mikelz777

If you'd rather avoid losing your lunch, avoid the link above and check out this one. Hips Don't Lie Myspace link.

I got a nice bookshelf to alleviate the foot high piles of books that are under foot next to my side of the bed and those that crowd out the lamp and alarm clock on my nightstand. I was also happy to see Ken Burns' DVD documentary on Mark Twain. My wife ventured off the trodden path to give me a 3 DVD set of interviews of "the 40 most interesting people" from the old Merv Griffin Show. It's not something I would have chosen for myself but I think it should be pretty interesting. I also got 3 shirts which were welcome because I rarely buy clothes for myself. A couple of my in-laws gifted me with a nice backgammon board. I had lost my proper one years ago and was making due with a travel set where the little magnets were falling out of the game pieces.

I took a quick look and didn't see anything there.

I guess that's almost a given isn't it? I'll have to re-watch that portion of the DVD a couple of times and write down the lyrics. Stay tuned.

Is anyone here a fan of Quantum Leap? I was watching the DVD last night and heard a song I want to track down but unfortunately there were no song/music credits given at the end of the show. The episode was from the 2nd season and was titled "Pool Hall Blues" where Sam leapt into an aging pool shark with failing eyesight. His daughter (granddaughter?) ran the pool hall which was secured by a marker held by another pool hustler who challenged Sam's character to a winner take all pool match with the club on the line. At one point in the show, the (grand)daughter is playing at the piano when Sam's character joins her and they sing a song together. It sounded like a traditional gospel song and if I'm recalling it correctly, had a message of hope and redemption. Would anyone here happen to know what the song is?

Does Concord have pretty good customer service? My (10-CD) order contained Stan Getz's "Pure Getz" instead of the Junior Mance CD I ordered. I sent them an email and received an auto-reply indicating the offices were going to be closed until 1/2/08 and that they wouldn't be responding to emails until then. It's kind of a drag having to send things back. I'm sure the Getz CD is a good one and that I'd enjoy it but I already have a lot of Getz and would prefer the Jr. Mance. Does anyone here have experience with order mix-ups? Do they send a postage paid label for the return or ask that I pay postage and credit me?

You're the one who posted the picture of him. This is the picture that accompanied the article had you troubled yourself to read it.

For what it's worth, here's the AMG review with comments on the sound quality: As part of its Originals series, the Verve Music Group has begun reissuing — at a budget price — the Impulse! recordings of John Coltrane in box set form, as well as single-disc titles. This first volume focuses on some seminal entries from 1961 and 1962. In chronological order they are Africa/Brass, Live at the Village Vanguard, Coltrane, Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, and Ballads. Keep in mind that these are newly remastered — yet again (and one suspects they are the Japanese remasters issued here for the first time) — and present the albums as they originally appeared. In other words, if you bought The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions, this is a step back in material since there are no bonus tracks and it is the Africa/Brass album as it appeared in 1961. The same goes for Live at the Village Vanguard, which has already been treated to its own box set, and here is the CD version of the original LP. There are arguments both ways. The more critical view is that once you give someone something you can't take it away again (as Blue Note did with its Ultimate Blue Trane edition, which was pared back for its Rudy Van Gelder remaster). The other argument is purely economic: how many times do you need to purchase the same recording? There are no extra liners here or any kind of booklet, merely the albums as they appeared in a single budget-priced box with all the original liner notes. It's a tidy solution, and for those who did not purchase these recordings already, this is a great way to dig into the Coltrane legacy. For others it may be a head scratcher, or a budget buster. Addressing the latter quandary, the argument is simple: sound. These are the best-sounding reissues of these records listeners have ever gotten in the United States.

Wisdom dictates that one should never say never. In following, I never should have said that my last order was going to be the last order of the year. Against all common sense and better judgement, I've succumbed to the lure of the Concord sale yet again to pick up some stuff I figured I shouldn't miss. After careful consideration and a thorough review of their sale offerings, I purchased the following: Oddly enough, 3 Juniors. Junior Mance - Junior's Blues, Junior Mance - Happy Time, Junior Cook - Junior's Cookin Art Farmer - When Farmer Met Gryce, Gigi Gryce - The Rat Race Blues, Ray Bryant - All Blues Clifford Jordan - Bearcat, Charles McPherson - Bebop Revisited, Frank Foster - Fearless Frank Foster And last but not least, Roy Haynes with Booker Ervin - Cracklin'

Unfortunately, what Bluerein says is true. The best deals I ever saw on new ECM CDs was when Amazon had select single ECM CDs on sale for just under $10.00 a while back. You might get lucky through a 3rd party seller on Amazon or on Half.com. I've got a copy of Stenson's "Reflections" I'd like to sell if you or anyone else is interested.

I had a Paypal scare that I thought was a scam. I had been using it successfully for years mostly for Ebay buys when one of my payment transactions was cancelled because the account was blocked. I went directly to the Paypal site and they indicated that my account was suspended because someone apparently had been trying to hack into my account. I had to re-verify my information, change my security hint questions and change my password before they would free up my account again. What alarmed me was that I never received any notification they were suspending my account and I wasn't made aware until I attempted a transaction over a month after the time when the attempted hacking occurred. Then to be asked to verify information and change my password made me very wary. It's been over a month and I've kept a careful eye on both my Paypal acct. and my bank acct. and all is still well. It just makes me more paranoid and now and I feel I have to check up on it more frequently.

"South side soul" is such a beautiful album. Wright has such a lovely touch. I wish there were more than three of his Prestige albums out on CD. MG I'd agree with you on that one MG, it's a gem. I was hooked on it from the opening number. I've got 'South Side Soul' and 'Makin' Out'. Both great! but i like Makin' Out much much more, as it includes a tenor and is just a burner! Wish I had "Makin' out"! "Mr soul" OJC and "Nice & tasty" recent cheap reissue by JVC (same release you bought a number of other things from Hiroshi) are both lovely trio albums. MG There's a copy of John Wright's "Mr. Soul" currently available (as of this writing) for a reasonable price at the web address below if anyone is interested. You're likely to pay twice the price found on that site if you were to find it anywhere else. Now where can I get a copy of "Nice 'N' Tasty" for a decent price? (It looks like it's gone. 7:21 - 12/14) http://www.musicstack.com/item/505660/wright,john/mr+soul

That set is certainly excellent but $162.50 per disc!!!

Curse these sales that keep popping up!! Jazz Loft is dumping its inventory of Gambit, Jazz Factory, Lonehill Jazz and Definitive CDs for 40%-50% off and of course, I couldn't resist picking up a few 2-CD sets. With all these CD buys lately I think I've pre-spent my Christmas money!

"South side soul" is such a beautiful album. Wright has such a lovely touch. I wish there were more than three of his Prestige albums out on CD. MG I'd agree with you on that one MG, it's a gem. I was hooked on it from the opening number.

Here are four among a couple of batches that I had already purchased some time back on Ebay that I finally got a chance to listen to. I was really pleased with and would recommend each one of them. All of them still appear to be available via the Concord site as of now if you're still looking for something to toss into your cart.

When you were married, yes. Unless you are a widower, that says something doesn't it? mike, no offense, i am twice a widower. I'm sorry to hear that aloc. Apparently flirting worked well enough for you to have found love twice! I guess what I'm saying is if flirting is not the cause for someone being a divorcee, it's likely a symptom of something that is a cause.

Home - Cecilia Coleman Quintet Higher Standards- Cecilia Coleman Trio Kismet & Camelot - Cecilia Coleman on piano with Tim Givens on bass/cello These were part of CD Baby's $5.00 sale and have been simmering on the back burner of my wish list for some time. I decided to take advantage before they were taken off the sale list and I ended up regretting not getting them. I'd never heard of Cecilia Coleman until I heard one of her numbers being played on "Live 365" internet radio. I loved it and had to invesitgate further because I wanted to hear more. A Google search lead me to her web site which in turn pointed me to CD Baby. That these were part of the $5.00 sale was an only added bonus which allowed me to check them out in full at a great price. I've listened to the sound samples for each CD numerable times and find Cecilia Coleman to be a wonderful pianist with very solid support on all 3 CDs. Give the sound samples of Home a listen. There's a definite Horace Silver vibe and sound to her quintet. I found the trumpet and sax solos to be solid and interesting and really look forward to hearing this one in full. Kismet & Camelot sounds to me like it's going to be a nice Sunday morning or quiet evening type of CD. Find your way to the CD Baby site and give these CDs a listen!!

I would contend that no flirting is "innocent". Rationalizing it by not acting on it is most likely to be of little comfort to the other's spouse.

When you were married, yes. Unless you are a widower, that says something doesn't it?

More listening and less buying!! Too many times I've been riffling through my collection and picked up a CD I really dug and forgot I even had. I once spent a good 15 to 20 minutes searching the internet for a good deal on a title that I subsequently realized I already had. I've got about 11 Mosaics and 2 or 3 Selects I've only listened to once. I have 20 Louis Armstrong and 18 Count Basie discs I've only listened to once and so on, so forth... I know I've said I was going to try and buy less 2 or 3 times before and failed miserably but it's time to make another concerted effort. (As I wait in anticipation for 3 discs I picked up after what I thought would be my last buy of the year! )

That has got to be the longest cigarette I've ever seen. What'd he do, tape two together? Maybe they're composing and that's a pencil? Good thought - he hasn't lit up. But I think there is one brand of extra long ciggies. MG I suppose when he's smoking rulers he can avoid the interruptions of having to light up so often.

That has got to be the longest cigarette I've ever seen. What'd he do, tape two together? Maybe they're composing and that's a pencil?

I'm going to miss it when it goes. I was a frequent visitor to the AAJ board before discovering this one and over time, tended to post more here and visit here more frequently than the other. I've learned a lot here and got a lot of great tips on new music. I'd certainly like to be kept in the loop if this board picks up and moves elsewhere. My email: michaels777@hotmail.com (For what it's worth, I wouldn't miss it at all if the political/religious options were absent from the board. They seem to create many more problems than they do constructive exchange of ideas.)

As we approach the end of year it's common for many to reflect upon the year that's already passed. What were your favorite jazz purchases for 2007? (It need not have been issued in 2007-two of mine weren't) My first is Charles Kynard - The Soul Brotherhood I loved this when I first heard it and I like it even more each time I listen to it. It features some great sidemen in Blue Mitchell, Grant Green David "Fathead" Newman, Joe Pass, etc. and being a big Crusaders fan, it didn't hurt to have Wilton Felder appear on 6 of the 11 tunes. It's probably my favorite organ CD and should be a "must have" purchase for any organ lover's collection. My second is the Complete 1955-1957 Jackie McLean Quartet, Quintet, Sextet Sessions This is a 6-CD collection (12 CDs worth of releases) containing Jackie's earliest sessions as a leader and a couple of shared sessions that are primarily on the Prestige label. I had no Jackie Mac leader dates in my collection so this was a great addition for me. This was all new to me and I was very impressed with each successive CD. Great playing, great sidemen, it's all good. Highly recommended. The third purchase that made the biggest impression on me was The Complete Count Basie Verve Fifties Studio Recordings I bought this on somewhat of a whim because I enjoyed his Decca sides and it was selling for such a great bargain via Amazon.UK. (around $66.00 new and delivered) Wow!! This stuff knocked my socks off! Talk about HARD swing! Who said Benny Goodman was the king of swing? I'm not usually a fan of vocals but the stuff with Joe Williams is outstanding. Outstanding soloists, outstanding swing, this kind of music has the power to convert the most hard-hearted to big band music. So what were your favorite purchases in 2007? (It need not have been issued in 2007-two of mine weren't)