Shrdlu

For the Mendes (which is a fine album, well worth a listen), they ought to use the recent Japanese engineering, but they probably won't. The Japanese version of "Equinox" nox the U.S. CD out of the water. Similarly, the LPR of the Mulligan Concert Jazz Band wasn't as good as the corresponding tracks in the Mosaic set. Great to see that "Chamber Music of the New Jazz" is coming out. Those who haven't heard it, and know "Miles Ahead", will get a surprise. I wonder whether they will use the Argo artwork or the original Parrot cover that Mike unearthed on this board a few months ago. Actually, there were two different Argo covers. Having spent quite a lot on an LP, I think I will stick with that. (I tracked down a copy in very decent condition.) Surely they will not issue a CD with the fake stereo reverb when LPs in real mono can be had.

It would be great to hear that interview, Chris. I really like the one you did the year before with Pres (included, of course, in the Verve box set). A bit off topic, but I often bump into my LP of "Hip Vibrations", and I like your liner notes for that, too. That's an album that's way overdue for reissue.

This is sad news. Elvin has been my favorite drummer since the early 60s - first heard him on the Trane Village Vanguard LP which a neighbor brought around. That was a turning point for me. That loose feel, and the triplet thing, just knock me out. I can't begin to count how many hours I've spent listening to albums with Elvin on board. This was one of the players who was on a much higher plane than most others. One sign of his quality is the fact that, even when he was playing lightly with the brushes, you get the feeling that you are sitting on top of a volcano which is about to erupt. (Examples of that: the Johnny Hartman album "I Just Stopped By To Say Hello", and a few of those BN tracks with Larry Young and Grant Green.) That is not intended to mean that he did not play with taste when quiet accompaniment was needed.

Let's not get too far off the track. Obviously, Carlos's main point is that it stinks that not much media attention was paid when such a superb musician died. I agree with that. By the way, I had not heard about Elvin's death until I saw this post, which strengthens the point. Don't they call jazz "America's only native art form"? Yet is is treated with scandalous neglect. There ought to be room for at least one digital TV channel and one radio station in each major conurbation that plays jazz. But we won't see it.

I would also like to recommend "Lucky Strikes". It is a very relaxed session, with the great lineup of Hank Jones, Richard Davis (who was suddenly on just about everybody's date at that time) and Connie Kay. As someone mentioned, Lucky is also great on soprano, and that's one reason to get this album, which is, of course, easily available as an OCJ - makes a nice change from trying to hunt down that rare Japanese CD that someone's brother thought he saw at such and such a store. I'm particuarly fond of Richard's playing on pieces in triple time, and there's a good one on this album.

This has been a favorite of mine for many years. I first had it on a mono LP. The sound on this session is excellent, and I think it's largely due to the original engineering. Rudy got his best ever sound at that time, I think. He recorded things very "hot", and the sound jumps off the record at you. When I "test drove" the LP, I was immediately impressed with the way Art Davis's bass came through strongly, even on the cheap hi-fi that the seller had. Musically, this is hard to beat in the BN collection. I wish that there had been more selections recorded by that lineup. (How often do you think that when playing a BN album? "Back To The Tracks" is another gem where you want more, too.) That euphonium sounds great on this session, and has pretty much the same effect as a valve trombone. Curtis Fuller would have been at least as good on the date, but McKinney and his horn are very welcome. I haven't heard the new RVG, but the TOCJ is superb (and better than the Connoisseur CD, I think). Getting back to Rudy's original engineering, I have found that his recordings from that era sound good even in late 80s McMaster CD versions.

A great April Fool's cover, SS! They say that Michael got the BN 1577 T shirt from Naima Coltrane for the photo.

Something like "To God Be The Glory" (by Fanny Crosby, no, not a relative of Harry Lillis) would about do it. And it won't be the least bit morbid, as I'm saved and will be going to be with the Lord for all eternity. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." To God be the glory, great things he hath done, So loved he the world that he gave us his Son, Who yielded his life an atonement for sin, And opened the lifegate that all may go in. CHORUS Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice, Oh come to the Father through Jesus the Son, And give him the glory, great things he hath done. Another choice verse: Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done, And great our rejoicing through Jesus his Son, The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. My friend, why not trust Jesus as your Saviour right now, and then you won't have any fear about dying.

Plus d'Antibes. Merveilleux! You may have your Sam Reevers, but I have my 'Erbie 'Ancoque.

Duke Pearson: his entire BN output. (Yes, I know about the little box that they did put out.) And all the Verves and Impulses by Gary McFarland, remastered by Malcolm Addey, of course. Possibly throw in the Skye albums, too. I've found his work very interesting recently, that is, the albums that I can get. Some are only available as used LPs, and it's slow going obtaining them. This would never get past Michael Cuscuna, I imagine.

These may end up displacing the "BN Works" CDs as the best BNs. But personally, I am just about exhausted from all the CD upgrading business, and I'm going to stick with what I've got. The orignal TOCJs will do for me until the Rapture. I am very pleased, though, for those who do not yet have Japanese reissues of these classic albums. Slightly ironically, I think my best-sounding Japanese CDs are those recent Sergio Mendes reissues. Those are marvelous! Possibly, they are as good as they are because the original recording engineer(s) were very good. I didn't hear the LPs much, so I can't compare with them. Those CDs are so good that I sometimes put one on just to hear the great sound; but the music is great, too.

Right, then, we'll have one of each!! I take it, Hans, that you are not recommending JRVGs. On that subject, I pulled out the TOCJ and JRVG of "Shades Of Redd" last night, as it's a favorite of mine. I decided to A/B them. First up was the TOCJ, which sounded so good that there's no need for anything else (except that it was a little hard-panned and could be pulled in a bit). Then a push on the remote brought up the JRVG; it sounded like I was listening to a $5.00 radio. Uggh! I also have the U.S. reissue, but I didn't play it last night. I recall that it sounds pretty good, though, and it has two extra takes, so it is worth having.

But I distinctly remember hearing some Gilmore solos on the original LP. And the AMG review (I know, I know ...) says "Gilmore's strong blowing complements Morgan very well". My memory may be getting a little rusty anymore, though, and I don't have a copy here to check.

That one sure is a fine album, and the extra big band tracks are very good, too. My favorite on that is "Night Flite", with a terrific trumpet solo; McCoy's solo, where the horns riff behind him, is a fine moment, too. But pretty much all the Morgan stuff is very welcome. I can't remember hearing him play badly.

Take5, you'll really enjoy the Dial stuff. I would count myself as a Bird expert, having devoured just about everything by him that I could get, and having slavishly imitated him on my alto (as much as one could!) for awhile when I was a kid. After a lot of listening, I rate the Dial studio stuff and the radio air shots from 1948-50 as Bird's finest (not that his other recordings are bad). You won't get the best sound, though most of the Dial takes sound quite good, and some of the radio broadcasts sound very clear. But you will get him in his prime, in the aftermath of his rehabilitation at Camarillo, CA, with a regular working group that stayed together for a long time. The heroin etc. that he started taking again took its toll rapidly, and by the time of the Verve sessions, Bird was not as good as in the 1940s. The late 40s was when it was all happening and being laid down. By the fifties, it was pretty much a matter of going along familiar paths, and, also, Bird no longer had a regular group for most of those later years. The cream of the Dials is the stuff from late 1947: three New York sessions, with a lot of stunning slow numbers such as "Embraceable You". These performances place Parker on a plane much higher than nearly all other jazz musicians. For me, he was the best ever, though probably Louis Armstrong was the most important jazz innovator. My favorite air shots are the ones said to be from 1950, with Fats Navarro and Bud Powell, including "Ornithology" and "Round Midnight". The sound is poor on these, but the playing is dazzling. You won't hear more fiery live jazz anywhere. The date is suspect, as Fats died at around the time these are said to have been recorded. The other air shots, with Miles or Kenny Dorham, are prime stuff, too. What a shame that these live items were not recorded with more modern equipment.

It's all very good stuff. Bill said that Philly Joe was his favorite drummer, which would have shocked my friends in the early 70s who listened so much to the trio with La Faro and Motian and made scornful remarks about Philly Joe's drumming on the "Interplay" LP. I must admit that I was surprised to read that. I love Philly Joe's work on countless hard bop sessions, but never thought of him as a Bill Evans Trio type. (Bear in mind that, back then, most of Bill's records that were released did not feature Philly Joe.) But we must go with what Bill, himself, said.

Brandon, once you get hooked on Jackie McLean, you will enjoy just about all his sessions. I shied away from him for years, but when I started delving into those BN sessions, there was no looking back.

A bad law!

"Blue Spirits" is an excellent album. The 3/4 tune, with McCoy doing his usual fine job with triple time, is wonderful. Hear how Hank Mobley comes in when things are really cooking. A great moment. Don't judge the album by the extra tracks (I assume that they will again be added.) The original album was the thing. By the way, it's a harpsichord, not a celeste.

I like that Hill session. Nice stuff. Its inclusion in the list was predictable, of course. I wonder what its cover looks like - all I have is a CDr of an LP which a kind friend sent me.

As Mike has said, Wade was on one of the two sessions that Milt Jackson and Lucky Thompson made for Savoy in early 1956. Those are wonderful recordings, by the way. They first came out on four LPs that had very stingy playing times; the complete output would easily fit onto two CDs. There was also a two LP set covering the entire sessions. I don't think they are all currently available on CD, though no doubt they have appeared in Japan as dreadfully expensive mini LPs that were available for at least six months. The AMG guide does list CD reissues, but domestic Savoy CDs have never been all that easy to track down, and the listed reissues include tracks from other, unrelated sessions, as well as continuing the tradition of short playing times. I first got these selections on some French Musidisque LPs that were very cheap - so the short playing times were not an issue. I was not grumbling about the timings anyway, as the quality of the performances was so high. Hank Jones was on several tracks. Quite honestly, I could never tell which pianist was on which track without consulting the listings, and I think that is a compliment to Wade, n'est-ce pas?

Sounds like a cousin of the dreaded Prism Leisure CD company, which pollutes the bargain CD bins with CDs mastered at the wrong speed. I once got a Billie Holiday that they issued, derived from the Columbia recordings, and the pitch was a half-tone sharp!!

Supoib set! A favorite moment: the end of "Old Devil Moon", where Elvin is cooking so much that J.J. has to rein him in. The session with Max is a real gem.

I wasn't all that keen on John Gilmore when I first heard this LP in the 60s - I was young and into Trane a lot then. I don't have a copy of the LP now. But recently, I got to hear Freddie Hubbard's Impulse album "The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard" for the first time. Gilmore's playing on that is very striking, and impressed me a lot. He uses a very spare style there, very disciplined and effective. So I'd like to hear this Blakey set again to see how Gilmore is on it. Of course, Lee Morgan will be great on it too, no doubt. Wasn't there some talk about Gilmore having influenced Trane back in the 50s?

That's certainly something to look forward to... I know what you mean, but actually, it won't be anything to look forward to at all. Crack open Revelation (and a lot of Old Testament prophecies that deal with the Tribulation Period of 7 years) and read about the horrible catastrophies that will take place, and you won't want to go through that period at all. Examples: a quarter of the earth's population die in one day (gotta be a nuclear war), and then another quarter die on another day. To be saved before the trumpet sounds is a great advantage, because all believers are taken out of this world before the Tribulation starts, to be with the Lord. The Rapture is clearly about to happen at any time. Recommended reading: "Left Behind", by Tim La Haye and Jerry B. Jenkins, published recently by Zondervan. There are 6 books in this series, and millions of copies have been sold. These are very well written novels, not sermons or similar. One of the main characters is an airline pilot whose wife and son get raptured out (his plane also loses about 50 passengers while flying from Chicago to London). He realizes what has happened, but then has to live through the Tribulation Period, in which the two options are: get saved and then be executed by the forces of the Antichrist, or take the mark of the Beast and then go to hell. Not a choice that I'd like to have to make, though those executed by the Beast's forces because they have gotten saved still go to heaven. It's much easier in the present "Church age", when the believer leaves this world either by the rapture, or by natural death, unless in a part of the world where believers are killed by the local government.