sidewinder

Listening to the King LP it sounds pretty nice but sounds as if there's a bit of top-end roll-off that is inherent in the master. Typical of Kings the background/noise level is absolutely quiet - great quality. The sleeve is also a superb facsimile of the (usually dog-eared) original. Recommended.

One of the London shops had an original Transition 20 for sale a couple of years ago. I checked it out but it had quite a few scratches, no booklet and had the infamous one-label problem. Priced at £150 or thereabouts.

If my memory is right, wan't this one recorded in London by Tony Hall of Tempo Records? I seem to recall it involved some skullduggery in bribing a caretaker/janitor guy to get the use of the studio for a few hours (presumably CTS Studios in Wembley). The 'recorded in Paris' story was white-wash to keep the English Musicians Union happy.

Doug Watkins 'Watkins At Large' (King Japanese reissue of Transition 20)

That was one of the first jazz books I ever bought - again back in the mid-1970s in English translation. J.E Behrendt really knew his stuff, for sure !

Hope it's a good one !

I have the King GXF LP reissue of the 'Watkins at Large' Transition. Just about to give it a spin - I wonder how it compares with the original and the Classic Records versions?

I really like this one ! Got one of the very last vinyls just as it was going out of print (thanks to the kind suggestion of someone on the BNBB ).

I first heard about Mosaic around the time that their Monk and Clifford Brown sets came out - but then promptly forgot about them for 15 or so years until just before the end of their vinyl era. At that time, importing such sets into the UK was a bit of a step into the unknown and few retailers stocked the Mosaic product. Since then I've been making up for lost time, trying to get the sets I missed (and especially in the LP format). Just wish I could have got those Commodores when they originally came out ! I can't say there has been a single Mosaic that I have regretted buying. I've made forays into Harlem stride piano, 50s vocal music (Froshmen etc) and New Orleans jazz, not my usual territory at all, but in each case the boxes have been truly enjoyable and ear-opening.

Freddie Hubbard 'Hub Tones' (BN NY USA mono, DG side 2). An incredible copy with pristine cover !

By the way Tooter I believe that the correct numbers for the 'Cover Lover' LP are Columbia SCX6116 (stereo), SX6116 (mono). This is a Lansdowne recording.

Don't have any additional details but of course I will scan the back when it arrives. With regard to 'Gordon Brown' I was thinking of Cameron's facial resemblence/same uncool haircut as this ministerial 'paragon of prudence': I digress...

Just about every copy I've ever come across has had a cut-out on the lower RHS and/or has ring-wear on the front. Not my favourite session from Hank (sounds a bit un-rehearsed) but repeated listenings of the Conn have made this one grow on me. The Hank of 'Breakthrough' is evident at times in this session.

Here it is - advance copy for the Ronnie site. Hmmm - looking at this cover it would appear that Gordon Brown started off doing jazz..

I have a copy of the Cameron 'Cover Lover' vinyl on its way to me in the next few weeks, Tooter. I'll happily do you a scan when it arrives.

Let's hope that this is the only reason. They started off so well then seemed to lose it completely. Why did that overpaid serial bonker/manager take Owen off after only 50-odd minutes? Still, it's 3 vital points.

England just about scraped through against Paraguay 1:0. Even though it was sufferingly hot in the 2nd half they played for far too long like rabbits caught in the headlights. And as for Ericksson's bizarre substitution strategies and timings, the less said about this the better. The jury is out.

I would say that you paid far too much for this set and should sell it to me at cost price..

It was the usual BBC TV hype over here by Linekar & co. re: Germany are very average, the England team have way better players and should beat them etc etc. They peddle this tosh before every World Cup and every time they are proved wrong. Fire these b***tards ! I thought the Germans looked pretty impressive - created lots of space, good attacking moves and ruthless in finishing. Looks like the Germans of old to me. Crucially, they dominated in mid-field and Costa Rica never really got a look in (those 2 nice goals withstanding). Poland v Ecuador in comparrison looked pretty lacklustre.

Fireworks in the first few minutes of Germany v Costa Rica with the Germans scoring a sensational goal. At half time it's Germany 2 - Costa Rica 1.

Around $600 is the usual going rate on ebay. I have a vinyl copy - and it is a major exercise getting through the box and packaging to actually find and spin a particular LP !

Monk Vogue/Black Lion, CD#3. Wonderful !

Very Happy Birthday, Bertrand !

I'm tempted to pre-order this one. It has yet to come out in the shops in the UK.

Saw them a week ago at Bath. Very impressive - all those years of working together really showed. Classy stuff.