' and Fontana man! I have that Benny Golson Lp and it's a good one. Good things happened on Oct 14, at least in the 1950's. Somewhat ironically one of my birthday gifts was Benny's new CD on Concord, Terminal One.

Now Jim, let's be fair here. I sometimes have problems with Canada Post. But I don't think we know on which side of the border the package got hung up. I cannot help but remember the time the US P.O. sent my Mosaic order to England instead of Canada.

Happy Birthday, Pryan, from one Canadian to another. Have a great day, eh! Hey, you got winter out there in Winnipeg yet?

Avoid the Maynard Ferguson stuff like the plague. It's from his mid 70's/early 80's commercial/disco/pop phase on Columbia (post Live at Jimmy's). Bad.

Andy Martin Quartet "It's Fine...It's Andy" (Fresh Sound)

I'll second everyone who says this is a great choice. Really looking forward to giving it a spin, but not until the 3rd!

I'm not commenting on how this was handled and I've never bought anything from UA, though he lives 25 miles away. But two things come to mind. Leeway ordered and paid for the CD's on Sept 1. I think it's reasonable for him to assume they would be mailed within 2-3 days after that day. UA claims he mailed them on either Sept 8 or Sept 9, perhaps a few days later than he should have. BUT I have learned from years of experience that on cross-border shipments of recordings, you shoudn't even bother making an inquiry, let alone go ballistic about a missing shipment until AT LEAST A MONTH after it's mailed. Leeway JUMPED THE GUN by a couple of weeks at least. I am expecting two CD's in the mail now that were mailed from the US at least two weeks ago. They're a bit later than usual, but they'll be here in due course. I had a Mosaic order mis-shipped to England before finally arriving in Canada (in a British mail bag) some six weeks after being mailed. Some CD's I sent to a friend in Norway took 2 months to arrive. As I said in my earlier posting, patience please. If something has been mailed it WILL arrive, though it may be later than you expect.

I just wanted to add that because of a Canadian Customs slowdown, packages are getting held up at the border and taking twice as long as usual to arrive. I know it's affecting packages coming from the US to Canada, and perhaps also packages going from Canada to the US. More patience than usual is required these days.

Sometimes it's hard to explain or gather together all the factors that make any jazz performance (solo piano or otherwise) really come alive. But when it happens, you know it, quite apart from any explanation. When you mention great solo piano recordings, one that comes to my mind immediately is Kenny Barron's Maybeck recital on Concord. Everything is right, good, and satisfying about that CD. I find it a very compelling performance, awe-inspiring, actually. If could take only one solo piano CD to the desert island, this would be it.

I agree totally. I really like this fine recording, one of my favorite and most played Hank's.

Lon, the search will be worth it. Inspired by this thread I listened to Unity last night for the first time in probably 5 years. I had forgotten how good it is. The band tears it up. And the blend/constrast/interplay of the two bassists works really well.

I was really keen on Ernie back in the Quartet West Days. I haven't soured on his playing at all, just kind of forgot about him for a while. My favorite Watts is on Quartet West's "Always Say GoodBye." Right now I'm listening to Watts' "Unity" Cd on JVC. This is a good one and the music has a more aggressive feel than Quartet West (Geri Allen p, Eddie Gomez, b, Steve Swallow, elb, Jack DeJohnette d.) I also saw him live once guesting with a local big band. The man can play.

I REALLY like this one too. If you're looking for "exploratory", look no further. If "bluesy" takes priority over "exploratory" you might consider the Horace Parlan. It's a fine set, with lots of modern, if not "exploratory" jazz. On the other hand, if you need both in equal measure, defintely go for the Elvin. I don't own it, but I've heard some of a friend's set, and it is BAD!

It's quite possible they're the same company. Up to 30 or 40 years ago most US firms had maufacturing facilities in Canada to make their product for the Canadian market. Those were the days of high tariffs and duties. Now companies make their products wherever it is cheapest to do so and send them more or less freely across the border.

I have several of these myself. They are fine. The sound and vinyl quality is equivalent to Impulses of similar vintage pressed stateside.

John Clayton is a good bassist and fine arranger. He will probably do a good job, though there will be many pieces to pick up in the wake of Shank's firing. He has a lot of courage for even taking the job. What I fail to understand is how the Festival's Board of Directors can think that Clayton will broaden the musical scope of the festival, since he's every bit as mainstream as Shank.

I must admit that Adrian Farugia is a new name to me. But the Top 'o the Senator usually books very strong musicians, (modern but never too far out), so you probably couldn't go too far wrong. Stay for a set. If you like it, stay for another. If you don't, go somewhere else. Toronto is not NYC, but there's always lots of entertainment! Now the Dave McMurdo Big Band is something else again. If you like big bands AT ALL, you should catch this band. With the Boss Brass gone, this is definitely Canada's premiere jazz orchestra and has many of our top musicians. Much of the writing (in a Brookmeyer vein) is by trombonist McMurdo. But there are also some great charts by legendary Canadian clarinetist and former big band leader Phil Nimmons (the guest for that week) and a few other writers. This band really kicks butt. I'll be there myself if I can.

I think the Montreal Bistro is still in business and usually has good jazz. (Yes I know it's Toronto, but it's called, for some reason,the "Montreal" Bistro). One good thing is that these clubs, though not side by side, are not all that far apart, either. Reasonable walking distance. Also check out the record stores on Yonge Street (again, not all that far away), Sam's and HMV.

From what I've heard of Woody's singing, I would say "No." I don't think it changed all that much throughout his entire career, though his voice did become deeper and perhaps more raspy with age. What you've heard is pretty much what you always get. I rather like Herman's vocals, though not enough to purchase the set for the vocals alone. Surprisngly, I don't think Herman's singing was so much of an ego thing as a commercial thing (he was a shy and retiring man off the stage). Even in the swing era, big bands couldn't make it on the basis of hot jazz alone. They needed their vocal hits for finanicial viability. I think you would probably be satisfied with the recent 2 disc compilation on Columbia, "Blowin' Up a Storm," which concentrates on the well-known big band charts from the Mosaic set. It's a good compilation with good sound, though the liners could have been a bit more informative.

Yes, he won. Only 10 Grand though, because he blew the last question. I don't mind the guy, but I'm kind of hoping he loses soon. They need to do some serious screening and find some 'really" bright contestants to take him on. I usually feel sorry for the other contestants. Against anyone else, they might be in the game. But in the episodes I've seen, by half way through the first round he has it wrapped up.