GregK

The Rising

I lived in Ottawa for a few months 7 years ago, and I recall there were a couple very good CD stores, one downtown (sorry I cant remember the name, but it was on Rideau St, down about 2 or 3 blocks from the mall as you go away from Parliament Hill), and the CD Warehouse mentioned above. Montreal however, is a different story. There are some fantastic stores there in the downtown area. My advice is to just start exploring Ste Catherine's and the streets surrounding it. There are a lot of good places

I have the iRiver 190T, a 256MB mp3/WMA player with radio and recorder, and man I LOVE THIS THING!!! It is well worth the money. Very easy to use, lots and lots of features (you can have the menu in just about any language you want), an EQ, great sound. it is small and comes with great 'phones too. the only problem I have had with it, and its a significant one, is the software that came with it for loading files onto it needs to be reinstalled quite often, for whatever reason. I have also had to reinstall the USB driver maybe 60-70% of the time I use it, so it's always a major hassle just changing files. But, you can re-format the thing and turn it into a simple removable drive, which could make life easier. Also, I have tried contacting iRiver for help and they are hard to get a hold of

Commercial with a conscience though. I don't agree with his politics but I respect him for not just writing the same old jingos over and over. Although I could do without Cover Me and Dancing in the Dark. Ouch

I've been looking at that Mingus box for a while now. I don't have much Mingus so this might be a good place to start

Once again Bruce screws his fans by making them buy a 3-disc set just to get some rarities. I will buy this too because I want to hear disc 3, but as usual with compilations I have problems with the songs chosen for the first 2 discs. Where is Better Days? And why did he pick 2 of the lesser songs from The Rising when that record is full of some of his best material, only one of which (the Rising) is on this set? I just never understand the logic behind these things. Don't even get me started on his Greatest Hits (where were the first 2 records on that one??)

I'm hoping that remixing older recordings in surround 5.1 doesn't catch on. What I have heard so far just doesn't sound right to me.

I wish I had been able to have some sort of jazz class like you describe when I younger. I would have saved a lot of time wasted looking for more meaningful music as I slowly learned that rock and roll is NOT where it's at

the driver's comments sound very similar to most people I discuss music with outside of these boards. Most people are just so ignorant of jazz. "its just a bunch of people practicing their instruments", or, "its boring"

I know it was meant for percussion (drums, marimba, etc) but I'd be interested to hear the Black Page in this context. Similarly, although it is a TOTAL bitch from what I understand, Sinister Footwear. Not the most melodic of Zappa tunes but still quite demanding and probably rewarding for jazz musicians to pull off

this is a popular bootleg. i wonder if columbia has any plans on ever releasing this

Thanks folks!!! I feel much older this year than last year, probably due to having to chase after a baby for the last 10 months!!!

Farmer Jack is great. I think Meijer has better prices more consistently though. Mitch also writes for the Detroit Free Press. He tore into the Lions last week, deservedly. I think he is also working on a movie with Hank Azaria

I've always considered the Allmans special, not just any ordinary Southern or blues band. I hate, CRINGE, when people compare them or lump them with Skynyrd, etc. The Bros. were much more than that. The jazz strains in their music, at least in the beginning with Duane (I haven't heard the latest incarnation) were obvious and vital

I intend to pay closer attention the Pascoal tunes. I must be missing something

The only stuff I can easily skip are the Pascoal tracks. Pretty tedious and insubstantial. I never saw the thrill in those

not sure exactly of the dates, etc, but its at Hill Auditorium sometime in March or April. Go to www.ums.org to check it out.

that does sound like a great idea!! Lots of great places downtown to hit before or after the show. My only problem is my self-imposed one concert a year limit due to budget restraints (i.e., new baby, and wife going to school). I don't know how many others chances I will have to see Ornette so I am strongly leaning to going to that one over Llyod.

yep, it shows a lot of classic movies, and still has matinees. But every once in a while they have live concerts, usually in association with the U of M musical society.

Can you tell me where the Michigan theatre is Greg? Thanks its on Liberty St downtow, between State and Maynard Streets, in the formerly one-way section of streets. Its across from the big Borders store, about 2 or 3 blocks west of the U of M bell tower. hard to miss with its brilliantly bright marquee. I definitely recommend going to a live show there if you can. I saw Shorter and Hancock there, both as a duo and individually, and each time it was great, partly because the theater only seats around 3000 or so

In a Silent Way was reissued without anything extra, so I'm expecting JJ to also come without any extras.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to this or not. The Michigan is a great place to see live music; the acoustics are fantastic and every seat is good, even the back of the balcony. I might be saving my money for Ornette Coleman when he comes to town though

How so?? (I mean "what do you mean?".) They all seem similar (in some ways), and unique in other ways. I think GregK may be referring to the metal binding? I haven't seen the new box yet. Is the spine made of metal? Just arrived on my desk minutes ago. The packaging is the same "metal-binding" style as "BB", "Miles & Coltrane", etc. Sorry folks, what I meant was that the Coltrane box had a metal casing, the Silent Way box had the cardboard or whatever that stuff is spine, and now the JJ box reverts back to the packaging of the first 3, with the carboard-y case and metal spine. I'm not complaining, I love the packaging of these boxes as much as the music, but I was just curious. Why aren't the consistent?

I am an idiot. I went to a local independent store who always has great prices and lots of imports, etc. He said for some reason his shipment of the Miles JJ box didnt come in, but he promised he would have it tomorrow, for $52.99!! I checked with another independent close by, and he said his distributor didnt have it and wouldn't have it for a week or two, which made me think the first guy wouldn't have it for the same reasons, so I went to Borders and bought it for FULL PRICE!! I just couldn't bring myself to use that coupon, and if I could have waited I could have gotten it for almost $15 cheaper, but as I said above, I am an idiot.

I've made it through disc one so far, and I'm surprised at how interesting the many Willie Nelsons are. Track 5 has some excellent Zappa-esque playing by McLaughlin. What I find most interesting about this and the Silent Way box though is how they illuminate just how brilliant the work by Macero was. To make those classic records from the material presented in these boxes (I admit though that I don't know what the Yesternow and Right Off takes amount to yet) took some superb work on his part. Anyone have any idea why this box reverts to the Bitches Brew, Gil Evans and 60s quintet packaging? The In a Silent Way and the Coltrane boxes seem to be unique in their presentation