Peter Johnson

B) I've heard a few things about Lou Donaldson & company returning to New York later this summer. Does anyone have any leads (I've checked the VV and Iridium websites)? Peter J

I'd be interested to hear more discussion on this, since I"ve been considering picking it up as well. An independent station here, wxpn, has a great weekly "friday night funk" set, and the host has played two tracks from this, both of which I've found greazzzy as hell; anyone else got the whole thing? Moose, if it's just weighting down your collection, maybe I could buy it from you? Peter J

I'm very excited about what appears to be the impending release of the remaining Brubeck "Time" records...see previous and ongoing discussion. These are great recordings with truly inventive uses of time and chord structures, beautifully recorded in their original states (unbelievably clear, and a great early utilization of stereophonic technology). I can't wait to hear them in remastered glory, particularly since my records are very worn out (from dad in college ( B) ) to me) and I can never find anything other than Time Out in the used (vinyl) bins. Peter

What time should we come over, Kenny? I've got a bottle of red just waiting to accompany a meal like that... Peter

Hey Tom! Damn, it's taking me long enough to act on the Maupin record... What a generous offer! In any event, I'd love to exercise second refusal if Dan's not interested... And Jim, I owe you...remember...so if the record comes to me, I've got something to get you rolling on your collection!!! Peter

Hey Jim-- I put this information in another thread that was tangentially related, but don't know if anything ever came of it. Here's hoping this time it gets some play! There are many, many places in Philadelphia where you guys could get a serious groove on, but try starting with these two, which are jazz clubs, as you state in your post, but where the music is most definitely not an afterthought: First stop: Ortleib's Jazz Haus: 847 N 3rd St Philadelphia, PA 19123 Mon-Sat 5:00pm- 2:00am Sun 6:00pm- 2:00am Tel: (215) 922-1035 Fax: (215) 922-7367 Email: psouders@localnet.com http://www.ortliebsjazzhaus.com/1.html Mickey Roker's quartet/quintet/ is their "house" band; the place is old school, fun, and the food isn't bad either. Then check out Chris' Jazz Cafe: 1421 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 1.215.568.3131 http://www.chrisjazzcafe.com/ Similar vibe, but not quite as old school. A sweet, local (to me) dive-y place is Bob and Barbara's Saloon: call Jack Prince 1509 South Street (215) 545-4511 As their website says, "A Philly tradition! Bar and nightclub presenting nightly entertainment. Named award-winning fun spot by Philadelphia magazine, Philadelphia Weekly, and City Paper, with a truly mixed crowd: young, old, black, white, gay, and straight. Hours: Open Monday thru Saturday, 3 pm to 2 am. Entertainment: Friday, Saturday, and Monday, live jazz with Nate Wiley and the Crowd Pleasers, Hammond B-3 Organ Combo; Every Thursday night, our famous drag show, a Philly tradition presenting the best in female impersonation" There's plenty more; feel free to ask me if you want to pursue Philly, which I hope you do, because we'd love to see you live!!! Peter

In CURRENT descending order of current participation: Running Rowing Rugby With a little tennis thrown in for good measure!

See previous page, Tom! Peter

Sometimes a strongly-worded letter to their president or in-house counsel threatening to take them to small claims court in YOUR state (which has jurisdiction over CD Street if CD Street is out-of-state because CD Street is doing business with you, a Mich. resident) will do the trick and get them to pay up--the last thing they want to do is deal with filing an appearance or responding to a petition (which you could self-draft in small claims court, no attorney required) in a foreign jurisdiction for a thousand bucks...have you thought of that? In your letter, you can, of course, threaten to lodge complaints with the BBB, state attorney general, etc. etc...might get their attention! Peter

Hellyeah--almost a week with the new Blue Note Radio and not one single repeat!!! This really is a killer setup. I've customized the hell out of it so far, and it's throwing me deep cuts from Shorter, Herbie, Jackie Mac, Mogie, etc. etc. etc. Just what I want to hear! Only the occasional Norah thrown in for good measure. PJ *listening to Maiden Voyage as I type this*

Pass the peas! I agree--life on planet groove is a great record if you can program out the tracks you mentioned. I can, and do, and with the audience noise it works pretty seamlessly.

I would agree with your description of "Unification," relyles. I've also found that each cut is designed for wholistic listening, not nearly as organic as some of Harris' earlier efforts. I should say I love "Unification," but point taken on the (great) comparison. I guess it's time to start the search for "Undiscovered!" Peter

Great input--thanks. Would those who have heard it put "Undiscovered" in a similar category as Stefon Harris' "Grand Unification Theory" in terms of concept, ensemble size/ambition, etc.?

Mny, is your bday June 25 too?

Danger! Danger! Blue Note Radio is opening my eyes to some new stuff, which is the last thing the ol' wallet can handle at present! Regardless. I'm really liking the cuts I've been hearing from Rodney Jones' record, "Soul Manifesto" (great title, too). Arthur Blythe and Maceo really kick the tunes up a notch, and while they veer a *little* towards the smooth for my taste, it seems like there's a hell of a lot of potential there. So I'm curious what you guys think of the full record. I'm even more curious, however, about his previous BN outing, "The Undiscovered Few" which looks, according to its writeup at allmusic (I know, one opinion) shocking in that it appears to have been, well, "undiscovered." Penny for your thoughts?

Hey Bill-- Don't want to jinx anything, butttttttt.... How was the interview? Peter

Good luck, my man...break a leg! The schools here sure as hell need you... I'm confident they'd be stupid to pass you up! Is it for a particular school, neighborhood, or the system in general? Peter

Ah, a topic near and dear to my heart. Hook me up with a stinky ol' blue chunk of fourme d'ambert ANY DAY...

Joe, any inroads from the Philly info I gave you? Peter

While checking out another artist on AMG, I ran across the listing for this 1965 Pearson recording, which appears to have been reissued in 1998: I've never even heard of this. But check out the lineup: Pepper Adams - Clarinet, Saxophone, Sax (Baritone) George Coleman - Saxophone, Sax (Tenor) Johnny Coles - Trumpet Duke Pearson - Piano, Trumpet Les Spann - Flute James Spaulding - Saxophone, Sax (Alto) Bob Cranshaw - Bass Garnett Brown - Trombone Who's heard it? What do you think? Thanks for your thoughts! Peter

Chris' Jazz Cafe is probably more suited to your guys' style. Zanzibar has been hijacked by the clear channel/smooth jazz types, and brings in acts such as "Tuck & Patti", "Euge Groove", "Chris Botti", and the like. But I strongly recommend you get in touch with Ortlieb's Jazz Haus where Mickey Roker, the completely SICK drummer with more than a few BN records under his belt continues to hold court with his quartet. Among others, I've heard Donald Byrd guest here within the last two years. It's a little gritty, with pretty decent food and a great vibe. It would be perfect for you guys--don't know how much they can pay, though... Generally, what sort of venues are you looking for?

Not to hijack the thread, but I'd LOVE to see you guys in Philly--and I'm sure I'm not alone! Peter

Greetings, all--put a copy of Oblique up on ebay. If interested, see my auction. Thanks. Peter

Glad you're starting to get back in the saddle, Jim! Peter