Late

Wardell's first few notes on "Twisted" sound like a baritone saxophone. Great stuff all around. The vinyl has three different covers - 2 for the 12" and 1 for the 10". I like the 10", because then it wasn't a "Memorial," but rather "Tenor Sax Favorites."

Let us not forget and continue to pine for: COLTRANE: The Unrelenting Explorer — Unissued Accordion Sessions, 1961-62

This one was just added at eMusic, under the title "Hawk Swings." I'll hit it when my account refreshes.

"Where you at, where's your natural habi-tat, where you at, I wanna go there ..." (With lots of musical notes jumping around.)

You won't dance the tango for dinner with poor loser RVG?

And on the 27th, this will get some air time ...

Oops — thanks for the catch. I meant March 27th! Webster's dates are: Born: March 27, 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri Died: September 20, 1973 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Ben would have been 98. Let's all celebrate on Big Ben's day by spinning our favorite Webster LP/CD!

Zoot was a giant.

Whoa — that one wasn't even on my radar. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Also, John Tapscott's recommendation: that one looks good too. Discs on Storyville seem more readily available in Europe, I'm guessing? I never see them locally at least, but haven't scoured all the online options. March 21st is BEN WEBSTER day. In preparation, I watched the wonderful documentary entitled The Brute and The Beautiful. Rhapsody put it out on VHS way back in 1989. It's one of the best jazz documentaries I've ever seen. Anyone else here seen it? Some of the footage, particularly a live set with Benny Carter circa 1970, is stunning. No Webster fan — even if you have to give up buying a few CDs — should be without this show. It's that good.

Ok Late, now you are talking about a damn fine recording. This was originally on the Storyville label, and is now on a Black Lion CD. This one has Bob Brookmeyer, Hank Jones, Wyatt Ruther and Gus Johnson along with Zoot. It's a winner. I also dig Zoots vocal here. Another one to get from the same period that was also on Stroryville, and is now on Black Lion, is "Morning Fun". Bill Crow and Jo Jones are on bass and drums on this one with Zoot, Brookmeyer, and Hank Jones. Yup, got that one. I like it. Say, here's the original cover to Tonite's Music (attached below). The small print is hilarious. It says: "You've heard Barrymore recite Hamlet, and seen Parlova dance, now hear Zoot Sims sing the blues." I didn't know Drew Barrymore was into Shakespeare.

The 20th is here. Anyone already picked up the newest batch? I admit: I'm excited about picking up Compulsion!, even though I already have the music. Will probably pick up the Byrd, too. "Say You're Mine" is such a beautiful piece of music.

Ralph Burns' intro to "Almost Like Being in Love" from Ben Webster with Strings. (Except there are no "strings" on that track.) The intro doesn't seem to fit the song itself, but I like it. Hmmm ... maybe Burns didn't write it. Will have to check. Anywaaaay ...

This is one (though the Penguin Guide is lukewarm about -- whatevuh) is nice. (Attached below. Dig the original cover!) Could anyone direct me to a decent cover scan of Ben Webster and Associates? I hate how Verve miniaturized (and put a meaningless border around) the cover of the VME disc.

I thought Revenant was actually trying to do this, but I haven't heard anything new for some time ...

And with Nonaah and Saga of the Outlaws first on deck! A nerd can dream --> .

B&N — those three you mention are all indeed very good. And as already mentioned above, anything with Jimmy Rowles is going to sound good. The Pablos (I have all except the Duke and Holiday sets, which I'll get to eventually) are a uniformly excellent lot. My favorite is probably still Warm Tenor, but maybe that's because it was my first Zoot Pablo. And I really like Plays Alto, Tenor, and Baritone! I wish the Plays Four Altos set would see reissue. I think it will, and probably not too far off, courtesy of some mystical place in Andorra ... Next on the hunt: Plays Tonite's Music Today. Anyone care to comment? (I like Zoot's singing.)

Late, That's not one I would recommend. It is a recording that I would place very far down on the list of Zoot Sims sessions. It veers heavily toward the commercial side. I had it some time ago on LP and disposed of it. I have no interest to acquire it on CD. There are numerous good to excellent recordings by Zoot out there you should get that are clearly better than "The New Beat Bossa Nova". Good to know. I'll bump it down on the list. Strangely enough, I just picked up the album that new poster "beerandnuts" just recommended. Welcome!

Is Sims' New Beat Bossa Nova worth picking up? On paper, it looks good ...

The Holland Sessions are up for auction at eBay right now ...

I think that a "Blue Note Club" (no, not the Street Team) like the one that actually exists in Japan might be a good idea for the American and/or European markets. Save your obis, and then redeem them for CDs that aren't put out on the regular market. (Um, this way obis might actually have a real-life purpose.) As a result, more obscure albums could find a way into fans' collections — where they should be, instead of languishing in tape vaults owned by mega-corporations who aren't even really aware of them . The Japanese market did this for Sam Rivers' Dimensions & Extensions, among others. ---------------- Another "jazz nerd" fantasy: Give couw unlimited power to reissue the Amiga label as he sees fit. I'd buy the series!

I don't mean Jazz Nerd Fantasies to the affect of having delivered to your door the latest batch of RVGs by a team of Baywatch babes (though I suppose that would be, at the very least, interesting), I mean: If you were the Emperor of Jazz Issues or Reissues, what would happen? One example: A mini-LP of Ornette Coleman's New York is Now, with all the original artwork intact, and remastered by Malcolm Addey. This world is too serious sometimes. Time to have some goofy fun! Don't deny you haven't had certain Jazz Nerd Fantasies! (Even you, Chuck.)

That would be a strange (hypothetical) scenario: "So -- what prompted the Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton on Mosaic?" "Well, European copyright law can't yet get into 70's recordings. We decided it would be a good idea to reissue them now." "Wow. Didn't think of it that way." "Yeah, the Honeydew recordings are next. We'll start with the Elvin Jones Skyscrapers sessions, and move from there. Maybe a Mainstream label Mosaic Select."

They didn't. Not a bad cover, though I still prefer the Toshiba "negative."

I don't know which tracks belong to which album, but eMusic lists Ramwong as such: 1. Now Jazz Ramwong (9:00) 2. Sakura Waltz (3:26) 3. Blue Fanfare (6:39) 4. Three Jazz Moods (6:11) 5. Burungkaka (3:26) 6. Raknash (4:40) 7. Theme For Vietnam (0:57) 8. Es sungen drei Engel (7:29) While Amazon lists it as: 1. Club Trois 2. Blues Du Domicile 3. Set 'Em Up 4. Varie 5. Tension 6. Ballade for Jessica Rose 7. Now Jazz Ramwong 8. Blue Fanfare 9. Three Jazz Moods 10. Burungkaa 11. Raknash 12. Theme from Vietnam What is the original track order for the two albums? Is the CD listed at Amazon missing "Sakura Waltz" unintentionally?

... and the price was pretty low!. Can't remember how much it cost but it was one of those too good to miss opportunity! Was worth every cent You understand, of course, that you're making all the Americans here envious ...