Late

I wonder if the forthcoming Jackie Mclean New Soil hybrid SACD will contain the bonus track "Formidable."

Opus Kura has been around for more than a decade now, and if you like classical recordings made in the 20's-40's, you owe it to yourself to try at least one disc from this label. Opus Kura website. Their edition of Pablo Casals' Bach Cello Suites is a revelation, and their series of Dinu Lipatti are the best (sonically) I've ever heard. I've also discovered the great conductors Felix Weingartner, Willem Mengelberg, and Václav Talich through this label. An enthusiastic . Anyone here have discs on this label? Which ones?

This 2-disc set is one of my all-time favorite, dessert island classical collections. It can still be purchased at Amazon. The one review for the set is mine.

This is a great box set. I really like this series (Decca Original Masters), though I think that they're all officially out-of-print, and some now go for very high prices. That said, I strongly recommend the box sets of: • Ruggiero Ricci • Ernest Ansermet • Wilhelm Backhaus (Beethoven Piano Sonatas) • Eduard Van Beinum • Pierre Monteux The Australian Eloquence label is also an excellent resource for sometimes hard-to-find recordings on Decca, Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, etc. If you like Benjamin Britten, I strongly recommend this CD: You can currently purchase it new for under $4 here at Amazon. It has the superior (in my opinion) mono version of Britten's Serenade that is NOT on any of the larger Britten box sets. (I don't know about the 37 disc box set. Probably is on that one.)

I do this with the old blues players! People such as Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Skip James, Furry Lewis, Miss. John Hurt, Bukka White, etc. and even later greats like Lightnin' Hopkins, Lightnin' Slim, Jimmy Reed. I love all the blues players you've listed, and they're my entry, I suppose, into this music. (Is "mountain music" the generally accepted term for this kind of music? Hillbilly? I never know what to call it.) I have about 25 Yazoo CDs, and love them all, particularly those with Charlie Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and Barbecue Bob. And I especially love the few tracks available from Tommy Johnson. Thanks for all the great recommendations, everyone. I'll be making a list. And, I agree, comps (I love some of the Yazoo comps) are a good point of entry. I'm sure I've actually even heard some of the musicians listed above, but never checked the liner notes to whatever comp I'm listening to at the moment. The world of music constantly opens new doors.

I've been listening to this box set a lot recently and really enjoying it. I used to hate this kind of music, but Poole's playing and singing have really opened my ears up. But I'm still a novice as far as this branch of the music is concerned. A question — If you're a fan of this type of music, what do you listen to, or what do you recommend? I like to savor this music at about 5-6 tracks at a time, repeat them, and focus in on certain lines or counterlines. Too many tracks, and for me it starts to sound same-y.

That'd be a good box set (though I already have it all in some form or another). Was there a particular reason that Chappaqua Suite wasn't issued in the U.S.?

Thanks for the tips, Andy. Do you have this title (out of curiosity)? I love the sound of the "Jazz Classics on Blue Note" TOCJ series. I wonder if the U.S. counterparts use different mastering. (I'm guessing yes, but don't know.)

Listening right now. "Caprice Rag." Jesus.

Only 10:30 p.m., but The First Day plays. Gorgeous start to a label. I also constructed the playlist from a Japanese issue (which I don't have, but would love to have) just to hear the ordering of tracks. It really works. If anyone wants to part with TOCJ 660006 or TOCJ 660012, or knows where a copy can be obtained (outside of the $90 items currently on eBay), let me know!

Sold. En route to Germany. Thanks!

• $115 + shipping (at cost) CDs, box, and booklet all in very good condition. PayPal OK. Please PM. Thanks!

Up? (Three years later.) Amazon currently has this title for just over $41 ...

I actually think that Dexter does cut loose on Takin' Off, as an example. For me, his solos on that record are more inspired than any of his solos from his own Blue Note output. I do agree, however, that some of Herbie's best solos (at least from the Blue Note era) are on other leader's sessions. Sam Rivers' Contours and Wayne Shorter's The All Seeing Eye come to mind. I also tend to think that Herbie plays more engagingly with Joe Chambers on the drums rather than, say, Tony Williams. Miles might disagree though.

While it is great that this album finally is coming out on CD, I'm not sure that I need it twice! TOCJ 50152's title indicates of course that the session was not recorded in a studio, while the little-known TOCJ 50156 is actually an imperative to the infirm.

I have it as a Japanese mini-lp. 'Tis really good. TCB is an excellent, excellent record. Swings hard with some break-out solos. But the cover? It's either slightly disturbing, or suggestive of ... ? Also of note — John Taylor on piano is amazing on this recording. Reminiscent, to me, of Herbie Hancock's playing on Joe Henderson's Power To The People. Very sensitive.

Some interesting reissues in September. Very nice to see Herb Geller's Fire In The West out again. My enthusiasm for new Japanese reissues has waned however — I just can't deal with the wall-of-sound approach to remastering. To me, the last batch of TOCJs sounded awful. Some of the loudest CDs I've ever heard. Great music nonetheless. Does anyone here actually have a SHM CD? Super-high material, like "super high me"?

Sold! Thanks.

Wasn't there a boot of this concert out on disc not too long ago? I'm guessing this one is sanctioned by Ravi. Maybe there's a thread on this concert that I missed.

• $80 + at-cost shipping (I will only charge exactly what the post office charges me) Excellent condition. PayPal OK. Thanks!

I'll second the Pogorelich recommendation. The common criticism of Pogorelich is that his playing is too idiosyncratic, but I think every listener should decide for themself. I was dubious until I heard the CD all the way through, and I was quickly a convert. There's something uniquely dramatic, even mysterious, about Pogorelich's take on Scarlatti, but it never ventures into histrionics or bombast. Couple this CD with Haskil's edition, and you have a lot to listen to. The 17 CD Haskil edition is currently selling for just over $44 at Amazon. Pretty good price for that much music. I own the previous 7 CD edition, and it's brilliant.

Sold! Thanks.

• TOCJ 9104 Pete LaRoca: Basra mini-LP; disc like new; in resealable mylar sleeve $14.99 • Paul Chambers Quintet out-of-print 1996 Connoisseur edition with U.S. obi; disc like new; in resealable mylar sleeve $9.99 Buy both titles for $20! Shipping included in U.S. International at cost. PayPal OK. Reply here and/or PM. Thanks!

I wonder if the Lucky Thompson Select is still in the works ...

Good question. An Evidence repackaging? Sad that Evidence's last Ra reissue was in 2000. What happened to that label? The Szwed book is finally, but slowly, coming to me via media mail. I should have read it long ago, but am excited for it now. Never too late!