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Don't forget the great Art Taylor! Also, Tony Williams died in 1997. One of jazz's greatest losses of a young legend.

No, no, no. I'm talking about the Dave Holland Big Band CD from late in 2002, which I found to be a disappointment (at least to some extent). I'm NOT talking about the 'live' double-CD with the quintet (which I haven't heard yet, but which I'm quite sure is probably AMAZING). It was DH's Big Band CD that didn't live up to my expectations. I thought it was a cool concept, and "reasonably well done" in terms of the end result. But I don't think I have to explain how a DH release that's only "reasonably well done" is one that doesn't meet my expectations. Count me as one who has LOVED all of his most recent quintet CD's -- everything since Chris Potter joined the group (as I expect I'll love the new 'live' double CD). Oops.....sorry!

Wow....I'm surprised you don't like the Dave Holland CD, Rooster. I thought that that album would be every Dave Holland Quintet fan's dream come true. To me, its really the first one they've released that truly shows how great they really are. I think its a spectacular release. My favorite of 2003. My biggest disappointment is also Jason Moran's "Bandwagon". I don't dislike it, but after the four amazing albums he released previously, this one was a bit of a letdown.

Tribute to Lester is wonderful....one of my top 5 of the year for new releases. I imagine thier ECM Rarum disc is quite good, as most of AEC's albums on the label were good.

I like the J.J Johnson set the most. So much high quality, hard swinging music in different settings. Its wonderful.

Its still availiable on the BN website......

I will look for you if I do go!

minew, where is the brotzmann/drake show going to be at?

I remember a while back Jazzmatazz listed a new album by Blade to be released in 2004 under the Marsalis label. But who knows now. Brian Blade is in my opinion the finest drummer of his generation. In any musical situation, he always plays perfectly.

I entered this thread to recommend "The Composer", but looks like I got beat to it! Its a great album, and even though its out of print, it can still be found quite easily online. It features some great new Walton compositions. It also features Roy Hargrove, Victor Lewis, and Christian McBride in addition to the players David already named.

I saw them a couple of months ago here in Chicago. These guys put on a hell of a show! Anyone in the vicinity of the VV should go catch these guys.

Thanks Rooster! That makes sense. Berigan, I guess I'm wondering what distinguishes a "crap" classical recording? Is because a classical CD has the "EMI Classics" label on it automaticaly mean its sub par? I'm just asking, because I honestly don't know these things.

Having recently begun to explore the endless joys of classical music, I've been purchasing some discs from the "bargain" section of the Border's classical music section. Alot of these discs are very reasonably priced, usually in the $6.99 - $7.99 range. The predominant labels I've seen/purchased have been the Seraphim Classics, Naxos, or EMI Classics labels. I've noticed that on these labels, particular recordings of certain pieces, such as Mozart's "Requiem" and Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", are the versions that seem to be the most well known, or most often played on television or in films in some cases. I guess my question is....what is the reason that these particular recordings are priced so reasonably? Lord knows I'm not complaining, but it has me curious. Are the versions of these recordings inferior (for lack of a better word) to other, more expensive versions? Are they cheaper for the purpose of drawing in new listeners to the genere of classical music? As you can tell, I am only beginning to learn about this beautiful form of music, and am quite clueless on many aspects of it. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

And didn't Sonny Rollins play on the Rolling Stones' "Waiting on a Friend"?

Hi everyone, Can anyone tell me about the following box sets from Proper: Sidney Bechet - The Sidney Bechet Story Louis Armstrong - Satchmo in the Forties Coleman Hawkins - The BeBop Years Fats Navarro - The Fats Navarro Story Lester Young - The Lester Young Story I know the price is great for all the Proper sets, but I was wondering more about the quality of tune selection, sound quality, and just overall if the sets are worth picking up. Thanks!

Thank you all for your suggestions. Looks like I'm gonna have to get them all! Life is so hard sometimes.

I am not imagining this. I just saw a commercial on the cable channel E! that was promoting the use of plastics (The Plastics Council of America, or something like that), and in the background, they were playing "Hat and Beard" from Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch!!!! I never thought I'd hear Eric Dolphy music in a corporate commercial.

After reading about it on AAJ, I checked the new True Blue catalog, and its true..."Minor Move" is on the "supplies are limited/OOP" list. Pick this one up while you still can...its hot! Sorry if this has been discussed already. Speaking of Tina Brooks, I've been contemplating getting "Back to the Tracks" and "The Waiting Game". Can anyone share their opinions on either or both of these? Are they as good as "Minor Move"? Thanks!

For some of the newer titles here are my favorites: Conrad Herwig - Unseen Universe Wycliffe Gordon - United Soul Experience Ralph Petersen - Subliminal Seduction Ryan Kisor - Power Source Alex Sipiagin - Hindsight I HIGHLY recommend all of these.

Thanks Brad!

I haven't heard about this set until now, and I'm very excited. Can anyone give me any info on what is supposed to be on this set??

I'll second William Parker's "Scrapbook", the Brotzmann/Parker/Drake, Greg Osby, and Dave Holland. Outstanding releases. I would like to add Kenny Garrett's "Standard of Language", and for reissues, the Carmell Jones Mosaic Select, Miles Davis at the Blackhawk, and Woody Shaw's "Little Red's Fantasy".

I picked up Wycliffe Gordon's "Dig It" and Ralph Petersen's "Tests of Time". The Wycliffe album is quite good. He's one of the most exciting tromboists out there IMO and this album is no exception. However, his last one was "United Soul Experience", and that's a tough one to follow. While not as good, "Dig It" is still quite a solid effort. "Tests of Time" didn't quite make a great initial impression, but after a few listens, I have come to the conclusion that its Ralph's best album on Criss Cross. It stays in the spirit of "Art of War" and "Subliminal Seduction", but this one feels more mature, like the band is finally finding the sound that they've been heading towards. Ralph's quintet is one of the most exciting in jazz right now. I haven't gotten Adam Roger's "Allegory", but I heard it being played at a record store near my house, and I think that one might be the best of the bunch. I can't wait to get it.

Its a real nice disc! Ron is in typical excellent form, and Joey DeFrancesco TEARS it up. The guitar playing by David Gilmore was a nice treat, as I had never heard him play before, and he plays quite well on this album. There is a trumpeter whose name escapes me who I had also never heard before, and he does really well on the few songs he appears on. My only complaint is that Christian McBride and Greg Hutchinson, two of my favorite rhythm players, are confined to a supportive role for the most part, and aren't really given much space to show off their superior skills on their respective instruments. Oh well....I guess they don't have anything to prove anyways. The material is by Stanley & Tommy Turrentine, Charles Earland and Grover Washington Jr. I think Ron does a great job with the material, both in selection and arrangement. It gives him a wide palette to show off his incredible improvising abilities and monster chops. I recommend this album pretty much everyone.

I saw the Greg Osby Four here in Chicago a couple months ago. The only thing is that...one of the Four didn't show due to the blackout! So a local drummer sat in. It was a nice show, but as you know if you listen to alot of Greg Osby, his compositions/arrangements can be complex and sometimes tricky. The drummer was having a bit of a hard time. Granted what a daunting task it must be to sit in with Greg Osby having never played with him before, I really admired that guy on drums, and he did quite decent considering. But you could tell the band was holding back due to their regular drummer's absence. So in all, look forward to a great show given all four of them show up! Maybe Osby will sit in with JaMo the night before. That would be sweet to see.