Kevin Bresnahan

I've listened to several of his CDs over the years and his trumpet playing is really good. I can't really fault any musician for going for the money, to be honest, especially if they can do it while playing the way they want and can block out all of the other stuff going on around them. The syrupy string stuff just gets old quickly. I play his Christmas CD during the holidays quite a bit when even syrupy strings/synth washes go a long way to a relaxing evening. A friend of mine is a huge fan. He sees him every time he plays in Boston. And he has almost every one of his releases so I've heard most of them. I like them better than almost any smooth jazz release but I have to be in the right mood to listen. This new one will probably get played at dinner time. Dinner Jazz is a thing in my house. I'm not going to play Masada when I'm eating some Chicken Marsala and sipping a nice Cab. Play this new one? Sure. Sometimes when I listen to Botti, I wonder if this would be how Miles would play if he were still alive and able to lift a horn. Botti has made a mint playing this way. Miles never had a problem with that. BTW - I have an unreleased Bob Belden session that he made for a Miami dance club that I've named "Karu" because it's the name of the opening track. If you ever heard this cold, you would likely never guess it was Bob's band. It's dance music. I think it's great and I play it all the time. I have it filed under "Electronic" not "Jazz" because that's how I hear it. Jazz isn't the only music I listen to. Never has been and likely never will be.

The other track being sampled out in the digital world is a vocal track (the sole vocal track?), which I don't think is as good as "Old Folks", especially as it has some syrupy, swirling strings which border on smooth but yet again... not really, if you know what I mean. Like I said, I'll give it a try. It can't hurt. If you're interested in a pre-order, I think today is the last day of the sale at the Blue Note website. I actually ordered the D2C colored vinyl with a signed cover because "why not" - it's the same price as the "regular" vinyl.

Chris Botti - yes that Chris Botti - is about to release his debut recording for Blue Note, titled "Vol. 1". I gave a listen to a couple of the songs they are streaming and it really is a jazz album, not a smooth jazz album. I've always admired Botti's trumpet playing but was never a big fan of a lot of the music he chose to surround that beautiful trumpet sound with. Here, he uses a small backing band and sticks to ballads throughout, which has always been where he shines, even if it was usually layered in electronics. I pre-ordered the vinyl and I'm hoping the rest of the tracks are on par with the two I've heard.

I actually prefer "Tricycle" but this one is OK too. It's not difficult jazz by any stretch but it's light & easy-going. I don't hear smooth jazz but it's not anywhere near hardbop either. Dick Oatts is the player that keeps my interest here. The keyboards/electronics don't do much for me but Ive heard much worse on some smooth jazz dates.

I've streamed my bandcamp purchases at work for several years now but recently, there are audible flaws that seem to indicate that they've switched to an even lower bitrate stream. I'm talking swooshy cymbals and harsh highs in spots. I never noticed them before but maybe they were always there and I just never listened for them? BTW - if everyone hasn't picked it up yet, you should be sure to buy "Kimbrough" from Newvelle Records on Bandcamp. There's a whole lot of great music in this download.

Maybe all of these money moves are why my bandcamp streams have started sounding terrible lately? I'm talking about recordings I bought from them too. I'm glad I took the time to download my music files because if I had planned to stream them, I'd be pretty disappointed.

You must be driving your amp hard if you are actually hearing audible differences in your choice of tubes for your rectifier. In guitar amps, people swap these tubes to soften the highs and it's usually only noticeable when driving the output tubes very hard. https://www.andertons.co.uk/rectifier-amp-guide

I imagine his manager/publicist rescheduled for next year. If he had a major heart attack, part of his heart can be scar tissue and he may be cautioned to avoid overly exerting himself moving forward to avoid having another heart attack. I know two men who have recently had heart attacks. One is back to work and the other has been directed to "take it easy" for the rest of his life to avoid another event. It all depends on the severity of the tissue damage. Time will tell how serious this is, but just because he's rescheduled a concert doesn't mean he's fine.

I was there for several of those shows.

US guitarist Al Di Meola suffers heart attack on stage in Romania but now stable From the sounds of it, it is not good. Best wishes for Al.

I never understood why this wasn't called "Jackie's Folder". That's not a bag.

This is harpsichord I could get into...

I actually don't mind Phil Woods' "Greek Cooking". I don't like it enough to buy it, but I can listen to it and enjoy parts. But Hank Jones' harpsichord playing is just not for me at all. I'd much rather hear him on piano.

I didn't like this at all. Especially the harpsichord tracks. The only reason I still have it is because I got Jones to sign it for me. Even he gave me the side eye when I handed it to him for his signature.

I am a big fan of NCIS too. Ducky was a character. He was able to make the NCIS morgue a place where people didn't mind visiting. That alone took some pretty fine acting ability. To be able to get a chuckle there? Even better acting.

Yeah, let's show the CD cover from the label that won't give Priester one cent from the sale.

Blu-Ray discs.

At the last minute, I got asked to go see Stanley Jordan perform solo at Jimmy's in Portsmouth, NH last night. I hadn't seen him play in decades so I thought, "Why not"? It was an enjoyable evening but not one I need to repeat too often. I probably haven't seen him play in 25 years but after all that time, his playing still had this sameness to it. I had a great time with my friend Bob which made it a worthwhile night, but it was pretty expensive. $87 for the ticket & another $60 for a couple of drinks and an appetizer. I admire Jordan's guitar playing... even marvel at what he can do with that one guitar. At times it sounds like 3 guitars up on the stage. But for song after song after song - it was just not different enough. He played the piano and guitar simultaneously for two songs, which was different, but he also sang along and his singing voice was not for me. On top of that, his vocals were so buried in the mix, that I could hardly understand much of what he sang.

Bueller?

I recently added a post to an existing thread and it didn't get moved to the top of the forum like usual. The topic is here: But even with my recent replies, it's on page 6 or 7 of the list of topics in this forum.

I think my biggest issue with her on this release is that it sounds like it should be Gabriella Cavassa - Where Are We and not Joshua Redman - Where Are We. To my ears, any time a vocalist is part of a band for every track, they are pretty much the leader. For jazz that is...

Just arrived, spinning now - Joshua Redman - Where Are We (Blue Note). I ordered the special clear vinyl with the signed poster. Nice presentation. Dead quiet vinyl (so far) and very well recorded. I wish i was more of a fan of Jazz vocalists but even after saying this, Gabriella Cavassa is OK. Blue Note is rather annoying in not offering a digital download when one purchases an expensive LP copy. I usually order from Amazon for this very reason, but chose to go with Blue Note for the signed print. https://store.bluenote.com/products/joshua-redman-where-are-we?variant=42458759004351

I could swore that I read that they only found one 10" LP of tunes without the bass overdubs. When did they find the rest of the tracks without Mingus' overdubs? And FWIW, if anyone has heard the tracks that have been released without the bass overdubs, is it really worth $100 to hear that one LP?

Except that I can't see any picture.