six string

Yesterday I found a nice copy of Brubeck's Red, HOt and Cool on Columbia. It's a six eye mono pressing too and it was only $4.

Are you talking about the Music Matters 45 rpm release of the album? They made an exception to their analog chain for the title tune because of a damaged master tape. From what I remember the defect is on every release except for the first pressings. The flutter was repaird in the digital domain and that is the one exception of a digital signal being used for their lps. It was a painstaking process that had to be done manually. It was mentioned on the Steve Hoffman board before it was released. HD probably used that source for their d/l as I'm sure they recorded the entire album digitally since they are also releasing some of the albums through an XRCD program.

Congratulations to the recording industry for finally waking up and using media that won't last, hence requiring repurchase. Perfect sound forever? They saw what that got them. Lps and cassettes had limited lifetimes so why would they want to make something that would actually last? It goes against most business models.

I've had very few failures in my cdr collection. They can be more prone to scratches so anything I really want to keep I have backed up on my computer. Except for a few instances in my early days when I didn't know better I've used really top quality discs instead of using anything one can pick up in an office supply store.

I saw the Neon Art "single" yesterday but I didn't know anything about it and decided to wait. It's funny that it's being called a single although it is one song on each side but they are both approx. 18 minutes long! I didn't take notice but I assume that it's played at 33 1/3 and not 45 and it won't be appearing on your local top-forty radio station. Do those even exist anymore (top-forty stations)?

I don't have Basra on lp but I have another Blue Note lp from Capitol from 1997 which should be part of the same reissue series and on the back cover at the bottom in small print is says: "Blue Note is a registered trademark of Capitol Records, Inc. 1997 Capitol Records, Inc. Manufactured by Capitol Records Inc. Hollywood and Vine Streets, Hollywood California. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws."

Yes, congratulations on the lp and the price. It's always been my favorite Beatle album too so I've bought more than one copy. I still haven't found or even heard that pressing with the alt. version of TNK on it. I have a U.S. early Capitol mono, an early stereo U.K., a U.S. Apple version and another in the U.K. Blue Box. That's leaving out the three cd versions I have. Total madness on my part and yet I'd buy that alt. version in a heart beat if I saw it.

Roger Kunkel, the guitarist in TWR formed a band with some jazz influencesd called the Acme Rocket Quartet which used to play at a local club regularly but the broke up too. They put out a couple of albums, one of which I still have. Kunkel played a little trumpet and they sometimes played with a small television on a chair with them (with the sound down).

Not super cheap but a great value. I found a copy of Roy Haynes' Cymbalism on New Jazz. It's a deep groove mono w/purple label for $8. It had a copy of small scratches on them and they made some audible ticks while listening on the turntable at the store w/headphones. I cleaned it up when I got home which doesn't fix a scratch of course but the record ended up sounding much better than I imagined and the ticks are pretty short lived and the rest of the lp sounds pretty great. I'm glad I gave it a chance. If I ever see a better copy that isn't expensive I can trade up but untilt then this one will definitely do.

Ya know, I think that was where I first heard Brian Blade too, with Joshua Redman.

Same here, I've always had a soft spot for prog and Krautrock. Can's music has been a total revelation to me this year. Of late I've been acquiring stuff by Gentle Giant, Curved Air, VDGG, Camel, Caravan, Greenslade, Samurai/Web and Gong. Loved the McDonald & Giles album, a real discovery, up there with some of King Crimson's best work. In the 1970s I listened to some of those artists but the McDonald & Giles album always allluded me but a year or two ago a friend gave it to me and it knocked me out. This coming from someone who doesn't listen to much prog anymore.

I saw Lanois and Brian Blade play a duo show in San Francisco at a small venue (Great American Music Hall) several years ago that was pretty awesome. Daniel Lanois was playing mostly guitar and triggering bass and other sounds but towards the end he sat down at the pedal steel and did some amazingly dreamy stuff including a track from his collaboration with Eno on Apollo (Atmospheres and Soundtracks).

I just picked up Spirit Fiction the other day after reading that NYT piece from a couple of Sundays ago. I've only heard it twice so far but first impression is that it's very good. I think the success of the album is based as much on the other musicians on the album as it is Ravi's playing but he seems to have developed a bit more since the last time I heard him which was on someone else's album and not his. The time I saw him was on his first tour with Elvin Jones and though I might be mixing Elvin Jones shows up I seem to recall that Sonny Fortune was also playing with the band as well. Ravi didn't impress me at the show though he was so young and inexperienced at the time that it's no surprise. The only reason for higher expectations was due to his father's name which is unfair. That has to be a huge weight to carry around when you're career is just beginning. Still, I didn't really keep up with him afterwards though I did hear a song here and there. So I'm trying to approach Spirit Fiction on its own terms and trying not to place the John Coltrane yardstick up against it. Like any other musician, the album should be able to stand on it's own without these other trappings that have little to do with it. I will say that both groups of musicians do a good job on the album and so far I give the edge to the more experienced quintet over Ravi's "regular" band.

I'm an odd duck in that way. It must be because I'm a guitar player first so I've been through the loud and fast drummers in my time. It really is a different way of playing technique wise and what I've learned is that once you bring the volume down there are many, many colors/sounds available to you, especially with cymbals that one doesn't get at louder volumes. There are occasional times when I got to strike a cymbal that I'm trying so hard just to stroke it lightly that I have missed the cymbal all together and while it's not desirable, I'll take it over a misplaced loud strike any day.

Maybe he passed on? Another one I have is not a jazz album but by a group that got included in the Paisley Underground in L.A. even though they were from Davis (Northern California), Thin White Rope. It's signed by everyone in the band to Frank who is thanked on the cover for being "rhythm guru." One of the notes says "Frank: What's it like to be a rhythm guru? Love, Jozef" Another one is "To Frank the plank groove dis thang!" signed "Roger Kunkel" At the bottom of the back cover it has Frank French and that was before the interweb and emoticons. The inside sleeve has a phone number for Little Charlie and the Nightcats a local blues band.

I will add an additonal two cents about that brush above too. I've been using one for going on fifteen years and I wouldn't think of not owning one or using it every time I play an lp. I always use it on a newly purchased used record before I clean it. I don't have a machine so I have a manual cleaning technique but that brush is very good it removing loose dust/dirt on the record.

Well I found this thread yesterday and it's taken me until today to finish it so excuse me if my comments here are a digression to where the thread is now but I still wanted to say it. Feel free to ignore it as one sees fit. People who live on the edge whether they are writers, musicians or speakers will almost always shake up the status quo. They have to by definition. It’s not surprising that this discussion has created a lot of spirited discourse and it’s a healthy thing when it doesn’t revert to name calling or questioning other’s people’s opinions in a non-productive way. As the old saying goes, there are few facts here, mostly opinions. Besides the fact that history has usually shown that by definition, the status quo is not going to change radically over a short period of time so it’s hard to imagine a world of jazz where the general consensus changes rapidly, say, every three to five years. It’s never done that and never will. One of the redeeming qualities of hardbop imo is it’s danceability for the most part. One can tap their foot or their glass to the rhythm during a performance and follow along with the changes. I think the majority of jazz fans are of that nature. There will always be those pushing the boundaries and that’s a good thing. It’s part of what defines jazz less we forget. To think though that the music will change in leaps or bounds in short periods of time outside of a smaller group is probably unrealistic. Besides, once enough people join the club there will be that percentage of people who will claim that it’s no longer happening and they have to go out and search for something new. Jazz needs those pioneers. Without them the music will necrose as it arguably has in recent decades. That’s not to say that there still aren’t viable examples of hardbop, bebop or swing out there today. Look at all the resistance to hip hop moving into jazz. The reactions are not dissimilar to those lobbed upon free jazz when it appeared.

Absolutely (re: musicians and ballads). I have the hardest time trying to get my friends to play at a snail's pace and this coming from a trio where I play drums instead of my more experienced guitar playing. One of my favorite things I like working on more than anything on the drums is playing slow and quiet.

Circa 1990 our local NPR station that had been playing jazz at night only decided to add a second station that would be totally jazz (KXJZ) and to celebrate this momentus occasion they threw a big party at the local Hyatt utilizing the various bars/restaurants/poolside/lobby to allow multiple acts either simultaneously or allowing a reduced pause between acts. It was a pretty incredible list including Jimmy Scott, Joey Calderazo, SFBay Area singers Madeline Eastman, Kitty Margolis and Ann Dyer and a few local acts. Joey Calderazo was playing solo piano in the lobby and towards the end of one of his sets Jimmy Smith, who was living in Sacramento at the time, sat in (literally) next to Joey and played a little with him. When they finished Joey took a break and we were rewarded with a set by Jimmy. That was the first and only time I ever saw him play piano although he did play many times at the local jazz club either with his own group or sitting in with others. That Hyatt celebration was one of the best multi-group jazz shows I ever witnessed in Sacramento.

Thanks to all for their stories and the music posted. Von Freeman is one of those cats I never got around to checking out. I remember many years ago seeing one of his cds at Tower and I almost bought it but didn't for some reason. After reading and hearing everything in this thread I now know that was a big mistake. I have some catching up to do. I've made a list from that newspaper article that I'll use to find me some Vonski. As sad as anyone's passing is, he sounded like he lived a full and beautiful life and that's the best any of us can shoot for. Rest easy Vonski.

I have that Sound Suggestions on ECM that someone mentioned. It's probably one of my favorite albums on that label. The only other albums I have is the Pullen Mosaic Select. I've meant to get more of his music but it seems there was always something else I wanted more when I saw one of his albums at a store. Now they are a lot harder to find.

How is that album? I saw a copy at a local store recently and wondered if I should pick it up. NP Dear John C. - Elvin Jones (Impulse!) stereo "van gelder" pressing.

I really like the Top Of The Gate set and that's not one of my favorite trios from Bill's ouevre. It's a very energetic set overall and the sound quality is very good. I have the vinyl version and I've only played it twice so far. I've held off playing it anymore until I can set aside the time to put it on cdr to have for the car or when I'm listening but not able to sit in front of the stereo to flip the record every 10 or 15 minutes. I was reluctant initially because with a few exceptions I've never liked the Verve era very much, prefering the Riverside and Warner Bros. albums much more. I caved once I saw a copy at the store and I'm glad I did. There really is some good playing on the album.

Most excellent! New Mingus for the fall. I'm really looking forward to this. Too bad they aren't doing a vinyl version although it would make a massive volume.

Another fan of Mose here. I only own albums from his Prestige and Atlantic period so I can't comment about the Columbia/Epic stuff except that if you haven't heard the P And A material you should not waste any time acquring some if you can find them. All of my albums are on vinyl so I don't know what's available if you are analog challenged. One thing I noticed a while back when I began picking up these lps is that the drummer Ron Free, who's quite an excellent drummer was a major player from that loft in NYC that was documented in photos and recordings by the famous Life photographer W. Eugene Smith. If you see any Mose Allison albums with Free you can buy them with confidence.