GA Russell

The three I wanted have arrived. I have a better idea now of what the situation is, now that I have them in hand. The Prestige Profiles CD is a single CD, merely a reissue of a Best of released late last year. Same CD, apparently same liner notes. The free bonus disc is called Profiles Collector's Edition Volumes 1-10. Each of these comes packaged in its own cardboard sleeve, and is then shrinkwrapped together with a Prestige Profile. The arrangement has the look of being temporary. There is nothing on the Prestige Profile to indicate the presence of the free bonus disc. All ten of the Best of discs now re-released as Prestige Profiles have been discontinued. However, all of the ones that I checked are still available at Your Music. Concord is referring to this series as being for the "jazz curious". So I suppose they should be judged in that light. Personally, I have my own criteria: The first is whether the Prestige Profile disc is something worth having, in which case I would spend the six bucks at Your Music. The second is whether the bonus disc is worth spending the extra couple of bucks for by buying the set from CD Universe. I usually like samplers, so long as they don't cost more than five bucks. I think that the purpose of a sampler should be to introduce the listener to artists and their albums, to generate further purchases. So I think charging real money for a sampler is something I'm not going to go along with. But if one of these Collector's Edition CDs is worth having in the house, it will be worth the couple of extra bucks CD Universe charges over the My Music price. I'll get back with a report on the music I have.

I was introduced to Stolen Moments by Herbie Mann's album Standing Ovation at Newport, with Chick Corea taking a nice solo. That was one of those $1.99 mono albums I got when mono was discontinued.

Congrats! Are their downloads available for one day only, or do they keep a backlog available?

Congrats Kat!

The orginal question asked about 1967-69 prices. That period is particularly apt in my case. In New Orleans in the 60s, when I was in high school, the list price for most LPs was $3.99 for mono and $4.99 for stereo, but only a sucker paid list price. I don't recall a store ever selling at list. They all discounted the LPs a dollar. So the going rate was $2.99 for mono and $3.99 for stereo. The cheapest store sold stereo for $3.59. But your question asked about gatefold Verves and Impulses. They were a dollar more than most LPs. They were priced higher because of the quality of the vinyl used, according to the stickers. Prestige was priced at the standard rate. I can't tell you about Blue Note, but I think it was the same. However, I went to college in 1968 in Washington, DC. DC was the home of a major wholesaler, and as a result there was one less middleman. So stereo LPs went for $2.89. I was in heaven, except that I didn't have much money. My New Orleans retailer told me that $2.89 was his wholesale price! When mono was abruptly discontinued in 1969 (I think), the ones still in stock went for $1.99 in DC, just to clear them out. I got a few of my favorite Prestiges and Riversides that way. edit for spelling

Congrats!

Greg, there are some advantages to living in the country, but I'm not sure I made the right move three years ago. A round trip to the Borders would today cost me four dollars in gasoline! I enjoyed my country home in Georgia a lot more. But the people here have treated me well, as they did there, so I can't complain. edit for spelling

Much of what I listen to is music to relax by. I think my favorite of that category is Henry Mancini's Music From Peter Gunn. Listened to it just yesterday.

Me too. Really, I'm holding off because I expect that one relative or another will give it to me for Christmas, and I don't want the hassle of exchanging it at a store. (I live over 20 miles from the nearest record store, a Borders.) I'm also holding off because I'm pretty much Monked out. I have so much of his stuff that I've listened to so much over the years that I didn't expect to ever buy anything more by him again. I'm sure that I will get this new CD, but I can wait till after Christmas, when Your Music will probably have it, if I'm not given it for a present.

I listened to a radio adaptation of the story Earth Abides not long ago, in which a mysterious illness wiped out almost everyone in the world, and the few survivors had to re-start the human race and civilization. I more recently read a book called Lucifer's Hammer about worldwide death and destruction when a comet hits the earth. I'm not one of those "the end is near" types, but it really does seem increasingly prudent to prepare for the worst when you see people doing stupid things like this. I think there are lessons to be learned from New Orleans as well, such as the need to have drinkable water. My concern is not so much what a government would do. I figure no matter how evil the govt, the rulers would have to have some smarts to get to where they got. But I can imagine that a "movement" might take the suicide bomber mentality one step further and risk self-annihilation with biological warfare in order to rid the world of The Great Satan. Those of us who are religious will see this as another reason to get right with God.

Happy Birthday, young man!

Last year Fantasy issued a series of Best Of albums, some of which have been available from BMG/Your Music. Ten of the Prestige artists are being re-released October 25 in a new series entitled Prestige Profiles. These ten are: Miles Davis, Red Garland Quintet with John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Eric Dolphy, Jackie McLean, Kenny Burrell, John Coltrane, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Lightnin' Hopkins. The list price is low, 11.97. It looks like CD Universe will sell them for $9.79. Their pre-order price is only $8.38. Now here's what I find appealing about this: Each CD comes with its own free sampler CD of other Prestige artists who would probably appeal to the fan of the artist in question. Each sampler will be 40+ minutes long. I received an email today which states that "a major marketing campaign will kick off upon the release of the series next week, with print ads in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New Yorker, ICE magazine, Down Beat, Jazz Times, Jazziz, and other publications; a national cable TV ad campaign running between Thanksgiving and Christmas on outlets including Discovery, B.E.T., BBC America, CNN, and Fox News; NPR underwriting on Weekend Edition and Fresh Air in the same holiday time slot; a direct mail campaign in the L.A. and New York markets; and substantial retail point-of-purchase promotion, including full-size posters." Television ads for Prestige??? Direct mail??? Maybe they will use their mailing list for the old Fantasy catalogue. Looks like Concord/Fantasy is going all out for these to be Christmas presents for those who are starting to get into jazz and those who know they won't be buying all of the OJCs of an artist already available. For example, most of my Coltrane is on Impulse! I have only two Prestige Coltrane LPs. Before I spend a lot of money on Prestige Coltrane, I will probably pick up more of his Atlantics. But a Prestige compilation I expect I will enjoy. I have three on the way: Coltrane, Red Garland and Kenny Burrell. After I have a chance to digest them, I'll report back and let you know what I think of the compilations and also the free samplers, which I am curious about. Anyway, I think it's great news that Concord will be spending money to promote Prestige for Christmas.

I think she's kidding herself, probably whistling past the graveyard. I think that the covers are chosen to prompt sales, which will attract some but perhaps alienate many. I don't think that most people thought a nude John Lennon was acceptable to look at, for example. edit for spelling

Congrats!

Steve Swallow - Damaged in Transit. This came out two years ago. Chris Potter on tenor sax, Adam Nussbaum on drums and Swallow on electric bass. All songs recorded in concert. The liner notes are simply the sheet music of the tunes! Not bad, but I have to be in the right mood to listen to a sax trio without a chordal instrument such as a piano or a guitar.

Great job!

Happy 50th John! Break out the black balloons!

I forgot about...Ike Turner

By coincidence, I'm listening to True Blue now!

I can't answer your questions, but I saw McNeill in the fall of '68 in DC. What a great concert. It was one of the first jazz concerts I went to. As I recall, Eric Gravatt was in the group.

Ron, thanks for the heads up about Your Music. I've added it to my queue.

Steve Marcus - Larry Coryell's Offering McCoy Tyner - Wayne Shorter's JuJu (controversial pick, I know!) Chick Corea - Stan Getz's Sweet Rain Joey DeFrancesco - Pat Martino's Live at Yoshi's John Coltrane - Miles Davis's Relaxin (I haven't heard the new Monk at Carnegie Hall yet.) Larry Coryell - Steve Marcus's Count's Rock Band Jim Hall - Paul Desmond's Bossa Antigua Paul Desmond - Dave Brubeck's Time Out Chet Baker - Gerry Mulligan's first album on PJ Scott LaFaro - Bill Evans' Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Reginald Veal (Nov. 5) also in music: Roy Rogers Art Garfunkel Peter Noone (Herman)

Now that I've had In Session about eight weeks, I find that I don't listen to it as much as I did at first, but I still listen to it more often than any other vocal album I have. Still like it a great deal. Sidewinder and Alfred, do you have any thoughts on the Mosaic box you got? Pleased with the purchase, or too much of a good thing?

I was always fond of Gordon Hathaway and "Hi ho, Steverino!" I think there was a gentleness of much of that era's humor that doesn't exist today. For example, I saw Ernie Kovac's name in the paper this morning. Kovacs' humor was nothing like Steve Allen's, but it was gentle nevertheless. I suspect, and you may disagree, that the main influence on comedy for the past thirty years has been Lenny Bruce, and that is why we are not seeing shows that try to be funny without pushing the envelope.