Guy Berger

One thing I realized today -- I think "Ballad for Doll" was the first ballad to appear on any of Jackie's BN albums. He really became a masterful ballad player as the 60s continued. Guy

Any particular 70s Abercrombie you like to recommend to me? Thanks. Gateway and Timeless, both on ECM. Guy

I just listened to Ming for the first time. More mainstream than what I was expecting, but sounds pretty good. I have Murray's Steps lying around and I'll probably give it a listen next month. If I like these then I'll be on the lookout for Home. Guy

Shaq was OK tonight. A solid game, but nothing remarkable by his standards. The Mavs couldn't buy a basket (31.6% shoooting), it's as simple as that. Hopefully they'll wake up by Sunday. Guy

Sony/Legacy has more info on this box: Forecast: not going to buy it.

You could see him burning up inside at the end of game 3. Guy

Hey, that's cool...if Phil floats your boat it's all good. He just doesn't happen to float mine, it sank. I can tolerate some of the Genesis material like ABACAB but have never liked the solo material. Count me in as an Abacab fan though I don't like the Genesis albums after that one. Phil's 1st solo album isn't terrible. Guy

OK. I don't hear more or less femininity/masculinity/androgyneity in his music than in any other instrumental music. Guy

Why is Ornette's music androgynous? Guy

I'll pick Miami to win again. Guy

BeBop -- are you in Turkmenistan right now? Guy

Yes - is that another pinch of salt? I know hardly anything about Miles Davis' recordings. MG Purdie is not on Bitches Brew. He does play, I believe, on on the Davis track "Red China Blues".

I would really love to hear a saxophone interacting in this type of group. Unfortunately I'm guessing that most saxophonists don't really have the training to do so. I saw the quartet with Srinivas and Selvaganesh back in 2000, it was a good concert. Why didn't L Shankar participate in the reunion? Guy

I recently listened to Remember Shakti and The Believer -- those are really good albums! Very different stylistically. I'm not crazy about John McLaughlin's guitar tone on them, though.

Apparently her next album features Jimmy Cobb & Ron Carter. link

Nice win for the Heat. They caught a major break when that sixth foul wasn't called on Wade. Dallas just went cold in the second half of the 4th. On the other hand, if I'm Dallas I might feel pretty good that Wade gave a superhuman effort and I only lost by 2.

I said a long time ago (quite a few posts back) that Miami did not need Antoine Walker, that it was a bad trade. I trash the guy in every opportunity I get, but I'm not sure the alternatives for Miami are that much better. Guy

I actually think Miami will win tonight. Guy

I'm guessing that's a screw-up. I believe "Hard Work" is John Handy's hit. No clue who does the late 60s "Stolen Moments". Guy

This is an excellent album. "Dark Matter" is probably my favorite PTree tune: Dark matter flowing out on to a tape Is only as loud as the silence it breaks Most things decay in a matter of days The product is sold the memory fades Crushed like a rose In the river flow I am I know Guy

The Economist recently had a survey on consolidation in the financial industry:

They made you deposit your pet? Kind of like a regular security deposit, but they kill it if you mess up the apt.

Not nearly as bad as Ron Carter on the cello. Guy

But it isn't just about the inequity of the taxes. It's also about the potential inefficiencies generated by said inequities. Guy

Maybe the playing field is somewhat unfair for a small bank. But I have a hard time believing that the small banks wouldn't be getting gobbled up anyway by the big banks, like they are currently. There's no way that the playing field is unfair for the likes of Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, and Bank of America. Well, insofar as one is tax exempt and another is not, BeBop is correct. From an economic standpoint BeBop might be right. The implicit subsidy to credit unions generates economic inefficiencies. On the other hand, in general lower taxes are a good thing. It's uncertain which of these effects predominates. Guy