kh1958

There are certainly clean copies out there - I've amassed probably 8 or 10 titles over the years - but for the most part they're trashed. That is my experience as well. Argos turn up fairly frequently, but they are almost always in lousy condition. In near perfect condition, they sound sublime. Someone with the initials RLL kept his records in great condition, only writing his initials on the back cover and placing a numbered sticker on each one. (Since the stockers went up into the 400s, I'm wondering what happened to the rest of the collection.) I was able to find twenty vintage jazz records from this person's collection, at low prices--including the three Jamals, Art Blakey--Drum Suite (Columbia, six eyes) Will Bradley-Johnny Guarnieri--Big Band Boogie (RCA Living Stereo)--Amazing sound on this one. The History of Jazz, volume 4 (Capitol, turquoise label) The Sound of Paul Horn (Columbia six eyes) Manny Albam and the Jazz Greats, Jazz New York (Dot) Dinah Washington--What a Difference A Day Makes (Mercury) Jo Stafford--Jo + Jazz (Columbia six eyes) Dinah Washington and Brook Benton (Mercury) Stan Kenton--Roadshow (Capitol) Coleman Hawkins--The Hawk Swings (Crown)--The only one in the collection in less than stellar condition. Jonah Jones--Jonah Jumps Again (Capitol) Something New, Something Blue (Columbia, six eyes) Benny Goodman--Benny Swings Again (Columbia six eyes) Dave Brubeck--Time Further Out (Columbia six eyes) Dave Brubeck and Jimmy Rushing (Columbia six eyes) Jack Sheldon--A Jazz Profile of Ray Charles (Reprise) Al Hibbler--Monday Every Day (Reprise)

Ahmad Jamal, Volume IV (Argo). It's a good week when you find three Argo Jamal's in perfect condition (also, At The Pershing, volume 2, and At the Penthouse)..

Have you ever noticed that the version of "Take the A Train" on here doesn't settle into a groove until about halfway through the tune? Amazing that this take was approved. I'm speaking of my copy, BTW. No idea if this was corrected in later pressings. I'm talking about the part where the whole band kicks in. I didn't notice on my first listen (just found a nice copy of this), but I'll listen again.

A 57 inch Mitsubishi DLP. I am very happy with it.

Blues and Roots and Oh Yeah are well recorded. The Clown is better recorded than Pithecanthropus Erectus, but compare it to Tijuana Moods, featuring almost the same band, and the RCA recording is far superior sonically.

Duke Ellington--The Popular Ellington (RCA)

Just this evening, I found a nice clean copy of The Jazz Makers (a Columbia anthology) on LP, and the very first song, which I have heard before but maybe not really heard until this listen--Louis Armstrong, Savoy Blues, the Hot Five plus Lonnie Johnson--it sounds glorious.

I'm not sure that it's the mastering of that particular issue. It's a January 1956 Atlantic recording in mono. I don't have the original issue (or any pre-1970s LP issue), but every version of this I've ever heard (on LP and CD) make it sound like a sub-par engineering job. The music cuts through that concern, though--it's fantastic.

Or Dallas.

I ordered the new Chico Hamilton trio recording, It's About Time, on Joyous Shout, from dustygroove.

While Charlie Byrd is hardly comparable to Bola Sete or Baden Powell, he actually made some pretty nice records on Riverside, I've recently discovered. You might want to listen to At the Village Vanguard, At the Gate, or Solo Flight. These are fine recordings, in my opinion.

Perhaps indeed! I like the first track the best.

Duke Ellington Presents (Bethleham) Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing, volume 2 (Argo)

The Modern Jazz Quartet--European Concert, volume 2 (Atlantic, blue and green label)

Art Blakey--Drum Suite (Columbia six eyes) Coleman Hawkins--The Hawk Swings (Crown) Stan Kenton--Roadshow (Capitol)

Sun Ra reissues on the horizon (per Dustygroove) Sun Ra -- Beyond The Purple Star Zone (expanded 2CD edition) . . . CD Around December 15, 2008 Tremendous lost work from Sun Ra -- recorded live in Detroit at the start of the 80s, and only ever issued briefly on a limited Saturn Records pressing! Given the show's setting in the Detroit underground, the material has an especially hip sound to it -- a return to some of the more righteous mode ... Sun Ra -- Live In Rome 1980 . . . CD Around June 15, 2008 Sun Ra -- Lost Reel Collection Vol 5 -- The Universe Sent Me . . . CD Early May, 2008 Sun Ra -- On Jupiter . . . CD Around August 15, 2008 Righteous Ra from the end of the 70s -- one of the most soulful albums ever by the Sun Ra Arkestra, and a lost treasure that's got some nice funky moments! The vibe here is very much in the Lanquidity/Disco 3000 mode -- an extrapolation of styles best known from the Space Is The Place era, tightene ... Sun Ra -- Sleeping Beauty . . . CD Around June 25, 2008 One of the most soulful Sun Ra albums ever -- very much on the Lanquidity tip, and done with a great mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation! The vibe here is really mellow, spiritual, and warm -- and the album actually feels a lot more like a session recorded for the Strata East label than it ... Sun Ra -- Stars That Shine Darkly (expanded 2CD edition) . . . CD Around October 15, 2008 Sun Ra All Stars -- Sun Ra All Stars -- Milan, Zurich, West Berlin, Paris 1983 (5CD box set) . . . CD Around May 15, 2008 Sun Ra -- Sun Ra Live at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium 12/11/74/1968 Pacifica Radio Interview (2CD set) . . . CD Around July 15, 2008 Sun Ra -- Sun Ra Live At The Newport Jazz Festival 1969/Sun Ra Live At The Electric Circus 1968 . . . CD Around June 15, 2008

The Sound of Paul Horn (Columbia, six eyes).

Al! Say it ain't so! I suggest a few trips to New York City and/or Chicago, where you can actually hear live jazz. That should bring you back to your senses.

The one I found is a clean copy, a promo, perhaps unplayed--$10.

He's at Birdland in New York just before Memorial Day, leading a sextet.

Dave Brubeck--Jazz Goes to College (Columbia, six eyes, promo).

Duke Ellington--Hi Fi Ellington Uptown

Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Billy Taylor, Mary Lou Williams, Charles Bell, Willie the Lion Smith--The Jazz Piano--(RCA)--It says copyright 1966, and no one in 42 years cared to even open the record--but I sure enjoyed listening to it for the first time.

Duke Ellington--Ellington Uptown (Columbia six eyes) For Jazz Lovers (Emarcy anthology) The Jazz Piano (Ellington, Hines, Willie the Lion Smith, Mary Lou Williams, etc., recently reissued as a Mosaic single) (RCA--still sealed).

There's another solo Pullen recording on Horo, Five To Go.