Late

My Borders has no old Conns. My Borders has ex-cons.

All of these are excellent. (Well, I don't have eight of them. But I can vouch for the others!)

One of my favorites. The first time I watched Let's Get Lost, it was the anniversary of Chet's death — May 13, 1992. I didn't even know, at the time, that he'd died on that day. I was just getting into Chet and had three of his albums.

You got that right. Best price on a Connoisseur in a long time! And, YES, the Turrentine cooks! Dare I say some of the most committed playing — especially considering the tune selection — I've ever heard from Turrentine. It blows me away that this didn't come out earlier (though I know it was available earlier in various vinyl and Japanese incarnations). Turrentine's able to take very lightweight fare and turn it into something worth repeated listening — not an easy accomplishment. I like this one better than A Bluish Bag. And it swings like hell. I'm not even going to open the Farmer and Gillespie for a while — and just soak in the Prodigal Son. Oh yeah — McCoy fans will have their ears opened up on this one. McCoy lays the groove down. Ain't no fourths on this set.

A rare first: The Borders here got all the Connoisseurs in stock today and on the shelves! Naturally, I was compelled to use the 40% off coupon on three of them (the limit for the coupon). Spinning the Turrentine right now.

Have had two pairs of black-headed grossbeaks on and off in our backyard for about a week now. Beautiful birds.

I wonder if Sony(/BMG) has completely dropped plans to release some kind of box set of these recordings. I read (in a DownBeat circa 1999? 2000?) that Chick Corea always felt kind of bummed that these recordings weren't released at the time. In some ways, I think this is the strongest quintet Miles had.

My deepest sympathies. My father-in-law passed away from a heart attack at 61 — I was just getting to know him. We'd recently discovered a common bond through music. He told me about hearing Woody Herman and Stan Kenton in Los Angeles in the 50's — I was surprised and intrigued to hear that his father had even subbed as a replacement drummer for Kenton a couple of times. When my father-in-law passed, I didn't have the chance to learn more. I know you'll treasure the shared experiences and stories you heard from your dad. It is so great to have a dad. When my first daughter died three years ago, I didn't think I could go on. Somehow I did, and you will too. You'll have that deep care for your family to always carry you through. I hope I didn't type too much here. I just wanted to let you know that the human spirit is strong.

The music is indispensable. If you want the "best" sound for Atlantic recordings (which might be an oxymoron), look to the Japanese editions. The latest 24-bit version of Jimmy Giuffre's The 3 (an Atlantic recording) sounds amazing. Much better, I think, than the Mosaic version. I've always thought Ornette's work for the label was some of the best recorded stuff that Atlantic did (jazz-wise).

Good questions. Records had to have been relatively cheap to "produce" at that time, and then priced very modestly. Just an assumption, of course, as I wasn't around in the 50's. And that doesn't answer any of your questions! Have any of you noticed recently that if Lonehill etc. dried up and failed to exist ... that would essentially cut in half Dusty Groove's jazz offerings? It seems that DG's making a killing on these "borrowed" CDs. They must, otherwise they wouldn't keep restocking them. Another question: are packaging and liner notes important to all here when they buy a Lonehill "reissue"? If Lonehill can burn a disc from Mosaic etc. and sell it for profit, why don't CD-R trading circles exist that prey off Lonehill stuff, especially those CDs that come from harder-to-find vinyl sources? Well, they probably do exist ... I have/had one Lonehill disc — the Steve Lacy Whitey Mitchell sessions. I burned it and sold it, and didn't feel bad about that afterward. It's one I'd recommend, and there's one used copy out there somewhere! Oh -- got an e-mail from Cuscuna a while back, and he said that Dave Bailey's Epic sessions were "on the list" for the Mosaic Select treatment. I imagine it'll happen eventually.

That was my impression too. I didn't notice the significance of Bateman's change in attire, but my wife caught it — especially when Garner says "your shirt's stupid."

Actually a typo for Steepin' ... Little known fact: Grant Green is short for Grant Greentea. ( )

That's a pretty strong reaction! Garner's character didn't seem creepy to me at all, but perhaps that's because my current circle of friends are mostly women in their mid-30's, some pregnant, and some desperately trying to get pregnant. Garner's desire for a child seemed one of the most authentic aspects of the film to me. Everyone will naturally have their own take, but I didn't find anything truly offensive about the film. It'll be interesting to see if Diablo Cody writes for the screen again. With an Oscar now on her résumé, she'll at least have easier access to financial backing. Also be interesting to see if John Malkovich chooses to (co)produce again.

Indeed. 1998 was a great year for reissues. Many great OJC single and comp. reissues were also released that year, and Mosaic put out their usual gems (the Bud Shank among them). Even Columbia/Legacy's reissue program was going strong. Glad that Cuscuna got as many titles out there when he did.

I'm with ya there. For some reason, that type of music ... seems very self-conscious to me. I liked the father's character and Jennifer Garner's character most. I couldn't quite get with the writing for Juno's character. Seemed a little forced to me — like a 39 year-old inhabiting what they'd think a teenager's voice/mannerisms would be? Maybe that's a little too hard, but I was left with that impression. Still liked the film. The opening credits reminded me of "Napoleon Dynamite," which I think I liked even better.

They're already spinning Prodigal Son in Greenland.

At least purchase Vol. 8 — you can live with that one for a long time and still find new things to explore.

I wish the Cecil Taylor was in that list. That's the Mosaic I'm still looking for ...

Never heard that one before. It's added to the list. (Collectors like to get giddy about a record before they've heard it. S'part of the fun.) [Edited for typo.]

I'm also excited about Beyond The Purple Star Zone. I've decided to pass on the Transparency releases (though I'm sure there's some good music there), but generally anything that was originally a Saturn release is worth adding to the collection. That's the way a lot of (most?) jazz fan(atic)s are — they're collectors. Gets in the blood, and then it's a hard habit to break. That's why Dusty Groove has The Complete 1965 John Coltrane Fingernail Clippings box set in their upcoming reissues list. Oh, and that three disc Willie Nelson Complete Ghost box, besides the wonky sound, is pretty good. Willie sans beard: recordings worth paying attention to.

Now there's a Ra album that's worth reissuing. Omniverse Saturn 91379 Side A: The Place of Five Points West End Side of Magic City Dark Lights in a White Forest Side B: Omniverse Visitant of the Ninth Ultimate Ra-p; Michael Ray-tp; Marshall Allen-as; John Gilmore-ts; Danny Ray Thompson-bs; Richard Williams-b; Luqman Ali-d. West End Cafe, New York - September 13th, 1979

Wilton Crawley: 1927-1930 If you've ever wondered how descriptions such as "laughing clarinet" or "stovepipe clarinet" actually translate into sound, this disc is an excellent example. There's also a track on this disc — "Crawley Clarinet Moan" — where I can finally understand why so many reviewers like to relate Albert Ayler's playing to the "roots" of jazz. I don't know if Ayler ever heard Crawley, but I think he (Ayler) would have appreciated/like this song. Enthusiastically recommended, especially to converts of this era.

I've been listening to some sound samples by the Casa Loma Orchestra, and will probably pick up a disc of theirs. Right now I'm leaning toward Boneyard Shuffle, but was wondering if any Hep fans here had other faves. Also — has anyone here heard The New Friends of Rhythm? The (one) review on Amazon has piqued my interest.

Somebody get this one: Al Cohn and Zoot Sims - "Body and Soul" ... so that I won't have to break my self-imposed buying ban! p.s. The music's good too.

Me too — and I think it was actually called North Texas State Teacher's College when Giuffre was there. My first year there (I was only there two years) was the year it became the "University of North Texas." Before that it was more famously North Texas State University. Julius Hemphill went to North Texas, and Rudresh Mahanthappa spent two years there (we were in the same dorm) before transferring to Berklee. EKE BBB — that CD with Barre Phillips and Don Friedman is nice. Guy (brownie) gifted me that disc! Giuffre's spirit will live on through his music without question. I like that he was probably the only saxophonist to use a clarinetist's embouchre when playing the tenor and baritone — hence his somewhat unusual handle on those horns. A true original.