ghost of miles

... and on to disc 4 of this set, as accompaniment to the early parts of Ricky Riccardi’s new Armstrong book. I still recommend this one to people wanting to check out 1920s/30s Louis:

The latest entry in the Spiritual Jazz series:

Comment in the Prestige Records Story box-set booklet from Ron Eyre, sales director for Prestige in the late 1950s/early 1960s, that seems pertinent to this thread: There were two elements to the Prestige catalog. You had the soul-funk area with the organ groups and the honking tenors. And then the young Turks (Bob Weinstock) was doing on New Jazz. I was always anxious to push the New Jazz artists because some of those guys were getting good reviews. Bob taught me a lesson. He said, “Gene Ammons has never gotten more than two or three stars in Down Beat, nor has Eddie Lockjaw Davis. I don’t need Down Beat to sell Gene Ammons or Shirley Scott.” It was a point well taken.

Revisiting this excellent 4-CD Prestige anthology:

This is an excellent label box-set that I’ve been revisiting over the weekend. I picked up a number of sets like these—the Contemporary, Riverside and Debut boxes—when they were getting bargain-priced on their way to OOP status. The booklet is very well-done, with lots of background info on Prestige and the artists it recorded. Highly recommended if you run into a cheaply-priced copy.

Disc 3 of this set, which is still some of my favorite Cecil Taylor ever put to disc. Great notes for this set as well by Buell Neidlinger and others:

Indianapolis guitarist Charlie Ballantine’s new tribute to author Kurt Vonnegut:

Revisiting this CD right now and yeah, definitely landing on my top-10 list for 2020 historical releases.

An excellent book about some overlooked African-American artists of the McCarthy/Cold War era:

Mookie Betts now the first player in World Series history to hit a home run, steal two bases, and score two runs in the same game. Not that familiar with the Dodgers' pitching staff beyond Kershaw and Buehler--are they using an opener tonight, I take it?

Mookie's catch last night reminded me of this recent media-attention-getting play: https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/10/16/cpbl-taiwan-baseball-lin-che-hsuan-home-run-robbery-video

It sure was--I followed it online last night while working on various tasks around the house. Agree with Matthew that the DH rule may have helped out Roberts... is MLB considering making that permanent for the NL after this year? I'm normally an AL partisan, though I have no antipathy for the Dodgers, and while I have great respect for the organization and the team's performance on the field, I find the Rays to be the most insufferable, whiny "underdog" team (one that by normal rights would be sympathetic and likeable) that's ever come down the MLB pike.* (And they're sure as hell no "underdog" to anybody who's followed the AL East over the past dozen years, despite their ongoing we-don't-get-no respect schtick. Outside of one mediocre stretch in the mid-teens, they've either made the postseason or been in the running every year since 2008.) So I'll just be pulling for a great series. Without a deep sense of data for both teams (though I'm much more familiar with the Rays this season, owing to their AL East membership), I'd say slight advantage Rays, but that's based only on what I've seen in a limited number of games. And Kevin Cash has done an excellent job of managing his pitching staff throughout these no-day-off matchups. Wouldn't be surprised to see this one go the full seven as well. *(Note of apology if I've overlooked the presence of any longstanding Rays fans in these threads.)

We re-aired The Last: Final Recordings Of Jazz Greats this past week, and it remains archived for online listening.

This album as part of the Ellington Reprise set:

I know we have a separate box-set bargain thread, but upping this one to mention that Kathy Sloane's book about the Keystone Korner club, which comes with a CD of live performances from the club, is currently selling new for $6.90 + $3.99 shipping. It's a $40 list price title, and an excellent volume about the club's history (full disclosure: I'm friends with editor Sascha Feinstein, who also selected the tracks for the CD--a daunting task, as you might well imagine): Keystone Korner: Portrait of a Jazz Club

Appreciation again for mentioning the panel--it was interesting to hear the stories and details that came out of that discussion. I wonder if there's potential for a book about the Left Bank, similar to Kathy Sloane's Keystone Korner: Portrait of a Jazz Club that Indiana University Press published a few years back (and which can currently be purchased for $6.90 new through that Amazon link----that's a bargain price, especially considering that it comes with a CD of live recordings from the club).

Inspired to revisit this after hearing "Debris" play in the background during a Freaks and Geeks episode:

The bonus disc of Stepping Stone material from the Woody Shaw Complete Columbia Albums set. I have the Mosaic CBS set and the Stepping Stone CD reissue, but I really wanted the additional Village Vanguard sides. Did Michael Cuscuna ever say why they didn't expand beyond the studio-only concept and include all of the live recordings on the CBS box? I think it would have increased the size to five CDs at most.

Thanks for the heads-up--I may take a break from radio work to tune into that.

Best wishes to you both, Dan. Obviously Lyme, while not contagious, would be a matter of great concern as well.