John L

You are right. I forgot about that one! Superb! In fact, Dragon also released a concert recorded right after Crystal Bells in Sweden with the Ake Johansson Trio that is quite good.

Due to this thread, I revisited the Chet Baker Timeless albums in this package. While there is some good music here, especially "Mr. B," I would say that this is a below average representation of Chet's music from this period. The duo album with Philip Catherine was a disappointment (IMO). I also find the two albums with Harold Danko to be OK, but not outstanding. "Sings Again" is nothing special, little playing and not his best singing. Along with Mr. B., there is quite a lot of better Chet to be had from this period (IMO), including The Sejun Radio Shows, The Improviser, At Capolinea, Nightbird (with Sal Nistico), Diane, In Bologna, Chet's Choice, Strollin', Candy, Live at the Moonlight Club, Live in Tokyo, and Meets the Space Jazz Trio. I can see why hard core Chet fans might want this. But I would certainly not recommend this set to someone who wants a first exposure to Chet from this period. Other than Mr. B, Timeless did not get the best of Chet from this period (IMO).

Deleting all the posts of one person is problematic for various reasons. It can make comments of others in the thread look stupid or inappropriate. If something is to be deleted, in some cases it would make sense to delete entire threads instead of the posts of one person. \

Great!

Well, reading Jim's frank, clear, and very informed opinions about music is one of the main reasons why I come here. So the sword can cut both ways.

Mnytime wrote me a bunch of crazy personal messages, including how Mohammed Ali, Michael Jackson, and other famous people were his close friends, and how he almost died the other day from some bizarre disaster or illness (a different one almost every week), etc., etc. Remember when he came on the Jazz Corner board to say that he didn't understand why his relatives hadn't arrived on their plane, then naming one of the planes that had just crashed into the trade tower on 9/11, and pretending that he first heard about it from us? And it goes on and on. He was 100% fake.

As we have discussed earlier, misunderstandings are easy on boards like this. We cannot see each other or hear the tone of how something is expressed. Non-native English speakers are particularly prone to misunderstandings. It is quite common for people to take offense on boards like this and leave, even if the reason is a misunderstanding. I attribute the fact that more people may have left the board because of an interaction with Jim than with most of the rest of us to (1) Jim posts more than the rest of us do and (2) he often expresses strong opinions. Most of us appreciate Jim's participation in that regard very much. Sure, we need to make an effort not to offend other people. But making any sort of judgement in this case is not straightforward (IMO).

Agreed. This is really top notch. I have listened to it several times already, and it keeps growing on me.

RIP

RIP

Speaking of classic soul singers, I just heard that Gwen McCrae left the building.

Very true! I guess that Smokey Robinson also deserves a nod. And there is Bettye Lavette! Add Latimore and Wee Willie Walker. Still, there aren't many.

Damn! He was a favorite of mine. RIP So who is the greatest living classic soul singer now? Maybe Gladys Knight, William Bell, Ronnie Isley, Stevie Wonder. Ann Peebles, Aaron Neville or Mavis Staples? There are not too many left.

I think that Peter defined it well as bebop playing coming directly out of Bud Powell without more modern influences. That isn't to say that it is more "real" in any other sense than other bop playing.

Well, that is a great example of an excellent and informative short review by Scott Yanow. After reading it, I did not expect to see his name at the end.