relyles

All of my thoughts are irrelevant and incoherent.

My worry wouldn't be that it isn't legitimate, but that a CD-R won't last as long as CDs. I've had several CD-Rs go bad within a few years, but even my earliest CD from 1983 plays fine. I used the legitimacy pretext in order to get a response from Candid, given that relyles apparently had been unsuccessful in getting one. I guess it worked. Coincidentally, yesterday I was thinking about the fact that I never got a response from Candid and even considered ordering another copy to see what I would get. Thanks for getting an answer to my question.

So returning to the original question it appears that you are saying that one of the qualifications of a competent writer is the ability to recognize the significant compositions from the jazz canon? Is there any room for allowance for possibly recognizing a tune as for a example a Wayne Shorter composition, but not necessarily knowing the title without looking it up?

Happy day!

Thanks again for the encouragement (although I sincerely was not looking for any ego boost). Jazz Improv Magazine and its free New York Jazz Guide.

I listened to an interview David Binney did of Mark Turner not long ago and one of the things they discussed is that they purportedly do not pay much attention to critics, because they are of the opinion that most opinions do not know much about music - kind of saying that critics do not know what is going on in the music. If that is true, doesn't a writer lose some credibility? At least with musicians whose art one is trying to write about? Again, despite how some of you obviously interpreted my original post, I am not really soliciting tips or looking for people to make me feel more secure about my own writing (although I appreciate the encouragement ). I am really just trying to see how people think about jazz writing in general. One of the things that prompted me starting this thread is this passage that I read earlier today in Stanley Crouch's Considering Genius. Don't get me wrong, Crouch is not one of those writers that I personally use as a model of provocative jazz writing, but I did think the above invites the question of what basic knowledge about jazz, or anything else should a critic have to be credible.

I do study other reviews, but quite honestly I think there is somewhat of a decline in jazz writing overall. It seems that with the growing of internet based publications there are a lot more reviewers and many reviews I read don't seem to have much substance to them beyond the "this is great stuff" that Jim mentioned. There are exceptions of course, but there are few models of what I find to be honest reviews that are helpful to the reviewer and also fair to the musicians. That is why I asked the question - more generally than actually what I should do to enhance my own writing.

The past year I have been writing CD reviews for a print publication and I recently came to the conclusion that I will likely never be anywhere near as good at it as I would like to be. Primarily because I do a lot of writing in my profession (attorney), I have always thought I was a decent writer, but when it comes to jazz writing my self realization is that I am not much more than a fan or possibly even as I once read someone describe some writers - a hobbyist. So, I was just wondering what anyone thinks are the minimum qualifications, or knowledge that is necessary for credible writing about the music. Although I do not think it is necessary to be a musician or at least have some musical understanding, I think my lack of an understanding of the basic technical aspects of the music worked as a disadvantage in my efforts to write thoughtful and helpful reviews. I am missing big chunks of the vocabulary which would enable me to put into words what I hear so that the reader could get an accurate idea of what to expect from the music. Any thoughts?

I was just in my local independent brick and mortar retailer over the weekend and he had this set in his used CDs bin. In hindsight, I probably should have picked it up.

I am not sure I have anything substantive to say. I read the Galper interview as well and overall thought it was pretty interesting. As for the subject of the post, although he seemed to agree with a portion of the Marsalis sentiment, I thought that overall (in his long response) his thinking was not entirely consistent. I will have to take a look at that part of the review again.

Congratulations. Adding new souls to the family is always a blessing. Make sure you have a good selection of music for those sleepless nights that you will undoubtedly spend with your daughter really getting to know each other.

Tonight I heard Geri Allen's trio with bassist Kenny Davis and a young drummer named Kassa Overall. On most of the show they were joined by a very talented tap dancer. For me the tap dancer - although very good - was somewhat of a distraction. I came to hear Allen and it seemed like the dancer was given a lot of space - which most of the audience seemed to enjoy. When I was able to focus on Allen's playing she was her usual fantastic self.

Not upset, just wondering whether that is indeed how the recordings were pressed.

Well there goes that theory.

Are DA and Black Lion UK companies? I only ask because of a similar experience of a Candid reissue I purchased (not on amazon, but from a local independent retailer) that the booklet and all the packaging appeared official, but the disc itself appeared to be a CDR with a label affixed. I sent and email to Candid inquiring, but never received a response.

believe it or not, i've got a dvd copy already I believe it. I had a copy before the movie actually was released (I did not watch the DVD though because I was committed to seeing the movie in the theater with my mother - a huge Denzel Washington fan). I heard that before it was released it was available on the internet.

I had a similar reaction. I also felt that Washington's portrayal, despite his statements otherwise in interviews, probably made Lucas seem a little more likeable than he actually was at the time. Washington was far more convincing of a bad guy in "Training Day".

I am aware of some performances at Ronnie Scott's in August, 1972 that circulate among traders. I wonder whether it is the same material.

I think I actually liked the first one the best - followed by Vol. 2. I do enjoy the third one as well. I actually miss the more poetic offerings of the first one. I still highly recommend hearing her live if you ever have a chance. Fantastic performer.

I received my cancellation notice this morning.

So overall was the event well attended? I was very interested in trying to get down, but finances and family obligations made it impossible. In any event, since I have had the opportunity to do some writing for the publication I was hoping the event would be successful.

I am about seventy pages in myself and really feeling the urge to pull out the Mosaic box set. Very good read!

That is a nice recording. Steve Nelson also sounds good on that one.

Jim - all of your points are compelling and I do not dispute anything you stated. My only distinction is that from the perspective of the potential consumer of the final tangible product, the intrinsic value to me of a CDR is less than a regular CD. That does not mean I would not purchase a CDR if that was the medium the music was available. I have in the past and IIRC I have purchased one or more directly from artists for more than a small amount. Although unintelligibly presented, my point is that I simply want to know what I am purchasing before hand. In the case of the example I gave originally, a CD purchased in a store that was put out by Candid Records, and not directly from the artist - I think it is a more egregious situation.

Well, you can press 1000 discs nowaways for what, $1100? So that's $1.10 per disc. If you do larger runs you can get them even cheaper per disc. Should they then be sold for $15 a pop by labels, independent musicians, etc? In other words, is the value of the product directly related to the medium it's on or is it related to the music that's on the medium? Ultimately, the value to the listener of the musical experience is probably incapable of valueing. However, I think the point (as someone else suggests) is that the retail value necessarily has to include the medium as well as the value of the packaging and anything else that is included in the physical object that is purchased. If the cost to produce the object is reduced, is it unfair for the consumer to expect some or all of that cost reduction to be passed on?