Kevin Bresnahan

Blue Note in the EU is different from Blue Note in the US which is different from Blue Note in Japan, etc. They are different divisions of EMI. Blue Note's EU arm apparently never heard of any reason to stop this reissue or, if they did hear, chose to release it anyway. I'd have done the same thing if I were in their shoes. Later, Kevin

Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd fame, put out a solo album in 1984 called "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking". The cover has since been censored. Later, Kevin

Given all the discussion that has come about from Blue Note's "Basra" reissue, I got to thinking about CDs and LPs that have been re-titled, had new artwork or both. There are probably hundreds out there. I imagine the most famous is The Beatles "Yesterday and Today" when they originally tried to issue it with a picture of the Fab Four in butcher smocks and chunks of meat. Pretty wild. Edit: I'll paste the Beatles cover in. Since my link seems to be broken, I have Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" on CD from Germany. When I bought it many years ago, I got it in and it had a bunch of nude women on the cover. This was not the cover I had when this was on vinyl! The one that caught me off guard was Chet Baker's "The Playboys" which mutated into "Picture of Heath". I almost bought "Picture of Heath" because I thought it was a new reissue. I wonder how many we could come up with? Later, Kevin

I was able to talk to Tom Evered at Blue Note yesterday and I found out that the reason this CD didn't come out is because they are refusing to modify the artwork or re-title it. Therefore, they're at a bit of a stalemate. Tom says he hopes they can work out the differences but they may not. This re-issue may have to wait until the word "Basra" doesn't have this supposed negative association with it. I am very understanding of both sides of this situation, even though I thoroughly disagree with how it's going down. If I were in a position to make the call, this would be out as "Basra". Period. However, I wouldn't blame any artist associated with this CD for being worried that some people might find offense. As I said earlier in this thread, there will be people that will take offense. Of course, the chances of that person being a Jazz fan are pretty slim. Later, Kevin

Check out http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F32.html for the "Jazz" episode. There are some great quotes in there. Lisa did play Coltrane for her cat when it jumped out the window... I nearly wet myself. There was an episode when Homer had a pizza delivered and, if you freeze the screen, you can see that the pizza place was "Jackie McLean Pizzaria". Kevin

That's what I get for playing volleyball! Maybe tomorrow. Kevin

Wow, serendipity! I was just heading over here to do a search on this very box. They just added it to yourmusic.com and I was wondering if it was worth the $24.95. Sounds like it is. Offhand, how much Coleman Hawkins is there on this set? Later, Kevin

Won't the EU version of Basra have copy protection? I know a lot of people are having trouble with them... they don't play in a lot of standard CD players. Later, Kevin

Same? Not enough coffee this morning. UMG (Mercury) and RCA are likely not the same crew. I still don't understand why these Mercury discs are full-priced. They're likely the last ones too. UMG has pretty much stopped all SACD releases. The website hasn't been updated for a month. Too bad. I've been buying them in batches. These Mercury discs are on my list. Later, Kevin

Well, then, that is a rip-off! I wonder why they did this? They're basically from the same remastering crew and from the same vault. Why price them differently? I stopped trying to figure these guys out. Later, Kevin

Stefan, I don't know where you're buying these, but they have a list price of $11.99 and typically go on sale for $8.99-9.99. These prices are the same as the prices for the regular CDs. Bascially, if you have an SACD player, you get the layer for free. Later, Kevin

So much for ebay's "E-mail me when comes up for sale"!! Later, Kevin

I gotta send this to Michael!! Later, Kevin

Do not blame Blue Note... it isn't their doing.

Back when I was told that Basra was getting reissued in the RVG series, I joked with Michael Cuscuna about it, saying something like, "They're going to let you put out a CD titled Basra"? We had a good laugh. However, we both made the connection right away. I never expected that my little joke would come back to haunt me like this. I blame the political environment we're living with today. Saying or doing anything that can be "linked" with the war in Iraq immediately labels you. It's a sad statement of political correctness run amok. Later, kevin

I believe there would be people who would believe that EMI released this title now, during the war in Iraq, on purpose. That's what I think. I think it's absolutely ridiculous but you know, nothing surprises me any more. Hell, there'd probably be people boycotting Norah Jones concerts and manning picket lines with signs saying, "Support the Troops". She'd start getting mentioned in the same breath as the Dixie Chicks. Later, Kevin

Surely you're kidding here, right? You honestly think in this country right now that no one would be offended by this title?? I think there would be an outrage in certain quarters. There are people out there who's lives are consumed with finding stuff like this to vent their anger on. It'd probably get made into posters and carried around at the next World Trade Conference with references to EMI's corporate "attitude". BTW, I never thought of it before, but Basra is held by the British and EMI, Blue Note's parent compnay, is British. Now don't get me wrong, I don't agree and I checked the calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st when Michael told me this. I figured it had to be a joke. But it isn't. It's an indication of the world we're living in. Later, Kevin

Calm down... I was not given the OK to say who wanted the title changed. However, it should be noted that the artist in question, Pete LaRoca (Sims) is still alive and, if you notice, he did in fact propose a new title for the session. Put two & two together. Michael Cuscuna did not want this change. Tom Evered did not want this change. Later, Kevin

Well, from what I was just told, you can blame the war in Iraq! First off, I'm not making this up. Pete LaRoca's "Basra" has been temporarily withdrawn from the release schedule. There is some pressure to change the title. There is intense sensitivity to our guys dying over there and this sensitivity extends to the Jazz world. Sorry guys. BTW, Pete Sims prefers "Lazy Afternoon" and Michael Cuscuna prefers "Candu" (because the number of letters is the same and the cover change would be minimal). Later, Kevin

The (unlicensed) Blue Note Club in Taipei is the smokiest hole-in-the-wall throwback club you ever want to visit. I believe it's still there at 4th Floor No. 171, Section 3, Roosevelt Rd. Is Jazzclub Unterfahrt still in business in Munich? They used to be mal Waldron's regular hang... sadly, I missed him every time I went by a few days. If they're still in business, I imagine they are also pretty smoky. Their old website doesn't seem to work anymore. I'd be very sad if that place was dead even though I doubt I'll ever get another chance to go to Munich. Later, Kevin Edit: Ah, I found it: http://www.unterfahrt.de/. They have Chris Speed playing there this week.

I saw it and thought, "this is why we have George Bush as our president".

I've been offered a copy by a friend of mine (thanks Mike) and I'm looking forward to hearing it. I simply cannot get enough Ben Webster... well, and Don Byas too. Later, Kevin

There seems to be some confusion with this Lonehill CD. It has incorrect recording dates. The two sessions were released as BLP5059 - Best from the West, Volume 1 and BLP5060 - Best from the West, Volume 2 in 1955. They were recorded 12/54 and 1/55. They fall under public domain in the EU. Also, any "licensed from" statement on that CD is simply not true. I asked Cuscuna about this CD last week and he didn't know about it and his reaction was surprise. As I said, he was seriously thinking about doing this in the Connoisseur series. From his reaction, I tend to doubt he's thinking that now. Later, Kevin

I agree that it's great that this stuff will finally be back in print. However, it isn't "legit" for me. I see where you don't have a location listed in your profile. "Legit" is true only if you live in the EU. If you live in the states, this CD is technically illegal to import. Obviously, it is nearly impossible to stop this, but just realize it's still not legit. Blue Note holds the exclusive rights to this music for 75 years from it's initial relase. FWIW, I imagine this Lonehill CD will likely kill this title from Blue Note's reissue plans. It was on track for a Connoisseur release but likely not now. As long as the sound is good, that probably won't matter much. Later, Kevin

Is this in print anywhere? I've got to get my hands on this one. Kevin