Dan Gould

This is one of the best twp-fers Fantasy has put out, IMO.

Wherever your travels take you, may you always return to Organissimo!

Thanks for that, Chris ... I don't doubt that your perceptions are correct, but I think its still a worthy question, even if we know what the answer is likely to be. Might get some good stories out of it, too.

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more responses. Should I put this up for a vote or leave it for a few days to get a better "sense of the board"?

You keep outdoing yourself, man! Those last two are awesome!

Plenty of time, Chuck, if I sit down with Bob in January. Thanks.

Thanks everyone, and keep the questions coming! Especially you, Chris! (One question I forgot to mention is about the "Blue Note Sound" vs the "Prestige Sound"-what were his instructions to Rudy to get the sound he wanted?

Well, you can't win them all, I guess. Just spoke with Eddie, and he said that at first Ira wanted to be paid for an interview, and then he pretty much just shut the discussion down and said "NO". Oh well ... I bet Weinstock's a more interesting interview anyway.

By the way, the questions I've got off the top of my head include: The missing trumpet from the Mating Call session. The statement that "the difference between Blue Note and Prestige was two days rehearsal"-an unfair assertion? How well did he know Alfred and Frank? Was there a strong sense of competition? Blue Note and Prestige were two major independent labels in New York, but one became the epitome of cool and fetches top collector dollars ... any resentment over the way history has treated his records vs. BNs? Differences in approach-the Blue Note "repertory" system where new artists guested and then got opportunities to record as leaders. Records supposedly got lifted from Riverside's warehouse to get sold on the street to cover drug needs (isn't that the story you mentioned, Chris?), was that a problem for Prestige? As you can see, I need a lot more questions!

B) Well, I just got a phone message from Bob Weinstock-he's happy to do an interview with me! So, in addition to the usual congrats, I'm hoping to collect many fascinating questions for the interview, plus any suggestions for research sources into Prestige and other eras of his career. (I plan to tell him that I'll need some time for research and with the holidays fast approaching, I'd like to get in touch with him right after the New Year.) Don't hesitate to shout 'em out! That includes you, Chuck! (It was you and Chris who really pushed me, so ...)

I'd like to put up for discussion an alternative method of selecting future compilers of the Organissimo Blindfold Test. If there is support for my idea, we can move onto an official poll to confirm a change, and in all circumstances, any changes should take effect after Jsngrey announces his appointment. Here's the idea: Instead of the current "Tap on the Shoulder" method, there should be a "signup thread" which members post to. This has, in my opinion, several advantages: 1. The "Tap On The Shoulder" method, like with the AOTW, seems likely to leave people out of luck, as the Tap seems to go, usually, to those who have outside-the-board-contact with the lucky selector. How many times have we seen people beg to be chosen for the next AOTW? 2. This method can be very helpful in allowing people plenty of time to plan their compilations and get themselves situated and ready to go when their time comes, resulting in shorter gaps between tests and then we'll all have more fun, more of the time. Note that I am not suggesting multiple tests being in circulation simultaneously-I just think that this method will have less of the "down time" we've seen between my test and Jim R.'s and now with Jim S.'s. Edit: 3. If, as is often the case, people suddenly find themselves too busy to participate, then if the "rotation" is already known, people could easily switch with subsequent compilers. So, for example, let's say Test giver #7 is going to have a hard time getting stuff out. He contacts #8 or #9, and if those people are ready to go, perfect-they switch and the Organissimo Blindfold Test system keeps purring along like a well-oiled machine. Or like the Basie rhythm section. Or something. What do you say?

No, you should quit because the Watrous one is sheer perfection-I could definitely hear Chris Berman saying that!

I can attest to the fact that Jim looks fine ... especially compared to yours truly-just check the Clearwater photos. On second thought, don't. I've been struggling with the weight ever since I met my wife-anyone else experience this "fat and happy" syndrome? Any advice? While I don't always eat perfectly, I generally do pretty well. I think what's keeping the weight on is an insufficient regimen of exercise. But I've got hope for the new year now that I have (I think) hooked up with a second tennis partner. I do believe that if I can manage a 4-5 day a week tennis regimen, the fat will melt off. In the meantime, I'll be seeing my folks in a month or so and I know Dad's gonna give me a rash of shit about it, as he has every holiday season since ... well, since I met my wife!

John, great work, and thanks for acceding to my request! I feel bad for having lost track of this thread and only seeing the "sammitch" now.

Peter, I heard about it and ordered it from a European website the early part of this year. I spotted it a month or two ago in a Borders-I was totally shocked-and almost bought it to offer to the board. So, I guess this wasn't a fluke thing that it was at Borders, and at a reasonable price, like $16 or so. I can't recommend this one enough-I came very close to using it on the Blindfold Test but finally decided that Griff is just too darn obvious. But its a gorgeous album, with a fine Monk cover and possibly the highlight is a unique take on Griff's "The Jamfs are coming" which is usually taken a blistering temp but here is slowed down considerably. BTW, the title is "Close Your Eyes"

JazzShrink knows of what he speaks.

Well, further away from trio or solo, I have Glad I Found You which has a front line of Eddie Harris and Thad Jones. Quite nice.

View New Posts. My home page is the Forum main page, and from there I click new posts which brings up everything since I last logged in. Then I keep refreshing that as I am generally here most of the work day. If there's something I want to return to that doesn't come up in the New Posts, then I go to Today's Topics from the My Assistant link. And speaking of New Posts, something odd seems to happen. Sometimes it keeps listing the threads which I have already updated on, and other times, ONLY the new threads show up. Must be something to do with my cookies, but heck if I know.

Didn't he also compose "And like a good neighbor, State Farm is there ..."? I knew someone who's wife loved Manilow and would drag him to concerts. I think he said that Barry usually does medleys of his famous jingles.

Couw's suggestion kind of reminds me of what some people try to do to get around the "scalping" laws (if that's a term unfamiliar to our non-US members, those are laws that limit how much tickets to a popular event like a concert or sports event can be sold over the face value): People would advertise that they're selling some common household item, say, a pen. But its a special pen, because for the low price of $250, we'll throw in, for free, tickets to the Springsteen concert or whatever. In fact, funny story: A guy who lived on the same floor in the dorm once tried to do that and we decided to have some fun with him. One of us called him up and identified ourselves as a Florida State University police officr and gave him hell for trying to evade the scalping laws and told him that if his sign was still up the next time, he'll be arrested. The next sound we heard was his door slamming and his very fast footsteps down the hall, racing to the bulletin board to remove his sign, muttering under his breath, 'Oh shit'. Then we saw him all over campus, taking down his sign! We just about busted a gut.

Rooster, I did respond, I assume you'll get the message at some point!

Thanks to everyone who responded-I think my needs are covered at this point!

It looks like Broadway will be kept safe from Barry Manilow's schmaltz: Manilow's Musical Shuts Down Production By JESSE McKINLEY Published: November 14, 2003 "Harmony," a Broadway-bound musical written by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, unexpectedly shut down production yesterday morning after it became apparent that its producers were millions of dollars short of capitalizing the show. ... With original music by Mr. Manilow, the popular 1970's and 80's singer, and a book and lyrics by Mr. Sussman, "Harmony" tells the story of the Comedian Harmonists, the vaudevillian German sextet, during the fall of the Weimar Republic. It was originally produced in 1997 at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. It received mixed reviews but had been rumored to be coming to Broadway several times since that production. In its current incarnation, the show featured Brian d'Arcy James, leading a cast with 26 other now newly unemployed actors. .... Mr. Manilow, who was on a plane yesterday afternoon, also sounded angry at his producer. "My heart breaks for the hundreds of talented men and women who will be hurt by this colossal blunder," he said in a statement. "We all deeply hope that this situation can be corrected and that this powerful piece will finally be seen."

Woody fans please PM me. Thanks!

Jim, I think you should save the Ray Charles tune for an "official" CD, but how about giving a taste of your fine vocal talents and at the same time giving Sweet Papa Lou some props by doing one of his vocal numbers, like "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman" or "Wig Blues"?