RDK

Here's a hint: piano is not the instrument one thinks of when one thinks of this pianist. And maybe you could get this played in one today... Hey, man, sorry to be such a bitch about some of these cuts, but...you know...the good stuff was really good, and it all made me think, so I count that as a positive in the end. Thanks again! No bitchiness perceived, Jim - I appreciate all the comments, good or bad.

Check out the Squeezebox... http://www.slimdevices.com/

Got mine today too!

And you don't?

I believe most record cleaning solutions contain alcohol. What you don't want to use it on, iirc, are shellac 78s.

Congrats Cary! I love little girls. Er, uh, you know what I mean - I've got a pair of my own that bring joy to my life every single day.

It's funny you say that. I didn't set out to specifically feature bassists here, but it did turn out that way, didn't it?

No, not Randy, but I can see why you might have thought so. I'm also a big Weston fan, so I'm naturally attracted to percussive pianists in this style. This was one of those artists/discs that I had never heard of before, but spinning for the first time went "whoa!" I love the propulsive drive of this track, though I feared it might sound too monotonous to some. This wasn't initially the version of this tune that I wanted to use. There was a trio version that I programmed (and found a bit more interesting) but there was some error I kept getting when encoding it to mp3. Still, I thought this a nice version of a tune I really dug when I saw it performed in person. Again, an artist I was completely unaware of prior to hearing this. The bassist is more well known, and yes, he does help make the track imo. Good first impression re: trumpeter! It's rare that I like any sort of trumpet-led group w/o a piano, but this one really works. Again, I really dig the uncommon sound of this trio. At the risk of dropping too great a hint, this pianist is my favorite "discovery" (as a result of some mentions on this forum) in quite some time. The tune is very well known and I'm sure you'll kick yourself when you finally do come up with the name.

Mine shipped today too. It says 1-3 weeks, but since it was sent "from CA," I'd expect to see it only a couple of days.

I'm reasonably sure the number 9 is the highest they will show. They probably have a bunch more. I don't know. I've been in the Sherman Oaks Second Spin many times. Nine might be as high as some of the clerks can count.

Like Dr. Phil, he's also not a real doctor.

Looks like the Joe Henderson box is also available for about the same price and Bill Evans' Secret Sessions is around $25.

Thank you! That's brilliant!

Definitely a player of the Coltrane school. And while the pianist obviously isn't Tyner, you've stumbled onto a Tyner connection as well. I've recently found myself a bit bored by the traditional quartet/quintet combos and their formulaic head/solos arrangements. Instead, I've been responding more to, as you say, the "colors of the instrumentation." For better or worse, I think more than a couple of the tracks here reflect that. I thought this might be a fairly easy one as I believe it was discussed on the board. Glad you liked it - I didn't think many would. Not my favorite track on that particular disc, but I believe the shortest. I'm so lousy at identifying individual musicians that it always amazes me when others do it so effortlessly. Bravo, Ron, bravo! And Tapscott it is! For such a relatively unknown player he sure is well known around here. That is indeed Carter, though he's not the leader of the session. This is normally not the sort of thing that I'd dig all that much, but I find the quiet intensity very compelling. It draws me into the music while so often I feel more like an outsider looking in. It's very spiritual and Zen-like to me.

Hmm. I thought everybody digs Bill Evans.

I totally disagree re: Byrne. While I've since lost my taste for him - and always preferred such stylists as Neil Adams, Wrightson, and Starlin - I find Byrne to be one of the finest artists of the last few decades (at least in the 80's, his best decade imo). He's not always flashy, but at the very least he's consistently competent and one of the very best comic book storytellers of his generation. Oh snap. Now are we gonna get into the "who'd win in a fight between Batman and Superman" debate?

I'm not sure if there's any on that list I "can't get into" as I can find at least aspects in all of their work that I enjoy. But I listen to. for example, Brubeck and Braxton for different things. From that list, I'd say that Braxton might be the "hardest" to get into, but the challenge is part of it and while much of his work I really dislike, there's some that I do enjoy and admire. As for Armstrong, I'll admit to perhaps not really "getting" and/or enjoying his early Hot 5 stuff as much as I probably should. I much prefer Armstrong in the 50s, even when he's merely covering his old material. Artists I don't "get" given their prominence? Maybe Erroll Gardner, Teddy Wilson (his Mosaic bores me), Oscar Petterson, and to a lesser extent even Art Tatum. Another is Basie, at least when compared to Duke, Woody Herman, or Hamp's big band.

Did you see that they adapted that one for the Justice League animated series a few years back? I'm man enough to admit that it always brings tears to my eyes.

Not Pharoah, but there is a connection there. I'm sure someone (Sangray at least) will correctly guess the tenor, but the album might be tougher. Good on Trible! I figured the lyrics at least would make the tune fairly easy to guess. I had the hardest time deciding which track to use off this album - and it was that up front guitar that finally tipped it. This is probably the most obscure track here; don't want to give too much away, but I doubt anyone has actually heard of the vibist. There's a story behind this selection... I hear you on the slightly "new age" vibe - which is actually surprising given the players involved. The other tunes on the album are "worse" in that regard, though I think I'd chalk it up more to the recording/production techniques than the actual playing/players. First instincts are often the best... I was a bit worried that this track might "bore" a few people, but I love the melody and thought it offered nice variety. Its inclusion also goes to the "theme" of this first disc. I programmed this track last for a few reasons, one being that I didn't think many would really like it. It's a very understated, almost meditative piece given the players involved. And as you can probably easily tell, it's also LP-sourced.

Why you... mouldy old fig!

I like Superman!

Very nice!

I figured we'd keep it to one thread rather than split it in two. No hurry as it's only been a few days, but this is the place to guess and discuss. There's a theme of sorts running through the first disc - or at least something that connects the artists/tracks - but it's "simple" enough that I don't want to give too much away just yet.

This is exciting news, especially for anyone not enamored with the RVGs. On the other hand, I pretty much have all the BN albums I want in one version or another, so I can't imagine buying too many over again. On the other, other hand, I've only heard one of the new BN SACDs so far and it's pretty damn nice!