Д.Д.

It's a bit of a hassle, but you might want to consider contacting the Discogs sellers - more likely than not, they will be happy to sell to you directly.

Ah, so that's what it is. In any case, I listened to that Hannibal album for the first time (thank you amazon) - it is good stuff indeed (except for the chanting track closer to the end).

Nice people at Edel (the current owner of MPS) have made a lot of MPS albums (including the Harper and Hannibal ones) available on streaming platforms.

I like Greene's music a lot, his klezmer projects including (coincidentally, I started listening to Klezmokum's "Le Dor Va Dor" today before I saw this thread). Recently bought this one https://balancepointacoustics.bandcamp.com/album/lifes-intense-mystery-mf193-as090 , did not listen to it yet:

Thee is a new one by Northwoods Improvisors as well, have not listend to it yet: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3a36NPSlZtXaO9K1KAhNKw

Rogueart gives 30% discount on their back catalog on June 19-22.

Yeah, that was my first exposure to Thomas, through "Transmissions". Got very excited and bought a few of his other CDs (duo with Gino Robair, some albums with a female vocalist...) and they were all quite weak.

Potlatch sale: €10 / CD, free worldwide shipping - http://www.potlatch.fr/ Note that quite a few CDs are OOP.

Which you should also source from Emanem (http://www.emanemdisc.com/E5046.html) because Japanese version is a needle-drop.

No, both bonus tracks are at the end (tracks 5 and 6). On Black Lion version they are in positions 3 and 6. The sound quality is that of a typical new Japanese remaster - (too) crisp, bass boosted a bit too much for my liking, tad too loud. But good overall. This might have actually been a remix, the tenor saxophone is perfectly audible now, and the placement of the instruments is different. I have no understanding of the process, perhaps you can achieve such result through remastering alone now. Black Lion version sound quality is funny in that the original four tracks sound like crap (and I am not talking about the tenor saxophone under-miking) - muddy, bad instrument placing, etc. The bonus tracks sounded noticeably better overall (compare two versions of "Brilliant Circles", track 1 and track 6, on the Black Lion version) - except for inaudible tenor, that is. The new Muzak edition all sounds closer to the track 6 of the Black Lion edition. I generally don't buy newer versions of reissues, but for me this was a tangible upgrade.

Yes, same ones as the Black Lion edition, but in a different order.

Is it possible to disagree with somebody without calling him / her a retard?

The guy has his views, however wacky they might be. He is voicing them from time to time (to a grand worldwide audience of maybe 500 people). The Wire says this makes him "selfish and irresponsible"? How is that? Who is he supposed to be responsible to? Why can't he be selfish? He is not a government official, he does not formulate public policy, his views have no implications. As far as I am concerned, Evan Parker can say whatever the fuck he wants.

It varies. Sometimes CDs are "sealed" by polyethylene to a sturdy cardboard, which is OK. Sometimes the CDs come just packed in regular flimsy (single-layer) cardboard. Then you should expect some cracked jewel cases. In any case, this is not CDJapan level of packaging. This is how it came recently, for example. This was all the packaging. 20210605_101124.jpg - OneDrive (live.com)

Well, thanks. I am off to 1983 stuff.

Recorded in 1982: Dewey Redman Quartet - The Struggle Continues (ECM) Sonny Simmons - Backwoods Suite (West Wind) Chet Baker - Peace (Enja Matthias Winkelmann) Borbetomagus - Barbed Wire Maggots (Agaric) Joel Futterman / Jimmy Lyons / Robert Adkins - In-Between-Position(S) - A Trio In Eight Movements (L+R). I think this one is better than the Lyons / Cyrille duo from the same year, Burnt Offering (Black Saint) Derek Bailey / Joëlle Léandre / George Lewis / Evan Parker - 28 Rue Dunois Juillet 1982 (Fou) Joe McPhee Po Music - Oleo (Hat Hut). Good stuff, although not as interesting as McPhee's "Topology" from the previous year. Sun Ra Arkestra - Nuclear War (Atavistic). Not the best Sun Ra out there, for sure, but I like it for the classic title track and for punchy and concise solos of the usual suspects. Andrew Cyrille - The Navigator (Soul Note). I am not a Cyrille fan, but this one is perfect. Sonny Simmons - Global Jungle (Deal With It) Steve Lacy Seven - Clichés (Hat Hut). The Lacy compositions are weak, but the playing of all involved is superb (George Lewis!). Ron Carter / Jim Hall - Live at Village West (Concord Jazz). Class. Lauren Newton - Filigree (Hat Hut). This one is amazing and annoying in nearly equal measures. Bob Moses ‎– When Elephants Dream Of Music (Gramavision). This is some unique and indescribable stuff that could not have been created earlier than 1980s (unlike some other albums on this list) - thanks, Rabshakeh Tony Coe - Tournée Du Chat (nato) - recorded in 1981-82 Peter Kowald & Barre Phillips, Barry Guy, Maarten Altena ‎– Bass Duets (FMP) - duets with Guy and Altena recorded in 1981 and 1982, respectively. Lol Coxhill - Instant Replay (nato) - recorded in 1981 and1982. What stroke me when I was listening to these albums was how well they were recorded, including most of the live recordings. Definitely better than the majority of the stuff recorded in 1970s. Were early 80s the zenith of the analog recording?

Well, Pharoah Sanders 1975 Paris live recording (also belonging to INA) is available for streaming: https://open.spotify.com/album/4OIvs636Rl3NeLlsK9Wktt , so I guess this is not impossible in principle. And Shepp's Live in Paris 1974 is available for download: https://transversales.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-paris-1974 . I doubt it that INA is imposing "no CD" restriction on Sam Records, so it is in all probability Fred Thomas' decision.

Still available: https://boweavilrecordings.com/album/39

Because the music is being released (with great respect, sure enough) in a purposefully limited, high-price format. Access to the music is curtailed - intentionally. If Sam Records do not want to deal with CDs (who knows, they might really not sell), they could have at least made the download / streaming option available once the LPs sell out. Would this somehow degrade "great respect for the music and musicians"?

A bandcamp link, just in case: https://rodrigoamado.bandcamp.com/album/let-the-free-be-men I saw this band live in Vienna. I thought it was not that good - Amado playing way too much (literally non-stop), Corsano's annoying vocalizing and nearly equally annoying bashing drumming and McPhee range-squeezed because of his partners. McPhee is such a broad-range player, he really benefits from having space, and this group just did not provide any. Well, I liked Kessler's playing, to be fair. Speaking of Kessler, I remember how much I appreciated Die Like A Dog recording (a radio broadcast, provided by a board member way back when, 15 years ago) where Kessler replaces William Parker on bass. The band sounded so much better with him (IMHO).

Frank Lowe Quintet ‎– Live From Soundscape (DIW) Live recoding from 1982 with Butch Morris, Amina Claudine Myers, Wilber Morris and Tim Pleasant. In NM condition, with obi. 45 euro plus shipping (standard post 5.90 euro in Europe, 10.90 euro elsewhere; registered mail more expensive). Payment by bank transfer (can accept transfers in EUR, USD, AUD) or PayPal. Send me a PM here or an email to djmdavid@yahoo.com . Discogs entry: https://www.discogs.com/Frank-Lowe-Quintet-Live-From-Soundscape/release/1598539

Streaming function is there for quite some time now, at least a year. Bandcamp owners keep insisting they are not a streaming platform, but gradually they are becoming one. I am curious how the labels / artists decide on who would post the album for streaming and how they would share the proceeds. I often see the same album being posted on bandcamp multiple times (often at different prices) by the label and the musicians involved.

The only type of liner notes I enjoy reading is the one that describes the circumstances of the session and gives some background on the musicians. I have no interest in reading about the music itself - and even more so when it is some convoluted musicological theory blah blah. Give me some anecdotes from the artists' lives. Regarding musical journalism, I think in the age of streaming it is close to totally irrelevant. I did enjoy reading the reviews by Eugene Chadbourne (whose writing I prefer to his music) and Dan Warburton (enjoy his music too!) when they were still reviewing stuff. I also liked short and to-the-point reviews by François Couture. But in general, as far as I am concerned, if the musical journalism dies out completely - good riddance. I hate the fanboy (and often quite an illiterate fanboy at that) style of Free Jazz Blog reviews, I also mainly use it to see what's been released. Never bother with the reviews themselves. Even their motto "Free = liberated from social, historical, psychological and musical constraints. Jazz = improvised music for heart, body and mind" is as trite as it can possibly get.

Yes, it is quite obvious

Yes, it definitely is a (good-sounding) needle-drop.