undergroundagent

CDs that I bought: Stanley Turrentine "Jubilee Shout" TOCJ Howard McGhee/Kenny Drew 10" Conn Frank Foster/George Wallington 10" Conn Shirley Scott "Blue Flames" Clifford Jordan "Spellbound" Blue Mitchell "Blue's Moods" Blue Mitchell "Cup Bearer" Oliver Nelson "Blues & The Abstract Truth" Japan Impulse There could have been more, but I had to keep it within reason.

Across from City Hall.

**THE REPORT** First off, let me just say that NYC is a beautiful city. There is so much to see, and do. I think that we could have spent three weeks there and still not have gotten to do everything. Fortunately, we were blessed with good weather (for the most part) and got to take in plenty of great stuff. We avoided the museums this time around. Simply put, we decided that the sites were more important. Beisdes, it leaves us something to do for the next time. Here's what we did: DAY 1: — Arrived at 6pm on Friday. Took the shuttle bus from Newark to the Port Authority Bus Station (as suggested here at Organissimo). Walked around Times Square a bit, and then decided to take the "Night Tour" on one of the Grayline double deckers. It was fantastic. The weather was beautiful, and riding across the Manhattan bridge to Brooklyn with that light breeze was amazing. The tour took 2.5 hours. When we arrived back in Times Sq., we were both pretty hungry so we went to Virgil's for some southern BBQ. I had the Chicken & Ribs, and Carla had the Kansas City Friend Chicken. Clearly, this meal was MY CHOICE. It was pretty good, but probably the weakest dinner of the trip. DAY 2: — Up and out by 9am. We hopped on a Double Decker again for the downtown loop. It took about 2 hours, and luckily we had a great tour guide. We got off downtown and took in a few sites. Most prominent was the WTC site. I almost cried. What really got on my nerves though was the amount of people taking pictures. I don't know why, but it really pissed me off that people would treat the site as a "spot on a tour." The people, and city, deserve more than that. Just my opinion. After that, we went the Century 21 across the road, I bought a nice double-breasted Kenneth Cole spring jacket for $60, and Carla a shirt for $12. Then we went to J & R. Man, is this place impressive or what!?!?! Naturally, I bought a few CDs. By far, this was the best music store in terms of jazz selection that I went in. From there, we went to South Street Seaport. Great view of the East River and Brooklyn there. Also, some nice shops. We bought our theater tickets as well at the much smaller (and MUCH FASTER) tckts booth. In addition, we ate at one of the breweries. It was actually very good. By this time, it was getting to be late in the afternoon, so we decided to finish our tour through the lower east side and up back to Times Sq. Went back to the hotel ("The Muse" between Broadway and 6th Avenue on 46th Street) where we rested for an hour. Then we got dressed up for dinner and jazz at the Blue Note with Horace Silver. For dinner, we went ot his place called "Noi" on Bleecker st. for some authentic Italian. It was FANTASTIC! I had the Ravioli stuffed with roccata cheese, and it was great. Quite affordable as well. I think the bill with three glasses of wine and an appetizer was no more than $45. Then, we went to see Horace. The band was in fine form. They played for about an hour and a half, and Horace gave everyone plenty of soloing space. I was skeptical, at first, about seeing an eight piece band, but with the soloing, it seemed as though it was a basic quartet/quintet. Horace definately still has his chops. They started the set with his new composition (I forget the name), and ended with about a twenty minute rendition of "Song for mt Father." It was on point. DAY 3: — Up and out by 9 am. We started off by taking the Uptown tour on the double decker. Very nice sites through Central Park, and Harlem. The buildings are fantastic. That took about 2 hours. Then we came back for some lunch. We ate at an organic foods cafe. The stuffed pizza was great. After that, we proceeded for some ice cream. I forget the name of the place, but I've never had anything like it. They actually mix your own "platter." I couldn't even finish it, but it was yummy. Then we went to an afternoon matinee of "Rent" on Broadway. It was the best musical I've seen, and for those who haven't seen it, I'd definately recommend it. Not much else to tell about that...the music was very new-age, but it was interesting, and the sites in the theater were all terrific. Once that finished we went for dinner at Stages Deli. The sandwiches there are HUGE!!!! I had the "Katie Couric" which was turkey-ham-swiss on rye. Carla had the hot roast beef sandwich. The meal and service there was awesome. This was pne of the best meals we had. DAY 4: — Up and out by 8am. We walked from Times Sq. to the United Nations for a tour with a short stop at Grand Central Station on the way. The UN tour wasn't anything special. It was nice to see the Security Council and General Assembly, but the best part was the old fat guy who interupted the guide by asking, "Was this the place where Khrushcev stamped his fist in anger?" The guide didn't know what the hell to do. Next up, we made our way down to Canal Street. Carla wanted to buy a few "Prada/Kate Spade/Gucci" purses. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty heavy at that time, and I think somebody got busted by the cops. All the vendors who were selling the phony stuff closed up shop at the same time, and quite rapidly at that. We walked away empty handed, and decided to come back the next day to try again. From there, we headed to the Village where we ate at John's Pizzeria. SIMPLY MARVELOUS!! We had the pepperoni, meatball, and pepper pie with garlic on top. This was, by far, the best pizza I've ever tasted in my life bar none. After that, we walked around a bit and I bought a few more CDs. The Bleecker Street Record Store had a great selection of jazz, but the prices were way too high for used stuff. The rest of the day was a battle with the weather, and we kind of lazed around. For dinner, we went to this place on restaurant row called Swing 46. It was a jazz club/eatery. Nice atmosphere, and the wait staff was very friendly. We both had New York Strips, and they were nice and tender. DAY 5: — Last day, and we got out at 9:30. Didn't do too much today. Kind of just filled in some holes. Carla bought FOUR purses on Canal St.. She was happy. I bought FOUR cds. I was happy. We took the Staten Island Ferry past Liberty Island. It was okay, but kind of boring. Filled out some time in the village and a quick stop at Macy's. That was it!!! TRIP RATING: 9/10 Great time with a great gal! I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Seriously, I have five...AND NOT ONE WAS MY FAULT!!!!

Hans, Can you send me that info again? Apparently, the private message was blank!

Sent you a PM, re: all the Kelly's

Saw this one at the used store...wicked band, but I can't find out much about it. Good album?

Brad — In all honesty, I wouldn't waste your time. It's just a negative feedback. No one really cares, particularly if you have plenty of positives. You can't please everyone, so why try?!?! As I recall someone telling me, you need to get thicker skin when you're dealing with people on line. Move on. There's more important things in this world then getting in a "keying" match with someone you've never even met. Just my opinion.

Thanks, guys!!! First day off, and what am I doing? HOUSEWORK!!!!!!

I'm just listening to the Mel Brown "Chicken Fat" disc...MAN, THIS SMOKES!!! It's probably more geared to be an electric blues record (Albert King, but more jazzy?). Nevertheless, I'm lovin' it!! Talk about oozing grease...WHERE'S BIG AL!?!?!

Hey Folks, I'm jumping for joy over here. Finally, no more exams, essays, theses, etc. It's all over!!!! WOO HOO!!! Going to NYC tomorrow. Thanks Organissimo BB for being a nice hangout while I procrastinated with my studies.

Fat Sugar Killer Jones representin'.... B)

There's no reissue in sight. It was, however, released as a Collector's Choice, and also as a TOCJ and JRVG. I have the JRVG; it sounds great!

You could've waited until I arrived later this week!

I placed my order already for the following: Toshiba TOCJ 6402(Blue Note)New,24bit Adderley,Cannonball/Somethin' Else 1500 Toshiba TOCJ 6403(Blue Note)New,24bit Blakey,Art/Moanin' 1500 Toshiba TOCJ 6404(Blue Note)New,24bit Coltrane,John/Blue Train 1500 Toshiba TOCJ 6405(Blue Note)New,24bit Hancock,Herbie/Maiden Voyage 1500 Toshiba TOCJ 6415(Blue Note)New,24bit Hancock,Herbie/Speak Like a Child 1500 Nothing like having the classics back in a new TOCJ format!!! Hiroshi confirmed Harold's observation that these are being reissued to celebrate BN's 65th Anniversary.

Two words for you: FILTHY MCNASTY!! This is just a great live recording. Certainly not the Quintet's best work, but it's nice to have some documentation of them in a live setting. Blue Mitchell, as always, smokes!!! I'm looking forward to seeing Silver a week from tomorrow at the Blue Note.

I already have my reservations for May 1st @ 10:30.

Seriously, I'm not an avid enough collector of music to ever pay $100 for an LP/CD. The most I've ever paid for any one LP/CD is $40 (Canadian). That was for an original double LP of Lee Morgan's "Live at the Lighthouse."

I'm pretty sure that when you take into account the back interest tacked on, you probably owe SS1 $100 for the "Money Jungle" CD!!!!

Who's John Coltrane!?!?!?!

"Night of the Cookers" Disc Two outshines Disc One.

GO [C]RAPTORS!!!! DOHH!!! I forgot that they're lottery-bound.

Hey Folks, My girlfriend and I are having trouble finding good spots to eat in the West Village. We're going to Horace Silver at the Blue Note afterward, but need a restaurant that's $25 or less per person. We preferably aren't looking to have Italian seeing as we're going to Grimalidi's in Brooklyn for lunch. However, I think we may overestimating the size of Manhatten, so if there's good recommendations that might be somewhat close to the West Village, that would be great as well.

Hey guys, Another question: Should we do the Brooklyn Bridge/Staten Island Ferry on Saturday or Monday? In other words, is it better to do it on the weekend or a weekday? Thanks!

Paul — Just to reinterate..."The Phantom" is to be reissued on June. 29th on Blue Note/Water Records. THese are the same kats that put out the Eddie Gale discs.