jazzbo

M, thanks for the links. LOL

I haven't heard this package, but I have heard each album within, and probably in the same mastering presented here. I have bought the Kenny Burrell box in this series just to test the series out. I'm very happy with the sound and the packaging is fine for the price. Get it. A great value. Great music.

On the Hoffman board there are a few who have communicated with Audio Wave and say they insist that the final five are mastered and ready to be pressed and will come out. Apparently there is only one XRCD pressing plant worldwide (in Japan) and I can see that scheduling may be an issue, but I suspect there's more to it. We'll see. I agree that it would be nice if there were more adventurous titles released, but I also understand why the titles chosen were chosen, and DAMN they sound good.

Re-reading for probably the second time.

Great book!

Getting ready for the triple album.

It's out there! I have the LP as well.

From this cd From this album OR

I was nervous about another "correction."

Thanks Cyril! I deleted my post as it was in the wrong thread.

Happy Birthday! Many more happy ones!

Have a great day Hans, and many more.

Happy birthday! Many happy returns!

I figured it would be good. I didn't watch it as I'm not going to pay CBS to watch it going forward.

Yeah, sorry had something else in mind. Two hours reading the political news had me scrambled.

If you select "Read More" on that page it shows this piano material is stockpile material not released before (includes two vocalists.) And the quartet material is with Wild Bill Davis, Leonard Gaskin and Rufus Jones from the Rainbow Grill in '69. Text from the Storyville page: Previously unreleased music from the fingertips of Duke Ellington: An intimate 1972 session with the Duke on solo piano plus three bonus tracks from 1969. The scene is 311 West 57 Street, New York, Mediasounds Studio A, Friday August 25th,1972. Duke Ellington was having an engagement with a smaller group at The Rainbow Grill, as he had had several times before, finishing the gig on the following night. But on the 25th, he chose also to go to the recording studio, just himself at the piano together with his two band singers Anita Moore and Tony Watkins, to record some pieces which were not played so often. The recordings remained in his ”stockpile” until now, this being the first commercial issue of these beautiful pieces. The late Sjef Hoefsmit wrote about the session when he heard it back in 1994: ”It is difficult to understand why these magnificent recordings never have been issued”. Well, here they are at last – for all to enjoy! Among the gems you'll find tracks such as two takes of the Billy Strayhorn composition “Lotus Blossom”, the Duke’s own “Le Sucrier Velours” and his emotional “My Mother, My Father and Love”. The latter was often performed with the Duke himself as a vocalist, reciting his own lyrics. No doubt the words meant a great deal to him, both personally and as part of his positive stories about the black communities in the USA. The new CD contains three additional bonus tracks. On November 7th, 1969, Duke Ellington and his orchestra played two concerts in Rotterdam, in the famous De Doelen concert hall. The second concert of the evening was prolonged, as the public wouldn’t let Ellington go. So while the rest of the bandmembers left the stage, a quartet with Duke, Wild Bill Davis, bassist Victor Gaskin and drummer Rufus Jones stayed, and played four more numbers, much to the delight of the sold-out house. You can hear the whole band concert on the Storyville CD “Rotterdam 1969” (1018440), and here we offer the ”afterparty” music by the quartet.

Many happy returns Joe!

Well it's Universal, they own the Powell and Mobley. . . .along with all the Blue Notes now.

I sent flowers and chocolates to Lucy's office yesterday, and I'm preparing her favorite of my meals at home tonight. We discussed it and decided this year we would make a bigger deal of our upcoming first anniversary this month than Valentine's Day, and so we shall. I love Valentine's Day and Lucy and I are both romantic at heart so the last two with her were great (two years ago I proposed to her on Valentine's Day).

R.I.P. I wish all his Mainstreams were in print, and there were recordings with Monk commercially available. He was a great musician and educator.

I'm with you. . . most of them do not suck.

Yes, that's the Duke, he made a visit to Ethiopia '73. I lived in Ethiopia for two years as an adolescent, an amazing place, full of excellent music and other cultural wonders. Here is Ellington with Emperor Haile Selassie--I met the Emperor myself about six years earlier when he visited my school.

They are a Japanese reissue label that tends to license a lot of a label's titles or all of them and put them out, then move on to another label. Earlier this decade they released nearly every Bethlehem Records release on cd. And I bought nearly all of them. They master a bit too "loud" for some/many audiophiles, but the releases sound great on my system, in fact it's my favorite way to have Bethlehem on CD. Following the Bethlehem series they did a number of Enja titles.