Guy Berger

It probably has to do with price elasticities. Since RVGs are generally titles that Blue Note expects to sell to an audience wider than hardcore collectors, the quantity sold is probably more sensitive to price changes than that of Connoisseurs. Guy

On record, I've found Ware to be a bit unrelenting. His playing is just SO HEAVY that I find it difficult to listen to a whole CD at a time. That kind of intensity translates much better into live performance. Guy

Not exclusively flute and vibes, but both Bobby Hutcherson's Dialogue (w/Sam Rivers) and Components (w/James Spaulding) feature such a lineup on some tracks. Guy

I am thinking of getting an Arnett Cobb CD. Should I go for the Delmark collection, or one of the Prestige albums? And if Prestige, which one? Guy

Here's a review of the album. Guy

Et Cetera is my favorite Wayne session from the Blue Note years. The performances by all five musicians are unbelievable. Guy

I don't have a problem with the term "Coltrane-lite" -- considering how heavy Trane's music was, almost ANYBODY following in his footsteps would be "lite". It's not an insult to Lloyd. As you say, Lloyd has put his own creative spin on the Coltrane legacy and taken it to interesting places. Lloyd is also "Coltrane-light" in the sense that his tone is playing is much softer than Trane's. Again, not an insult at all. Does anybody else feel that his sound was a little thin on the Hyperion with Higgins / Water Is Wide sessions? It sounds much, much richer on Canto and Voice in the Night. Guy

I'm listening to Keith Jarrett's Treasure Island. Dewey's playing on "The Rich (and the Poor)" is so incredibly full of deep, deep soul that it blows my mind every time. Guy

Is it easy to find Acoustic Masters? It seems to be out of print. Guy

"The Monk and the Mermaid" (from the Water Is Wide) is one incredible duet! Anybody else with me on this? Guy

Like you, I'm in the beginning stages of exploring classical music. You might want to check out the late Beethoven string quartets (Opp. 127, 132, 130+133, 131, 135). The various slow movements are some of the most profound, sublime music on the planet. In fact, it was Francis Davis's comments in the liner notes to Interstellar Space* which made me seek these out. The early (Op. 18) and middle (Opp. 59, 74, 95) quartets are also very good to excellent but not quite as "heavy". I'd also recommend the Janacek (esp. #2 -- "Intimate Letters") and Bartok quartets (esp 3, 4, 5) -- they are more challenging than Beethoven's, but very powerful (though quite rhythmically active). Finally, Sibelius's 4th Symphony is a very dark, austere, introspective piece of music that I recommend highly. (Also check out the tone poem "Tapiola" by the same composer.) Guy *"As with late Beethoven, there is always going to be disagreement surrounding the music of Coltrane's last two years, a period when even some fellow musicians began to question his sanity (though never his integrity)."

Damn straight. It deserves the "State of the Tenor" treatment or what? Someone[bN] should record their next tenure for a multi-cd set. Plus the bonus dvd. Bruce Lundvall was there for the second set, so you never know. I forgot to bitch him out about the BNBB. B) Guy

I saw these guys last night. I'm embarrassed to say that I only recognized three Monk tunes ("Off Minor", "Crepescule with Nellie", an amazing "Misterioso") and one other tune that I can't recall the name of. Anyway, they were amazing. Three musicians that are totally at the peak of their respective instruments. Lovano gave one of the best tenor performances I've seen -- overflowing with ideas, never a dull moment. And hearing Frisell in a (relatively) straight-ahead was something. Motian is such an incredible drummer. Sorry for gushing. Guy

I remember seeing the AMG rating of 5 stars and being really excited at picking this up. When I popped in, I kept expecting Sonny to burst into a confident solo full of ideas... and it never happened on the title track. Instead he sounds a little lost (unlike Freddie). The Jones-Garrison team absolutely cooks on this track, but not enough to sustain interest through the whole 20 minutes. If somebody knows what I am My opinion of the last two tunes is much better. Guy

Mike, David Wild's website has a correction to his liner notes -- it is, in fact, a tamboura. An Oud is not an Oud Guy

Enlightenment is a great release, but I get ear fatigue listening to the whole thing at once -- sometimes McCoy is pounding you into submission. Sama Layuca (w/Gary Bartz and Bobby Hutch) is also a great one. Guy

Grant Green's "Am I Blue" is pretty lame, but not because of Joe's presence. Guy

BMG has this in their catalog -- you might be able to land a copy for cheap during one of their promotions. As far as retail outlets, www.alldirect.com is selling it for just under $70. Guy

The Name of the Rose (by Umberto Eco) -- My second time reading it... incredible! Guy

Hopefully I'll catch these guys next week... Guy

I actually like his playing on the Lloyd albums quite a bit. Hyperion is the weakest of the 3, though. You really owe it to yourself to listen to Higgins's work with Ornette if you haven't heard it already -- it's amazing. He also does similar stuff on Jackie Mac's Let Freedom Ring. Guy

Sweetnighter is a rougher, rawer album than Mysterious Traveller -- there's a lot less orchestration and post-production. Guy

Essential. Sweetnighter is WR's best album (barring perhaps Live in Tokyo). "Boogie Woogie Waltz" stands out simply because it's so funky and catchy, but each of the tracks has something to offer. Guy

Just a few posts ago, you claimed that Miles was listening to (and influenced by) groups like Nucleus and the Soft Machine. I'm still waiting for any sort of facts on the subject... Guy

Miles discovered Dave Holland at Ronnie Scott's playing with Bill Evans (Chambers, p. 142-3). He discovered John McLaughlin playing with the Tony Williams Lifetime in the United States (Chambers, p. 154). Neither context suggests any familiarity with British jazz-rock (Nucleus, Soft Machine, Keith Tippett) as you suggest. Do you have anything more substantial to offer? Guy