Guy Berger

Ronald Shannon Jackson & James "Blood" Ulmer (also, I keep calling Ronald "Roland")

Terrible, but my understanding is that the shortcomings come from the original recording. Guy

Rhino did remaster it on one of their "deluxe" editions. I'm not sure how much better it sounds than the original issue. The extreme shortcomings of Atlantic jazz recordings are pretty obvious on this one. Guy

I don't think there's been much discussion of this disc. There are two lengthy tracks, "So Long Eric" and "Praying with Eric" (aka "Meditations for a Pair of Wire-Cutters", "Meditations on Integration"). The lineup is one of the greatest Jazz Workshops, maybe THE greatest: Mingus, Johnny Coles, Eric Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Jaki Byard and Dannie Richmond. I've only heard one other performance by this group, the one released by Verve as The Great Concert of Charles Mingus. They each have their strengths -- I think the Town Hall version of "Meditations" is stronger. Coles adds a lot to the ensembles though I'm not crazy about his solo improvisations. In addition, Clifford Jordan has probably the strongest solo on this tune -- remarkable when you consider that Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet is involved. I also think that in general, Byard plays better here than on the Paris concert. Finally, Dolphy plays some of the most poignant flute I've ever heard from him. With "So Long Eric" I might have to give Paris the nod because of the Dolphy-Jordan interplay, but the version here is excellent. Anyway, if you haven't heard this I recommend picking it up. Guy

My favorite Jackie sideman appearance isn't on BN -- it's on Mingus's Blues and Roots. Guy

My memory may be playing tricks on me, but I think Jackie only plays on one of these albums, the one with the session from 1952. Guy

So far, Cool Struttin' and Right Now. Guy

I love the guy's playing. Guy

I remember reading an interview with Dave Holland where someone asked him about this and he said that no, he wasn't influenced by the McLean recordings. Guy

His commercials are annoying as hell, though. Guy

Compared to San Antonio, Dallas has played a lot better vs. Detroit. Guy I don't think Dallas has a playoff mentality though. They seem to play their hardest during the regular season, then fold. San Antonio plays well during the regular season, then steps it up a notch or two during the playoffs (IMO). They pace themselves a little differently than Dallas. That's generally true, but San Antonio stepped it down more than a notch or two against Detroit. Maybe Dallas simply matches up better. Either way this is irrelevant because there is little chance that Dallas will beat the Spurs. Guy

The Nets are sizzlin'. They're probably not good enough to beat Miami in the playoffs, much less Detroit, but they could be a serious pain in the ass for those teams. Guy

http://www.capitolstudios.com/capitolmastering/mcmaster.html Well, since my name is Guy Economistein, I guess anything is possible. Guy

In general I would agree though I would be interested in hearing a big band version of "Happy House". Probably not by the Lincoln Center crew, however. Guy

Don Heckman told me he wrote this article too:

Is Ron McMaster his real name? Guy

I'm guessing none exists, but I would love to hear it. Has anyone else besides Miles recorded this composition? edit: First off, Pharoah Sanders has probably caused me to mispell "pharaoh" for the rest of my life. Second, and more importantly, a big band version exists on this Bill Warfield album. I wonder what it sounds like! Guy

Does anyone remember the Onion article from a few years back about the Insane Clown Posse getting grounded by their mom? Guy

I'm more or less with Chris -- if people want to buy gas-guzzling cars, let 'em. We should penalize them more at the pump. Guy

By mentioning my name you have already failed!muhahahaa!!!!! Guy

Gotta respectfully disagree there! Maybe the Mavericks would be easier competition for Detroit, but I don't think the two best teams in the NBA would be competing, then... Compared to San Antonio, Dallas has played a lot better vs. Detroit. Guy

Now this I want to hear. Guy

Man, I love pickles. I got addicted to them at a very young age when I was growing up in Israel. In America my favorite pickles are the ones from Trader Joe's. I used to not like the Clausens but my opinion has changed over time. When I open up a pickle jar I usually devour about five or six which is probably really bad for me. Oh -- my grandmother pickles cucumbers and serves them as a salad. Probably the best pickles I've ever tasted! Guy

I was wondering if anyone here had an extra disc 3 from the 11 CD Mozart Symphony set. Pinnock is the conductor. (I assume the record company will not do replacements.) If you can help out, PM me. I'm so pissed off at this ONKYO piece of junk. CDs have gotten jammed in it 3 times over the past six months and each time I've had to take it into repairs. This time it finally destroyed a CD, or maybe the repair people did. Guy