Joe

Thanks. Richard Wyands is enough to sell me... The Hines "reunion" records are uniformly excellent, but I tend to forget about them for some reason. For more prime Budd from the 70's, there's also Eldridge's NIFTY CAT date and the Basie GET TOGETHER, where he's paired with / against Lockjaw.

I enjoyed it but if you have an aversion to Woods your mileage may vary. Woods is definitely a YMMV player for me, but I'm more forgiving of his excesses than some other board members. How's the rhythm section on this date?

Love Budd Johnson's work, partly as a matter of local pride. LET'S SWING I consider to be a small masterpiece. Any recommendations for a collection of Budd's work with the Hines orchestra? I have bits and pieces here and there, but have never been able to locate a single compilation or even a comprehensive overview of that material. Finally, never heard it, but have always wondered about the late date with Phil Woods on Uptown.

You are scaring me Joe. You should hear my wife's karaoke rendition of this 80s classic; it slays!

BFT 87 (just like 68) is available "in perpetuity"... http://www.slowstudies.net/bft87/

True, but I don't think it hurts. Btw, hot sauce ain't the same thing as ketchup. As they are huevos, not eggs, you can rest assured that's a bottle of hot sauce (probably Tapatio, not Tabasco).

One of the earliest, if not the earliest, of Billy Higgins' recordings. Plus James Clay and Lorraine Geller; superb stuff. IIRC from the notes, this was or was close to being a working band...

Judging by the sentiments expressed on this thread, I suspect that there aren't many mourning Frank Driggs. And, the fate of his eternal soul aside, it sounds like he built a nice little Hell for himself right there in Flatbush.

If I recall Chris' previous accounts, Driggs typically "borrowed" material (photos, etc.) from people (including Chris) who legitimately had purchased or inherited it -- "borrowing" this material, Driggs would say to those people, in order to make use of it in some supposedly worthwhile project; and some of those projects were worthwhile. But once Driggs got his hands on this material, he would never return it; it became "his." This is outright theft, not the way "libraries and archives have almost always been built." And it would seem likely that Driggs' extreme reclusiveness was in part a defense against those who might attempt to come after him for what he did. As far as reparations go, I think it's also likely that Driggs did the best he could to cover his tracks. Ugh. Perhaps this also explains why no one has been willing to purchase this collection. Just based on my experience, though, I maintain ill getting of various types and degrees has always gone hand-in-hand with collecting, including those private collections that, in the form of bequests, became libraries and archives. (I've guess I've pored over too many finding aids in my day to be convinced otherwise.) E.g., one person's "rescue" of forgotten / neglected / apparently discarded material is another person's theft of the same. There's probably no way to know, but I wonder how much of Driggs' archive consists of demonstrably stolen material.

Another good example of DuNann's engineering prowess with respect to bass players-as-leaders... PRESENTING RED MITCHELL Red had a unique sound and approach to his instrument -- he's a "softer" (volume, I mean) player than Vinnegar, for sure -- and DuNann does his best to put Red front and center here.

So... fair to say Mr. Driggs was not exactly conscientious in recording the provenance of many of these images? Not defending FD, as I know next to nothing about the specific controversies surrounding his acquisition of these materials, much less his turning a profit from them, but, in the interests of providing maybe a little more context... As someone who grew up with a collector (and of many things), it seems to me that the business, regardless of what is being collected, is always at least a little sketchy around the edges. But this is how libraries and archives have almost always been built. Such figures aren't artists, but they do leave a legacy -- an oeuvre, if you will -- and, just as we often forgive artists for being less than admirable persons, perhaps the same leniency could be extended to figures like Mr. Driggs? Besides, now that he can no longer claim ownership of these photos, etc., isn't there some chance that reparations (credit-where-credit's-due, $) may be made?

Hey, I have some of these. Had no idea they were Martins. Another Martin. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Prestige was sued or threatened with legal action over this cover [?]

"Liner notes by Ken Burns."

How is this not on that Starbucks-owned record label (Hear Music?)

Ed Blackwell, "Augmented" (from the Black Saint OLD AND NEW DREAMS), has long been a favorite.

There ya' go, fixed ttat for you! :tup