HutchFan

NP: Adam Cruz - Milestone (Sunnyside, 2011) with Steve Wilson (ss); Miguel Zenón (as); Chris Potter (ts); Steve Cardenas (g); Edward Simon (p, el-p); Ben Street (b) Terrific record.

Agreed.

Now spinning: The Richie Kamuca Quartet - Richie (Concord, 1977) with Mundell Lowe, Monty Budwig, and Nick Ceroli

Good idea. Will do.

Gotcha. That makes sense.

Ooof. I see that the cost of shipping across the Atlantic is more expensive than the book itself. Even so, this is one that I can't & won't resist. Maybe Santa Claus can put it under the tree for me come Christmastime. Another problem: As you've noted, @sidewinder, those other books look mighty enticing too. This could get expensive.

Excellent. Thanks so much to both of you! EDIT: I'm a tad surprised that Kenny Wheeler isn't one of Heining's chosen six. I realize that he's Canadian, but still. An honorary Brit, no? . . . Not a criticism or even a quibble. Just an observation.

Details, please! I just tried a Google search and came up empty. Do you have a URL?

More Mickey Newbury: Looks Like Rain (Mercury, 1969)

Now on my turntable: Mickey Newbury - Lovers (Elektra, 1975) Incredible music, as deep as a well and just as dark. Newbury is probably best known for 'Frisco Mabel Joy (Elektra, 1971) -- some listeners might remember "An American Trilogy" -- but I think this album is his best work. from wikipedia: As Thom Jurek notes in his AllMusic review of Newbury's 1975 LP Lovers, "As solid as Lovers is, it still failed to ignite on the chart level. It was greeted with indifference by radio and, hence, Elektra -- which had believed and invested in Newbury's creative vision and proven credibility as a songwriter -- let him go." Newbury biographer Joe Ziemer sums up the singer's dilemma in his book Crystal and Stone: "Though diversity derives from aptitude and ability, diversity was Newbury's problem with radio stations. One dominant characteristic of his music is eclecticism, and that's what made his albums unattractive to strict radio formats." Newbury had made several high profile appearances to promote Lovers, including on The Tonight Show, but began to sour on touring, telling Rich Wiseman of Rolling Stone in 1975, "I'll probably quit performing and just record on an album-to-album basis. I'm hating what I'm doing now." In 1977 he elaborated to the Omaha Review, "I worked a few concerts, mostly college concerts, just to prove to Elektra that it wouldn't help. They kept blaming the lack of sales on me." Ironically, Newbury's profile could not have been higher on the radio in 1977, albeit in a reverential way; in April outlaw country superstar Waylon Jennings released the #1 country smash "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)", which contains the lines "Between Hank Williams' pain songs, Newbury's train songs..." The song became an instant classic but most of the listeners who sang along with the tune likely had no idea who Newbury was. Although cited by Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, David Allan Coe, and several other country stars as a primary influence on their songwriting and albums, Newbury had little interest in cashing in on the outlaw country movement; according to Ziemer, Newbury was pressured by his record company to record an album called Newbury's Train Songs but Newbury turned them down: "They couldn't understand why I refused to do it. But I figured what little audience I did have would have immediately seen it for what it was: Jumping on the bandwagon when I didn't fit the mold."

Now streaming: Bobby Bare - The Mercury Years, Vol. 3 Music drawn from four LPs Bare made for Mercury, 1970-72. Terrific stuff, full of soul.

Now listening to Beethoven's piano sonatas, performed by Wilhelm Kempff, as heard on this 5-LP set: Starting with No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 "Pastorale"

Now spinning one of my favorite LPs by Art Pepper: The Maiden Voyage Sessions, Vol. 3 (Galaxy, rec. 1981) What a cool artifact! I suppose that's the only one in the whole world. . . . And the music is astounding, of course. Yup. Mine also.

Yowza. What gorgeous hardware. There's almost something MAGICAL and ALTAR-like about it -- which seems entirely appropriate, given the fact that it's made to reproduce MUSIC. My Marantz solid state amp works very well, and it has for a long time. But it's just a black box compared that illuminated sorcery! JK. . . but also (sorta) not.

I've never owned a tube amp. About how long does it take for new tubes to break in?