garthsj

<img src="http://images.quizilla.com/B/BaalObsidian/1080162080_cturesgod3.jpg" border="0" alt="Grammar God!"><br>You are a <b>GRAMMAR GOD</b>! <br><br>If your mission in life is not already to<br>preserve the English tongue, it should be.<br>Congratulations and thank you! <br><br><a href="http://quizilla.com/users/BaalObsidian/quizzes/How%20grammatically%20sound%20are%20you%3F/"> <font size="-1">How grammatically sound are you?</font></a><BR> <font size="-3">brought to you by <a href="http://quizilla.com">Quizilla</a> Sorry.. I can't get the HTML to work.....

Thanks Couw ... much better...

You Crafty Eurotrash! Which former friend of mine gave you that picture?? Now you can see why I prefer it bald!! At least let me have my brunette toupé!

I hope that you are OK. Now.. don't miss this opportunity .. stay home in a "nervous" state for two to three weeks, have occasional fainting spells, develop a red rash on your buttocks, and start to yell unexpectedly at strangers. Most importantly -- cease all sexual activity for the foreseeable future, or at least until the legal case is settled. Then get a great lawyer. You will never have to worry about buying a Mosaic set ever again!

Hmmmmmmmm.. I just discovered this thread .... I am still worried about that bar somewhere where they are making fun of our pictures ... but I will take the plunge ... Please note: I am NOT really bald; I just prefer it this way ...

MAYBE THIS DISCUSSION SHOULD GO INTO THE "MOVIE" SECTION OF THIS LIST... "The Gaunlet" is a wonderful film if you understand what Eastwood was doing. It is actually a very funny film, and once I point out to my students what is "really" happening here, the entire film becomes a hilarious comedy. This film was made as a direct answer to the increasing criticism of the "Dirty Harry" films. Basically Clint is saying, "You complain about violence, I will show you real violence." and so, in the course of the film, he kills a house, several cars, a motorcycle and a very big bus! You actually have to see how these inanimate objects "die" to get the point ... especially as the house literally heaves a loud sigh just before collapsing in death. The slow death of the bus is much more intimate, and an integral part of the plot. My suggestion is to rent it, sit back with a glass of wine, and watch it within that context; it will do wonders for your appreciation of Eastwood's "finger" to his critics. BTW, the soundtrack is great ... and Lennie Niehaus has done a wonderful job of arranging the music for most of Eastwood's films ..

I respectfully disagree with this suggestion. First of all, you can buy the 4-CD Proper set (SAX O' BEBOP) for $17-22, depending on where you shop; second, it contains a remarkable collection of early bop that is NOT found in the Mosaic Box. Much of this material is not easily found elsewhere in this convenient fashion, and if you are in the least interested in how be-bop developed in those significant years 1946-1952, then this set should be on your shelves. In particular, two sessions, with Blakey, Junior Mance, Charles Bateman, Gene Wright on December 15, 1950 and January 31, 1951, are worth the price of this set all by itself. I have derived enormous pleasure from listening to these sides, and they were a revelation to me in understanding this significant period in jazz history. The Roulette sessions are an entirely different, and somewhat mixed bag ... and worth owning by itself. Garth.

It should be pointed out that Stan Kenton's experiments with strings went way beyond THE CITY OF GLASS. The Innovations Orchestra played featured a string section as a regular part of the "sound" of that music. Also, there are some wonderful things with strings, arranged by Alan Broadbent, on Charlie Haden's Quartet West recordings.

I would agree with everything that LATE has to say about Bud Shank. I have had many opportunities to talk to Bud at the West Coast Jazz Weekends, and I was in the crowd that welcomed him on his memorable tour of South Africa in 1958. I think that Bud is somewhat surprised, and not a little chagrined that his loyal fans (and he has very many among the "older fogies" who go to these weekends), have doted on these older Pacific Jazz recordings to the extent that they have. While he has never voiced this to me, I think that he feels that these "west coast jazz" recordings prevented him from receiving the recognition in the jazz world outside of California that he so richly deserves. Tainted as he, and so many others like Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, and Jimmy Giuffre, were by the "West Coast" label, the jazz critics were often quite dismissive in the late 50s and 60s. For someone like myself with eclectic jazz tastes, but a very strong love of the "west coast" sound, it was often a pitched battle to convince hard-core fans of the "hard-bop" "East Coast" variety that musicians like Shank and Rogers were every bit as creative in their own way as Jackie McLean or Lee Morgan. One of the great things about this board (which I have mentioned several times.. I am sorry to be so boring) is that I have become aware of how a younger generation has come to embrace all of this music with a much more open mind. God! I remember just 12 years ago on the old rec.music.bluenote list how I had to convince others that Giuffre had something to contribute. Now this same generation, and even younger, are clamoring to buy the Mosaic Giuffre box! In any case, Bud Shank continues to play great music, and he certainly is one of our important national jazz treasures. I just wish that he would not demean those wonderful recordings which were so much a part of the zeitgeist of the 1950s...

This is an interesting thread in that some of these musicians are still alive .... My initial reaction is to list players who were "cut down" before their full developed legacy to jazz could be established. Surely the #1 pick in this regard must be Clifford Brown. For my own tastes, I would loved to have heard more from baritone saxist Bob Gordon, clarinetist Stan Hasselgard, and, as has been mentioned by others, Eddie Costa, who never fails to make a significant contribution to any session he is on, vibes and piano. Damn shame how destructive the automobile has been to the history of jazz!

Thanks for the all of the responses, folks. I might have been too harsh in my initial judgement, but I am used to hearing this album a certain way. I am going to take this remastered CD over to a friend's house later and give it a try on her pricey system. I should confess that my Harmon-Kardon CD player is 11 years old! Perhaps the technology has passed me by, and I need to upgrade. I have been waiting to get a whole new rig, and perhaps that time has come. As I said in my original post, I have had all of the various vinyl issues of this great album, including the original. I agree with Brownie that the original Decca was a fine recording. Interesting that as a label Decca was high quality, but some of its sister labels, most notably Coral, which put out of lot of great jazz in the 1950s, seemed to have very poor quality vinyl, and they deteriorated quickly .. but then again, maybe it was those 10 oz. tone arms we used in those prehistoric times.

Wow...tenure ain't what it used to be! Well, it has ... daylight is not p.c. these days, but note I never said anything about when it gets dark......

Hmmmmmmm.. well .... when I am in my office at the university, as a tenured full professor, I get to do anything I want (well, I can't attack the Dean's wife in the middle of the quadrangle in daylight), and I play my music (always jazz) on a very nice JVC mini-rig, with great sound. Out of some respect for my colleagues (most of whom seem to enjoy the music), I keep the volume at mid-level ... but still enough to get a real good groove .. Students always want to know "what kind of music is that.." I keep a stack of albums in my office, rotating them every month or so ... I get a lot of demo compilation albums (e.g. "Miles and the Giants of Jazz") from record companies ... a legacy from my radio show days, and these make for good office listening. Of course, I also listen to a lot of KJJZ or WBGO on my computer .... I miss Chuck Niles ....

I just wonder if it is me, or my antiquated audio setup, but I have a problem with this CD. I was reminded by a recent thread on George Russell how much I enjoyed this album, and ordered a copy. I used to have an original LP copy of this on Decca, and then the double reissue LP (paired with "Jazz In The Space Age") on MCA. Those were excellent vinyl recordings. This newly remastered CD reissue, now on Impulse, is a travesty ... in particular Art Farmer's solos (coming out of the right speaker) makes it sound like he is in the next room ... entire ensemble sections, always on the right side are muffled ... and Jon Hendrick's narration is buzzy" in places ... makes me wish that I had my well-worn LP back again. This botch job was done by Bernie Grundman in Hollywood. Just to be sure that it was not my setup, I am now playing the remastered Basie "Chairman of the Board" on Roulette ... WOW! In this case the tape transfers were done my Malcolm Addey, and the remastering by Ron McMaster. This is what "New York, N.Y." should sound like. George Russell's important work deserves much better..

The 10" BN's was a wonderful series of reissues. The key question is whether there will be other 10" reissues in the near future.. How about "The Best From the West," and the "Lou Mecca Quartet" albums, for instance? There were 12" versions of these later, but as far as know they have never been reissued as CDs in the U.S. (Yes... there are very expensive Japanese reissues available).

I KNOW WHAT!! Let's start trading up customer numbers .... My customer number is #1293. I figure that is worth at least $96.00 to some Johnny-come-lately who languishes in the 10,000's ... any takers? The object of this game is to be in THE TOP TEN! Anyone out there want to set a price range for these numbers.. ? B)

Theodore Charles Cohen (AKA Teddy Charles) is a jazz force that really needs to be reassessed. I first encountered him on an early Buddy DeFranco date (still under his own name), and have enjoyed his music ever since. He can play in a variety of modes ... from swing to avant-garde ... but his "experimental" stuff from the 1950s is still as fresh as the day it was issued. What a pity that particular genre has been so neglected, at least up until now. I hate to seem like the proverbial "old fart" here, but it gives me enormous pleasure to see "younger" fans like those on this board discover this stuff anew. BTW, Teddy Charles "taught" the four-mallet technique on the vibes to Julus Gubenko (AKA Terry Gibbs), Don Elliott, Tito Puente, and Warren Chaisson. Besides being an A&R man of some note, he was also a charter boat captain for many years. I have read interviews with him where it is clear that he enjoyed the ocean as much as his music.... AND, I hope to get to hear him at the upcoming "Springsville" Jazz Weekend in L.A. in late May.

MY GOD!! The way you guys act about Mosaic sets, you would think that they were Beanie Babies, or Cabbage Patch Dolls. This "fetishism" about receipts, making dupes and never playing the originals, etc. etc. is turning them into the Franklin Mint of reissues ....

I assume you know that "Peter Urban" is a pseudonym for trumpeter Art Farmer. The other Atlantic Album, "A Word From Bird" (as Mike Fitzgerald pointed out) is also very good. I agree that we need to pay more attention to these early "avant-gardists," like Charles, Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Hal Overton, Bob Prince, George Russell, etc. There is some very interesting music to be discovered there.

Sorry to say that I have seen that Konnex only once. That's when I bought it. Konnex releases are not widely distributed in France, it seems. The album is listed in the Cadence music sale. You might give it a try. It's really worth it! Thanks for the tip Brownie ... I just ordered it. Funny, I let my Cadence subscription lapse a few years ago, and somehow I never think of them for ordering things. This is the second time in a few months that they have found something for me I could not find elsewhere .. the first was the set of Swedish Jazz History albums. I guess I should renew my subscription, and buy a magnifying glass. ....

My only negative experience on this list, is that so many of you have caused me to lay awake at night wondering if I have the best BN's available in my CD collection> I should have stuck with my old original LPs! Seriously ... that actual day I stopped collecting records, and paying outrageous sums of money for original, scratchy, 1950s vinyl was in 1991, when Jeff Barr, who ran (runs??) a big auction list, called me and wanted to purchase some original very early Blakey BN's from me for a few Japanese colllectors. However, he wanted me to read the "stamping" numbers on the records to him, because these collectors were convinced that one stamping machine in the manufacturing plant was superior to the other in terms of the sound on the album!! I sold him the Blakey albums, and decided that the world of original label jazz vinyl collecting (the "vinyl monkey" on my back) had suddenly passed me by .... I gradually liquidated my entire vinyl collection (about 8,500 albums) over the next few years, the bulk going to Euclid Records in St. Louis. Now ... you guys have me all confused again.. To RVG or not to RVG. perhaps to JRVG or to CONN ... that is the question? The real question is ... will CDs as we know them be around in 5 years? 10 years?

I have tried for a year or more to get a copy of that Konnex album in the U.S. without success .. are there any left lying around France, Brownie?? What can I say about Charlie Mariano? .... it has been a pleasure to watch his development from his earliest days, through his stay with Stan Kenton ("Stairway to the Stars" ... his great solo), his wonderful albums on the Bethlehem label, and his gradual transition when he moved to Europe. As JSngry said, "he just gets better" .... I am not into everything he does these days, but he still turns out stunning albums, and "Deep In A Dream" was one of my top five albums of 2002. There is no current altoist who can be as "piercing" in his sound as Mariano . Here are a few of my favorites ... Note: there are two volumes of "standards" with Tete Montoliu ..

GOD! I hope that this is not some misguided attempt to be politically correct! The album is a good one, although not one of Shelly's best, and the Jewish theme is, of course, central to the whole concept. So why bother to change it? ... I am NOT paranoid enough to think that Fantasy are trying to promote a jazz album of traditional Jewish songs on the back of our current conflict in the Middle East! Garth.

Chuck, This is the session I am referring to .....

The best "swinging" Konitz with Kenton is found on those many "private" recordings of the band made on tour during that period. (Just check the amazing list of these on CDUniverse.com). One I can highly recommend is "Live In Munich, 1953" (Sounds of Yesteryear), and of course on both "Sketches of Standards" and "Portraits of Standards," as well as the essential Bill Russo and Bill Holman material in the Mosaic Box. When one listens to Konitz's solos on these tracks it is amazing what clarity he immediately brings into that dynamic musical aggregation. I love that big brassy Kenton sound, and Lee just cuts through it like a hot knife through butter.