Face of the Bass

Yeah, I think there are probably more like 25-30 top-notch Sun Ra albums. The guy was just incredibly prolific, and an amazing musician. If there was a Mount Rushmore of Jazz musicians, I'd put him up there with Miles, Coltrane, Ellington and Monk in terms of guys who were incredibly prolific and who brought their own very unique visions to the jazz idiom.

Last night I was thinking about how I got to know Bill several years ago, through the Internet. I posted on another site and he sent me a pm, and then we were emailing each other. He sent me CD-Rs of the entire Roland Kirk Mercury set, and it really opened my ears to something new. I started listening to his radio program, and he was the one who got me into Sun Ra, after he played "Lanquidity." Last night I read a Sun Ra interview from the 1960s where he says the following: I don't know what else I want to say. I may be thinking about this too much...

Soul Trombone is really good; Cabin in the Sky is pretty awful, IMO.

Right, tonight my wife asked me how I would feel if this had happened to one of our children. I'd feel an anger and a hatred that would be difficult to control, I am sure. But the thing is, this didn't happen to my children, and I don't know any of the victims in this case. On the other hand, I do know Bill. So what I am forced to think about in this case is the possibility that someone for whom I had much respect doing something truly awful. And even though he didn't do anything to me, I think I am being called upon to forgive. Because when something like this happens, all of society reacts in horror, thus the responses that we've seen on here over the last couple of days. As I've said elsewhere, I think the worst kind of hell in the world has to be the one that you make for yourself. The worst feeling would not be to be wrongly accused of something atrocious, but to be justly accused. That is to say, to do something so vile that all the world rightly turns away in disgust, your friends abandon you, and you are truly alone. That, for me, is the worst kind of punishment I could possibly imagine. And that's something that he will have to deal with, assuming all this stuff we are reading about on the Internet is true. For me, the only meaningful forgiveness is the one that hasn't been earned, but that is extended anyway, because of the common bond of our shared humanity. That's what I have been thinking about today, not Bill as some monstrous "other" outcast from society, but Bill the human being. To be honest, I can't understand the compulsion for pedophilia; it makes no sense to me. But I think some of the other emotions that are probably prevalent in his mind right now--self-loathing, sense of doom, raw fear, anger, etc.--are emotions that I know only too well.

I have known two women that were molested as children. One is an alcoholic, the other killed herself. Forget him, and see what you can do to help out those that were molested when they were young.... Believe me, I know about the horrors of child abuse. But the reality is that we don't know what happened here, we can surmise based on reports in the newspapers, but we still don't know. The one aspect of Christianity that I most agree with is the fact that Jesus, during his time on earth, spent much of his time with criminals. I don't think it is right to just "forget" anyone.

Well, this is awful news. I've never met Bill but have considered him a friend since I first crossed paths with him many years ago. We traded CDs a few times, and he hipped me to the music of Rahsaan. If he did what they say he did then it is horrible, but he will still be my friend. I would write to him in prison if I could obtain an address.

Just about everything reissued on the Evidence label is worth getting. It's all good, although my favorites are Other Planes Of There, Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, The Magic City, Atlantis, and the Heliocentric Worlds discs from ESP.

I don't have the liner notes for this one, but does anyone know why they decided to call their collaboration by this name? Was it purely an analogy, a commentary on their own musical gifts and legendary status, or did they also intend the music, such as "S & J Blues," for instance, to be a musical reflection on Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson? Thanks in advance for any help with this one.

Yes, because the idea that you would be stranded on a desert island with a cd player and speaker system that plugged into an electrical outlet was just far more realistic.

Listening to the first four discs of the Modern Jazz Quartet box. Love discs one through three...such thoughtful, patient music, and the collaborations with Giuffre and Rollins are beautiful, arresting. Disc four, on the other hand, presents the kind of music that made me skeptical about grabbing this set. I find that I can't stand Third Stream Music, maybe because I'm not that interested in the arrangements, and the whole thing feels encumbered by the added instrumentation. Not a fan.

That's be like 75 percent of the Prestige catalog, probably.

Yeah, of course just about anything there you can get elsewhere on the internet. I still like the in-store experience...that's the thing that I would find addictive.

If I lived within a three-hour radius of Chicago, I'd go broke spending my money at that place.

I decided to order the one from Amazon. Considering that the box is OOP and that none of my usual sources had it, it seemed like a very reasonable price. Now the great reshuffling of my music collection is just about complete. I think in the last couple of weeks I've sold about 12 or 13 box sets, and have used the proceeds to buy a different batch of music, that I think is more reflective of where my current tastes and interests actually lie. It was kind of like I was a kid again, trading baseball cards...enjoyable.

Thanks...I actually missed that one in my Amazon search, somehow.

Does anybody know if this box set is available anywhere? It can be had as an MP3, but I'm looking for the actual physical artifact. Thanks.

Cool...glad to hear it navigated the Atlantic without any difficulties.

Wow, thanks guys! It has been a good, peaceful day, which is all one can really ask for.

Just tried to send a PM and it seems to have blocked me for some reason. PM me, I'm interested in the set.

Up, added the Complete Norman Granz Jam Sessions to the list.

If any one is interested in the remaining box sets at this price, let me know by Friday, as after that point I will be putting them on EBay. Thanks.

I am offering the following box sets for sale. All are in like-new condition, unless otherwise noted. Prices include shipping to the U.S.; will ship internationally for an additional fee. Paypal only. In all cases I have endeavored to offer the sets for prices lower than you can typically find elsewhere. Mosaic Select #9 - Bob Brookmeyer - $50 (minor shelf wear to outer box) Mosaic Select #21 - Gerry Mulligan - $35 The Complete Norman Granz Jam Sessions - $30 PM if interested, and thanks for looking.

Up: Added a Chet Baker and Bob Brookmeyer box to the list.

PM sent.

So I have the following box sets available for sale or trade. All are in like-new condition. Prices include shipping, except outside the U.S., which will ship at cost. For each item I've tried to gauge the going price and then go lower. Sun Ra - Live at the Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto 1978 (Transparency) - $35 Bob Brookmeyer - Mosaic Select (OOP) - $50 --Box has some minor shelf wear Paypal only, although I will also consider trade offers. My tastes in that regard lean toward the avant-garde realm. PM if interested.