bolivarblues

I just now happened upon this thread, after a prolonged absence from this and other message boards, and the first tune that popped into my head was "Hey Bulldog." This is something I found on some weird Mexican pirate cassette as a teenager at of all places the local Target, and it's been a favorite ever since. I love the sort of James Bond-ish chord progression during the "you can talk to me" bit - the fifth moving up in half-step increments, and the melodic George Harrison guitar solo. And of course the impromptu barking session at the end, drenched in de rigueur Abbey Road ADT. Love, love, LOVE that tune!

So what does it look like? Mine only has two designs; this one for Africa/Brass: And this one for the rest:

I just got the thing yesterday, so I haven't had a lot of time to listen closely, but upon first inspection it seems that the 2-CD Complete Africa/Brass Sessions set has some added reverb that isn't present on the new remaster. Anyone else notice this? Overall, the remastering is improved - nothing drastic, but better bass definition and just a bit of overall clarity. And the discs luckily don't seem to subscribe to the "louder = better" philosophy. Also, my Africa/Brass CD has a different design than the other CDs, an unusual design that I've never seen before. Is everyone else's like this, or did I get some freak version?

Is it just me, or has the USPS really slowed down on delivery time for media mail rates? When I first joined yourmusic.com over two years ago, I would typically get my CD (using the free shipping option) in four or five business days, counting the day it was shipped on. The CDs are shipped from a location in an adjacent state, which may contribute to the expediency of delivery. However, in the last six months or so, the average time for delivery has slowed down to about 7-10 days. I've noticed this not just on yourmusic.com purchases, but also on other online orders using USPS media mail. My latest purchase, for example, was shipped last Monday (April 23), and as of today's mail delivery still has not arrived.

Smoke Stack has always been my least favorite of Hill's 60s Blue Notes (though I don't own and haven't heard Lift Every Voice). As previously stated, Hill's records seem to have very distinct moods and directions and for someone reason the two bass and piano thing doesn't do it for me. He seems at his best when accompanied by a great horn player, such as Joe Henderson on Point of Departure and Black Fire, John Gilmore on Andrew!, and the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy, Sam Rivers, Charles Tolliver, Woody Shaw, Joe Farrell, Dizzy Reece, Bennie Maupin, et al. However, after playing a bunch of his records following his death, I ordered the Smoke Stack RVG (I've got the 1995 Connoisseur Series version) in order to give it another go and see if it might finally rub off on me. You never know, other records have taken this long or longer to reveal themselves to me, which is why I try to never fully give up on something. BTW, listening to Hill's first five Blue Notes last week reinforced what I've believe all along, which is that Point of Departure is not only Hill's finest recording, but also one of the finest jazz recordings of the 60s. Also, I really began to enjoy Judgment even more than previously. The first listening was so powerful that I had to immediately play it again before moving on to Point of Departure (I was working chronologically). Along with the excellent horn players that help make his recordings so special, Hill has always had a fiery drummer (Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Joe Chambers, Tony Williams, Billy Higgins) to help move things along forcefully. Elvin Jones is a shining example here, with some of his most aggresive playing on record.

Strange, I live in Knoxville and this one totally slid in unoticed. Didn't hear a word about it! Damn! Probably wouldn't have made it because of the venue, though, which is quite unusual for a jazz artist, being sort of a hipster/boho hang-out for twenty-somethings who like to lie about on couches in cavernous rooms full of strange, sweet smelling smoke and stare at the bar made of glowing geodes when their ecstacy is just starting to kick in real good. There's at least one actual jazz club here, maybe two if the 4620 Club is still open after the owner passed away recently in a car crash, as well as several other clubs that would make much more sense than the World Grotto.

Saxophone Colossus is probably the best place to start; classic recording that swings from start to finish, with Max Roach and Tommy Flannagan; it was recently released as a Prestige RVG. Sonny Rollins Plus Four is another recently released Prestige RVG; a total smoker, essentially a Clifford Brown and Max Roach recording with Rollins instead of Harold Land. Rollins had an incredibly prolific streak during the period of 1956-1958 before Trane sent him back to the woodshed for a couple of years; you can't go wrong with anything he did during that stretch. In addition to the two I've already mentioned, there's the Blue Notes Vol. I, Vol. II, Newk's Time and A Night At The Village Vanguard, as well as Tenor Madness, Freedom Suite and Way Out West. Following his hiatus, he returned with The Bridge, which along with Saxophone Colossus, is IMO Rollins' best work. Jim Hall adds some amazing guitar work.

I agree on Philly Joe - didn't Evans himself name him as a favourite? Jack deJohnette would have been interesting, but he went with Miles ..... I have to check out that California album - is there any single issue? Hi there, I'm from THE FUTURE. Hang tight and Verve will release California Here I Come in September, 2004. It will indeed be released as a single CD, in one of those nifty digi-pak deals. GREAT recording; Philly Joe really swings hard and pushes Evans to do likewise. As much as I enjoy Evans in his usual introspective settings, California is a refreshing change-up. "Can't swing" my ass! I often offer this as evidence that he could swing like mad if he was so inclined!

As far as pop/rock music, especially in the 60s, it was mastered to sound good on the radio, which was typically a mono, AM setup. It's why something like CCR sounds so great in a crappy old factory car radio. Same thing with mono records; especially with the Beatles, many prefered the mono albums because the most care was put into that particular format due to its popularity. The Beatles themselves were heavily involved in the final mono mix, but the stereo mix was more of an afterthought, handed over to an engineer or even apprentice in some cases because it wasn't deemed that important. Jazz was way ahead of rock in that respect; stereo had caught on a full decade prior to becoming commonplace for rock recordings.

Still available, after the fact!! Check it out, people. Yes indeed! Thanks for the tip; here's another: right-click while holding your pointer over the video screen. EDIT: Just realized that the "save as QuickTime movie" feature that I'm referring to is part of a Windows Media plug-in for Mac called "Flip4 Mac WMV." I'm not sure if this feature is available otherwise, but it's sure worth checking out.

I found one very quickly, and I just purchased it. Thanks to those who replied.

Looking for a reasonably priced copy of Miles Davis' Plugged Nickel set (US). PM me if you're interested.

I really object to having to pay any amount of money, no matter how small, in order to pick up local (commercially sponsored) television. I haven't had cable television in 5 or 6 years, and I've gone through periods of several years at a time where the only television I watched was college football games. I could care less about the quality of high def.; I have a cheap, bulky off-brand CRT television set with a set of rabbit ears that I use to pick up maybe six channels tops, on a good day. It suits my needs just fine; never has the thought occured to me that I need better picture quality. I just don't invest much time in looking at the thing; I'd much rather listen to music and read. But I should be able to turn the thing on and watch the local news without it costing me a cent. For those of us who don't need $5K flat screen TVs and 300 channels of shit, this is a raw deal.

I may be wrong, but it seems that when the Telecommunications Act of 1995 was passed, Clinton made no bones about the reason behind the switch, which was in order to give Japan a "pay back" of sorts during a time when U.S./Japanese relations were soured. It dates back to the "format wars" between VHS and Betamax, which ultimately ended up with the technically inferior VHS the victor. The VHS format was owned by RCA, and Betamax by Sony. Here's where I'm especially fuzzy on the details, but somehow Japan has a vested interested in some technology involved in digital television, so passing this bill was essentially offering the Japanese an economic windfall at the expense of people like myself who barely watch television, as it is, and are perfectly content with analog television. My feeling has always been that whenever the switchover takes place, I'm going to just switch off, for good. Let me reiterate, however, that my memory of this issue is quite fuzzy and some of the details may be incorrect. I was not able to find any information online to back this up, though I didn't spend a great deal of time searching. Regardless, the old saying "follow the money" is certainly applicable here.

This month's queue item, the Frisell/Carter/Motian record, is on backorder. I've never had a queue item backordered, and the help page for backorders is not entirely clear on the procedure for queues on backorder. Will they automatically ship my next queue item, or will they try to get the CD before giving up and shipping the next item? I would hope that they would make every effort to get this first, since I'd really like to have it.

I don't have the complete Prestige set, but I do have the Fearless Leader set. I love Garland's playing, both on the Trane solo records and on the recordings with Miles' first quintet. The only thing that I find lacking with Trane's Prestige material is that his supporting cast is not always quite on the same level as Trane, particularly the drummer. Art Taylor is fantastic, but there are bits with other drummers that really seem lacking. Miles always said that a good trumpet player needs a good drummer, and the same is true for saxes. Trane was always at his best with Elvin Jones behind him, or maybe Philly Joe in Miles' groups or even Roy Haynes when he sat in for Elvin, but I can't help but wonder what his Prestige material would have sounded like with Philly Joe (who was conspicuously absent not only on Trane's records, but on Prestige recordings in general). For example, listen to Louis Hayes struggle through nearly nine minutes of "Come Rain of Come Shine" (from The Last Trane) to come up with just one unique idea. Someone put a mirror underneath his nostrils and see if he's breathing back there!

I was surprised to discover that prior to my post, Grass Roots was the only other Hill album to have been discussed in an AOTW thread. I'm sure you can find an archived discussion of just about any record if you bothered to look, but it's always nice to invite fresh discussion. You gain the insight from those who weren't on board the first go 'round, as well as from those who might hear something different in the record they didn't hear to begin with.

Sorry about the late entry; I've been ill and all feverish the last couple of days, so this one slid by me. Andrew Hill - Passing Ships Dizzy Reece, Woody Shaw (tp) Julian Priester (tb) Bob Northern (frh) Howard Johnson (tu, bcl) Joe Farrell (ts, ss, afl, bcl, eh) Andrew Hill (p) Ron Carter (b) Lenny White (d) VGS, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 7 & 14, 1969. Andrew Hill's Passing Ships is an album that I've been revisiting lately. Aside from Hill's compositions and the sort of heft he manages to get out of a nonet (sounds much bigger than that at times), I'm particularly impressed by the soloists, especially Joe Farrell. And how about Dizzy Reece and Woody Shaw on trumpet? I don't think at the time Hill could have found two better trumpet players. I'm still a bit under the weather and not necessarily brimming with verbosity, so hopefully you guys can take over from here with your comments.

I recently purchased the three-piece Altec Lansing VS2321, and I could not be more pleased! Brilliant, clean sound, with just the right amount of bass from the sub - tight and defined bass, that is. It's not earth-shankingly loud or anything, but plenty for listening in my bedroom through my computer. I've seen them at Target for $49.95, but I got mine online for $43 (with tax & shipping). I've read reviews where people complain about intereference with cell phones, but since I don't own one (nor do I plan on owning one), it's not a big deal to me. I would have paid two or three times that amount to get the kind of sound I get from these speakers; they really are perfect for jazz. Looking at some of the reviews, they may not be right for you if you have to have that horrible thumping bass sound that is so prevalent in popular music, but the sub really brings out the various tonal characterisitcs of a double bass quite nicely, such as the percussive "slap" of the strings against the fretboard.

I just got this one a couple of days ago, so I've only been able to scratch the surface of all the treasures contained within these 5 discs. The musicians involved in these jam sessions represent some of the greatest of that era that falls in between swing and bebop, as well as some of the top boppers of the time. Right off the bat, disc one gives you Benny Carter, Johnny Hodges, Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson and Barney Kessell, all in one group! And there's plenty of solo time for everyone involved; the liner notes are nice in that they denote the order of the solos, though in most cases the musicians have such an easily indentifiable sound that they're not necessary. Elsewhere, we get the likes of Sweets Edison, Stan Getz, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Roy Eldridge (in the same group with Dizzy Gillespie on discs four and five!), Illinois Jaquet, and Lionel Hampton, just to name a few. We are so fortunate that Granz had the foresight to assemble such a stellar cast during their prime and document these jam sessions on record; the sound quality of the remastered discs is quite good, too. What are your favorite performances from this collection? If you don't have the box set, what are you favorites from any of the various Norman Granz Jam Session albums (one through nine)? This one is definitely a must-have; for those who are interested, you can get it through yourmusic.com for $34.95.

Listening again for the first time in a while, and the first time since upgrading my speakers. Reggie Workman on "Song of the Underground Railroad" really stands out on these new speakers; he's just walking all over the place and swinging like mad! And of course there's Elvin back there stoking the fire; so, yeah, what stands out to me this go 'round is just how much this piece swings!

Funny you should mention the muted trumpet; the liner notes for this CD mention Shaw's reluctance to buy a Harmon mute (at Mingus' request), fearing that it would make him sound like Miles Davis. But Shaw plays quite nicely on this record, as well as on Tijuana Moods. Mingus' liner notes for both records speak highly of his playing; he also said that if Tijuana Moods would have been released in 1957 (instead of 1962), that it would have made a "star" out of Shaw. Mingus also said this about Shaw in the liner notes for East Coasting: "He has more than just originality; he has that good originality in that he's not original just to be original." He certainly has a very personal voice throughout this recording. Does anyone know why he didn't leave a bigger mark than he did? Early death, perhaps? Also of note is the fact that Danny Richmond had only one year prior to recording East Coasting abandoned his role as an R&B tenor saxophonist, in favor of his more familiar role as jazz drummer.

Great pick! This one doesn't seem to get the praise of say, Black Saint or Ah Um, but it's one of his finest records, IMO. The sound is totally unlike anything else in his catalog; this is perhaps due to Bill Evans' influence.

I think Coltrane's final Atlantic album, Ole, should also be considered when discussing Africa/Brass. Of course there are many similarities in the music, as well as extraneous musicians (Dolphy, Hubbard, Art Davis). I've always seen Ole as Africa/Brass without the orchestra. It's also interesting to note that the recording session that produced Ole (May 25, 1961) was sandwiched in between the two that produced Africa/Brass (May 23 and June 7, 1961). The sound he gets from these two records is one unique to jazz as a whole, and totally unlike anything else he recorded.