sidewinder

I'm looking forward to this new Grant Green. I suspect that the FOP stores might be selling it around the £5 mark (as they tend to do for the budget price Blue Notes).

Larry Young 'Heaven On Earth' (BN Liberty Blue/White stereo) Lonnie Smith 'The Turning Point' (BN Liberty). Jacket signed by Lonnie !

Yes, I'll heartedly second the recommendation of Hiroshi's store. His LPs are usually in magnificent condition - even better than new ! It's a slippery slope - first Mosaic LPs, then King reissues, then Lexington deep groove Blue Notes..

I remember hearing some of those Isipingo radio broadcasts around midnight on Sunday evening (Radio 2 'Sounds of Jazz'), must have been the late 1970s. Ah - those were the days...

'Horace Silver Quintet Vol 4' (BN Lexington 10") - signed by Horace ! Fantastic sound on this one. Blue Mitchell 'Bantu Village' (BN Liberty blue/white stereo) Lee Morgan 'Charisma' (BN Liberty blue/white stereo) Lonnie Smith 'Move Your Hand' (BN Liberty blue/white stereo)

Yes, there's a good writeup on Koenig's career in that excellent booklet to the Contemporary Story 4CD set. The quality of that package is a fitting tribute - incredible that such state-of-the-art recordings were done in his back-room, often with crates of LPs littered around. Hasn't the Gitte CD recently been reissued in Germany at a fairly low price? The original vinyl on Hor-zu took some getting hold of but the CD should be easy to find over there in the shops. I'm not familiar with the rest of Gitte's output for the German public but she sounds pretty damn good on this Clarke/Boland set (in which Jimmy Woode seems to have had a major directing role). For samples, I'd recommend checking out one of the programmes in Ghost of Miles' 'Night Lights' archive, which has some of the tracks. Anyway, back again to Lester..

For me, the strongest things on this mighty fine album are 'Gary's Notebook' and 'Totem Pole '. The punters heard in the background on the Lighthouse recording were not wrong...

Indeed ! Anyway, back to Lester Koenig...

Some great new additions in the 2.99 Euro range to be had. 2 out of 3 of the Chet Baker Prestige compilations, Bobby Timmons Trios, lots of Charles Earland and another Eric Kloss !

Great to hear !

There used to be a good little vinyl store on Lakeshore Boulevard South ('Dave's Vinyl Museum') which was worth checking out for jazz. Not sure if it's still there - I last visited them about 15 years ago, when I picked up some nice German ECM pressings (Priester's 'Polarization' etc) for about $5 each ! Too bad that places like the Bermuda Onion and the Top O' The Senator are no longer around. The 'Rex' is a good place for live local jazz. Not sure about CD stores - Sams and A&B Sound on Yonge used to be good (Sams in particular) but I believe they have now closed down. Not sure what is in their place. There's also a big multicultural festival in Toronto around June/July - can't recall exactly when. You can go round the neighbourhoods sampling selections of exotic food at minimal price. Good fun ! The view of downtown from Toronto Islands is also well worth checking out, as is the trip up the top of the CN Tower. If you have a car and like art I'd also recommend a trip up North to the McMichael Collection in Kleinburg (I think that's the name of the place) to see the great Canadian art collection by the 'Group of Seven'.

How about that Patti Bown Columbia LP? Now there's a rarity... 'Patti Bown Plays Big Piano' Columbia CL1379

Thanks to Chuck for sending set #2499 across the pond (2 working days from Michigan - an all time record) ! Looking forward to digesting the contents.

That decision is now turning out to be somewhat regrettable ! He may have well have brought along a stuffed cat if all he's going to do is leave him on the bench.

I remember seeing Judy Singh in performance at a club in Edmonton, Alberta - part of a lineup that included Julian Priester ! She is/was quite prominent on the Edmonton jazz scene. Wonder how she came to do that record date with Woody? (presumably they teamed up as a result of one of Woody's Western Canada tours).

Well. England played OK in the first half (with a truly great goal from Joe Cole) but once again they totally flunked it in the second half. Crouch and Lampard seemed to lose it completely and the defence against the set pieces was appalling. News of Michael Owen is not good. He gets a scan tomorrow and chances are he will miss the rest of the tournament. Still, they manage to avoid the Germans in the next round..

Outrageous! - they'll be giving Sonny away with packets of cornflakes next. I noticed also that the Dexter Gordon box was now below 30 Euros. Those single Prestige/Milestone CDs at 2.99 are great. Particular mention for the Kloss and Timmons, both very good listening value.

Sorry about the delay. Somehow I got chance over the weekend to listen to the BFT disk 1 whilst sunning myself in the deck chair and sipping a wine. The perfect listening environment? Enjoyed the music but was totally in the dark as to who it was for the most part. Here's my thoughts: 1. Ah, vinyl (well shellac, I guess ). The segue of old vocal into modern arrangement and back again works suprisingly well. Something in the sound reminded me of Piere Dorge's New Jungle Orchestra, also was thinking perhaps Carla Bley... 2. Trombone and bass duet. I was thinking this might be Julian Priester but I know now it isn't ! 3. Prominent bass clarinet with vibes in small group. A very European sound but with hints of Dolphy influence. Michel Portal? 4. Bigger group with more marching band rhythms. Strong tuba-led underpinning to the ensemble (Bob Stewart?). Haven't a clue who the vibes is. Quite like this one. 5. Definitely a Jaco Pastorius tune ('Liberty City') played by electric piano trio. The sound and style sort of reminds me of Larry Goldings. 6. A bit of African drums leading into piano/keyboard overdubs. No idea on this one, didn't do much for me. 7. Fairly freeish alto sax (distinctive sound is definitely Steve Coleman) with drums and bass. Not sure of the group and tune. Again, strong European feel to the music. 8. Solo bluesy guitar intro. Mike Stern? 9. Various synthesised saxes (contrabass?) in a style influenced by latish Weather Report. Joe Zawinul? 10. More bass clarinet - my first instinct was to say this was something by Bennie Maupin and Dr Pat Gleeson (sure sounds like them in places) but not sure. Quite like this one (and if Kenny Wheeler is on this then I'm totally in the dark). 11. Didgeridoo introl - Rolf Harris? Leads into a Miles-ish trumpet feature. Paulo Fresu? 12. Solo guitar (Bach) then into 'Nuages' in duet with an alto player. The sound of the altoist is very much in the style of Phil Woods. 13. Cello lead playing Clifford Brown's 'Joy Spring'. No idea who though - didn't do a lot for me. 14. A very nice orchestral arrangement with a vibes lead that is very much in the style of Melba Liston. The vibist definitely isn't Bags or Bobby Hutcherson. I'd like to know who this one is. 15. That wouldn't be Fats Sadi with Kenny Clarke and Francy Boland would it? Love this track - the sound just reeks of Saba. Me wants ! Definitely a 'broadening' experience Mike, I'm looking forward to seeing the details for these tracks. Thanks again for putting this one together !

Talking of the Jazz Record Center, here's an interesting sale of Billie Hilday test pressings from the estate of Milt Gabler that they are doing: Billie Holiday Commodores

I have this one on a Black Lion vinyl and its Now why did I sell that 2LP 'Live at the Loosedrecht Jazz Festival' ?

Interestingly, that Sonny Simmons DVD I was recently viewing made mention (by Sonny) of Lester Koenig's blacklisting by the film industry and his subsequent move into jazz production. Sonny says many nice, very complementary things about him in the film.

Some really nice playing on flugel by Johnny Coles on Herbie Hancock's 'Fat Albert Rotunda'. Albeit more in an R&B vein. Also had the great pleasure of seeing him live once in a Mingus Dynasty lineup, around 1982/83. Danny Richmond was leading that particular group. As I recall him, Johnny was a short, very low-key guy on stage and was wearing that trademark skull cap and tweedy sports jacket that often appear in photos of him around that time. A wonderful sound he got on the flugel - totally distinctive ! I have the Uptown LP and will giove it a spin later today (after I've sorted out an overdue input for the BFT for Mike Weill ). How about also that 'Childs Play' session he recorded with Donald Byrd and Duke Pearson?

An astonishing final 10 minutes. France should have had it sewn up but Korea persevered !

Pete La Roca 'Basra' (BN NY USA stereo)