duaneiac

Wow. Just wow. 40 years down the road, this is still an incredible performance.

Way back in the the 1990's, when I was getting deeper into jazz and had some limited expendable income with which I could indulge my interest, Tower Records had an outlet store in the South of Market area of SF. It made way for the not-Candlestick Park ballpark that was constructed there. But they had some great deals on cut-outs and a whole lot of these, I think they were of Italian origin, budget CDs on the "Giants of Jazz" label. Here's a couple of samples: (I actually still have that CD somwhere, I'm sure ) Anybody else remember these or still have some of these? I think I got rid of the Wes Montgomery discs in this series once I got the Complete Riverside Recordings boxed set, but these "Giants of Jazz" discs were my first real exposure to his music. I think I had 3 Montgomery CDs at probably $3.99 or $4.99 a pop back then. I bought a ton of these kind of discs at that Tower Outlet store way back then . . .

Discs 1 & 2 of 3.

You did not mention the whole Proper label of PD boxed sets. Probably many of us have purchased one or more of their products. I have generally been satisfied with the sound quality on the various sets I have from them and I have always liked the liner note essays and photos included in each set. I cannot attest to the accuracy of the discographical information they provide, but at least they do make an effort to provide that info.

His "Ivory & Steel" band featuring steel drummer Othello Molineaux.

There is only one word for this band and this video: INCREDIBLE! In the trumpet section ya got Doc Cheatham, Joe Newman and Cat Anderson. In the sax section ya got Charles McPherson sitting smack dab between Earle Warren and Arnett Cobb -- and, oh yeah, Pepper Adams on the other end. Did you think that looks like Ray Bryant on piano in that video still? Well congratulations, that is Ray Bryant and and I never thought of him as a boogie woogie player but there he is on the fun-filled thrill ride that is "Hamp's Boogie Woogie". I think this is the first time I have seen Panama Francis drumming. Very crisp and tasty. I absolutely loved this video, but I still did not have half as much fun as Hamp did. Do yourself a favor this weekend and set aside an hour to watch this amazing concert video.

This video is cued up to my favorite performance of the concert, the very last tune of the show, "Il Postino". A bit unusual, perhaps, to close out a show with such a gentle tune, but look how captivated the audience is at the end. Magic happened there for those folks.

The more I know of people, the better I like my dog. And I don't even have a dog. Strange how music works. Where it comes from, what it's used for. What music lives on and what music is quickly forgotten. Victor Young's score for a long forgotten film produced this wonderfully rich and romantic theme. Charlie Haden heard it and remembered it and made it even more breathtakingly beautiful.

My impression is they would be aghast to find themselves appreciating the same type of music that the unwashed masses hoot & holler & applaud for.

Hey -- I have been listening to that one in my car the past couple of days and LOVING it!! I love all the Terry Gibbs big band "Live" stuff I have heard. I actually feel kinda guilty about listening to this band without the necessary accompaniment of a thick well-done steak, a highball and lots of cigar/cigarette smoke because that's the setting for which this music was designed, Just listening to this music, I half expect to see Joey Bishop or Marty Milner seated at a nearby table. This is the type of band for whom "Too Close For Comfort" was a big showstopper, so this is not music for Maria Schneider acolytes. Great arrangements, although some might dismiss them as "clever", and a band of musicians who combine to create a powerful, swinging musical machine. Mel Lewis keeps the band's engines well stoked.

A movie that proves that even under all that makeup, both Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were really good character actors. It's a shame there were not more suitable roles for Mr. Lugosi especially. Here he gives an admittedly theatrical performance, but it is a performance that humanizes or at least de-monsterfies his Ygor character. Mr. Karloff was also very good in his final performance as the Creature. It's impossible to watch Lionel Atwill's police inspector without thinking of Harvey Korman. I wonder if the whole bit with the fake arm was designed to be so over the top as to be some comic relief in the movie. Granted, the circumstances under which he lost his arm (it had been torn off by the Creature) were horribly grim, but the way his flings his fake arm around with his good arm and especially sticking the darts into his fake arm are just funny whether they were originally intended to be or not.

Is it possible to have a CinameScope, Color By DeLuxe film noir? This is kinda that (but also kinda All About Eveish since it is a tale about theater folk and a young girl who comes to town and begins ingratiating her way up the ladder of success) as Van Heflin is the man wrongly suspected of murder who must take it on the lam to prove his innocence. George Raft is the crafty and impeccably dressed police detective on the case. Ginger Rogers has an acting field day and any opportunity to watch the beautiful Miss Gene Tierney is time well spent.

Let's begin with the question: What small percentage of 1960's Universal film & TV productions were not either written by or based on a story by Robert Bloch? That man must have been a writing machine! Then let's consider Barbara Stanwyck, for my money, one of the finest screen actresses in American cinema. Here she stars in the last of her 85 feature films. So by 1964 she had been an admired film star for decades, she was a 4 time Best Actress Oscar nominee, she was an Emmy Award winner for her self-named TV series -- and even though this tale revolves around the dreams her character keeps having and she is onscreen for about 90% of the scenes, she still gets second billing to ex-hubby Robert Taylor!?!?! That Hollywood sexism is one tough nut to crack! It's not a great movie. It is a William Castle film after all. It's not really bad either. Great lobby card though! I'd recommend this movie mainly if one happens to be a hardcore Barbara Stanwyck fan. How is it she never made a movie with Alfred Hitchcock?

Disc 6 of 6.

I remembered seeing this on TV as a child and had not seen it since then. If the thought of Tony Randall portraying Hercule Poirot makes you wince, follow your instincts and avoid this movie. It's bad.

An anthology film based on tales from the EC Comics. I had seen a version of the first segment here (a Christmas tale starring Joan Collins in which she is terrorized in her home by an escaped mental patient dressed as Santa Claus -- or should that be "Father Christmas"? -- but she cannot call the police because she has just killed her wealthy elderly husband and has not had a chance to dispose of the body) on the old TFTC TV series and I think the TV version was better done. I suppose some of the stories might seem a bit slow moving by today's standards, but the final tale, about the residents of a home for the blind finally having their revenge against the heartless supervisor in charge, although a bit slow, was really good and had an especially chilling conclusion. Freddie Francis should be paid more respect as a director. He often comes up with intriguing shots and shots well designed to bring out the blend of humor and horror that this genre thrived on. Meh. Maybe it was better when seen in Hypno Vista. Great villainous overacting by Michael Gough.

One of my desert island discs in the "rock" category.

Disc 1 of 2, which includes the episodes "African Incident" (a Bridge On The River Kwai parody which allows Peter Sellers use his marvelous Alec Guiness voice) and "Tiddlywinks".

The CD portion of this CD/DVD combo.