mjzee

As I recall from back in the day, the Reggie Lucas and Hubert Eaves titles were a jazz-rock/funky-disco blend that wasn't very distinctive. Certainly nothing like Miles; more like Stanley Clarke wannabes.

Gram Parsons was a bit "pitchy," as Simon Cowell would say. On the other hand, he begat Emmylou Harris, which ain't too shabby. On the other other hand, Mike Nesmith's mother invented Liquid Paper.

Was it this? This was the LP; the other one was the CD.

The secret Sinatra past of Bob Dylan's new album - LA Times

How's the album with Paul Bley?

I saw Sinatra once. Must have been in the early '90's, at Carnegie Hall. He was backed by a 40-piece orchestra and a 40-piece string section. I didn't have much money at the time, but knew I had to see this. Got a ticket in the very last row of the top balcony. It was great. Was Frank's voice shot? Yup. It was interesting, though, that he did much better on the uptempo numbers than he did on the slow ballads. But his poise, his mannerisms, his stage presence, all were right on the money. It was a great evening.

RIP.

I have the Farlow Universal/Mosaic, and disc 6 ripped and plays fine.

Interview with Dylan in AARP Magazine.

I'm familiar with most of these singers, and I still like Allyson just fine. I think she brings her own thing to these songs. Liking one doesn't preclude liking the other.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one. The format itself was sort of a shocker: rather than knowing the songs and then hearing them played instrumentally with a jazz interpretation, here I knew the songs from Coltrane's albums (largely from "Ballads") but had never heard many of these sung before. Allyson has a bewitching, sumptuous voice, and is a very good interpreter of these songs. A top notch band backs her (James Williams, John Pattitucci, Lewis Nash, and either Bob Berg or James Carter on tenor and Steve Wilson on soprano). Recommended.

I find it hard to relate to the word "significant." It all comes down to whether you'd like to listen to it, whether it "speaks" to you. That could also take some time, to acclimate yourself to the strange dialects and to try to make sense of it all. I thought the Roots & Blues series was well done, judging by the material selected (Sony does own the original recordings of most of these); I haven't heard these discs to comment on the noise reduction. But if you can buy it for a good price, it's a good investment.

The Jazztet and Farlow sets are excellent.

I probably will not be getting it. His voice is simply a turn-off at this point. Sinatra's voice was also shot in his last decade, and unpleasant to listen to.

Stay With Me, from the new album.

Listening now to "Bluesette." Marveling at his playing style; such a sure touch. He's not trying to beat you over the head, but the ideas are so good they're almost compositional. Truly a master; this is not lightweight stuff at all, though it is very enjoyable and swinging. Great accompaniment by George Duvivier and Alan Dawson, and a great program of tunes.

I've been slowly listening to the discs in the Vivarte box. Sure enough, disc 13 is defective (skips on both my CD machines). The disc I returned to ImportCDs in my initial box played fine, per my iTunes rip. If I could have just swapped out the one problem disc from the box I originally received, I wouldn't have had this new problem. Grrrr.

Atlantic Jazz Legends: 20 cd box for $34.99 from an Amazon Reseller

Thoroughly enjoying disc 3 of the Basement Tapes box (disc 2 was a bit of a wasteland, but disc 3 is allllllllll right). These tracks and that sound are part of my DNA; The Great White Wonder was the first Dylan album I bought, at age 14. I'm struck again by the quality of the accompaniment; Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson are otherworldly. The liner notes make clear something I never connected before: that there's no drummer on most of these tracks. Sure doesn't sound like it; simply incredible. Also nice to have the veneer of noise, dust and fog removed from the familiar tracks.

Review of Peter Gabriel biography in WSJ: The Prog Prince

It would be nice, but not sure I can make it there. Hoping they'll show a video in theaters or on DVD.

Ervin Drake, a prolific songwriter who wrote the words and music of “It Was a Very Good Year,” an introspective ballad that helped define the autumn of Frank Sinatra’s career, and the lyrics for “Good Morning Heartache,” a song that Billie Holiday made a mournful jazz standard, died Jan. 15 at his home in Great Neck, N.Y. He was 95. Washington Post

Grateful Dead Original Members To Perform Together Again One Last Time