Indestructible!

Hi Jazzdude, Yep, exactly what Matthew said. I sometimes volunteer at KKJZ, usually during their funding drives, and one of the things the station does each funding drive is to have a little "popularity contest"... you know, we'll ask the person making the donation to nominate somebody for "The Best Jazz Performer of All Time", or "The Best Jazz Song of All Time", stuff like that. I can tell you that the answers given are always the same mainstream things, year after year. It's always Miles, Dave Brubeck, "So What", "Take 5", etc. I have yet to hear any caller say "Ornette Coleman", or "Ascension". I think I'd have a heart attack if ANY caller I took nominated a Free Jazz (or even Soul Jazz, or Fusion for that matter) musician or tune. Having said that, I love KKJZ!!! The range IS narrow, and I wish they'd have at least a few hours per week devoted to other types of jazz (especially the Avant Garde), but it's always nice to know that I can turn on the radio at any time of the day or night and hear some good jazz! I do miss Chuck Niles though... he was a good dude! Cheers, Shane

My guess is that it's Todd that clicked on the "Got 'Em All" box in this vote. His quest for the Ike Quebec Mosaic needed to complete the collection was something we've all followed since the days of the now defunct BNBB. Out2Lunch indeed! And to him, I say congratulations! Wish I could click that box someday, but for now I'm somewhere around 40 Mosaics/Selects. Cheers, Shane

Hi All, Hey, didn't we actually find an answer to this question over on the defunct *EMI Subsidized Jazz Label* BB? If memory serves, I thought 1533 was reserved for a Horace Silver date that apparently didn't go well, and Lion actually gave the tapes to Horace for him to destroy. BUT, now that I look over the BN Discography (THANK YOU, messrs. Ruppli and Cuscuna!), I don't see any mention of a Horace Silver date around that time. Maybe I'm confusing the planned 1553 with a "rejected" Live at Pep's session recorded by the Horace Silver Quintet some years later??? Hummmm? Cheers, Shane

Yeah Jim and Lon, You know it! Like I said earlier, this is a GOOD album for what it is! And it rewards the listener who gives it more than one shot! B) Cheers, Shane

Hi All, Well, I'd be pretty happy if Mosaic issued a Select of my man Freddie Roach (or Frederick, as he's listed on All That's Good... which, as Grey notes, is an album that takes a while to get used, but is worth it!). I've got all of Roach's dates as a leader, and most as a sideman. He was good at what he did... nothing earth-shattering or innovative by any means, but some good grease most of the time! At the very least, I think Down To Earth should be reissued by Blue Note. Some good playing on that one! Cheers, Shane

Good point, Shane, and very true. Still, why would it matter if they reissue these sessions, especially with superior masterings? We should be happy. I paid a collector's price for many of my cds, as did a lot of people on this board, I'm sure. I traded in my old copy of "Black Fire" for $4.50 trade credit on the new RVG. I had originally bought it for $23.00. In the end, I just wanted the music. The collectability aspect is less important. On the other hand, once these copy protection discs take over, then you'll find your older cds becoming more valuable as collectables. Hi Conn, Yeah, as I said, I'm more than glad the old Conn's and CC's are being revived... True Blue and One Step Beyond should ALWAYS stay in print! I guess my point is with Blue Note's marketing strategy more than anything else. The whole notion of "Limited Edition" is really rather bogus if you just keep re-releasing titles time after time. I don't buy music or CD's to make money off of them, so I don't really care if they get re-released again (thereby reducing the "value" of any CD's I might have)... although I'm sure there are more than a few speculators out there who are pissed that certain titles are being reissued again. Just don't insult me by telling me these are "Limited, Never Available Again" things if they show up every few years. Aside from that, I'm glad these are being reissued in the RVG series. Hopefully, one day, we'll see EVERY Blue Note session reissued on CD (and remain in print)! Wouldn't that be the day!!! Cheers, Shane

Hi Ray, Oh man, if you saved that quote somewhere, I'd consider putting it in as my own signature! It was too funny!!! Although, I gotta admit, I still laugh pretty much every time I read your sig! B) Cheers, Shane

Hi Ray, Hey man, you gots to know the REAL history of your own signature! It didn't come from the old BNBB, it came from a review of a Miles Davis CD (Birth of the Cool, I believe it was) on the actual Blue Note company's website. In fact, your signature wasn't even the best review of the CD given... For a few short days, there was a review by a guy who claimed that he and his "lover" used to listen to BOTC while getting off in some strange homoerotic sexcapades. It was hilarious! I pointed this out to the old BNBB, and then a few days later the suits at Blue Note took down the reviews. A pity, really... PSA good deed done for the day... "The More You Know"... Cheers, Shane

Thanks Kevin, This is a good list (I have them all, but may upgrade a couple)! Having said that, here's two observations: 1.) Never, never, EVER believe Blue Note when they throw around terms like "Limited Edition", or "Collector's Choice", or "Connoisseur's Series". Eventually, all titles will get reissued again (and again, and again)... Look at how many CC's and Conn's have been released in the past few RVG batches, even though they were initially "limited edition, and once they are sold out, they are gone!". For the record, I'm absolutely ecstatic that these titles are being reissued again for the next generation of jazz fans (or those who missed them the first time around)... but "Limited Edition"? My ass! 2.) Where on earth are the RVG's of Back at the Chicken Shack and Midnight Special??? These are absolute CLASSICS, and should've been upgraded in some of the first RVG's ever put out! It's about time that Horace Silver & the Jazz Messengers is finally seing the RVG light of day. All in all, though, this is a good list!!! Cheers, Shane

Sent PM's to apaman and Big Al. Cheers, Shane

Up! No one looking for this??? Cheers, Shane

Hey Shawn, Yeah, I agree with you that Creed needed to go, and thankfully they did. But man, please don't call Creed an Emo band!!! They were sooooo far away from anything related to that genre.... Man, there is NO WAY my mind can even fathom or imagine Creed on Jade Tree Records!!! Cheers, Shane

SNAP! The Buddy Bolden cylinder..... Damn, he sounds just like Wynton! Cheers, Shane

Hi All, I've got an open (but still mint) copy of Tina Brooks - True Blue for trade or sale. This is the Connoisseur's Series CD released a number of years ago, with the wonderful bonus tracks included! I'd rather work a trade first, and I am looking for the following (CD's only - in order of preference): Jimmy Smith - Cherokee (Japan TOCJ) Jimmy Smith - Trio + L.D. (Japan TOCJ) George Adams - America James Blood Ulmer - America, Do You Remember The Love? Yusef Lateef - Before Dawn (Verve Elite) Or, make another offer you think would work! I am looking for a few other Verve Elites as well (Lalo Schifrin, Meade Lux Lewis, Louis Bellson, Jack Teagarden), and I pretty much dig any of "The Soul Jazz Collection" that Victor Japan put out a number of years ago (VICJ). If none of these come through, I would be willing to sell the disc... any reasonable offer would of course be considered. I'll wait a bit first to see if a trade comes through before I sell, though.... Just PM me! Cheers, Shane

A Great Big.... HELL YEAH!!!! Cheers, Shane

Hi All, And two more Vee-Jay sets go down today (one of each). I also decided to get the Duke Pearson Select based on Conn's recommendation! Man, I'm thinking these Vee-Jay sets will be gone SOON! Cheers, Shane

Happy Birthday Charlie! And congratulations for making it 18 years without driving your old man to a mental institution! Cheers, Shane

Blind Killer Brown! Damn, I like that.... wonder if I'm any relation to Charlie Brown? You just know that with that big ol' round bald head of his, and the abuse he took as a child, that at some point in his life he went on a major killing spree! Wonder why Schultz never drew that up??? You know Lucy would be the first to go....... Cheers, Shane

Hey Noj, Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you, but...... there were a few sets where Bobby and McCoy didn't sell out when they played together here in February. And, I have seen them play several separate gigs where the house wasn't packed. In fact, I remember seeing Hutch one night at Catalina's where he played to 15 of us. Los Angeles always confuses me... just when I get pissed off about the lack of support (e.g., being part of an "audience" of 10 people when Andrew Hill played the Jazz Bakery a couple of months ago, and even less when Sam Rivers played one night at the same venue), I'll see an absolutely packed audience every now and then which restores my faith in the city (like Hutch and McCoy at Catalina's, Wayne Shoter at USC, the Vandermark 5 at Rocco's, or even Joseph Jarman at the MAK Center). I'm hoping that Horace Silver decides to play here soon! It pains me to know that I live so close to the guy, but have never had a chance to see him play live! Cheers, Shane

Randy, Please accept my sincerest condolences. Your mother sounded like a person I would have loved to have met. Please know you have an entire community of bothers and sisters here to help you anytime you need it. Shane

Quite Rightly!!!

Yeah Jim! Congrats, and enjoy the ride!!! Cheers, Shane

Hey, Hey, HEY!!! NO baiting earthquakes, ya hear! I teach here at Cal State Northridge, which was pretty much leveled in the 1994 Northridge quake... 57 people in the surrounding community died... the campus was a complete mess... thankfully the quake occurred early in the morning and school was not in session, otherwise it could've been real nasty around here. It's amazing what 10 years can do though... the FEMA money has pretty much built us a brand new campus, and the place looks great! Oh yeah, I don't even notice any of those tremors we constantly get either (I sleep right through 'em)... but I'd rather not feel another 6.7, if you know what I mean! Cheers, Shane And, oh yes..... HAIL ATLANTIS!!!!

Hi Conn, Yeah, VERY few cats made any money at all from playing ska and rocksteady after reggae took hold. A lot of early ska/rocksteady performers were pretty much the equivalent of "one-hit wonders" and faded away very quickly. Of the few that I know/have heard of, they mostly ended up driving cabs, tending bar, etc... pretty much the types of gigs I expect most jazz musicians also ended up in after not being able to live as a musician. One damn cool thing about living in New York... Coxone Dodd has a place in Brooklyn, and I'll be damned if that guy doesn't know pretty much everything there is to know about the Jamaican music scence since the 50's. What an absolute font of information!!! If ever there was a need for an autobiography, Sir Coxone's is it! His life story actually reminds me of Alfred Lion's in many ways (although I unfortunately never had a chance to meet Mr. Lion). Cheers, Shane

Ha! Sir L.S. Biggs? Can't be no one other than Ellis Biggs!!! B) Keep 'em coming man! I'm diggin' the hell out of these! Cheers, Shane