Claude

I suggest reading the manual. They usually provide solutions to the most frequent problems.

That's not so sure. There is still a blocking minority in the EU council against the copyright prolongation.

Unfortunately most labels only indicate their sources when this info is positive ("transfered from the original master tapes"). It's odd that many 1980's CD reissues contain an disclaimer, where the label apologizes for the tape hiss of the analogue recording (although the sound is fine), while today they don't find it necessary to mention that the CD was dubbed from vinyl.

Of course I don't know how Blue Note master tapes sound. But after having heard many LP and SACD reissues of Blue Note albums mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, which supposedly come closest to the sound of the original tapes (I'm personally not interested in hearing sonic recreations of the original LPs), I must say that Ron McMaster did quite a good job on the first CD reissues and the Connoisseur series. He did not try to compensate the "dullness" of many RVG recordings by boosting treble as RVG did with his remasterings. I think Rudy Van Gelder's Blue Note recordings are somewhat overrated as far as the technical quality goes. After 1963, the recording quality degraded quite a lot, with a muddy bass, indistinct piano and reduced dynamics. Other labels - Verve or Columbia - did a better job. Albums such as "Juju" are sonically disappointing even with the best mastering.

Concerning the availability of the music after these deletions, I wouldn't worry. There are the Amazon CD-R-on demand reissues, and I'm sure that lossless downloads will also become available in the not so far future.

I highly recommend this new DVD featuring a german TV studio performance from 1971 (a 48 minute set without an audience) Weather Report - Live In Germany 1971 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003GE69QG/ Here's a review: http://sidsmith.blogspot.com/2010/05/weather-report-live-in-germany-1971.html I might add that the quality of the picture (color, 4:3) and the sound (mono) on this legit region-free DVD (not recorded from TV like many other jazz DVDs sold in Europe) is very good.

Seems like a logical thing to do. Downloads don't need to be inferior to CDs, in terms of quality and documentation. They should make the tracks available as lossless downloads as well, and adapt the pricing. Given the economies for the label, downloads should cost half the price of the CD. Another problem is the regional limitation. Most download shops can only sell to customers from the same country, because of copyright restrictions. If one can order a CD anywhere in the world, one should also be able to buy a download anywhere.

This could really be useful for disabled or elderly people, if it's safe. But it doesn't look like it's that easy to move around with.

I admire the fact that jazz is being played on US cruise ships (although mainly conservative Concord label stuff). European cruises are limited to Barry Manilow & Co.

The politics forum can't be moderated in the same way as the rest of the board, that would be too much of a task. People visit it at their own risk.

Yet another mix of "Bitches Brew" to be released: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/07/dogfish-bitches-brew-mile_n_603531.html

But it's kind of like walking into a store and shouting (so all customers can hear it) "Seems kind of expensive here. Most of your stuff is cheaper elsewhere. Can you make me a deal?"

Not commenting negatively on other offerings is really part of the netiquette today. The only exception I personally would accept would be if the seller misrepresented his offer to get a higher price. For example by stating that a disc is very rare, when it is in fact easily available at a much lower price, or saying that the CD is the only reissue ever released when this is not true.

Was Rafa's racquet checked for hidden batteries? http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/johnmacleary/100008958/fabian-cancellaras-engine-questioned-in-claim-that-swiss-motored-to-classics-wins/

Poor thing. Discriminated because she is too good looking. Life is so unfair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala_City

Bullfighting is highly controversial in Spain too. Some regions have banned it.

That Belgian order could be for a store. I don't know about Mosaic's policy concerning orders by companies, but maybe some store owners order under their personal name, as Mosaic sets (the real ones, not only the Universal sets) can be found in some stores here in Europe, at very high prices.

What's an "organ room"? Even Google can't find an explanation.

The Craig's List posting has now been removed, but here's a screenshot: http://gawker.com/5544080/i-like-to-keep-a-record-of-my-bowel-movements-and-i-expect-you-to-do-the-same

The pop-up is from "usagc.org". If you google on that domain, you can find many opinions on the service, which is part of the Greencard lottery business. http://www.mygreencard.com/review.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Card_Lottery

Cyclist Floyd Landis Admits Doping, Alleges Use by Armstrong and Others (Wall Street Journal 20.5.2010) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703691804575255410855321120.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews

Given the experience with previous Analogue Productions discs (the label is owned by Acoustic Sounds) they will show up on Amazon and CD Universe at lower prices ($23-25), but only weeks or even months after they were released.

Concerning Impulse! "audiophile" reissues, the first Analogue Productions hybrid SACDs have now been released. I'm waiting until they become available by other stores than Acoustic Sounds (which has excessive shipping costs) John Coltrane: Coltrane http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/6524 Gil Evans: Out Of The Cool http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/6523 Charles Mingus: Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/6522 Ben Webster: See You at the Fair http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/6521

A CD-R copy can sound better than the original CD, if the original CD is defective/scratched and puts stress on the CD player's error correction. With such a CD, it may still be possible to extract the data without errors using EAC and a suitable CD drive with very good audio extraction capapilities, and then burn an error-free CD-R, which will sound better than the original defective CD. With an error-free original CD, the copy will of course not sound better. Maybe the Cds that Barry Diament used had some kind of manufacturing error, or his CD player doesn't cope well with pressing errors.