Brad

I love a lot of those Venus releases. I just ordered the new Harold Mabern on Venus. All the Eddie Higgins' are recommended.

The one Roulette Basie I hesitated getting this year was Basie and Friends, seemed more like one of these all star things with a lot of non jazz people. Anybody get that?

You might want to check out this AOTW Discussion. There's some in there about the Vanguard but more just a feeling for Pepper that might help you. I, myself, don't have it but would like to get it.

Hope you weren't referring to me . I was just quoting what the writer said, although I was obviously using his writing to embellish my dislike for the thing. I never heard Eddie Harris use but have heard Sonny use it (on cd) and IMHO it ruins his beautiful sound. Sonny should sound like when he played with Jug, on the Roost recordings or late on the Tune Up/Constellation cd. That is beautiful music. To me, the varitone just ruins and destroys his beautiful sound. I agree with your statement that "the personality of a sax player is partly his sound, but also his choice of notes, his phrasing and rhythmic conception" but not with the statement that "this is not affected by the Varitone - that is why you still recognize them in spite of the Varitone" because what comes out of the horn ruins what goes in. However, we'll probably never agree on this attachment. I don't want to use the "d" word

I remember this being discussed a long time ago maybe so long ago that it was at the BNBB. Anyway, I love these discs. Haven't listened to it in a while but really remembered loving Trummy and Barney especially.

Tony, Any leads on where to get this one? I've tried about 8 sites. No luck. If not, I might give one of his more recent recordings a try.

I'll be picking up this up. I've never had a bad rec from Tony.

Probably a general discussion will be good although my collection of Patterson/Stitt is rather skimpy since that's not my favorite kind of Sonny. I know some (not many, I belive) people like the varitone. I don't particularly like it. Here's what what was said in the Stitt Mosaic: "When Stitt comes back to Roulette in 1966 to record five albums, Hugh Glover was producing and Sonny was playing mostly Varitone, a fiendish invention that attaches to a saxophone and produces an instantaneous extra sound an octave below the note being played on the horn. It also destroys the timbre of the saxophone and the personality of an artist's sound. Eddie Harris and Lou Donaldson were among the other esteemed players who fell prey to the contraption." Later on Zan Stewart who wrote the notes describes the attachment as "dastardly."

He was getting a good signal but then at times, it seems to go out and he can't connect to the Xbox network. Is it possible that it has to do something with atmospherics. Right now, he's so ticked that we've got an ethernet cord running from the Cisco router upstairs down to the xbox.

Al, Got the package today. Thanks a lot

Hans, Looks like you're right. I owe you an apology. Your sight is very impressive with images, facts and discography. Thanks to you, the bop clarinets cd is on its way to me now. Please keep posting new information.

I wonder how many horns they have. I've always wondered, for example, who has Bird's horns or Sonny Stitt's horns? I wonder where they are.

I'll have to dissent here. Except for one song, you've got Sonny playing the varitone, that awful attachment he used on his sax. Absolutely ruins the record. In my view, most of Sonny's work with the varitone is to be avoided.

To stop drinking those (flatted) fifths!

Just imagine if you had the cd, "the Jones Boys", where Leonard Feather brought together Jimmy Jones, Eddie Jones, Quincy Jones, Thad Jones, Jo Jones and Reginald Jones. Under which Jones would you file that sucker?

I guess Willie Wonka doesn't count

I'm going to ask a dumb question but what's a "boston" as in "But I will say that I’d rather hear him play a ‘boston’ than any other pianist."

Thank you for posting that. Wonder how you came across it.

I find I have a problem with this. We have the DSL line upstairs and the wireless connection upstairs and my son has an Xbox downstairs where he likes to play online downstairs. But it seems more often than not that the wireless connection doesn't work. Any suggestions? Could the weather have something to do with it (e.g., if it's cloudy outside)?

Hey- I named three, and he only named one! Granted, his was a bit tougher... Ok, hats off to Jim too

I was just looking the Verve downloads and they've got some albums like the Charlie Barnet Harlem album which was quite available until recently. I was hoping they'd put out some real unavailable items. There's also Listen to Art Farmer, which is at least available on the Mosaic. There's not a lot of nuggets there from the vault.

Sounds like a neat idea for a book. Doesn't seem that it will be pulled off though.

Hats off to Brownie. Was that a posed photo or was HRH a player? Dmitry may have started a new fad here.

Brad, I'm not sure I understand this. . . . Blue Note was founded in 1939 with boogie piano recordings, and blues/New Orleans style recordings, and small swing groups and grew to champion some modern jazz proponents who became icons such as Monk and Bud. Bu wasn't a force til much later. . . . I'm not discounting Blakey's importance or even his consistency. . . . But he wasn't the wellspring your statement seems to make him. Lon, I agree with you to a point but this thread is about the 50s and 60s and I think he was the wellspring during that period.

Leeway posted this on Dec 16: Yes, I thought I was clear but guess not. I know some of you picked him but not many. That's what I found (find) amazing.