Kevin Bresnahan

I've seen Eric Alexander quite a few times now and I think his persona on stage is nerves. I thought I read somewhere that everyone gets stage fright every time they play. Maybe he never got over that. I've talked to him between and after sets and he's always been relaxed and easy-going so I know that seriousness isn't the real EA. Maybe he tries too hard? BTW, the way he channels LTD is one of the things I really like about him. I never got to see Dex live and having someone play like him is nirvana. The funny thing is, as much as he sounds like Dex, he doesn't quote "Laura" every other tune and he has that little trill with the half-closed lower keys that has become a pretty recognizable figure for him. Later, Kevin

I was just re-reading the write up on this system when I caught "Weight 40 lbs". 40 lbs for a 1000 Watt amp and apeakers? Whoa, that's not a lot. I have to think they're over-stating the output power a bit. For comparison fun, my 5 x 75 receiver weighs 37 lbs. My 5 speakers probably weigh 35 lbs each. My sub weighs in at 44 lbs. So my system, at only 5.1, weighs nearly 250 lbs. Anyone looking at subs has to look at Hsu Research. Best bang for the buck by far. Later, Kevin

How many speakers? Non-powered sub? That's weird. Looking around, I'd guess it's the KS5190. Someone's got one on ebay for around $200. It looks like the sub is powered. Maybe there's a plug missing somewhere? I'd guess that what's happening is that this 1000 Watts is "full power", not "useable power". It's probably only 50 Watts by 6 (300) with another 100 for the sub in actual useable power. None of those numbers, especially the sub, will rattle the walls. Later, Kevin

Not true. In fact, the first 50 or so from the US RVG series were actually remastered by Rudy twice. Once for Japan and then again for the US. In fact, RVG may have had to remaster the first US batch twice. The first time, he folded the stereo down too much and Cuscuna had him widen it before release. It was only during the batch of US RVGs where they found some old metal masters i.e. Monk that they decided to merge the remastering efforts. I would say that now, the US decisions may actually be being picked up by Japan. Later, Kevin

I sent off our requests to MC. We'll see if he likes our suggestions. I know I like the suggestion for "Leapin' and Lopin'" myself. I forgot how many times I have thought of ordering this RVG from Japan. Later, Kevin

Isn't this material on the Thelonious Monk RVG CD?

I was talking to Blue Note the other day and they're finalizing the next titles for RVG to start on. It sounded to me like there was room for negotiation. Any titles I should call and push for? I thought Mobley's "A Slice of the Top" would be a good one. I also put in my (usual) request for some Leo Parker. "The Gigolo" may not make it this time because it's still selling like hot cakes in its current configuration so they're hesitant to delete it. It sounds like Redd's "The Connection", Herbie's "Inventions & Dimensions" and Blakey's "The Big Beat" have made the early "list" (not set in stone, obviously). Fire Away. Later, Kevin

These 2 titles caught me a bit off guard... well one of them did. I was told it was going to be the Donaldson date and Freddie Roach's "Brown Sugar". I wonder if we'll see "Brown Sugar" soon? Later, Kevin

I am reading that rght?? Only 17 titles? Wow. I thought there were a hell of a lot more than that. If it's only 17 titles, someone like Mosaic could easily make a nice box. "The Complete Bee Hive Recordings" has a nice ring to it. 17 LPs should fit onto 10 or 11 CDs. I only have 5 of them and of those 5, I only have a couple on vinyl, the rest on CD-R. A poster over on All About Jazz (sheldonm) was supposed to ask Jim Neumann about his stock of new vinyl but I never heard from him. I'd love to get my hands on these dates. Later, Kevin

Well, I just got off the phone with BMG. I E-mailed them several times with no answer so I finally called and worked my way through voice mail hell to a real person. I finally (think I) got an answer as to why I never get offered "Unlimited $5.99 with free shipping & handling for 5 or more CDs". They tell me it's because I'm still getting mailings. If I switch to electronic (E-mail) notification for my selection of the month, I'll get this offer. I just switched over to electronic notification. I'll see if my sales offers change. I tell you, if I get that $5.99 sale, I'll be ordering a whole bunch of Bob Dylan SACDs. Too bad I already bought all of the Fantasy SACDs. Later, Kevin

Well, I spun my JRVG of this session again last night and one thing that came to mind about something that "bothered" me about the date was that Johnny Coles seems unsure of himself in many places. Also, on "For All We Know", he needed to have one thing said to him: "Spit valve, Johnny. Spit valve". I hate hearing spit rolling around in a trumpet solo. I used to play trumpet and playing to the point where the spit started messing up notes was a big no no. I wonder if anyone ever purposefully left it in there for effect? BTW, many of the people who are listening to this on the US RVG CD should thank your lucky stars that Grant Green is a big seller for Blue Note right now. Otherwise, chances are this would never have gotten reissued. I know for a fact Michael Cuscuna wasn't planning on reissuing because he didn't like it. In fact, it's one of the few sessions I've ever heard him put down. Later, Kevin

Reinier, do you have the Mobile Fidelity CD of this date? I have read that the MoFi CD sounds much better than any other version out there until this SACD version came out. I was wondering if you agree. Am I the only one surprised that by the time of this session, Impulse! was still making mono masters? I would have thought that by 1963 most companies were using the stereo master and simply mixing the 2 channels together for their mono release. Later, Kevin

This is where it's so fun to compare opinions on this stuff... Lon's description of "Know What I Mean" is exactly how I feel about Grant Green's "Am I Blue", which Lon likes. Jazz allows for all. BTW, I do not hear any plodding on "Know What I Mean", just good ol' tasteful backing on a session of ballads. Later, Kevin

Elton John? "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is artistry at its highest level... even if you don't like Elton the person, you have to give it to him as a musician for this date. I actually play the SACD of GYBR quite often. I am less a fan of his other sessions which is why I didn't buy any the other day. I hear "Honky Chateau" is a good one. Later, Kevin

I never read anything from Greg about a CD spray. Actually, I wouldn't read anything on any CD spray anyway... Placebo effect in my book. http://web.archive.org/web/20021225190851/...c&f=16&t=000496 Man, what a joke of a thread that was! I still get riled up by the types who swear they hear all kinds of benefits with sprays... and Greg was a proponent then? Hmm... I wonder if he ruined a couple of his SACDs? I stand by my statement. Sprays are a placebo. No audible benefit. Later, Kevin

I never read anything from Greg about a CD spray. Actually, I wouldn't read anything on any CD spray anyway... Placebo effect in my book. FWIW, the one of the leading CD sprays has a warning not to use it on SACDs. Apparently, if you use it on your Analogue Productions SACDs, it may render them un-playable. Later, Kevin

Greg over on the Audio Asylum: Christmas came early this year Posted by Jazz Inmate ® on November 22, 2004 at 15:21:56 Got my Verve JSACDs today...Now's the Time (Bird), Pres & Teddy, and Stan Getz Plays. Two more hours and then I get to go home and warm up the tubes and feast my ears on these babies. Must...resist...buying...more. These weren't cheap. >>> end of post <<< Greg is right. These are not cheap. Hiroshi says he can get me the Lester Young and Getz discs for $70 delivered. That's a lot of dough. I worry that I'll order these and Verve will reissue them here in the US. Verve seems to be continuing SACD at a slow & sure pace. I just picked up a couple of their latest for $12.02. I can get almost 6 of these for the price of 2 from Japan. Decisions decisions. Later, Kevin

Greg posts over at Jazz Corner and the Audio Asylum. He knows that SACD is still a niche market and I bet even he will admit that Sony looks like they're letting it rot on the vine. He's not happy about it. He still buys SACDs from Japan and he has me thinking about ordering a couple from Hiroshi (Lester Young's Verve with Teddy Wilson). The apparent demise of SACD is not a good thing in my opinion. Say what you will about Greg's methods but his only goal was to get more of us to buy SACD players to hear the sound for ourselves. Greg may have been extreme about it but it doesn't make the medium's failure a good thing. If people had simply tried to give this medium a try, maybe it would have been more successful. Actually, a lot of the people who put down SACD really are "the problem" with SACD. It's not the technology, it's the economics. It's too bad they didn't want to hear their favorite music in the best possible sound. Now, they most likely won't be able to. They'll just have to enjoy their downloaded mp3s. Later, Kevin

I can't wait to hear this myself. The funny thing is, I bought these discs because the store that had them was selling them cheap... $12.02 each. I couldn't pass that up. I can still buy almost all of the latest SACDs for $12.02 from Bull Moose. I may still go back and get the other 2 Clapton discs or maybe one or two of the Elton John discs.

Well, that's not quite right... after all, the original SACD push did not even include multi-channel. It was hastily added after multi-channel DVD-Audio discs made their appearance. The first two generations of Sony SACD players did not have multi-channel playback capability and all of their first generation releases were stereo only. They had to reissue a lot of them with a multi-channel mix afterward. Of course, this confused the heck out of the buyers, especially when they realized that many of the new discs had remastered stereo mixes that were better than the original "stereo only" SACDs. I sold my stereo SACD of "Kind of Blue" because the word on the web was that the multi-channel remaster had a much better stereo mix. I think it was over-stated (surprise! ) but it was different. All of the Sony ads I've seen have advertised SACD as a high fidelity medium. Too bad it looks like it's dying. They've even started reissuing CDs of stuff that was already out on SACD hybrids (like the Dylan catalog). I wish Sony had stuck with it. SACD has given me some great listening moments. I think SACD has the best audio fidelity of any medium I have ever heard to date. Better than vinyl, better than reel-to-reel, better than CD and even better than DVD-Audio... although DVD-Audio does sound great too. I just don't have many detailed DVD-Audio discs. The DVD-Audio discs I have are mostly old rock. It's hard to hear nuances in old rock. The SACD of Cannonball Adderley's "Know What I Mean?" makes it sound like Bill Evans is playing a piano in my living room. Later, Kevin

I'm looking forward to hearing this. Unfortunately, when I brought it home the other day from the store, my wife grabbed the bag and launched off on me about buying myself discs too close to Christmas. This disc, along with Joe Henderson's "Lush Life" and Derek & the Dominoes "Layla" are now all wrapped up in Christmas paper. Mono should be mono. Chances are that there aren't any mono DSD mastering benches and somehow the machine wasn't balanced. I'll check it out. Have you noticed a difference in any other mono discs? It could possibly be your player. Kevin

Ditto for me.

There are 3 very reliable places that carry these SACDs. I've used all of them myself but today, I special order them at a local shop in Salem NH called Bull Moose Music. The 3 good ones are: Music Direct Red Trumpet and Acoustic Sounds All of them ask $25 per disc but Red Trumpet always seems to have specials. I get them from Bull Moose for ~$19. BTW, I think the Evans/Adderley SACD, "You Know What I Mean" is one of the best sounding SACDs in my collection. If you're into Evans and don't have this one, I'd recommend it over either of the Vanguard dates... well, I'm a huge Cannonball fan. Besides, the Vanguard dates, being live, can never match the sonics of the studio date. Edit: I almost forgot http://www.cduniverse.com. Clunky to search this place but you can save a couple of bucks. They ship slow as molasses but most users seem to get what they order... eventually. Myself, I'd pay the extra couple of bucks and go with one of the others. Kevin

I still don't like it. I've tried and tried but it still puts me to sleep. Nothing like "Blue Hour" in my book. I can listen to "Blue Hour" over & over. "Am I Blue" just can't keep my interest. FWIW, it can't seem to keep the buying public's interest either. I bet this will be one of the first Grant Green dates deleted by BN in a long time. Later, Kevin

Both are on SACD from Analogue Productions (ironic label for this, eh?). They sound phenomenal. In fact, all of Analogue Productions SACDs sound phenomenal. Unfortunately, OJC got their hands on a DSD remastering bench so they no longer license out their masters to AP. I doubt they'll be any more. FWIW, Mobile Fidelity is also doing great work in the SACD medium. Fantasy's work has been good but a few of their remasters show little improvement over the K2 CDs. Later, Kevin