robviti

He's alive!

no.

From a purely jazz standpoint, I'd recommend Plays Steve Allen by Terry Gibbs and Buddy DeFranco on the Fantasy label. Check out these sound clips: Plays Steve Allen. There's also a collection on the Varese Sarabande label called The Songs Of Steve Allen. Here's the track listing: 1. This Could Be The Start Of Something - Steve Lawrence/Eydie Gorme 2. Picnic - The McGuire Sisters 3. Tonight - Buddy Greco 4. Oh, What A Night For Love - Ella Fitzgerald 5. Gravy Waltz - Mel Torme 6. Spring In Maine - Margaret Whiting 7. Impossible - Nat King Cole 8. Banana Split - Jackie & Roy 9. South Rampart Street Parade - Bing Crosby/The Andrews Sisters 10. On The Beach - The Playmates 11. Junior Prom - Joni James 12. Pretend You Don't See Her - Jerry Vale 13. All At Once - Toni Arden 14. With You - Jennie Smith 15. Kiss Me First - Roy Hamilton 16. I Love You Says It Very Well - Ann Jillian 17. Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong & The Commanders There are two copies of the latter cd for under $9 at: Half.com. Or you can check out this recording and others at: The Steve Allen Store

That's all I have to say.

"freak accicent?" the whole idea of sending a horse off a pier like that seems utterly freakish and abhorrent to me.

it's my understanding that, all things being equal, scratches on the label side of the cd are more apt to cause problems than scratches on the "shiny" side. that's because the data layer is protected by a thick layer of polycarbonate on the shiny side and a protective lacquer layer on the other side: scratches following the circular reading pattern on the cd are more likely to cause a problem than scratches that are perpendicular to the reading pattern. actually, the scratch itself is not usually the problem, but rather the dirt that collects in the nooks of the scratched area. the dirt is what the laser can't read through. one way to solve this is to wash the cd.

i like this recording, but i don't know if i'd pay $20 for it. are you in the u.s.? i ask this because i think a local store may have a copy in stock for less.

l.a. jazz san francisco jazz

Good God!!!

for me, jazz is appealing on so many levels that it naturally lends itself to enhancing the "background" of my life. the same goes for good classical music, world music, etc. i used to think of "jazz as background music" as denigrating, since I dislike more shallow music styles like "new age" and "smooth jazz." now i just accept the fact that everything goes better with jazz!

I thought I'd pass along this info to anyone who might be interested in giving or receiving a subscription to Downbeat. I haven't read Downbeat for years, and I know many board members feel it is overpriced and lacking in depth. Still, if you're interested, go to bestdealmagazines to subscribe to this magazine and many others at very low prices. During the checkout process, enter the coupon code "REN915" to get an additional 20% off. This brings the total cost of 24 issues of Downbeat down to only $23.96. Enjoy!

the other answer to this question is this: not enough people are buying the titles that go out of print. i'm not sure what the cutoff point is these days, but i think it used to be 300 units per year. that's an awfully low number when you consider that we're talking about total annual sales. i don't know about you, but it makes me think twice about buying promos or used copies of titles that are still in print.

if i'm not misinformed, the inclusion of the jrvg "obi" comes from the fact that japanese reissue lps had a wrap-around "sash" or obi around them. the jrvg obi is, strictly speaking, not really an obi, but an "obi strip." some of the earlier japanese cd reissues of ojc titles came with a real obi that wrapped around the lp-facsimile cover. it appears that i also have too much spare time on my hands.

of course, chuck is correct in that rudy has done separate remasters for the domestic and japanese rvg reissue series. which sounds better is a matter of opinion, however. after performing numerous a/b comparisons, i find myself preferring the jrvgs in many cases, but that's just a matter of personal taste. now if we can only get rudy to engineer santana's a love supreme!

If I had the dough, it would be CAN-AM BABY!

personally, i don't care much for the "brass and bolts" style cd racks. this past weekend i finished staining and varnishing a pine cd rack (i prefer oak, but $$$). how big is it? over 7ft tall and 4ft wide. friends say: "now you'll be able to put all your cds in that, right?" no way jose. this will go on a wall adjacent to my 7ft by 3ft rack! that should give me some "growing room," for maybe a year! anyway, i shelve my collection alphabetically by genre, artist, and album title; with special shelves for oversized items and newer acquisitions. a friend of mine does the same thing, except he arranges the titles by recording date.

Just saw this on the net: RUBEN GONZALEZ DIES AT 84 ASSOCIATED PRESS HAVANA, Dec. 8 — Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez, who found new fame in the mid-1990s playing with Compay Segundo’s Buena Vista Social Club band, died Monday. He was 84. THE CUBAN MUSIC Institute confirmed that Gonzalez died in the capital, Havana, but did not provide a cause of death. Gonzalez’s keyboard gymnastics provided the heartbeat of the Buena Vista Social Club’s string of traditional Cuban “son” music albums beginning in 1997. The smallish man with grizzled hair gained worldwide attention as the pianist on the opening album of the series, the Grammy-winning “Buena Vista Social Club.” The best-known “Buena Vista” figure, guitarist and lead singer Compay Segundo, died at age 95 in July. He also played on subsequent Buena Vista albums produced on the World Circuit/Nonesuch label that featured fellow older artists Ibrahim Ferrer, in 1999, and Omara Portuondo, in 2000. But most of his individual fame came with his solo “Introducing ... Ruben Gonzalez” in 1997, and an additional solo album, “Chanchullo,” three years later. Born in the central province of Santa Clara in 1919, Gonzalez had originally wanted to be a doctor but enjoyed music so much he began studying piano at a conservatory in eastern city of Cienfuegos in 1934. He moved to Havana to become a full-time musician in 1941, first recording with Arsenio Rodriguez, a pioneer in Cuban-rhythm orchestras of the time, then joining the Orquestra de Los Hermanos. Gonzalez later traveled and worked in Panama and Argentina, finally returning to Havana and playing in clubs including the famed Tropicana night club. He joined forces with pianist Enrique Jorrin’s band in the early 1960s, and they played together until Jorrin’s death in the mid-1980s. Gonzalez took over the band for a time, but later retired. Gonzalez in 1996 met up in Havana with Ry Cooder, who produced the “Buena Vista Social Club” records, and his career was reborn. Funeral services for Gonzalez were scheduled for Tuesday.

I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, see something others don't, or if I just want to be oppositional (probably a combination of all three!). I read Santana's remark as a reflection of someone who believes A Love Supreme is a monumental work that deserves to be revisited, reinterpreted, etc., rather than just a piece of history to be kept safe and secure in its original form in the back of people's minds. I'm a fan the the Mingus Big Band, a collective dedicated to keeping Mingus's compositions alive through performance. I've also attended some of the Coltrane Memorial concerts here in Boston that have offered different interpretations of Coltrane's works ("latinized," with peotry, etc.). I'm not sure Santana's ASL Revisited would be as successful as these ventures, since a great deal of ASL's success is due to the incredible performance of the Quartet. All in all, I think Santana is a class act, so I choose to believe his comment represents admiration for the beauty and integrity of the composition.

How uncivilized! I prefer mine well-cooked!

Although 90% of my collection is jazz, I couldn't conceive of listening only to jazz. i love steak, but eating steak morning, noon, and night would eventually become monotonous. The fact that Bird dug Bizet, Stravinsky, and Wagner encouraged me to listen to classical music, just as Coltrane's modal improvisations led me to seek out eastern musics with similar harmonies. I also enjoy the blues and good popular music for what they are. I appreciate those times when my mood or musical appetite hungers for the Beatles, Howlin' Wolf, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, etc.

read about it here: new warning system

yes, do! this is a wonderful session, and the fresh sounds reissue is by far the best way to hear this music on cd.

I've been pretty busy the past few days, so I haven't had a chance to try out the different demos I downloaded. I've narrowed my search to five programs. Here they are, with the appropriate links in case anyone else is interested: Cattrax Cd Trustee Music Collector Music Label Music Library My plan is to scan the same 10-15 titles into each one, play around with them, and then decide which one is right for me. That might seem like a lot of work to some folks, but I want to do this only once. And with 2,000 or so titles...well, you know. I appreciate everyone who's shared their opinions so far, and I look forward to hearing from more of you. Feel free to email me if you like.