DrJ

What Jim and Alexander said.

I've gone back and forth about my feelings on the BNBB closing...on one hand I was just as indignant as many, but on the other, it is a business they are running, and the board was ultimately pretty peripheral to that. Sure, you can argue this point a bit and say that the BNBB was a great way for them to maintain a finger on the pulse of the jazz diehards, but honestly many Organissimo contributors still e-mail Cuscuna et al to give them feedback anyway, so I'm not sure they really lost anything ultimately. So what I feel with hindsight is that they certainly could have been a little less abrupt about how they did it, a little kinder, but I can't blame them one bit and actually think the Organissimo board is superior in many ways, not least of which because it's a grass roots kind of movement without a big corporate angle.

I am with you in general, b3-er, but have to say that after listening to tube CD playback set-ups (tube DAC with tube amp and tube-friendly speakers) I've modified my opinion a bit. I can listen to those set ups at great length without any ear fatigue...and will be regularly, once my Audio Note DAC and integrated tube amp finally arrive! On that system (played through Zingali Overture 2s speakers) it's like the best of all worlds, the warmth and lack of harshness of vinyl but with greater detail and presence than you can get with all but the very highest end (and most expensive) turntable rigs.

Stubblefield is one of the few well-known jazz artists I've had the pleasure of meeting personally and speaking with, after a McCoy Tyner Big Band show at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village. What a disarmingly kind, humble man he seemed! Plays an incredible tenor saxophone too, by the way...I am so sorry to hear that he's ill. Thanks for posting this, Jim.

Happy Birthday, Chuck! Thanks for all your efforts and successes in getting great music to everyone's ears.

Man, there is just VERY LITTLE LOVE for Freddie on this board sometimes! Anyway, I agree with tooter in that I can't imagine anyone confusing Freddie with Woody at least in their mature periods. It's the intervals but more than that - phrasing, the way they build solos, almost everything. I enjoy these Freddie/Woody pairings and recommend them to pretty much anyone who posts regularly on this board - you're gonna enjoy them, it's pretty much a given. But don't expect anything sublime. Hubbard, way better here than on many contemporary dates, is still a mere shadow of his former self to my ears. Woody plays very well as he always seemed to, so highly valuable to hear these dates for that reason alone, and Garrett's and Mulgrew Miller's contributions are always a pleasure, although both are really underutilized here as others note. But there is still ultimately a lack of that extra spark needed to make this date the classic it should have been. The strong feeling of nostalgia seems to trump any truly musical reason to get together - exemplified by the de-emphasis of Garrett and Miller, so that it sounds exactly like Two Old Giants with Rhythm and a Guest Young Lion (the main purpose of the date, after all) rather than a Band. The sterile 80's period recording is another factor sapping away some musical vitality. So to me, a qualified success. You'll enjoy it, but I bet you won't love it, if you follow.

Harder to track down and/or less heralded BN favorites of mine: Freddie Hubbard - HERE TO STAY (I think due for RVG reissue soon - GET IT) Gil Melle COMPLETE BLUE NOTE 50's SESSIONS (Connoisseur Series) Clifford Jordan CLIFF CRAFT (Connoisseur) - one of the most enjoyable 50's hard bop sessions you'll ever hear For the earlier era of the label: The Art Hodes sessions Lon mentions are glorious. You might try and find the Japanese reissues of this stuff that came out a few years back, very good sound and with original cover art. Also a huge fan of the "Victory Stride" session with Ben Webster and James P. Johnson (out last in the U.S. on the BLUE NOTE JAZZMEN compilation, also reissued in better sound in the Japanese series I mentioned above)

You need to learn wesbed, NEVER trust my feedback about Mosaics - where those sets are concerned I'm pretty much a fanatic!

Got both, both are fine, but the Morgan/Shorter is not just good, it's essential in my view.

Here's my philosophy: if the difference in your A/B test is so subtle that a few seconds pause to switch discs makes you forget all about it, then it's hardly worth fussing over. I agree with Dmitry that if you're an avid listener, you've usually got a highly developed "aural memory" and you're gonna hear and remember important differences regardless of the pause, while the trivial differences will fall away which is probably a good thing (could save you $1000s!). I also don't think manually adjusting the volume to comparable levels for A/B testing is that difficult. Again, if a slight difference in loudness between your A and B disc makes THAT much of a difference in sound quality to your ears, my assertion is that it's not just the volume difference at play but rather a superior remastering. Thus I do A/B's with the same CD player - whatever my current "best" player is - because I want to know what different remasterings are going to sound like through that player. Unless you go and buy two of the same player, which seems a complete waste in most instances, I don't see the point of using two different players UNLESS you're trying to decide about buying one over the other (some audio places will loan them out for home testing for example), a different kind of A/B test where you use a single CD obviously. Another reason to employ a single CD player for A/B's - what Claude says about high end CD players being so similar sounding that it's probably a non-issue, I'm not sure I agree with at all. Based on my recent listening research in assembling a listening room, there are HUGE, readily audible differences between very high end players, e.g. a Mark Levinson vs a Meridian). And again, I'm not a "subtle distinction" kind of guy, I'm only impressed/bothered if I can almost immediately hear differences. At any rate, FOR SURE in the low to mid-range CD player field, I hear HUGE differences among players - not necessarily a better/worse thing, but differences nonetheless. For example, my Pioneer Elite DV45-A has a more detailed, bright sound and seems more responsive than my Onkyo 6-disc changer (which sounds darker and more sluggish and reveals less detail). Some of this relates to the DACs in the unit, some to the transport, some to other circuitry (particularly in "all in one" players), and there are probably many other factors too. Beyond sound coloration (darker versus brighter), as I allude to above, a big difference you can pick up right away concerns responsiveness - some players just sound "sluggish" or slow, like everyone is dragging and the tempos are just a little "off," while others sound right on-the-mark. This effect is a little more subtle, certainly not at the level of playback speed problems that grossly effect pitch, but definitely audible.

Was listening to Elvin's remarkable work on Andrew Hill's JUDGEMENT! and Hubbard's READY FOR FREDDIE last night. On JUDGEMENT!, it's remarkable how he managed to maintain his almost unbelievable drive and intensity (somewhere in the middle section of "Siete Ocho" when he starts to "take it up to the mezzanine" to borrow a phrase from an earlier post here, it feels like your CD player is actually going to levitate), YET still temper it somehow to better match Hill's often dark, more quiet temperament (for example, check out the brushes on "Reconciliation," my favorite track on this particular album...you could still immediately identify the drummer as Elvin, as even with brushes he sounds powerful - and I'm not sure that as a non-drummer I could ever really pick out any other drummer based on their brush work alone). On READY FOR FREDDIE, as I mentioned in another thread, the alternate take of "Arietis" is a virtual jazz drumming clinic. Sure this version is a bit less tight and classic Blue Note polished, but it's amazing nonetheless...everyone solos with more abandon, taking some pretty outrageous chances, and what Jones does behind them all is jaw-dropping and often commands your full attention (maybe one reason why it was relegated to the vaults for so long). Check it out.

I agree with the additional comments of Lon and Jim wholeheartedly. Pepper in his early days (e.g. with Kenton) was to my ears a lot lighter, even exuberant at times although there was still that undercurrent of unease. And BB certainly was more "frisky" as a younger man. The comparison was indeed intended to be with their mature phases, thanks for pointing that out. Jim captures another difference perfectly in his comment about knowing more than one lets on and knowing more than one wants to - priceless, great encapsulation.

I just ordered the Elvin Mosaic set in tribute to and celebration of his life. A force of nature has move to another plane. I take comfort in the notion that wherever he is now, Mr. Jones is still playing and smiling just like always.

Although they couldn't be more different in other ways, one parallel I'd draw in describing the appeal of Pepper would be with B.B. King. As with King, part of Pepper's mystique and magic were that he always held something in reserve, which Jim Sangrey alludes to. B.B. plays guitar that way, and while he's definitely no "virtuoso" in the traditional sense, his incredible restraint and striving to find the least fussy and ornamented path directly to the truth in a song or solo are reminiscent of what I hear in Pepper too. It's funny that people comment about how emotional Pepper was - and I agree he was, too - in this light. He never got "messy" and just "let it all hang out," but reigned it in so you get that delicious tension and sense of longing and unfulfilled passion that comes through in his best work. Part of it is time sense as Jim says, but it extends beyond that to note choice, a steadfast rejection of showy displays of technique that failed to serve the music, etc. A true artist.

I found Mosaic long after the first Hodges box was out of print...since then have pieced together all the materal with single CD, CD-R, etc. While it's undoubtedly fine stuff, the 2nd Mosaic box of slightly later material smokes it, in terms of both musical quality and SOUND. Malcolm Addey did his usual wizardry with original tapes that were already generously well-recorded for the day, and the result is nothing short of magical. I agree with everything Matthew says, this is one of the strongest Mosaics.

LES TRINITAIRES is a keeper as far as I'm concerned...pretty much anything by Hill is. Look, they may not all work out to be "his best" but the guy isn't capable of making an indifferent recording. There are always little high points and fascinations. LES TRINITAIRES is no exception, and the opportunity to hear him play solo at that length (most of the pieces are VERY long and the running time of the disc is generous) is a real luxury. Well recorded too. The whole, way too small Jazz Friends catalog is worthy of close attention. Wish they had better distribution in the U.S., only place I was able to find any of their titles new was in New York City where I snagged the whole lot.

Awesome! Thanks for plugging this idea to Michael, Tom - and Mosaic rocks!

BLUE SPIRITS is darn good - it doesn't gel like an actual "album" because of the various sessions represented with the bonus tracks etc, to me it sounds like more of a sampler, but a really good one. For tenor sax Joe Henderson easily takes honors for me, though Hank sounds great too. That said, BLUE SPIRITS for me is probably 3rd or 4th or 5th on the list in terms of priority for Freddie's BNs, after READY FOR FREDDIE, HUB TONES, and HERE TO STAY (now THAT is gonna be a revelation for many when it's reissued!), and probably BREAKING POINT too. But again that's a fantastic line-up, so SPIRITS is still well worth picking up. NIGHT OF THE COOKERS? Just cannot get into it so far. Have tried and tried. LOOONG tracks with uninspired, almost comically over the top blowing, which was probably one hell of a ride if you were there but just incredibly wearing 30 years later on CD. My only reservation is that if there is a similar sonic upgrade for this one as there was for some of the other RVGs of live dates - e.g. Rollins' Vanguard sessions, the Blakey Birdland and Bohemia stuff - then it could help. The shrillness and complete lack of dynamic range on the original CD issue in the U.S. certainly helps kill any potential joy in this music for me. So we'll see.

This is a GREAT list of Conns...I'm always amazed at the reactions to the Conn lists, they always make me happy! Very cool that DANCE WITH DEATH will finally get a decent remastering - and I think it's underrated by many around here, a very fine album although more in the darkly hued, subdued Andrew Hill bag so takes a while to grow on you. Fantastic about the Hutcherson, too - NOW is pretty good and the bonus tracks are likely to be worth checking out. GREAT!

Definitely get a receiver that has the separate analog inputs to support SACD and DVD-A, I'm pretty sure eventually the format will grow and take off and you'll have that flexibility to expand.

Just have the JAZZ IN PARIS entry for Lafitte and enjoy it a lot. Beautiful tone.

My best wishes to you and your family in this time, Randy. Sounds like she will definitely always live in your memory.

That Mary Jane Girls tune IS wicked catchy...ya know I'm sure but Rick James I think produced (and I think wrote) that one, it has that classic 80's dance club "Rick James beat" going for sure...

I need to check out more Howard Roberts for sure, I don't know enough of his work. I do have a little gem called GOOD PICKINS (Verve, 1956) which I picked up on a Japanese import reissue CD a while back. Outstanding stuff, and a lot more hard driving than I would have predicted. Come to think of it I see a few Roberts Verve albums listed on All Music Guide, would perhaps make a very nice Mosaic Select?!

Hey, don't forget Lee Wiley and Marion McPartland! In terms of influence, both have been huge, one a long time ago...and the other a long time ago, a shorter time ago, now, and hopefully for a long time into the future! Alexander, I dig Rosnes' playing too. How 'bout Geri Allen, folks?