Philip

The first 12 Connoisseurs were identified as such by an obi (sash around the jewel case hinge).

Pity that the CD edition was withdrawn early because of very slow sales. This is a lovely set which should have reached additional pairs of ears.

The booklet to the BN Nichols set has several photos of the piano/microphone set-up, in which the lid is up. The arrangement at Hackensack appears to be a Neumann M60 above the hammers, the ubiquitous Neumann U47 over the side of the right side to pick up from the sound board and a smaller microphone to geat some ambient sound from the room. I don't recall a photo at Engelwood Cliffs with the lid being anything other than up, as in the Andrew Hill avatar on my left.

"Hello, Philip [log out]" returned with the current message as before.

Kevin, Planet Music has indeed ceased trading. This has been discussed over at AAJ.

Shrugs is a sub-mariner in the US Navy, hence the need for a handle, so one can imagine where he might be to within a few hundred miles.

A Mosaic Select would be nice!

I'll stick my neck out and suggest that it was "Man of Words" (dedicated to Nat Hentoff) from Out Front]. Ron Carter bows and Eric Dolphy sustains notes on Bass Clarinet on that track, so it is not impossible for it to be the music in question.

A notice has appeared that it is closed and will be relaunched at the beginning of July. Only kidding! Seriously, this seems to be a persistent probloem with AAJ, had the same difficulty a few days ago.

Buy the Tom Lord Jazz Discography edition 4.4CD-Rom for $279 (online) when it comes out in the summer, containing information on all Jazz recordings, then decide if you want the addition minutiae in the BN discography.

I thought Dr Nick Riviera had just signed up.

Hicks entry in the Concord Maybeck Recital series is one of the best, he really shows his Tyner & Coltrane roots on that one with a particularly effective version of "After the Rain".

That Ron McMaster post in full, from September 5, 1999: "My association with the Blue Note label has been one of many years, of which I am very proud. My association with Michael Cuscuna has developed into a great working relationship and a great learning experience. "I am frankly shocked and amazed at the statements being made on "McMaster Masters". It is hard to take on all of the issues that seem to be causing some of the authors to dislike the mastering work I have done. Let me start by saying that the early digital transfers of master tapes dubbed to 1610 and later 1630 format was the beginning of putting the Blue Note catalog into the digital format. It was not a matter of putting my sonic signature on the old masters but rather to do only a few sonic adjustments and present the original sound of the old masters as they were intended. The process and the digital equipment have changed very much since those early days of the first digital transfers. Today however, I still work with the same approach, keeping to the original sound of the master as it was intended.Let's set a few things straight, I do not hard pan the stereo spread on the original masters. I reduce it about 40%. I do not use digital noise reduction as a rule.Only in extreme cases and never without the permission of Michael Cuscuna. All masters are loaded into the Sonic Solutions after they are EQ'd and blended.There is no digital EQ or limiting ever done to them.I record them in 24 bit resolution and SBM2 for the output dither. The Sonic Solutions is merely a digital workstation from which we can assemble and edit the music program while staying in 24 bit. In addition, Sonic Solutions is not at all like Dolby noise reduction, and it does not color the audio program with processing and shaping techniques. We use the best converters available to assure pure audio signal conversion from analog to digital.For the LP purists on the Mosaic and Blue Note releases we take the masters and go straight to lacquer, never entering the digital domain.I would like to say that when you compare masters it is only fair to use songs that have been done at the same time and period of technology. To compare some of my old digital transfers with the new RVG releases is like comparing apples and oranges.We can't please everyone, but I hope that you will believe me when I tell you we want to deliver the best possible Blue Note CD.As Blue Note customers and fans you deserve the best possible product. Not every tape is perfect, not every CD without its flaws. However, we never take the attitude "oh, it's good enough". I for one appreciate your comments and hope to continue to deliver the best quality music possible. Remember too that this is a team effort, and the producer must approve all of the mastering. Many times when there is a major flaw and we cannot find a correct version then Michael Cuscuna will put a producers note on the jacket and try to keep the customers informed of the problems on the master. This by no way a cop out statement, it is merely to reflect the whole of the workings of all of these wonderful recordings. The implications of some of the authors are that I just carelessly master theoriginal songs and then the label just puts out the product. Not caring at all about the customer or the sound of the music.That couldn't be farther from the truth. Blue Note is and always has been a very intelligent and customer based label, they care about the consumer and they care about the music. "Regards,Ron McMaster" Not that the original source can be verified now, but still: http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb-...ic&f=3&t=000255

This sounds like "Cool Europe" MGM E3157 containing, on one side, Mike Nevard's British Jazzmen. In Lord this does not appear to have been a leased date, so Universal might only be it's usual difficult self over licensing.

When this was raised before, Tomatbluenote said their was no additional material from the Hickory House date.

The OJCs and Vogue's consist of the same recordings, although the Vogue reissues may contain a few additional alternate takes.

JAW, thanks for taking the trouble. B)

Hey, this board matches my bedroom colour scheme!