Kevin Bresnahan

This doesn't surprise me at all. Many years ago, I saw Roy at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA. In between sets, I went to ask him for an autograph. I was told he stepped outside. Figuring maybe he went out for a smoke, I went out to see if he could accommodate my request. I saw him get out of a car and he was sniffing like crazy. Not wanting to assume anything, I went up and asked him for an autograph. He just hopped back & forth in the balls of his feet and looked around like a psycho. He didn't answer me at all. He didn't seem to understand what I was asking. This went on for several uncomfortable seconds so I just turned around and went back into the club.

I read an article a while back that nearly all of the "Gillette" blades being sold on Amazon & eBay are counterfeits. I once gave an Amazon seller a try and the results were not pretty. I hacked my face up pretty bad. I went back to Walmart-sourced blades and things are fine again. BTW, I use Gillette Sensor blades. I avoid the Sensor Excel blades (the ones with the rubber strip) because they catch on parts of my chin and leave divots.

Also the cover for the DMM US LP from the early 80s. I agree with your assessment.

Tonight at the Sahara Jazz Club in Methuen, MA, Ralph Lalama.

Pepper Adams - Julian (Inner City). Not my favorite Pepper Adams date but still worth spinning.

I'd be interested to hear how it compared with an 47W63rd original - and also that 45rpm version (Acoustic Sounds?) So would I, but I would not be the person with the ability to do it.

Taking for another spin: John Coltrane - Blue Train (Blue Note/Music Matters). The new 33 rpm mono cut. Beautiful sound on this disc. Quite a nice presentation too. These guys really know how to do it right.

Man, everyone RAVES about those Pioneers, don't they? I don't need any bookshelf speakers right now, but I've been half tempted to get a pair just to see what all the fuss is about. You should have read the rave reviews of the previous model. You would have thought they were tower speakers.

If you live near a Best Buy, go listen to these Andrew Jones designed speakers: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/pioneer-4-bookshelf-speakers-pair/5086955.p?id=1218610014045&skuId=5086955&st=categoryid$abcat0205001&cp=1&lp=5. The previous version (SP-BS21-LR) got rave reviews. This one still gets good press. They're worth listening to. If you happen to go to a Best Buy with a Magnolia showroom, see if they have the B&W 686 S2 speakers set up. They're $50 over budget, but I just love the B&W sound. Kevin

You should return it for a replacement. At fifty bucks a pop, Music Matters shouldn't sell warped records. $35 but you're right, it shouldn't be there. But the warp is slight and the return postage would be a bit much.

Tina Brooks - True Blue (Blue Note/Music Matters). New 33 rpm release. Beautiful sonics for one of my favorite Blue Note recordings. Unfortunately, there's a bit of dish warp on Side 1. My clamp minimizes it on Side 2 but it's still a bummer considering the price.

Tommy Flanagan - Super Session (InnerCity). As I've found to be typical of InnerCity pressings, this is pretty bad. Warped to almost skipping. Great music though.

Supertramp - Breakfast In America (A&M). A favorite from my younger days.

Lee Konitz & Martial Solal - Duplicity (Horo/Japan). Nice mellow date. Unlike the Red Norvo date I just spun, it's got a lot going on in those "mellow" spaces.

Red Norvo - Ad Lib (Liberty). This looked interesting in the store but it's turning out to be a bit of a snooze and the clean-looking vinyl is playing extremely noisy. Not a keeper.

Marcus Roberts - The Truth Is Spoken Here (RCA/Novus). OK stuff. It has it's moments. Badly warped. Luckily, it was in the dollar bin.

Various Artists - DEU (Lapsus). This is an interesting collection of ambient electronic music out of the Barcelona based Lapsus Records that I found on bandcamp.com. Cool stuff on two slabs of red vinyl. Unfortunately, the record was shipped in a single layer cardboard shipper and the corners are pretty mangled. The pressing is also off center, a little warped and has a spindle hole so small that I had to shave it a bit to get it onto my turntable. I doubt it would be worth it to exchange it. The return shipping would probably be double what I paid for the whole package. Live and learn.

Oh God, SS is turning over in his grave! They must have used the 32Jazz graphics department ! Or Audio Fidelity's.

OK. BillF, y`ve changed your avatar? Those were the days! Pretty crappy speakers back then. I imagine there's a lot of added hiss from those ocean sounds.

Ben Webster - Remember (Dutch Mercury). I have this on CD as "Big Ben Time". It's a nice swinging relaxed date from late in Ben's life (1967). I like most of this one. I could do without the organ tracks.

I saw them in Newcastle a few weeks ago and wasn't impressed. A bit full of themselves, I thought.......and Joe Lovano wore his shirt outside his pants, never a good sign That's actually the style these days. My girls are constantly trying to get me to do this and I try every now & then but it just doesn't feel right. I usually last about halfway through the day before it gets tucked back in. Tomorrow night Maria Schneider's Jazz Orchestra is coming to Berklee. I can't wait. I've wanted to see/hear this band live for many years and just never connected. Not tonight! I bought these tickets when they went on sale and got the front row.

Randy Marsh's dad Arno has a few CDs in their catalog.

Thanks for stopping by. I seem to remember you at the old Blue Note bulletin board. Also, thanks for the link to the memorial at your website. I learned some things about your Dad that I never would have know otherwise. It's refreshing to read your personal recollections without any sugarcoating. He sounded a lot like my Dad.

Tonight in Methuen, MA at The Sahara Jazz Club: Gary Smulyan in a trio with John Lockwood on bass and Ralph Peterson on drums. http://www.jockosjazz.com

Kenny Barron - Golden Lotus (Muse). Nice date - killer lineup. I never saw this on CD. Did it ever make it?