GA Russell

And here's the New York Times on the idea that Michael Vick is in trouble because of the illegal gambling which occurred regardiing the dogfights: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/sports/f...amp;oref=slogin Greatest Threat to Vick May Be Links to Gambling By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT Published: August 15, 2007 The assertion that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick gambled on dogfighting appears to be a more serious threat to his professional football career and freedom than the federal felony charges that he helped organize and run a dogfighting ring. Federal prosecutors are preparing a new set of indictments in the case against Vick. The charges are believed to include counts stemming from gambling that he is suspected of having financed. That is one reason Vick’s lawyers are considering a guilty plea that would avoid a new indictment. Whether or not Vick pleads guilty, his suspected connection to gambling could jeopardize his football career. The N.F.L. prohibits any association with gamblers or with gambling activities. Such involvement may result in severe penalties, including “a suspension from the N.F.L. for life,” the league’s gambling policy states. Tony Taylor, one of Vick’s co-defendants, said in a statement of facts that he signed when he entered a guilty plea July 30 that the “gambling monies” used by the suspected dogfighting ring run from Vick’s property “were almost exclusively funded by Vick.” Taylor cited at least nine instances in which gambling took place on Vick’s property in Surry, Va., or in which Vick was one of the sponsors for a dog in a fight in which a purse was won. John Goodwin, who leads the dogfighting unit for the Humane Society of the United States, said: “There are normally two types of gambling on fights, one in which side bets are made by spectators at the fights. The other is by owners who put up half the money for a purse in the fight, and the winner takes the whole pot.” In the indictment brought by the government July 17, the government said that after a dog Vick sponsored in a fight lost in March 2003, “he retrieved a book bag from a vehicle containing approximately $23,000 in cash,” and gave the money to the owner of the winning dog. Vick and his lawyers continued to weigh whether to accept a plea agreement from the government that would probably put Vick in prison for one to two years, according to a person with direct knowledge of the case. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. Vick’s trial date is Nov. 26, and he will face up to five years in prison if he is found guilty. Jim Rybicki, a spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia; and Collins R. Spencer III, a spokesman for Vick’s legal team, declined to comment. As Vick pondered his next move, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell awaited a recommendation on how to punish him. On July 23, Goodell appointed Eric Holder, a former deputy United States attorney general, to investigate the charges against Vick and provide the league with a report on how to proceed. According to Greg Aiello, a spokesman for the N.F.L., Holder’s investigation is relying only on “public record material” and is not being provided with any sealed evidence by the United States attorney’s office in Richmond, Va. “The commissioner cannot make a decision until he has the report from Eric Holder,” Aiello said in an e-mail message. “So we do not have a timetable on making a decision.” Vick, who by Goodell’s order is not in training camp, is the only defendant in the case who has not decided to plead guilty. On Monday, plea hearings for the two other defendants, Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach and Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, were scheduled for tomorrow and Friday. As part of the plea agreements, Phillips and Peace would testify for the government against Vick, who is facing three felony charges. Legal experts say that by holding the threat of more charges over Vick, with the possibility that the three other defendants may testify against him, the government has increased the leverage and pressure on Vick. “The government is doing two things at once,” Daniel Richman, a professor at Columbia Law School, said in a telephone interview. “It is putting more pressure on him to plead guilty by raising the potential sentence. And the government is also creating a framework within which it can prove a broader range of criminal activity and increase its likelihood of gaining at least one conviction at trial.”

The Smoking Gun makes the sports page! http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home Pittsburgh Steelers hotel demands leaked Associated Press August 15, 2007 at 7:04 PM EDT PITTSBURGH — When the Pittsburgh Steelers go on the road, their equipment managers get filet mignon, even if it must be eaten on plastic plates. There is water, water everywhere. And nobody asks for a suite, not even owner Dan Rooney. But Rooney gets foam pillows only — no down pillows are allowed. The Steelers' 17-page hotel contract rider that lists their requirements down to the tiniest detail was leaked to the website The Smoking Gun this week. While the NFL regular season hasn't started yet, the Steelers have played one road pre-season game and have another Saturday at Washington. The Steelers have not commented about the document being made public. The website did not specify how it obtained the rider. The rider is provided to the hotels where the Steelers stay and is much like those for rock stars and other travelling entertainment acts. It stipulates what services and food are to be provided and what is not allowed — namely, alcohol. All minibar alcohol must be removed and players can't request it from room service. The Steelers also want all players on the same hotel floor or, if that isn't possible, on adjacent floors with no outside guests on those floors. Meeting rooms must be private, and weddings, parties and musical events can't take place in adjoining rooms. The Steelers' rider makes no specific room type requests, such as a suite for Rooney or coach Mike Tomlin. The rider also provides sample lists of names and room numbers, both alphabetical and numerical, that show the hotel how to print up the information. The examples include some interesting names: Chuck Noll, who hasn't coached the Steelers since 1991; Tom Donahoe, who was let go as director of football operations in 2000; and Richard Rydze, a former team doctor who was questioned earlier this year about his dealings with an Orlando, Fla., pharmacy that is accused of being involved in steroid distribution. Also, the hotel staff is asked to contact Chet Fuhrman if it cannot supply any of the food specified for meals. Fuhrman was the conditioning coordinator under former coach Bill Cowher but was not retained by Tomlin. Other highlights of the rider, which is printed in the identical font the team uses for many of its news releases: — A Catholic priest and a meeting room must be provided for a Mass the day the team arrives. The Rooney family is devoutly Catholic. — A hotel security representative with a master key should be available to accompany the Steelers' security director during the players' bed check that occurs just before 11 p.m. on the night before a game. — Only Heinz ketchup may be provided for meals. Heinz paid US$57 million for the naming rights at Heinz Field. — The team will ship Gatorade to each hotel prior to arrival so it can be placed in iced coolers located on the players' floors. — Players with a number of years in the league get single rooms, but many players are two to a room. — While all NFL teams carefully monitor what their players eat at training camp and on the road, the Steelers don't serve only health food at meals. Among the items made available at the team snack on the night before a game are chicken wings, pizza, hamburgers, french fries, ice cream with toppings and cookies. — Water must be available everywhere: in meeting rooms, at all meals and in iced coolers on the players' floors. There are numerous mentions of "heavy water consumption" throughout the rider. — The pre-game meal is to be served five hours before kickoff, or at 8 a.m. before a 1 p.m. Sunday game, and includes chicken breasts, filet mignon, prime rib, linguini, salad, fruit and various breakfast items, including made-to-order omelets. Because the equipment staff must go to the stadium early, filet mignon is to be packed for them in plastic containers.

LOL @ Jim! It seems to me that most kids would get sick and tired of the same song every day. Maybe the parents would buy four at a time for an outlay of forty bucks, and the kid can rotate the brushes depending on the song he wants to here today.

I always confuse William Demerest with William "Bub" Frawley.

The answer, Ray, is Yes! At the time, I thought you were joking. You were, right? Well now comes the lawsuit, and apparently the use of the word "ho" is defamatory. Drudge says that Imus has settled with CBS's termination of his contract for $20 million, so now at least one player wants a piece of that. Of course, she is also suing the corporations who profited mightily from his program. http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3479449&page=1 Don Imus Sued by Rutgers Basketball Player Star Center Kia Vaughn Names Imus, NBC, CBS in Civil Suit By LARA SETRAKIAN Aug. 14, 2007 Don Imus is facing his first lawsuit from a player on the Rutgers Women's Basketball team for derogatory comments that cost him his job as a radio host in April, ABC News has learned. Kia Vaughn, star center for the Rutgers Women's Basketball team, has filed a lawsuit against Imus for libel, slander and defamation -- the first civil suit to be filed against the former radio host. Vaughn is asking for monetary damages of an unspecified amount. "This is a lawsuit in order to restore the good name and reputation of my client, Kia Vaughn," said her attorney, Richard Ancowitz, in an exclusive interview with the ABC News Law & Justice Unit. The suit names Imus individually, but it is also waged against MSNBC, NBC Universal, CBS Radio, CBS Corp., Viacom Inc., Westwood One Radio and Imus producer Bernard McGuirk. Today's suit refers to terms used by Imus April 4 -- including referring to women on the team as "nappy headed" -- as "debasing, demeaning, humiliating, and denigrating" to Vaughn and her fellow players. "There's no way these bigoted remarks should have seen the light of day," Ancowitz told ABC News. "Don Imus referred to my client as an unchaste woman. That was and is a lie." Of the networks that aired "Imus in the Morning," the lawsuit alleges that they "wrongfully, intentionally, willfully ... created, tolerated and maintained an atmosphere in which the making of outrageous statements and comments was acceptable, encouraged, and/or rewarded for many years prior to this occurrence and/or overtly encouraged the statements made." The lawsuit alleges that use of the slanderous terms was intentional and motivated by greed and financial gain: In using insults against otherwise innocent people, Imus would get higher ratings, making more money for him and his employers. Among other infractions, the suit alleges that Imus violated the players' civil rights. Robert Baker, a civil trial lawyer in California, says the high visibility of Imus' comments would help Vaughn in court. "Everyone knows how unwarranted those comments were. It makes it easier for them to win their case," Baker told ABC News. "She has a slander per se case -- the word itself was something derogatory. She doesn't even have to prove that she was damaged." Earlier today, The Associated Press reported that Imus had reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with former employer CBS over his firing. ABC News has learned that Imus could be back to broadcasting as early as January, and is being courted by major media outlets. That settlement, said Ancowitz, rewards Imus while leaving little justice for the women of the Rutgers basketball team. "He's come out smelling like quite the rose. But what about these young women? How does Imus' victory affect their self-esteem? Where do they go to get their reputations back?" Ancowitz said the timing of today's lawsuit had nothing to do with Imus' possible return to the airwaves. Vaughn herself was not available for comment. The 20-year-old, 6 foot 4 inch New York native is in the midst of exams before starting her junior year at Rutgers University this fall. Vaughn's lawyer said that some of the money from any damages awarded in the lawsuit would be used to create a scholarship program to study the effects of bigoted and misogynistic speech on society. Imus' attorneys would not comment on the case. NBC and MSNBC refused to comment on a lawsuit neither had yet seen. CBS News did not immediately provide comment.

We'll see. My favorite Stevie Wonder is the mid-70s period with songs like Master Blaster and I Wish (if that's what the song is called). I can't imagine Bennett singing something like that. And if Wonder just joins in on typical Bennett fare, I can't see it appealing to anyone except Stevie Wonder completists. Maybe the best hope is to allow Bennett to do most of the singing, and let Wonder play jazz on the harmonica.

I remember watching a Dizzy Dean/Pee Wee Reese Yankees game probably in 1961. Before the game there was an old timers game of maybe three innings that lasted about a half an hour. I'm pretty sure that it was an American League vs. National League deal. Pee Wee was the National League shortstop and Phil Rizzuto was the American League shortstop. So in the bottom of the first as Rizzuto comes up to the plate, as a gag they bring out a wooden crate for him to stand on. So he did, and he lined a single to left! The American League team won. So it took a little bit of time for Pee Wee to change and get up to the broadcasting booth to join Dizzy. When he did, Dizzy asked him when he knew that the Nationals were in trouble, and Pee Wee said that he had a good idea they weren't going to win when Rizzuto got a hit standing on a box! edit for spelling

The Stamps are thinking about giving up on punter Burke Dales. They have signed Duncan O'Mahony for a one-game tryout. Dales was the toast of the town his rookie year. He has a decent 45 yard average this year, but apparently he has kicked poorly in the clutch. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...416658-sun.html ***** The Hall of Fame has improved its website since the last time I visited some time ago: http://www.footballhof.com/index.htm

I departed from the jazz routine this month and picked Willie Nelson - The Great American Songbook. This is one of a series of Columbia compilations. Others include Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire and Aretha Franklin. As I am a lover of melodies, this one is a good selection. This is only my fourth country album; the others being Reba McIntyre, Lyle Lovett and Prairie Oyster (a Canadian band). It's good for a change of pace.

This is from Fox News today: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293256,00.html Study: Major League Baseball Umpires Call Strikes Based on Race Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Major League Baseball umpires are more likely to call strikes for pitchers of the same race or ethnicity, a new study finds. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin analyzed every pitch from the 2004 through 2006 major-league seasons to explore whether racial discrimination factored into umpires’ decisions to call a pitch a strike or a ball. Just as discrimination in the labor market can affect disparities in wages, promotion and performance evaluation, the researchers said, possible discrimination by umpires could affect the outcome of games and careers. During a typical baseball game, umpires call about 75 pitches for each team (they call about 400,000 pitches over the whole season, excluding foul balls), so an umpire’s evaluation heavily influences pitcher productivity and performance. “Umpires judge the performance of players every game, deciding whether pitches are strikes or balls,” said study leader Daniel Hamermesh, an economist who will present his findings next month at his campus and later at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “Discrimination affects the outcome of a game and the labor market, determining the pitcher’s market value and compensation.” The researchers found if a pitcher is of the same race or ethnicity as the home plate umpire, more strikes are called and his team’s chance of winning is improved. The power to evaluate players’ performances disproportionately belonged chiefly to white umpires, while negative calls particularly impacted minority pitchers, Hamermesh said. But this behavior diminishes when the umpire's calls are more closely scrutinized — for example at ballparks with electronic monitoring systems, in full-count situation where there are 3 balls or 2 strikes, or at well-attended games. Hamermesh said the study is drawing more comments, so far, from his colleagues than any of his previous work. "I did not know how many economists are hung up on baseball," he told LiveScience.

Happy Birthday Soul Stream!

Can't say that it was a hit, but I saw the video many times on MTV.

Because Merv dared to have a nighttime show on CBS opposite the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson often insulted Merv, making snide comments about Merv's theme shows, even long after Merv had retreated to the daytime. That all stopped on a dime the day that Griffin sold Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune to King World for $400 million. All the world then realized that Merv Griffin, the butt of the sneers, was a lot wealthier than Johnny Carson was.

Ever had a job where you had to use a Cole's Directory? This is that guy! Here's his LA Times obit: Jack Cole, 87; pioneered computer use in compiling address directories By Valerie J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 13, 2007 Jack Cole, who used early computer technology to recast the phone book as a marketing and investigative tool by creating directories that were organized by address instead of alphabetically by name, has died. He was 87. Cole died July 29 at his home in Spearfish Canyon, S.D., after a brief battle with cancer, said his daughter, Susan Wright. Sixty years ago, Cole was a salesman at IBM when he thought to use the company's punch-card technology to turn the traditional phone book upside down. In 1947, by relying on machine sorting of data, he published the first Cole Directory, which listed information for Dallas in order of address. Door-to-door salespeople could then know who would answer their knock, and detectives or reporters could easily track down the next-door neighbors of someone suddenly in the news. The idea for such a directory wasn't new, but using technology to re-sort existing information was. Earlier attempts at publishing this type of directory relied on neighborhood canvassing to collect data. Cole's book sold strongly from the start, and he soon expanded the concept to Houston and beyond. He also made the directories more useful by incorporating information from census data, tax rolls and birth records. The directories are still published -- with the Cole name on them -- in print and digital form by MetroGroup, which owns Cole Information Services. While his son, Dana Cole, has called him "the father of data management," others might consider the senior Cole "the father of junk mail" for being among the first to apply punch-card technology to mailing lists. "Jack was the first to sell the lists just for marketing. He became the largest independent publisher of that data," James McQuaid, president of MetroGroup, told the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper in Spearfish last month. Major clients who wanted to target consumers soon came calling, including Time magazine, Reader's Digest, Colgate-Palmolive Co. and General Motors Corp. In the 1950s, Cole moved company headquarters from Dallas to Lincoln, Neb., and sold the business in the early 1970s. He invested in a Canadian-based network of remote hunting and fishing lodges aimed at the wealthy but sold the venture after about a decade, his daughter said. He retired to a cabin in Spearfish Canyon that had been in his family since the late 1800s and dedicated himself to local conservation causes. The cabin's walls were "covered in history," papered with photographs of famous people who had touched his life, his daughter said. Cole -- often decked out in a white shirt, tie and cowboy boots -- liked to give tours of the home he called "the museum" to show visitors that he had done something with his life. "It was great for conversation and gave him credibility when he was talking about water-quality and mining issues," his daughter said. Jack Ridnour Cole was born Feb. 12, 1920, in Lincoln, Neb., the eldest of two children of Dana and Vera Cole. His father was an accountant. At the University of Nebraska, Cole studied business and met his future wife, Lois Keller. After graduating in the early 1940s, he joined IBM and briefly served in the Navy during World War II before returning to the company. "He had a real creative mind," his daughter said. "A woman who came to his funeral had a neat way of putting it. She said, 'Jack didn't think outside the box, Jack thought outside the stadium.' " In addition to his daughter Susan, of Prescott, Ariz., Cole is survived by two sons, Dana Cole of Lincoln, Neb., and Jeff Cole of La Quinta, Calif.; a sister, Patricia Sinkey; eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. His wife died in 1997.

In the past few years I have listened to almost all of the games, but this year I have had the opportunity to catch only a few. But this week I heard some of these three: Saskatchewan Roughriders 24....Toronto Argonauts 13 http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4096153.htm I tuned in to this one with a minute to go in the second quarter. Unfortunately for me, most of the scoring was in the first half. I listened to the Argos broadcast. Rocky Butler had a solid game, perhaps his best as a pro. But the Riders were the better team throughout. Winnipeg Blue Bombers 22....British Columbia Lions 21 http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4096197.htm I tried to listen to the Lions broadcast, but again this year I have troubles getting it on my computer. Some webcasts are better than others, and for me the Riders' is the best. I have dial-up, and I think that's what makes the difference. So I listened to the Bombers broadcast with Bob Irving, whom I met at the '96 Grey Cup game in a hotel lobby. Paul McCallum missed a makeable FG with about five minutes to go in the game which it turned out would have given the Lions the win. The Lions clobbered the Bombers in the first quarter, but Winnipeg came back in the second quarter to make a game of it. Apparently the Bombers have played poorly in the first quarter throughout the year thus far. Milt Stegall didn't make a catch, yet the Bombers won. Everyone was thinking that that had never happened before. This makes two straight home losses for the Lions. The Riders are now in first place tied with the Lions. After the game Irving interviewed Kevin Glenn, and I was struck by how much Glenn sounded like Wynton Marsalis! Glenn was born in Detroit and played at Illinois State, so no apparent New Orleans connection. Edmonton Eskimos 19....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 17 http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4096331.htm Two evenly matched teams on the scoreboard, although Edmonton at home seemed generally to be the better team. Going into the game, the Edmonton defense was ranked last in the league in 12 categories. The win puts the Eskimos in third place ahead of the Stamps for the time being. But they didn't look like a team headed for the playoffs against the lowly Ticats. Of course the Ticats are getting better, but they are now only 1-6. ***** This coming week will be the first of two with only two games. This week's games will be among the four Western teams. Next week's will be among the four Eastern teams. ***** The Argos put Damon Allen on the nine-week injured list for his toe injury.

Donald Fagen - The New Frontier Joe Jackson - Stepping Out Michael Franks - Your Secret's Safe With Me In 1983 or '84 MTV often showed a video by a proto-neo-swing band called Roman Holliday. It spurred me to buy the album Cooking on the Roof. The album was great, but I don't remember which track was the one shown on MTV. Speaking of the 80s, remember I'm on a Mexican Radio by Wall of Voodoo? Two weeks ago their singer Stan Ridgeway was in town performing.

John Gardner died on the 3rd. I suppose that he is best known for his James Bond books; but for me he will always be the creator of Boysie Oakes, The Liquidator. As I recall he wrote three Boysie Oakes books, The Liquidator, Amber Nine and another one. A Movie of The Liquidator with Rod Taylor and Jill St. John came out in '66 or '67. I saw it six times(!) and twenty years later bought the soundtrack album. Here's his Washington Post obit: British novelist John Gardner dies at 80 The ex-Royal Marine, magician and clergyman revived the James Bond character. By Martin Weil, Washington Post August 13, 2007 John Gardner, a British novelist who had been a magician, a clergyman and a Royal Marine before giving new literary life to one of fiction's most famous secret agents, the legendary James Bond, has died. He was 80. The Daily Mail reported that he collapsed near his home and died Aug. 3 at a hospital in Basingstoke, England. A report on his website said he had been in ill health and had suffered a mild stroke last year. Bond, celebrated as Agent 007, was created by Ian Fleming, who died in 1964. Sixteen years later, Gardner accepted the assignment of resurrecting the man, who, on the printed page and on the movie screen, had become a worldwide symbol of spying, sophistication and derring-do. Gardner's efforts began with "Licence Renewed" (1981) and resulted in 14 titles, which exceeded Fleming's output and appeared to be among the most successful examples of one writer devising additional exploits for another's character. Regarded as serious and thoughtful, Gardner was said to lack sympathy for Bond's obsession with high-end brand names and luxury products or for Bond's restrictive view of the role of women. But Gardner said he viewed writing the new Bond series as a challenge, and "once I got the bit between my teeth, I wasn't going to let go." He said he had hoped to add depth and dimension to the character, to make him grow and to bring him out of the world of fantasy into reality. Gardner's approach was reflected in matters such as giving Bond a concern for gas mileage and putting him behind the wheel of a sturdy and sensible Saab. If not sacrilege, it was close, Gardner said, and "the die-hard fans wouldn't have any of it." Recognizing himself as an entertainer above all else, Gardner bowed to marketplace demands. Although critics sometimes looked askance, a number of his Bond books made bestseller lists. John Edmund Gardner was born Nov. 20, 1926, in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, England. His father was a priest in the Church of England, and Gardner was ordained in 1953. He soon recognized his error, telling an interviewer that during a sermon one Sunday, "I didn't believe a word I was saying." He was released from clerical obligations in 1958 and said later that he had recovered his faith. From boyhood, Gardner was interested in magic and became an adept performer, working with a Red Cross unit as a teenager in 1944. Later that year, he entered the Royal Navy and subsequently became an officer in the Royal Marines. "I had been a small-arms expert and also knew a lot about explosives," he said, but he was "the worst commando in the world." His educational credentials, which were acquired, he once said, "without my cooperation," included a degree from Cambridge University. He spent several years covering the arts for a British newspaper before embarking on fiction. Cancer of the esophagus was diagnosed while Gardner was living in Charlottesville, Va., in the 1990s. His treatment and the death in 1997 of his wife, the former Margaret Mercer, kept him from working for several years. Upon returning to England and in financial straits, he resumed writing. "What else would I do?" he said. In his 70s, he published a series of crime novels set in Britain during World War II about a female police detective.

Lon, you're right! I didn't notice that your link opens the thread at page 47. It was felser's post #11 of July 12 regarding the Blowout Sale that got the ball rolling, along with Chuck's post #17 of the same day regarding $2.98 CDs that woke me up. Actually, I remember that I had gone a week without visiting the board, and I first noticed a thread by Soulstation 1 regarding spending money on this that got me looking for this thread to see what all the excitement was about.

In the late 50s I watched Play Your Hunch every morning. I didn't see his talk show very often, but I do remember once seeing it when Cal Tjader was the guest. As I recall, Tjader had just celebrated his 50th birthday, and Merv shouted at the end of the last musical performance, "Cal Tjader at Fifty!"

From the list I would choose John Pizzarelli. I have a Don Sebesky tribute to Bill Evans called I Remember Bill on which Pizzarelli sings a few times. He is very much out of place, and I can't imagine why he was invited to participate, unless RCA required it. Otherwise, it's a great album.

Mostly quiet, sparse, romantic, and whimsical in nature with a few "jagged" pieces throw in for a change of pace. Reminiscent of Miles and Bill Evans without being too derivative. I enjoy it. Thanks Sundog. I added Tati to my queue. But now Aggie says that another Rava is available. Does anyone have an opinion on The Word and the Days? I've never heard Rava, and I'll pick up one of these two soon, but not both I don't imagine. I highly recommend Bollani's Piano Solo. I don't listen to it a great deal, but I like it a lot whenever I do. I find that's often the case with my ECMs.

Lon, nope. The thread that started it all was other than the three you linked. I remember that I was traveling on business at the time, and most of you had already placed your orders by the time I got home.

Ooooooh! Aaaahhhhhh!

As I recall, it was about a year ago, give or take a few days, that the thread alerting us all to the Concord Blowout Sale was posted. I've looked for it, but I can't find it. Ah, memories! I bought 33 single CDs plus the Bill Evans Riverside box at the blowout sale. I don't think that I have bought any CDs since then except Boogaloo Sisters, my dccblowout.com purchase of five CDs and my monthly purchases from Your Music. I have yet to open many of my Blowout Sale items. I opened up Lem's Beat by Lem Winchester last Monday. It's a good blowing session on New Jazz with Oliver Nelson.

Thanks guys! It didn't occur to me to check Wikipedia.