street singer

Finally getting around to reading Arthur C. Clarke's '2001: A Space Odyssey'. Recently picked up a hardcover edition of this book for $4.95 at Barnes & Noble.

Here is a list of the Verve Mini-LP discs currently available from BMG: Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond, 1975: The Duets (A&M) Oscar Peterson, Soul Espanol (Verve) Stan Getz & The Cool Sounds (Verve) Willie Bobo, A New Dimension (Verve) Astrud Gilberto, The Shadow Of Your Smile (Verve) Wes Montgomery, Willow Weep For Me (Verve) Dizzy Gillespie, Afro (Verve) Gerry Mulligan & CJB, At the Village Vanguard (Verve) Count Basie, King of Swing (Clef) Stan Kenton, The Formative Years (Decca) Woody Herman, Woody 1963 (Philipps) Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66, Equinox (A&M) Anita O’Day, Incomparable (Verve) Mel Tormé Goes South of The Border with Billy May (Verve) Alice Coltrane, Universal Consciousness (Impulse!) Archie Shepp, Attica Blues (Impulse!) Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges (Verve) Phil Woods & His European Rhythm Machine At The Montreux Jazz Festival (MGM) Stan Getz, Reflections (Verve) Jimmy Giuffre, The Easy Way (Verve)

Don't people check to see if something is still readily available before spending more money than they should?! Grachan Moncur Mosaic Select

Hey everybody, I know that some of you out there hate the DigiPack and Mini-LP style CD cases...but, I tell ya, I really like 'em. They're so much more, I dunno...'comforting' than a regular plastic jewel case. Maybe because I associate the cardboard with record sleeves and this makes me feel better or something... Who knows. Regardless of the reason, I do like them. However, what I DON'T like about them is the inevitable wear and tear on the covers due to sliding them in and out of their spots on the shelves. Do any of you know of a source for plastic sleeves to protect the covers of these things? Preferably something resealable like the ones that come with the Verve Mini-LP discs. I found something that looks promising at SleeveCity. Here is the link... http://www.sleevetown.com/plastic-cd-sleeves.shtml The ones I'm referring to are at the bottom of the page. Anyone tried these? Thanks for any suggestions!

My wonderful girlfriend reeeaaally came through for me this year. She got me the Hank Mobley Mosaic box, the 2004 Blue Note calendar, 'The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff' (Hardcover)....AND...a really cool set of jazz figurines as seen on this website: http://www.zgallerie.com/full//ghma0032.jpg Yes, I do believe I've got the World's Greatest Girlfriend!!! All this jazz stuff...and she doesn't even like jazz! But she knows it makes me happy...

Big Wheel, You might need to update your Spybot software. I did this recently - the next time I ran it, it found a whoooole buncha stuff it wasn't picking up before.

You weren't even the least bit moved by the title track to that session? Oh, man...that song just floors me every time!!

Thanks for the info, tjazz. I ordered all 6 of these yesterday for ~$37. The rest of the Dylan remasters I picked up from Columbia House using some 'Free CD' certificates I had saved up. Paid less than $20 for shipping on those. So, I got all the new Dylan remasters for under $60... Now THAT'S a hell of a deal!

Congrats, street singer! No way would I scoff at your time. I used to not be able to run a mile without getting a splitting sideache. Physical accomplishments are all relative, and shaving 30 seconds off your required time is definitely something to be proud of! Thanks Peter! Yeah, as you said, physical accomplishments are indeed all relative. That's something we should all keep in mind... It's so easy to get discouraged by comparing your time/distance to that of someone else. As long as your progessing beyond your personal best, you're going in the right direction. Go for it, ghost!

Hello Chuck, Is there a "definitive" Blue Note discography available anywhere on the web that you know of?

Thanks for the link to the photo. I had seen a picture of that memorial, but not the closeups... Almost like being there, isn't it?

I imagine that some of you have seen this before, but for those who haven't, this might be worth a look... Blue Note Records Discography Project Their other label and artist discographies are worth checking out as well!

How sad... Can't say that it was a surprise to hear the news, really...but - still a shock. Especially the way he went about it. And still very, very sad... It's strange, though. Whenever a musician like this dies, you're left thinking about all the music that you will never hear. I'm realizing how very selfish that is... I mean, this guy had family and people that loved him very, very much. And here I am, feeling disappointed about not getting to hear anymore new music from the guy. Then again, I didn't know him. I only knew his music... In response to the other portion of your post - I would say that my listening habits are about the same as yours. 80-85% jazz, 20-15% other. The 'other' consisting of indie rock (I never did care for that term...), classic country (Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, etc), a little tiny bit of classic rock and a few other oddities thrown in for good measure. When it comes to indie rock, though - all of my favorites are no longer around. Unwound, Bedhead, Elliott... I'm just thankful I got to see each of them live atleast once.

tjazz, I've often wished for a way to search by label on the BMG website...but had no idea there was actually a way to do this. Thanks for the tip!

Hey ghost, Don't have any advice for you in regards to running, since it's only a recently acquired endeavor of mine. I've been training the past few months for the Houston Fire Dept.'s physical ability test which included a 1-1/2 mile run in 13:07. There are certainly people who would look at that and scoff...especially you marathoners! However, for someone like myself who's never been much of a distance runner, getting to the point where I could do that has been a struggle. I took my test yesterday and passed. Finished the 1-1/2 mile run in 12:41. If I get the job, I'll need to get my time under 11:30 in order to pass what they call "phase tests" which are periodic physical ability tests. So...I'm here looking for advice like yourself. (And, ofcourse, any kind words of encouragement certainly wouldn't hurt, either!) "One foot in front of the other" has become somewhat of a personal mantra for me lately...

Thanks for the link to that article, ghost. Very telling... I haven't really kept up with Elliott Smith the last few years. Ever since I got into jazz, my interest in the music I used to listen to has lessened a bit. Well, I shouldn't say lessened...because that's not really true...I guess I just find myself more absorbed in jazz than anything else, and with it still being relatively new to me (started listening seriously about 2-1/2 years ago), there are so many new discoveries being made all the time. I find that the passion I once had for "indie-rock" has been trasferred to jazz. However, I still have all those records, and there will always be a place in my heart...and on my turntable/CD player...for that stuff. Especially Elliott Smith. I first heard him in '96 when a friend put a song of his ("Needle In the Hay") on a mix tape. As I recall, there was lots of good stuff on that tape...but that's the song that I kept playing over and over. I picked up his self-titled album not too long after that, and...it was just amazing. Still is. That's my favorite record of his to this day, with 'Roman Candle' and 'Either/Or' following close. I was so excited about the upcoming album after hearing rumors of it having a more "stripped down" feel and its being released on an independent. So ofcourse, the news of his death hit me pretty hard. Still don't know quite what to make of it...the nature of it, I mean. I visited the Sweet Adeline boards right after it happened and, well...it was all a bit too much. Haven't been back since. I figured it would be hard to separate the facts from the rumors over there, so that's why I asked if maybe you had heard anything definite. Thanks for the info you were able to share. Has there been any word on what's to come of the unreleased album? Is it in a releasable state? I'm sure it will eventually be released in some form regardless...similar to Jeff Buckley's posthumous 'Songs For My Sweetheart the Drunk'. Any kind of timeline for this release that you know of?

I picked up 'Idle Moments' (finally) and 'Page One'. Thanks micha!

Thanks for sharing, Ghost. Have there been any new details emerge lately regarding his death? I haven't heard much...

Nah, believe me, I don't! Don't even know the meaning of the word, actually... (Especially when there's a "2/3 Off Everything w/ No Shipping" sale at BMG!) There's always so much stuff that I've been meaning to get for a while that I rarely pick up new stuff right when it comes out (w/ the recent exception of Andrew Hill's 'Passing Ships'). I guess if I had the finances to do so I would, but...

Best way to avoid this in the future, obviously, is just to wait a month or two after the new batches are released to see if BMG picks them up. As difficult as it may be to wait at times, this is what I've been doing recently.

I've often wondered this myself... They must have some process by which they decide which ones to carry...it can't just be random. I'm often surprised at which ones they do end up carrying, though. And, conversely, which ones they don't. Who knows?!

Sounds interesting... Think I'll put that one on my "To Buy From BGM" list. Thanks for the info!

For anyone interested, I am selling this after getting a good deal on the Friday/Saturday night box. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...gory=43620&rd=1

Well, after watching my stacks of CDs pile up higher and higher over the last couple of years, I finally decided to do something about it. I purchased a CD rack from Boltz last week and it arrived today. I've since put it together and put all my discs in and now I'm sitting here wondering... How do you all categorize your CDs and records? I assume that most do it alphabetically by artist, but I don't know...maybe some of you out there have a different system? The only thing I have decided on is that, first and foremost, they must be categorized alphabetically by artist (last name first, ofcourse). Beyond that, I'm not so sure. I could go with categorization by recording date, or maybe original release date...or simply alphabetically by title? Do you categorize by genre at all, or do you simply lump all your discs together? What about Various Artists compilations - what do you do with those? And where in the world do you put that Jazz @ Massey Hall album? Under C. Parker, or D. Gillespie, or...'The Quintet'?! Looking for opinions here. What works the best for you? This could be the most anal-retentive post of the year... Oh, and one more thing: that Boltz rack is highly recommended!

Cal Tjader's 'Cuban Fantasy' available. Anyone heard this?