Kevin Bresnahan

ZZ Top - Fandango (WB). I picked up the 2008 LP when it came out. It was mastered by Steve Hoffman & Kevin Gray. Doesn't make much difference. It was a always a muddy recording. No amount of care is going to clean it up. But for what it is, it's great. RIP Dusty Hill. I saw the Top several times over the years and they never failed to entertain.

I remember when I first heard this, I thought, "Man, that crowd at this Basin Street club is really quiet".

Not to rub salt in your wounds, but I've almost always felt the opposite. I almost enjoy torturing some of the "salesmen" I've encountered through the years. I use quotes because in my experience, in the world of audio, not many deserve that title. One of my favorite shopping experiences ever was when a CD player (Pioneer maybe?) came out with a button to turn off the digital filter. I always wanted to hear how this would affect the sound so I made my way to the local hifi store to test it out. When I got there, I asked the salesman if they had this new player. He brought me over to it. I checked it out - there it was - the button to turn off the digital filter. I asked him to set it to one of their nicer speakers and started a CD. I listened and then switched the digital filter on & off. He was standing there wondering what I was doing. I told him, "I want to see if I can hear a difference with the digital filter on & off". He said, "You can't shut off the digital filter on a CD player". I showed him the button. He just stood there insisting that I didn't understand the button's function. I had to have him get the manual for the floor model. He still couldn't believe that the music sounded fine with the digital filter turned off. I left that store laughing.

Andy Zimmerman - Half Light (Newvelle). Nice date. The mellow numbers are perfect for this rainy evening. Andy Zimmerman on tenor, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Kevin Hays on piano, and Matt Penman on bass.

I do like enjoy his Bee Hive recordings, especially the one with Brignola. I would love to hear the story about how Silvio Smiraglia became Sal Salvador.

Unless Gearbox is including a download card in the LP edition, it's a smart move to buy the LP from Amazon. When you buy from Amazon, they usually offer a digital download of the LP via their AutoRip feature.

To be honest, I only bought this because I was in a local shop and saw it in the bins... pumping a little money into the local economy. I actually compared it a bit to my "go to" CD version (UCCI-9030) and I think the CD sounds a bit better. I'm not worried though because this is my only vinyl version.

Just finished - Oliver Nelson - Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!/Analogue Productions). Now playing - William Parker - Petit Oiseau (Shortwave Records/Aum).

"Cue For Saxophone" & "The High And Mighty Hawk" are really great albums. Someday I'll hear the rest of them.

I just ordered a NM copy from a discogs seller for $12. Looking forward to hearing it.

Paul Brusger - Go To Plan B (Consolidated Artists Productions). This was listed in this thread a while back and the lineup intrigued me, Cuber & Hicks in particular. Very well done date. I ordered another of his titles (on Steeplechase) that was listed here as well and I'm waiting for that one to come in. If it's as good as this one, I'll be a very happy camper.

Hank Mobley - Blue Bossa (SSJ). Subtitled "Live in Copenhagen 1968"

If you Google "Hank Mobley lung cancer", several on-line resources say that he had lung cancer. I suppose it's not important now.

Lung cancer isn't like a switch going off. By the 70's, it had supposedly limited his playing ability but there is a chance (likelihood?) that it was affecting him earlier as well. That's why I implied that this might be what we hear on these recordings.

Bertrand was reminding me of this Copenhagen recording that was issued in Japan as "Hank Mobley with the Kenny Drew Trio - Blue Bossa", so I am spinning it again this morning. While this CD was definitely made from a better tape than the one I had for years, the sound still isn't great. What's funny is that on this CD, NHOP's bass is actually recessed, not boosted, so I have to wonder if the person I got my old cassette from was a bass fan. And while I hear Mobley "stretching out", I also hear him straining quite a bit. It makes me think that his lung problems were already limiting his playing. On fast tunes, he seems to chop off notes instead of playing in his usual flowing style. I wonder when he started moaning after notes like he does in places here? I don't recall it happening on his live Messengers recordings. Maybe it was something he always did but he minimized it on those Jazz Messengers recordings?

I ordered an autographed copy of Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio LP from his website. Looking forward to spinning this later.

I've noticed discogs prices going crazy too and not just vinyl.

Continuum - Mad About Tadd (Palo Alto Jazz). Quite a nice date with a killer band, well recorded at the Van Gelder Studio by RVG. Slide Hampton, trombone; Jimmy Heath, saxes; Kenny Barron, piano; Ron Carter, bass; Art Taylor, drums.

Unfortunately, with the shipping costs to the US from the UK, this will be one very expensive LP to buy. I looked into a couple of Gearbox LPs and the shipping was around $20 per LP.

It's from Newvelle Records. Up until now, they have only released (expensive) LPs, so we might want to consider ourselves lucky that they did it this way. BTW - they offer this music as .WAV downloads as well as FLAC, MP3, etc. You could download the .WAV versions and burn them to CD-R if you choose. Be aware that it would be a lot of CD-Rs. The .WAV download is 9.9 GB, so that is ~14 CD-Rs.

Tracks with personnel: 01 - The Call Scott Robinson (Tenor Saxophone), Riley Mulherkar (Trumpet), Allan Chase (Alto Saxophone), Ryan Keberle (Trombone), Samora Pinderhughes (Piano), Ben Wolfe (Bass), Jeff Hirshfield (Drums) 07:34 02 - C Minor Waltz Dave Douglas (Trumpet), Alexa Tarantino (Alto Saxophone), Todd Neufeld (Guitar), Rufus Reid (Bass), Matt Wilson (Drums) 04:58 03 - Kudzu Steve Wilson (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Rosenblum (Piano), Marty Jaffe (Bass), Douglas Marriner (Drums) 07:24 04 - Elegy for P.M. Joe Lovano (Tenor Saxophone), Craig Taborn (Piano), Ben Monder (Guitar) 04:35 05 - Falling Waltz Helen Sung (Piano), Dezron Douglas (Bass), Allan Mednard (Drums) 05:13 06 - Forsythia Kirk Knuffke (Trumpet), Micah Thomas (Piano), Rob Jost (Bass), Jeff Williams (Drums) 06:49 07 - Quickening Micah Thomas (Piano), Ben Allison (Bass), Jeff Williams (Drums) 04:04 08 - Whirl Gary Versace (Piano), Martin Wind (Bass), Dave Treut (Drums) 03:32 09 - Wings Scott Robinson (Tenor Saxophone), Elan Mehler (Piano) 04:15 10 - Hope Ted Nash (Tenor Saxophone), Gary Versace (Piano), Ben Wolfe (Bass), Jeff Hirshfield (Drums) 06:41 11 - Clara’s Room Ron Horton (Trumpet), Immanuel Wilkins (Alto Saxophone), Ben Monder (Guitar), John Hébert (Bass), Billy Drummond (Drums) 05:34 12 - For Duke (Instrumental) Steve Wilson (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Rosenblum (Piano), Marty Jaffe (Bass), Rich Rosenzweig (Drums) 04:15 13 - Lullabluebye Glenn Zaleski (Piano), Dezron Douglas (Bass), Allan Mednard (Drums) 07:26 14 - For Jimmy G. Ron Horton (Trumpet), Michael Blake (Tenor Saxophone), Sean Mason (Piano), Michael Formanek (Bass), Billy Drummond (Drums) 05:55 15 - November Donny McCaslin (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Monder (Guitar), John Hébert (Bass) 06:49 16 - Adrian’s Way Dan Tepfer (Piano), Rufus Reid (Bass), Matt Wilson (Drums) 05:42 17 - Sadness Noah Preminger (Tenor Saxophone), Glenn Zaleski (Piano) 05:13 18 - Helix Joe Lovano (Tenor Saxophone), Donny McCaslin (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Monder (Guitar), John Hébert (Bass), Clarence Penn (Drums) 05:59 19 - The Breaks Elio Villafranca (Piano), Alexis Cuadrado (Bass), Satoshi Takeishi (Drums) 05:06 20 - 20 Bars Elan Mehler (Piano), Martin Wind (Bass), Francisco Mela (Drums) 07:30 21 - Ancestors Jesse Neuman (Trumpet), Allan Chase (Baritone Saxophone), Steve Cardenas (Guitar), Addison Frei (Piano), Tony Scherr (Bass), Tim Horner (Drums) 06:12 22 - Kids Stuff Kirk Knuffke (Trumpet), Rich Perry (Tenor Saxophone), Micah Thomas (Piano), Ben Allison (Bass), Jeff Williams (Drums) 04:57 23 - Meantime Gary Versace (Piano), Martin Wind (Bass), Francisco Mela (Drums) 05:37 24 - Capricorn Lady Ted Nash (Soprano Saxophone), Gary Versace (Piano) 05:37 25 - Waltz for Lee Riley Mulherkar (Trumpet), Scott Robinson (Tenor Saxophone), Ryan Keberle (Trombone), Allan Chase (Baritone Saxophone), Samora Pinderhughes (Piano), Jay Anderson (Bass), Jeff Hirshfield (Drums) 04:43 26 - 727 Dave Douglas (Trumpet), Joe Lovano (Tenor Saxophone), Craig Taborn (Piano), John Hébert (Bass), Clarence Penn (Drums) 04:52 27 - Beginning Steve Wilson (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Rosenblum (Piano), Marty Jaffe (Bass), Douglas Marriner (Drums) 04:48 28 - Southern Lights Noah Halpern (Trumpet), Joel Wenhardt (Piano), Martin Wind (Bass), Dave Treut (Drums) 04:56 29 - Regeneration Donny McCaslin (Tenor Saxophone), Ron Horton (Trumpet), Craig Taborn (Piano), John Hébert (Bass), Clarence Penn (Drums) 07:08 30 - A & J Alexa Tarantino (Alto Saxophone), Dan Tepfer (Piano), Rufus Reid (Bass), Matt Wilson (Drums) 05:48 31 - Eventualities Immanuel Wilkins (Alto Saxophone), Donny McCaslin (Tenor Saxophone), Sean Mason (Piano), Michael Formanek (Bass), Billy Drummond (Drums) 06:15 32 - Moonflower Alexa Tarantino (Alto Saxophone), Dan Tepfer (Piano) 02:24 33 - Just Suppose Addison Frei (Piano), Tony Scherr (Bass), Tim Horner (Drums) 05:01 34 - Reluctance (Quartet) Todd Neufeld (Guitar), Dan Tepfer (Piano), Rufus Reid (Bass), Jeff Cosgrove (Drums) 06:55 35 - Areas (Trumpet, Piano, Bass) Dave Douglas (Trumpet), Craig Taborn (Piano), John Hébert (Bass) 03:36 36 - The Spins Ben Rosenblum (Piano), Rob Jost (Bass), Rich Rosenzweig (Drums) 05:31 37 - Sanibel Island Scott Spivak (Piano) 05:04 38 - Fubu Noah Preminger (Tenor Saxophone), Glenn Zaleski (Piano), Ben Allison (Bass), Allan Mednard (Drums) 06:55 39 - Cascade Rising Rich Perry (Tenor Saxophone), Helen Sung (Piano), Ben Allison (Bass) 05:14 40 - Over Michael Blake (Tenor Saxophone), Ron Horton (Trumpet), Michael Formanek (Bass), Tony Moreno (Drums) 03:57 41 - Blue Smoke Jesse Neuman (Trumpet), Evan Harris (Tenor Saxophone), Addison Frei (Piano), Tony Scherr (Bass), Tim Horner (Drums) 03:47 42 - Air Dave Douglas (Trumpet), Craig Taborn (Piano), Jeff Cosgrove (Drums) 04:22 43 - Affirmation Steve Wilson (Tenor Saxophone), Elan Mehler (Piano), Rob Jost (Bass), Rich Rosenzweig (Drums) 04:17 44 - Quiet as It’s Kept Riley Mulherkar (Trumpet), Samora Pinderhughes (Piano), Ben Wolfe (Bass), Jeff Hirshfield (Drums) 06:09 45 - TMI Ron Horton (Trumpet), Donny McCaslin (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Monder (Guitar), Ben Allison (Bass), Douglas Marriner (Drums) 07:57 46 - Time Will Tell Patrick Cornelius (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Rosenblum (Piano), Marty Jaffe (Bass), Douglas Marriner (Drums) 06:42 47 - Areas (Piano, Bass, Drums) Micah Thomas (Piano), Rob Jost (Bass), Jeff Williams (Drums) 04:41 48 - Noumena Ron Horton (Trumpet), Donny McCaslin (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Monder (Guitar), John Hébert (Bass) 05:15 49 - Sloppy Seconds Michael Blake (Tenor Saxophone), Isaiah J. Thompson (Piano), Michael Formanek (Bass), Tony Moreno (Drums) 05:20 50 - Reluctance (Solo Piano) Fred Hersch (Piano) 04:11 51 - Grass Valley Jesse Neuman (Trumpet), Evan Harris (Tenor Saxophone), Addison Frei (Piano), Tony Scherr (Bass), Tim Horner (Drums) 06:20 52 - Questions the Answer Elio Villafranca (Piano), Alexis Cuadrado (Bass), Satoshi Takeishi (Drums) 05:28 53 - Lucent Scott Robinson (Tenor Saxophone), Steve Cardenas (Guitar), Jay Anderson (Bass), Jeff Hirshfield (Drums) 06:06 54 - No Radio Addison Frei (Piano), Tony Scherr (Bass), Tim Horner (Drums) 04:26 55 - For Carla Ron Horton (Trumpet), Donny McCaslin (Tenor Saxophone), Ben Monder (Guitar), John Hébert (Bass) 03:24 56 - Ode Elan Mehler (Piano), Michael Formanek (Bass), Tony Moreno (Drums) 03:40 57 - St. Mark’s Place Alexa Tarantino (Alto Saxophone), Dan Tepfer (Piano), Rufus Reid (Bass), Matt Wilson (Drums) 05:24 58 - Ca’lina Jacob Sacks (Piano) 05:56 59 - Hymn Noah Preminger (Tenor Saxophone), Helen Sung (Piano), Ben Allison (Bass), Jeff Williams (Drums) 04:05 60 - Svengali Noah Halpern (Trumpet), Ted Nash (Clarinet), Allan Chase (Alto Saxophone), Scott Robinson (Tenor Saxophone), Joel Wenhardt (Piano), Martin Wind (Bass), Francisco Mela (Drums) 11:05 61 - For Duke (Vocals) Olivia Chindamo (Vocals), Evan Harris (Tenor Saxophone), Addison Frei (Piano), Tony Scherr (Bass), Tim Horner (Drums) 04:56

I just received an E-mail from Newvelle Records which got me to buy a record in probably the fastest time in my life: Introducing KIMBROUGH: A 61 Track Collection of Jazz Composer and Teacher Frank Kimbrough’s Compositions, Featuring 67 World-Class Artists Newvelle Records is proud to release this 61-track digital anthology of Frank’s original compositions, recorded as the New York jazz scene reopened in May 2021 Available streaming everywhere and on Bandcamp: https://newvellerecords.bandcamp.com/album/kimbrough July 16, 2021 – Newvelle Records today is releasing KIMBROUGH, a collection of 61 original compositions by jazz artist and educator Frank Kimbrough, who passed away in December 2020. Featuring tributes from 67 of Frank’s former bandmates, students, and friends across multiple generations, KIMBROUGH was recorded over three and a half days in New York as the musical world began reawakening in May 2021. All proceeds from this definitive collection of Frank’s music, available on high-quality digital download on Bandcamp, will benefit the Frank Kimbrough Jazz Scholarship at The Juilliard School. The musicians: Piano: Addison Frei, Fred Hersch, Sean Mason, Elan Mehler, Samora Pinderhughes, Ben Rosenblum, Jacob Sacks, Scott Spivak, Helen Sung, Craig Taborn, Isaiah J. Thompson, Dan Tepfer, Micah Thomas, Gary Versace, Elio Villafranca, Joel Wenhardt, Glenn Zaleski Bass: Ben Allison, Jay Anderson, Alexis Cuadrado, Dezron Douglas, Michael Formanek, John Hébert, Marty Jaffe, Rob Jost, Rufus Reid, Tony Scherr, Martin Wind, Ben Wolfe Guitar: Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Todd Neufeld Drums: Jeff Cosgrove, Billy Drummond, Jeff Hirshfield, Tim Horner, Douglas Marriner, Allan Mednard, Francisco Mela, Tony Moreno, Clarence Penn, Rich Rosenzweig, Satoshi Takeishi, Dave Treut, Jeff Williams, Matt Wilson Clarinet: Ted Nash Alto Saxophone: Allan Chase, Alexa Tarantino, Immanuel Wilkins Baritone Saxophone: Allan Chase Tenor Saxophone: Michael Blake, Jeff Cornelius, Evan Harris, Joe Lovano, Donny McCaslin, Ted Nash, Rich Perry, Noah Preminger, Scott Robinson, Steve Wilson Trumpet: Dave Douglas, Noah Halpern, Ron Horton, Kirk Knuffke, Riley Mulherkar, Jesse Neuman Trombone: Ryan Keberle Vocals: Olivia Chindamo They're only asking $20. I paid more than that as 100% of the proceeds go to the Frank Kimbrough Jazz Scholarship at The Juliard School where Frank was a professor.

Ahh - I saw the CD cover and missed the little question at the end. That's what happens when you can only quote a post that is quoting another post and not include both of them.

You're confirming what I said - the master tape is clearly lost. My point is that the CD cover clearly states "direct from the original master tapes" when it is obviously not. The master tape is lost. A needle drop recording of an old LP is not a master tape.

Teddy Edwards - It's About Time (with Les McCann Trio) (Pacific Jazz). I do like this one. I found it in a used bin and decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. It looks like a radio DJ copy. It has JB-303 written in big letters/numbers across the cover in magic marker and what looks like price stickers on each LP label. Who cares. The music is where it's at.