DMP

Feldman is also a standout with the Adderley band - as a pianist and composer.

I think all the Holmes albums from his first stint with Pacific Jazz have been out on 4 CD's, all with extra material.

"Somethin' Special" not only turned me on to Holmes, but organ players in general. In the early '60's there was still a real discussion about whether or not the organ was a "legitimate" instrument for jazz, and I avoided almost all organ records. After hearing the Holmes/McCann album, I made up for lost time. ("Back at the Chicken Shack," McDuff's "Live" and Lou Donaldson's "Signifyin" were also favorites.)

The most positive aspect of this has been the posts of Beverly Getz, intelligent and thoughtful. And I think the First Amendment will withstand the deletion of what rather quickly became - at the least - an extremely tasteless thread.

I also remember Miles praising Getz in a Downbeat "blindfold test" - and he wasn't praising a whole lot that session. He was admiring the way Getz took his time with the melody...

One of the few jazz artists to appear on the old Letterman show - playing a Kenny Barron tune. Can anyone comment on his A&M album? I've never heard it, and it seems to have disappeared.

And with all that out of the way, I'm pulling out "Stan Getz at the Shrine!"

Think the Sarah Vaughan "Mainstream" album is at iTunes.

That seems about right. Similar personnel to the live material. This one is new to me, glad to have it.

Terry Gibbs Big Band, "Swing Is Here" (a recent Verve Original) and Nathan Davis, "If."

Ponder returned to Pittsburgh many years ago, and plays around here frequently - often with Gene Ludwig and Roger Humphries - and sounds as good as ever. As for "Jump" - the sound of Eddie Gladden's crash cymbal (which he's all over on the session) spoils the session for me - maybe it's the early digital technology, I can't figure it out - especially evident on the third cut, but shows up all through the album. If someone has this I'd appreciate a second opinion.

Earlier in her career, Diana Krall used to sing his praises - what a big influence he had on her, he taught her so much. Lately, though, she doesn't seem to bring this up, guess she's moved on.

The upcoming Washington is one of my favorites. By the time of its release, the formula was starting to run out of steam, but it's a good one. Not as over-produced as the previous ones, and I think Bob James was out of the picture at this point. (Might be Dave Grusin taking over.)

Thanks for alerting me! Think I'll start with "High Energy" and "Skagly," then work my way through the middle. (Guess the death sentence for CD's is a little premature...)

"Ella In Hollywood"

Letterman did seemed to be genuinely knocked out by Krall's performance. And so was Regis, a couple of days ago. There's nothing like a quiet, 3 minute performance of "Quiet Nights" to get you pumped up.

Not much jazz on Letterman, although Stan Getz was on (playing a Kenny Barron number), and various people have sat in with the band (Gary Burton, McCoy Tyner). On Carson, Paul Schaefer (on organ) played Oliver Nelson's arrangement of "Taste of Honey" with the Tonight show band (the arrangement on Lloyd Mayer's United Artist album) - Schaefer refered to Nelson as "the great Oliver Nelson," something like that.

Les McCann's 2 back-to-back versions (originally on Limelight's "Les McCann Plays the Hits," but they show up on various anthologies) are my favorites.

Nat Hentoff, in his article on Benny Golson in today's "Wall Street Journal" writes ..."in 1957, I produced the album 'Benny Golson's New York Jazz Scene' for Contemporary records, his first as the leader of his Jazztet." Huh? I never figured Nat Hentoff for an April Fools kind of guy...

Not familiar with him, but his playing is a highlight of the new Red Holloway CD on Delmark. Not particularly original, maybe - he sticks to the standard organ vocabulary - but swings like crazy! What's the story? Any recommendations? (I know he's a part of the "Deep Blue Organ Trio," guess I'll have to check them out.)

Filling in my post-disco Gato Barbieri, "Bahia" (originally "Gato"), on Fania. $14, but a few minutes ago I saw it on iTunes for less than $6.00. Go figure. Not sure how much longer I'll be able to hold on...

Red Holloway, "Go Red Go!" (Delmark)

The Blakey is so-so. But the Dizzy and Ella are 2 of my favorites, glad to see they're finally available!

At the time, Mobley was pretty much the brunt of any criticism that the band received. By the way - has anything with that group plus J.J. Johnson ever surfaced?

Huh?? I was just about to buy this!! (And they're not giving it away...)