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Don't know the Frank Morgan but will keep an eye out. I totally agree about the Osby. While I enjoy Osby's recordings, I had to let most go during a recent shelf purging. Invisible Hand was one of the few to survive. Maybe I should put it on tonight!

In addition, there was an OJC of Beethoven. I have this, and it is nice. I pull it out from time to time. The symphonies and a few overtures have just been reissued in a very reasonable set: http://www.amazon.com/George-Szell-Conducts-Beethoven-Symphoni/dp/B00EC0VVRA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388592309&sr=8-1&keywords=szell+beethoven And this cheapo Haydn set is still around: http://www.amazon.com/George-Szell-conducts-Haydn-Symphonies/dp/B003TUG3UO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388592907&sr=8-1&keywords=szell+haydn Also, there is a curiosity -- 5 CDs of his Decca and Philips recordings, primarily with European outfits: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009A41XS/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 While I might have been in the market for this back in the past, at this point I have quite a bit of Szell between various box sets and a few single CDs. I'm now wondering if there will be a massive Ormandy set on the way, which is something that I would at least consider.

15 minutes to go here. Happy New Year!

Sounds interesting. I'll try to check it out.

Gregor von Rezzori Orient Express -- apparently his last novel translated into English. Kain, which is truly his last (posthumously published?) novel has not been translated so far. Also reading Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, which is more compelling than I had imagined. It basically in the form of a (very long!) letter that an elderly preacher is writing to his young son because he does not expect to see the son live even into his teens.

Perhaps. But then would it not be a form of child abuse to attempt to induce (or rather inculcate) this state in his child. I don't go around trying to convince my kids of the glories of mimeo machines.

Probably the jazz that brings back the most memories is Monk on BN and Mingus Ah Um. But they aren't exactly relaxing slipper music in my mind. I think that would be Miles Davis Sketches of Spain.

It's in the Duke Box from Storyville and is still sold as a single CD. Iit is also on eMusic and perhaps iTunes.

Agreed -- someone who has fallen completely for the vinyl hype. The preciousness in how he describes what is a right nuisance and makes it into a sacrament. And I certainly don't feel any closer to Coltrane or any other musician through the crackle and pops on most of the LPs I have than I do listening on CD.

The Hantai was a bit cheaper on Amazon.ca ($30 rather than 30 Euros). But there was some moment in time when it dipped down to $20, and I managed to get it at that pre-order price. Not bad...

I surely bought some jazz there, but curiously I have much stronger memories of browsing the DVD store and picking up various items. Still, very sad tidings for those tied to brick and mortars.

I thought I had heard all of Coltrane's Prestige sessions, but now it looks like I have overlooked Stardust, so I'll have to look into correcting that.

It really seems almost yesterday that this was announced and I picked it up after it had been out maybe a year. * My understanding is that much of the material does time out at about 7 years. Obviously doesn't apply to the Mobley and a few other sets. * Sad that time is just flying by; not a good sign...

Fair enough, but there are enough R2 must-haves that you could even buy a cheapo region-free DVD player for $100 (or less by now) and use it only for that. I am just dipping my toes into Blue-Ray and will have to ensure that, by hook or crook, the player I buy plays Regions A & B.

This may be the best you can do in R1, but over in R2-land, there is a 20 DVD box set for under 30 GBP: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Woody-Allen-Collection-DVD/dp/B007W21JZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387560201&sr=8-1&keywords=woody+allen It also takes up so much less space on the shelves! A few good ones missing: Husbands and Wives and arguably Deconstructing Harry. But a perfectly good set for most of us.

Gregor von Rezzori Oedipus at Stalingrad (1954) This is an interesting novel so far, like a George Grosz tableau come to life, with a heavy sprinkling of Freud on the top.

Poor Canada is even more exceptional in that all three forms of date can apparently be found. That's what comes from being browbeat by the UK, the US and increasingly China. Though in truth, I've normally seen DD-MM-YYYY. However, it is true that my (former) manager insisted that file names for final drafts all start with the date the document was finalized in the YYYY-MM-DD convention.

Yes, done with shopping. Even better everything except one small gift is in the house (that one is in the mail). Tree went up today. Just some wrapping to do, so feeling pretty pleased...

Couldn't wait any longer and there was a price drop, so I put in an order. Looking forward to it.

Not quite my cuppa, but passed along to a friend who ordered. Thanks!

I believe these are the contents (didn't verify beyond a quick search though): http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/RCA-Living-Stereo-Vol-2/hnum/3793157 Definitely tempting. I have the Reiner already (but there is not that much -- Box 1 is more Reiner heavy). A bit more Munch and Leinsdorf. I'd definitely listen to this more than the Decca #2 set, which I think I will pass on. It just slays me that there are 5 CDs devoted to Rubinstein doing the Beethoven Piano Concertos (w/ Krips), as I just picked this up in a different set. Oddly enough they packed that (along with three other concertos) onto 4 CDs, so not quite sure what is going on here with 5 CDs (and if there is bonus material or not).

I believe these are the contents (didn't verify beyond a quick search though): http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/RCA-Living-Stereo-Vol-2/hnum/3793157 Definitely tempting. I have the Reiner already (but there is not that much -- Box 1 is more Reiner heavy). A bit more Munch and Leinsdorf. I'd definitely listen to this more than the Decca #2 set, which I think I will pass on.

I know I shouldn't dwell on this, but Michelle is just so icky. (I imagine the others aren't any better.) Backup vocalists on all or virtually all the tracks (right now they are cooing "Turn Turn Turn" in my ear). This is so much worse than I had imagined... Taking the vocals into account, I would actually rate this as lower than Musak and mostly Shank just seems to be phoning it in. Maybe I am just not willing to listen too hard to see if he is actually performing anything resembling jazz.

So perhaps interesting is that the most accomplished of the bunch is The Talents of Bud Shank on Kimberly Jazz. After some research, it became obvious that this was really just two different sides from Pacific Jazz (Bud Shank and 3 Trombones and Bud Shank Quintet). I am almost positive that these were just licensed/reissued on Kimberly (but recorded by Pacific) rather than the other way around. And yet there is a huge paragraph on the back cover talking about the amazing recording equipment over at the Kimberly Studios, and basically claiming the recordings were in fact done there (which I don't believe). I mean there's hype and then there's hype. This is how this blurb ends: "This recordings that you now have in your hands truly represents a miracle in sound and is a perfect copy of the most perfect and painstakingly engineered recording."

Well, they could by a publisher in a country with 50 year copyright law, but there are fewer of those left... But in broader terms, rights were for one broadcast and not rebroadcast.