Bill Nelson

From the cumulative hour I sampled Ken Burns' 'Jazz', I found KB's decisions were driven by what could be rendered neat, tidy, and easily digestible. Burns' impulses weren't necessarily revisionist -- he just didn't want to GO THERE if the territory was complex and 'difficult'. Still, the 20 or so CDs which were spun from 'Ken Burns JAZZ' are harmless enough. Otherwise, the audience would still be clutching their pablum of 'I Heard It on NPR'.

Then there's the all-thumbs store clerk who proceeds to remove the price sticker AFTER you've bought the item. This often happens at consignment shops where the removed label serves as proof of sale to the absentee owner. (I've been known to lunge forward, grabbing the jacket from the stunned clerk while shouting,"Let ME do that!")

The original 1969 'Thesaurus' on Atlantic was leased from Albert Marx and screams,"one-shot deal". Maybe Nesuhi convinced Ahmet, given all the West Coast big band action generated by Buddy Rich on World Pacific. Then there's that cover pic of Clare Fischer stuffed into a blue blazer and looking weird with the beard. "Don't point that thing at me pal, it might GO OFF!"

And Dick Bock is well-known for slicing and dicing, subbing and dubbing -- -- much to the ire and immense frustration of collectors and discographers everywhere.

First pressings of 'Devotion' were mfgd. and distributed by Pickwick, with 'Douglas' in large script on the record label. The vinyl quality wasn't very good but hey, we were playing it at max volume and smokin' up the joint.

Jurek decoded: "'Betcha By Golly' has favorable aspects which reflect its origins. "At the end of the day, it is what it is." (The AMG review proves Jurek has graduated to a level where he's fully qualified to write reviews for 'DownBeat'.)

Ah yes, who could overlook Battle Records. Otherwise known as The House of Mongo. I recall my frequent visits and pleasurable hours there as a young man.

The Decca Johnny Zamot 'Tell It Like It Is' can now be gotten for $11.99 as a vinyl knock-off. Sure beats $200-300 for an original or $25 for the Japanese CD. 10 solid boogaloo workouts -- topped by the last track 'You Dig?' Guaranteed to make any party GO, unless you're the DJ at a Republican fund-raiser.

There are some staid, dreary labels which accidentally released a vein of killer latin soul. The Decca label did this briefly in 1969 (probably when Pop took the wife on a European holiday). Instead of their tame LPs of Cugat playing 'teen hits' and the theme from 'Batman', we could groove to: DL-74829 Manny Corchado & Orch - Swing While You Can DL-74830 Ozzie Torrens - Boogaloo in Apartment 41 DL-74838 Johnny Zamot - The Latin Soul of DL-74945 Johnny Zamot - Tell It Like It Is The two by Zamot are grail-worthy in the extreme.

Around 1969-71, the MGM Latino label released 15 titles, most were re-issues of Verve titles, etc. http://www.bsnpubs.com/mgm/mgmmisclabels.html

The next offender goes to the Penalty Box for 30 days.

A friend had an album from the 60's where sideman J. J. Johnson was credited as "C. C. Cecil". (As I was in 10th grade at the time, I can't provide further details.)

Somehow I'm reminded of the 'Green Acres' episode where Mr. Haney sells recorded music.

Now that he's just been paroled, he wrote your Facebook page to say: "I'm livin' at my mom's house now and got nuttin' but time on my hands. "They say you the guy who snitched on me and I've had YEARS to think about it. "Until I find you, SWEET DREAMS, BABY!" Ain't social media just grand?

Let me be the first to say how thrilled I am for you. Perhaps you'll share with us how this met your expectations -- and comment on the recording quality if the source is a private tape.

There was a framed copy on the wall at my proctologist's office.

So, there are those who act like they're corny -- and those who truly ARE corny. I'm sure it requires great restraint to suppress the urge to 'cross the line'.

In the successful wake of Brubeck's 'Take Five', RCA was quick to sign Paul Desmond and Joe Morello to separate contracts. 'Desmond Blue' (LSP-2438, 1961) was first out of the gate. Morello's enjoyable 'It's About Time' (LSP-2486, 1962) soon followed. Phil Woods and Manny Albam split the arranging on the 10 tracks, with Woods playing on all the tunes. 'It'a About Time' is quite findable @ $15-25, with the higher price for the RCA Living Stereo pressing. Don't know why Morello's was a one-shot while Desmond was green-lighted by RCA for five more.

Dept. of Corrections -- The 1970 issue date for 'Ready When You Are, J.B.' was listed in the 'Goldmine Record Album Price Guide', 2nd ed., by Tim Neely. (The Osborne Guide didn't have it.)

The issue date of 1970 came from Osborne's 'Price Guide to Film, TV Soundtracks, and Original Casts'. Better yet, I'm glad you have it. Please spin 'Who Will Buy My Yesterdays' and 'The More Things Change' and report back to us.

The best single LP collection of John Barry is the one he produced himself -- -- 'Ready When You Are, J.B.' (1970, Columbia) It's a most intelligent and personal selection containing: three tracks from 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' themes from 'The Appointment', 'Born Free', 'Midnight Cowboy' (and 'Fun City'), and the only Shakespearean-era Hammond B-3 groover, 'The Lion In Winter'. Best of all, there's four tracks which he withheld from films, perhaps because they're deeply personal: 'Who Will Buy My Yesterdays', 'The More Things Change', 'Try', and 'Afternoon'. The first two absolutely slay and will never leave your head. The 'Ready JB' on vinyl is still findable at $10-12, however the rogue CD rip fetches $165 on Amazon.

At the pre-show reception, VoTech's Homecoming Queen asked Desmond,"How many of you are in the quartet?"

Before tossing it, there's one thing I can do with my Glamour Stretcher -- wrap it around the neck of the next guy who says I've gained weight and throttle him.

See what all that excercise and clean living gets you? The guy didn't even make it to 97. Today I'm dumping my Glamour Stretcher!

"When the phone rang ... it wasn't Susannah herself..." smacks of the chummy, insider coterie which affected much of Gene Lees' writings. In Friedwald's 'Biographical Guide', this personal aside is superceded by a tone of bragging.