wesbed

Pictures from 7/31/05. Not the best picture of me, I'm the one on the left. I seem to be a having a pulling-my-shorts-up problem? My Mom is on the right. The guy in the middle is not my Dad (errr... I don't believe). Really, my Dad is the guy taking the picture. Yes, I'm wearing a Firefox cap. I'm the fool behind the wheel.

My order for Ms. O'Day has been placed with Mosaic. Anita O'Day is my second favorite female vocalist. My first favorite female vocalist being Ella Fitzgerald.

I've got the J.J. box (and plenty o' beer).

I was feeling this sensation this morning. I was listening to 'The Preacher' from Horace Silver And The Jazz Messengers. I had the high feeling when the horns re-entered the song just after Horace's piano solo. Damn near perfect for a few seconds.

It was, at least, 110° in Tucson today. We are approaching a record for the most consecutive days of triple digit temperatures. Temperatures of less than, say, 104° are beginning to feel somewhat pleasant

C'mon. Bobby and Whitney do this television show for money. They do what they believe will get people to watch the show. It could be, what they believe will get people to watch the show, will not. Still, they do this show for money... they do what the director says. Wasn't there some news story that parts of the reality show Survivor were staged to make it more interesting to watch?

The purchaser should enjoy the Parlan set very much. The Horace Parlan Mosaic is one of my favorites from Mosaic.

I'm enjoying Lou again this evening. I'm still surprised that I never realized, till the arrival of the Donaldson Mosaic, what a delightful player Lou Donaldson has been.

Is it Chris' friend Catrina? Sorry, I didn't mean that. Errr... maybe I did.

Those aren't cheap beers. Damn.

This seems so perfectly pointless being that I live in Arizona.

My July Fourth has begun with me getting the Jeep cleaned after a four-wheeling Saturday night. I completed my car cleaning task by 9:30AM. The time is approaching 10:00AM and the temperature has reached a refreshing 93°. It should reach 107° plus by day's end. This evening I'll be eating grilled food at my parent's house or a friend's house. I might have a few beers too.

Sometimes I can be a cheap ass. I have to save my money, where possible, so as to have the ability to purchase more Mosaics.

I'm sure it was a Diet Dr. Pepper.

Don't get me started.

Weird. The only drive I've had crash on me was an IBM Deskstar. I called it the Deathstar because, after going through two of the damned things in as many months, I switched back to Western Digital and had no more problems. I've always purchased Western Digital drives, except for my mistake in taking a chance on the IBM. I've had Western Digital drives for years. I've never had a problem with them.

I do agree with some of which you write regarding the Donaldson Mosaic. There is a certain something in the sound that feels compressed, kind of narrow and tight in my mind. As if all the instruments are in a straight line within a very narrow, hallway-shaped room. At the same time, I can hear everything I want to hear. The detail and style are all present. But, yes, tight and compressed, and oddly loud. From my experience with other Mosaic sets, I believe, were Malcolm Addey involved in the remastering of the Donaldson box, for example, the sound would be wider and more natural. Does the Donaldson box give me a headache? Fortunately, it does not. Would the sound quality of the Donaldson box cause me to decide against purchasing the Donaldson box? No. Would I consider selling my copy of the Donaldson box due to its sound quality? Definitely not. To be fair, Hans, you do make some valid points in regard to the Donaldson Mosaic.

Lucky you! While I fully agree that the music is good, I really can't stand the sound of this set, and I'm going to sell it. ← Lucky me. I don't expect the sound quality of a 40-plus year old recording to be perfect. Considering this music is 40-plus years old, I believe it sounds damned good. Could it sound better? Probably. Could it sound worse? Definitely. The sound is crisp with much detail. To my ears, the remastering takes nothing away from Donaldson's horn. Again, listen to a couple of tunes from any of the six CDs and the sense of the compressed sound fades from view, from my viewpoint. In general, I do like Ron McMaster's work. There is no right or wrong. We like what we like and don't like what we don't like. For me, the sound quality of the Lou Donaldson box is so much more good than bad. Sometimes, to my ears, a bit of distortion here and there adds to the style of an old recording. The sound quality is very modern yet, when a bit of distortion or faded sound sneaks through, I'm reminded this is recording that was made several years ago. It is the genuine article. EDIT: The sound is oddly loud. I noticed, upon playing the first disk, I didn't need the volume switch on my stereo set as high as is usual. Still, the set sounds acceptable to me.

I received my Lou Donaldson box. The set is 1260 of 5000 sets. I list the set number as an indication that, as of this date, the set has not yet reached the halfway point. I don't have much Lou Donaldson in my collection. Yes, I've listened to Lou with Blakey, Lou with Jimmy Smith and Lou with Milt Jackson. But never really heard Lou with just Lou. I feel like a bit of an ignoramus because I never considered Lou Donaldson as such a delightful player. I knew he was good, but only now do I view him as really good and unique in his craft. He can stretch from old-fashioned bebop & hard bop to blues & funk and never miss a note. I agree with other posts on this board that the sound of the Mosaic box seems compressed. After listening to a couple of tracks from any of the six disks, however, my ears/brain adjust and no longer notice the compressed sound. The music and style of Lou Donaldson shine through without limitation.

I ordered my Donaldson box today.

I'm on my way to bed at a few minutes before 11:00PM. The temperature in Tucson, as I get ready to lay my head on my pillow, is down to a comfortable 91°F.

Grant Green's Idle Moments is a top pick for me.

Were I you, I would post the same question in the forums at this site: http://www.head-fi.org/

This is a cool name.