ArtSalt

Those series are popular over here and I admit, I puchased the Bill Evans, Milestone release of the Riverside albums. Awful sound, truly 'orrible and unimpressive. However, I notice there's four volumes of Les Baxter albums, which would be worth buying for an exotica kick knowing that you are likely to listen to it once or twice and that you won't get all the albums elsewhere on official CD releases.

I corresponded with this company about six or seven years ago now, when I was definitely a possible buyer and they sent out a CD with samples of the records being played on standard record player and the laser player. At the time, I thought that this likely what Mosaic would be using to remaster 78rpms. In any event, I invested my money elsewhere, but I remained intrigued by this technology and its' possibilities.

At the same time that the dynamic duo is on, you have Marcus Miller, Terence Blanchard, Jose James and a few others worthy of attention. A better line-up than last year methinks, will try and make the effort to get there this year, but definitely not taking the wife, she'd be in that Lady GaGa concert like a flash!

It looks a good line-up this year, with the exception of Tony Bennet and Lady Ga Ga!

Instead of berating the audience because there's not enough blacks to his liking, the eminent Dr Childs should get his brain into gear and ask himself the pertinent question as to why there's not enough African Americans digging jazz? He might have thought he was dropping in like some ninja or urban guerilla ready to provoke and shock the audience into a higher state of awareness, but all he has really achieved is to make himself look like an undignified academic halfwit with a chip on his shoulder. The question he should be asking himself is has he done enough to promote jazz to his black students? On the evidence of the audience, by his own standards in the university he teaches in, is a definitive "No!".

I think it was John Le Mesurier, amongst others, who said you could tell a person's character or whether you would take to them from their record collection and library. Well, at least you would have a talking point to bounce-off. The digital arena lacks this - the lack of an instant dashboard, almost, you can always check-out their ipad or laptop controlling it all, if they will give it to you!

I am very pleased with this set having listened to the first three discs - the sound is first rate considering the less than pristine sources. Some of the tracks do sound quite different to other CD releases of Dial material, but the Mosaic set is definitely the best. Although I haven't listened to the original Japanese release of the complete Dial. My only quibble is that with the current Euro to $ exchange rate, my Mosaic box-set fetish is becomming ever more expensive!

From a record label perspective on the West Coast immediately after WWII you need go: Dial, Aladdin, Gene Norman Presents, Sunset, Pacific Jazz, Contemporary, Good Time Jazz, Discovery, Black and White, Atomic and a few other small independents.

I haven't knowlingly purchased any Prestige, Riverside or Contemporary SHM's where I already have the K2's. But I think the K2's, certainly the likes of Art Pepper +Eleven have a very record like warmth. The SHM's are probably closer to the actual sound on tape, possibly. The K2's are pretty darn good and likely definitive CD versions IMCO and that's why I am not rushing to replace with SHM's.

The good news for me, is that the record shops here now have the SHM-CD's in. Not in great numbers, but significant to warrant my interest and not just purchase from CD Japan. Although yesterday, I plummed not for any Blue Note SHM, but the Oliver Nelson Prestige's: Screamin' The Blues and Meet....

I would have thought in these technologically advanced but strangely dumbed down and diminished times, that a genre being the least popular in terms of sales as having some distinct value. Who cares about the herd and what they are buying?

We live in technically advanced, but strangely diminished times.

I have the same problem with my set-up with the Blue Note Rudy Van Gelder CD's: they sound great!

I've scoured the net for the film sessions, but can't find a location. The 1999 Columbia released CD does seem to have that glassy, clean and brittle recording "quality" that so seduced us all back in the 80s. Perhaps it was recorded on one of those first generation digital recorders? Only kidding. I would like to hear the music with the echo, just to experience the original release, but if it's anything like Miles' Lift to the Scaffold it will be much better without.

What about the other Teddy on the west coast, Teddy Charles? Collaboration: West with Jimmy Giuffre, Curtis Counce, Shorty Rogers and Shelly Manne, recorded in Hollywood in August 1953 and filled to the brim with what would go on in the late 50s and early 60s to be called Third Stream. An interesting album, quite ahead of the game for the period.

That would be great, but little chance of that against the tide of hard bop!

I find this whole Bruce Jenner is he/or is she question the ultimate proof that the decline of the west is upon us. Utterly irrelevent and not worthy of the space the media gives, particularly here in Europe where we have really serious issues to contend with. But still the is he/or is she question persists. But, I admit, raising an eyebrow when I glanced upon a comment on a newspaper website that Bruce was the victim of dark satanic lesbian vampires who had sucked the life out of him.

From what I hear from contemporary indie and popular music, even that masquerading as jazz, is that edginess is completely lacking. We have arrived at the future where the music of the past is more radical than the here and now. It was never meant to be this way, or was it? Strange days indeed.

Indeed, he co-wrote the documentary The Memphis Belle, interestingly, the poetic narration is all Sgt. Koenig's and also the propaganda film Tarzan Triumphs. He was screenwriter on a few others during the war. John has provided some details in the past, in his member profile of the Internet Cello Society, here it is, all too brief in James Harrod's Jazzwestcoastresearch blog: http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.nl/2012_11_01_archive.html I would imagine the LA Jazz Institute would have some interesting documents in their archives, but I imagine John Koenig would be a necessary primary source for what first hand accounts of his father.

Get's a brief mention in Gioia's book: The Mastersounds. It's hard to not avoid the comparison with the MJQ - definitely they were their equal musically - if not in longevity and number of albums released.

An interesting question is whether modern jazz was ever really that big in the UK? I am not convinced it was as popular as some would have us believe. I mean mainstream popular. The answer to that question may be pertinent. As well as the UK and Scandinavia, you could also add Italy to the list.

I've finally got round to watching the 10 DVD set of Miles at Montreux, the first show is from 1973 and that percussion by Mtume on the beginning of Ife is something else: primordial, tight and evil. My kids were watching it and they asked me who was that nasty man when they saw Miles.

I've always thought that a biography on Lester Koenig would be a worthwhile endeavour for someone and is long over due. You've got his career in the film industry, subsequent black listing and then the two records labels that represented the old and new schools in jazz: the moldy fig vs the modernist. Also the technical side of the recordings being technically superior to recordings by other labels, including Blue Note.

I generally tip 10-15%, although most bills here include a 12% surcharge, but not always. It's not mandatory in the Netherlands and certainly the staff don't expect it and are not relying on tips to give them a living wage. A good job too, because it's not really the done thing here, but they do of course appreciate a tip! My missus goes mad, she doesn't see the need to give a tip where it is not necessary and considers it a sign of being somewhat a frivolous fop, lush and effeminate dandy.

Gioia's position is clear: New York's dominance of the jazz world was challenged only once, for a brief period after WWII by musicians on the West Coast. Ultimately, the East Coast regained the title and subsequently musical critics have pigeon-holed the WCJ with simplifications, generalisations and catchphrases. His mission is to challenge this consensus by asking the pertinent questions on was there a West Coast jazz scene? How was it different to East Coast jazz? Was it a fabrication of Hollywood producers (i.e. Dick Bock and Lester Koenig) and subsequent marketing hoax? He places these questions in the context of the music, musicians, social situation, clubs, culture and quite importantly, geography and IMCO only one element is missing: climate. I think he also aims to rehabilitate WCJ for our listening pleasure.