GA Russell

Mack Avenue is back at BMG. I'm happy to see this because the last batch (including a Sean Jones I wanted) didn't last very long at all. New issues this week include The Hot Club of Detroit and the Legends & Lions series. I liked the two HCD tracks included in Jazz Yule Love II, and I may pick that one up.

Chuck, that didn't occur to me. I'll look to see what it says when I get it.

Aggie, my friend's Stan Getz twofer has a different cover. But his 32Jazz Jazz for a Rainy Day series have the original covers. PS - All but one of the 88 choices in the material I received appear to have the original cover.

Thanks again for your votes and comments! Today I joined the Jazz Heritage Society (see the thread on that topic), and purchased Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers for 99 cents plus shipping. So there was no need to wait till February 6 to put it on the top of my Your Music queue. At the moment I don't feel like making 2007 my Year of Horace Silver, but I reserve the right to change my mind after I have heard the JHS disc. At Your Music prices, buying a load of Horace Silver at once is an affordable option!

Many of us are members of Your Music and BMG, but I don't think I have ever seen anything written about the Jazz Heritage Society, so I thought I would start a corner to discuss what they have to offer. Perhaps some will join because of it. I received in the mail a couple of months ago an offer from them. Today I took the plunge. Buy 7 for 99 cents each plus shipping. Shipping amount isn't stated. No further obligation. Cancel membership after 90 days. Listen to discs for 30 days (10 days for initial 7 discs) and return them if not satisfied. Negative option plan. (Get sent a disc if you don't tell them you don't want it.) Newsletter with offer comes 18 times a year. Decline by mail, phone or website. You have to be a member to access their website to see what they have available. Nearly all of the 88 discs offered in the mailing were from the 50s and 60s. The seven I chose were: Cal Tjader - Soul Sauce Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers Stan Kenton - Cuban Fire Mel Torme Swings Shubert Alley Erroll Garner - Concert By the Sea Getz/Gilberto The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow I think that the Silver and Getz/Gilberto are the only ones available from BMG/Your Music. I estimate that less than two dozen of the 88 offered are available from BMG/Your Music. I got the LP of Getz/Gilberto years ago. It's been packed away for a long time, and I can't remember when the last time I heard it was. The others are new to me. They also sell DVDs and twofers. A friend has a twofer of Stan Getz: Cool Velvet and Voices. I'll let you know what I think after the initial package arrives.

There is already a jazz label called Contemporary, and I am surpised that Concord will allow Mosaic to use the word in its title.

I don't understand this. I don't know much about his discography, but he recorded an all-Jobim CD, "Falando de Amor" (it's on Venus) way back in 2003. Thanks for pointing that out, Jim. Evidently Aggie is correct. I went back to re-read the press releases that came with the CD. The word "debut" is used more than once, and there is no indication that he recorded for another label, but reading the material closely I can see that the references were limited to the ECM catalogue. I'll have to be more careful when I read the press releases.

Over the course of 2006 I noticed a number of times over at AAJ the name of an Italian pianist I had never heard of before named Stefano Bollani, always with high praise. It piqued my interest. When ECM emailed me that they would release his debut album as a leader, I wrote back requesting an advance copy. Piano Solo was recorded in August of 2005 and released in Europe in August of 2006. It will be released in the US February 6. I think I read that Bollani has recorded 12 albums with the trumpeter Enrico Rava, so I assume that he is well known in Europe. He is a conservatory-trained musician, and could have made a living down the classical music road but chose jazz instead. Piano Solo has 16 tracks totalling 68 minutes. None of the songs sound alike, although the majority are somewhat melancholy. He has a beautiful touch on the keyboard, firm but very pleasant to listen to. Every note is clear and precise. He provides a lot of rhythm with his left hand, and sometimes reminds me of Art Tatum with his runs. Familiar songs include For All We Know, Do You Know What It Means (to Miss New Orleans), On the Street Where You Live, Maple Leaf Rag and (here's a pleasant surprise) Don't Cry Put Your Head on My Shoulder from Pet Sounds. (Listening to that one made me wonder how many other songs from Pet Sounds would make good jazz tunes.) But in every case he puts the melody through the wringer, so that none of the songs are played straight up. Very inventive. Since I haven't heard any of his recordings with Rava, I don't know how Piano Solo compares to his other work. One thing that struck me was that this album would have been more appreciated by me and probably others if it had been his fourth as a leader. It's like the change-up in baseball. You don't throw a change-up on your first pitch because you're not changing up from anything. You first establish your fastball, and then when the batter is looking for it you give him the change-up. Well this album is like that. If Bollani had established himself first as a straight ahead jazz player, then this album would be all the more remarkable. But since this is the first of his that I've heard, it leaves me wondering how he sounds playing mainstream jazz. This is not an album for when you are in the mood to listen to Horace Silver, but for this group it would make an excellent change from the usual. CD Universe has it available for pre-order: List Price $17.98; Their Price $14.29; Pre-Order Price $14.04.

Thanks Hans! Most of these are within my budget. I've never ordered from Tanno before, so maybe I will sometime soon. edit for typo

Art Pepper - Smack Up (Contemporary OJC) I have just realized that this album contains a song from Duane Tatro's Jazz For Moderns. I used to listen to this a lot, and for the past five months I have listened to the Tatro a lot, but it's not until now that I have made the connection. Gerry Mulligan - Mulligan Plays Mulligan (Prestige OJC) I tried to buy this under the title Historically Speaking when I was in college, but inside the jacket was a copy of Soultrane. Coltrane fans would say that I got the better deal, but I was disappointed not to get what I wanted. It was a closeout of old mono copies, so there was no returning it for the right disc. I suppose I could have gotten my money back, but I just kept the Coltrane. The Best of Bobby Bland (MCA) Today is Bobby Blue Bland's birthday, so I pulled out this 80s release of his original Duke recordings.

Does 1500 translate into 15 US dollars, or is that a yen figure, and if so what does that convert into in American dollars?

Didn't Rod Stewart play harmonica on My Boy Lollipop?

Miles - Blue Moods (Debut OJC)

There have been two news items in the past week. The Ticats cut Tim Strickland because his knee injury is healing too slowly. The Als signed him. I doubt that the Ticats would have cut him if there was a chance he would return to his old form. I suspect he's done. Too bad, he was a great one. Arena football has signed three guys still under contract to CFL teams. I don't think that any of the three are much to be concerned about, but nowadays the Arena league can afford to pay more than the CFL can. If the CFL can't enforce its contracts they are in for a lot of hurting, it seems to me. The Arena schedule now extends to seven weeks deep into the CFL season. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

This is a horserace! Now Cape Verdean has come from behind to share the lead!

Here's a link to the list of everyone who will perform the two weekends of this year's Jazzfest: http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/index.ssf.../2007_01_25.rss As you can see, the artists include: Pharoah Sanders Soulive Rebirth Brass Band Pete Fountain Arturo Sandoval Mose Allison Kermit Ruffins Dr. Lonnie Smith Terence Blanchard Irvin Mayfield Branford Marsalis Roy Hargrove Nicholas Payton Danilo Perez Ellis Marsalis Donald Harrison plus many gospel, blues and pop acts.

Aggie, not to nitpick, and this will I think prove your point even more, but Emergency was not released on Verve but rather on Phillips' new US rock label Polydor. (Polydor had long existed in Britain.) I remember that the first three releases of that label were John Mayall's The Turning Point (his first after he left Decca/London), Manfred Mann Chapter Three (my favorite at that time!; the band's first album) and Emergency (The Tony Williams Lifetime's first album). So as you can see, the record company's point of view was commercial - going after the college market. And as I recall Emergency got plenty of promotional support in the magazines.

I have a sentimental attachment to The Jody Grind. My senior year in high school a black r&b station in New Orleans WYLD had a two or three hour jazz show every Saturday afternoon. I was the secretary of the school's bowling league that year, and I worked out everyone's average in front of the show. The big hit which I could count on hearing every week was The Jody Grind. That was my introduction to the Blue Note label.

I like this one! One of my few Mosaic sets which I've heard all of. The last two CDs bore me a little bit - they just don't seem as exciting as the first few. But I listen to them all at least once a year.

Stan Getz with Cal Tjader (Fantasy OJC) The Flowering of the original Charles Lloyd Quartet (Atlantic) Charlie Byrd and Cal Tjader - Tambu (Fantasy)

Thanks for your input everyone! Last night Song For My Father was in first place, but today Jazz Messengers has taken the lead. I've noticed that Father hasn't received much enthusiasm among the comments despite its many votes. Thanks for your comments, Quincy. I didn't expect that this would become a referendum on my collection. Actually, I have five Silver discs plus some sideman work with Miles and Getz. My database says that I have (along with the date purchased): Silver 'N Percussion (1978) Best of Vol. 1 (1980) Best of Vol. 2 (1990) The Hardbop Grandpop (1997) Jazz Has a Sense of Humor (1999) I saw Silver and his group in the spring of '69 in DC at a Left Bank Jazz Society concert. It was enjoyable, but not memorable. I don't recall the names of any of the sidemen. I find a sameness to all of Silver's work, which is why I haven't been buying more of his records over the years. I enjoy them, but I guess not enough to spur me to go and get more. Obviously I'm in the mood for a new one now. I've just finished listening to The Hardbop Grandpop. It's a good album, but not a must-have. Anyway, I appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions!

I agree with Guy's nomination of Headhunters. From this past year or so I definitely would say Chick Corea's The Ultimate Adventure and Neenna Freelon's Portrait of a Lady.

I had forgotten that Jack was the drummer on Infinite Search! That's one of my favorite records. I've got to vote for that one!

Well, since it's one of my favorite and oft-mentioned discs, I'll go with Al Foster on 1978's In Out & Around by Mike Nock with Michael Brecker and George Mraz. For Jack DeJohnette, maybe one of his sessions with Charles Lloyd. I'll say The Flowering of the original Charles Lloyd Quartet from 1966 with Keith Jarrett and Cecil McBee.

Ever heard their Latin album on Capitol? That's a good one! Voices in Latin! I have the CD of that, which is coupled with The Freshman Year. I got it four years ago, I think from Collectors' Choice. I enjoy it too.