Guy Berger

I think of him the way I think of Bill Evans - tremendously influential (including on folks that I really like), played on some records and with some groups that I love, but not somebody I get really excited about (though I "get" why others love him). My favorite stuff with him is early in his career - with Chico Hamilton and Jimmy Giuffre.

I hadn't even heard of this album. Why was it not included in the Clifford Jordan Mosaic?

Yup. And certainly X-75 Vols 1 & 2 strongly anticipate a lot of the non-band experiments on Song Out of My Trees, Carry the Day, Makin' a Move as well as the two most recent Pi albums.

I love Cyrille - one of my 2 fave living drummers - and am delighted that he is getting an opportunity to reach a potential new audience via ECM. That said, I look at this lineup and am a little disappointed.

Do you think any of Henry's other music has the same "pastoral" feel? "In for a Penny, In for a Pound" also has a "country" album cover and has a bit of a "country" feel.

I agree with uli, "Grief" is my personal highlight. How do people feel about Henry's absence as an instrumentalist from two of the tracks here? While I love him as a composer/conductor, his instrumental voice is really wonderful and really welcome when it's present.

Can't entirely discount the personal preference element - a substantial minority of listeners genuinely prefer technically "inferior" sound. Guy

Any idea when these coming out? Guy

Enjoyable album!

I have the first two albums as well as the most recent one. All are enjoyable though I'd say the first two are a tier above. I will say that this isn't music for people that want something reflective or "emotionally deep"; it's high-quality, fun overachiever/smart-aleck music. Guy

RIP Bobby - you were on a lot of amazing recordings.

I agree with fasstrack. In general his interviews could be interesting/enlightening but probably not intended to be taken 100% literally.

Love live recordings. Not interested in this.

Fivethirtyeight had a good article on this - Cavs were 4th best this season. Though they were the best "4th best" of all time.

I had a fun conversation with one of my work colleagues when the Warriors were trailing 3-1 about whether the Thunder had significantly underachieved in the regular season*** or whether the Ws had experienced unusually bad luck during this series. (Also probably that Curry was still sub-par post-injury.) My colleague was leaning toward the former explanation, I thought the latter explanation was pretty important. My general opinion is that in sports (as in many other facets of human life) people tend to overweight the significance of recent unusual events. FWIW, if the 4-3 series outcome is an accurate reflection of the probability of Ws winning any given game, the probability of the Thunder going 3-1 in any given 4 game stretch is nearly equal to the probability of the Warriors going 3-0. Both are ~18%, i.e. unlikely but far from impossible outcomes.

Dan, sorry you had to deal with this. This is why I'm intensely skeptical about "investment" in real estate. (Which was obviously not your motive here - just a general comment.)

It's a testament to good packaging and marketing that TB&TAT has such reputational dominance relative to its 2 Prestige siblings. (Not a criticism.)

I'm finally getting around to exploring the music of Japan & David Sylvian. I thought Japan's early albums were OK but mostly forgettable. But Tin Drum is quite good and what I've listened to of Sylvian's solo work thus far (just the 80s stuff) is damn good. If you like Peter Gabriel, the more experimental side of David Bowie, 1980s King Crimson and RIL-era Talking Heads, it's essential listening.

Follow-up to this discussion - in the liner notes to the reissue of BEN WEBSTER MEETS OSCAR PETERSON, it's noted that Webster liked to say that he was NOT one of those saxophonists who knew the lyric to every ballad. Was this Webster just engaging in a humblebrag?

I agree, he's extremely underrated relative to some of his contemporaries (cough Ron Carter cough)

The Josh Redman album is great!

So I finally got around to picking up this album. It's really good - I'd put on the same level as his best ECM work.

I've been spending a fair amount of time listening to this over the past few weeks and am not crazy about it, TBH. When I was younger and really into prog rock I probably would have appreciated it more. BTW, I love Weber's two subsequent albums (Yellow Fields and Silent Feet).

Out of the Getz/Dizzy collabs, I like SITTIN' IN the best. Love the contrast between the 3 tenor soloists.

Hi all, I'm going to acquire a copy of Monteverdi's famous Vespers. The two versions I'm considering are: John Eliot Gardiner w/the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir Andrew Parrott w/the Taverner Consort I've heard and liked performances from both groups, so I imagine neither would be a mistake, but maybe experts here have a preference?