garthsj

Hmmmmmmm.. I hadn't thought of that .. running up my post count by just uploading the entire contents of my "Jazz Sites" folder ..... I assume that I did not offend anyone by starting yet another thread with that redundant site ... being new here means that I will probably appear to reinvent lots of wheels. It is interesting that for someone who actually purchased albums when they were newly released that you "younger" people now rave about as "classics" is strange to me ... I have to check myself when I hear someone "discover" a Blue Note that I thought was great in 1958!! I remember with some mixed emotion, when in the early 90's during the "sane" days of rec.music.bluenote, someone asked me how I felt about acquiring my first copy of KINDA BLUE at its initially release. Ah Well ... I have learned a lot in my few short months on this list ... it is nice to know that there are still some of us true jazz fanatics around... Here is another very interesting site of great jazz record cover art .... I hope that this is not too redundant .... http://www.inhi-fi.com/flora/02/flora02.htm Garth, Houston.

I was not sure if this site has been posted before, and where I should post it, but I figured that putting it here couldn't hurt .. so ... some may want to take a look at this great site for LP covers, especially the early Blue Notes, and all of the 10" albums in glorious color. http://www.gokudo.co.jp/Record/WVocal2/index.htm Garth, Houston.

There is an LP, which I once owned, which featured 12 versions of "Lullaby of Birdland" ... does anyone out there have a scan of the cover of this disc? There were some very fine cuts of that ubiquitous tune on that album ... Garth, Houston.

CDUniverse sent me this email this morning... CD11Sweet Honey Bee by Pearson, Du$8.39Shipped 1 on Mar 08, 2004 CD11Free Form by Byrd, Donald$8.39Shipped 1 on Mar 08, 2004 Garth, Houston. P.S. One day soon I really want to get into a discussion about the differences in sound between the TOCJ's, the JRVG's, the CONNS, and the new RVG's. I have about 90% of the Blue Notes up to 1963 in a mixture of all CD formats. I guess I never cared that much about the sonic differences until I joined this list ... now I am faced with having to replace a significant part of my collection ... You folks be bad!!!

Thanks for the thanks .... Like the Academy Awards speeches, I want to thank my friend Wellington Choy in New Zeland who pointed me in the direction of the Mosaic booklet for the answers .... he sent me this headsup through the West Coast jazz group (are we allowed to mention other jazz groups on here?? -- Joke, Joke..). I mention this because some of you might enjoy being on that list too ... it is much more relaxed than the usual internet list, mostly, I guess because we are all "mouldy figs" for the golden age of West Coast jazz.. circa 1953-1963. Occasionally a refugee from the contentious Kenton list might cause trouble, but we tend to shush them up... Garth, Houston.

Re the previous post on the TJMLBB ... apparently this system is not sympathetic to attempts to create columns. However, I am sure that enterprising readers can figure out what I trying to convey ... Garth, Houston.

The Laserlight Cds have been an issue for some time now.. I am NOT sure that the following really helps... there is a much more detailed examination in a review in Journal Journal International several years ago which has more explicit details.. Village Vanguard Live Sessions #3 LRC CDC 9013 According to the booklet accompanying MOSAIC MD5-151, the five CD issue of THE COMPLETE SOLID STATE RECORDINGS OF THE THAD JONES/MEL LEWIS ORCHESTRA issued in 1994, this LRC CD comprises "rough mixes of performances on an unauthorised CD set on the LRC label." Don't Git Sassy is 'mistitled' by LRC as Gettin' Sassy, Bachafillen is mistitled Baca Feelin' and the Solid State LP had an additional trombone chorus that was subsequently edited out of the actual master as issued on the Mosaic source. A- That's Freedom (Ah' That's Freedom on LRC) has a full piano intro and extra trombone choruses edited out of the actual master. The master tapes of these performances, which were made by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, no longer exist and are not included in the MOSAIC set. The LRC rough mixes may include the choruses edited out of the legitimate SOLID STATE LP release, as the track times differ. Times for the tracks on the LRD CD issue compared to the MOSAIC /Solid State issues are: LRC title MOSAIC title LRC MOSAIC Gettin'Sassy Don't Git Sassy 8:40 7:19 Little Pixie 10:35 10:30 The Second Race 14:45 9:36 Willow Tree 5:00 5:02 Ah' That's Freedom A - 9:23 7:00 That's Freedom Quietude 5:00 4:44 Baca Feelin' Bachafillen 8:50 7:15 The Mosaic book states the session was recorded live at the Village Vanguard on 28 Apri1, 1967 and not 15- 17 November 1970 as listed on the LRC CD back liner. The personnel is listed in the MOSAIC booklet as : Thad Jones cornet Snooky Young, Bill Berry, Jimmy Nottingham, Richard Williams, Marvin Stamm ( trumpets) Bob Brookmeyer valve trombone Tom Mclntosh, Garnett Brown trombone Cliff Heather bass trombone Jerome Richardson soprano, alto and tenor saxophone, clarinet Jerry Dodgion alto saxophone, flute Joe Farrell tenor saxophone, flute Eddie Daniels tenor saxophone, clarinet Pepper Adams baritone saxophone, clarinet Roland Hanna piano Sam Herman guitar, shaker Richard Davis bass Mel Lewis drums Personnel in italics are not listed on the LRC back liner Garth, Houston.

This sale is available from Allegro Music here in the U.S. http://www.allegro-music.com/label_search.asp?label=STC Be warned, however, many of these albums can still be found at a slighter lower cost at other sites such as All Direct. com. Garth, Houston. OOPS! I missed the first post with this info.. but my observations that many Storyville albums are available at lower prices is still valid. I just ordered Warne Marsh "Marshlands" from AllDirect.com for $12.95. They have other W.M. Storyville albums at the same price/

For the record, I love all four, and aggressively collect both DeFranco and Scott. These musicians were all trying to do something different ... and each made an important contribution. They are very different in style, but not quality ... Garth, Houston.

Frank Rehak came to Houston in the early 80's to start a branch of Synanon, or something similar to it. I was doing my radio show at the time, and he called me up one day to ask if I would like to interview him. (I should add that he came to town very quietly, and no one in the jazz community knew he was here at first). He was upfront in wanting to publicize his organization in exchange for open access to "his story" ... I knew very little about him other than his presence on some major recordings, such as the Gil Evans/Miles stuff and his sojourn with Woody Herman; I also was lucky enough to have both of his own LP's ... on Dawn and Bethlehem. Anyway ..... he was incredibly interesting, and we had two one hour shows together, playing his music and discussing his life, and the descent into drug hell. I remember particularly how he described collapsing on the stage during a Herman concert, and Woody, having reached the end of his patience tryng to help Frank, deliberately just leaving him there in disgust, and walking over him while the band played on ... Frank Rehak was a marvelous trombonist whose career was truncated by his addiction. Sadly just as he was getting his act together again after his rehabilitation, he succumbed to cancer. Garth, Houston.

I want to vigorously second Mark's suggestion .... NATURE BOY was unfairly maligned when it was first issued; mostly, I believe, because it returns to a more melodic tradition, and those ever-so- adventurous critics were expecting something more "out" from Jackie McLean at this stage of his career. It is, in fact, a beautiful album, and receives a lot of play at my house in those wee hours .... Garth, Houston.

I should have added to the post above a comment of praise, which I have written about before on this board.. One cut here, "THE BRIGHT ONE" is in my humble opinion, the greatest example of pure bop ever played on that daunting instrument, the Bb clarinet ... it is DeFranco at his technical and harmonic peak .. a peak that he has not really descended from even though he is now approaching 80! His latest album, "COOKIN' THE BOOKS" with the John Pizzarelli Trio (Arbors ARCD 19298) is a bit of travesty .. brilliant in parts, and embarrassing in others, because DeFranco is head and shoulders above the other musicians on the date in every aspect. These younger guys just cannot compete with him harmonically, rhythmically, or technically ... I was very disappointed. DeFranco needs to challenge himself back in the pure quartet format with someone like Kenny Barron, Kenny Washington and Lewis Nash .... Drop the swing wannabbees and get back with the neo-bop program! Just my 2¢! Garth, Houston.

In 1995 the Italian GIANTS OF JAZZ label issued a CD, "Buddy DeFranco Quartet," (CD 53227) which contained about half of these cuts ... The original session dates were April 7, August 9, 10, and September 1, 1954. How were they able to get away with that? There is no indication that Norman Granz licensed the material .. Also interesting to note that Definitive list this set as "The SONNY CLARK - Buddy DeFranco Quartet" ... Clark was a relatively unknown when DeFranco first employed him. Now many younger jazz fans have discovered DeFranco's genius through his association with Clark, a darling of the Blue Note re-bop movement. Garth "The World's Greatest Buddy DeFranco Fan (self-proclaimed), Houston.

As some of you know, I am a real "old fart" .. I turned 64 today.. and I have been collecting for a long time ... my first LP album in 1953 was Buddy DeFranco's 10" MGM "King of the Clarinet" (which I still have, esconced in a glass frame on my study wall) ... Anyway, I was still doing my radio show when Mosiac announced their initial offerings.. I got the Monk, and everything that followed in the next few years, gradually becoming more selective. My Shorty Rogers set is still in LP form ... anyone want to swop for CDs? One kind member here was kind enough to make a set of DeFranco CDRs for me ... I still have this set in LP form as well, but gradually sold all of the other LPs on eBay and replaced them with CDs ... What I want to know is how many customers do Mosaic currently have on their books... what are latest customer numbers? (The range is fine .. i.e. are the numbers in the 4xxxx range or 7xxxx by now? My number is in the 12xx range ... ) Garth, Houston.

For what solace it brings, my Mitchell set arrived today (I am listening to it now), and there were 35 sets left when I ordered it last week. I wonder if the folks at Mosaic are aware of how influential this list can be in moving their merchandise? Maybe we can organize lower prices for "group purchases" of their sets... FAT CHANCE!! Garth, Houston.

Regarding the Blue Mitchell Mosaic set ... I delayed making a commitment because I already have about half of this material on CD ... but I pulled the trigger this morning.. As of 11:30 a.m. CT there were just 35 copies left! Now's the time .... or wait for an eBay copy! Garth, Houston.

Chuck .. My check left Houston this morning ... the CD will be a welcome replacement for the LP I once owned. Thanks for all the care you took with this ... Now... the important question .. what is your next project..? We wait with bated breath. Garth, Houston.

Shrdlu said: " I have no idea where one could purchase those Savoy Fuller CDs these days. (Like Kellogg's Sugar Frosties, they're Grrreat!)" Actually, three of those wonderful Curtis Fuller sessions on Savoy are readily available. I would heartily recommend them Bluesette II, Jazztette, and Imagination .... Click on this... http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?styl...4&altsearch=yes Garth, Houston.

The three newly reissued Ellington's arrived this morning from CDUniverse .... right on time! My first act was to open the "Ellington Uptown" disc so that I could listen to the "Liberian Suite" section. Great remastering ... far better than I could get from original 10" Lp and later 12" version. I really must congratulate Columbia on the wonderful job they have done with the Ellington series so far. Now the question, what to do with my original CD issues. My original LP's of these sessions went a few years ago when I sold my entire LP collection... My only regret was there is no color reproduction of the original 10" Lp "Liberian Suite" cover!! Garth, Houston.

There are so many great Bethlehem albums that still await reissuing in the U.S. Does anyone have a definitive answer as to whether the Rhino Bethlehem reissue series has been cancelled? On hiatus? What? Garth, Houston.

You honestly believe you'd still be in that position by now???? Well .... I was still doing my radio show at the time ... I had had extensive discussions with their promotions department about the rationale of their reissue decisions. I was surprised ("shocked" would be a better emotion) when they did make a serious offer to interview me for a managerial position doing reissues. I, in turn, thought seriously about taking a sabbatical from my job at the university for a year or two .., however, the money being offered would not have gotten me a closet in Manhattan! I decided to stay in Houston, and the rest, as they say .. is history! But, I do often wonder "what if ...?" Garth, Houston. You honestly believe you'd still be in that position by now???? Well .... I was still doing my radio show at the time ... I had had extensive discussions with their promotions department about the rationale of their reissue decisions. I was surprised ("shocked" would be a better emotion) when they did make a serious offer to interview me for a managerial position doing reissues. I, in turn, thought seriously about taking a sabbatical from my job at the university for a year or two .., however, the money being offered would not have gotten me a closet in Manhattan! I decided to stay in Houston, and the rest, as they say .. is history! But, I do often wonder "what if ...?" Garth, Houston.

Dr. J... that is essentially what I was suggesting. I agree though that there are only four obvious Farmer UA albums (if we include the Milt Jackson). However, they could have added the ABC album of Farmer with the Quincy Jones Orchestra .. and strings.. "Last Night When We Were Young" .. and Benny Golson's "The Philadelphians" (with Lee Morgan) .. that makes six LPs... and a very neat Mosiac Select... Geez! I should have accepted that job as the Verve reissue manager back in 1990! Garth, Houston.

Someone asked about the personnel on the Golson "Take A Number From 1 To 10" album. This is a wonderful "concept" album in which Golson starts with a solo ""You're My Thrill" and then adds one additional musician all the way up to the final cut featuring a tentet on a Golson original "Time" (Art Farmer is the last musician added!). Others featured in order of addition are Tommy Williams on bass, Tootie Heath on drums, Cedar Walton, Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, Sahib Shihab; then an octet with Nick Travis, Bill Elton (tmb), Willie Ruff (fhr), Hal MsKusick (as), Sol Schlinger (bs), Tommy Williams, and Al Heath; Bernie Glow (tp) and Art Farmer are the last two additions. A great album, mixing standards and those exceptional Golson originals .... Now... tell me .. how cold you conceivably reissue this concept album, and then decide which cuts to eliminate .... number 3. or maybe 7, and just perhaps 5? .. Geez! I refused to purchase the chess reissue for this reason! Garth, Houston.

As the self-proclaimed world's greatest Art Farmer fan (I once told him that one evening at The Vanguard in 1988 ... and he didn't disagree with me!), I am ecstatic to see that Mosaic will be doing a box on The Jazztet, et. al. I do wonder though why they chose to reissue some non-Jazztet things that have already been reissued, while ignoring others. For instance, "Listen to Art Farmer and the Orchestra" is available on a Verve CD, while "Brass Shout" is available only on a Japanese CD, and "Aztec Suite" has never been reissued. AND, one of the greatest of all modern jazz albums "MODERN ART" (I could listen to this album every day... Art's solos are unique compositions in themselves, and both Golson and Bill Evans are equallly superb) will not be part of the box, presumably because it is still very active in the current BN catalog. Being greedy, I would have preferred to have seen a separate Art Farmer/Golson United Artists Mosaic Select; then they could have included Milt Jackson's "Bags Opus" .. another great unsung album, which features Farmer and Golson ... making four great UA albums on two CDs ... Ah Well! I guess that we all have our own ideas about Mosaic should do things. I am just thankful that the Jazztet box will go a long way to replace my former LP collection of all of these sessions. I paid a small fortune for a Japanese pressing of the John Lewis Album several years ago; it and Big City Sounds are two seldom heard gems. I am already making up my Christmas list... Garth, Houston.

The mailman, braving the rain, delivered this afternoon a package that had been eagerly awaited ... Bob Brookmeyer .... Mosaic Select 9 ... #0381 Bud Shank and Bob Cooper ... Mosaic Select 10 .. #0087 I immediately started with the Brookmeyer, eager to hear the sound of the Quartet album after having listened to my original 1953 10" vinyl version for all these years. The result.. SUPERB remastering my Ron McMasters .... you can actually hear a few grunts from John Williams which I had certainly never heard before on the vinyl. (Williams is wonderfully percussive on this set, sounding more like Russ Freeman at times). The "Streetswingers" album is playing as I write this ..... one of my favorite Pacific Jazz albums. I am an "old guy" and have been collecting jazz, west coast and bop, since 1952, so this stuff is not new to me. Having disposed of my my 9,000 vinyl albums a couple of years ago, it is wonderful to have this material available again in such great audio fidelity. Way to go Mosaic! Garth, Houston.