ejp626

That is exciting. I'm in Chicago and go to a lot of theatre, nearly all off-Loop. It is one of the few other places where you can see such a range of productions, including shoestring productions. It really is feasible for a young company to go out there and "put on a show." And there is pretty decent coverage, even of small productions, between the two dailies, two alternative weekly and Metromix. I keep thinking that one of these days I'd like to produce (not direct) a production of Lear on the beach, but dealing with the city bureaucracy makes that an unlikely dream.

Mostly OJCs this time around (ones I decided not to buy in the Concord sale) Brubeck and Desmond -- Reunion John Wright - Soul Side Soul Oliver Nelson/Lem Winchester - Nocturne James Clay - Double Dose of Soul Von Freeman - Young and Foolish Noah Howard - Black Ark

Let me be clear when I say "people" I mean it loosely to include all financial market participants. Everybody wants that magic asset that gives high yield with minimal risk (the modern equivalent of the money tree) and during bubbles they are willing to pretend that the risk simply doesn't exist. Guy In that sense, B-school majors (and even the Masters of Wall Street) are no different from the vast majority of people (even though they usually sound more impressive and can be very persuasive). Let's try a magic diet, instead of listening to the advice that to lose weight, you have to eat less and exercise more. Unfortunately, the consequences are usually more dire (internet bubble and now the mortgage meltdown) compared to the trouble we mortals get up to.

Dusty Groove seems to have the whole bunch. I ordered Yeah (for pick-up) and will decide if I want any of the others when I drop by. I have Indigos and Drum is a Woman on LP so I'm not really that jazzed about buying them again.

Some other jazz BB had a post where they thought this might be reissued (based on other Griffin on Galaxy coming out), but I am inclined to doubt it. I went ahead and picked the LP up the other day (a decent copy for about $5).

What a Country!! Worth noting that in the UK, ripping your own CDs for MP3s, even without sharing/uploading them violates copyright law. This is never enforced, and there is serious discussion about changing the law there, but worth noting that it could be worse ... MP3s in Britain

Jimmy Heath - Really Big Thad Jones - Magnificent Thad Jones Johnny Griffin - NYC Underground

'Lem's Beat' Apologies to Weizen Actually, it was Winchester Special and Another Opus (both still available at Concord -- but hop on it if you want them!) But due to the magic of the internet, I just found Lem's Beat (not available) for a reasonable price from a charity shop, so I'm pretty much set.

Made a slightly larger purchase than I intended: Dizzy Reece - Asia Minor Jimmy Heath - On The Trail Johnny Griffin Sextet Barry Harris - Luminescence! Barry Harris - Bull's Eye! Jimmy Heath - The Quota Gigi Gryce - Saying Somethin' A couple of these I already had as eMusic downloads (Luminescence and Asia Minor). Curiously, Saying Somethin' is the only one (of these) that is not available at eMusic. James Clay's Wide Open Spaces is not available at eMusic either, so I made a point of picking that up last week (and Double Dose of Soul a while back). I was able to pick up some of the rarer Lem Winchester's at a used CD store (before they repriced on the OOP status), and I agree they are very nice. While I would love to have gotten all the remaining Barry Harris and Jimmy Heath CDs, I tended to go for those with larger ensembles (at least one horn in the mix). I'll probably settle for downloads of the rest. I did try to focus on the rarer ones they have uncovered.

Along those lines, would you be able to use an iPod with outside the ear style headphones, rather than earbuds? I can listen to music at work but only with headphones. I make sure to wear outside the ear headphones and keep the volume fairly low.

All I can say is wow. I think an awful lot of us have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and a lot of pent-up frustrations. I guess it was last year about this time we had the same problem. Personally, I do think couw was out of line or at least crossed the line when he wrote "good ole bitter Chris." Ultimately it is Jim's call, but I've always liked the libertarian approach to this board and yes, if push comes to shove, I do hold free speech as more important than civility.

Being a bit compulsive about things, I am pleased that I have reorganized my music shelves. They are alphabetical, but now I have a stand-alone rack of roughly 600 of my "top" jazz recordings separate from the rest (mostly BN or OJC releases but some Verve and ECM sprinkled throughout). I am going to try to alternate, listening to a couple of old favorites, and then listen to some of the newer purchases (particularly unopened ones!) each day. I think this will help me from feeling so overwhelmed about having too much music. Also, the rack is a lot easier to reach than the rest of my collection, so I can grab something on the way out the door. So I guess I am going for a deeper appreciation of what I already have. As far as other resolutions, I am going to go ahead and block Organissimo at work. I was doing this for about six months, but slipped up a while back. I'm certainly not going to vanish, but a better balance would be good (and more fair to my employers).

I've always found this album sleep-inducing, not that that's always a bad thing. I literally play this on nights I have trouble falling asleep. I've starting playing it for my son as well.

Can't link to it right now, but at the MCA here in Chicago they have hired a group of actors to kiss each other for 8 hours a day (they do shift in teams) and enact various famous poses (Rodin, Klimt, etc.). After a few minutes, it is more interesting watching peoples' reactions than the performance itself.

I like a lot of Brubeck albums but perhaps my favorite overall album is Jazz Impressions of Japan. In general, I think the classic quartet work is the best, but of late Brubeck, I do like Nightshift and Late Night Brubeck on Telarc. These are with Bobby Militello on reeds. I'll try to catch the show tonight.

This has been very touching, and I never doubted we would pull together once Jim made it clear what the finances are. I think we ought to try something similar to make sure the band can make another album. The sponsor a song/mp3 idea might be the way to go, or Jim just says we need $X to go back to the studio. I'd be more than happy to contribute to that as well.

Last one standing gets to name a teddy bear after their favorite jazz icon (living or dead). (Dang it, I just dragged politics into this.) While renting a place is probably the way to go, someone in my office learned how to go through the hoops to set up a block party where they close off the street and everything. I believe that getting the license for live musicians isn't much extra. That would also be mighty cool -- the East Lakeview block party featuring Organissimo and friends.

Sweet -- I call the Afterparty's at jazzypaul's place. What a ride -- from despondency to new hope in just a day or two. And maybe even an Organissimo concert in Chicago! Too sweet. I can definitely help (a bit) with Chicago logistics. If Hothouse is still semi-viable (i.e. not totally foreclosed) by the late spring/summer that would be an amazing place to rent, and I imagine it would be easier/cheaper now than a year ago. There are a handful of other places (I was investigating this two years ago before the band made it to Chicago), but Hothouse would be the best.

Why do I have this eerie feeling this has happened before ... I think the outpouring of support has been great, and I think it bodes well for continuing the forum in some fashion. In any case, as has been said before, many thanks, Jim.

No chimps, monkees or gorillas? They certainly do a lot of self-loving, if you get my drift.

I'm glad to hear there's hope. I totally understand that you're feeling overwhelmed. It is hard to make sound decisions when you are stressed. I've been pushed hard at work and am operating on a few hours of sleep a night, and I have come close to quitting a couple of times over the last couple of weeks. Which I would totally regret later. This is an awesome site, despite some bruised feelings now and then. On the whole, I think probably leaving the political forum as is makes sense, since the discussion (and occasional rancor) will spread to the non-political forum if it isn't there as a kind of lightening rod. Maybe you ought to set up a list of donors somewhere on the site. And the running tally of donations each month is not a bad idea. This would subtly encourage people to pony up without making it exclusive or subscription-based so that new members aren't put off. We all hate asking for money -- but it isn't fair for the band to carry the expense, and I'm sure there are about 100 of us that would split the cost even if no one else did. We are well aware of how much we would miss the site, and it is worth it to us to find a way to keep it going. But maybe it is worth considering renaming the forum, just to get a bit of distance from the band. That's obviously your call. But we'll support your decisions ... and just gripe a bit later. Eric

Jim, thanks for everything. I have learned a lot from this board and have been tipped off to some great CDs and some great shows as well. I haven't managed to see you guys live, but hopefully you'll make it through Chicago in 2008. I'll keep my eyes peeled. I'd add that I hope you reconsider, but I can understand why you wouldn't. Eric

Paul looks eerily like a young Larry King in this photo.

I don't really listen to live radio ever. I do listen to podcasts, but mostly I stream BBC Radio 3 (a couple of days out of sync). This is a habit I picked up while living in the UK, and so far it is still available outside the UK (there are occasional calls to restrict the listen again features outside the UK). I find it so much richer than US Public Radio, though I suppose that is unfair since I don't follow Public Radio to get a sense of how many concerts they broadcast and the range of classical and jazz performances available. I probably should, but am just barely able to keep up with the BBC. Anything more would be too much. Anyway, I generally listen to about 2.5 hours/wk of jazz and 2 hours/wk of world music, and 10 or so hours of classical programs. The world music programs lean towards recordings, but the jazz leans towards broadcasts of concerts, so you get a decent overview of who is playing in London each week.

This morning I had a melody running through my head and finally realized it was the theme from the first movement of Shostakovich's 7th. That's fairly remarkable for me (to actually recall a theme I haven't heard dozens of times before). Of course it may simply reflect the fact that the theme is repeated over something like 350 bars (according to the program notes).