Uncle Skid

Joe -- sho' nuff, that Hofner is a beauty. I just love the simplicity -- just one pickup; no frills, clean design. It's funny how the most expensive hollow-body guitars are usually the ones without all the extra gagdets and gimmicks. I got my Heritage in your "neck of the woods" -- at Elderly in Lansing. Here's a picture: This isn't mine, but it looks identical. Heritage fans might notice that the tail piece doesn't have the fancy "H" like the newer models.

I've got it on right now, and I'm listening for the things you mentioned. I really appreciate advice like this -- there's a bunch of songs on the Moncur set that I just don't "get" yet, but on an almost subconscious level, I feel like I'm just beginning to understand them better. It's one of those "I know this is good stuff, but I don't know why" kind of things. Observations like yours are one of the things I really love about this board. Thanks!

I picked up a '93 Heritage H-575 used a few years back. I was just starting to get in to this jazz thing, and it just didn't sound or feel right on a Strat. Before I bought it, I had read that it is one of the more popular jazz guitar models, but after had I tried at least 20 others, it was a pretty easy decision. It just "felt" right, and I loved the nice, mellow tone. I liked it even more when I replaced the strings with some flat wounds. I also liked that fact that it was made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the old Gibson factory.

Yes - the metronome stuff was particularly frustrating. I found it very difficult to play *anything* at 40 bpm, and the exercises where the only tick is on beat 2, 3, or 4 were also a good challenge. I think you probably shouldn't let it slide too long -- maybe casually bringing it up every three or four weeks would be appropriate. It's such an important part of music that it really can't be ignored for too long. The really great instructors/professors that I had in college all had one thing in common: they were *tough*. But, sucking all the fun out of a subject and being a tough, demanding instructor are not mutually exclusive.

That's funny, Bill -- when I first read this thread, I immediately thought about your metronome exercises, and I was wondering if you had tried that with him. You've already received a lot of good advice here, but I'd suggest that the fact that he favors working on the next piece as opposed to the metronome exercises is telling -- it may just be that he's not quite ready to really absorb or tackle such a daunting task. I remember getting quite frustrated with some of those exercises. I recall some other material that you presented to me, and even though you may have felt I was ready for it, I didn't feel that way at that time. A year later, it started making more sense to me, and I was able to go back to it, and only then fully appreciate what you were trying to teach me. If he's having a great time, don't sweat it. He's already come a long way in his musical education, and maybe he'll get to the point where he's "ready" to address his timing issues. And if not, that's OK, too.

Very sad to hear about this. Hank played every day during lunch at the Aebersold camp last summer, and he always had this big happy grin on his face the whole time. I loved watching how much he really enjoyed playing with everyone, and how people responded to his creative playing. The camp won't be the same without him.

Mobley #4217, Tristano/Konitz/Marsh #4203.

After weeks of indecision, I finally caved and bought both the T/K/M and Mobley sets at the same time. They arrived Monday. I'm really enjoying both of them -- for me, the Mobley was by far the "safer" of the two, as I already have 4-5 of his recordings from the 60's. The T/K/M was much more of an unknown since I only had one Konitz CD before ordering the Mosaic. I'm currently listening to disc IV, and I'm loving it! Some real nice, tasteful guitar comping by Billy Bauer, and of course, great playing by Konitz. Real nice, laid back swinging tunes. Sound quality also seems to be very good; most of disc IV was recorded at Van Gelder's Studio in 1956. So, here's another big for the Tristano/Konitz/Marsh! What are you waiting for?? B)

My meager collection... (only about 1/3 is jazz, but that's growing rapidly...) Brandon -- is that a Pioneer SX-680 receiver? I have one of those gathering dust in the basement, and I haven't thought about it in years!

That prayer sounds familiar... Oh yes, brother... we're all praying for you... (mine was answered -- my big box from Mosaic (Tristano/Konitz/Marsh,Mobley,Jones Select) showed up yesterday, about an hour before she got home!) Looking forward to hearing "All Music"!

"Air Raid" is not one of my favorites, either. It's kind of hard to say how much of the set resembles that tune, but there are a few other tunes that also have that free-form, dark, haunting quality. "Evolution", "Gnostic", and "Nomadic" come to mind. For what it's worth, the three songs available on the Mosaic website seem to be representative of the set in general. I also came across a review at All About Jazz that might be helpful. Thanks for the advice regarding the Tristano vs. Mobley -- I still haven't pulled the trigger yet. Since I really want both, I'm tempted to just order both right now, along with the Jones Select: $231.00!! Ouch!!!

Edward -- don't let my review discourage you from ordering the Moncur Select. Labelling it "avant-garde" or "free jazz" is a gross over-simplification. There's a whole bunch of great straight-ahead, accessible jazz on this set as well. Vibes is right, the "Hipnosis" session is a real treat. I think my initial impression of this set would have been much more positive if I had listened to them in reverse order: CD #3, #2, and finally #1. As I mentioned earlier, I keep discovering new things every time I listen to these discs. Thanks for your summary of the Carmell Jones Select. I've got my finger on the "Add to Shopping Cart" button! I just can't make up my mind between the Mobley and Tristano/Konitz/Marsh boxes....

I've been curious about these reissues as well. I almost ordered Blue Mitchell's Boss Horn from Jazzmatazz, but ended up getting the Mosaic set instead. There's a whole bunch of useful information on this thread: Spanish Blue Note Series

Along with the Blue Mitchell set, I also recently purchased the Grachan Moncur III Select. I didn't really know what to expect - but quite a few people on this board whose opinions I respect gave it high recommendations. I didn't like it at all at first; I found parts of it very dark and tortured. This is certainly not your typical production-line Blue Note hard bop. AMG accurately classifies it as "volatile, sophisticated, cerebral" free/avant-garde jazz. After repeated listenings, I'm finding that it's really growing on me. While I really love all of CD's by Mobley/Morgan/Mitchell et al., this one is expanding my musical horizons much like Roscoe Mitchell's Snurdy McGurdy. I think Carmell Jones may be the next purchase. Any reviews on that one? Edward?

Happy Birthday, Organissimo Forum!! Love that cake, Couw. All the beer looks good, too!

Hi Scott, I'm also at that “intermediate” level, and I know how frustrating this can be. One of the things that has helped me with comping is a two-page chord chart written by Mike DiLiddo, who I believe teaches at a college somewhere in Florida. He is also one of the guitar instructors I had last summer at the Aebersold camp. His “60 Contemporary Voicings for the Jazz Combo Guitarist” chart can be found at the end of Aebersold Vol 54, “Maiden Voyage”. These are all four-string voicings, and usually do not have the root of the chord on the fourth string. Numerous extensions are included – for example, there are six voicings for the C major 7 chord, including C 6/9, Cma9, and Cma13. These are all “movable” forms that can be used anywhere on the fretboard. The biggest benefit of this chart is that it FORCED me to think about where the different chord tones are in each chord form. Once you have that knowledge, it becomes easier to make alterations to the basic forms on the fly, rather than memorizing hundreds of chord forms. Another book I've found valuable is Chords and Progressions for Jazz and Popular Guitar , by Arnie Berle.

All this talk about the Mobley going OOP is making me nervous -- I don't have a copy yet! I'll probably have to order one *soon*! B)

I know *exactly* what you're talking about, Sundog. BTW, I really like your avatar! Have you ever seen that on a bumper sticker anywhere? I usually don't put anything on my cars, but I'd make an exception for that one!

Interesting topic! My current obsessions are Andrew Hill's "Passing Ships" and Miles Davis' "Miles Smiles". Incredible music that hit me hard the first time, and keeps getting better with repeated listenings. I'm *carefully* wading into the Plugged Nickel set; that may be next on the heavy rotation list. And a daily dose of Mingus never hurts either...

Heck, Just go ahead and buy 'em ALL today! After all, it's your birthday! (Happy Birthday!)

Blue Mitchell. Can't decide what's next: Mobley or Tristano/Konitz/Marsh.

The only thing missing is the "Automatic Power-Point Slide Presentation" generator. Imagine how quickly you could be promoted into upper management with a tool like that!!

I think Upright Bill is as addicted to coffee as he is to this board. I'll feel bad for him if he ever runs out of coffee on the same day the board goes down! Seriously, Bill makes a *great* cup of coffee.

That is a pretty cool looking ride, in a retro-sort of way. But Claude's right -- the first thing I thought of when I saw the back of it was the Ford Pinto. My parents had a Pinto wagon back in the late seventies. IIRC, it was the first car I ever drove, and I almost ran it into a tree. At least I didn't BACK it into a tree!!