HutchFan

Ain't that the truth! I am SO glad that the Falcons didn't hire Rex. They interviewed/flirted with him for a while, but I think they had their hearts set on Quinn all along. Speaking of... I can hardly believe that the Falcons are 2-0. And we'll be facing a Romo-less and Dez-less Cowboys next week.

In my experience, any vacuum-type cleaner is going to be MUCH better than anything else. Yes, they're (relatively) expensive. But they're worth it! I have the Nitty Gritty model 1.0. It's their most basic, all-manual model. But it works great, often dramatically improving the sound of LPs. (Even brand new ones.) Before getting the Nitty Gritty, I used the Discwasher Record cleaning system and an Audioquest record cleaning brush. Those tools worked worked O.K. -- but any sort of wipe-on/wipe-off cleaning or brush can't compete with vacuum-style machines like Nitty Gritty or VPI. BTW: I'm not a super audiophile type person. I have an old Rega Planar 3 table with a Marantz receiver and 20+ year-old Pinnacle speakers. All good stuff, but nothing extraordinary. I'm saying this because you don't need a fancy, mega-buck audio system to notice huge sonic improvements with vacuum-type cleaners.

Score!!! Fantastic!

Exactly. I thought "cultured" people were individuals who had spent some time cultivating their minds. Looking at this list, you'd think that being cultured has more to do with the places you shop and the products you buy. "Culture" as a marketing exercise, a lifestyle choice. Hmm. I guess that's where we're at. Ugh.

It's now gone -- because I just bought it. Thanks for the heads-up, bluesoul!!! I have most of this music already, but I've pined for this set for long time. And I've never seen it at this low of a price. I'll give it to my kids to put under the tree for me come Christmas morning.

Slowly making my way through this:

When I was a kid, I had three posters of NBA players on my bedroom wall: Dr. J, Dominique, and Moses Malone. RIP, Moses.

I dig Frank Kimbrough too. Lullabluebye is the Kimbrough CD that I pull of the shelf most frequently.

Why Not? is a George Cables record. (But I do agree with you that it's a wonderful record!) Cables. Cowell. Easy to mix 'em up. Nope, Why Not? as in the Marion Brown LP from 1966... Doh! My bad. I assumed you were referring to this:

Several of the reissues in this "Xanadu Series" were originally released on Muse -- Kwanza, Brooklyn Brothers, Feelin's. The assumption is that Don Schlitten retained ownership of them after his departure from Muse & the dissolution of his partnership with Joe Fields. That's why these records are being reissued on Schlitten's Xanadu imprint even tho' they were originally Muse LPs.

I agree 100%, Jim. Case in point: Listen to Cowell's work with the Bobby Hutcherson-Harold Land Quintet -- as on Medina and Spiral. This is vital music that's often overlooked. To my ears, this is some of the best music that Bobby Hutcherson ever made -- and Cowell's contributions are crucial. Why Not? is a George Cables record. (But I do agree with you that it's a wonderful record!) Cables. Cowell. Easy to mix 'em up.

Looks like the next batch are coming out on October 30th: Teddy Edwards - Feelin's Kenny Barron - At the Piano Joe Farrell - Skateboard Park I've heard the Farrell disc -- it's very good -- but not the other two. I'm particularly looking forward to hearing the Teddy Edwards.

I've enjoyed the Cumberbatch/Freeman "Sherlock" too. Good stuff! Anyone else seen the new Sherlock Holmes movie featuring Ian McKellan? From my vantage point, it was pretty good but not great.

My hat's off for Phil Woods! I wish him nothing but the best and would like to say "THANK YOU!!!!" for all the great music.

Get well soon!!!

Being critical is a dicey thing -- especially on a board like this one. I'm neither a musician nor a critic; I'm just a guy who loves listening to music. So I'm always much more comfortable talking about music that I enjoy. Ironically, by focusing on my own subjective experience I'm able to be MORE objective -- because that subjective enjoyment is an incontrovertible fact. And that subjective part -- the "inner experience" is what's most valuable to me. Honestly, more often than not, I'm not particularly concerned about the "outwardly objective" aspects of music. (Perhaps this is due to my lack of training. Most of the time, I can't articulate in musicological terms what I'm hearing. But I know what I'm feeling!) So I guess, given those preconceptions, that I'd love to see others' lists of their five FAVORITE Thelonious Monk recordings. But I'd be very wary of any list that claimed to be the "BEST" of anything. Bringing it back to OP: I don't hate his music. Sometimes I enjoy hearing the way he plays. At times, there's something impressively athletic about it. His power is -- occasionally -- marvelous. But I also agree with others that his almighty proficiency can (often?) be an impediment to musical expression. But I know that there are many other folks who LOVE his music. And they likely love the very thing that might be turning me off. (I'm thinking of OP's biographer Gene Lees, for instance.) And why would I want to tell him (or anyone?), "Stop enjoying that. It's no good. Look at it, hear it like I do." That doesn't interest me.

Me too.

Russ Lossing

Steve - Your mention of Kris Davis made me think of Angelica Sanchez. I've really enjoyed her music, and I don't think she's particularly well-known.

But it does make sense that Prog would have its own charts today -- given the way that the musical world has splintered into sub-genres of sub-genres of sub-genres. Also: Nice to read that Tony Banks is gettin' some love. The 2015 "Prog God" award. Yeah!

Thanks for sharing. Good interview!

And the congregation said, "AMEN!!!"