gmonahan

Has anyone else noticed that Dusty Groove has dropped all mention of Grappelli's "Nearness of You" from its list? I'd sort of hoped they'd get it. The only place I can still find it is www.amazon.fr, and the shipping is 10 euros! Has anyone found it anywhere on the American side of the water? greg mo

Andreas Meyer did the transfers, remixes, and presumably the remastering and mastering of the Columbia set. Excellent sound. I must say. . .I like both the Smith and Farlow equally. . . these were two very different guitarists in sound and technique and "taste". . . these are two very different sets musically. I actually prefer the Farlow to the Smith. I think Tal stretches out a lot more, and I like the sound of his guitar. Not that I don't like the Smith, but I find myself returning to the Farlow set far more often. Also, save for the Concords recorded later, these are some of his only dates as a leader (not that Smith recorded that much either!). greg mo

Well, I'm not sure it quite qualifies as a "box," but I'm enjoying disc 1 of the Oscar Peterson/Fred Astaire Complete Norman Granz Sessions put out by Jazz Factory (and yeah, I really wish Verve had put it out). Lovely work by all concerned, and Astaire is beautifully mic'd. greg mo

That's a good list. I'd add "I Cover the Waterfront" and maybe "The Sheikh of Araby." But "St. James Infirmary" is still it for me. Superb, sublime and transcendental! greg mo greg mo

I will be interested to hear what you think of the Zeitlin set. I don't have much of anything by him. greg mo

He did it already, back in the day, with the now out-of-print #114 The Complete Art Hodes Blue Note Sessions (4 CDs or 5 LPs) Kind of doubt they'd do it again. I guess Blue Note could do it, but I don't know that it would sell much. greg mo

Of course you did Lon--don't you always?! And thank goodness too, because the rest of us always look forward to your take on them. (well...except for the Herman Select... ) greg mo

Benny Goodman Columbia box, disc 3. I never get tired of hearing Charlie Christian play "Solo Flight." greg mo

WAY cool! Thanks for posting this! greg mo

greg mo

It's a little irritating that the two Helen Merrill's aren't on sale along with the rest of the singles. Those are the only two I don't have!! greg mo

Benny Goodman Columbia and Okeh Orchestra Sessions, disc 2. Great sound. greg mo

So Chewy is a reward for reading my crap? Yup.

Here, here. Though it would also have been fun to be there for Sinatra's Music for Swingin' Lovers sessions (or Sings for Only the Lonely) with Riddle in the Capitol studios. greg mo

I guess I'm a hopeless dinosaur, but I want RECORDS. If they're cds that's fine, but I want (little) album covers and liner notes and photos and discographies. I don't want to have to download them myself and burn cds so I don't have to depend on the ephemerals of crashing hard drives. My hope is that Luddites like me (and lots of others who post here!) will at least keep specialist labels like Mosaic in business for a while. Sigh. greg mo

I use an ancient database called "Notebuilder" that allows me to file individual entries in a single record for artist, instrument(s), album title, label, catalog number, recording date, session leader, live or studio, and miscellaneous stuff like whether it's part of a series. I do an individual record for each musician on a given album who solos, and sometimes for those of note who don't. My database lets me create sets by any of these characteristics (all trombonists, every record on a given label, and combinations--all albums featuring a given artist recorded in a given year, for example). Takes kind of a long time to index them all, and I often get behind. I've only got my cds indexed. I started after I'd collected a bunch of LPs and never had the time to go back and do them, and I don't even want to think of the 78s I amassed from various thrift stores when I was a kid! And yeah, I'm kind of anal about it! greg mo

The point I think I'd travel back in time to isn't a session per se, but that night in January of 1938 at the Savoy ballroom when Count Basie's band fought Chick Webb's. Listening to it, dancing to it, watching everybody else dance to it, being there as each set built on the other one, hearing two of the most legendary bands in the history of the music at their peak. That would really have been something. greg mo

I suppose downloads will continue to improve in quality, but what I'll miss besides excellent sound quality (!) will be other stuff--album covers, liner notes, photos, discographical detail! Also, computer hard drives are very impermanent, but my cds can last a *long* time. 'Course, I realize I'm preaching to the choir here. I went back and looked at the Hubbard RVGs again, and just about all of them have bonus tracks, so typically, I posted before I did the research. Sigh. Age. That's what it is. Or, that's the excuse I'll use today anyway!! (Laziness is too embarrassing!) greg mo

You're probably right Lon, and so is Ubu. Hopeless completist that I am, I was pining for unreleased stuff, alternate takes, that kind of thing. Some of the RVGs have them. Some of them don't. Do you really think cds are done for, even in "specialty" markets like jazz? I love Mosaic, but is that going to be all there is? greg mo

So has anyone been able to get a line on ordering the Grappelli The nearness of you in the US? Dustygroove will probably be the most reasonable when they actually get it in stock, but no guarantee when that will be. I came close to pulling the trigger at Amazon.fr but they wanted 10 Euros shipping, which I thought was a bit steep. (Maybe with the base price being so low it still works out to be reasonable, but if there is a US distributor I'd rather go that way.) I did *exactly* the same thing! Looked at Amazon.fr and decided the shipping was too steep, so I'm waiting for my email notification from Dustygroove that they have it in. I just have to have patience, I guess--not my most notable quality! greg mo I did notice that the shipping didn't go up appreciably when adding 2 or 3 copies of the Grappelli to my cart. I figure I'll wait until spring to see if Dusty gets it in and, if not, then perhaps see if a few folks on the board want to split the shipping. Even after redistributing within the US, there would still be some savings. It works out to about 13 Euros (each) for 2 copies and I think 11 Euros for 3. I just wrote 'em an email whining about it, asking when they might get it in. Maybe it'll motivate them to check up on it. Or maybe not! greg mo

So has anyone been able to get a line on ordering the Grappelli The nearness of you in the US? Dustygroove will probably be the most reasonable when they actually get it in stock, but no guarantee when that will be. I came close to pulling the trigger at Amazon.fr but they wanted 10 Euros shipping, which I thought was a bit steep. (Maybe with the base price being so low it still works out to be reasonable, but if there is a US distributor I'd rather go that way.) I did *exactly* the same thing! Looked at Amazon.fr and decided the shipping was too steep, so I'm waiting for my email notification from Dustygroove that they have it in. I just have to have patience, I guess--not my most notable quality! greg mo

Sure would be nice to see Blue Note reissue all of Freddie Hubbard's sides as a leader as they did some years ago with Herbie Hancock and Dexter Gordon, especially now that the great trumpeter has passed on, but I suppose we'll see the Second Coming first. greg mo

I'm ordering the Goodman and Peterson sets today. What else is money for, anyway?! greg mo

The Evans Rust Box, hands down. Of all the boxes I've ever bought--and I've truly lost count--that one had the worst packaging, the most unreadable text, the dumbest graphics. I long ago repackaged the cds into jewel cases because the *music* is absolutely stunning. Haven't laid eyes on the old box in years. It may have completely rusted away. greg mo

I really like "Above and Beyond" on Metropolitan, recorded live at the Keystone Korner in 1982. Freddie's really on fire on that one (and was quoted as saying "this is my best playing on record"--'course, he might have said that about other records!). Terrible loss. greg mo