mjzee

Happy birthday!

Re Attila Zoller, I like these two:

Not sure what you mean by "All of my shit." My guess is you're referring to your music files, and the rest (operating system, apps, etc.) are on your old computer's hard drive. Assuming your old computer's operating system is up to date (OS X El Capitan version 10.11.2), you can follow Apple's instructions (found here).

Interestingly, the extra track of Bean And The Boys is a different take than the one included in Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! - Alive! At The Village Gate.

I'm listening now to Hawkins! Alive! At The Village Gate (Verve, 1962). On "Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho," Major Holley does one of those solos where he sings the notes he's bowing. Is there a name for this technique? Anyway, he's pretty good at it. What other notable solos can you name?

I recently ordered through CDJapan Hawkins! Alive! At The Village Gate. FYI, this has 2 additional tracks from the same night not on the LP: Bean And The Boys and If I Had You.

How many albums did he record as leader? It's interesting that there was a consistent output from him through the decades.

If you're worried about Spotify collecting your data, you should be terrified by Google.

Check out his Wikipedia page - fascinating life story.

Me too - I had the problem with the middle disc in all 4 cases.

Unfortunately, Wikipedia incorrectly lists Barry Harris, etc., as playing on Argo 629: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Stitt_(album)

I love how the artist on so many of the dates is "Be-Hive." Just minor annoyances stemming from whoever entered this data into Gracenote. I've often wondered whether we can submit corrected data to them. I just don't know the procedure, or whether it's allowed.

I recently found a used copy of the mono version of the LP. Very interesting stuff. Very composed, nice arrangements. Almost like the second coming of the Jazztet, with Farmer, Tom McIntosh and James Moody handling the front line, and a rhythm section of Tommy Flanagan, Richard Davis and Tootie Heath. Would love to have accurate discographical information, since one track (Giant Steps) is from a different session, with Patti Bown and Reggie Workman replacing Flanagan and Davis. Would also like to know more about this group: was it intended as a real group, or a one-time thing with a group name to allow Farmer to record despite his Atlantic contract?

Boy, I feel for you; I know how it is to put so much effort into your collection only to be waylaid by unthinking machines. As to how to break the link between your iTunes and the Cloud, you might try going to your account information in iTunes (in iTunes, go to the iTunes store, then click on your name in the upper right corner and choose Account Info); then explore the section "iTunes in the Cloud."

The rest of the movie:

Excellent. So interesting to hear Sonny at a loss for words when trying to describe Lester's playing (he even gazes somewhere else, not at the interviewer, as if to grasp/describe something beyond him - and this is Sonny Rollins!). Reinforces for me how music acts on and operates within portions of the brain/mind that have nothing to do with description, rational thought or our more prosaic modes of existence; music is somewhere else.

He starred in a great little movie, "The Gig." It's about a bunch of amateur jazz musicians who get a real gig in the Catskills, and the complications that ensue. Never on DVD, very hard to find...but then there's YouTube:

Gee, I feel almost famous! The "recording information" section is pure bull...how could they know? It was a Norelco cassette recorder that cost me $40 at Crazy Eddie's back in 1971. But it was indeed a Sony microphone, which came from my aunt's reel-to-reel. The tape was an Ampex extended frequency 60-minute cassette (I made sure to use 60's rather than 90's for their durability). As for why this particular recording sounds pretty good, I was sitting in the front row of the mezzanine, on the right side (so in front of the speakers, and with no crowds in front of me); also the Felt Forum was half-empty for Tim's set.

I didn't realize they improved the sound of Starsailor. One of the album's many flaws was the sound quality. Hard to describe: muffled, remote, lacking body, with a crackly high end to the vocals (distortion?).

It should be noted that legit digital downloads of Starsailor are available from both iTunes and Amazon at reasonable prices.

Just finished listening to Jazz Impressions Of Japan. Definitely more bite to it than I remembered! Those 3 guys are playing like a well-oiled machine. Such interplay. They're just monsters on their instruments. Sound quality is excellent, pristine. Some interesting notes: Don Thompson plays piano on one cut. All compositions are originals: Jim Hall has 6, Don Thompson 1, and 1 is credited to all 3. I think this not relying on standards allows them to really cut loose. Really, I'd jump on this if you can. Cheap, too: 1300 yen!

Don't forget Record Club of America!

Columbia House, the mail-order brand steeped in music history, is staging a comeback that it hopes will turn the tables on the music industry’s 15-year digital drive. John Lippman, who bought the onetime music giant out of bankruptcy this month, says he wants to restore the brand to its vinyl roots, betting that the last decade’s wave of digitization won’t eradicate vestiges of music’s more tangible past. More here: WSJ (or Google "Columbia House Seeks Revival as Vinyl Finds New Groove").

I've had Live In Tokyo for many years on a cassette dub. It's everything you could imagine from this trio: supple, deep groove, melodic, but with a bite. The tunes are great: Billie's Bounce, Secret Love, Concierto, Chelsea Bridge, and St. Thomas, plus an original (Twister). I've only heard the other, Jazz Impressions Of Japan, once, about 20 years ago. I remember it being more delicate and pristine, like a thin lace cookie. I'll let you know more when I listen to it again.

I didn't love True Blue/Silver Blue, which I downloaded many years ago from eMusic. I thought the jams were rather unfocused and went on too long, and there was little chemistry between Cohn and Dex. YMMV, of course, but you may want to listen before you buy.