Kevin Bresnahan

No dark chocolate Kit Kats up my way. BTW, am I the only one who prefers the Big Kat to the Kit Kat? These Big Kats just seem to have more chocolate taste than the regular Kits. Later, Kevin

I don't think that's entirely true... I believe the Smith set atually did time out on its contract. I guess with most sets, Mosaic is able to negotiate another pressing or an extension but with the Smith set, UMG just said "No". That was it... contract over. Unfortunately, when UMG told Mosaic this, they were at a point of running out and were just about to do another pressing. In fact, I believe they found out that the contract was done when the pressing facility said sorry, no more CDs. By then, Mosaic basically had no sets left to sell. Kevin

Hans, I'm glad you posted this... I was given the list several weeks ago and I was told that I could not post it. Apparently, the person at BN Japan didn't want it published. Later, Kevin

I was told by Mosaic that their license for these Vee Jay sets was with Rhino, who had a deal with the holders of the Vee Jay masters. Apparently, this agreement between Rhino & Vee Jay was suddenly terminated. Since Mosaic's deal was with Rhino and Rhino no longer had the rights, Mosaic had to stop selling the sets. Later, Kevin

Candy of the week? They should be calling it candy if the year! I have 4 bags stashed away. Walmart actually stashed the Shrek 2 M&M's on the top shelf and loaded up their shelves with "normal" ones. While I think it stinks that they aren't giving everyone a chance to try these beaties, by putting them up high, they're lasting a lot longer. Later, Kevin

I don't believe so... I think Cuscuna was saying that the guy sitting at the table (who I thought might have been you) was saying that. It sounds like an unfounded rumor. Michael also said that there was a lot of smiling and back pats up on stage so he doesn't know why the rumor started. He talked to Jackie for a long time between sets and Jackie never mentioned any problems. Later, Kevin

I called Michael Cuscuna and from what he said, he was sitting with Bruce Lundval and Tom Evered. So hardbopjazz, it sounds like you were sitting with the Blue Note triumvirate. BTW, Michael said the show was really good.... better than he expected. Funny sidebar... hardbopjazz(?) scared Michael by telling him that he heard that Grachan had a fight with Jackie the night before and got fired. Then Grachan showed up late, seemingly confirming it. Michael was relieved when Grachan showed up after the first tune. Later, Kevin

I did a lot of research back when this was going on in my life and I read all about the lack of a link between sugar consumption and behavioral problems. However, my wife & I noticed that our daughter would usually be worse just after eating and especially bad after eating tons of sugar (like after a birthday party). We experimented with cutting out sugar and we liked the results. It should be noted that cutting out sugar from a kid's diet comes across as a "punishment" and my daughter's change in attitude may have been a result of this as much as a lack of sugar. Her knowing that she wouldn't get ice cream if she acted up may have had a more calming effect than anything else. All I know is that I saw a positive response to this. Later, Kevin

My oldest daughter was once declared "borderline ADHD". There was no way I was putting her on Ritalin. Nope. She's an active kid. I was an active kid. Active kids runs in the family. My mother jokes that if they had ADHD back when I was growing up, the whole neighborhood would have been on Ritalin. While we didn't even look into drug treatment, one thing my wife and I did try with some success was to completely cut out sweets. No candy. No ice cream. No chocolate. Nada. We tried this for a few weeks and in our opinion, she was a lot better. Your mileage may very. Later, Kevin

Just 3? What a pussy. Oh, Jim, it was worse though. 3 cigarettes in about 10 minutes, plus he hacked between solos and his teeth... man, if I had just his teeth alone, I would quit in minutes! The guy had black teeth. I tell you, I took one look at the guy and figured "smoker" and in between sets, I figured I'd shake his hand and talk about his music so I went out into the bar area, figuring that's where he disappeared to between sets (when most other guys just hang around the stage) and sure enough, he was trying to suck down as many cigs as he could. Jim, it sounds like you smoke too? How does that affect your playing? The way Hamiliton hacked it up between solos, I imagine there are times that he has that "I gotta cough" feeling during a solo too, right? Kevin

Why this thread has morphed into a Scott Hamilton thread... Regarding Hamilton's playing style, I can attest that as he was "packaged" (maybe "boxed in" might be a better term?) by Concord, really made him some money. I can't blame the guy for playing the way he does if he truly likes playing that way because he's made a living playing Jazz. I recently caught Hamilton live in Boston and I have to say, the average age of the crowd was probably 75 and it was friggin' packed. The guy makes a living channeling Ben Webster, he's enjoyable enough, so what's the problem? I have no problem at all with the guy's playing. FWIW, I have several Hamilton CDs but I rarely play them during any "serious" listening times. He's great to spin at dinner. My wife loves his ballads CD... oh yeah, and his Christmas disc? One of the best of the genre. His buttery tone just seems perfect for "Chestnuts roasting by an open fire." BTW, anyone else catch that Hamilton turns 50 this year? Wow, time flies. When I saw him, he must've smoked 3 cigarettes between sets. He won't be around too much longer if he smokes like that. Kevin

Did the CD-R have a label stuck on it? Avoid using stick-on labels. They don't adhere well and they can cause the disc to be out of balance. My Toyota 6 CD changer hasn't had any problems with either CDs or CD-Rs. It also specifically states not to use any stickers on the CDs. I went through 3 CD players on my last car and only one of them scratched a CD when I hit a hard bump (which was why I switched it out). Kevin

Eric Alexander also has a CD called "Alexander the Great". He did not come up with this title, the label did. In fact, I have heard that he was pretty upset by it but the label decided to use it and that was that. Maybe the same thing happened with "Summit Meeting"? BTW, I'm with you on "Summit Meeting" - Not anywhere near my favorite Eric Alexander date either. I don't think I dig Idris Mohammed's drumming that much... at least that's my guess. Later, Kevin

BTW, I am not sure of the specifics, but the word I was given on why these are getting cut short is that Rhino's agreement with the owners of this Vee Jay material was terminated. Which side initiated the termination wasn't said. I guess Mosaic's deal was with Rhino so when Rhino lost the contract, Mosaic lost the contract too. Sounds complicated! Later, Kevin

If we're talking about Eric Alexander and a "personal style", well, I can "hear" Eric Alexander just fine. In fact, just this morning on the way into work, I was spinning Mel Rhyne's "Tenor Triangle" which features Alexander, Ralph Lalama & Tad Shull. I could tell which tenor was Eric in every tune. He has a way of starting a note with a vibrato but he "blows through it" (best description I can come up with) so it sounds like a slight bend in the notes. He also likes a quick up & down waffling note that he gets into nearly every solo. The waffle note is also what he seems to stick with when he emulates he teacher George Coleman during his attempts to play with circular breathing techniques (which, just like Coleman, almost always brings down the house when seen live). I guess I just don't get the argument against a guy playing in an older style. Look, Dexter, Mobley, Hendu... these guys are all dead! If a young(er) guy like Alexander can't play in this style without being called a copycat/soul-less player, than this style will totally die. No one will play that way. I like going to shows that Alexander plays. One For All #@%$ing smokes! I have yet to got to a gig with any of these guys and left feeling that I saw a bad show. I like the style of music he plays. Is that so wrong? Now, lastly, without stirring it up too much, I worry when "soul-less" is used in describing the playing of guys like Eric Alexander, Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen. Soul music is generally associated with black musicians. Obviously, these guys are white. Is there maybe some preconceived bias at work here? It's been suggested before with Getz, Marsh, Zoot and Konitz et al. I would like to think everyone is color blind when it comes to music but it just seems weird that this keeps coming up again & again. I was once told by a white drummer that the Jazz world has blatant reverse discrimination. He said he was blacklisted (no pun intended) from a few dates strictly because he was white. Could this be part of the problem? Later, Kevin

I'm tired of having to "defend" the playing style of guys like Eric Alexander. I'm tired of having to explain why I like his playing style. I'm tired of hearing about how he's doing something that was done before. I dig the guy's playing. Nothing said here or anywhere is going to change my mind. But c'mon Larry... laying that stuff on a guy's playing after hearing one(!) CD? Don't you think that's a bit unfair? Try listening to a few more before talking about stapling together pieces of cardboard. Try listening to one of his latest CDs like "Nightlife In Tokyo"... very good Eric Alexander but even better Ron Carter. Best I've heard from Ron in a while. I still think Alexander's best solo on record is on the title track to Robert Mazurek's "Badlands". It very well built with multiple peaks. It reminds me a lot of Wayne Shorter's solo on "Free For All". By the end of that solo, I'm usually whooping it up in the car (and people around me wonder about my sanity). I prefer young Alexander's version of "Up, Over & Out" to the originator's version and considering that the originator is far and away my favorite Jazz musician, that is saying something. Now, sorry to say, I bought and dumped two of the dates he did with Charles Earland, "Unforgettable" and "I Ain't Jivin' I'm Jammin'". I can't stop thinking that the guys were trying for Smooth Jazz airplay with some of the tunes. There's always a good song or 2 but then that shudder hits me and all I can think of is Dave Sanborn. I haven't even tried the others. I also have to say that while I admire Alexander for giving a master like Cecil Payne a recording date, I don't think Cecil's got it any more. He seems to have trouble pushing air through his bari. Hey, I hope I'm pushing any air when I'm 75, never mind playing a bari sax but I cringe during some of his solos on the dates he plays with Alexander. I rarely play them. Other favs are Mike LeDonne's "Then And Now", the aforementioned "Power Station" by Michael Weiss and both the Brigandi dates. I also feel guilty that I like the 2 dates Alexander made for the Japanese Alpha label, "Heavy Hitters" and "Extra Innings" (both quartet dates with Mabern, Peter Washington and Joe Farnsworth). Why do I feel guilty? I mentioned the CDs to Alexander between sets one night and he told me he never got a cent from either of those CDs. Looking back at what I've written, I notice that I don't list any of Alexander's Criss Cross dates. I dig them and I play them but not as often as others. I bet my favorite Criss Cross date with Alexander on it is probably Melvin Rhyne's "Stick to the Kick"... although both Jim Rotondi dates are pretty good. Oh wait! Rhyne's "Aztec Blues" is another good one (have to dig that one out for the morning commute). Later, Kevin

These are not RVGs. I am in the process of finding out who did the remastering, but the initial info seems to indicate that they were remastered by the same team that has done all of the other TOCJs prior to the RVG series. Since I am a big fan of the sound of these, at a measly 1500 yen, I may buy quite a few as sonic upgrades. The "TOCJ sound" ranks right up there to my ears. Too bad they're not SACD hybrids. Later, Kevin EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot... there will be 100 "best selling" titles celebrating BN's 65th anniversary. They will be limited editions.

I have a lot of Eric Alexander in my stash of frequently played CDs but work is crazy right now and I couldn't do justice in the short period of time I'm taking to type this. I will say that one of One For All's latest efforts, a tribute to Art Blakey on the Venus label called "No Problem", is one of my favorite new CDs in years. It just flat-out smokes! Joe Farnsworth has really become a monster on the drums when he's playing with One For All. I think this band is one of the few that can do justice to Bu's Jazz Messengers legacy. BTW, the mispell Blakey's name on this CD! Funny as heck. The first track is titled, "Our Father Who Art Blaky". Later, Kevin

About this copy-protected stuff in Europe, I was just talking to someone at Blue Note about how the copy protection, combined with the 50 year rule, could really backfire on them. I was told that in no uncertain terms, the US arm of Blue Note told them they thought it was a bad idea. The European EMI people won't listen. They will be copy-protected in Europe from now on. If you do buy these Blue Notes in the public domain to avoid copy proctection, make sure you E-mail European Blue Note to let them know this. Maybe they will finally check a calendar and go "Duh". Later, Kevin

I assume you are talking about the 2000-2003 Prius? I don't think my 2004 Prius is "dinky". In fact, it seems pretty big to me. It is slotted as a "mid size car" and is only inches smaller than the Camry. It's certainly a lot bigger than the Echo. On top of that, since it's a hatchback, it has tons of hauling room. Later, Kevin

No, it is not a status symbol at all! Maybe I wasn't clear... the reason you started seeing so many Hummers about a year ago was that they are now basically free for anyone working in a corporate position requiring a company car. FREE. The company gets to take a 100% tax credit for their Hummer. Think about it... let's say the company buys a Ford Taurus and gives it to their employee to use. It probably costs the company $7K per year to amortize the thing. After about 3 years, it has about $8K on the books and they sell it (usually to an employee) and move on to the next one. Now let's say the company buys the same employee a Hummer. Businesses file quarterly, right? Well, first quarter, they write it off! Gone off the books. I bet they can even sell it after a certain period of time and make money. From an accounting point of view, it's a no-brainer. Up in the Boston area late last year, there were Hummer dealers advertising "free Hummers" to businesses. Believe me, they saw this loophole and took full advantage of it. I bet there isn't one company that doesn't know about this. Later, Kevin

Ha! Surely you must know of the recent tax break that the Bush administration just gave the Hummer right? They passed a law allowing businesses to write 100% of the purchase price of a business vehicle with a gross weight of 5,000 lbs (or some such number). It was supposedly meant to allow farmers to purchase large equipment but the result is that every business in the US is buying Hummers and using them as "company cars" and writing the whole price off their company's bottom line. Ban them? Bush & his oil buds are reveling in it! BTW, at the same time they did this, they also refused to extend the tax break for hybrid-electric cars like my Prius. I got a $2,000 tax deduction for my car because I put it on the road by the end of 2003. It is decreasing by $500 every year until it's gone. So, by 2007, there will be no tax benefit to buying a gas-saving vehicle... I wonder if by then, the car companies will all have 5 or 10 models each that meet the weight requirements for this new tax break? Later, Kevin

I love my 2004 Toyota Prius!! Yes I do. Lately, I've been averaging 54 mpg. Fill it up maybe once a week and even at that, it only takes about 8 gallons. Man, am I glad I bought this car. Later, Kevin

Well, I decided to sell the Denon. I just put an ad up on Audiogon. In case anyone here is interested, I would give a great deal to someone from the board. Later, Kevin

Hey! They made the web: Ogre-sized M&M's. This web page says that they are 65% larger! Later, Kevin