Kevin Bresnahan

I'm still kicking myself for backing out of the Jazz Cruise the year it was dedicated to the music of Gerry Mulligan, with the man himself on board. I had to back out at the last minute. I don't think Gerry did another gig after that cruise and I never did get a chance to see/hear him live. I still regret that.

If I put something up for sale and you added a post to my thread saying that 1) you think my price is too high and/or 2) showing a lower priced copy of the CD I was selling, I would be pretty damn upset. Think about it that way. Imagine if it was your sale. When you come right down to it, it's really none of your business. If a seller is asking too much, the market will quickly show him/her the error of their way. If someone thinks it's a good price, you're a bit of a jerk for telling them not to buy it. If it's more than YOU think it's worth, that's your opinion. If it bugs you that much, E-mail/pm the seller and tell him/her that there are cheaper alternatives. Hans had it right here. A "For sale" thread is no place for a discussion about the best price for a CD/LP.

I picked up the Target CD of bonus cuts and after hearing it, I can't imagine paying money for the deluxe 2 disc set. This mastering is not good for the ears. The tunes are cool to hear, but with the wall of sound coming at you, it's hard to enjoy them. Definitely not headphone material.

After many years of searching for this CD, I finally stumbled upon an amazon.co.uk seller who had a "play copy" for a reasonable price (~$16). This is one nice date! Rob tried talking me into picking this up several times but I stupidly waited until it went oop. As they say, "Live and learn". Kevin

So instead of focusing on the disgusting act of this individual, you deny what he did because I had the gall to note that he was Hispanic? Indeed, what does him being Hispanic have to do with his disgusting act? Nothing. Any more than my describing him had to do with it. When describing a person, traits are noted. If he or she is white, black , Asian, albino, fat, skinny, freckled, pockmarked, young or old - all are valid descriptord when describing someone's appearance. It is neither politically incorrect nor racist to note a person's ethnicity. It was a fact. A plain & simple fact. Would you have been a bit more moved to disgust if I had noted that he had a tee shirt with a blue elephant on the front and "I Luv GWB" on the back?

Yesterday, I was shopping in the mens' clothing section of the Kohls department store in Salem, NH when I saw this elderly Hispanic guy suddenly grab a shirt hanging on a rack and loudly blow his nose into it several times. WTF! I wanted to kick the guy in the gonads but I also didn't want to get arrested. What do you say to someone like this? I went and grabbed a Kohls person and told them and their response was "Nothing surprises me any more." WTF!! What is wrong with some people today? How could he have thought that this was OK?!?! I know most people already do so, but make sure you wash any clothes you buy before wearing them. Kevin

This would be good evidence that Monk wrote it if Sonny Clark hadn't already published it. Legally, Sonny Clark wrote it. If TS wants to get it legally changed to his father's tune, he has to go to court and prove that his father wrote it. A manuscript does not mean that he wrote it, just that he has a copy of it in Monk's hand. I wonder who gave Kelly that impression? I can guess...

Which is why I'll never buy another recording with TS Monk on it. He has no way to know absolutely that his father wrote that piece but Sonny's estate doesn't sue him so he gets away with stealing a piece published by Sonny Clark. That's just not right.

I find that Jazz reissues seem less plagued by today's "Make it loud" mastering style. I have reverted many of my rock CDs back to the earlier CD versions. The worst offender by far was the Jimi Hendrix catalog. The Experience Hendrix remasters from the late 90s are so loud they actually fatigue me no matter how low I turn them down. It's like this wall of sound hitting me. It was these crappy CDs that got me to start hanging out at the Steve Hoffman forums in the first place. Later, Kevin

I was at my local Barnes and Noble this weekend and after talking to a few Nook users, it would seem that the current version is not ready for primetime. I am going to pull my trade offer and keep reading my Kindle for now. Kevin

Sorry Jim, but I couldn't stay for the whole show. It was painfully loud for my messed up right ear. I screwed up and forgot the earplugs I usually bring to shows that I think might get a little loud. When Janiva winced a couple of times because of a some nasty feedback, I felt my right ear for blood drops. What I did see was great. Kevin

Interesting username: Vomitself7. I guess if it makes himself vomit, it must be pretty bad.

I was given a 6" Kindle eBook reader as a gift and I rarely use it. I shop far more often at Barnes and Noble than I do at Amazon. I would prefer a Nook. Does anyone have a Nook that they'd want to swap straight-up for a Kindle? If no one bites on the trade, I may sell my Kindle for $200 plus shipping. Obviously, I'd rather go the trade route first. Kevin

I'll see you tonight at the Regattabar, Jim. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't been to a blues show in many years. I've seen Lavay Smith a couple of times and Michelle "Evil Gal" Wilson, so this won't be my first show with a female blues singer. I stopped going to blues shows when it started to seem like they were all getting way too loud for my ears. Why is it that guitar-based blues bands have to have their amps at '11'? Kevin

The thing everyone should know about Facebook is NEVER let ANY "application" run on your account. That means never send or accept a "present" or a "drink" or a "button", never play any games and never use any of the friend/family finder applications. When you use any of these applications, even once, you grant the application provider access to your personal info. If you never use any apps, you're safe. Also, if you get weird friend invites, get out of any networks that you may have inadvertently joined. Being in a network can allow others in that network to "see" you and send friend invites. Once I quit every network I had joined when I signed up, the weird invites stopped.

Aric, what's brutal is reading some of the nutty stuff that Barry states as fact as his sycophants over at the Hoffman forums eat it up & regurgitate back as gospel. I hope you understand that what Barry's claiming is that digitally-identical CDs, even those from the same press run, will sound different, even on the same player. His claim is that the CD player will somehow distort the data so that the analog output will change. Have you ever tried his theory? Buy two identical CDs at the store tomorrow and play them one after the other. Barry says he can hear differences. Do you? If you can, you're better than me. Next thing you know, you'll start quoting "Night Gort" Dave. Some of his proclamations make Barry look normal. Kevin

I don't know when Barry started saying all this crazy stuff or if he always believed it. I do know that in the early days of CD, he was one of the leading mastering engineers for UMG. He did the first CDs for many big name artists like U2, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Yes, AC/DC and others. Now, he's no longer being used by any major so something must have changed.

Barry Diament's nickname is "Barry Demented" for a reason. Some of the things he's stated as "fact" over on the Steve Hoffman forums read like stories from The Onion. He's certifiable. Don't believe anything he says and you'll be better off.

I would probably vote for Nick Brignola if he were on the list. Of those listed, I really like Leo Parker's two Blue Note dates, but there really isn't enough there to declare him a clear winner in my mind.

Why? Because they were only recorded in stereo. The mono is simply folded-down stereo. There was no mono mix so all you need is two Y-adapters and you can make any stereo LP sound "mono".

I still cringe when I think back to when my mother burned a neighbor's son's baseball card collection. He was killed in Vietnam and his mother couldn't handle cleaning out his room. My mom did it and rather than give the old cards to her 3 sons. She burned them all in a trash barrel in the side yard. She said she didn't think we would have wanted a bunch of cards with all old baseball players on them. Yeah Mom, I would never want an old Ted Williams baseball card.

All of these recently oop Selects seem to getting >$100 these days. The price is going up too as they have become more & more scarce. I saw a sealed piano trio Select go for $150 on Amazon a few weeks back.

Maybe Jim should have said "Carpe amicabiliter dico".

I do enjoy Teddy's "Tango In Harlem". I have never been able to find a copy of "La Villa Live in Paris", but it's been a while since I've looked. Hmmm, there's a couple of inexpensive copies on amazon.com. I might finally be able to hear this. BTW, as big of a Booker Ervin fan as I am, "Booker 'N Brass" rarely gets into the CD player. Don't know exactly why, but it's a bit of a "no big deal" session in my book. Kevin

Ahhh, yeah, cat-chop used to have a whole bunch of mini-LP OJC K2s a while back for around $5-7 each. I picked up a bunch. They also used to carry the mini-LP versions of some of the Akiyoshi/Tabackin Big Band's RCA material for about $8 each. I don't know how cat-chop sells their stuff so cheap and manages to make enough to stay in business.