GA Russell

I got The Hummus League.

Circus Peanuts!

FWIW, Sonny's percussionist four years ago at the 9/11 concert was Kimati Dinizulu.

I'm surprised that Edward and Charles have fallen so far down the list. Perhaps the popularity of Brooklyn has something to do with the fact that Posh Spice and her husband Beckham named their daughter that, because she was born, or maybe conceived, there.

You missed all the fun! See this thread: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=21590

I have had this CD for a week, and I would like to comment on it without having read this thread, so as not to prejudice my opinion. By the way, I saw Don Newcomb on TV a while back, and after fifty years he and Sonny still look just like each other! Sonny Rollins has been with Milestone nearly 35 years. That is so long I consider it a career unto itself. Sure, I prefer his Prestige recordings like most people, but the Prestige period ended nearly fifty years ago. I don't see much point in continuing to compare a fellow's work to what he did so long ago. I don't have too many of his Milestone CDs. I have Silver City, Global Warming and This Is What I Do. I think that's all. Silver City was Gary Giddens' idea of Sonny's best over the previous 25 years, and I will trust his judgment on that. I'm of the school that "the great ones make it look easy". I haven't particularly liked the Milestone recordings because to me Sonny sounds like he is trying to blow his lungs out. So I was pleasantly surprised that from the get go on Without a Song (The 9/11 Concert) Sonny is much more relaxed. Not as relaxed as most other horn players, but still a lot more than what he has been doing for the past 35 years. Of the five songs, four are standards, and the fifth is the title track to his then current album Global Warming. I prefer standards, so that is another thing in favor of this album. I saw Sonny in Atlanta about ten years ago. He had Al Foster on drums. Foster was marvelous, equal to the task. Unfortunately, the piano player was dreadful, completely out of his league. The bass player (an upright bass violin, by the way) was better than the piano player, but not very good. I realized how important it is for a major artist to be supported by bandmates who are his caliber. Sonny was on that night, blowing one incredible riff after another, and never repeating himself. But the band as a whole was so poor that it took away a lot of the joy that Sonny earned. On this album, Sonny is not on the way he was that night. However, the band is much better. None of the players is on a par with Sonny, but they are all competent. Drummer Perry Wilson, percussionist Kimati Dinizulu and electric bassist Bob Cranshaw keep it swinging throughout, in an unobtrusive way. Pianist Stephen Scott I'm ambivalent about. I think he does an excellent job comping, but all of his solos disappoint. I like trombonist Clifton Anderson. His comping is fine, and his solos are good but not great. I have listened to this album every day for the past week, and it still is as fresh as the first day. Every track is better than every track on Silver City. The Boston Globe article posted by Tom in RI on another thread was helpful in explaining the origin of this recording. The fidelity isn't very good, but I can accept that. I bought all of my Sonny Milestone CDs from BMG, and I expect that they will carry this album as well. I wouldn't say that this is an album to rush out for, but I would strongly recommend it once it shows up at YourMusic.com. Considering how soon (four days) after 9/11 this was recorded, it is surprisingly fun music.

I suppose everyone here is familiar with the music. I thought that I would put down my thoughts (without reading what has already been posted on this thread, in order to avoid prejudicing my opinions) for the benefit of those who haven't already made up their minds. This is a 3-CD box set whose list price is $29.98. Each CD comes in its own standard jewel case. There is a small booklet with new liner notes by producer Orrin Keepnews. The box was issued in Japan in 2003, and in Europe the following year. The liner notes say that the music has been mastered in analog utilizing the 20-bit K2 Super Coding System. The trio consisted of Bill Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums. The club's MC pronounces Motian's name as MO-tee-un. I thought it was decided over at AAJ a couple of years ago that it is pronounced MO-shee-un. Maybe Chuck or Chris can set us straight. The recording date was the last day of a two week gig. LaFaro died ten days later. Keepnews in the liner notes says that there was increasing tension between Evans and LaFaro, suggesting that LaFaro may have left the group soon afterward had he lived. The day's work was two afternoon sets and three evening sets. The sets are presented here as they were performed. From the five sets came 22 songs. From the 22, six were selected for the album Sunday at the Village Vanguard, and another six were used for Waltz for Debby. Of the remaining ten songs, all are alternate takes except I Loves You, Porgy. Of the 22, all were issued in the Complete Riverside box except the first take of Gloria's Step, which was interrupted by a power outage. In his liner notes to the OJC Debby, Ira Gitler says that because of his passing, songs which featured LaFaro were selected for Sunday, the first of the two albums issued. I have always preferred Debby, because the Sunday collection is a little too dry for me. I was really looking forward to this box set because I wanted to hear the songs in the order they were recorded, and because my copy of Sunday is an old cassette tape which hasn't sounded good in years. I'm glad I have this box. I find it more enjoyable than either Sunday or Debby. I don't find the inclusion of the alternate takes to be annoying, but listening to three hours of Bill Evans in one sitting is more than I prefer. I expect my favorite over time will be Disc 1, the two afternoon sets. They are a little breezier than the evening sets. Disc 2, with the first and second evening sets, is the most dry of the three discs. There are a few instances of comments between songs. These pauses do not interfere with the enjoyment of the music. They suggest to me that each set should be listened to as a single entity. Even if you already have both Sunday and Debby, I recommend that you consider picking up this box, particularly if you can find a low price such as at YourMusic.com.

The Koln Concert sounds like New Age to me. I listen to it from time to time, and I don't mind it, but I think that it's overrated.

I too found I Want To Live to be surprisingly touching.

I got my copy today! Give me a day or two to digest it, and I'll be happy to contribute my opinions.

I forgot to mention that the CD has three alternate take bonus tracks. The first two are quite different from the master takes, enough to give me more respect for Mose.

Thanks for your efforts, tjobbe, but this is too complicated for me. I have tried the Ctl-A idea, and that gave me the address format. So I am going to give up on Thunderbird and wait till they make it easy. Why a Word document shouldn't automatically copy onto it is a mystery to me.

Sorry to appear stupid, but I don't follow you. How do I "mark all"? Where is the Paste without Quotations button?

Happy Birthday Vibes!

No tjobbe, I click on Body Text, but I have the same problem.

I recently started using Firefox, and am happy with it. It really cuts down on the spyware! I tried to use Thunderbird as follows. I have a form letter I wish to send. I did it in MS Word. When I copy it to Thunderbird, there are a couple of extra lines between each paragraph. What should I do to get the style formatted correctly, what I would call "normal"?

And I've added The Al Cohn Quintet to mine!

Thanks, Lon. It occurs to me that in addition to whatever piano date you may choose, you might be interested in a compilation of his vocal tracks Prestige issued about 1964 as Mose Allison Sings, and re-issued as an OJC as Greatest Hits. It's avaliable from YourMusic.com here: http://www.yourmusic.com/browse/album/22744.html

I forgot to mention that the reason I bought the LP in the first place was that it was only $1.99!! Jazzbo, I fairly often see references to the fact that Mose played with Getz, but I've never seen a Getz album with him on it. Can you recommend any that are available? Chuck, maybe it's the power of suggestion, but I believe that I can hear some Herbie Nicholls in his left hand, now that you mention it. But I still think his touch is more like Red Garland's.

Chuck, I'll listen to it again with your comments in mind.

I remember the first time I heard a Mose Allison record. It was October of '69. Atlantic released a series of Best of albums of their artists that month, including Charles Mingus, Charles Lloyd and Herbie Mann. When I heard The Best of Mose Allison I was immediately captivated by his voice. I remember thinking that it sounded like how Maynard G. Krebs would sing (pacem Bob Denver). A few months later, while browsing I found an old mono record of a Prestige album recorded in 1958 called Ramblin' with Mose. It looked like it was an original press run. It had the old black and yellow label, was very heavy, and had no flex whatever! The album was completely different from what I had expected. Only the first track was a vocal, and the remainder was instrumental piano trio. Allison is supported by Art Farmer's brother Addison on bass and a name that I haven't seen since, Ronnie Free, on drums. Both keep it swinging with a light touch. In the years since Mose left Prestige forty-some years ago, his instrumental tracks all seem to be the same song with different titles. But that is not the case with this album. I haven't heard my LP in years. It's packed away somewhere among the old LPs I never play. Fantasy recently reissued Ramblin' with Mose, so I got a copy. Four of the nine instrumentals are standards: Old Devil Moon, You Belong To Me, Stranger in Paradise and The Kissin' Bug. The remaining five are Mose originals. None of the tracks are played in the manner Mose approaches instrumentals now, and none of his five compositions are reminiscent of the one song he plays all the time. I was trying to think of who his playing reminds me of, and I have decided on Red Garland. His style is the make-it-sound-easy type, but a little more heavy handed than, say, Ahmad Jamal. That is why I say Red Garland. I also hear a little Vince Guaraldi, although I doubt that Guaraldi was an influence. Is anyone else here familiar with Mose's Prestige sides? Anybody care to disagree with the idea that he sounded like Red Garland back then? Can anybody recommend any other Mose Allison Prestige dates?

Glad I can help! St. Vincent de Paul Society 220 St. Vincent de Paul Place Baton Rouge, LA 70802 UPS or FedEx is recommended.

Thanks for your help, so far! I am using a vintage monitor. I have changed the settings to 1024x768, and that makes everything tiny. Can I keep this setting but enlarge the type?

I have recently started to use Mozilla Firefox instead of IE. A number of sites, thankfully not this one, are too wide for the screen, and I have to scroll back and forth to read everything. Does anyone know how to reduce the size of the screen to fit onto my monitor?

It looks like it's not there anymore. It had links to five or six articles from Britain and I think Australia, describing the terror that tourists felt while in the Super Dome. Eyewitness accounts of stabbing, reports of rape, etc.