GA Russell

Thanks BB!

Karrin Allyson I always figured the first name sounded just like Karen, with a weird spelling. But last night on Sirius, dj Les Davis pronounced it Kahr-in. I figure he ought to know. Anybody know for sure?

Thanks for this ss1. I haven't been receiving press releases regarding the RVGs in the past month, so it's good to see what's up.

Happy Birthday! I listened to the AFL's Grand Final last September on the internet. The greatest game of any sport I have ever heard on the radio!

I've felt for the past five years that the period of 1995-present has been the Golden Age for fans of 50s and 60s jazz. Naturally, I would have enjoyed living in New York at that time (and being old enough to get into the clubs!) to see all of my heroes performing live. But since that was not an option, the best I can do is collect records, and there has never been a better time than this! In the liner notes to the Fantasy 4-CD compilation The Contemporary Records Story, it is pointed out that there are more Contemporary albums currently in print than at any time during the company's existence!

33 plus the Bill Evans box. Not sure how many CDs in the box, but Evans recorded 14 LPs for Riverside, so I figure the price is about $4 per album.

I placed my order Friday night - #5756. I haven't received my confirmation yet, and I'm already having regrets. I should have ordered more compilations! PS - Just got my confirmation. All items ordered are included.

I came to realize on Friday that I don't like the first track of the Jimmy Scott. That typically colors my evaluation of an entire album. I played the CD a lot over the weekend, skipping the first track, and enjoyed it much more.

I remember being informed of his death. I was on vacation, and a fellow I met told me of it. How many days after the event I don't know, nor do I know how he found out about it. RIP

I'll never get tired of the Four Freshmen!!! As I mentioned the other day in the thread about the 1957 Monk Coltrane Riversides, I think that over the years I have overdosed on Monk. I just don't find him as exciting as I did years ago. I enjoy this 1957 Riversides set, but I'm sure that everyone here enjoyed the Carnegie Hall tapes more than I did. Don't dislike the CD, but don't listen to it very much either.

I saw Michael Franks when he was touring to promote his second Reprise album. Not too many years later, I saw in the store an Australian LP which apparently was taken from the tour. It was never released in the US. I didn't pick it up, and mildly regretted not doing so for years. Last December I picked up the Australian CD of that album from Amazon for $25 as I recall. It still has never been issued on a US label to my knowledge.

Guy, this 1957 set has two alternates never before released, Crepuscule With Nellie and Abide With Me. There is also one false start and one breakdown (which in my opinion don't add anything to the package) which I am unaware of having been released before, but are not labeled as previously unreleased. There is also a jam called Blues For Tomorrow , without Monk, which is released in stereo for the first time.

Brad, I see that CD Universe has this for $14.89. Of course, you still have to add shipping to that. But the K2s of both albums are available from Concord in their sale for $7.98 each, if that's all you buy. Again, plus shipping.

While I was gone away for the week, this has been the AOTW! Oh, well! Does anyone have any comments about the two albums? I decided to take Chuck up on his insistence that the K2 mono is the cat's meow, and I ordered it yesterday for three bucks. When I was in college, Monk was my favorite. But over the years I'm not sure whether I have just gotten tired of his style or else maybe I have heard the same songs so often that I don't appreciate them anymore. I listened to Disc One of this set, which is mostly alternate takes, while I was driving back and forth to and from Charlotte. I found that I enjoyed the recordings in the car more than I have at home.

Daniel Santiago - On the Way Uh oh. I'm concerned that Adventure Music might be losing its way. The first five albums in this thread I would give four or five stars. But this new one by Daniel Santiago and the last one I can't give more than two stars. Like Marcos Amorim, Daniel Santiago is an acoustic guitarist backed by bass and drums. On the Way has a lot in common with the Amorim. It's not jazz, bossa nova or samba. There isn't the character in the music which makes me think of South America. The sound of the guitar is lush, but the music being played isn't very interesting. The songs here are a little more interesting than those of the Amorim, but not enough to recommend this. There are a lot of people in America who would like this music, but not us.

Having spent $160. on the Concord sale, I think it would be appropriate to drop out of Your Music for a while. It's only $6 a month, and if the hassle is too great I won't. There isn't anything in my queue that I'm pining for, but I will want to have it at my disposal when the time comes to buy Christmas presents. So I wonder, has anyone here quit and rejoined? Do they insist that you use a second email address to rejoin? I would find it hard to believe that they would turn down someone who wants to be a customer. However, if you can quit and rejoin anytime you want, the subscription model doesn't really hold water, does it? So I'd be interested in the experience of the board members in this regard.

Chuck, again you're making me laugh! I'm late to this party. I spent the week in Charlotte on business, and just got home this evening. So after spending three hours listening to a Canadian league game on Sirius (the Ticats won), I placed an order for 33 plus the Evans box. I am being charged the fifteen dollars for FedEx. It will be fine with me if any number of mine are backordered. I won't have time to listen to them all anyway. In keeping with the spirit, I ordered a few compilations that look interesting - The Jazz Giants Play Sammy Cahn, that sort of thing.

Happy Birthday!

I'm not sure that "annoying" is the word I'd use for Spaulding, but I can't think of an album he's on that I've thought was special. I came to Blue Note about 1967, and for the next few years it seemed that all of their records consisted of five of a posse of fifteen label-contracted musicians, plus James Spaulding on flute. Blue Note didn't impress me as a label. I was surprised years later when I read a comment of Michael Cuscuna in a Mosaic flyer that he considered Blue Note to be special among jazz labels. Now I know what Cuscuna was talking about, although I still prefer 50s Prestige to 50s Blue Note. Anyway, I don't blame Spaulding; it's not like he ruined the records for me. But as I say, I don't consider his presence on an album to be a great asset.

I've been looking for Concord items at Your Music. All of the Fantasy titles I was aware of have been deleted. However, I find two Manhattan Transfer Telarc albums still available.

This month's pick is Hank Mobley - Soul Station. I feel like I'm the last person here to get this. It's been in my queue since a I joined a year and a half ago, and now it's finally risen to the top. I'm not a big fan of Mobley's, but I gather that many of you here consider Soul Station to be his best work. So I thought that I would be fair to the guy and give his best album a listen rather than judge him without hearing it.

Sounds exciting! Looking forward to hearing it!

Happy Birthday!

MG, Groucho Marx hosted a quiz show called You Bet Your Life, which was a little bit of quiz with a whole lot of Groucho comments. If the contestants didn't win any money, he would offer them a consolation prize if they could answer an obvious question. Others that come to mind are: What do you shoot with an elephant gun? What was the occupation of the famous painter Rembrandt? (I remember the contestants having a problem with that one!)

Happy Birthday!