Claude

I agree. Normally new albums by such stars are announced 4-6 months in advance.

I haven't heard the "Sky Dive" CD, but none of the CTI reissues (1997/2002 versions) I have heard sounds really great, unlike most other Columbia remasters. It seems to be Creed Taylor's (over-)production technique that makes these sessions sound rather veiled and lifeless (acoustically, not musically!)

That's a very interesting question. But as Bird died more than 50 years ago, all of his recodings are in public domain in Europe, so I don't think anything is missing on CD.

My first box set was the Miles Davis "CBS Years 1955-85" 4CD set, which I bought in 1990.

By coincidence, I got the 2CD set "Live at the Lighthouse" on Fresh Sound last week. It contains the recordings that you mention. This had been OOP for some time, but was recently reissued. http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/record_po...?record_id=3573

Making or keeping albums available as dowloads is good, but don't expect label executives and consumers to be aware of the difference between MP3s and lossless formats. I think the reason why most people prefer CD reissues to dowloads is not because they sound better than MP3s, but because they are a product ready for use, unlike a download that needs to be transferred to a mp3 player or burned to a CD-R. As an informed user, who knows about both the music and the technological, you will always be frustrated about what the legit business wíll offer you, compared to what is available in filesharing networks. That's an inevitable consequence of the interactive nature of the internet. The official download is not necessarily the best quality download.

I think the Criterion DVDs are overpriced, since they haven't followed the general downward trend of DVD prices. During the time when new regular DVD releases were priced $20-25 (list price), $40 for a Criterion DVDs was ok. But now, many DVDs are released for less than $15, so the Criterion price difference has become very high. I don't judge the work involved, but only the market situation.

That was my first reaction as well. Is Mosaic entering the recording/production business?

Sad, but true. In the jazz department of the FNAC in Brussels (the largest media store in the belgian capital), it's the latest Lonehill/Gambit/etc CDs that are featured in their new releases section most of the time, followed by the Blue Note RVGs.

I don't agree entirely with the idea. If DVDs were the way to go for the music industry, they would already have released many more of them. Music DVDs are nice (I have about 50 jazz and 20 classical DVDs), but the interest in a live film is often gone after the first viewing. After that, it's only the music that's relevant. I'm inclined to buy many CDs with an artist I like, but one or two DVDs from that artist is enough. I like to see how a jazz musician plays, but I don't need to see it all the time I listen to his music. So I would rather suggest adding a bonus live DVD to CD releases, because the CD is what people use the most. A DVD-only release would have the problem that people cannot listen to it in the car, and - even more important - that people cannot easily copy the music onto their iPod. As far as jazz goes, I would like to see more releases like the Jazz Icons series, with interesting and high quality historic footage. But videos of live recordings of current musicians are much less relevant to me. I've been taping a lot of concerts from TV stations, but I rarely watch them again.

I've seen a short BBC documentary on Kenny Wheeler made in 1976 where he discusses his various activities as a musician. Back then, he spent a lot of time playing in and rehearsing groups for non-jazz recordings: TV shows, commercials, etc. It was an economic necessity.

Not so fast ... Second man held in murders probe

Well, usually when emails with the advice to "Forward this message to as many colleagues, relatives and friends as you can" is being sent around, it's a hoax and there is not immediate risk that people should be warned about urgently (although this telephone fraud might actually work). The authors are just having fun in seeing how fast the message will spread.

Rock Icons, the Grateful Dead, Carlos Santana, Led Zeppelin and The Doors File Lawsuit to Stop Illegal Sales of Concert Memorabilia and Merchandise (PR Newswire)

Does that mean only people like him are person of the year, or do forum posters qualify too? I'm sorry. I can't let this drop. WTF? I have no idea ... I googled for an article he wrote on SACD and found this video link. The ticklish guy not only has the name but also looks like "our" GregM http://www.soundreproduction.com/articles/sacd1.html http://www.soundreproduction.com/page8/gregm.html

Does that mean only people like him are person of the year, or do forum posters qualify too?

Only this 2DVD Highlights set seems to be available: http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/webserie...&objRank=88 DG plans to release a lot of DVDs in the next years, so maybe there is more material from those concerts in the pipeline, but I wouldn't bet on it since the 2DVD set came out rather recently.

Thinking of the gift aspect, the Reiner looks classy in it's Living Stereo reissue: http://www.amazon.de/Living-Stereo-Sinfoni.../dp/B0009U55SI/ If your mother is a newcomer to Mahler, you might just add a few bucks and get her the complete symphonies set on Brilliant Classics (the Inbal recordings, not the other Brilliant compilation) http://www.amazon.de/Sinfonien-1-10-Radio-...k/dp/B00008Q03A http://jamrek.com/SPIP-v1-7-2/article.php3?id_article=14

I haven't checked what Steve Hoffman posted on that thread, but he sometimes makes recommendations without having listened to all the options involved. His standard response concerning Fantasy reissues is to get the old OJC CD versions, because they are "flat" transfers (no manipulation of the sound) of the original master tapes, many of which he has heard. But that doesn't mean later remastering can't be flat transfers as well, and better sounding.

I use a $5 stylus brush, from Last (without the cleaning fluid)

That's an interesting package. I don't mind if the title is not correct, as long as the sessions themselves are as complete as the previous official releases. The box is slightly cheaper at Amazon.fr: http://www.amazon.fr/Complete-Live-Recordi.../dp/B000IXZ7GG/ BTW, "United Archives" is quite an ironic name for a company that simply copies the music from other labels CDs without asking. No need to feel guilty about that though, after the UK Treasury has said the current copyright duration in the EU is appropriate.

Hi! If you want to have more video footage from that TV session, and in better quality, "Geneva's move" (the Youtube clip) and "Subconscious-Lee" are available on the Lee Konitz "Live at the Village Vanguard" DVD, which has a Lee Konitz quartet concert from the late 80's and these 1954 recordings (6:45 min total), which are not identified as such on the DVD cover. It was a huge surprise when I watched the DVD for the first time. I wasn't aware this footage existed. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?...=lk_organissimo

I never play lotto, but this news made me check the website of the Luxembourg lotto company. Interestingly, in the table that shows how often a number has been picked since 1955, the number 13 is the lowest (by far). Can that be a coincidence? http://www.loterie.lu/fr/lotto/frequence.a...mp;number_add=0

The article doesn't seem to take into account downloads from allofmp3.com, the russian download service which is based on dubious legal arrangements and which charges $2-5 per album download. I've read reports that in the UK allofmp3 sells almost as much music as iTunes (in volume). While these downloads are technically illegal, most customers consider it as purchased music and not as stolen music. Allofmp3 will probably shut down in the near future, as Russia has agreed to change it's laws before acceding the WTO.

EAC can be hard to configure because of so many advanced settings, but once it's set up correctly it is the most reliable CD ripping software.