Kevin Bresnahan

Mal was such a chain smoker that he reportedly stopped coming to play in the US because most clubs over here wouldn't allow him to smoke while he played. Apparently Mal needed to smoke while he played. Later, Kevin

I have, or actually my wife has. In a span of just over three weeks, she has read all eight books in the series. I've never seen anything like it. I'm gonna start reading them myself, especially since I've been seeing her giggle so much. (She told me about the dog who ate the prunes, who was subsequently dog-napped. This I gotta read!) Al, if you get to read these Stephanie Plum books, wait 'til you get to the scene in the third book where she's chasing someone down the highway and a corpse... never mind, read the books... sick, twisted Pythonesque humor. I nearly wet myself. BTW, a character named Lula is introduced in the first book and she becomes a "regular" as the books progress... any scene with Lula involved is just *going* to be all twisted! Later, Kevin

Many of the earlier Mosaic CD sets had "Made in Canada" stickers on them. Some even had this sticker on the CD backer *inside* the jewel case. The Blakey comes to mind as one that definitely had stickers. Later, Kevin

Do yourself a favor and order Klaus Suonsaari's "Inside Out" on Soul Note. Excellent CD... check the lineup: Ray Drummond - Bass Renee Rosnes - Piano Steve Nelson - Vibraphone Scott Robinson - Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor) Klaus Suonsaari - Drums Scott Wendholt - Trumpet, Flugelhorn It has some of Renee Rosnes' best playing to my ears and one of the only places to hear reedman Scott Robinson is a small group setting. Well worth picking up if you don't have it. And I can't believe they're selling Fathead Newman's "Mr Gentle Mr Cool" for that cheap! $1.40!! Why don't they just give it away? Later, Kevin

If I had my choice, it would be Sirius. The Jazz is programmed by drummer Kenny Washington and if you check the set lists, he has very good taste. Add to that the fact that it's commercial free and it seems like a no-brainer. Of course, having said this, I have neither myself. I just can't justify paying $12.95 per month for a music box when I have such an extensive CD collection. Later, Kevin

Where is the info for this reissue? Is it on CD? Import or domestic? I've had this on LP for a while and the playing is very good but the sound off the vinyl leaves a bit to be desired. EDIT>> I see it now listed at Tower Records. I don't usually go there and Dusty Groove doesn't even mention it. It's on the want list! Later, Kevin

I thought Herbie plays bass clarinet exclusively on "Great Ideas of Western Mann"? Maybe he pulls the flute out of the case on the bonus track but not the original LP tracks? This is on my want list because I dig bass clarinet. Later, Kevin

Are you saying that you don't think the SACD stereo layer of "Dark Side of the Moon" is a step above the US CD? I think it's much better than that piece of junk. FWIW, I have owned 3 versions of this title on CD, keeping the best-sounding version, Mobile Fidelity's gold CD. When I compared the stereo layer of the SACD to the MoFi CD, I heard a lot more details in some areas, not so much detail in others. All in all, I think it is better-sounding than the MoFi and much better-sounding than the US CD that it replaced in EMI's catalog! That disc sounds terrible! In fact, I actually returned it to the store as "defective". I figured it would sound better than my old Japanese Harvest CD simply due to more modern remastering. Boy, was I wrong. Right off the bat, the heartbeat... it's hardly audible on the US disc. Then, when the mad ranting starts (very soft), you can't even tell what the madman is saying on the US CD! "I've been mad for fucking years, absolutely years, been over the edge for yonks, been working me buns off for bands..." "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..." Kinda sounds like a lot of us! As for others I've "panned", that word is too negative. I am not panning them. The term pan is defined as "to criticize severely" (ref. www.m-w.com). The only SACD I would ever consider "panning" is Peter Gabriel's "Shaking the Tree". Every other SACD I have bought is a welcome addition to my collection with all of them representing some improvement over its CD counterpart. It's the degree of improvement where you & I seem to disagree. When it comes to Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue", when I had a friend over and we compared 3 versions blind (US CD remaster, Japanese DSD CD, US MC-SACD), we did not always pick the SACD as "better". In fact, during a couple of parts, the Japanese DSD CD seemed "smoother". This is not saying that the SACD "lost" or anything. We seemed to agree that overall it was best. However, it was not as improved as we thought it was going to be. Later, Kevin

Based on what? I've done careful comparisons with about 150 different SACD titles, controlling for polarity, different versions and masterings on highly resolving systems and I strongly disagree with you. The differences are significant, even when the same mastering is used for the CD and SACD content, e.g., the Analogue Productions and ABKCO titles. Now if you're saying that you or your system are not capable of noticing the differences, that's another matter. People can disagree with you Greg. You don't have to get so defensive. Claude is certainly entitled to his opinion... he probably has as many SACDs as you. No need to act as if he's insane! I also don't find a lot of improvement in every SACD I've bought. Subtle improvements sure, but not many of them have had me dropping my jaw, like I did with the JRVG redbook CD of "Basra"... well, maybe Adderley's "You Know What I Mean". Also, when talking about "Kind of Blue", I am not hearing that much difference between the recently remastered (US) CD and the MC SACD. If you factor in the Japanese DSD CD, the difference becomes even less. Shades of improvement... more detail here, less bass there, a little more tape hiss here, etc. Little stuff. BTW, I also don't hear anyway near the improvement that you hear with Herbie Hancock's "Headhunters", a disc I play all the time (in both versions all over the house). To my ears, this one is close to identical, especially at the volume I usually listen at... at least when the wife isn't home. Another SACD series which seems marginally improved is The Police discs. Yes, they are better, but nowhere near as good as I thought they would be. Sadly, I also bought Peter Gabriel's greatest hits SACD "Shaking the Tree". Holy moly, does this stink. Not to be entirely negative, many of the Analogue Productions SACDs knock my socks off. "Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section" and "Saxophone Collossus" never sounded better. "Way Out West" has some competition from the XRCD. There's Sonny Clark's Time SACD. There's Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". There's Peter Gabriel's "Passion". All of these sound phenomenal and many are much better sounding than their CD counterpart. However, many of the CDs I have to compare these to are ancient. It seems to me that when I compare an SACD to a newly remastered CD, there seems to be much less dramatic differences. Opinions vary. Later, Kevin

I am a huge Leo Parker fan and his Blue Notes get a lot of playing time in my house. I have asked Michael time & time again to try and get these back into print to no avail. As much as I like them and as much as some people want them, historically, they sell poorly. Sure, these classic dates deserve to be in print, but, financially, at this time it doesn't make sense for them to be in print. As always, this is subject to change. Michael could wake up tomorrow, call RVG and tell him to remaster them. Michael can always change his mind... and with me always asking, maybe his conscience will finally get to him! Later, Kevin

You know, Brad, after I bought "Soul in the Night" and got home & played it, it stayed in my "trade" pile for a few weeks. One day as I went out the door, I grabbed it and played it in the car. By the time I got home, it still went into the trade pile. A while later, I spun it again... don't remember why... and it just sounded good. I don't think it's "stellar" stuff, just good bluesy soul Jazz. I also think Bunky Green's tone is a bit weird. Might be what initially turned me off. Later, Kevin

Isn't this material the same stuff on the Savoy CD "Fiery"? I have that CD so I didn't pick up the DAD (Classic Records' version of a 24/96 DVD-Audio). If I remember correctly, the music is pretty good. Maybe it's time to spin it again for a refresher? FWIW, I haven't heard any Classics DAD that's knocked my socks off, if you know what I mean. Sure they sound good, but when you're expecting "WOW" and you get "gee, that sounds good"... Later, Kevin

not according to AMG (FWIW) Ahhhh! Now I see the confusion! "B Green" in this instance translates to "Bennie Green" not "Bunky Green" like I thought. Pretty funny mix up on my part. In looking at this "My Main Man", it does look like a good one... although the rhythm section is kinda "blah"... Bobby Buster and Dorel Anderson? I betcha Deep has this. He's as much a Stitt fan as I am and even I don't have half the stuff Deep has. Later, Kevin

I have this on CD at home but I don't think it was called "My Main Man"... isn't it called "Soul in the Night"?? Is this the session you're talking about? Good date that I miraculously found in the Burlington, MA Tower Records "clearance" bin for around $12. Well worth every penny. BTW, it was released in that same series that gave us Baby Face Willette's "Mo Rock" and "Behind the 8 Ball". These are the CDs with a watermelon motif and "Soul Jazz" written on the inside of the CD behind the clear CD tray. Later, Kevin

What a sleazy website those guys at Jazz Weekly run! The frigging thing tries to plant 2 tracking cookies and then tries to install some spyware. Do their web page designers realize what they're doing or do they just insert whatever paid advertisers they get into their code? BTW, in reading this interview I felt that I had read it before. Didn't this come out back in January? Later, Kevin

Jeez, if we all started boycotting artists because of their perceived "asshole-ness", we wouldn't have much of a collection! Let's face it, Miles was a jerk, plain & simple. I would never avoid his work because of this. Bertrand, what is the story with the boycott of Duke Jordan's leader dates, anyway? Enquiring minds and all that. Later, Kevin

My demo discs lately have been: Pete LaRoca - Basra (JRVG) Art Tatum - With Ben Webster (XRCD) Cannonball Adderley - You Know What I Mean? (SACD) and The Police - Synchronicity Why that last one? Well, believe it or not, I think the tune "King of Pain" has tons of mid-range in the chorus. I have used this tune for years to "hear" speaker mid-range performance. Side by side and mid-range (or lack thereof) jumps out with this tune. BTW, in the old days, I had a Telarc classical sampler that had a snippet of Bach's "Toccata and Fugue" that could absolutley torture the woofers of almost any speaker. Later, Kevin

Bertrand, all of the music was reissued on CD... I have all four discs at home. BTW, this is the DVD that's on the release schedule. I called Michael Cuscuna to verify it. He is skeptical about "October" however. He said it sounded like it might slip a little. No reason was given. I'm just glad it's coming out. I have always wanted to see this concert. Later, Kevin

Well I'll be... I guess that's another one to put on "the list". Count me in the Frank Foster fan club. One of my favorite CDs from the 90's was Foster's "Leo Rising" on Arabesque. It saddens me to see this CD is used/cut-out bins all over Boston with $5 price tags... they sit & sit. It's really a beautiful album. Later, Kevin

As I mentioned early on another thread (I think?), I am almost positive that Duke Pearson's "Sweet Honey Bee" will be in the next batch of RVGs... in fact, I'm almost positive it's "in the can". Also, when Michael mentioned Grant Green's "Going West", he said he didn't want to use the (limited edition) Connoisseur Series for this because he wanted it in print longer. I think he may have been implying that this might also be an RVG. As for other things laying around his desk, I saw all the stuff for the upcoming selects and a whole bunch of vinyl of Mulligan's concert band stuff. I actually asked him about the Pearson but he asked me to wait until it was finalized. Later, Kevin

So, if the LPs blow away those CDs, what would it take to pry those horrible-sounding CDs out of your possession? That's about the only Mosaic set I'm watching for... Ebay has been crazy with this set. Later, Kevin

Isn't "Manhattan Fever" on the Frank Foster Connoisseur CD from a few years back (the 10 inch series)? Also, BN Japan has that Kenny Clarke on their release schedule as a JRVG. Of course, when I visited Mosaic last month, I saw a copy of the TOCJ CD on Michael Cuscuna's desk. That gave me a hint that it might be on the "short list" for reissue. It is really nice, too. Turrentine's "The Look of Love" can be found in cut-out bins on one of the horrid-sounding Applause bootlegs. It may be the only way to get this on CD... although I didn't like this session much to begin with so sound quality wasn't on my mind. Later, Kevin

As big of a Stitt fan that I am, the Hodges set is pure bliss... not to be missed. Also, as much of a JJ fan that I am, I rarely find myself grabbing any of these CDs out of my case. That's it, tomorrow I'm spinning the "Blue Trombone" disc! Later, Kevin

I have A/B'ed the two TOCJ CDs and there was no contest: this is one of the JRVG where Rudy seemed to "miss". Of course, this is only my perception. Others have said the JRVG sounds fine. I happened to prefer the regular TOCJ in this case. If I remember correctly, the JRVG suffers from that "AM radio sound" that Rudy sometimes got. Compression? Overdriven treble? I don't know. Later, Kevin

See this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...6&category=1056? What's with this bidder? First off, this is coming out in Japan in a couple of months but check the bid history. One person?? Was the reserve $150? This seller is crazy if that's what happened here. Later, Kevin