mjzee

This one hurts. RIP, Fathead. Acknowledgement should be make of the great streak of albums he made for HighNote. Consistently high quality. The lion in winter, indeed.

That makes more sense.

Nah, I don't think so. It just doesn't follow from the lyrics: He's complaining how she treats him, says she's been replaced, yet says he's making her hot? The lyrics more sound like he's kicking her out.

I love listening to old country blues songs, but I'm often left baffled by the lyrics. What do they mean? Here's an example: The song is "Papa's Got Your Water On" by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell. Here are sample lyrics: Right here mama Set down on my knee I just want to tell you How you treat poor me Mama don't get funny Papa's got your water on Mama don't get funny Papa's got your water on Now I got another woman To take your place If you don't like the way I'm doing Get out of my face Mama don't get funny Papa's got your water on Mama don't get funny Papa's got your water on What does "Papa's got your water on" mean??

I'm not tracking this closely, but it seems that prices on some titles are dropping: These titles are now $9.98: Lee Morgan - The Rajah Lou Donaldson - The Scorpion Lena Horne - Supper Club McCoy Tyner - Asante Benny Green - That's Right Mose Allison - The Earth Wants You Jimmy Smith - Open House/Plain Talk (a smoker, IMO) Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band Tim Hagans - No Words T.S. Monk - Take One some of the Jazz Profile discs

I think you're completely right - with 2 caveats. Completely right: I remember the heyday of the creative LP packaging era (late '60's - early '70's). Besides fold-out covers, there were all sorts of things slid into the LP pocket (interesting graphics, stickers), embossed covers, die-cut stand-ups, customized inner sleeves, customized labels, colored vinyl, you name it...designers were really allowed to let their creativity run free. It enhanced the experience of owning and listening to the LP. Conceivably, you could have something similar in digital format - graphics on your monitor as the music plays, changing perhaps per play, etc. A new generation of designers would contribute their vision. A caveat: This will only happen if record companies can make a profit on their sales. Illegal downloads are a cancer on this industry. I don't know that illegal downloads can be stopped, sorry to say. Another caveat: Jazz covers were never big on graphics. Yes, I know about Reid Miles, Impulse fold-out covers, and the like. But Blue Note back covers were just text, the insides of Impulses were just text and black-and-white photos. Most jazz covers were more along the lines of Prestige, Muse, etc...kinda dreary. So I don't know that graphics are that important to the average jazz fan, though we would like discographical information.

Honestly. These days I really hesitate about buying more CDs, because I feel burdened by all of this **stuff** that I have to keep around somewhere, let alone file and keep track of. I have 2 external hard drives (one being a backup), I can find anything I want within a few seconds, and all the other advantages that digital files bring. It really is the way to go. Also the instant gratification of buying and downloading. I find it frustrating that I can only download from eMusic once a month, when my downloads renew. The only thing lacking is liner notes, discographical info, etc. I wonder whether it's a copyright issue: liner note writers would have to be paid again if published electronically. That's my only guess, unless it's the record companies figuring they're just not that important to most listeners. Certainly the runaway success of the iTunes store would back that point of view.

I take comfort that Blue Note is standing behind these CD-Rs. They're representing that these are Blue Note quality discs.

I really like Big Mamma's Biscuits! As for the prices, my thought is these are manufactured one by one, on demand. Handcrafted, if you will. I can see that being expensive. I'd have preferred them being cheaper and available through downloads, but maybe that was part of the deal: it's only economically viable if there are no competing downloads to sap sales.

I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere on the board. "Blue Note Records has unlocked their voluminous vault and allowed Amazon Music to re-release more than 200 formerly out-of-print treasures. Landmark recordings, from across their 70 year history, now available again on CD, exclusively." See this link: LINK. Lotsa OOP titles. Hank Mobley: A Slice of the Top, Far Away Lands; Julius Watkins; Edmond Hall; etc.

Sonny Rollins - 2 tracks from Live in London (Harkit) I don't already have Alfred Brendel - Mozart: Piano Concertos 9 and 14 Jackie McLean and Bill Hardman - Jackie's Pal Sarah Vaughan - Copacabana The Blues of Texas, Arkansas & Louisiana Big Joe Turner - Flip Flop & Fly Tiny Grimes - Some Groovy Fours Revolutionary Ensemble (Enja) Art Blakey - Kyoto Benny Golson - Gettin' With It Gene Ammons - Funky Hi-Fi Jam Session Gene Ammons - The Big Sound Art Pepper: San Francisco Samba Scott Hamilton and friends - Across the Tracks

In 1993, my friend Dizzy Gillespie invited me to join him on one of the jazz cruises where musicians perform and hang out with jazz-struck passengers. I had interviewed him before, but this would be in a more extensive and varied setting. Suddenly Dizzy canceled the trip, entering New Jersey's Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, where he had previously been a patient. There, dying of pancreatic cancer, Dizzy, who had health insurance, said to Francis Forte, his oncologist, and himself a jazz guitarist: "I can't give you any money, but I can let you use my name. Promise you'll help musicians less fortunate than I am." That was the Dizzy I knew, regarded by his sidemen as a teacher and mentor. From that conversation began the Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund and the Dizzy Gillespie Cancer Institute at the hospital. By now more than a thousand jazz musicians unable to pay have received a full range of medical and surgical care by Dr. Forte and a network of more than 50 physicians in various specialties, financed by the hospital and donations. More here: Dizzy

In the 70 years that he was with us, Freddie Hubbard, who died on Dec. 29, was known primarily for one thing: playing the trumpet harder, faster and with more pure chops than virtually anyone else who ever picked up the horn. Hubbard was regaled as the most prolific, the most prodigious, the most celebrated, and probably the longest-lasting trumpet king of what came to be known as the hard bop era, performing a style of jazz that has exerted a disproportionately large influence on the young jazzmen of the Marsalis generation and beyond. Yet over the course of his productive career, the iron-lipped Mr. Hubbard did a great many things brilliantly: He was working with avant-garde musicians (John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy) almost from the beginning, and later made a pile for himself in the burgeoning field of jazz-rock fusion; he could play ballads with exquisite, heart-breaking tenderness; as a composer, he had an extraordinary track record of tunes that were widely played (and even sung) by other musicians. He did a lot of things but still remained known for playing hard-bop or soul-jazz style trumpet better than almost anybody. More here: Freddie

Maybe the best time I saw him was at Columbia University, right before "Stone Blue" came out. It was billed as a reunion of his Joyous Lake band, but it was more like a reunion of his Philly band. IIRC, the band was Tyrone Brown and Sherman Ferguson, plus some piano player. Around 2 hours of solid, churning, thick jazz; just wonderful music. My point is, Pat's playing was so low that I swear, I wasn't hearing his notes, I was just feeling them in my stomach.

Please stick around. There are a lot of nice posters, too. Pretty soon you'll learn the lay of the land.

I won't be.

I just found a neat feature in iTunes 8. If you "Get Info" on a track or on an album, there is now a Sorting Menu. The field "Sort Artist" allows you to group (if you choose to) all related albums under one artist name. I was getting frustrated because my Blakey albums were separately sorted into "Art Blakey," "Art Blakey Quartet," "Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers," "Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers," etc. I entered Art Blakey into Sort Artist for each album, and now they appear alphabetically by album title. Each album retains its original artist name, but it's a seamless A-Z for all of them. I love this!

The Very Thought Of You This is an excellent place to start. A thoughtful selection of her work during these years. Excellent sound, good presentation.

So I used this as an excuse to stock up on various titles: From J&R: Hank Mobley - A Caddy For Daddy Art Blakey - Like Someone In Love, The Freedom Rider Jackie McLean - Right Now Lee Morgan - Caramba Groove Holmes - Groovin' With Jug J.R. Monterose From Tower: Jack Wilson - Easterly Winds Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing, Jacknife Scolohofo - Oh! Pat Martino - Live At Yoshi's Art Blakey - Meet You At The Jazz Corner, The Witch Doctor, At The Jazz Corner Jimmy Smith - Groovin' At Smalls Paradise From Import CDs: Lee Morgan - Standards I also ordered Jackie McLean - New Soil from Newbury Comics, but they're out of it.

Some interesting developments: 1) They seem to be refreshing their Xanadu titles: they now show the covers, they now seem to be at 192 kbps (from 128), and are even listing some new titles (see The Peter Bernstein Trio's Monk.) 2) They're listing Yazoo titles they didn't have before, such as Pioneers of the Jazz Guitar. Also new: a really good late Chet Baker date (Strollin'), a Revolutionary Ensemble date on Enja, and a Coleman Hawkins date with Barry Harris, Gene Taylor and Roy Brooks that looks really interesting. Does anyone know about it?

Sound quality is variable from song to song. Some tracks sound like radio broadcasts; could be that that's where all of them originate from. Volume 1: Invitation and Stepping Stone are Woody only, Body & Soul is Dex only, and Green Dolphin Street is both. Volume 2: In Your Own Sweet Way is Woody only, The Panther is Dex only, and A La Modal is both. Dex does some soprano work - nice! Dex announced the band on A La Modal: Woody Shaw, trumpet; Dexter Gordon, soprano sax; Ronnie Matthews, piano; Stafford James, bass; Louis Hayes, drums. Can't beat the price!

I think she does a lot with her instrument.

Very sad. RIP, Freddie. Two quotes from Freddie come to mind. The first was from the documentary "Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz," where Freddie talked about how cool Alfred Lion was, that Art Blakey invited him back to his house "when we wouldn't invite me!" The other was Freddie describing playing in Blakey's band: "Art had a heavy foot, and he kept it planted in your ass. You had to play."

Forty-five years ago, long before the improvisations of John Coltrane and his pianist McCoy Tyner were memorized by several generations of music students, it was tough for writers to come up with the right words to describe Mr. Tyner's playing style: distinctly post-bebop, but no less obviously steeped in the entire history of jazz piano. By now we can simply agree to call it McCoy Tyner Style. Mr. Tyner's version of "Greensleeves" on his new album, "Guitars," is dark and mysterious, full of deep power grooves that seem to go all the way back to Africa. Yet the song also harks back, as it must, to its English roots. And when you realize that Mr. Tyner frequently played "Greensleeves" with Coltrane, you recognize it as a journey into Mr. Tyner's past as well. More here (for subscribers only?): WSJ

I'm looking forward to the Leo Parker. I owned it many years ago as part of the LT series. Great, high-energy music. Good liner notes too as I recall, with Dex being asked about his memories of his former bandmate.