DrJ

There are simply way too many to list, particularly without knowing your tastes. There are literally hundreds of great ones.

I'm looking forward to hearing these remasterings of the Gales; I have them on CD-R from you Lon, as you probably recall. I really enjoy the music (particularly the date with Elvin Jones) and they sound good, but not stellar (original vinyl had some limitations). Jim Sangrey and some others have also said nice things about the Byard Lancaster. Looks like I'll have to pick 'em all up soon.

Well said! Not to digress too much from the topic at hand, but I by and large agree about Lovano - I have more than a couple of his CDs, and enjoy them on occasion, but he still has yet to convince me he's the phenom many people have made him out to be. I'd be curious, Bev - do you have the CDs he did a while back for BN called RUSH HOUR and FROM THE SOUL? To me, these are still the closest he's come to an out and out masterpiece, just barely misses in each case but if he did stuff like that all the time I'd be standing in line for each new release. I've always found LANDMARKS, which was vaunted as his big "breakthrough" to be vastly overrated, as well as much that's come since.

I really like the Atlantic NO Jazz box. I may be one of the only people around who enjoys the funeral band stuff on the initial disc, based on all I've read from others about it on the board. Certainly there is stronger music in the box, but it's fun to hear the location recording at least once in a while. This is not my favorite New Orleans jazz, but it's thoroughly enjoyable.

Killer choice! In my view jacknife, there's a HUGE improvement in the sound of the new Conn compared with the decent but nothing special sound on the Mosaic. Not everyone seems to agree, but on my system and with my ears, the clarity and presence, not to mention the balance of the remastering (with a lot more low end and a lot less harshness in the highs) are all way better on the Conn. You can hear air going through the sax during the opening notes on "Fuchsia Swing Song" for example, and I could never hear that kind of detail on the Mosaic (or on the TOCJ I had for years for that matter).

That Howard McGhee version of THE CONNECTION with Tina is one of my prized posessions, I have it in a 24-bit CD edition from Japan a few years back (scored from Dusty Groove last year). It's not just good but GREAT Tina; his solo on "Wigglin'" may be his best on record. My enthusiasm is NOT just due to this date's scarcity - I figured it would be nice to add to my Tina collection but that it would be little played, but nothing could be further from the truth. Honestly I feel this CONNECTION is far superior to the Freddie Redd BN version (which I love, so that tells you how much I like the Felsted). Tina fans: DO NOT miss it.

I think that's it exactly Bev, different ears. To clarify a couple of points, it's not that I find anything "lacking" in Schneider's music, it's pretty darn near perfect based on her unique conception, but it's not the type of thing I enjoy often (great for a change of pace though), just a personal thing. I also enjoy a lot of the musicians she works with - Rick Margitza for example, who's nigh on perfect for her music given that I think he espouses a very similar esthetic (lack of showy histrionic playing and a clear desire to break out of the "tenor and rhythm" mold and do something new, all particularly admirable in the current field of youngish tenor players). Finally, I don't mean that the missing "jab in the ribs" has to be a loud crescendo or bleating high-end trumpets or that sort of thing, and it certainly doesn't have to "swing" conventionally in the Basie-school sense. I have pretty big ears and get tired of cookie cutter hard bop stuff. It's just that I sometimes find a LACK of tension in Schneider's music because it's so darn logical and beautiful. I'm not generally surprised by anything I hear as a result. Unless it's absolutely perfectly executed, with just the right improvisatory fire, her music can sound a little bland then, even as one appreciates the detail and musicianship and beauty. Again, all this is my personal take, and I can see how others would feel quite differently. It's actually a very small criticism, and suggests (positively I think) that this still-evolving artist may have her very greatest work ahead of her (and I'll be following the development with great interest).

I certainly agree I'm glad Tyrone was his own man. I must say that I find NATURAL ESSENCE to be a good but not great album, I think the scarcity of this BN brings it more attention than it might otherwise garner. Still, very glad to have it and would like to hear more Washington (I have another later date that's good too).

I'm hoping my pre-ordered copy is in the mail to me as we speak!

I understand better now wesbed, thanks for clarifying (not that you have to explain to me, of course!). Addey is the man. His work on the recent Basie Roulette reissue CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD and on the recent Andrew Hill Conn PASSING SHIPS is simply unbelievable. Another great Addey Mosaic job is the Ellington Reprise recordings box. I don't know how he does it but I wish Cuscuna would hire him to do it a LOT more often.

Well, I didn't need much convincing - I think I probably will take the plunge, just wanted to hear if there were any particularly negative comments. Thanks guys!

Both were widely distributed in stores in the US (that's where I bought 'em), and probably still are.

I like and appreciate Schneider, very innovative stuff, you can pick her out of the crowd for sure. What she pulls off - creating such an ethereal sound from such a large ensemble - is truly amazing. And she is a wonderful writer. That said, I don't find myself reaching for her music that often, and that started me thinking about why. While her music is 1000 miles away from "light" jazz or "new age" - in terms of the sophistication of her writing and the arrangements and the quality of the musical ideas - nonetheless sometimes I find the PERFORMANCES of her music lack the visceral impact I seem to naturally gravitate towards in my favorite music. Sometimes it's all just too TOO and overly polite, particularly at the moments where a good (not necessarily loud or unsubtle) jab in the ribs might be just the tonic (and oh so WELCOME). Maybe the best way to say it is: easy to admire, not so easy to love and truly enjoy for me. In that sense I find her work nothing like the best of Gil Evans' where there's that puckishness that leavened and enlivened. Perhaps she simply hasn't found the ideal players to interpret her compositions?

Well, interesting observations for sure. I'd be curious to know why you expected more of a Blue Note sound from Weston - from everything I've heard and know of the man, that would not seem a likely pre-impression, Weston was rather outside the BN mold of the era (most obviously telling is that he never led a date for that label). wesbed - Did your advance impression stem from his tunes being covered by BN artists (e.g. Gene Harris and the Three Sounds, Horace Parlan, etc)?

That Ponty/Louiss/Humair CD on Dreyfus is a really good one. Unusual combination for sure.

Let me preface this by saying I own probably a little more than 1/2 of what's in the box already. So now directly to the question: is it worth grabbing this box, in this day and age (remastering now 15 years old)? I know there are still some tidbits that are unissued in other form - including three tunes from a session with Shelley Manne. I also found out there's a little snippet of piano intro from "Blue Bolivar Ba-Lues Are" that was on the initial LPs but then edited and lost from the master tapes subsequently. But is there enough of such stuff to justify the high price, given that so much of it has appeared since and much of it now in improved sound? And what did people pay for their set - what's a fair price?

RonF - I'll probably still eventually check out PASSPORT, just for the stronger tunes, don't have it yet. I have yet to delve into Muldaur's history but would be interested to know where to start with his Jug Band etc recordings.

I have to agree...particularly when these recordings were MADE to be released (e.g. this isn't just some fan putting it down for posterity or for a boot). What the hell do the record companies DO exactly with the money they make? Certainly they're not pouring it into decent live recording rigs...

So Henderson got a lot of recognition outside of the jazz "inner circle" in his later years...so what? That certainly does not devalue his worth as an artist in my book. And about the licks: Eric Dolphy repeated a whole lot of licks very frequently (they just happened to be oddball licks that some people have a hard time picking out as licks)...Elvin Jones can be viewed as a licks-based drummer in my book, again repeating many of his best ones frequently...Grant Green, certainly...Woody Shaw, yep (there's a little fanfare thing he does at least once on just about every recording he was on)...hell, the great Thelonious Monk wasn't afraid of repeating himself if it sounded good, including a whole bunch of pet phrases. The more you listen, the more you hear this kind of thing in jazz, and I see it as one of the LEAST heinous of the crimes a jazz musician can commit. And having a "mic" sound on an instrument, again not a big deal AT ALL to me given that there's not exactly a shortage of them...guess Henderson would just have had to make sure to avoid being booked at a gig where there was a high likelihood of a power outage. Otherwise, no problem. Far worse are these sins: to lack an identifiable tone, use generic phrasing, and fail to put heart and soul into a performance. Henderson avoided those to me. Jim is so right - the guy was simply a great player, if not a major groundbreaker or school-starter.

These are all great! Certainly love (and appreciate) both your work on MAGNIFICENT THAD JONES, guys. Remarkable!

I paid a lot more, and it was worth every penny. Don't hesitate! PS - I have A/B'd the old US STANDARDS set with Disc 2 of the JRVG and there's no comparison - Rudy done himself very proud on the Japanese edition.

My first exposure to this music was this weekend, finally located a copy at a decent price. My initial impression is - wow, very fine music indeed! Nicely remastered Van Gelder recordings really help bring the most out in the music...Watkins' sound is so well-captured here! Trane sounds superb here, and it's hard to add to the very perceptive comments about his contributions that have already been made. Harden's compositions are tasty, and I like his playing a lot...have the Curtis Fuller IMAGES mini-LP edition Jim R mentions and have been enjoying it for some time, including his contributions. I'd love to hear THE KING & I someday!

My favorite Merrills are still the ones with Dick Katz from the later 60's, A SHADE OF DIFFERENCE and the other one whose title escapes me right now. But her later recordings, including those you mention, are great. Add CLEAR OUT OF THIS WORLD as another superb one, with some Wayne Shorter contributions.

I'm late entering this discussion (as usual), but just wanted to give my heartfelt THANKS for hosting/running this outstanding board. It's truly become a kind of virtual corner bar or club, one that almost always makes room for civil disagreement and doesn't put up barriers to new members. No mean feat.

The album she did a couple years back that merged jazz with some traditional Croatian music (her heritage) and featured Steve Lacy on soprano on some cuts was sublime, so I too am looking forward to hearing the new one. Yes, she's lost more than a couple steps on her voice, but like, say, Sheila Jordan, it's not so much about the voice quality but rather the interpretation and the outrageous (if subtle and still highly musical) chances she takes, both emotionally and harmonically. She sometimes aims high and misses, and can sound mawkish as a result at times, but when she hits it, there's nobody active to touch her as a jazz vocalist IMHO except for Shirley Horn. What a musician.