Guy Berger

SERIOUSLY.... 1 for 16??? The Kings actually have to be feeling pretty good about that. Bibby had one of the worst games of his Kings career and they still almost won. I still think the Mavs are going to come back. Guy

That first quarter lead they had yesterday is as close as Philly will get to winning this series. Kind of disappointed in Dirk N. Guy

Uh oh... Tom, now that young Christopher is onto your scheme and will be stalking the Kenny G bin you're going to have to come up with a new plan... Guy

So, at age 16 or 18 or whatever - why be so arrogant to post a thread like this? You need to develope some respect for your audience. I started listening seriously to this music around 30 years before you were born. Why waste our time? Take some time and grow the fuck up. Chuck, Go easy on the kid. I think he just meant to have a fun thread where we post our favorites, not any sort of serious/arrogant assessment of "the greatest of all time". Guy

He plays (and I mean PLAYS) on two Tyner albums, Expansions and Extensions. He matches wits with Sam Rivers on Tony Williams's Spring. And he also shows up on a few albums by Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd. I'm sure I'm missing one or two other BN sideman appearances. Guy

Why do you think Aric got banned from this board? In the interests of good fun, here's a list of the 5 tenor saxophonists I like the most these days 1. Wayne Shorter 2. John Coltrane 3. Dewey Redman 4. Charles Lloyd 5. Sonny Rollins

Wasn't he the guy that played in Dizzy's band in the early 50s? Guy

I watched ten minutes of the Philly-Pistons game. Isn't there a mercy rule to end a series after 1 game if it's just too boring to watch? Guy

It's kind of weird that they would lump classics like Extensions, Expansions and Asante on a box with a high price tag and limited circulation while releasing his two weakest BN albums (Time for Tyner and Tender Moments) as individual discs.... Guy

Top 50????? How about top 5? I definitely wouldn't put it in the top 5 or even 10. Not a diss against the album by any means; depends on what you like, I guess. Guy

If I had to pick 10 favorites from this list, I'd say: The Real McCoy Now He Sings Now He Sobs Black Fire Genius of Modern Music Vol. 2 Ju ju Right Now Fuschia Swing Song Live at the Golden Circle Vol. 1 Midnight Blue Blue Train I recommend avoiding Grant Green's Am I Blue. It's not very good. Guy

Exactly... Detroit's loss to Charlotte is somewhat comparable to the Lakers' losses in the finals. Guy

Soul Station is a classic of the mellow hard bop style. Definitely belongs in a top 50 BN recordings list. In'n'Out is very good as well but not as much as Inner Urge or Our Thing. I'm not sure what else is in the yourmusic catalogue. Guy

But Miami isn't as bored as the Lakers were, and isn't totally dysfunctional because of personal issues. Also, shouldn't a federal judge issue an injunction banning 1st round series in the Eastern Conference until they can field more than 4 good teams? I think the Hornets-Heat series went to about 35 games last year before one of the coaches died and they had to forfeit. Guy

Alright, my predictions: [For what it's worth, Tradesports currently gives the following prices for contracts on winning it all: Spurs (26.5-26.7), Heat (23.6-24.1), Pistons (18.0-18.4), Suns (16.0-16.5), Mavs (6.0-6.3), Rockets (2.5-2.8), Nuggets (2.6-2.8).] 1st Round Miami (1) vs. Nets (8): Yeah, Miami's looked somewhat shaky down the stretch, Vince Carter has been playing great and Richard Jefferson is coming back. But there's only one Shaq and he's only for one team. Miami in 6. Detroit (2) vs. 76ers (7): I pooh-poohed the Piston's chances of winning it all a few weeks ago and it looks like they're intent on making me look stupid. Pistons in 5. Celtics (3) vs. Pacers (6): If Artest could play, this series wouldn't even be close. The Celtics are an unremarkable team in a terrible division. Indiana plays good, solid ball and is determined to prove the critics wrong. Pacers in 6. Bulls (4) vs. Wizards (5): The Wizards seem like one of those teams destined to melt down in the playoffs. The Bulls have had some unfortunate injuries down the stretch, but from the few times I've watched them they seem pretty driven. A few months ago I thought this would be the only viewable 1st round series in the east, but I'm not so sure anymore. Bulls in 6. Suns (1) vs. Grizz (8): Everybody talks about how the Suns don't match up that well against Memphis. I still see the Suns winning this one pretty handily. Suns in 5. Spurs (2) vs. Nuggets (7): The Nuggets have been playing tremendous basketball over the past few months, but they're playing the best team in the league. They've got to hope that Duncan isn't at full strength for any chance. Spurs in 6. Sonics (3) vs. Kings (6): Sonics are the most popular upset pick besides the Celtics, who don't count. I'm not so sure about that. If the Kings manage to field Bobby Jackson (who played last night), Brad Miller and Peja then I have to favor them in 6 or 7. Otherwise, and especially if the Sonics manage to stay healthy through this round (Radmanovic should be coming back at some point) then they'll win. In expectation, Sonics in 7. Dallas (4) vs. Houston (5): The best matchup of the first round, without a doubt -- it's the only series that features two great teams. Houston's really strong with McGrady and Yao. But when you consider Dallas's monster lineup, it's hard to imagine anyway the Rockets can actually pull this out. Houston's still at least 1 season from making serious noise in the playoffs. Dallas in 7. 2nd round Miami (1) vs. Bulls (4): I just don't see the Bulls doing very well in this series. Maybe they can win a few if they play hard. Miami in 5. Pistons (2) vs. Pacers (6): With Artest this would be a SERIES. Without him, I see the Pistons having a pretty easy time. Pistons in 5. Phoenix (1) vs. Dallas (4): This will be one of the most exciting series of the playoffs. It's almost a shame they couldn't wait until the conference finals. Phoenix is the better team, but Dallas is much deeper. I have to think that this one will go to the full 7, and that if Phoenix suffers any serious injuries they will lose. Nevertheless, Suns in 7. San Antonio (2) vs. Sonics (3): The Sonics did very well in the regular season against the Spurs. I don't expect that to continue. Spurs in 4. Conference Finals Miami (1) vs. Pistons (2): I downplayed the Piston's chances a few weeks ago and they seem intent on making me look dumb. At this point I'm even tempted to pick them. But if I cave in and change my prediction at this point, then the terrorists will have won. Heat in 7. Suns (1) vs. Spurs (2): Potential to be an exciting series. Lightning speed vs. methodical grinding-away. As much as I hope Phoenix pulls it out and wins the whole shebang, I gotta go with the best team. Spurs in 6. NBA Finals Miami vs. Spurs: Duncan vs. Shaq in the finals! The Spurs are better, Miami needs more pieces to pull it off. Spurs in 6.

Last night I saw a very cool guitar-sax-drums trio at Rudy's. The cover was 1 or 2 bucks but it was a lot better than some NYC gigs I've paid money to go to! They were pretty eclectic. One of the tunes was a very familiar standard over which the saxophonist played in a very warm, old-school way. They did a blues that at points reminded me a little of Miles's 70s band, and a weird tune that sounded almost King Crimsony at times. They also did Mal Waldron's "Fire Waltz" and a very trippy version of "Stolen Moments". Good stuff! Guy

I heard them last year at the Fez (NYC). They're grrrrrrrrreat! Guy

cool... ok help... if i were to grab 3 or 4 essential blue notes (outside of, say, coltrane and miles), what should they be? This isn't that great of a deal, given Tower's regular prices for BNs. You might want to go to alldirect or yourmusic instead. edit: Whoops, I guess you did the deed. If $30 includes shipping and taxes, a pretty good deal! Guy

look at what i said at the start of the season But Detroit doesn't have a real big man anymore than Phoenix does. I think the Suns' problem is that they're so dependent on their starters. You need redundant pieces in the off-season. I hope they or Dallas take the whole thing, though. Guy

OH MAAAAAAAAAAN... I'm totally going to this thing if I have the time and money. Guy

Amen. He isn't kissing anybody's ass, but he's also not making gratuitously nasty comments like Miles did in his blindfold tests. (I wonder if he was relieved when he found out that Gil Evans didn't arrange that version of "Chelsea Bridge".) I think the comments about Ornette are probably the most interesting thing in what Dan posted -- I've read them before. In the liner notes to Let Freedom Ring, Jackie McLean writes that Mingus told him "Jackie, you have your own sound, why don't you get your own ideas?" I think his statements about Ornette are coming from the same place. Guy

Now how did I forget them! Marvellous albums. They were my backwards way into Ornette Coleman. What do people think of O&ND's version of "Lonely Woman"? It's interesting that given such a distinct composition, these guys were able to get such a different feeling or mood from it. I feel that the problem with some performances of Ornette's music is that people can't capture the "Ornetteness" of the music and smooth out the rough edges too much (I feel the same about Monk) -- for example Bobby Hutcherson's version of "Una Muy Bonita", which I like a lot but is a little soulless. For some reason I feel like O&ND's LW avoids this problem despite being a lot "smoother" than the original. Guy

Or Santa Cruz. SC is a beautiful place, and a great one to visit, but it's a little too isolated for my tastes. I think I'd be itching to go somewhere else pretty quickly. Guy

This is for the people who complained about no-one taking pictures at the Organissimo meetup in Manhattan. Guy

Whatever you do, don't go to San Diego. You might not be able to leave. Guy