gmonahan

And not yet in the Down Beat Hall of Fame. I mean, really. Not only a great, great player, but by all accounts, a gentle and generous guy. Happy Birthday Mr. Konitz! gregmo

"Tony Bennett: The Complete Collection" has three discs from MGM/Verve: "The Good Things in Life" with Robert Farnon and His Orchestra "'Listen Easy' featuring 'Tell Her It's Snowing'" arranged and conducted by Don Costa "Tony Bennett's Greatest Hits Volume 7" which appears to be made up of singles. All are listed as "Tony Bennett Enterpise Productions" but I can't tell if that was original, or whether that was added for the box. My guess is that Tony was freelancing at the time before he started his Improv label. Don't think these albums are available on cd anywhere else. Leastwise, I haven't seen them. Might be some old LP copies around, though. gregmo

That one definitely gets my vote for the most unattractive cover ever, though there may be other competitors. Maybe someone should start a new thread?! Or do we have one already?! gregmo

Sounds to me like Crouch is simply using Bird as a vehicle to ruminate on the culture, much like Leroi Jones used to do, or even Mingus in his sort-of-autobiography. In that sense, it's a pretty well established trope. Provided one doesn't approach it as a straight bio of Bird, then Mark's point is *the* point. I think what people have objected to is the sense of a bait and switch, the sense that this was going to be a definitive biography of Bird (a la Kelley with Monk) rather than a literary foray, and that it really isn't a biography at all. gregmo

That Blue Note reissue series was one of the best ever by any label, IMHO. I had a bunch of those. gregmo

I liked the early books, but as he got famous, his books became somewhat jingoistic, and I found it hard to get past that. I did like his work ethic and his fairly honest take on writing--that it's hard work and one just has to do it. gregmo

I edit reviews for an academic on-line site, and all I can say from reading Larry's excepts is that I would really have *hated* to be Crouch's editor. gregmo

An extraordinary player for a legendary team. 67 is so young, but it seems par for the course with football players, sadly. gregmo

The Armstrong live set box isn't there either. I wouldn't worry. I just think Mosaic has gotten a lot more conservative about what they post on their Upcoming Releases page. gregmo

Damn, JM, $22.50 each for two beers is pretty spendy! gregmo

My only advice: Don't walk to where you're going to walk. If you're going to a museum or the forum, ride there. Otherwise, have a wonderful time, take it easy, see what you see and don't stress over what you don't. Drink wine, eat gelato in Italy and hang out with that wonderful spouse of yours. I mean, she's stayed with you for fifty years of jazz collecting, recording, and producing. She must be really, really special!

Well, ok, if catastrophe struck, and I somehow lost my Mosaics, I guess you'd have to pry my cold, dead hands off of the Teagarden Roulette set. But my feet would be holding on to the Capitols! gregmo

I meant all of 'em. Especially too bad about JSP, which used to be a very, very fine reissue label. gregmo

Must...use...superpowers... gregmo

I'm absolutely with Hans when it comes to the Andorrans ripping off legitimate reissue labels. I think it's nasty, and I won't buy that stuff. I had no idea the Japanese had ever reissued any of those John Graas records. I do wish some of those Japanese reissues didn't require a second mortgage on my house. gregmo

I agree with this, but (and how many times have we had this debate?!) if the material is available nowhere else, well, I get it. Example: The John Graas Jazz Studio and Jazz Lab recordings originally issued on (I think) Decca. They're only available from Lonehill. Mosaic has never touched them, and neither, to my knowledge, have any of the "legitimate" reissue labels. So I got the Lonehills. I don't feel great about supporting the label, but I want to hear that music by a (pretty well forgotten) fine jazz artist. gregmo

Review of the book on Daily Beast site: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/23/what-made-charlie-parker-great-reviewing-stanley-crouch-s-biography-on-bird.html gregmo

I queried Scott Wenzel about this, and he indicated they had listened to several sources for each track, choosing the one that sounded best. He didn't know if their engineer had tweaked the cd-sourced material or not. I didn't ask him about waiting for metal parts. I have the GRPs (Mosaic used two, "Spinnin' the Webb" and "Ella Fitzgerald: The Early Years, Vol. 1"), and they all do use some noise reduction, though I always thought they sounded pretty good. Not Mosaic good, but pretty good. I'm as mystified as anyone else about this choice, and I'm anxious to hear the set to find out how it sounds. Decca material hasn't always fared that well over the years in the hands of MCA/Universal. Some of the aged here will remember the execrable "reprocessed stereo" sound of the old Decca Jazz Heritage Series!! gregmo

Not possible. Can't do it. Too hard.......... gregmo

The Arlen record was reissued on cd years ago by Sony Special products through K-Tel, I think. I remember snagging a copy from an Amazon seller. Of course, it and all of the great singer's other recordings were reissued in the massive Complete box, so getting hold of it to run these new copies isn't tough. It's a good record, however one finds it. gregmo

Al Di Meola has done a recent album called "A Tribute to the Beatles": http://www.amazon.com/All-Your-Life-Tribute-Beatles/dp/B00E1SM5UA/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1379635215&sr=1-1&keywords=Al+Di+meola+beatles gregmo

I'm in. Use of the Australian 78s is new to me. I'm also a bit bothered by the cd transfers, but not enough not to preorder the box! gregmo

Woody Shaw Muse Sessions, disc V.

Oh, I can so id with canyon walls of cds. Determined to dig my way down in the next two weeks. Probably hopeless, but some good listening will be a nice byproduct! gregmo

Check on its way. gregmo