mjzee

OK, so they probably switched the timings of 45 Degree Angle and Infatuation Eyes while they were type-setting. They must have employed the Blue Note proof-reading department! Thanks for the info.

I have the Bethlehem 1976 reissue of this album. For side 2, both the cover and the label list the third song as Denzil Best's "45 Degree Angle" with a time of 2:45. However, the actual track 3 is about 4 minutes. Both this album and the CD reissue listed at Amazon show side 2 as follows (Amazon doesn't show the timings): Beyond Recall 4:36 All The Way 4:28 45 Degree Angle 2:45 Infatuation Eyes 4:06 S'Crazy Pad 4:40 The sample of 45 Degree Angle at Amazon matches the song on the LP. So, is track 3 actually 45 Degree Angle, with a time of 4 minutes or so, or is the listed song order incorrect?

I've enjoyed this thread. It seems to me that this thread has been about the act of listening - how we listen, and what we make of it. To the extent that Larry, Dan and the others have been able to articulate what is an intensely private process, I've found that valuable. As for Bill, I think you're experiencing the disconnect between how much you enjoy an artist and hearing from people who genuinely disagree with you, with perhaps the added dollop of those disagree-ers being very persuasive writers. Sorry, but they're out there, and you can't stop them. But you can be content in your own opinion, and hope that you can persuade some others to agree with you. Not me, though. I think Scott is pretty lightweight. But I do love Warren Vache.

I got my order today from CD Universe. The jewel cases on 2 of the 3 were cracked. Grrr...

Chicago's Avant-Garde Musicians By MARTIN JOHNSON Most jazz fans readily acknowledge that Chicago ranks just behind New Orleans and New York in importance to jazz history. During the '20s and '30s, Louis Armstrong made his first dozen seminal recordings in Chicago, and the postwar years saw a wide range of great musicians -- from bluesy saxophonists like Johnny Griffin to analytical pianists like Lenny Tristano -- emerge from this Midwestern epicenter of jazz. But what's less well known is that Chicago has continued to nurture generations of innovative musicians. The latest wave bridge the gap between avant-garde jazz and avant-garde or art rock to create a music of unusual texture and power. While the sound is surprising -- it's dense and infectious -- the development is entirely logical. Since its beginnings in the early '60s, the Chicago school of the jazz avant-garde has sought to embrace and unify the diverse threads of musical history rather than refute the most recent trends. The key early figures in the development of the Chicago avant-garde -- pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, saxophonist Fred Anderson, reedman Anthony Braxton and the members of the group the Art Ensemble of Chicago -- tended toward a quieter, more contemplative sound than the raucous dissonance often heard in New York avant-garde jazz circles, and they started The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. That organization established a school on Chicago's South Side and presented concerts and workshops that have cultivated dozens of young musicians. Saxophonist Matana Roberts and trumpeter Rob Mazurek, the leader of the Exploding Star Orchestra, are the brightest lights of the new Chicago wave, and each has a new recording -- Ms. Roberts's "The Chicago Project" (Central Control) and Mr. Mazurek's "Bill Dixon With the Exploding Star Orchestra" (Thrill Jockey). Ms. Roberts, who was born and raised in Chicago before moving to New York five years ago, says that the scene in her native city was crucial to the development of her sound. "My mentors made it clear that it was important to understand the history of the music but present it in a way that echoed my own personal stamp." She credits those elders -- particularly Mr. Anderson, who leads a weekly Sunday-evening jam session at his jazz club, The Velvet Lounge, and veteran saxophonist Von Freeman, who leads a popular gig on Tuesdays at his New Apartment Lounge -- with helping her find her voice on the sax. But she says that some of the younger players -- including Mr. Mazurek, guitarist Jeff Parker, flautist Nicole Mitchell and drummer Chad Taylor -- were key to her composing. "I had no interest in composing," she said via email. "I was going to focus my musical commentary on the work of my heroes and pay homage, but [that crowd] stayed on me all the time to write my own compositions." Ms. Roberts has made numerous performances as a sidewoman and a leader, but her style really began to mature with the collective trio Sticks and Stones, which featured Mr. Taylor and bassist Jeff Abrams. On "Shed Grace" (Thrill Jockey), released in 2004, Ms. Roberts's sound is vibrant and confident, full of bluesy, gruff tones and tender, wistful murmurs as the group moves through an eclectic repertoire. "The Chicago Project," a quartet recording that features Ms. Roberts, Messrs. Abrams and Parker, and drummer Frank Rosaly -- along with a guest appearance by Mr. Anderson -- exhibits Ms. Roberts's continued growth. Her sound is often built around short, staccato figures that create rhythmic tension with Messrs. Parker and Rosaly. Mr. Abrams holds the quartet's music together with a steady solid beat. Three tracks feature Ms. Roberts's duets with Mr. Anderson; they are dedicated to the Charlie Parker records that he had her study as a youth. Ms. Roberts brought the Chicago Project, which is the name of both the quartet and the recording, to Jazz Gallery in lower Manhattan in late February for a rousing performance. She's a commanding figure onstage with her cascades of curly and dreadlocked hair crowning a gold lamé jacket, and her playing is expansive and appealing. The alto saxophonist closed the first set with a 20-minute version of her composition "Thrills" that had the typically serene New York jazz crowd shouting in joy. This Sunday evening at 8, Ms. Roberts will perform in a more intimate setting, in a duet with guitarist Liberty Ellman at Jimmy's, 41 E. 7th St. For more information, call 212-982-3006. For years Mr. Mazurek, 42, a cornetist, has been known for some of the best small-group recordings in jazz with his Chicago Underground series. He recorded in duo, trio and quartet settings, and the discs are an outgrowth of his Sunday-afternoon jam sessions at the Green Mill on Chicago's North Side. Mr. Mazurek considers his new band, Exploding Star Orchestra ("the name is a metaphor for constancy and regeneration," he explained), an extension of that project. It involves several alumni of his Sunday-afternoon run, including Mr. Parker, John Herndon and John McEntire, all three members of the Chicago-based art rock group Tortoise. Groups in the Chicago avant-garde rock movement, which also include Gastr Del Sol and The Sea and Cake, have brought a parallel reserve and austerity to their somewhat cerebral music. Mr. Mazurek's cornet sound initially owed much to the razor-sharp rhythmic precision of hard bop trumpeter Kenny Dorham, but in the late '90s, it began to grow and take on elements of avant-garde jazz pioneers Don Cherry and Bill Dixon. His compositions also began to integrate some of the hypnotic beats of Balinese gamelan music. Last winter, Exploding Star Orchestra released its superb debut recording, "We Are All From Somewhere Else" (Thrill Jockey), and it featured Mr. Mazurek's stellar compositions and a near-all-star cast of players from Chicago's jazz and rock communities. The band's latest, "Bill Dixon With the Exploding Star Orchestra," affords Mr. Mazurek a chance to collaborate with one of his key influences. "Bill Dixon's sound penetrates yet hovers over you like fantastically colored clouds," said Mr. Mazurek of his idol. They met two years ago at the Guelph Jazz Festival in Ontario and hit it off. They collaborated on two pieces for the Exploding Star Orchestra and presented both last summer at the Chicago Jazz Festival. 'My ear was immediately drawn to his approach to the instrument," said Mr. Dixon of his collaborator, adding that he was impressed with Mr. Mazurek's ability to personalize a wide range of musical styles in his playing. The performances on the disc are full of surprise, whimsy and impressive detail. Mr. Dixon's lyrical and diffuse tone challenged the orchestral members to find appropriate complements in their solos, and they do creating a work full of intense orchestral color and unusual textures. Mr. Mazurek, like many other Chicago musicians, has moved and now lives in Paris after a stint in São Paulo, Brazil. But for musicians who have developed in Chicago, the city is never far from them. Ms. Roberts credits the strong family vibe within the musicians' community there. "I feel a certain familial love from a lot of the folks I played with there; they check up on me all the time. It helps me stay grounded."

Probably the big hurdle is that EMI owns the rights to the covers and liner notes. They probably can't charge for the discographical information, but can charge for the rest (if they would even grant permission). I think a better solution is to make each release's cover and liner notes a file, to be sold at the per-track charge when an album is downloaded. So for a 6-track CD, the 7th track would be the cover and liner notes.

I wholeheartedly agree! If the world is going to electronic transmission of music, covers and liner notes are the components still missing.

I wonder why Blue Note (EMI - Capitol first released them) hasn't released any of these on CD; they sold well upon first release.

I liked his description of the Gus Viseur tune: Gus Viseur was an accordion player who played musette, a kind of French cafe music... had a little bit of a Gypsy sound, a little bit of jazz. Probably the most famous example would be a guy like Django Reinhardt, who crossed over a little more into swing jazz. But there's a whole bunch of guys like Gus Viseur, Jo Privat and Vetese Guerino. The great thing about music is that when you hear it, even if you don't have a dime in your pocket, you can travel all over the world. Whenever I hear a song like this, it doesn't matter where I am or what the weather is like. Suddenly I'm on a rain-soaked street in France underneath an awning drinking an espresso noir with a beautiful raven-haired Parisian.

Referring to the Alfred Lion era, what will be improved in the new edition? Are there errors or incorrect information in the last edition?

Or just use the "Ignore" feature...a very useful tool...

One of my favorite memories is a JVC Jazz Festival in, I dunno, the late '90's, which was a tribute to Barney Kessel (he got up on stage at the end of the concert to read a speech, but the stroke had so incapacitated him that, after a few words, his wife had to complete his speech, but that's another story). It was an all-star, all-guitar concert, and a highlight was this trio: Tal, Herb Ellis, and Charlie Byrd. Backed by bass and drums, they laughed and traded licks. It was great!

Woah, I must have gotten one of the last ones out of the building. My order/shipping confirmation came through today at 11:53 PST. It will be here on Monday. You probably copped one of the very last. When you get it, could you post the #? (Anal minds are just DYING to know.) Mine was 5810.

This is how Bob introduced the Starbucks collection: When I was asked to put together this collection of songs, I wasn't sure what to do. So I just grabbed a bunch of things I was into recently. Some people have favorite songs, but I've got songs of the minute - songs that I'm listening to right now. And if you ask me about one of those songs a year from now, I might not even remember who did it, but at the moment it's everything to me. There're a lot of different ways a record can get under your skin. Sometimes it's the way they sound, sometimes it's the words. Maybe it's a guitar riff or horn line or maybe you feel like the singer is talking right to you. Some people say it's chemistry but chemistry is too much of a science. A great record is more like alchemy. Here's a bunch of folks who somehow managed to turn lead into gold for a couple of minutes. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Finally! The MusicMasters have arrived! No Jim Hall (yet), but still a nice selection. Plenty of Benny Carter.

If you email or call Mosaic, they'll send you an empty Hodges box. Thanks for the tip! I called Mosaic, and they were as nice as can be. A new box is on it's way to me. It's supposed to rain here on Friday, so I hope it arrives tomorrow.

I don't think Columbia would need permission to rerelease a remastered version of Concert By The Sea.

So I'm in Starbucks today, and by the counter I saw a new compilation: Bob Dylan - Music That Matters To Him. If you know the series, it's music the artist picks out, that he likes to listen to. What an interesting selection: Pee Wee Crayton - Do Unto Others Clancy Eccles - Don't Brag, Don't Boast Stanley Brothers with The Clinch Mountain Boys - The Fields Have Turned Brown Gus Viseur - Flambee Montalbanaise (Valse) Red Prysock - Hand Clappin' Sol Hoopii & His Novelty Quartette - I Like You Ray Price - I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) Stuff Smith & His Onyx Club Boys - I'se a Muggin' (Part 2) Charley Jordan - Keep It Clean Junior Wells - Little by Little (I'm Losing You) Patty & The Emblems - Mixed-Up, Shook-Up Girl Getatchew Kassa - Tezeta (Fast) Flaco Jimenez with Toby Torres & Jose Morante - Victimas del Huracan Beulah Wanda Jackson - I Gotta Know Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra - I Hear Music Junior Parker - Pretty Baby There are also great liner notes by Bob about the selections. I'll try to share some as I get more into it.

So the postman delivered the Hodges (+ the Boogie Woogie Select) to my doorstep today, and left it there in a pouring rain. Box was sopping wet. Luckily (and I do mean luckily), there was enough bubble wrap inside the box so that the Hodges box was unscathed, with only the cover separating a little from the box. Grrr...

Sam Jones - Cello Again Barney Kessel - Let's Cook Louis Bellson - 150 MPH Charlie Hunter and Bobby Previte as Groundtruther - Altitude with special guest John Medeski Marin Alsop - Brahms: Symphony No. 3 / Haydn Variations (Naxos) Jackie McLean - 4 5 & 6, Makin' The Changes Art Farmer - On The Road

I'd love for you to redo the "From Spirituals To Swing" box set. That stuff never sounds good, even after working from the master discs.

Damn this board. The Hodges wasn't even on my radar screen...

I've preordered the Stanley and the Lou. I have the prior releases of the Freddie (which I like a lot) and the Horace (which didn't do much for me).

Displays are nice - you can look at the album cover, and if you have mucho time on your hands, you can enter personnel info into iTunes (as "lyrics") for handy reference on your iPod. I love my 30gb iPod. Stick to the "classic" models (small screens) and you'll do fine. And you never know when you'll want to download a concert video to watch (and listen to) on your travels.

I love Ralph's work - very haunting and tuneful. Two faves: Ana Solo Concert I remember when I presented Oregon in concert at my college in 1974, the other 3 guys were vegetarians/health foodies, but Ralph proudly proclaimed that he loved hamburgers and fries.