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What's "risky"? Annoying, maybe, but no risk at all. The discs themselves play perfectly in any CD player - the copy protection is not audible. Cactus Shield's copy protection technique is so easily avoided that it's laughable. All you have to do is shut off "auto start" or hold down the shift key when inserting the CD into the PC. I have been able to copy and rip every "copy protected" CD I ever bought, including the infamous Sony CDs with the rootkit. Kevin Well, the rootkit did affect some people's computers and it was highly invasive and in fact illegal in several EU countries, at least according to some interpretations of the law(s). One of the other rootkit ones was Art Blakey Drum Suite.

A handful added. 7 John Surman Rain on the Window (ECM) 7 John Surman Stranger than Fiction (ECM) 5 John Surman Private City (ECM) ECM special - all 3 Surman CDs for $15 20 Oscar Pettiford First Bass -- some light scratches that do not affect play 7 Oscar Pettiford Big Band Studio Recordings (Lonehill) 8 Lucky Thompson I Offer You (Beast Retro, 1997 edition) one of Lucky's last sessions 5 Febian Reza Pane Dreams of Ganesha (Denon)

Gerald Wilson shipped. Thanks! Discounts on the remaining 2 sets will be in place for 4 days, then off to eBay.

This is actually the same source material as Ella In Hollywood. I've never heard that album but apparently it had a bunch of extra applause which this of course does not. NPR was playing it today and I was blown away- I'm not even that big of a fan. But like everyone else here I've heard like a gazillion Ella albums, comps and box sets but this is probably the best one. Ella's Verve material is often so weighed down with orchestration and heady concepts that it's a joy to just here her as a jazz singer. The sound quality is really great, too. I'm not really that big a fan of Ella, so I will pass on the box, but I may be in the market for Ella in Hollywood as a present for my mother-in-law. I know that Yourmusic still has it. Can anyone comment if, in the remastering of Ella in Hollywood to put it out on the Verve Elite series (I believe), they cut back on the applause levels? Thanks. Eric

Absolutely. Mine showed up in pristine condition, though I've only listened to a small fraction of it so far. I tipped off a friend, and he ordered one as well.

How would you organise an auction, with this kind of money at stake, without ebay? MG Well, to be honest, if it was really worth this (which I doubt highly), I would take it to a real auction house (after telling people in the collecting community where I was taking it). I don't know what the fees are for a transaction this size, but quite possibly less than eBay and you wouldn't get so many flakes.

Well, perhaps but if s/he was asking a fair price, why wouldn't s/he go directly to this community and not have eBay take an arm and a leg? It certainly seems out of line to me, but it also isn't anything that interests me.

I thought the early paperbacks started from the beginning; am I wrong? Just wondering as I still have the first few. Well, sort of. The first paperback had a few of the pre-Bloom County strips, but also skipped around a bit. The first volume really goes into this pre-history and there are over 100 pages of strips that weren't included in the first paperback. Also I actually clipped the strip for over a year when I was in high school and a handful never appeared in the middle volumes like Billy and the Boingers, Tales to Ticklish to Tell, etc. So this is definitely the way to go if you are a completist, though it isn't clear about how far they will extend the series.

I got my first Ellington quarter today! (Anyone else?) It's going in the keepsake drawer. But it sure took a long time to get to Chicago if they indeed released them in Feb. I was getting Guam pretty regularly before this...

This annoying coyness pisses me off more than anything. That said, looks pretty huge. I think it would be a real slap in the face if it is these 70 CDs (again) plus a handful of unreleased discs.

David "Fathead" Newman - way back in Jan. Hank Crawford basically a week later I was so sorry to find out about David Newman; I was supposed to see him that Dec. but obviously his health forced him to cancel the gig.

To my surprise, they are putting out a supposedly complete run of Berke Breathed's Bloom County, which is very heavy on the early strips that have not been published before. Some complaints about print quality, but I plan on getting this, which is a 5 (perhaps 6 if they get around to Outland and Opus) volume set. http://www.amazon.com/County-Complete-Libr...d_bxgy_b_text_b

Well, I regret it, but the time has come to sell a few Mosaic sets. The rest are off on eBay, but I thought I would offer the Columbia Small Group Swing Sessions here first for a week or so. The price does not cover shipping. I'm estimating it at roughly $10 within the US for first class mail, shipping supplies and insurance. Other services are optional, and you can decide to ship it media rate if you would like. I will insist on insurance, however. I'll have to go to the post office first to get a quote for Canada and overseas. $200 Columbia Small Group Swing Sessions The box and booklet (#1751) are very good. Discs 1-6 look near mint. Very minor marks on CDs 7 and 8 that do not affect play. The CD cover to the jewel case holding CDs 7-8 is cracking, and I have temporarily repaired it with tape. I would have replaced it, but the sides are non-standard. So let me know if interested or if you have questions. I'll be going by first PM received. Thanks for looking! Eric

More CDs sent out, and a few holds lifted. I'm adding a handful more, as below: 3 Cha Dancante Donato e sue Conjunto 6 Jacque Loussier Trio Baroque Favorites 3 Angélique Kidjo Fifa – light scratch does not affect play, back cover missing 3 Oscar Peterson Soul Espanol (Verve) 8.50 Gwilym Simcock Perception (Basho) 6 Various Artists (Art Farmer; James Moody; Django Bates; Andy Sheppard) 12 Jazz Visits to Copenhagen 1996 (Stunt) – 2 CDs Thanks for looking! The Mosaic listings will be added as soon as I check the disc conditions. Eric

Yeah, but who mastered it first?

Clearly there is no top 100, but I do like these lists to the extent that they do lead me to try works (and composers) I've never heard. I do like Discovering Music on BBC where they break down the piece into its component parts and explain how it functions. I think it is fairly unique on radio for trying to really explain classical music beyond the most superficial gloss. To be fair, BBC 3 also has a program called Hear and Now that focuses on contemporary chamber/symphonic music and they often have 5 minute intros to these various pieces, sometimes including an interview with the composer. While many would argue that Bernstein's interpretations are idiosyncratic, there is some very good music here and it usually can be found for a good price: http://www.amazon.com/Original-Jacket-Coll...3619&sr=1-2 This was something I wanted for a while when I was just out of college, but the prices then were too high. I'm glad it stayed in print and the prices eventually dropped. I will also put in a plug for Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time which has been discussed elsewhere. I do think this is a piece that any relatively well-educated classical music fan/aficionado ought to know. Edit: I'm actually missing the bridge between Discovering Music and Bernstein, which was that one of Berstein's greatest achievements was his concerts for young people where he also explained but did not abridge or simplify orchestral music for younger listeners. Many of these concerts are out on DVD, and I'm about to start showing them to my son to see what he makes of them.

Ok, now I have to apologize for thinking the Miles Davis set was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. Really?!? 90CDs, nearly $800, in this economy? It appears to come in 3 shoeboxes, instead of the normal 1. The price is moving much closer to $600 (or $500 used). But still... However, I would disagree with the reviewer. I can't imagine that many people would have 90 CDs by Yo-Yo Ma just laying around. 20 or 30, perhaps.

Almost everything went out in the mail today. Thanks! I'm adding three to the list: 8 Sonny Stitt Move on Over: The Eddie Buster Sides (JazzBeat) 12 Sahib Shihab Summer Dawn 6 Bobby Timmons Soul Time (Riverside OJC) Last chance on a few, which will be going back to Reckless over the weekend: 7 Gary Bartz I've Known Rivers 7 Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio Ooh Live (Bright Moments) 3 Rob Mazurek Silver Spines (Delmark) -- hole through UPC, marks outside playing area, do not affect play 3 Steve Reid Ensemble Daxaar 3 Tigersmilk (Rob Mazurek) Android Love Cry I hope to have the Mosaics listed tonight, though it will probably be as a separate thread. As always, thanks for looking. Eric

I noticed the same thing. No fun, no enthusiasm, no fire. They lost to a great football team this evening. Will any team be able to beat the Saints? I don't think the Pats have recovered from that loss to the Colts. They had that game in hand and found a way to lose. It's still gnawing at them, I'm sure. Will they get their act together by playoffs? We'll see. Right now, I just don't see any team that comes close to the Saints. Colts aren't even close. They've had to mount major 4th quarter comebacks in so many games this season. That kind of stuff comes back to bite you. Saints look complete. Wow. Didn't see that one coming. Well, probably everyone expects this now, but I foresee it will come down to Saints v. Vikings in the NFC Title game. That should be a classic. (I might even watch ) The winner most likely playing the Colts, though they could get upset at exactly the wrong time.

If that's the case, he was probably late. There were some stores in our area opening at 3am on Friday. Absurd! Oh, yes, this is the alleged "other" woman (and, no, I don't mean the one on the left ). Any questions? I don't know ... she doesn't look nearly blonde enough for Tiger.

Grrr. Slow server. Stupid double post.

I actually had to get a new printer -- not by choice -- but because Dell decided not to pay their techies to upgrade the drivers on the older printers for Windows 7. Thanks a bundle, Dell. That's the last time I will ever be a customer of yours. I put a Canon printer in my Amazon cart at a very good price, and when I woke up on Black Friday it was $25 less. The price on printers has gotten so insanely low that for many brands it is almost like razors and razor blades. The printer is nearly free, and they make their money back by selling ink!

I've got The Flip too. I guess I could go check the pressing, though it didn't strike me as particularly rare.

I've never gotten myself into financial trouble, if that's what you mean. But I do try to split sending items to my house and to my work, so that my wife isn't always seeing delivery packages (and this is after cutting way back from a few years ago). I guess that is the sign of an addict. The sales pitch can be awfully strong. Just the other day I was walking by a place that had Oriental rugs for 80% off. I was mightily tempted despite the fact that a) I know intellectually they must have raised the sticker price by 40% or more, b) I don't really have room for an Oriental rug unless I got rid of a different run and c) with two small children it would get ruined anyway. But in the end, I was able to walk away.

MG I thought that might catch your eye. I inadvertently ordered two of this if you can believe it! Anyway, the cities are Pikine, a suburb of Dakar, Winterveld on the outskirts of Pretoria, Doula, Cameroon, and then African immigrants in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia. The focus is on informal work practices in African cities.