jazzbo

My recommendation is Consummation. . . I much prefer it to Central Park North.

From todays L A Times (thanks to an email from The Mule) POP MUSIC Setting the live music free Websites enable the exchange of concert recordings, a practice that has thrived around the Grateful Dead and doesn't bother the music industry. By Steve Hochman Special to The Times August 8, 2005 A decade after Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack while at a drug rehabilitation facility on Aug. 9, 1995, the legacy he and the Grateful Dead left is stronger than ever. That's not so much a comment about the young fans who follow such Dead-influenced "jam" bands as the String Cheese Incident. Nor is the band's spirit to be found in its full flower at Bonnaroo or other festivals furthering the scene the Dead anchored in its heyday. If you really want to find the legacy of the Dead and its legion of Deadheads today, go online. In recent months there's been an explosion on the Internet of what used to be called tape trading. This is not the illegal copying of commercially available music that is being fought by the major record companies. This is the free, generally legal exchange of fan-made concert tapes, radio broadcasts and material that was never officially released — by the Dead and just about anybody else. It's a world that is growing daily at an exponential rate — and has its foundation in the community of tapers and traders that initially coalesced around and was nurtured by Garcia and the Grateful Dead. "The Dead was the real forerunner," says Brewster Kahle, digital librarian of Internet Archive (www.archive.org), which features a Live Music Archive section for concert recordings. "The idea was you sell some things, you give some things away, and that balance really personified the Grateful Dead. They started a model." The Live Music Archive's catalog of recordings just passed 25,000, up from 20,000 in February and half that figure in March 2004. About a tenth of those are of Grateful Dead shows, and the bulk of the rest are from bands that share the loose jam aesthetic but not all. The list of performers represented runs to more than 1,000 and ranges from aggressive Texas rock outfit And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead to Billy Corgan's short-lived Zwan. Such other sites as Dimeadozen and the Traders' Den offer a full spectrum of selections. There's everything from obscure jazz dates from the '50s to major rock concerts that happened just a couple of days ago. Want to download Cream's Royal Albert Hall reunion shows from May? A vintage 1969 concert by the same band? They're there. Bruce Springsteen from the '70s? Easy. Arcade Fire at Lollapalooza last month? Yours for the taking. This isn't limited to rock bands with cult followings either. You'll find Mariah Carey and Ashlee Simpson concerts, and videos as well as audio recordings. These aren't the sites where you might find the new Mike Jones album or other commercial releases without paying. These are the places for people coveting music that can't be bought. Nothing illustrates the phenomenon more clearly, though, than the fact that when the White Stripes played the San Diego Street Scene on July 29, a recording of the show was posted on a download site before midnight — before many people who saw the show even got home. "That's great," says White Stripes manager Ian Montone, himself a Grateful Dead fan. "I love it when people come in and tape and the shows take on an additional life when fans trade like that, when it's talked about and people can study the nuances of the shows. It adds to the lore and history." In fact, Montone says that the band has fan taping to thank for preserving at least one special part of the band's history — when Jack White joined Bob Dylan for an encore at the latter's 2004 show in Detroit. "Thank goodness someone taped that, because otherwise we wouldn't have it," he says. The Recording Industry Assn. of America, the music industry's lobbying organization that staunchly opposes illegal downloading, piracy and the sale of bootleg recordings, says that it supports this kind of music trading as long as the artists approve. Dan Healy, longtime concert and studio producer for the Dead, was one of the strongest advocates within the Dead organization not just to allow taping but to encourage it — resulting in their concerts being known for the seas of microphones on poles in a special section right in front of the sound board. Fans would then keep in touch through mailing lists and newsletters, exchanging tapes of the various concerts. The current cyberspace explosion is a fulfillment of the kind of community spirit Garcia stood for, he says. "The more lines that are open, the more people will talk," says Healy. "That's a figure of speech, but what it means is the more readily transmutable the stuff is, the more people that always wanted to swap and trade will do it. The more conversations, the more swapping of music the better. If anything it makes it more special. It's like love — the more you use it, the stronger it gets" And it is a community, or perhaps many interlocking communities, each with its own set of rules and ethics. Policies vary greatly from site to site. Some are anything-goes, but the ones that adhere most to the spirit of the Dead have strict regulations prohibiting anything commercially available or from artists who have not authorized such trading. The Traders' Den is among the latter. "Nothing that is available commercially is allowed in any way, period," says one of the Traders' Den's administrators, who asked that he be identified only by his screen name, bill_kate. "There are a few bands that have expressed certain restrictions on how and what can be traded. We respect these wishes." Brian Wilson is among the several dozen performers whose name appears on a "banned" list used by many sites' administrators. His views, though, were shaped not by circulation of concert tapes but of unauthorized releases that pieced together unfinished elements of his long-delayed "Smile" project, which he finally completed and released himself last year. " 'Smile' was one of the most-bootlegged albums for many years," says Jean Sievers, Wilson's co-manager. "It wasn't a finished work and it wasn't what he wanted, and he was upset that people were taking those tapes and spreading his unfinished work over the globe." Other rules that are widely followed, at least on the sites most in line with the Dead-spurred taping community, include asking users to put music files in forms with the highest possible audio fidelity, using "lossless" formats such as FLAC or SHNN rather than compressing the data to lower-fidelity MP3 files. Posters are also asked to provide as much information as possible about the sources of the recording and, if known, equipment used to record in the first place. But one rule is most adamantly stated by administrators and users alike: The music is not to be sold. "There is no money changing hands," says Kahle. "This was the ethos back in the day — you couldn't even charge for the cassette you dubbed music onto. People really stuck to that. What was interesting to me was the level of labor and love put in by everyone involved." Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars (a band whose spirited blues-rooted shows are common in trading circles) says that, over the years, bootlegs — whether bought in stores or traded — played an important role in his music education. "There's a bootleg film of the Allman Brothers," says the guitarist. "Something else I collected over the years is Bob Marley live stuff. That moves me more than even his regular records. And Jimi Hendrix, of course! Live Hendrix!" Dickinson himself has not experienced the Internet side of this — he doesn't own a computer. But fans have routinely given him tapes and CDs they've made of his band's concerts. "I have a collection of tapes people have given me, and to me that makes the 21 hours of the day that's spent off stage worthwhile," he says. "People care and have documented what we do and it makes it worthwhile." In a twist, although the easy connections have increased availability of unofficial releases, they have pretty much killed the profiteering that long went on in that world, a form of piracy that has long been fought by the music business. ICE magazine, a monthly that targets collectors, has long chronicled the "gray area" of bootlegging and says that the boom time for Internet sharing has brought sad times for that black market's profit-minded members — and a much harder hit than that anything the "real" music business is suffering because of bootlegging. "There's no question that the wind has been taken out of the financial sails of the bootleg world by this free exchange," editor Pete Howard says. "Bootleg CDs used to be pressed in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, for each title. Now, though it's funny and ironic to hear the manufacturers moan and groan, no more than 500 copies is usual." Meanwhile, the Grateful Dead continues to balance commerce and freedom. Despite so many recordings readily available on the Internet, the official releases of live albums continue at a steady pace, with the "Dick's Picks" series now standing at three dozen titles alone, complemented by other live releases, as well as a newer program of Garcia solo concert recordings. Many make the argument that one feeds the other. "We've really hit on something with this community," says Internet Archive's Kahle. "And yeah, it all came from the Grateful Dead, and it will give them a long life. They're still selling stuff, and there are young kids involved. It is relevant."

I think this Smith RVG sounds great!

I really like the Hardman-McLean band a lot!

I confess to really liking the fifties material for Pacific Jazz, and other labels, and any of the bands with Gabo Szabor and/or Albert Stinson.

Thanks Gentlemen! As long as I'm still getting birthday wishes, I'm "Fifty," and not yet "OVER Fifty."

Me too! I've spent a LOT already on affordable modern tube gear and speakers that really makes my happy to turn on my stereo!

I pretty much agree with you there. There might be a dealer or store owner with enough coin that would want to have those Marantz and McIntosh items. . . they're well sought out items th at would individually go for some dollars. I grew up with a great Dynaco system built (and given to!) my Dad by an electrical engineer in his church who moved to England for work. . . It was the main system I learned to love music on and it sure sounded great! Started my love for tube amps that has remained with me whether for instruments or for stereos. -_-

That's wild, because it's the OPPOSITE for me, really fast at work, really slow at home. . . .

Rosco, no, I would have married Sade if I could before I married my wife! But actually I've been in love with my wife since I was 18, though we didn't get together til we were both 35. She dances as sexily as Sade, and has that high forehead. . . she looks a bit more like Liz Hurley than Sade though. And she's been my best friend for 15 years. I'm a happily married man.

We need a smiley for that Brad! Jim, yes, I agree with your assessment. I also have to say that as I listen more and more to sessions that he appeared as a sideman on I think he really excelled on some of these with swing, interactive comping, etc. No slouch! And some of the dates that will be on the Mosaic are good ones.

That's an interesting observation. I think that RDK is correct when he says that the man on the street is likely to be more familiar with Rich than other drummers we prefer, and I think that perhaps the jazz fans that would be fanatics for Rich are NOT posting on jazz bulletin boards with frequency or in numbers. . . .

Jessica is not really my "type" either. I like smarter women. And women less "well-endowed". . . . Actually I most like women who resemble my wife! In my opinion, I'm a lucky man!

I guess I just misunderstood your initial posts. They disappointed me too. You're allowed your opinion, I'm allowed mine; I wasn't disputing this. I guess I do strongly disagree with your assessment that he is not a significant jazz artist. That I think is incorrect. And I guess I read too much value into your statement about "odd choice." (And I strongly feel it is just the kind of choice we're going to see in the future from Mosaic, and not odd at all). I'll shut up about it. My apologies if I seemed to be belittling your opinion, I did not mean to be.

Okay, so why did you say this was an odd choice for Mosaic? You trashed Rich and implied this should not be a Mosaic, read what you wrote. I'm not discussing this any longer. . . .I've said enough on this subject. I'm inclined to buy this after it has been out a while if my finances improve. 'Nuff said.

Thanks Alan! Not even the black balloons my boss brought in got me down!

Tranemonk, it's hard to say for certain without a discography posted, but yes, I suspect that Rich vs. Roach will not be included in this set. It's worth checking out. Niether Rich nor Roach are particular favorites of mine, but as Mike points out this session was very well arranged/orchestrated, and there are some great performances.

I wasn't viewing that as unacceptable at all. I do feel that Brad's statement that Rich was not significant or important as a jazz figure or even a good player and that it was odd that Mosaic would dedicate a set to him was just. . . wrong. Seems like he was saying that Mosaic shouldn't issue sets by anyone HE didn't like. I'll quit harping on that.

Sure. Not my situation though. I don't have all these in K2, etc. but that's less and less an issue for me.

http://www.originjazz.com/

Just got this in last night and have become fixated upon listening to it. EXCELLENT release! Three new Bix items! (One alternate from a Whiteman session, two Trumbauer session alternates). An exceptionally well selected and sequenced 23 other items that showcase the Bix influence and style from cornetists and others such as Bose, Secrest, Payne, Theck, Bruce, Norvo, Carmichael, Nichols, Goodman, Bloom, Stewart, Nesbitt, Hackett et al. Reallly this program is a delight: the material is exceptional, the flow from one to another just wonderful. Top that off with excellent notes from Sudhalter and superb sound. J. R. T. Davies handled three items, Michael Keiffer the rest (and Keiffer's work here is top notch) with an amazing restoration of the "Futuristic Rhythm" alternate by Keiffer and "Seth B. Winner Sound Studios" (the disc was cracked all the way through and you don't hear a thump at all!) Highly recommended for those who own the previous four volumes, or who just dig the Bixian sound. This is up there with the Bird and Diz Town Hall Concert and the upcoming Carnegie Hall Monk and Trane as releases of the year in my opinion!

I fully understand why these are reissued this way. I just wish there were items here that weren't reissues of reissues of reissues.

I certainly don't expect you to. Why would i? I'm in no way suggesting that.

Yes, I'm not rebuying this stuff. . . . Give us something not yet on cd!

Hey, I prefer Big Sid, Klook, Jo, Elveen, Tony and a dozen others to Rich as well. But tht doesn't mean he is not a significant jazz artist and leader, or that he was an "odd choice" for a Mosaic set. Looking at the market that Mosaic carved out for themselves, it makes perfect sense for me that Mosaic is releasing this. It's a chunk of material not well reissued on compact disc in this country, with a roster of jazz greats and a clear connection between all the sessions. It will sell better, I predict, than the Kid Ory and a few other sets. If you look at it with an open mind and a sense that others' tastes may differ from one's one (especially a jazz audience that is not posting all over the internet) it's not an "odd choice." They have to move into directions like this now I think. There is so much that has been released from the Blue Note vaults, and some items will have to be left for the parent label there to handle. This Rich set falls in line with sets from Krupa/James, Ventura/Phillips, even Eldridge and O'Day. . . . We'll see more items that the bebop and hardbop centric here may find "odd". . . but it's not a bebop and hard bop only world that Mosaic has targeted!