Tom 1960

Happy birthday, Free!

I'm usually up no later than 4:45 am weekdays. I then fix myself breakfast and coffee before I head off to the gym just past 5:30. Weekends, somewhat later. Maybe 7 am if I'm lucky on a Sunday morning. I have dogs too.(3) When they hear the paper girls car driving up the street, all hell breaks loose.

Johnny Hodges - Disc 3

Alot of rain here today. Pouring at times with a brief outburst of thunder and lightning. There's alot of water running down the street. On a positive note, a good amount of snow has melted. I just can't wait till spring!

Thanks Jim for giving us such a great outlet. I'm glad to be a member here.

Listening to the April 5 and August 14, 1958 sessions of Johnny Hodges Mosaic, disc 2. Great music.

Just found this sad news in my inbox : Jeff Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, died today (Sunday March 2) in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Toronto. He was 41, and leaves his wife, Cristie, daughter Rachel (13) and son Derek (three), as well as his father and step-mother, Bud and Rose Healey, and sisters Laura and Linda. Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending. Robbed of his sight as a baby due to a rare form of cancer, retino blastoma, and he started to play guitar when he was three, holding the instrument unconventionally across his lap. He formed his first band at 17, but soon formed a trio which was named the Jeff Healey Band. After his appearance in the movie Road House, he was signed to Arista records, and in 1988 released the Grammy-nominated album See the Light, which included a major hit single, Angel Eyes. He earned a Juno Award in 1990 as Entertainer of the Year. Two more albums emerged on Arista, with lessening success as the ’90s passed. Various “best-of” and live packages were released, and he recorded two more rock albums, before turning to his real love, classic American jazz from the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. By then, however, Healey was an internationally-known star who had played with dozens of musicians, including B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and recorded with George Harrison. Mark Knopfler and the late blues legend, Jimmy Rogers. A family man with a three-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter he preferred to stay close to home. “I’ve traveled widely before — been there and done that,” he told friends, determined to avoid the lengthy, exhausting tours that marked his life in his twenties and early thirties. A long-running CBC Radio series saw him in the role of disc jockey — My Kinda Jazz was a staple for a while, but in recent years he had hosted a programme with a similar name on Jazz-FM in Toronto. A highlight of his broadcasts was always the use of rare — and rarely heard — music from his 30,000-plus collection of 78-rpm records. As his rock career wound down as the millennium came, he recorded a series of three album of early jazz, playing trumpet as well as acoustic guitar in a band he called Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards. The most recent was It’s Tight Like That, recorded live at Hugh’s Room in Toronto in 2005, with British jazz legend Chris Barber as guest star. At the time of his death he was about to see the release of his first rock/blues album in eight years, Mess of Blues, which is being released in Europe on March 20, and in Canada and the U.S. on April 22. The album was the result of a joint agreement between the German label, Ruf Records, and Stony Plain, the independent Edmonton-based label that has released his three jazz CDs. Mess of Blues was recorded in studios in Toronto, with two cuts recorded at the Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse in Toronto and two at a concert in London England. The backup group on the upcoming CD — the Healey’s House Band — played with him regularly at the downtown Roadhouse, and at a previous club bearing his name in the Queen-Bathurst area. Early last year, Healey underwent surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his legs, and later from both lungs; aggressive radiation treatments and chemotherapy, however, failed to halt the spread of the disease. Despite his battle with cancer, he undertook frequent tours across Canada with both his blues-based band and his jazz group; he was set for a major tour in Germany and the U.K. and was to be a guest on the BBC’s famed Jools Holland Show in April. Remembered by his musicians — and his audiences — for his wry sense of humour as well as his musical playfulness, Healey was a unique musician who bridged different genres with ease and assurance.

Johnny Hodges - Disc 1

Happy birthday, Al!

Ordered the Hodges set on Thursday and arrived on my doorstep Friday morning. I hope to get the opportunity to listen to some of this later today. Based on the many glowing reviews here, this should be a great listen.

Hank Mobley - Discs 4, 5 and 6 Taking forever to get through this set unfortunately. Great stuff, but little time available recently to do any serious listening. Let me also add I really enjoy the Pepper Adams session. Love his contributions!

PBS website

I wondered the same thing. I bet a ton of people had this set on their radar as a set they would definitely buy once it hit Running Low. Maybe the demand has been quite high since last week but it still doesn't explain why it wouldn't be in Last Chance. The only thing I can say at this point is the gentleman I spoke to at Mosaic stated twice to me that he felt the set would be gone by the weekend due to the heavy demand for the set. It may turn out that he's wrong and it could be available for a somewhat longer period. However, given this info. presented to me and the fact that I really wanted the set, I wasn't willing to take the gamble.

I initially posted this on the Hodges Running Low Thread, but wasn't certain how many folks here would view this. I thought it might be best to post a new thread to garner more attention. To those who are interested: BUY THE HODGES NOW!!! I was just on the phone with Mosaic Records and inquired about it's availability. I was hoping I could put off my purchase till April since my wife just purchased the Nelson and Mobley sets a couple weeks ago. According to the gentleman I spoke to, it's availabilty is extremely limited. He stated it may not be around after this weekend. If you've been sitting on the fence on this one, now is the time to make your decision. I placed the order. I felt I couldn't pass on this opportunity. The wife is going to kill me.

To those who are interested: BUY THE HODGES NOW!!! I was just on the phone with Mosaic Records and inquired about it's availability. I was hoping I could put off my purchase till April since my wife just purchased the Nelson and Mobley sets a couple weeks ago. According to the gentleman I spoke to, it's availabilty is extremely limited. He stated it may not be around after this weekend. If you've been sitting on the fence on this one, now is the time to make your decision. I placed the order. I felt I couldn't pass on this opportunity. The wife is going to kill me.

Hank Mobley - disc 3

I bought my new Dell about 9 months ago and have been having ongoing issues with Vista. Specific example: For some unknown reason on occasion IE will unexpectedly shut down, then reboot. It used to happen more often, less as of late. Looking at the specs if I'm reading this correctly: Processor: AMD Athlon64 x 2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ 2.00 GHz Memory(RAM): 1022 MB 32 bit Operating System

Dan, it sounds like you made the right decision. I hope to purchase the Silver release soon. Hearing alot of great things about this one. Also count me as another big admirer of Johnny Adams. The guy had one heck of a voice. Check this release out when you get the opportunity.

Oliver Nelson - Discs 5 and 6

Disc 4 Right now in the middle of "The Kennedy Dream" followed by the Pee Wee Russell session "The Spirit of '67".

Live Broadcast

For sure. A major discovery for me, that suite. Check out also Brownie's photo of the live performance of this in NYC in the booklet ! Beautiful!!!

Oliver Nelson - Discs 2 and 3 "Jazzhattan Suite" without a doubt the highlight of disc 2. Really enjoying the performances with Shirley Scott on disc 3. What a terrific set so far.

Mobley - Disc 2

I may be bouncing back and forth between these 2 excellent sets the next few days. Right now listening to: Hank Mobley - Disc 1 I've been meaning to purchase this set for at least 2 yrs. and man it's great to finally have this in my hands.