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Indestructible!

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Posts posted by Indestructible!

  1. Oh, eMusic... what a roller coaster ride it's been.

    I started on eMusic back when they offered unlimited downloads. Looking back, those days were unbelievable; I had the download manager running pretty much all night, and their jazz collection was great, even in those early days. Lots of the OJCs, free jazz,etc.. The reggae/ska/international selection was pretty damn good too. I felt a bit guilty, but most of the albums were in 128 Kbps, so I convinced myself that it was all good.

    They got wise and stopped the unlimited downloads, and for a while their subscriptions were good value. Then they got greedy and threw longtime subscribers under the bus in the quest for big money and major labels. Like Shawn, I bailed right around the time the majors starting showing up.

    I also remember when Circuit City was selling $25 eMusic booster pack cards for some ridiculously low price ($4.99 maybe?, or even less than that). I grabbed all the cards I could find, and when it was all done I downloaded over 200 albums at an average price of about 30 cents per album.

    The eMusic message boards were hilarious... the complaints that there was no "real" music there to download (before the majors showed up), the complaints about the download manager (to be fair, it was hot garbage most of the time), and the angst about longtime subscribers getting the shaft... so much drama. Maybe I'll head back there to check on the fallout of this new direction for eMusic.

  2. The Norvo's that date with Diz and Bird, right? Or is there more?

    Yep, Bird, Diz, and Flip in the front line. There are three takes of "Hallelujah," two takes of "Get Happy," two takes of "Slam Slam Blues," and five takes of "Congo Blues." That's it for the first disc.

    The Marmarosa material (11 tracks) has been released several times before. The Garner material totals 14 tracks (3 tracks on disc 4, 11 tracks on disc 6)... I have no idea why they were spread across two discs when all that material could have easily fit on a single CD.

  3. According to Hans (J.A.W.) elsewhere it will be 8 cds. He is also reporting a 10 cd "Modern Jazz on Dial" set.

    What does a "Modern Jazz on Dial" set mean? I gather that was a label? When? Who was on it?

    I've got the 10CD set of the "Complete Dial Masters" that was put out on Spotlight/Toshiba-EMI back in 1995 or so (TOCJ-0001 to TOCJ-0010). Here's a rough breakdown of what is on that release (these are the names on each disc):

    CD 1 – Red Norvo All-Stars (12 tracks, 43:47)

    CD 2 – Dizzy Gillespie & Modern Trumpets I / Charlie Parker Septet (19 tracks, 54:37)

    CD 3 – Charlie Parker Quintet / Night Music by Howard McGhee / Woody Herman Woodchoppers (21 tracks, 65:59)

    CD 4 – Charlie Parker Home Cooking Session / Charlie Parker Quartet / Erroll Garner Trio (24 tracks, 62:12)

    CD 5 – Charlie Parker All-Stars / Saxophone Moods by Dexter Gordon (16 tracks, 47:24)

    CD 6 – Cocktail Time by Erroll Garner (11 tracks, 34:02)

    CD 7 – The Chase by Dexter Gordon & Wardell Gray Quintet / Charlie Parker Quintet (21 tracks, 66:41)

    CD 8 – Charlie Parker Quintet / James Moody & His Saxophone (21 tracks, 64:41)

    CD 9 – Piano Moods by Dodo Marmarosa / The Duel by Dexter Gordon & Wardell Gray (18 tracks, 60:49)

    CD 10 – Charlie Parker Sextet / Dizzy Gillespie & Modern Trumpets II (22 tracks, 60:08)

    Some of these discs are a bit short on time, so I can't see Mosiac just replicating these 10 CDs in their set. If there's more than this, I can't wait to get it!

  4. I have a 6G 160gig IPod Classic that I love very much, especially when I travel, and it's been having some problems that led me to think that I may need to replace it soon. Then 2 days after the recent Apple announcements, I found out that iPod Classic was discontinued. I panicked and scoured the web and local stores. Most places said they no longer have any, but a kindly manager of a local Radio Shack found one 7G 160gig at a distant store and requested that it be sent to her store. Meanwhile, I ordered another one on the Best Buy website. (Apparently, some guy had been driving around the SF area and buying up all available 160 gig iPod Classics, presumably to sell on eBay or such.) I thought at best, I would get one of two in, and in fact received a message from Best Buy shortly after my order saying that they no longer have it. But both arrived in the last 2 days. Now, I have a big dilemma. Do I return one of them? (I hadn't realized that the 7G is so much thinner than the 6G.)

    Let me know if you want to part with one of them.

  5. Early in Bruce Lundvall: Playing by Ear, an authorized biography by Dan Ouellette, published this year through ArtistShare, theres a retelling of a conversation between a teenage Mr. Lundvall and his father, who was a mechanical engineer.

    Bruce told him: When I grow up, I want to be in the record business.

    The reply: Son, youll have to choose one or the other.

    Good story, and a great quote!

  6. Whatever happened to that guy who was doing what he called the RVG project? He appeared very briefly either here or on the BNBB; sounded like he had people working with him, too.

    That was Dan Skea, and I don't really know what became of the RVG project. He did publish an article on RVG a number of years back:

    http://jazzstudiesonline.org/files/jso/resources/pdf/RudyVanGelder.pdf

    I seem to recall that the RVG project had some fairly lofty ambitions behind it... I'd love to know what's happened with it.

  7. My understanding is that live gigs and touring is now the biggest money spinner and concert promoters and venues now give much better deals to the artists than previously. Money can be made, but you're not going to make it on album or download sales.

    The new business model seems to be that Spotify is good at introducing people to new music, but the musician is not necessarily going to make any real money unless they tour constantly.

    I'm OK with this up to a certain extent. However, as I get older I am more keenly aware that to tour constantly/extensively takes a toll on the musicians themselves; they have families that probably want to see them at home on a consistent basis as well. I have a few musician aquantainces who are in their late 30s, early 40s, each with young sons and daughters. I can't imagine trying to raise a family while being on the road 6-8+ months a year (or more).

    The pendulum has definitely swung the other way; artists are told to make their money ONLY through touring, and to expect nothing at all from their recordings. We need to have a better balance between album sales and touring earnings.

    (I fully recognise that I am part of the problem. Although I try to support touring artists as much as I can when they are in town, I don't attend live gigs nearly as often as I used to. More problematic, I spend very little on music these days... between Spotify, YouTube, and the myriad trackers on the internet, I can get the music I seek for "free." I honestly wrestle with the ethical nature of all this...)

  8. There are only a few artists about whom I can honestly say my life was forever changed by having heard their music. Horace Silver was one of those artists. He was on the very first jazz LP I bought as a teenager (Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2), and my life changed the second I heard that piano. There is no way I could ever quantify how much joy his music brought into my life.

    Thank you Mr. Silver, for everything. May your beautiful spirit continue to soar!

  9. Me too. Maybe revive the RVG series?

    Re The Three Sounds again I wonder if the addition of the non-BN material would make it a less samey proposition for Mosaic. It's annoying that the one company that might do a set like this is run by a man with such a strange prejudice against it.

    What, a "prejudice" that it won't sell and they'll lose money on the deal? Cuscuna digs the Three Sounds, but he knows that they won't sell a lick... and I'd imagine the bigger the box the less likely folks will want to shell out the cash for it.

    I'd buy it for sure (even though I have all of their BN work that's been released here in the US and in the JRVG series), as would many/most on this board. So there's a good 50 sales, tops. Who else is going to buy the other 4950 sets?

  10. Primarily:

    Jazz = 1955-1965

    Punk = 1976-1986

    Can't be without:

    Ska/Rocksteady/Reggae = 1964-1974

    If I could pick any two specific eras in time to see live music, though, it would be:

    1.) Emergence of Bop (to see Bird, Bud, Monk, Diz in the early days would've been magic).

    2.) Emergence of Punk (I sort of lived this, but was just a bit too young... to see the Clash live in 1977, for example, would've been insane).

  11. Sonny was supposed to play here in LA a year ago (April 20th, I believe), but had to cancel due to health reasons. I was so excited to know he was scheduled to play, and although I was bummed that he had to cancel, I fully respected that decision. I figured that was likely the last time I'd get to see Sonny play, and sadly that may be the case.

    I'm just grateful to have seen him play live a few times, and hope he lives another 25 years in good health and enjoying life (whether he plays again or not).

    Anyone know the last live gig he's played up until now?

  12. Whenever I see these old archive pages and see the name Mnytime, I wonder if he really is dead or if he was just a really messed up dude. If it's the latter, is he here on the organissimo forums?

    Alright, I might get some grief for this, but... I'm pretty sure Mnytime still posts regularly on this board.

    I've met Mnytime in real life (several times, actually) and see some posting patterns of a member here that are "unique" to the man I know/knew as Mnytime. I'm not going to "out" this poster, as I'm not 100% sure he actually is Mnytime (more like only 98% sure), and it's really his call to make that announcement anyway.

    I'm pretty sure I have the right username... isn't Mnytime the guy whose "brother" came onto the Blue Note board to announce that he had died in a car crash? We all tried to get his real name and the "brother" kept avoiding the question. It was truly bizarre.

    Yep, he's the guy.

  13. Whenever I see these old archive pages and see the name Mnytime, I wonder if he really is dead or if he was just a really messed up dude. If it's the latter, is he here on the organissimo forums?

    Alright, I might get some grief for this, but... I'm pretty sure Mnytime still posts regularly on this board.

    I've met Mnytime in real life (several times, actually) and see some posting patterns of a member here that are "unique" to the man I know/knew as Mnytime. I'm not going to "out" this poster, as I'm not 100% sure he actually is Mnytime (more like only 98% sure), and it's really his call to make that announcement anyway.

  14. Just wanted to say happy (belated) birthday to the Big O-Board. I still remember 03/03/03 like it was yesterday... The BNBB was imploding and Jim took the initiative to build us new home here.

    Thanks to you, Jim, for all that you do for us. It's clear that you are a man of principles and a man of action... you put yourself out there to set up this board, and I am grateful. This is the best place on the net to talk about jazz (and everything else, it seems).

    And, thanks to everyone who makes this a real community (and who ensures that my wallet takes a beating with each recommendation you make).

    I'm not sure what's more sad, though; that after 11 years I only have 600 posts (this one here is #600), or that I have now spent one quarter of my lfe on this board. I can't wrap my head around the latter point... seriously, the O-Board has been around for a full quarter of my life!

    Thanks again, Jim!

  15. As a kid growing up in Canada, I watched SCTV religiously. Harold Ramis was an unbelievably talented writer and producer, and his acting chops were a whole lot better than he ever gave himself credit for. He left an impression on me well before Ghostbusters and Stripes ever came along.

    RIP Mr. Ramis, and thanks for all the laughs you've given us. Somewhere you and John Candy are wailing it up!

  16. Different strokes, I guess.

    I'm going to the Kings-Ducks outdoor game later this month, which I imagine will be fairly garbage in terms of ice quality... but it'll be enjoyable nonetheless. I don't think I'll experience -21 Celsius temperatures like I did at the Heritage Classic, so I got that going for me.

    I do agree that the sheer quantity of these outdoor games will render them fairly inane after a while. The NHL really needs to scale back on these things... once every couple of years is plenty.

  17. I'll be honest; I don't get the appeal of outdoor NHL hockey. It's like playing an NFL game on the dirt road outside Bobby's house.

    As a typical Canadian, the outdoor rink was the first place I learned to play the game. Although I played competitively until I was about 16 years old, I reckon I spent more time time playing outdoors than indoors. I remember playing out on the pond or at one of the outdoor rinks around town pretty much every day until my mother or father would yell at me to get home for dinner (just as well, as my feet were usually completely frozen anyway). Then it was off to bed to get up at 5:00am for practice at the indoor rink (which always seemed to be just as cold as any outdoor rink at that ungodly time of day).

    I took my dad to the Heritage Classic game in Calgary a few years ago... game started in the sun and about -10 celcius, but when the sun went down I froze my ass off. Still, it was a blast, and every player on that ice talked about how it took them back to their days as a little kid on the pond... I felt the same way, and I was just a spectator. It was awesome! And, the Flames beat the Habs 4-0, which is about the last thing this Flames fan has had to cheer about since.

  18. also, FWIW, I was present at the 2007 tribute to Horace that Christian McBride mentioned and i spent time with Horace backstage. he was in a wheelchair at that time and unable to speak, although he seemed to be enjoying the festivities.

    Thanks, Valerie. I was also at that gig and wondered why Horace didn't say anything when he was briefly introduced (he just waved to the audience from his chair). Now I know!

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