Tom 1960

Happy birthday, Chuck.

I've been thinking recently about seriously beefing up on my rather paltry collection of Monk releases. I probably own a half dozen releases at best. I figured a good starting point would be Monk's Music. Now the question is this. A friend has told me I should seek out the K2 version rather than the standard issue which is widely available. He claims the K2 far exceeds the standard issue. I've looked on Amazon Marketplace and the prices range for a new copy from $21.99 to upwards of nearly $70. Normally I wont spend over 20 bucks for a single disc and I'm certainly not going to spend anything close to 70! I guess what I'm asking is it really that big of a difference sound quality wise and would it be worth spending the extra cash when I could buy a good deal of Monk's other releases at the same time?

Thanks for the info on John Wilson, fellas. I wasn't certain just how much input I would receive here? Just goes to show this place is an amazing resource of information. To Larry: I just ordered the Phil Woods Early Quintets album from Newbury Comics for the bargain price of 5.99. Look forward to hearing it.

I've been listening to Jimmy Raney's album "A" for the very first time tonight. The 2'nd half of the release features the fine trumpet work of John Wilson along with Raney and fellow bandmates. Can anyone tell me more about John Wilson? Did he record any other dates either as leader or sideman? Love to hear more from this guy.

I hear you there. 6 days a week for me. 4 days with the weights and 2 days road biking.

A name I wasn't familiar with until my recent purchase of Andrew Hill's "Grass Roots". Nice stuff. Any other dates either as a leader or sideman I should look into?

From the album of the same name, "A Slice Of The Top" by Hank Mobley. A real burner. James Spaulding is on fire here.

Ok, to revive this topic if only temporarily, what are your thoughts on "Here And Now"? I've seen it get some mention in this lengthy thread but no serious comments. I guess why I'm curious is that I can get this rather cheaply from Newbury Comics, especially since it's OOP. I already own a good number of Hampton's catalogue and this is one of the few earlier dates with the exception of the "All Night Sessions" that I don't already own. Input is appreciated.

Available for only $3.99 plus shipping via Amazon Marketplace: Hampton Hawes - I'm All Smiles Picked this up tonight.

Thanks for the input fellas. While my buying these days is heavily weighted towards the guys long passed, I'm pushing myself to get more hip among the modern(living) players. Sounds like I can't go wrong with the McBride release. As for Jeff "Tain" Watts mentioned by WorldB3, I read a recent review in Downbeat praising this release. I guess I'll have to look that up also.

It's a brilliant album. You are very fortunate to listen to this for the first time ! I'll bet that your impressions will be very positive... :tup Enjoy ! Oh man, this album is GREAT! I'm listening to it right now. No reason this album should be OOP. Super lineup here. I especially enjoy the inclusion of Howard Johnson on tuba who really adds something special to the date. Hanks best? Well perhaps not, but it's pretty damn good. Enjoying the hell out of this right now. A great way to end my work day. Thanks again, Jeff. You are the man.

I know he gets dissed by some/many for being a Miles wannabe. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not since I've not been exposed to much of his music. I just finished listening to a Bud Powell tribute album which he performs on and while I get the comparison, I still enjoyed his playing. What do you guys think? Does the comparison stick or is it a tad bit unfair? If you feel it's not totally fair, then could you suggest an album worth checking out? Thanks for the input.

Any thoughts on this one? Nice lineup with Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut, Joshua Redman, Steve Turre and Lewis Nash.

Much thanks to Soul Station. I'm really looking forward to receiving this guys. I'm very fortunate to get this being this is OOP and fetches some serious bucks. Will post my impressions soon.

I'll buy it!!!

Thanks Paul for sharing. Man, that was great. When you get the opportunity please post this on the "other forum". Thanks.

I figured it was now or never when it came to the Blakey "At The Jazz Corner Of The World". I've been reading alot of good stuff on this one recently. Didn't want to miss out.

I've been listening to his playing with Charlie Parker and enjoying it alot. He also recorded a number of dates with Ira Sullivan during the 1980's and are highly regarded, at least according to All Music Guide. I was just wondering what your thoughts are concerning some of these recordings? Your favorites and possibly any other dates Rodney led you feel are worth considering? Thanks as always.

I used to visit a friend in San Diego for close to 10 years. While in town I always made a point of visiting the Tower Records store located next to the Sports Arena. It was just a simple one floor store which had a great selection of music. A good number of jazz titles I bought from that store. I usually stopped by at least 3 times while I was in town. Maybe not the highlight of my whole trip, but it ranked pretty damn high. Nowadays, the only thing that comes close to matching the same level of excitement is visiting Newbury Comics in the Boston area. Otherwise, it's pretty much online these days. Not the same.

Hi guys.I haven't quite figured what I'm going to do yet, although I do appreciate the input from all. I don't want to appear as some sort of pariah wanting to feed off her dad's music collection. Right now, I'll leave the ball in her court and let her decide if she wishes to part with the set or not? She knows I'm interested, that's enough for now. In the coming days/weeks if she asks for some sort of offer, I'll offer something along the lines suggested here. If she doesn't mention it, I'll let it go. If I hear anything, I'll let you guys know.

Anyone else care to add some thoughts on this release? I see it's OOP although still available through Amazon Marketplace.

Right now till 7PM eastern

As some of you guys already know, I became good friends with an elderley gentleman the past year or so who happened to be a huge jazz fan. Recently he passed which brought great sadness. Since his passing his daughter has invited me to drop by and pick out some music from his collection. I dropped by yesterday and brought home half a dozen recordings or so. While I was there I commented on the Herbie Nichols Mosaic that was sitting on a shelf among other various box sets. I expressed an interest in it, although I was very upfront that it was probably worth some decent amount of money and I wouldn't consider just taking it for free. I just couldn't do that based on my frienship with her dad. I'd feel like a piece of crap. I guess what I'm asking is what would be an acceptable offer for the set? To be honest, I probably could spend alot less just purchasing the Blue Note 3 cd collection which seems to be running around the $40 mark. Is the Mosaic collection that much better? I imagine the music is probably the same. Your thoughts are appreciated.

Chet Baker in New York would probably rank high on alot of lists.