Late

Ron — if you can find them, I'd go for the Denons. (The ones with the yellow print on purple background for the spines.) That's a great series. Whenever I see that yellow-on-purple at a record store, I always do a double-take, and then check to see if I already have it. If you ever see Ronnie Ball's Savoy/Denon reissue, snag it! It's a good one.

Thanks, David. I'm very humbled that people here are willing to try out my book. Yusef went to UCI (twenty years before me), and I've actually studied with him briefly at a writers' conference. Very friendly, soft-spoken ... and all we really did was talk jazz! He's a lover of Dolphy and Julius Hemphill. I believe he's at Princeton now. I only know the Youngs you mention by name. (I've read good things about Dean Young's workshops at Breadloaf, though.) The Young I'm currently into is David Young, who's just done a brilliant translation of Petrarch. The introduction alone is a great entry into this (sometimes unfairly-read) poet's work. I'm learning a lot. Petrarch

I think I'll pass on Mr. Hanky and buy this cd instead. Guy convinced me, and as I already am a Rogers fan ...

Thanks Jim and Maren. That poem you mention isn't in the book, but it was very kind of the editors at Chicago Review to put it on their website. (I think powells.com and/or alldirect.com might have the cheapest prices!)

... do you mean to Water? That would be great. Thanks for being our liaison Kevin. As far as I'm concerned, the more Hill titles we see as Connoisseurs, the better! (Just maybe a kind nudge to let Malcolm handle the controls on those. ) I can see how Cuscuna would want to steer away from two-fers, especially after the Wilkerson and Braith sets. Did the Criss or Turrentine (or Byrd Transition) two-fers sell well? I'm glad to have all those.

If Judgment! uses the same remaster as the JRVG, I think everyone's in for a treat. To my ears, this is one of the best-sounding JRVGs. No crazy booming (like we unfortunately got, at least on my system, in Blue Spirits and Tender Moments). If you have any doubts about upgrading for sound on this one — I'd say don't doubt! Rudy gave Andrew some TLC on this one. I'm very tempted by the Symphony for Improvisers remaster. Larry Walsh did the remastering for the original Connoisseur, and it, well, it ... I'll probably fork over for the RVG just out of curiosity. Great album. I'm also a little surprised that an album like this could make the "RVG" cut. Way to go Michael! Now maybe we'll see Extensions & Dimensions as an RVG some day. Even though I'm not as ecstatic about the RVG series as I once was, overall I think it's a great list. Happy to see the series thriving.

Ron — for me, I can live without those alternate takes. This period of Pepper's playing (for me) just doesn't generate the excitement as do later periods. The music is fine, of course, but I don't find myself returning with any specific eagerness to check out the alternates. Instead of sleuthing out the Japanese edition, unless you're a fanatic or completist — which is perfectly allright in my book — I'd save the money and spend it on other recordings. 2¢

Not a stupid question — but difficult to answer comprehensively. For me, it's a handful of things. First and foremost, Rollins has an astonishing command of the horn in the bop idiom. Anything he thinks, he can play — he doesn't need to "shed" very much (any more) to communicate any particular idea that comes to him. Secondly, and this is what makes Rollins so hard to imitate (for music students at least), his command of nuance and inflection when phrasing a line is utterly singular. Many people have sounded/can sound like Coltrane, but very, very few can pull off a line, and have it sound just like Newk. (I think Lovano does it at times on 52nd Street Themes.) Thirdly, Newk's sensibility — e.g. his sense of humor, sardonicism, etc. — separates him from the crowd: he doesn't just play "bebop," he plays the horn in the idiom, while communicating sophisticated, if subtle, ideas and emotions. Just play Worktime. I don't think anyone's ever touched that level of artistry — in that particular idiom — since that album was recorded. There have been albums of similar and equal merit, but nothing that matches the power, wit, and detached insouciance of Sonny's playing there.

... and you can purchase him too ... ... better than CornNuts™.

Whoo boy, I just put in this order to All Direct: • Zehetmair-Holliger: Violinkonzert • Fellner-Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier • Holliger-Zehetmair-Carter-Yun: Lauds & Lamentations • Kavakos-Nagy-Ravel-Enescu: Sonatas • Rosamunde-Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ • Silvestrov: Leggiero Pesante • Schnittke-Shostakovich: Piano Quintets Also just picked this one up for $4.24 (!): • Rosamunde Quartet: Webern-Shostakovich-Burian: String Quartets The Burian sides are especially nice. New to my ears — sort of Romance-inflected Bartok. Very much to my liking.

I'll second (or third, or fourth) some names already mentioned here: • Earl Anderza Love his Pacific Jazz album. To my ears, he seems one of the few altoists that played in a similar vein to, though not in imitation of, Eric Dolphy. Great interval leaps, nice use of the altissimo range. • Shafi Hadi, nee Curtis Porter An inventive composer, and equally interesting as an improvisor. It would be great if his unaccompanied solos (which I think are mostly, if not entirely, on tenor) from the soundtrack to Shadows were released on compact disc. • Hal McKusick Has anyone mentioned Hal? Refined like refined sugar, but still pleasingly sweet. • Jimmy Lyons Probably not "overlooked" — at least on this board — but Lyons will always remain in my mind as one of the greatest talents deserving of wider recognition. The true heir to Bird's throne? ... and here are some names I don't think have been mentioned yet: • Ori Kaplan Check out his album Gongol (which Bagatellen CEO Joe Christmas first hipped me to), and his work on CIMP. The guy can play. • Briggan Krauss I like his irreverence perhaps more than his "chops," but he's an interesting, if often subversive, improvisor. I like when a musician can flip you the bird, and you still appreciate his/her playing. • Rudresh Mahanthappa JohnB here I think was the first to champion Rudi's playing on this board. • Brad Leali Leali was in the 1 O'Clock when I was at North Texas. I haven't really kept up with his career, but he could play back in the late 80's, and I'd bet he's doing something worth hearing now. • Peter King King's been on the scene for a long time. I'm guessing most UK posters know who he is. Great "bop chops." Strangely (or not), my very first exposure to his playing was on a Charlie Watts record. • Dick Johnson I shouldn't even put Johnson's name here ... because I've never heard a note. I do remember, though, that Garth spoke highly of him, and that (apparently) he plays in the Mariano/Ortega mold. Have to get around to checking him out.

Those perforations are weird. I wonder who's idea that was — "Say, let's give the packaging its own packaging. You know, like airholes to breathe from ... like the cardboard box you kept that beetle in — in the 3rd grade."

The quintet — Brecker, Hargrove, Hancock, Colley, Carrington — is here right now, and will be performing Thursday night. I'll try to post a short review after the show. I think I'm most interested in hearing Brecker in this context. This will also be my very first time hearing Hancock live. Apparently, Hancock had some Italian grand shipped in just for the show. Can't remember the name of it, but evidently there are less than a dozen of these grand pianos in North America. Interesting, to say the least.

I have a cd just of tape hiss. I put it on when my audiophile friends come over. It seems to relax them. (Sorry. Couldn't resist. I am actually interested in following this topic.)

I've never heard this one. In addition to Reiner's question ... what's the music like? Slightly corny, or more musical? I could see it going either way.

I think Mosaic is going to be pleasantly surprised at the number (even if it is relatively small) of pre-orders this set gets ... Thank goodness Andrew agreed to having this one come out. My expectations aren't too high, but I am really looking forward to getting to know the music in this set.

Check out Hardman on this one ... nice.

I don't know, but the Morello session has some tasty tenor playing by Art. Nice Red Norvo contribution too. Sound/remastering issues aside, I think everyone's going to like this set. While I don't know later Pepper very well, I like this (Jazz West, Intro, Omega) period of his playing even better than the Contemporary period that immediately followed it (late 50's).

I'll second that. This was my very first exposure to Hubbard, and I still go back to this performance. I like that it has a slightly "up" tempo to it, something which I don't normally care for in ballads, and, maybe as a result, I've never been able to get with Miles' version as closely (even though it's still brilliantly played).

Anyone else made any recent OJC "discoveries"? Muse away, if so ...

Ditto that. When Hill's Connoisseurs become scarce, they'll likely go for steep prices on e-bay. Now's the time to scoop up those titles that interest you. (I think everyone here already knows that, though.) I wouldn't want to be without Lift Every Voice, but wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's not into vocals in a "jazz" setting. Still, it gets my . Slightly off-topic, but the East-West Hill's from the mid-70's are also very nice. (I don't have Blue Black though ... d'oh!)

You're in an enviable position. I think this is some of the best Pepper on record. Make sure to brew up your favorite coffee (or pour your favorite red) when the package arrives ... you're in for a treat!

I think McMaster's 2002 remastering work on the Peppers for the Japanese market isn't so bad. I have all three SBJCs, and they sound pretty good to me. Nothing Addey-spectacular, but better than the original 80's U.S. reissues. More tape flaws are surfaced, but the drums (to my ears at least) are presented with more clarity. Some of those Omega tracks, remember, had fairly dubious sound to start off with. (Just my opinion, of course.) Some of the tracks — those with Perkins, for instance — will have perhaps been remastered more recently (2003?), as they weren't included in the Japanese reissues.

Pre-ordered too. Woo-hoo! "The 2003 release of Andrew Hill's Passing Ships on Blue Note set off a torrent of requests for more unissued Hill material. After some discussions with the artist, we came up with a solution: clean out the closet in one fell swoop. With the release of these sessions, recorded between 1967 and '70, every piece of music from Andrew Hill's Blue Note recordings has been issued." Who would have thought. A great day indeed! (Does the "torrent of requests" indicate at all that we might see some future Hill Connoisseurs ... for those who missed the Mosaic?)