Guy Berger

Well, I guess it depends on what circles you run/ran in. Me and all the other unconceived babies... I haven't really had the chance to dig into the BS/SN catalogue yet (I might have only 4 or 5 CDs -- will be rectified over the coming decade), but I don't think anybody's mentioned the Redman/Blackwell duets album (Red & Black Live at Willisau), which is very good if you like those two musicians. Guy

I don't think so. The Ballads stuff definitely gets dull after a while -- not a lot of variety between takes. The number of alternates on the deluxe Coltrane is excessive. On the other hand, the deluxe ALS is essential. Guy

I was surprised at the heavy Monk content -- it seems like they play more Monk every time I see them. They didn't play anything from the recent album though I'm guessing that this was a result of it being only the third night of the gig. Guy

Yeah, I'd say it's pretty much worth getting anything on the label by artists you like or think you might like. They had a very strong run. ← I don't disagree. But why is that? I mean, what was it about Black Saint/Soul Note that often resulted in an artist's best work? ← I think this is a particularly interesting question because BS/SN don't have the same label mystique as BN, Impulse! or ECM, which would potentially bias assessments upward. Guy

I hate saying this, but I thought the second set was even better! A monster version of "Epistrophy" and a long, loose "Yahllah". Definitely catch them again. Setlist: 1: standard?/Jack of Clubs/Crepescule with Nellie/Misterioso (very countrified)/It Should've Happened a Long Time Ago/Good Morning Heartache/Drum Music 2: Round Midnight/Epistrophy/Monk's Mood/Yahllah/Drum Music

It's worse than this, Jim. Contrary to what administration water-carriers like Michael Goodwin are saying , the federal government response was not just "slow." The senior officials weren't just slow in their response, they seemed to have no conception of the situation on the ground well after the public at large had a grasp of the facts (see: Convention Center). And once they did become apprised of the facts, they decided to focus on political damage control instead of, you know, actually saving people's lives. Agreed. Guy

In answer to that question, I just saw on CSPAN that Haliburton was awarded a $500 million, no bid contract, for re-construction in N.O. And we were all wondering where Cheney was. ← Is this a different contract than the competitive-bid contract we were discussing in another thread a few days ago? Guy

I've said it several times in this thread, but worth repeating at least 50 times more: it's a tragedy that the administration put more effort into covering its ass than into saving lives in NO. Guy

A few of us have been discussing catching a show of this engagement this week. I'm pretty much stuck going this Thursday (8th) so if you guys decide to go another day, no hard feelings -- but it'd be cool if a bunch of us met. Guy

I saw her a lot: including getting ripped by Anderson Cooper for thanking all the other politicians for theri help. ← Maybe you are confusing her with Senator Landrieux? Guy

I think the correct question is not "should New Orleans be rebuilt?" but rather "should New Orleans be rebuilt as a major residential center in the exact same spot rather than in a safer area a few miles down the road?" I agree that most areas in the country face at least some risk of natural disaster, but even within those areas some sub-areas are more dangerous than others. For example, New Orleans was a much more vulnerable area than nearby areas of MS and AL. (A related question could be asked about parts of the southwest -- is developing areas that increasingly encroach on dry forests that burn every summer really a good idea?) A secondary question is whether, if people do choose to locate in the area where the old New Orleans was, whether the government should impose some sort of cost relative to if they chose to locate in safer regions nearby -- i.e., a smaller amount of financial assistance. Guy

I'm curious about the content as well -- anybody have a short review of this album? Guy

It's been known for quite a while that Manhattan is more likely to be a target for terrorist attacks than, say, Omaha. Guy

Leaving aside issues of sensitivity, there's absolutely no racism in what GA Russell wrote. Guy

Agreed. Guy ← Are you seriously agreeing that they should be "tried"? Not sure if there are laws for criminal negligence. Sorry to disappoint. Guy ← Alright, here's the wikipedia entry on criminal negligence. Guy

I have live recordings of the Gateway trio doing "Timeless" ('95) and "Remembering" ('75). Guy

Most obvious: Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock. Do a search for electric piano and you'll find that there's been a lot of discussion on this subject, some of it just a few days ago. Guy

John Abercrombie - guitar Jan Hammer - piano, organ, synth Jack DeJohnette - drums I'll write more about this later when I have time, but it's one of my favorite ECMs. Not without flaws, of course, but most of the music here is incredible. The title track is a favorite. Guy

Not sure if there are laws for criminal negligence. Guy ← In order to be consistent you would have put a whole lot of government folks on trial, the mayor and governor included. If there are applicable laws, "perhaps they should be tried" as well. Guy

Agreed. Guy ← Are you seriously agreeing that they should be "tried"? Not sure if there are laws for criminal negligence. Sorry to disappoint. Guy

Agreed. Guy

I'm on DVD #4 now. Chimes of Big Ben was really good, but A B & C was even better! Guy

While there's obviously a race angle to the tragedy unfolding in NO, I'm guessing that it has a lot more to do with income and class. Guy ← And of course, income and class never have anything to do with race... ← I didn't say that. Guy

While there's obviously a race angle to the tragedy unfolding in NO, I'm guessing that it has a lot more to do with income and class. Guy ← We expect that from an economist. You should get over to the Anthro. and Soc. departments more often. ← Actually, I was wearing my statistics hat this time around. Guy

It's not obvious to me whether this jump in price is good for all oil companies. It's true that they get to sell oil at higher prices, but those dependant on getting their oil from the refineries in the south now have to acquire it from more costly sources. Guy ← Oh, it's good for them alright. They are going to have record on top of record profits, prices haven't gone up on drilling or processing the oil lately...if they "lose" a little profit in the short run,(They may sell a little less, but fuel is over $3.00 everywhere) they'll get by. ← Nobody is talking about them not getting by -- we're talking about whether their profits will decrease, which they very well might at least in some cases. The primary for the very recent increase (last week) in gas prices has to do with a sharp drop in supply due to refineries going offline. Guy