sal

But then again, I haven't heard them with thier new drummer, Nate Smith. With Billy Kilson at the helm, they were incredible.

Saw them at the Chicago Jazz Fest last summer. They are the shit.

"Great Friends", a live date in Paris from the 1980's with Fortune, Billy Harper, Billy Hart, Reggie Workman, and a pianist whose name escapes me right now, was reissued last year and its great! Highly recommended.

Randissimo, Off the top of my head, all I know of right now is the Dave Douglas Quintet at the Green Mill, Valentine's Day evening, and that's because that's the one I'll be at! I know there is more, but I don't have the info with me. I'll post it later on today or tomorrow. A good site to check for jazz is www.chicagoreader.com. Just click on the Music link, then the Jazz link, and you're all set. The thing is that they usually only have information for the next week or two, hardly ever any longer than that. But its very complete for the given time frame.

Thanks tjobbe!

This is a dumb question...but these are hybrids right? I don't have an SACD player, but I ordered the Dolphy CD.

Big Wheel, do not hesitate. The entire set is good, including the last two sessions.

Has anyone seen "Withnail and I"? What did you think?

Count me in as a fan. I know what you mean about the powerful experience that is seeing Pat Martino live. I saw him last year, and enjoyed it so much that I returned on the weekend to see the final sets of his run here in Chicago. Luckily, I'll get to see him once again, as he's returning this April. As for his playing, I don't think I can do any better than what Tom wrote above, so I'll just say that he's probably the best jazz guitarist I've seen live next to John McLaughlin. I have not bought any of his older recordings, but they do play his older material on Public Radio quite often, and its great stuff. His "Live at Yoshi's" CD from a couple years back is one of my favorite guitar albums. His synergy with Joey DeFrancesco and Billy Hart sounds telepathic. I wish I could have seen that group live. And personally, I greatly enjoy his new album "Think Tank". I know its met with lots of criticism, especially with regard to Gonzalo Rubacalba's playing, but I find his subtleness perfect for the mood of the recording. He, along with Pat and the rest of the band sound great and I think its a very fine recording.

Thanks alot, everyone! I'm taking notes.

Intense is good in my book. Thanks for the help guys. Its on my list.

Good morning everyone, On my way to work today, I heard an incredible recording by Stan Getz. I wish I could remember the title of the track, but all I remember was that it was from 1955, and it featured Leroy Vinegar, Shelly Manne, Lou Levy, and a trumpet player whose name I didn't catch. It was very uptempo, swinging....just about perfect. In my five years or so of listening to jazz, and after acquiring over 300 something CDs and about 20 box sets, I still do not have one Stan Getz recording. I know, its pitiful, but I must admit the truth. I've been meaning to remedy this. The "Getz/Gilberto" disc and the new reissue of "Captain Marvel" have been on my list for quite some time, but after this morning, I've decided that I'm going to do something about this right away. What would you guys recommend as a first Stan Getz purchase? I'd really like to get the CD that contains whatever that recording was that I just heard....something from the mid 50s. And how are the two discs I was thinking about acquiring? Are there some other essentials that I must have? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and have a great day!

A couple more tidbits on this masterpiece: When Betsy first appears "like an angel", do any of you notice who is sitting on the stoop on the side of the sidewalk? As she walks by in slow motion, he looks up and follows her with his eyes. Its our friend, Marty Scorsese. I didn't notice that until probably my 10th time watching it. I also heard that Paul Schrader's screenplay was modified from how he originally conceived it. From what I understand, in its original conception, it contained many racial slurs, especially in the parts when Travis' voice is narrating the "all the animals come out at night....pimps, junkies, etc." Other somewhat racist remarks, particularly against African Americans, were said to have appeared throughout the film, but were axed to order to not segregate the viewing audience.

Back in the early and mid nineties, when it was all strictly hip hop, I was a huge OutKast fan. Their first two albums "Southerplayalisticcadillacmuzik" and "ATLiens" were great. "Aquemini" was good too, but I think that's the album they started to lose what made them great in my eyes. Now, I can't stand listening to them. But then again, I can't really stand much hip hop now. In fact, with all the sup par rap out now, its difficult to even call it hip hop any more, its just garbage. Back when it was all underground.....that's when it was good. Now its just pop music. Sorry, just my .02.

Thanks Mule! I just checked it out on the website, and it looks really good. I'll have to add that one to my list. Damn, I'm gonna be broke.

Nevermind....I found out the answer to my question on AAJ. I have a defective disc.

Well, as a present to myself for finally getting a good job, I bought this set for myself and just got it in the mail today. I just listened to the the first disc, and I had a question for anyone who owns this box set. Is your entire first disc plagued with a repeated scratching sound? It sounds like a record scratching, and it pulsates. The sound gets really loud when Miles is playing, and somewhat loud when Wayne solos. The entire first disc is like this. Is this part of the recording, or do I have a faulty disc? I listened to the sound sample from amazon.com, and it didn't sound like it had any problems. I hope its a problem with my disc so I can send it back, because if its part of the recording, then I wish I hadn't gotten this set. The first disc is practically unlistenable. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Some great choices! I'll make it a point to check out many of the films you guys listed that I haven't seen yet. Hey, has anyone ever heard of a film called "Onibaba", directed by Kaneto Shindo? Japanese film from 1964, dated for release on DVD by Criterion in March. I never heard of it, but what really caught my attention was the synopsis of the film given on the Criterion website: Deep within the wind-swept marshes of war-torn medieval Japan, an impoverished mother and her daughter-in-law eke out a lonely, desperate existence. Forced to murder lost samurai and sell their belongings for grain, they dump the corpses down a deep, dark hole and live off of their meager spoils. When a bedraggled neighbor returns from the skirmishes, lust, jealousy, and rage threaten to destroy the trio’s tenuous existence, before an ominous, ill-gotten demon mask seals the trio’s horrifying fate. Driven by primal emotions, dark eroticism, a frenzied score by Hikaru Hayashi, and stunning images both lyrical and macabre, Kaneto Shindo’s chilling folktale Onibaba is a singular cinematic experience. Sounds very interesting.

Vibes, I'll be at both Herbie Hancock shows as well! Which one are you going to, quartet or trio? Here's something special you can do while you're in town. Take the lady and go up to the ninety-sixth floor of the John Hancock building to the Signature Lounge for cocktails. If you like martinis, I think they have the best in the city, and the view is unparalleled. A very romantic place and a truely unique Chicago experience. That place has gotten me lucky with the ladies in the past.....just don't tell my girlfriend, because I took her there before we were dating too! Definitley visit the Jazz Record Mart....its the greatest music store in the world (bring lots of $). And if you've never had Giordano's pizza, go for that. Much better than Gino's East IMHO.

What are everyone's favorites from this excellent series? I hold my copies of "Seven Samurai" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" in high regard, but my absolute favorite is the "Brazil" release. Not just a great film, but one of the best DVD packages, both in presentation and content, on the market. I'm interested in learning about more films from this series, especially the foreign ones. I look forward to reading about your favorites.

That is very interesting indeed. Did you notice it in the very end as well? Right at the scene that is the topic of this thread. I wonder what that's all about.

The Criterion Collection just released Roman Polanski's first film "Knife on the Water" on DVD. Has anyone seen this film? If so, what are your opinions of it? I'm a big Polanski fan, but before I spend $35.99 for a DVD of a film I've never seen, I'd like to hear some discussion first. Thanks!

Do you notice during the scene where he kills all the people, the film type that Scorsese used for that scene is different? Almost like he reduced the milimeter size of the film that he used....just for that scene? If you watch, particularly on the DVD, you'll notice that the screen gets somewhat "grainy" during that scene. Well, if you watch the ending again, notice at the sequence when you hear the loud noise and it moves to his image in the rear view mirror, the scene becomes "grainy" again, just like it was when he went on his killing rampage. Given that, my conclusion is that even in the end of the movie, after he's proclaimed a hero and his life seems to revert back to normal....he still has that streak of insanity within him. That is what Scorsese was alluding to by using the same techniques in that scene as he was during the murder rampage scene. Similar to what Mule said, what Travis felt while he was killing all the people in the whore house, is still inside of him. At least that's how I always interpreted it.

I can't wait for this one either. I'll be getting it the day it comes out.

Mark, I sent you a PM.