ejp626

Subject: Enrique is it over yet? depress brigade strirrup enigmatic unheaval endogamy hubbub spiny semitic alexander seaport doorbell lateral demented metabolism sketchy inner maledict bistate amoeba aaron vicky explain wash . crocodilian been colloidal simulcast incommutable mica backyard >> Maybe not so different from the Vogon poetry heard in Hitchhiker's Guide...

My sets showed up today, so not on Friday after all. Anyway, the booklets are beautiful; I particularly like the full color reproductions of many of the original album covers making up the JiP sets. As much as I love the photos of Paris from the JiP set, it would have been nice to have the original covers reproduced inside somewhere, and now we do get a few of them. Anyway, I will start listening soon to see what I think of the new organization of material.

It seems the interference was worst when I changed from a set of computer speakers to a set of headphones coming out of the computer sound card. It appears there really is no significant problem with the stereo system, but rather the turntable and computer interface. Of course, that doesn't help me too much, since the whole point of the set up is to convert LPs over. What I am trying right now is to record without the headphones plugged in, then do the editing later with the headphones. If that is ok, I'll stick with it for now.

Just out of curiosity, if the material was already on a JiP title, is that clearly indicated (by title or number), or do you have to go to through your CDs and pull out the CDs by that particular artist? I am looking forward to getting mine, which will hopefully be here before Friday (ideally today).

So I did make it up to the Green Mill to catch Iyer and Mahanthappa. It was great. I was especially happy I got there in time to get a seat in front, rather than sitting at the bar, which is what I usually do. There wasn't nearly as much smoke as usual. Early on, there were still seats, but by mid-set, the place was as full as, say, the Greg Osby sets I have seen there. I wonder if people were thrown by the reasonably early start time (8). A few general comments now. They played songs from the upcoming release, and I'll be getting that late next week, so I'll be better able to judge the difference between live and studio. But this is dense, intricate music and being able to play it live at all is astounding. There is only one song (Cardio) that is so tricky (tempo changes and sudden shifts from the piano) that it calls attention to itself and doesn't function as well as music. A few people here and there make some comparisons to the classic Coltrane quartet, and there is something to that, though really both Iyer and Mahanthappa are making "sheets of sound" and the music is more tightly composed (Mahanthappa at least is playing off sheet music for several songs). One thing that I felt is that there is more repetition of the composed phases (maybe cyclical music sounds less derogatory) taking it to higher levels and a kind of climax. In a Song for Midwood, you can definitely hear quotes from Indian music in the cycles. The drummer is good. He is really really young though, maybe not even 20. And I liked the fact the bass player cut through the mix with simple patterns and chords. He did get to walk a bit, but I'll have to see which song that was on. I don't have my notes in front of me, but they played Revolutions, Inertia, Song for Midwood, Infogee's Cakewalk and Cardio. They played one or two songs after that, which were not announced. The final piece was really great, so I will see if I can recognize it from the CD when it shows up. So if you can catch these guys, I would recommend it. Of course, I don't think they will change music as much as Coltrane and Tyner, but even getting a small hint of what it would have been like listening to them starting out is amazing. Again, these guys do have their own thing, but the energy and sheer amount of music coming out of them is comparable to the Coltrane Quartet. It was a good set to be my last set, since I don't anticipate going back to the Green Mill for a long, long time. By the way, Vijay seems like a really nice guy. I brought him the liner from In What Language to sign, and he was surprised to see I had brought that in (don't think it was a huge seller or anything). So we talked for a minute or two about the album.

Just today I noticed that when I turn on my turntable, I am getting a low hum that seems to be transmitting through to the output jacks. I am transferring most of my LPs to computer, so the computer is too close to the turntable, but I can't really change that. I've had this set up for months now, and I think it just started today. Any suggestions, other than unplug wires and straighten them out and start over? Is there a piece of hardware that cuts down on this kind of interference? Thanks. Eric

I picked up a used copy of Charlie Rouse's Epistrophy and a promo copy of One More: The Music of Thad Jones. Talk about an all star cast on the second disk: James Moody, Benny Golson, Frank Wess, Bob Brookmeyer Mickey Roekr and Hank Jones!

Sal: Give me a call if you can still make it on Sat. Should be a great show. Eric

I think having Paypal, and accepting checks as a possible back-up, should be satisfactory to your customers.

Well, it looks like I will have to pass on Bobby at the Showcase (two years straight I've missed him -- damn -- though I did see him with the SF Jazz Collective, and they were definitely on that evening). But I think Sal and I are going to make it to the Green Mill on Sat. the 14th to see Vijay Iyer Quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa. Should be a great show. According to the on-line Reader, Friday's show is 9 PM and Sat. is 8 PM. I'll correct this if different. Let us know if you think you'll be dropping in.

I hope it gets straightened out, though now I am glad I got the Seven Steps box a couple of weeks ago! I don't think I would have gone after it at full price.

I would probably go with Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time. Lots of different versions of this, but I like the DG album with Barenboim on piano. (This would leave me with 10 minutes or so, so perhaps I would also listen to Saeta just like that character did.)

There's a science fiction story with a similar premise -- 10 minutes until the world is destroyed. Harlan Ellison, I think. The main character chooses Saeta off Sketches of Spain. This was enough to get me to seek out the album. My brain sort of short circuits when I have to think about the last thing I would ever hear. Hopefully "April Fool."

A few comments. I'm ordering the Django Jazz in Paris (no 102) from Amazon France, which seems a little cheaper (maybe not once postage is added in). Django on Amazon.fr I guess one nice feature of globalization is that your basic account info is shared between Amazon US, UK, France and Japan, making it a lot easier to get imports at a fairly reasonable price. I was really on the fence about the fancy box sets. I finally did order them when I got a break on shipping, but I hope I don't regret it. I think that I will probably have 70-80% (or more) of the material in the JiP sets already, though the booklets certainly are a major selling point. I suppose they might be worth $20 apiece, depending on how informative they are. If there is too much duplication, then I can always give them away (right). Finally, I am not sure that this Django Reinhart 2 CD set 'The Great Blue Star Sessions 1947 - 1953' on Universal 835418-2 is really worth it. It is sometimes called Peche à la Mouche (on Verve) and does have a cool cover, but the material that is the selling point is the 1953 Blue Star sessions with Django on electric guitar. This is available on the two JiP discs from the last set: Nuits de Saint-Germain des Pres and Nuages. Nuages also has Django's final 1953 recording session for Decca. Note, however, that both of these discs are under 40 minutes and could have been combined. But I was awfully glad to find I had the material already BEFORE I went and ordered Peche a la Mouche, which I was about 10 minutes away from doing. It is terrific stuff. While Nuages is great, his version of Brazil always catches my ear. I usually play it three times in a row.

Well, you go to the playoffs with the team you have, and the team we put on the floor had a lot of heart, but not quite enough firepower, compared to the Wizards' Big 3. I have consistently said that the Bulls had the best bench in the NBA, and I do hope that Skiles continues to utilize the bench and really always have them ready to play, which is certainly not the case for the majority of NBA teams. Next year should be a good one (for once not a rebuilding year) and maybe a few role-playing veterans will consider the Bulls now that the memories of Kraus have finally been banished from the United Center. However, we essentially are crossing our fingers that they can really find a safe way for Curry to play again. It would be a terrible loss to the team if he didn't come back, but it is more important that he not risk his life senselessly.

Well, SS1 was right about the Bulls, damn you!! Game 6 hurt more than game 5, since the Bulls outplayed the Wizards almost the entire game, then had a melt down and couldn't buy a basket in the last two minutes. I bet Chris Duhon will have nightmares about the ball bouncing off his shoulder all summer. So it sucks, but the Bulls still played their hearts out and would have advanced with a few more breaks (or calls) going their way in games 5 and 6. And they were missing two of their best offensive players, and they usually were playing three rookies on the floor at any given moment. I think they played well above their talent level, so you can't be too disappointed in the overall season. Next year should be pretty good (not that I am likely to catch any of it, living in England and all). A few general comments. I do hope the Wizards get swept for two reasons -- I'm still bitter and they need a serious ego check to become a better team next year. They did step up on defense for games 3-5, but I don't think it will last. They talked all kinds of trash and didn't take the Bulls seriously. Obviously they are the more talented team, but, as I said above, a few more breaks the other way and they would be the ones going to the park and feeding the ducks. They need a serious reality check about just how talented they are, and getting swept would certainly do that. What I don't like is this sense that coaches can whine about calls, and this really determines how the games are officiated. This apparently does work, since for several of the games, particularly 3 and 4, the refs were heavily biased against the Bulls. I find it sad that the directive from the league is to call the games so tight that you can't play real defense. When you compare what these coaches are complaining about, compared to the physical play from the late 1980s and 1990s, it is night and day. I guess the league just wants high scoring games and highlight reel moments, but I think the game suffers when you can't play defense due to fears of fouling out. Obviously, the Pistons will get more respect than the Bulls, but if this is truly the trend in officiating, then there is no way they can repeat. Not sure who I will root for now, but probably Detroit.

I was hoping to see Bobby a couple of times on his upcoming trip to the Showcase, but I am caught between a couple of trips. I might be able to see him on Saturday the 28th, but even that is questionable, since I am supposed to be at the airport early on Sunday. To add to the confusion, the Chicago symphony, under Barenboim, is performing Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 that evening. That's something that also would interest me. I'll probably end up doing neither, since I will be pretty wiped out from the first trip. Anybody going to either of these performances? Any suggestions/recommendations?

Have received disks and they are going out to Cannonball-addict and billyboy.

What are the odds this guy becomes the next Jarrod (of Subway) for easyMobile?

And you didn't stop to give him a lift!?

I'll try to catch this soon, since there is no guarantee how long it will be in theatres. Probably can't convince the wife to go, since there just isn't enough "action" in it, as if blowing up the Earth in the first ten minutes isn't enough ... Anyway, I've read all the HH books save the last one, and tracked down the radio programs on the internet and then even found the old PC game. I had an original copy of that game (long lost now) -- I recall that it came with a Don't Panic button and completely black sunglasses that were "danger sensitive," i.e. if you were in danger they turned black. I guess of all the various formats, I think the radio program was the best, then the books, then the BBC shows a distant third. Hard to say about the new movie. I was pleased to hear that Adams added a new character to the screenplay, keeping up with the tradition that each format is a bit different. I was fortunate enough to see Douglas Adams give a reading (of Dirk Gently I think). This probably was in Ann Arbor in the late 1980s. He was witty and charming, as you would expect, particularly during the Q and A session. Well, it was certainly a shame that he died so (relatively) young.

I listened for about two hours yesterday. Nice. A little jealous to see you have an advance copy of the Vijay Iyer CD, but it's about to hit the streets, so I'll get it then. Eric

Sal, jazzshrink and sheldonm. I can't recall any others, though I came close to meeting some folks at the Stanko concert a while back.

Bulls up over the Wizards 2-0. I'm now thinking it will be Bulls in 5. What's funny is that the Wizards still don't have any respect for the Bulls, since they [the Wizards] have more raw talent. But they still don't play team ball as well as the Bulls. And all the offense comes from three starters. Very little bench scoring.(Interesting stat from game 2 -- no one on the Bulls took more than 15 shots, and of the top three Washington players, each at least 16 shots and usually a lot more.) This makes it a little easier to defend against the Wizards, since it is always going to be the same players taking shots. Actually, the Wizards are pretty good, particularly if all three of their top players are on, and with a different coach that emphasized defense and more ball movement they could be a lot better next year.

I do want to apologize if I've offended anyone who played with (or knows of anyone who played with) Sonny Rollins over the past twenty years or so, but it isn't a real secret that he has not put together great touring groups. The focus has generally been on his soloing, and that's ok. But in the past few years I've seen him he has turned over more space to his group and they often weren't up to the challenge. Anyway, I just saw him perform last night and this was the group: SONNY ROLLINS, Tenor Saxophone CLIFTON ANDERSON, Trombone BOB CRANSHAW, Bass STEVE JORDAN, Drums KIMATI DINIZULU, Percussion BOBBY BROOM, Guitar The interplay between Rollins and Anderson was pretty good; I suspect they are the core group and Broom was just brought in for the Chicago performance. (I could be wrong of course.) It was a good but not spectacular show. I was really bored by the drum solo. The percussionist was better. I didn't think a 20-minute calpyso piece was stunning in and of itself, since the variations Sonny played weren't really that challenging. I certainly didn't make an ass of myself and jump to my feet like half the crowd did after it finally ended. It was a good piece but not riveting by any means. I thought it was more interesting that he had a 5 minute solo section -- with everybody else completely silent -- and it didn't suck, like the Solo album sucks. I also thought his last song -- Italian Melody -- went on way too long. I've seen him play better and worse. But it was an entertaining evening nonetheless. They played two hours straight without an intermission, and of course it was another chance to see one of the greats. I think it is a good sign that he is playing with stronger musicians and maybe he will be recording again soon. On the other hand his voice sounded terrible and weak; hopefully it was just a cold and nothing more serious. Just as a side note, they've announced the CSO jazz line-up for next year, and it sure looks weak to me. The last two years have been quite good, but this just isn't in the same league. (I guess that's good for me, since I won't feel like I am missing out while over in England...)