mjzee

I miss Dookie. I sure hope he's dancing somewhere.

RIP, Joe. I remember when Joe first hit big, Ralph J. Gleason made a big deal of putting Cocker down, saying he was just a Ray Charles imitator. I don't even hear the similarity; it was just a cheap shot. Joe had his own thing going.

I do have some thoughts, if not an overarching response. Music, at least during my lifetime, has always been around: in my house (when I was younger, on the radio; then my 45s, then LPs, etc.), in stores (usually a radio in the background or a sound system), in elevators (Muzak). The difference is that today there is better music surrounding us, more to our tastes (though don't get me started on rap music and hip hop). (A) Don't know if this will make you feel better (probably not), but we face similar dilemmas as music consumers and listeners. I have a backlog of probably hundreds of albums I haven't yet listened to; I buy more than I can conceivably enjoy. Partly it's due to when I find bargains, or when I find rarities, and sometimes just to help "the music." While I can't solve the dilemma of listening to all of it, I get a lot of happiness out of listening to each one. (B) If vinyl's selling for you, don't sweat it; enjoy the sales. © I don't think that endless consumption leads to endless dilution; every new album we listen to builds on the knowledge and perspective we've attained from prior listening.

Also implicit in this discussion is the notion that Sonny must continue to hire young musicians to challenge himself. The bandleader that reminds me most of is Blakey. Constantly hiring younger guys. But did his music really change? Nope; one can argue it stagnated more than Rollins ever has. Really, it sounds like the bandleader being idolized here for that stance is Paul Motian. But let's face it, Sonny is a worldwide star, Motian, for all his talents, far less so. That does make a difference.

Payment sent. Thanks for maintaining the board, and Happy Holidays to you and your family, Jim.

Jerome Harris played on Sonny's 1991 recording "Here's To The People," so I'm gonna guess it's him.

Thanks for the hat tip. Would love to have recording dates and musician info for these tracks.

Ornette is on 2. Ah, thanks. I'd then first go with vols. 1 or 3, then hit 2.

My view is this: Sonny wanted to play for the people, specifically the middle class. He did not want to play avant garde; he wanted to groove. In a way, he took a very challenging stance: to force his hardcore jazz audience to accept musicians like Stanley Clarke, George Duke and Larry Coryell as real, substantive jazz musicians. He reaffirmed that melody, rhythm and (perhaps most of all) approachability were core to his jazz experience. He wanted to be the opposite of an elitist.

This conversion would only make sense if they also replace the battery. The battery on my 120gb iPod has been shot for a long time now.

I'd first go with volumes 1 or 2. Not a big fan of Ornette.

I haven't read the BFT, but I take it that the crux of the beef here is that Sonny couldn't recognize Lovano, Brecker, or Branford. Really, could any of us? Those guys don't have personal sounds, IMHO. I think it's a pretty weak criticism. Now I'm more interested in finding the BFT and reading how Sonny analyzed the music.

Big Baroque Box vol. 3 is now available @ $0.99: Amazon

The 3 Stooges - The Ultimate Collection - $29.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006WN5W5M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Just did an Amazon search for SATA/IDE to USB. They have many that are pretty cheap; why not give one a shot? Looks like you don't even need an enclosure anymore.

Wish I could have been there. He's got a wonderful musical mind. I've always enjoyed this:

Happy birthday , Jim, and many more.

Nearly eight million old-fashioned vinyl records have been sold this year, up 49% from the same period last year, industry data show. Younger people, especially indie-rock fans, are buying records in greater numbers, attracted to the perceived superior sound quality of vinyl and the ritual of putting needle to groove. But while new LPs hit stores each week, the creaky machines that make them haven’t been manufactured for decades, and just one company supplies an estimated 90% of the raw vinyl that the industry needs. As such, the nation’s 15 or so still-running factories that press records face daily challenges with breakdowns and supply shortages. More here: WSJ Also: What Weird Vinyl Orders Are Doing to Old-School Record Production

The Dial material is on the Chaloff Mosaic.

Popmarket has the DVD box All The Years Combine for today only at $69.99, which is a really good price.

Apple made billions giving people what they want, but the tech giant might want to rethink its decision to kill off the iPod Classic music player, now that it has become one of the hottest Christmas presents of the year. People are clamoring for used models on eBay, and according to the UK newspaper The Guardian. The 16-gigabyte digital music player, which a decade ago helped Apple revolutionize the music industry, can hold up to 40,000 songs, more than double the amount of any iPods currently being manufactured. More than 3,000 have been sold on eBay since the Classic was retired in October, fetching prices as high as $400 in a boomlet foretold by Stuff magazine editor Will Dunn more than a year ago. More here: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/12/10/apple-discontinued-ipod-classic-fetching-mega-bucks-as-hot-christmas-gift/

May I suggest a more realistic test for the sonic claims of this set? Mosaic has rarely issued the same music twice, but they've done it here with the Serge Chaloff material. Could someone compare the tracks on this set to those in the Complete Chaloff Mosaic?

A lot of the Clifford Brown & Max Roach sides on Emarcy have a sort of swooshing sound on the cymbals, even from the vinyl days.

Release date January 20:

Bob Dylan to release album of classic "uncovers."