T.D.

It gets idiotic when it gets to Malcolm X and MLK. Yeah, William Rhoden of the NY Times (also African-American) commented in a similar vein, but much more reasonably: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/sports/football/civility-need-not-be-excluded-from-the-culture-of-the-nfl.html?ref=williamcrhoden&_r=0 ...At least one of Martin’s black teammates went to ridiculous lengths, referring to Incognito as an honorary brother. Trust me, if the roles were reversed and Incognito were black and Martin white, the narrative would be different...

Gutsy article by Mr. Whitlock. I've followed the situation to some degree, but don't think I know enough to make any conclusions.

Sounds like Rhino Records and Jack's Rhythm's? Exactly! Jack's also started carrying used books some years ago, and they have a very nice selection. Unfortunately, every used CD (3 in total before giving up) I bought from them was scratched. Rhino does have quite a few classical discs, mostly used, but the ones I pulled out and looked at had scratches. I live too far away to be bothered with returns/exchange. Both shops have lots of vinyl. [Added] Inquiring Minds bookstore, across the street from Rhino, has a reasonable selection of jazz CDs (and a few classical), worth looking at if you're in the area but not worth making a special trip. Their music section also stocks decent jazz titles - I've seen Larry Kart's Jazz in Search of Itself and Groves/Shipton's The Glass Enclosure in the past.

Today's Berkshire e-mail includes: 'Alfred Brendel: The Complete Vox, Turnabout and Vanguard Solo Recordings' on Brilliant Classics, 35 CDs for $52.15 A 25-CD Rimsky-Korsakov box, also on Brilliant Classics, for $37.25

Happy birthday! BB and the Pats send their regards... And on the eve of the big WC chess clash!

There are a couple of brick-and-mortar stores, with surprisingly good jazz selections, about 60 miles from me (and a block from each other!). I try to visit when in town, and occasionally purchase. Unfortunately, one of the two has an unpleasant habit of offering used CDs with scratches! For classical recordings, the Internet is my only feasible source.

More or less agreed. I've always had a violent aversion to his writing, and won't be checking out the latest.

Have an excellent one!

Happy birthday!!! :party: Felicitations richly deserved, since GA is very active in noticing others' b-days.

Got e-mail yesterday - Berkshire has the Regis 9-cd box of Kempff's Beethoven sonatas (mono version, originally on DG) for $26.91. I like that set (granted, I have notably poor taste).

I've bought a lot of recordings from importcd, most notably Black Saint / Soul Note boxes. Funny thing: they also sell on Amazon, but there can be big differences (not always in the same direction) between their own site's price and their price on Amazon. So it pays to check the site.

Hard to say without knowing Mosaic's financials. The "limited edition" approach seems essential in order to maintain price levels and "desirability". My personal hunch (nothing more) is that the number of sets was pitched a bit low. But 5,000 is a nice round number, something like 7,000 would look weird, and 10,000 probably too high!

Very much a latecomer, Carmell Jones Select for me. Only Selects so far, though the Clifford Jordan Strata-East may cause an alteration to that policy...

PM sent on Sam Rivers - Contours (Blue Note 73163 reissued 2004) - $15

Thanks for the comments on the Select. "Cerebral" is OK for me (tongue-in-cheek recognized ). Will order it, as the set is "running low".

Sorry for going OT, but: Tyner (as a leader) is under-represented in my collection. I noticed his Mosaic Select is still in stock, but didn't find much discussion on the forums here. Any love for the Tyner Select? Recommendations?

I got into WCJ via the Counce group (probably the biggest eye-opener), Hampton Hawes and Barney Kessel. Subsequently expanded to many others, notably Manne. +1 on Ted Gioia's book (I checked it out on intra-library loan) I also really dig Art Pepper's Straight Life and Hawes's Raise Up Off Me, though those books are not specifically "WCJ". Kudos as well to the great recording engineer Roy DuNann (Contemporary)!

Thanks! Very kind of you, much appreciated.

Many thanks. I'm not far from the venue, and wouldn't have heard about it otherwise.

Not to mention parking fees, etc...

Best-known Mozart librettist (there were several) is Da Ponte: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Da_Ponte In general, it varies. Relatively few composers (Wagner of course being a notable exception) write their own libretti. Another well-known partnership is Richard Strauss / Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

Pretty big fan, I enjoyed his music (mainly because of witty lyrics) long before I became a "jazz fan". I saw him at a club in NYC in the late '90s (thought for a minute at Bradley's, but the dates don't match up; it was in that neighborhood). Too bad that was the only time...

Big-name free agency in MLB is becoming the ultimate showcase of "Buyer's Remorse" or "Winner's Curse". NYY are screwed either way: their roster is so sorry that they can't afford to let Cano walk, but if they resign him, the tail end (or more) of the bloated contract will be a Pujolsian/Hamiltonian/A-Hole-Rodian disaster. I'll be shocked if the Yankees don't keep him.

to the Pepper Vanguard box...

Not on the verge anymore. In the last few years, Mets have outdrawn the Yankees on the radio but that could be because Mets are on an all sports station while Yankees are on an all news station. Radio coverage is changing next year. NYY moving from WCBS (all-news) to WFAN (all-sports), replacing the Mets on WFAN. (AFAICT, WCBS and WFAN have the same corporate parent). I don't know where the Mets are going, but haven't taken time to investigate... See http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-11/yankees-reach-multiyear-agreement-to-be-broadcast-on-wfan-radio.html