Kevin Bresnahan

Ahhh, here it is:

Are these Transition LPs even vinyl? Aren't they some kind of hard plastic? I think that's why the labels don't stick.

I have a Japanese copy as well. From what I've read, I wouldn't want an original. I've heard that the vinyl is noisy and the labels usually fall off.

I only just saw that Peter Leitch announced back in 2015 that he was retiring. I was wondering why I hadn't heard from him in a while. Then I read that he is 73... I had no idea that he was that old.

Yes, that's true. They're switching to black & white.

I hear Jet Blue is going to start flying routes in Europe on jets that are even more bare bones than the ones they fly here in the US.

My buddy Bob Festa takes pictures at most of the shows he attends. He took a bunch during Abercrombie's 2015 swing through the Cambridge MA Regattabar. Here are a couple from his Google+ page:

Except for that cover. Was he having a bad hair day or was he getting attacked by a raven?

Although I expected this, it is still terrible news. I am lucky to have seen him several times over the years and I will cherish those memories.

Although I mainly interacted with Valerie in the electronic world, I did get to meet her a couple of times in person back when the Jazz Corner crowd organized "hangs" down in New York City. She was a funny woman who knew a little something about nearly everyone in the Jazz world. You'd bring up a name, and she'd have a story. I remember having a PM conversation with her about some session she mentioned she was at and I was amazed at her recall. The Jazz world lost a lot of great memories with her passing, The thing about Val was that she was a friend to so many and an enemy of very few. If they can write that on your headstone, you did good. And I have to say, I can't believe she was 77! She seemed so much younger. She'd get a good laugh at me saying that. I am going to miss her.

Copied from my first post... From her son's FB post: Valerie Bishop, jazz lover, sassy spirit, beloved friend and cherished mother, passed this morning after a long battle with cancer at the age of 77. In the past week she had been visited by many friends who got to voice their love and say goodbye. At her request, there will be no funeral, but a memorial service will be held at a later date. I will also list charities where you can make donations in her memory. Thank you for my life, Mamacita, and farewell.

I think Val was a backup singer for Ike & Tina. This is a picture she posted to her Facebook page a bout 4 years ago: I don't know which one is Val. I think she's right next to Tina on the left. Supposedly, in real life, this scene was between Valerie and Tina Turner. No idea why they changed her so much for the movie.

It saddens me to report that Valerie Bishop (ValerieB here on the forum) was placed in hospice care today. Her son posted this to her Facebook page and he included his contact number if anyone wants to get a message to her, though he does say that her condition may make it tough to get to her. Apparently, this was very sudden but not unexpected as she's been having a rough time of it lately. Valerie has been an "on-line friend" of mine for over 20 years now. I will miss her stories. I will miss her positive outlook on life. Simply put, I will miss her presence. Valerie's son's post: Hello. I'm Valerie's son, Jay. I can appreciate the anxiety many of you feel from not being in touch with Valerie during her health challenges. She made a very Valerie decision to not involve or burden friends and actually pushed concerned friends away. The past two months have involved many incidents and setbacks that required hospitalization and rehab. But her medical team has seen a marked decline in her condition and it was decided to move Valerie to hospice. She's at Berkley East Convalescent Hospital in Santa Monica. Here, medical efforts are focused on hospice goals, meaning comfort and pain management. Valerie has good moments and bad ones, depending on the time of day. Sometimes she is alert and engaged with nurses. And very funny. Other times her head is clouded. I know that people would like to say goodbye. But I also don't want to overwhelm Valerie with phone calls or crowds. I welcome people to text me if they want to talk by phone. Or if they want to visit. Together we can decide the best time. Make contact by texting me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thanks to everyone who sends love and support. I blanked out the phone number. If you're friends with Val on Facebook, it's there. Edit to add that Valerie died this morning. From her son's FB post: Valerie Bishop, jazz lover, sassy spirit, beloved friend and cherished mother, passed this morning after a long battle with cancer at the age of 77. In the past week she had been visited by many friends who got to voice their love and say goodbye. At her request, there will be no funeral, but a memorial service will be held at a later date. I will also list charities where you can make donations in her memory. Thank you for my life, Mamacita, and farewell.

"Poicknicking on grounds permitted"? Is this what they call picnicking in Saugerties?

The author mentions Gil Melle and Serge Chaloff as other white musicians signed by Blue Note. Chaloff recorded for Capitol, not Blue Note.

Buying it from CD Japan would have cost you €13,15 (including shipping). It would be even cheaper if you ordered more discs, so you might want to check on them in the future.

A lot of Mosaics I bought for one or two sessions that I wasn't able to find elsewhere so consequently, I didn't always play 100% of every set I bought. And for others, like the Hank Mobley set, I never even bought it because I have nearly all the music on Japanese CDs. The Buck Clayton set was different. It was all totally new to me and I just loved it. I did play the Tina Brooks set for quite a while before the material was issued on CD. I even made needle drops of some of it so I could play it in my car.

I'd say for me, it's probably the Buck Clayton set. I have played Lee Morgan's "The Cooker" from the Mosaic set quite a bit, but I don't know if 2 discs out of 4 counts as a "Mosaic set". I hate that they chose to split that session up across 2 discs.

He subbed for Brian Wilson on the road for a year several years after the band's formation. I don't think that qualifies as an "original Beach boy".

I would use these guys: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/WPCR-29031

Fred Putsey used to run the True Blue side of things there. Maybe he's still around?

Um... what? Mosaic owns the Charlie Parker Benedetti set. Why would that be going out of print?

I just got in a fairly rare CD - one that I had never heard or seen before I tripped on it during an "Eric Alexander" search on eBay - Dave O'Higgins & Eric Alexander "The Devil's Interval" on the JVG Sessions label. It seems to be only available from the UK and not all of the sellers will ship to the US. They made another recording called "Sketchbook" that seems more readily available. I will have to find that one. This is an excellent disc if you're into tenors going head to head. I am enjoying it a lot. It's my kind of Jazz. BTW, if You Tube audio floats your boat, it's all there. I listened to a lot of this on You Tube before I decided to hunt down the CD although I doubt that this is what most You Tube listeners do.

I wish he would keep his website up to date. I have no idea if he's touring anywhere near my area. Sonny Fortune is the same way.

I watched this on Netflix. It's a very depressing movie. I once read that there were reports that Morgan had died right before he cut "Lee Way" in 1960. Now I know why those reports were circulating. It lays out Lee's career trajectory in a way that really forces you to acknowledge that if it wasn't for Helen, Lee would have been dead by then. I mean, really, the guy was pawning his overcoat and shoes to buy drugs. It looks like she saved him from an almost certain death. And then she killed him, as reported by witnesses, pretty much by accident. The saddest part was that if it wasn't for a blizzard that night, Lee might have lived. It took an hour for the ambulance to get there and he bled out. A sad combination of circumstances. One thing that surprised me most was that by the end of the movie, my opinion of Helen had changed dramatically. She was almost as tragic a figure as Lee. It's because of her that we have all that great Lee Morgan music recorded after 1960 and why we have none after 1972. I used to wonder why she got off so lightly for murdering Morgan and now I almost wonder why she was arrested at all. As I said, very depressing.