Late

Jack Sheldon is the "I'm Just A Bill" of West Coast Jazz. His epitaph: "I practiced. Chetty didn't."

Thurston left off some of those early Michel Portals. I still want to hear Jouck Minor.

And this just seems the stuff that was in Saida's possession. Ravi surely has additional tapes? I'd personally be most interested in unissued stuff post-1965.

Did Clark record anything after Leapin' and Lopin', live or as a sideman for anyone? He seemed on the cusp of a great (compositional) breakthrough.

The only Woods album that I really like is Warm Woods. The Japanese version has excellent sound. Very much worth seeking out. Woods has always been difficult for me to enjoy. His phrasing, intonation, sense of swing ... they're all perfect. He seems like the perfect alto player to me, and yet a sense of emotion, or there being something at stake in his solos, eludes me every time. I want to like Woods more, but few recordings have really worked for me. Warm Woods has been the only exception so far. Take Woods' absolute command of the horn and then add something like Julius Hemphill's ideas. That would be near my ideal alto saxophonist.

I can't find a copy of Storm Warning these days, but was thinking of purchasing Here And Now And Sounding Good, but would like to at least hear a few sound samples first. Anyone here have the latter album? I've heard There And Back, and it fairly smokes. I need to listen to It's Morrissey, Man! more. It hasn't grabbed me yet.

Thanks, Late. Have you heard anything about the 500 series? Are the 600s much better? I haven't heard/read anything about the 500 series, unfortunately. Clarke makes a good point about placement. Sometimes just pulling a speaker out about eighteen inches from the wall can make a considerable difference. Soundproofing is also something to consider. You can go crazy with professional soundproofing equipment, but I actually have had success with a homemade "solution": I purchased pre-stretched canvases from an art supply store, and then backed them with one-inch thick dense foam. Maybe I'm just convincing myself of "better" sound, but I do think it focuses the mid-range noticeably. A painter friend of mine, when he saw the canvases up on the wall, joked that the "paintings" must be from my "minimalist" period. (I don't even paint.)

If you play Kind of Blue and Blue Train at the same time, you can hear Marlene Dietrich sing The Star Spangled Banner.

If I recall correctly, Getz was getting (fairly/unfairly) bashed on the Blue Note board when, all of a sudden, his son popped in to say that he knew his dad had a reputation for sometimes being detached and aloof, but that on every birthday (the son's birthday), no matter where dad was, he'd call his son and play Happy Birthday over the telephone. Does anyone remember that from the BN board? Always struck me as poignant. (And I say all this in a Frank Wright thread. Not atypical. )

Though I'm not sure if they're made anymore, I've had very good results with these.

Definitely check out the Morton sides mentioned above. For your tastes, you'd probably like the CD "The Art of Blakey" by the (one-time) collective called Message. The album seems like another lame tribute project, but this one is actually quite fine, particularly because it doesn't dwell on Blakey staples, and instead breathes "Messenger" life into original compositions. Four-horn line-up: Robin Eubanks (tb), Brian Lynch (t), Donald Harrison (as), Ralph Moore (ts). Geoff Keezer (p), Peter Washington (b), and Carl Allen (d) round out the septet. Lynch's and Keezer's arranging skills, even at this early point for both of them, are pretty solid.

Sidewinder, did you ever pick this one up on CD?

I have to agree with this statement. I wonder what Alfred (or Sam) was thinking. As far as Blue Note regulars from the period, Freddie Hubbard would seem the natural choice, or even Woody Shaw or Don Cherry. Come to think of it, for the music on that album, Cherry would seem the most natural fit (to my ears). But I still love the album. Byrd doesn't ruin it at all for me. Though I would like to travel back in time and inside his brain on the drive home from that session. ("Damn!" said Donald's brain. "What the hell?" it queried.)

What studio work is still "in the vaults"? I wonder if anyone's in contact with Ravi these days to address issuing all the (purported) unissued stuff. I was listening to Living Space tonight, remarking to myself how good it was, and lamenting that the days of the Cuscuna-produced tri-fold Impulse! CD package are gone. I remember being so excited back in 2000 when a slew of reissued Coltranes on Impulse! hit the shelves.

I wonder if the studio chatter will contain the snippet where Miles asks Bill Evans about hair product, and then goes on to voice a Db+5b7 chord with no third on the piano.

Yes, you're right. Forgot about that.

How about all the Marte Röling covers for Fontana. Or the covers that "Harvey" did for Savoy? Bill Hardman's Saying Something should have been titled "Coffee."

We've been talking about this record (on the BN board and now here) for ten years! (This is not a bad thing, mind you.) The TOCJ of this sounds pretty good to my ears. I haven't spun it in a while, and now I'll do so with Chambers in mind. I've always been a bit bothered by how Washington is seemingly off-mike for most of the session. I wonder if he swung his horn a lot when he played.

It will be 20 (or more?) years since this album was initially reissued (*) as a single compact disc! Hard to believe. I remember holding the original CD issue in a store in Denton, Texas back in 1988, but I didn't know who Sam Rivers was then. A few weeks later, I purchased Tony Williams' Spring (in Richardson, Texas of all places), and was exposed to Rivers for the first time. I then went back to buy Dimensions and Extensions, and it was gone. * Wait — wasn't Dimensions & Extensions one of those records that never saw LP release? Meaning that its 1980's CD issue was its first release? This is one of my favorite Rivers sessions. It never sounded that good on the Mosaic, and I'm hoping Rudy will be gentle on the compression for this reissue. Apparently he remastered this session for the Japanese market as a bonus JRVG (I know Reiner has a copy) some time around 2000. I wonder if this will be a new remaster.

The first ESP is probably still my favorite Wright recording. I dig his duo work with Muhammad Ali as well. (Is Muhammad the older or younger brother of Rashied?) Speaking of sons of famous jazz musicians joining boards, does anyone remember when Stan Getz's son dropped in on the Blue Note board?

It'd be nice to browse their offerings. Now that the VICJs have been replaced with UCCOs (and seemingly different remastering), the original editions are harder to find, at least some that I'm still looking for. Even Hiroshi couldn't find some for me.

It took me a while to appreciate The Little Giant, but once my ears chimed in with what he was doing, I was hooked. He was perhaps best known for his finger dexterity, but I love his playing most when he's at a medium tempo. One of the greatest tenor solos (for me) is his solo on "Blue Monk" from the Messengers/Monk album on Atlantic. He made the world a better place with his music.

We're all in agreement: it's Wynton Kelly.

In 2007, Naxos/Storyville released Tristano's 1965 Tivoli Gardens concert on DVD. (It's since been booted by Improjazz with additional footage. Try to buy the Naxos edition!) If you think you know Tristano, buy this DVD. It will mess you up. Dissonance never sounded so beautiful. It's truly a wonder to see Tristano's hands. I can't even make out some of the extended/altered/chromatic chords he's playing. I bought my copy from Tower for $10.86. One of the best musical DVDs I own. Highly recommended.

Anyone here bought the UCCO Japanese editions of these discs? The VICJ's are harder to come by ...