HutchFan

Larry Coryell - Offering (Vanguard, 1972)

An image from yesterday's Petit Le Mans at the Michelin Raceway at Road Atlanta.

I agree. Whenever I listen to it, I'm surprised (again) that BN didn't want to issue it. Next up: Dollar Brand / Abdullah Ibrahim - Tintinyana (Kaz UK, 2 LPs) The third volume in "The African Recordings" series I brought this home from a record store in Madrid last summer.

Black Renaissance [Harry Whitaker] - Body, Mind and Spirit (Baystate/Luv N' Haight, 1977) IMO, the hero of this record is Buster Williams. His bass is often in the foreground, and -- even when it isn't -- Buster's fingerprints are ALL OVER this record. What an incredible groove and sound!

Hooray for Jim Hall !

Even though I already own the JoeHen Milestone box . . . If Craft ever reissued Power to the People on vinyl, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Same with Multiple. I think they're amazing records -- the two jewels of his Milestone years.

@GA Russell, I've used Media Monkey for years -- not only for burning CDs, all sorts of other music-related stuff too. I've never had any issues, and the price is reasonable. I'd recommend it.

A record that's always astounding, no matter how often I play it: As heard on this set: Good one! IMO, every one of those Blakey records as a sextet -- with Fuller added -- are awesome.

Try this: https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fbs/associated-press Incidentally, a two-loss conference champion would be seeded in the top four -- with a bye, automatically, by virtue of having won their conference. It's conceivable that a two-loss team could be seeded somewhere between 5 and 12 -- but I assume that other teams with only one loss (that didn't win one of the four major conferences) would get those "at large" bids first. But I'm only speculating. I don't really know what it will look like . . . because this hasn't ever happened before. EDIT I still think it's safe to say that this new post-season system is going to make college FB much more like baseball and NFL football. Winning during the regular season will only matter in the sense that it earns the team a place somewhere in the playoff. After the regular season ends, records won't mean much. It'll be a new mini-season, and the hottest, healthiest teams -- at that moment -- will have the biggest advantage. Of course, seeding matters. But I don't think it'll matter as much as these other things.

Grant Green - Alive! (Blue Note, 1970) I think this album is the best of GG's funk-oriented phase. It was made at the Cliche Lounge in Newark. The you-are-there vibes add an extra dollop of oomph to the music.

Dan, I think it would extremely unlikely that any teams with 2 losses would make the playoffs. I suppose it could happen if a two-loss team happened to win one of the four conference championships and then advanced to the NC. Usually, conference champs have one loss or none. I guess we'll find out what happens starting next year. It's uncharted territory ahead for college FB.

Disc 4

I don't think it's nearly as simple as that. Because anyone who's watching sports on television is part of it. In fact, even if you don't watch sports, you're paying more for your television because of sports. I worked a year-long contract gig for Cox Communications, a huge cable company. I'm not an expert, but while I was there, I learned that broadcasters love sports because it's just about the only programming that viewers continue to watch in real-time. Other types of programming can be recorded & viewed on-demand asynchronously. Consequently, the cost (and value) of advertising is MUCH higher for sporting events than any other type of programming -- since those ads are going to be seen by many more viewers. In fact, sports are the main thing that regularly drive up the cost of everyone's TV bill. The professional leagues know how their "product" is different. So the NFL, MLB, NBA -- and, yes, the NCAA -- demand huge sums from networks to broadcast their games, and the networks pass along these costs to the cable companies and streaming platforms who in turn pass along the costs to consumers. These advertising revenues have made professional athletes incredibly rich -- and those numbers are only going to go higher as more people watch programming on-demand instead of in real-time. And, if we step back a bit further. . . Remember that the only reason that any programming appears on commercial television -- from the network's point of view -- is because it puts eyeballs on advertising and thereby generates revenue. The fact that they're offering entertainment of any kind is incidental. Please keep in mind: I'm not defending all this, saying it's moral or right or just. I'm just saying that's how commercial television works in the U.S. It's business. Full stop.

This season is the final year of the 4-team playoff in college football. Next season (2024) will mark the beginning of a 12-team playoff. Teams seeded 1-4 -- the four major conference champions -- will have a bye as seeds 5-8 host home playoff games vs. seeds 9-12. After those games, the quarterfinals and semi-finals will be traditional bowl games (Fiesta, Peach, Rose, Sugar, etc.). It will end with the National Championship at a neutral site, just like it is today.

Kenny Burrell - 12-15-78 (32 Jazz/Muse, 2 CDs) with Larry Gales (b) & Sherman Ferguson (d)

The same thing is happening in college football. A regular season followed by a playoff tournament. There's too much $$$ to be made for it not to happen.

Cachao - Tropical Classics (Verse) CD compiles two LPs originally released on the the Salsoul label: Cachao y Su Descarga '77' Vol. 1 and Dos

Dodgers down 0-2 against the Diamondbacks -- and the next two games are in AZ. I didn't see that coming. The Braves somehow squeaked by the Phils in game two after looking lifeless for the first fifteen (!) innings of the series. And now the Rangers have swept the Orioles. It sure does look like the wildcard teams have had an unexpected advantage in the division series -- despite starting their respective series on the road. Any rest that the teams with byes received has been outweighed by the wildcard teams staying in rhythm, having continuity. Admittedly, the Astros are up 2-1 on the wildcard Twins. Still, the continuity thing definitely seems to be having an impact.

João Donato - A Bad Donato (Blue Thumb, 1970) I like this album. It's pleasingly strange and uncategorizable. But I think Donato's collaboration with Eumir Deodato -- DonatoDeodato (Muse, 1973) -- is even better.

Wow. I thought the Braves were kaput. They looked terrible for most of the game. But -- somehow -- they clawed out a win. Riley's HR and Harris' catch might have saved the Braves' season. Going up to Philly in a 0-2 hole likely would've been insurmountable. Now, the series is still up for grabs. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

Two that come to mind immediately: Keith Jarrett - Shades LP Side 1: "Shades of Jazz" -> "Southern Smiles" Genesis - Wind & Wuthering Three final tracks on the album: "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..." -> "...In That Quiet Earth" -> "Afterglow" EDIT Just thought of another. Santana - Abraxas "Black Magic Woman" -> "Gypsy Queen"