Dan Gould

I didn't post on that one yet either--put me down on the "Before Easter" schedule too. Put me down on the "before Christmas 2005" list. That's the next time I plan to pull out all of the other jazz Christmas discs. B-)

I don't know if this isn't just a human response that combines modern technology and recent disasters. Look at the hoax photograph of the tourist on top of the WTC with the plane right behind him. That one was as ridiculous as this photograph (seriously, with the cars that close to the ocean and everyone's driving in a straight line, la di da, who could possibly believe that was real??) with the guy wearing a down coat on a warm September day.

Sorry that its not up to the standards of Nessa Records. Personally, of all the artists who might do Ray Charles tributes in the future, I can't think of anyone I'd rather hear than Fathead. So, Chuck, were you offended by Houston Person's tribute to Etta Jones?

A resounding NO. I have the opposite problem, but that's just cuz I'm a Virgo.

About 15 years ago, the Black Lion stuff - both Ben and Dex - really made me stand up and take notice of Kenny Drew, so it was great all around!

You're getting cause and effect mixed up, Scott. The taunting, etc., that you are applauding kids for happens only because its what they see their "heroes" do.

Funny you should ask ... ever since Sunday when I started working on another commemorative Red Sox flash movie, their victory song, "Tessie" by the Dropkick Murphys will not leave my head ... not even when I sleep. In case you're wondering, that's both a good and a bad thing.

I'm with Noj - respect the game and respect your opponents. Terrell Owens is world class in one thing-being a jackass. As far as Moss goes, he was, is, and always will be a punk and I hope his comeuppance comes very soon.

GoM, I believe recently there was an NYT article that reported this fraud and also went deeper into the whole issue of greater and greater fraud in the antiquities market, with special attention to this man.

I don't know it ... and now I'm afraid to go find it. I really don't have the money for a wah-wah pedal for my nonexistent guitar.

Well, Brad, glad you're so enthused. Personally, I don't see the starters in the way you do - Zambrano and Benson but no Leiter? Forget the bullpen-the starting staff isn't going to be very good anyway. Beltran will be a great addition for his speed and defense; unfortunately playing in Shea is going to have a very negative impact on his power numbers. He'd put up 40+ homers if he'd stayed in Houston or gone to the Bronx or Wrigley. In Shea, he's probably around 28-30 homers. Its an awful lot of money for a guy who hit .268 last year. We know he provides great defense, I think he needs to prove that he can be a big bat in a lineup on a consistent basis. I also have my doubts about him in New York, period. Now he is the star and has to perform. I understand he's deeply religious, shy and reserved. How will he act with the NY tabloids and talk radio when he hits a rough patch? He was much better suited to Houston where he was surrounded by so much talent he didn't have to be the saviour. Glad you're happy though, seriously! Time will tell if its a great move or not. Its almost certainly a smarter signing than Pedro was.

How about a price check on the Phillips HN100? And Marty, may I ask what the point is for noise cancelling headphones for late-night listening? I know you're neighborhood-its not Neighborhood Party Central. .... I guess you just want to buy a single set of headphones, but I have to say, " intend to use these at home to listen to music late at night " sure sounds weird.

Why don't you take out a big ad on a billboard in Times Square announcing the opening of a new site dedicated to mass copyright infringement? I mean, you want to screw them, you gotta do big numbers to really screw 'em. Plus, don't you want them to know they screwed us so we're screwing them? Just one thing: I nominate YOU to host the website.

Haven't you followed this at all, Berigan? It was all over the news last week that contrary to what everyone assumed, the Yanks would NOT be involved in the Beltran sweepstakes. And that was true. And he had to know that the Mets were deeply involved, so it stands to reason he doesn't care since he chose not to. Now, I do believe that in a year or two, Steinbrenner WILL be screaming at someone over letting Beltran pass by, because his team is frankly getting older than dirt and they missed out on a star centerfielder who would have hit 40+ homers in the Bronx, easily, and fielded better than Bernie Williams on Bernie's best day, which is long, long gone. There's an excellent Jayson Stark column on why the Yanks aren't locks to win it all here.

Does Billboard do their Hot 100 by region? In the late summer of 1969, "Hello, I Love You" reached number one. Do you think it would have gotten there if "The Doors were mainly popular in the West"???

Chemistry, yes, but an at best mediocre glove and the epitome of "streak hitter". Maybe it took a certain looseness in the clubhouse to keep things on an even keel, but any rational GM would want Doug over Kevin, so long as Doug is healthy and hits as he did when he was a starter with Minnesota.

His contract for next year is 3.4 million. That's more than the most expensive ball has ever sold for (McGuire's 70th homer ball). The team is NOT going to keep both Millar and Mintkeiwicz. They've said that both deserve to start somewhere and will be trading one of them. Considering that he provides gold glove defense and only two years ago batted third in the Twins lineup and hit .300, it seems to me its a no-brainer to want to keep him. So if he isn't traded, he will be the starter and get plenty of playing time.

Diana Krall Only Trust Your Heart Stepping Out Charles Kynard: Where It's At The Soul Brotherhood Ralph Lalama: Circle Line Harold Land: The Peace Maker Hear Ye Billy Larkin: Blue Lights Pygmy Yusef Lateef: At Cranbrook Doug Lawrence: Soul Carnival Sam Lazar: Soul Merchant Space Flight Playback Mike LeDonne: Then & Now Waltz for an Urbanite Bag's Groove Soulmates To Each His Own Perri Lee: A Night at Count Basie's Stan Levey: Grand Stan This Time The Drum's on Me John Lewis: Genes of Jazz Midnight in Paris Booker Little: And Friend Eddy Louiss: Trio Joe Lovano: 52nd Street Themes Brian Lynch: Fuchsia/red In Process Meets Bill Charlap Back Room Blues Spheres of Influence Tribute to the Trumpet Masters At the Main Event Peer Pressure Keep Your Circle Small

If you're referring to the banjo face, that's the boy from Deliverance.

I think this is the ultimate "banjo face":

More importantly, you're another refugee from Board Krypton, so who the heck are you? I used to be the Gene Harris Fanatic ...

I just hope that Mintkiewicz isn't hurting his chances of sticking with the club if he doesn't let them have the ball. I'd much prefer if they trade Millar and keep Doug's superior glove and likely-to-be-solid bat.

So, in the week between Christmas and New Year's I was bored as heck at work and found myself cruising the Bastard's Upcoming Release page, and I see Johnny Almond Music Machine, Hollywood Blues and luckily the Bastard's had their stock B.S. review that happened to mention the sidemen: Curtis Amy Hadley Caliman Vi Redd Joe Pass Charles Kynard So, my interest was peaked enough to wonder about this CD which is due February 2nd but not interested enough to automatically shell out the $25+ to get it. Luckily, a VG+ copy for $7 was only a google search away. Now that I got the record, I'd like to give a heads up to all soul jazz, organ groovin' cats that if cash flow allows, this is one to get! Turns out Johnny Almond was, at the time, a 23 year old Brit who had just recently hooked up with the John Mayall band, they played the Newport Jazz Festival in the summer of '69, and in September, Leonard Feather arranged for a recording session (and got Almond to use one of his tunes, natch) with those California heavyweights listed above. The session is a definite success, with Almond pairing up with a different saxophonist on each cut, more or less, and usually holding his own. He also shows his dexterity by playing alto, tenor, flute, vibes and organ. I'm really wondering what happened to the dude-maybe one of our Brit friends knows? Anywhoo, soul and organ jazz folks are hereby encouraged to consider Johnny Almond Music Machine, Hollywood Blues when the Bastards start stocking it in February!

I just received a super obscure LP which introduced me to a British guy who played with John Mayall and made a single jazz album with the likes of Curtis Amy, Hadley Caliman, Vi Redd and Joe Pass: Johnny Almond. On the LP he plays: alto tenor flute vibes organ and something else I can't think of at the moment. Good LP, its coming out as a Japanese reissue soon and I'm going to start a thread to alert people about it.

Hang in there, Jim and Allison. And keep pushing the Docs til answers are found!