Guy Berger

Apparently yourmusic carries the Savoy + Dial Masters box, which makes it marginally cheaper than the JSP. So my question is what's on the latter that's not on the former? How many tracks feature both Diz and Bird that aren't on the Savoy + Dial box? How much early stuff? How essential is the early stuff? Guy

Cannonball Adderley, Money in the Pocket then Sonny Rollins, Newk's Time

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I'm about half-way through the 1st season of Rome. It's excellent. Not completely historically accurate, but good enough. The production values are superb (I wish I Claudius had gotten this treatment) and the acting is excellent. The characters really come to life. Recommended! Guy

Wow, that's a ringing endorsement! Who sells Intakt cds for cheap? Guy

I like the Clippers -- they're a good team -- but there's no way they can get past the west's big 3. Guy

I can't believe the Far East Suite hasn't been mentioned yet!!! Guy

Hmmm... looks intriguing! Guy

Happy birthday Maren. Guy

I had the following exchange on the site-which-must-not-be-named: Guy This is the tune "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland", actually written by Leo Friedman and Beth Slater Witson. Monk also recorded it on the London Collection. I would never have known Monk didn't record it except in his review of the Motian album, Kevin Whitehead mentioned its origins. other poster Any thoughts? The tune doesn't sound like a Monk composition, IMHO. Guy

I thought this record was more sleepy than beautiful, though maybe I should give it another listen (or lesson, as I almost wrote). I think it would have been better with Lovano onboard. I really don't get Ratliff's comparison of Tyner and Crispell. They sound nothing alike to my ears. Guy

Nate, can you elaborate? It got a 3 (out or 5) star review in the UK Guardian. Guy

I guess I have to get Prayer Meetin. His solo on "Back to the Chicken Shack" is one of the greatest of all time. I probably don't listen to Stan as much as I should, but he's one of the biggies. Guy

On a list I was on, someone said: This struck me as a very implausible argument (except for the comments about Atlanta -- I have no clue what the scene there is like). The whole downtown NYC scene still seems quite active to me though I don't follow it very closely, and of course things are coming out of Chicago all the time. What do you think? Guy

I finally managed to score a (digital) copy of this OOP album. Here's the lineup: Karyobin - Spontaneous Music Ensemble (John Stevens group) 1968 with Derek Bailey - Guitar Dave Holland - Bass Evan Parker - Saxophone John Stevens - Drums Kenny Wheeler - Trumpet, Horn I think it was Holland's first appearance on record. Interesting music, I like it, but have not completely made up my mind. Guy

Nah, McDonald is just a watered-down Soulive. Guy

What if new masterings were given some sort of shorter protection (10 yrs) ? That way companies might have incentive to maintain archive material for their own releases, but older versions would be public domain. Guy

Maybe there are ways of protecting source material without preventing stuff from becoming public domain. Guy

I saw Andrew Cyrille live last night in a duo w/Odean Pope and he was quite amazing. However, he's poorly represented in my collection: the two Cecil BNs, Dickerson's To My Queen, Tapscott's Aiie the Phantom and The Dark Tree. So I'd like some recommendations. I'd especially like recs besides his leader dates on BS/SN, because I already know I need to pick those up. Guy

I am probably going to catch the Odean Pope - Andrew Cyrille duo. post-mortem: I've seen Andrew in concert 3 times, and each time I'm more convinced that he's one of the greats. He was awesome tonight. Odean Pope was good too, but I was expecting him to be a little more "outside". Guy

These are good recommendations. Some other stuff you will probably like: Miles Davis: Milestones, Miles Smiles, In a Silent Way John Coltrane: My Favorite Things, Giant Steps, Crescent, Live at Birdland Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um Thelonious Monk: Monk's Music, Brilliant Corners Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage Grant Green: Idle Moments There are plenty of others. One suggestion: look at which musicians play on a certain album. Then get other albums featuring those musicians. Look at the AMG to see which ones are highly rated. Guy

I've been going through my meager Floyd ROIO collection. This is indeed a good one. I'm not crazy about (but also not offended by) the brass-free Atom Heart Mother, but the last three songs are really the pinnacle of '69-'71 Floyd. I can only wonder what kind of music these guys would have made had they been more technically assured and imaginative as improvisers. I'd love to get recommendations for more '70-'71 Floyd recordings -- ones that have good sound and great performances. Guy

Do you expect reviewers of Ellington records to be bandleaders, pianists, composer and arrangers? It should be about MUSIC, not the specifics of an instrument. If it works (or fails) as "music", the instrument should be of no concern. I'm with Chuck on this one. That said, I don't have a problem with Soul Stream saying, "Scott, I think your review covered the music in too superficial a manner." That's legit. Guy

Chuck, It seems that a lot of people disagree with your assessment of the label. (On the sound, not on the legality.) Reviews I've read suggest this set has better sound than the Savoy/Dial set. I will probably pick this up over the next few weeks and offer my comments. Guy

I recommend reading the comments in this linked thread, they're illuminating. Guy