wesbed

I played bocce at the Tucson Italian Club this evening. The bocce playing includes some excellent food, good conversation, Italian beer, lots of laughs, some competition, and fantastic weather. And, no, I don't have a drop of Italian blood in my body.

Just scared of a little heat. (I'm joking, really)

You can't go wrong here. All three sets blend right together. You can go from one box to the next, listen straight-through, and never hear a bad note. You said it, the fucking Holy Trinity, the Cream of the Cream, the Mosaic trilogy of jazz trilogies. Give Mosaic your money, get the merchandise. Listen to it. Learn about it. Be enlightened by it. Don't leave home without it.

The Great Mosaic Trilogy. The Horace Parlan, the Stanley Turrentine, and the Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams. Get it. Understand it. Appreciate it. Groove to it. Enjoy it.

You will enjoy the Turrentine set. My most-played sets, recently, have been the Turrentine Mosaic and the Horace Parlan Mosaic. To be fair to various other posters to this Board, I've never heard the Turrentine material in any version except for what's offered in the Turrentine Mosaic. Alas, I have nothing to compare to the sound quaility of the Mosaic. I enjoy Stanley Turrentine's soulful saxophone. I enjoy Ron McMaster's remastering work. I believe the Turrentine Mosaic sounds extremely good. I find no fault in Turrentine's or McMaster's sound. None.

It's late Wednesday. I'm enjoying some jazz on another Budweiser evening.

You're 1000 miles away. I'm right here, very close to the action. At the same time I, like you, can only imagine the police scenes. I'm familiar with all the locations discussed by the Tucson police. At the same time, I feel oddly distant from scenarios that are played out via the police scanner. I'm sitting safe within the confines of my Tucson home. I just heard that the Border Patrol will need to be called to a local, Tucson, Burger King restaurant.

I'm at home tonight. I'm enjoying some hot wings and celery sticks. I'm listening to the Tucson police.

You can listen to the Tucson Police scanner here: http://www.azstarnet.com/scanner/ Sometimes I get addicted to it. B-)

I can't find where the sound gets 'wonky.' I've yet to learn how & where McMaster compromised Turrentine's sound.

You'll have to ask Soulstation1. It had something to do with high-heeled shoes and Duke Pearson. I think I was too much under the influence to remember. I don't know. Maybe not?

Tee hee hee.

And some pizza and/or hot wings, please. The gifts of food would be most appreciated. One of the times Soulstation1 was visiting, I forced him to organize my RVGs while I watched.

I needs me some Lee Morgan this evening. I plan for John Coltrane after Morgan.

I used to be a Beer Snob. I drank beer ony if it was served in a bottle. My beer motto was, "I don't drink beer that comes in a can." If I chose a domestic beer, it had to be a microbrew. Otherwise, I desired a European import. I considered Sam Adams to be adequate only for a Beer Snob in training. Then, one day, I decided some of the cheap beers were good. Sometimes, goddamned good. I felt sad watching my Beer Snob dreams fade. I caught myself enjoying Old Milwaukee and Schlitz as much as I enjoyed Guinness, Bass, and Pilsner Urquell. At the same time I found a new sense of freedom in that I could choose ANY kind of beer and find something good, something enjoyable and appealing. I'm still a Jazz Snob. I can't shake the jazz snobbishness. Although the music has never seemed snobby to me. More like cool and catchy, mind-clearing, relaxing and exhilerating. Errr... maybe I just drink too much beer?

To me, Budweiser is the standard, mass-produced, American beer. There is nothing really good or really bad about it.

Did you ever wonder, when enjoying a glass of Budweiser... What the freak is Beechwood Aging? I found the answer here: Yeast (Budweiser yeast is a lager yeast) is added to the cooled wort in the primary fermentation tanks. It can take up to 6 days for the yeast to convert the fermentable sugars to carbon dioxide and alcohol. During this stage of the brewing process, the wort becomes beer. After a layer of beechwood chips is spread on the bottom of the lager tanks, the beer is transferred into the tanks. A portion of freshly yeasted wort called Kraeusen is added. Beechwood Aging is part of secondary fermentation in which the yeast settles on the beechwood chips and works until the beer is completely fermented. As secondary fermentation occurs, the beer is naturally carbonated and its final flavor develops - resulting in a smooth-tasting beer. This expensive process is unique to Anheuser-Busch.

My Dad and I drove his Jeep out in the desert and up the mountain today. We sweated under the desert's heat. We shivered and changed into long-sleeved shirts at the top of the mountain. We started in the dust of the desert, enjoyed the snow on the mountain, and had a safe trip home. We spent $30 worth of gasoline. I had a good time. When the price of gasoline reaches a level I can't afford, I'll have to quit driving. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the old-fashioned, gas-guzzling, American-style, off-road, vehicle. There's nothing like it. I'm enjoying exploring southern Arizona before the summer heat rolls back in. We found a fake cow in the desert. I wonder who put it there? I'm including a picture of me with the fake cow. No, I'm not drunk! My Dad's camera caught my eyes in mid-blink. I drive a four cylinder, low gas usage, family car to work everyday. On the weekends the Jeep is fun as hell. The memories of the times with my Dad can't be replaced. The Jeep BURNS through the fucking gasoline. And I don't give a shit.

Not this time. For the most part, we look nothing like our avatars. I'll be sure to bring the boxing gloves next time. No pictures? Feck.

Did anybody get some pictures? Some pictures that could be posted on this board?

The stupid Stitt Mosaic is for those of us who consume too much alcohol while listening to Stitt.

Me too. I still desire the stupid Stitt Mosaic box.

If the CD format is acceptable, CDUniverse has the title for $14.29. This is the one I would buy.

There has been much negative talk on this Board regarding Ron McMaster. I don't mean the McMasters from the 1980s, rather, the more recent McMasters. As much as I listen for a problem with McMaster's work, I don't hear it. I haven't heard the Lou Donaldson set. However, I will own a copy of the Lou Donaldson box someday. I do own the Stanley Turrentine Mosaic. I've read, numerous times, how McMaster somehow, mysteriously, lessened the quality of Turrentine's sound. Again, I don't hear it. The Turrentine Mosaic sounds very good to my ears. It's a given that Malcolm Addey is my favorite. Ron McMaster has a good remastering manner too.

The Dex is a terrific set of music from Mosaic (as usual). The Dexter Mosaic Select is my favorite Dexter material. It's got a great live vibe and groove. For me, Dexter was never better. My least favorite Select is the Duke Pearson. A couple of my favorites that don't seem to receive a lot of discussion are the Curtis Amy and the Bennie Green. If you read one of the old Mosaic catalogs, the information on the front-inside cover discusses how Ron McMaster did quite a good job in recovering the material for the Shank/Cooper Select.