patricia

First of all, GOOD FOR YOU!!! I beg you not to limit yourself to new pressings. It is possible to get original vinyl in good to excellent condition, if you are persnickity about quality. It's not about price, necessarily, but the love that the original collector had for his/her record collection. People like my father treated their records like collector's items, handling them properly. That seems to be a personality trait of both serious jazz and classical record aficianadoes. Of course, you'll get burned occasionally,[ I still remember the LP with what looked like a bite out of it ] but there is nothing like the rush of finding an album, enjoyed by somebody in, say, 1946, still in really good, sometimes even in like new condition. You hold in your hands something which was loved and played by a jazz addict just like you. That, to me, is a big part of my love of vinyl.

I thought that tragedy had struck and I had MISSED the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. BUT, I'm watching it now on ABC. It's at my favourite part, when Charlie Brown is the director of the play. The wild dancing sequence just finished and the part that I love is Pigpen's bass exploding dust as he plays it. Hilarious!!! Oh and the part where Linus, when asked by Lucy if he will still have his blanket when he grows up says, "I will be making a nice sport coat". Love this!!! Now there is a Part II. It's about a skating show in which Lucy needs a partner. I've never seen this one before.

Phil, time stands still for you, as it does for all the greats. Have a very Happy Birthday, on your wonderful journey through what we all laughingly call LIFE. May you have many, many more of the years that can only get better. Champagne all around!!

Speaking of uninhibited comments by our children, I still remember this one, made by my daughter in a furniture store to a total stranger. We were looking at a rocking chair and my daughter said to a woman standing near us: "We have a rocking chair at home, but my mom's hips are too wide to sit in it." The woman sizes me up, looks at the rocking chair with a puzzled look. I'm kind of scrawny. Then I realized what my daughter [about three at the time] meant. She meant that I was too big to fit into HER rocking chair, one of those little kid-sized ones. By then the woman had wandered off. All day I felt fat. And speaking of hair. Same daughter. We're sitting on the bus. My little one, at about three again, sitting on my lap, facing the back, looking at the woman behind us. My daughter smiles. The woman smiles back at her. My daughter, commenting on the woman's amazing, towering, beehive hairdo, "Hi. Is that your real hair?" I was trapped. I couldn't pretend that I had no idea who this tactless child was. Little kids say what they are thinking.

Oh man, I once passed by an Italian couple having a nap on a bench in a train station, and the odour from their armpits could be smelled at a five feet distance ... so, if sleeping can be defined as some type of working ... They'd probably just had sex. "We're English, we don't have sex." Wasn't there an English film some years ago entitled, "No Sex Please, We're British"? I thought it was a joke. Do you mean it's true??

I've seen ads for "husbands", which are full-body-length pillows, with attached "arm" in publications here. They are about the same distance around as a regular-sized man and the attached arm can be slung across the user's body. Considering that most of the time, your partner is just lying there, they make a certain demented sense. AND they don't snore!!! I would suggest a small modification. They should have an optional heating element.

I keep meaning to shop for other people for Christmas, but my feet keep straying. Today: Al Jolson, The Early Years - Nice copy from the personal collection of Milt "Vandeville" Encores. Jolson was not just "Mammy". Not perfect, but quite playable. Rick Wakeman - The Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth Barry White - Just Another Way To Say I Love You - That voice!!! Simon And Garfunkle The Concert In Central Park [two record set]. Ray Stevens Shriner's Convention [hey, I like to laugh when I'm not solving all the world's problems. ] And, I saved the best for last - The Edith Piaf Deluxe Set This was a Capitol release on three records. It''s a boxed set, in MINT condition. I always think that these are bought by people who never take them out of their box, after the first listening. They may not even listen to all of them. Philistines!! In any case, it's beautiful. My late mother saw Piaf perform, many times, in Paris and was enchanted by her voice. No surprise there. Elaine Paige does a very credible impression of Piaf's style these days, but there was only one Edith Piaf. Some years ago, my youngest daughter, who was about fourteen at the time, discovered Piaf on her own, which pleased me. It was strange to see her Piaf CD's among the boy bands and hip-hop artists.

I'm assuming that you put these discs on your turntable, one at a time. Remember those record-players which played only '45's? They had a fat spindle and worked much the same way as the skinny spindles that automatically drop [ ] the next disc, right on top of the just-played one. The same thing happens as happens with LP's. If you can find an old jukebox, that would be the solution, I would think. I used to be facinated by the mechanics of them and by how only the edges were handled by the arm that selected and played them. I have ONE plastic adapter for my few '45's, which I use to play them.

Patricia - interesting to see 'Highgate Village' as a title in this context. Many years ago as a student I lived in this very area of London - indeed on the same street as Yehudi Menuhin, who I would on occasions walk past (he was at the far end of the road from my own abode). No doubt Yehudi's home was the inspiration for this number. Highgate Village is, indeed, a beautiful composition. The pairing of Grappelli with Menuhin was genius!!! From the liner notes: "A contribution from the pen of Grappelli - no doubt dedicated to the locale where he and Menuhin first met. This slow romantic theme is superbly interpreted by Menuhin with sensitive accompaniment from Grapelli, whose capabilities as pianist are confirmed by his second-chorus solo. The theme then alternates between violin and piano, ending with a delicate final phrase in thirds by Menuhin."

I love that record too. You might want to check out the bio which stars Kevin Spacey as Darin, "Beyond The Sea". Spacey, if you can believe it, is more Darin than Darin. Worthwhile seeing. It was eerie how Spacey almost seemed to be channelling Darin in the musical sections and there are many.

Today's haul: Mills Brothers - Famous Barber Shop Ballads [10" LP with great notes about the brother's bios on the back of the cover. I would guess that this was recorded in the late fifties or early sixties. Fever & Smoke - The Three Suns Shirley Bassey Sings the Hit Song From Oliver [plus jazz standards] Nice collection. Edgar Allan Poe Read By David Kurlan 30 Smash Hits Of The War Years [Odd little collection, recorded in 1975 at the Guards Chapel in Chelsea Barracks, London] Liona - A collection of classical Spanish guitar selections. Liona Boyd is a superb Canadian classical guitarist who specializes in flamenco. Love this! Carmen McRae - Live At Sugar Hill, San Francisco. This is a collection of jazz standards. McRae is backed by Stewart Martin on drums, Norman Simmons on piano and Victor Sproles on bass. Love this woman's voice! Johnny Mathis Sings The Music of Bacharach & Kaempfert. [two record set] Bill King - A Dixie Peach Chuck Magione - Children Of Sanchez Two record set of Magione's compositions for the Hall Bartlett film, "The Children Of Sanchez". All, except the Mills Brothers in near-mint condition. The happy-making thing is that these were $1 per record, so the two record sets were $2 and the singles $1 each.

An odd little album, Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli violins Tea For Two. The track list is: Crazy Rhythm The Man I Love Tea For Two Highgate Village [a Grappelli composition] Air On A Shoestring A Foggy Day Viva Vivaldi My Funny Valentine Adelaide Eve [another Grappelli composition. Nice.] Thou Swell Yesterdays Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea The personel on the album are: John Etherdidge on guitar Jan Blok on rhythm guitar Pierre Michelot on bass Ronnie Verrell on drums Laurie Holloway on piano, harpsicord and woodwind ensemble. This album does all the numbers in the style of the Hot Jazz bands of the twenties and thirties, notably the Quintet of the Hot Jazz Club in France, which was led by Django Reinhardt, and is amazingly good. It does have a certain classical feel to it, but it DOES swing! The album was recorded in 1978 on Angel.

Clearly, Clifford, you and we need valet, whose sole responsibilty is to run our record players and handle our records properly. This person would be schooled in the proper storage of vinyl and the laws of the genre. For example, he/she would touch only the edge and the label, ALWAYS replace the disc, first in it's envelope, then in it's cover and replace each disc, immediately, on it's edge, in it's cover, in a temperature-controlled storage unit arranged alphabetically. Thus, the pristine condition of our precious collections of jazz vinyl would be ever preserved.

Thank you Alexander, I completely forgot about that aspect of the LP. I'm so embarrassed. Considering that this is the only album on which I've ever seen this done, I can't believe I didn't mention it.

See??? We vinyl aficianadoes are all a little crazy. That's what I think about the "Haiti" disc. I keep asking myself why I just don't get it. After all, it took me a while to move from traditional jazz to more modern interpretations. I keep thinking that this album may be a breakthrough in my understanding of music as a medium for human expresion. So far.....................it's noise. But there is sits, mocking me.

Sidewinder, the question that plagues me is why we don't "frisbee" these dogs? I think it's because I'm reluctant to admit that I am so unsophistocated that I don't appreciate music[?] that was important enough to actually record. I have had the "Haiti" record for decades and it is still in my collection, alphabetically, right after Herbie Hancock's "Quintet". Dumb. I'll admit it right here. I just don't get "Voices Of Haiti" and never will.

But, the all-time prize, at least for me was a record I bought, years ago, which looked interesting, when I saw it in the marked-down bin. It was called "Voices Of Haiti". I thought that it would be an exotic experience, expanding my mind and adding to my knowledge of the culture of another land. So, I plunked down my folding currency and took it home. WHAT A DUMB RECORD. It was minutes and minutes of meaningless noise and chants, indispersed with shouts and claps, none of it having any rhyme or reason. It was two tracks, one on each side of the record. There were no liner notes, no explanation of what it was that I was hearing. Did I feel dumb!!

"Dinah '63" Dinah Washington This record was scruffy-looking and dusty when I found it yesterday for $1 at my favourite second hand store. The cover looked as if it had been used, many times for a coaster. But, undeterred, I simply ran the disc under hot water, dried it with a lint-free cloth and...voila!! Dinah's voice was totally grand and this record is no exception. Fine!!

Two today: "Dinah '63" Dinah Washington This has amazing versions of I Wanna Be Around and What Kind Of Fool Am I? Gone too soon. One of my favourite pairings was Dinah with the fabulous Brook Benton. "And I Love You So" Shirley Bassey Her version of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face rivals Roberta Flack's. Very nice. And this album also has All The Sad Young Men, as well as a fabulous take on Without You, which is one of two which always make me sad. The other is You Don't Know What Love Is, no matter who sings it. Always loved Bassey's voice, ever since I heard her sing the title song for "Goldfinger". The condition of the records is OK, though they do show some wear. I console myself by assuming that the reason is that the former owner played them. What ticks me is when I find a rare album which seems to have been used for a coaster, or just thrown on the floor. I've cleaned dried food off records, more than once. A pox on those who don't treat vinyl with reverance.

Happy Birthday, David!!! You don't look a day older than you did yesterday. Watch out for trans-fats and falling pianos.

I'll say. To think that that same $6 would have been a nice down payment toward a spiffy set of mink-lined long underwear, which would have amortized, in Chicago in the winter, over about a week.

THANK YOU CATESTA!!! Love Charlie Brown Christmas!

Way ahead of his time. To my daughters, "phat" is a good thing.

Spirituals Paul Robeson [bass baritone the label helpfully tells me ] Imagine what he could have done, had he chosen to perform jazz. The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini The Wildroot Orchestra, a Vancouver band from the late seventies, early eighties. My favourite title on the album is "Dave, You're So Suave". [it's a novelty thing, rhyming every line with "Dave", so You're so suave becomes "Dave, you're so swayve". It's kind of a do-wop thing. Catchy. Reminds me of the songs by the Shirelles. But, kidding aside, this is a top drawer band and the album has a great version of Mancini "Peter Gunn" theme.

...I've watched "A Christmas Story" ['you'll shoot your eye out!'] and have listened to both the Mathis and Mahalia Jackson Christmas records. Christmas Eve I have the only slice of fruitcake that I will have all year. One slice is enough. [burp].