Guy Berger

I picked this up a few weeks ago and finally cracked it open. Let's just say that all the effusive praise is deserved -- this is some of the best playing I've heard by Jackie anywhere. The band is terrific and the compositions, while more toward the blowing-vehicle end of things, do their job. This is a substantially better album, IMHO, than Jacknife. (The only other post-Destination Out album I've heard.) I can't wait for Action and It's Time to be released. Guy

What groups do you recommend? Alan, The Quartetto Italiano box (10 CDs) on Philips is quite cheap and I think the performances are outstanding. (Though I'm not familiar with other recordings, just live performances -- they could very well be botching these badly.) They have the virtuosity to pull off the more technical passages but give the music the emotional depth it needs. If you don't want the whole set, you can get the late quartets on 2 Philips Duos; but you'd be missing out on the middle and (to a lesser degree) early quartets. Guy

I discovered the Quartets about a year ago... they are incredible. I'm currently digging into Schubert's final 4 quartets. The G Major is a monstah. Guy

I'm thinking of springing for a complete set of Debussy's Preludes (I already have the Arabesques, Pour Le Piano, Children's Corner and both books of Images). Right now I'm leaning toward Thibaudet. Any suggestions? Guy

Hey folks, I am going to buy a 20Gig MP3 player this week (long flight to Israel coming up and El Al doesn't allow CD players on board) but can't decide between the Rio Karma (cheapest), IRiver or IPod. Anybody have any ideas before I make my decision? Guy

By the way, it was surprising to see Senator John Kerry... I mean John Keeler... come back into the picture last night. (Seriously... could they have made his banners look any more like Kerry's?) Guy

You know, everybody's been counting out the Kings but they were the best team in the NBA for the first 80% of the season. This series isn't over by a long shot and I still have a hard time seeing Sac beating the Spurs, but they've still got a chance at winning it all. Guy

Michael Cuscuna's liner notes to Now He Sings, Now He Sobs say I've heard this similarity mentioned elsewhere as well. But... I'm only a casual Corea fan, and a non-musician to boot, so I'm only familiar with the version of "Spain" off Light as a Feather -- a version which doesn't especially sound like the second section of "Steps-What Was". On the other hand, the section in question does sound quite a bit like "La Fiesta" off Return to Forever (though "La Fiesta" is much brighter, and has that chirpy second theme). Both tunes have very similar vamps, and they seem to use similar scales as a basis for improv. On the other hand, "Spain" has a totally different kind of groove and the melody doesn't sound that similar to either of the other two. So am I missing something, or did Cuscuna get "La Fiesta" and "Spain" mixed up? Guy

So I finally made it through all the sonatas. Aside from the final five, my favorites are the Pathetique, the Pastoral (nice mellow vibe to this one), the Tempest, and the Waldstein. But almost every sonata is at least very good. It's interesting how the first few sonatas (op. 2, 7, 49) are somewhat limited in expressive content and focus a lot on technical flash, but by the remarkable Op. 10 trilogy Beethoven's personality is firmly stamped on the music. And by Op. 22, every sonata is a totally unique creation. Guy

If you had asked me at the beginning of the season whether a Shaq/Kobe/Karl/Gary team would lose to the Spurs in a playoff series, I would have said no way. But at this point, I have a hard time imagining the Spurs doing worse than winning the series in 7. 6 sounds about right. By the way, isn't Bill Simmons the funniest writer alive? Check out this jewel from his most recent column: The bit about Doug Christie later in the article is excellent as well. Guy

They're all pretty remarkable, though I like the live 1969 dates better. I've always thought of this band in terms of an arc that starts with the May '63 Seven Steps to Heaven sessions (where the Hancock/Carter/Williams rhythm section appears) and ends with the final Lost Quintet dates in '69. Guy

I like ESP a lot but I think that unlike the later albums, Miles's playing isn't quite as powerful. Miles Smiles is just an unalloyed masterpiece, IMHO. Water Babies is actually a compilation of two different sessions. The first three tunes feature the quintet with Carter and Hancock, from 1967; the next three tunes, recorded over a year later, feature a sextet with Holland, Hancock and Corea (the latter two on electric pianos). My favorite piece on this is Shorter's "Two Faced". My rec would be to get Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky and Filles. That should give you some understanding of how Miles's music evolved between June '67 and September '68. Then you can fill out your collection with Water Babies. Guy

FWIW, the Pistons split with the Lakers, Spurs and Mavs this year ... Hey, all due respect for beating the Lakers and Spurs (how did they do against Sac and Min?) but I can't see them winning 4 in a playoff series. Maybe against the Mavs. Guy

Barring some sort of disaster, I will be at both. Guy

I can't see the Pistons (or Pacers) winning a playoff series against any of the top 4 West teams. They are totally outmatched in terms of talent. Guy

By the way, did anybody else notice that after 15 mediocre-to-awful episodes, this show is suddenly awesome again? Guy

I'm definitely planning on going to one of the gigs. He was great when I saw him last May. Guy

Slate's Fred Kaplan offers a cranky, but not especially unfair assessment of Wynton's career. I haven't heard The Magic Hour. Guy

You could probably make the case for Solid, with Elvin, McCoy, Joe Henderson, James Spaulding and Bob Cranshaw. Though to be honest, despite more-than-competent playing he's out of his depth in this group. Guy

I'm thinking of buying this album. (I'm a big fan of the Coltrane Quartet's 1965 recordings.) Claude once wrote an enthusiastic recommendation. The reviews (and a sound clip of "If I Die Before I Wake") suggest that Trogdor... er Pharoah is completely burninatin' on this disc. Anybody else familiar with it? It's either Solomon's Daughter or Bill Frisell's Have a Little Faith. Help me make the right choice. Guy

One of the Half Note dates (3/28/65) in the tree is not in Wild's discography. This is the date with the 20 minute Trane-Elvin duet on "One Up, One Down". Guy

The Trane-Ali duets are absolutely essential, of course. There are also some fine Trane-Elvin duets on "Vigil" and various live recordings from '63 and '65. Check out the Dewey Redman / Ed Blackwell duets album on Soul Note. Guy

Horace Silver

By the way, Slate has a fascinating article about the science behind this movie. Guy

I have been itching to dip into Ben Allison's catalogue but can't decide whether to start with Peace Pipe or Riding the Nuclear Tiger. I figure I'll get both eventually. Which one is better? (I'm leaning toward Nuclear Tiger since it has Ron Horton and Ted Nash.) Guy