Scott Dolan

I suppose, Jim. But, isn't that like asking if I ever heard Coltrane play with Miles in '57? Sidemen. Leaders. Or is that not what we're talking about here?

"Inside going out". That's an interesting way of looking at it. Were either Eric or Sam ever "inside"? I suppose you can say the rhythm sections they played over were. I get your overall point, I'm just not sure that I agree with it.

Perhaps. I don't disagree with your summation, but Blue Note did seem to make some last ditch efforts, did they not? Andrew Hill, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, and most importantly, Sam Rivers. No, they certainly weren't "trying to be" Impulse! or ESP, but they were at least trying to stay in the game at the time. Either way, they lived to have the last laugh. Norah Jones says hello...

And LOTS of it!

Their Arby's sauce on the woefully erstwhile Philly was the shit! But, I'll echo the sentiments of sidewinder and jazzbo. I'm a little too old to be eating THAT recklessly. I will admit, it does at least look kinda yummy...if I had my 15 y.o. heart back again...

Hmmm... That's a really interesting thought. Been a long time since I've really sat down with any of it, but do you think/are you saying that Jones (and Moffett, by implication, contrary to what you stated) may have been trying to push the envelope more than either Higgins or Blackwell? In other words, taking Ornette out of his realm? It seemed as though both Higgins and Blackwell (and Haden, I guess) were still employing some kind of hybrid Swing/Bebop mode that allowed Coleman and Cherry to solidify the approach they were going after, whereas Jones and Garrison had "moved past" that particularly rigid approach. Getting a little in over my head having not revisited this material in many years, but if nothing else, I've got a ton of great music to revisit now that we've had this conversation!

I love Love Call too. It was one of the first I heard of his so that might explain my partiality. Yeah, they are very good, just not the Ornette records I - personally - grab first. Complete Communion is a gas, though I find myself digging into the record with Berger, Jenny-Clark and Aldo Romano more regularly. Even though I don't like the mastering on those three volumes that ESP released several years ago, it must've been fun to watch the quintet (Bo Stief in for J-F Jenny-Clark) in action. Ankara is cool, though I was actually referring to material from a year or two earlier that has circulated, with Maffy Falay and Bernt Rosengren's outfits (among others). And of course the fact that the GL Unit was essentially a workshop orchestra for Don Cherry's music just makes the mouth water... How would you compare Ornette's Blue Notes with the Atlantics? While the Blue Notes may be more "interesting" (can't think of a better term), the Atlantic dates are just more cohesive. Love Call, the Golden Circle dates, and New York Is Now really broke away from the Atlantic dates, but man, when you spin something like Twins, or This Is Our Music, or free Jazz, there's just something "there" that isn't present in the Blue Notes. What the "there" is, I'm not entirely sure. I guess it's like comparing the classic Coltrane Quartet to his late period stuff with Sanders and Ali. The latter certainly breaks away, but the former seemed more a definitive statement. If that makes any sense.

Ah, OK. Sounds like you and I have incredibly similar tastes when it comes to 60's AG. Though, I never have gotten into the European artists. Most of them tend to take it much further than I'm comfortable listening to. I appreciate the talent, just can't get with what they were playing. And Spiritual Unity is arguably the best AG album to come out of that era. If not the best of any era, IMO. That's one "must hear" album that did NOT disappoint! I agree with this. I think New York Is Now is just a fantastic album! Dewey is blowing some really nasty shit on that one.

So who were you AG artists of choice from that era, Clifford? Trane, Dolphy, Ornette, that kind of thing? I do agree that particular genre wasn't a strong suit for Blue Note.

Agreed. Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.

A very good point, but didn't it also get a crown in Penguin? I'll note that I really like Hill quite a bit, and am a hardcore Dolphy fan. Then you look at the rest of the line up with Henderson, Dorham, Davis, and Williams, and you're thinking "slam dunk". That's a serious All-Star band if ever there were one. But, what it ended up being was how Miles described Something Else, his sideman date with Cannonball. "A nice album".

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but I find Point of Departure overrated. That's not to say it isn't a very good album, just not the revelation many make it out to be.

They may have been expensive where you are, but they weren't in Florida.

Tower. I got my CD copy at the Princeton Record Exchange in '91. None of the Tower Records that I visited in Florida did. Neither did Sam Goody's or Peaches. You'd be lucky to find one that had more than 8-10 Coltrane titles. Stores may have been better where you are, but in the culturally impoverished shithole known as The Sunshine State, Virgin was king of the hill.

Yeah, our local one was fantastic back in the day. They had a monsterously deep catalog as well. The night I walked out with Coltrane's Live In Japan was a mind blower. Who the hell would stock that?! Doesn't surprise me that the catalog thinned out, but the price increases are somewhat confusing. That completely defies the laws of supply and demand. BTW, the Downtown Disney Virgin Megastore started out life as a Tower Records.

Terrible news... His date with Yells At Eels is one of my all time favorites of theirs. I asked Dennis if he'd ever record with him again, and IIRC he said that he had somehow lost track of the cat. I guess he had just disappeared from the scene for awhile. Wish I could remember the exact story. Either way, the cat was a fucking beast on the horn.

You said they were expensive, especially at the end. So that implies you meant they were always expensive, just more so right before they closed. The store I shopped at was in Downtown Disney. Nothing is cheap there, obviously. But in the years I shopped there the prices were comparable to every other outlet. They may have gotten more expensive in later years, I don't know...

Yeah, that's a great point. That's why it was so hard choosing between the Yamaha, Roland, and Alesis. There are no substantial differences between them. Thank you for all of your comments.

Yeah, I'd think you'd have to go back a decade or more to find lesser quality modules. Hell, even MIDI was getting pretty advanced by then. Though, one of the kits that was on my list was the Kat Percussion KT3. Very similar in setup to the Alesis kit, and got decent reviews. But the one con that kept coming up was the sound module. I caught a few videos of people demoing the set and it sounded bad compared to what I've heard from the current Alesis, Yamaha, and Roland modules.

Looks like an outstanding set. Did that module come with the SuperNATURAL engine, or was that set built before they released it? If it has it, what are your thoughts on the samples? I've heard some HD samples of both the Alesis and Roland modules, but can't decide which sounds the best. They're both lightyears beyond the last stone age electronic kit I played for a hot minute. (didn't own it)

Really? I always paid $13-15 a CD. I bought my Charlie Parker Complete Savoy & Dial Recordings box set there for $110. Seemed like going rates at the time (this was late 90's through 2001).

Yep, the Roland TD-11K V-Compact was the last one to be cut from the list. I really liked it except for the "compact" part. I prefer my kit be a bit more spread out. I was also somewhat disappointed they had no dedicated ride, which is a huge sticking point for me. It was close, and I'd love to hear their SuperNATURAL engine, but the Alesis module has received high praise and their proprietary Dynamic Articulation is intriguing. I actually wish I had a store within reasonable driving distance so I could demo both. I still think the compact kit would lose out, and likely only due to the size. Which Roland kit do you have? Roland is as rock solid a company you'll find in the music business, IMO.

I'm in the market for an electronic drum kit since I've been itching to play again. I think I've narrowed it down to the Alesis DM10 Studio Kit. http://www.alesis.com/dm10studiokit Does anyone here have experience with this particular kit, or have suggestions otherwise? My budget is a strict $1,000.

Personally, I miss the Virgin Megastore more than any others. Their selection during the CD era was out of this world. Stopping in there at midnight on our way home from City Walk was always a blast. Such a great atmosphere. I put together the majority of my Coltrane collection from there. Often leaving with anywhere from 4-8 discs each trip. While I've gone the way of minimalism these days, there is certainly something to be said for the record store experience.

I never had a run in with Dear Leader during my short stay on his board, but man oh man, there are some incredibly delusional cats over there.