Cliff Englewood

Did you get to ask him your question and, more importantly, did you get an answer???

Yea, I was only listing some of the highlights. I actually really love the 3 tunes with Basie, wish there was some more.

PM on the way for the following; The Complete Prestige Recordings by Eric Dolphy 9 Disc Box set MINT like new (has black marker thru barcode) $40 shipped US/Canada Andrew Hill COMPLETE BLUE NOTE SESSIONS Mosaic 161- 7cd CDs/Booklet/box- MINT $195 shipped US/Canada Complete Lester Young - the essential Keynote collection 1 Made in Japan Mercury-1987 patent pending jewel case MINT $10

Wow, that was fast. What a bummer :rcry . I would echo what was said above about this set, even if you think you don't like Getz this set is well worth getting. It has Horace Silver's first recordings, lots of the great Jimmy Raney and Tiny Kahn, some nice Duke Jordan, so much to recommend within these 3 discs.

I think you're refering to this one, which also has the studio material from the Lennie Tristano: The New Tristano album. Live at the Confucius Restaurant 1955 [EXTRA TRACKS] [LIVE] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [iMPORT] alppila, I have sent you a PM.

PM on the way for this one; Touff ,Cy – His Octet and Quintet (Pacific Jazz) $15 and maybe a few more, need to look over the list, it's very long.

I can't say that I have mixed feelings about Art Pepper (I think he was one of the greatest alto players of all time.) but I used to feel the same way that you do about his music. I very much preferred his earlier work and didn't like it when his work started to reflect a Coltrane-like influence. In fact, I used to own the Complete Village Vanguard Sessions box years ago when I found it for around $95.00. My ear wasn't ready for his sound at that time and I ended up selling the set after owning it less than a month just to get my money back. Flash forward several years and my ear had changed enough to where I came to really appreciate and enjoy his playing from the later part of his career. Now I've come full circle and I'm re-buying the box set (at an astoundingly better price) to complete the Pepper box trio of the Galaxy Recordings, the Hollywood All-star Sessions and the Village Vanguard Sessions. (Wow! 30 discs between the 3 sets which will put me at a total of 51 Pepper discs.) I don't see the evolution or change in his sound as a bad or lesser thing compared to his earlier work, it's just different. I don’t think he ever went off the deep end musically or that he needed to get back on track. He was just moving on a different track. Both periods of his career are enjoyable but it doesn't have to be at the expense of the other. I don’t agree with nor do I think it’s fair to say that he didn’t reach his potential. I might agree if he had a very uneven career musically where his talent would shine here and there on occasion but his body of work was routinely very good to excellent. I don’t think that we could necessarily conclude that his music would have been exponentially better had he not been on drugs or had an easier life. Those things just as likely could have been some of the very things that fueled his excellence. Granted, some of his stage patter in the VV set tends to make him look like a bit of an ass and some of it can be a bit hard to listen to but it’s honest and real and it lends itself to a warts-and-all portrait of the man. I can see how it would turn many people off but I appreciate the fuller picture and for me, it doesn’t detract from the music at all. Oddly enough, it almost kind of enhances it knowing he could be such a strong player despite his bad habits. (Maybe it's just me.) It looks like I came away with a different impression than yours regarding Pepper’s biography, “Straight Life”. It’s been a long time since I read it but “self-justifying” and “self-deluding” weren’t adjectives that came to my mind. He was a junkie and his biography was brutally honest and certainly didn’t pull any punches even when it reflected very badly on Art himself which was quite often. That might even give more credence to Art's self-perception. You don’t seem to agree with Art’s assertion that he was a genius on the alto sax. It’s certainly a bold statement but was it just unsupported braggadocio or was it a statement of confidence? Who, during Art’s career, was a better alto player? What alto player, during Art’s career, had equally consistent excellence shown in their body of work? And now in hindsight, how does Art’s body of work compare with those who are now considered to be the all-time great alto players in the history of jazz? I would consider his body of work to stand up equally, if not better than the generally recognized all-time alto greats. His assertion that he was a genius or a giant might easily lead one to conclude that he had a monumental ego but I think it would be much closer to being a statement of recognition than one of being self-justifying or self-delusional. All of this, of course, is just my opinion. I really like Art Pepper as well. Can you tell? Peace. Nice post Mike. I have always felt that one of the main reasons Pepper is not held in higher regard is the simple fact that he was white. Perhaps it's a bit of an over simplification but when you consider how someone like Dexter Gordon, whose playing I love and whose lifestyle and "dues paid" were similar, is remembered, it does seem that Pepper gets a bit of a rough ride in "Jazz History" terms, although a lot of that was his own fault. Also, I think using the word genius to describe any musician is kind of ridiculous, I'd save it for whoever invented the wheel, however I don't think you have to move a genre or style forward to be considered a giant. The simple fact is, whether you enjoy his playing or not, no one played like Pepper, during any period, he was unique in the true sense of the word. I also really like Art Pepper. Can you tell?

It most certainly is.

My reaction too all of the visuals is a sincere "What the FUCK?" Most of the live footage of Art is from this;

Sorry everyone, I couldn't resist, but that sentence above, coming from you, is fucking hilarious.

Actually, a quick search on Amazon revealed this, I shall seek it out; Dream Street: W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project

There is a series on BBC 2 at the moment called "The Genius of Photography" and last nights episode featured W. Eugene Smith among others. It mentioned this project he was supposed to do about Pittsburgh for the Magnum agency that turned into this 3 year odyssey documenting everyday life in the city. He sounds like a really interesting guy as well as a hell of a photographer.

I don't think Armstrong was that "post-modern" in his onstage persona or in his general outlook on life.

I can recommend this one if anybody is looking for more harp blues on the Delmark label, if you see it, pick it up, it's class.

I think we can all agree with you there. I haven't a clue what "his on-stage persona actually did drive some of what he did" means. You really are missing out if you don't listen to Armstrong.

Has anyone seen or been chatting to skeith lately, I've sent him a couple of PMs but he doesn't seem to be replying???

That sounds like it might be correct, which is a bit sad/depressing.

Actually 3 sets that are in the 220s are now about to go, #224, #225 and #228...

Ditto to what is said above about this Set, strange that it has gone straight to "Last Chance" though, no e-mail warning, nothing... :huh:

It's on their website now; Little Walter: The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967). Be careful though, their website is as potentially damaging to your wallet as the Mosaic website.

So did anyone actually purchase a SHM CD??? If so what are they like???

That's odd, unless I'm very much mistaken it's quite common over this side of the pond, I'll have a look... Thanks!! Looks like I was wrong, I had a quick look around town and all they had were "Best Of" type collections and I also saw this; which is basically 'Songs for Young Lovers', 'Songs for Swinging Lovers' and 'In the Wee Small Hours' very, very cheaply, it's available on Amazon.co.uk for £4.98!!! I think it was around €10 in Tower. Which pretty much confirms what was in the article that ghost of miles linked. Anyway, all is not lost, I've sent you a PM.

That's odd, unless I'm very much mistaken it's quite common over this side of the pond, I'll have a look...

This is one of the hardest things to resist, it's such a problem I'm thinking of starting some kind of a 12 step program for it, but when it's one of your favorites.... oh well.... :rolleyes: Always liked this one; It's basically this one, with four Thad Jones tracks added;

I love Japanese re-issues. :wub: