John Tapscott

I bought this LP 25 years ago at the Jazz and Blues Center (long defunct) in Toronto. The pressing was very noisy. Whe I complained about it, I was told they were "all like that." So I would recommend buying it but don't be surprised if the pressing is not very good.

I pulled the "Way Out" Lp from my shelves this morning. Really looking forward to giving it a spin. Great choice.

Seems to me there was a Chrysler car (could have been a Dodge or Plymouth, of course) that actually had a sidewinder insignia on the front fender. One of those mid' sixties muscle cars with a 'hemi motor. 8 miles to the gallon but went like stink (at least in the quarter mile).

Chuck may be right, but I always thought it was Chrysler.

Listened to it yesterday from my Mosaic set. A wonderful, wonderful recording. One of those magical times when everything just fell into place and probably exceeded everyone's expectations. Tony Williams - simply magnificient. And I still have "Beatrice" running through my head this morning. I'm going to listen to this one again soon.

Overall, I like this album and would recommend it to Lee fans. Some really good tunes as Jim said, and as Daniel said, Walton is the star (Higgins on right on the money, too). I think Mobley's pretty good here, and Lee too, though he's a bt tentative in places, especially on A Pilgrim's Funny Farm. I always cringe at his quote from "And the Angels Sing". It just seems out of place and out of mood, somehow.

RonF : Wasn't it the other way around? Evans wrote the tune (for his niece, I believe) and perhaps a year or two later Lees wrote the lyrics. That's my understanding, anyway.

Well, I took the quiz and got 10 right. I should have done better. I have the book and was browsing it last summer. But it's been years since I read it thoroughly. I do enjoy Eric's recordings with Booker Little.

I once met Joe after a fanstastic gig he played with a trio. We spoke for a few minutes and he signed a Cd booklet for me. He struck me as a very conscientious musician as well as a friendly and decent person. I'm sorry he is into defending what is really indefensible. Can he honestly believe the sound is state-of-the art on this CD? It's not even state-of the art "bootleg." Sorry, Joe, something went wrong here and you'd be better to admit it, and make sure the next project is up to snuff.

Finally got this the other day. The music is wonderful, as it often is with Lovano. But I truly hope the engineer, Kurt Lundvall, is never allowed near another Blue Note recording. He doesn't have much of a clue about recording jazz. Granted the thing sounds better on headphones than through speakers, but at first listen, you'd think Lewis Nash had forgotten to bring cymbals to the gig. In the '50's and '60's Blue Note would not release a date if something was substandard about it. Obviously, that has changed. Again, it's not the music, but the sound. It's not unlistenable but it's way below what we should expect. (I've heard bootlegs that are better than this). Anyone have any idea what would cause an "official" recording to screwed up so badly?

Usually, my Mosaic orders arrive here in Canada 7-10 days after ordering. Probably 8 or 9 years ago , one of my orders from Mosaic (I specifically remember the sets - the McLean and the Jones/Lewis) was very slow in arriving - 2, 3, 4 weeks passed and no delivery. I started to get nervous and called Mosaic. They said they would send replacements, which arrived in the usual time. FINALLY, at my door one day was a gray British Mail bag with the original order in it. It seems that rather than being sent to Halifax, Canada (where I was living at the time) it had been sent to Halifax, ENGLAND, where it no doubt sat in the back room of the post office for several weeks before someone realized it was in the wrong country (the address was very clear on the box, so this was obviously a post office screw-up). Mosaic had asked me to send the original box back to them, which I did immediately. Mosaic said they would reimburse me for postage, which they never did. That surprised me a bit, given Mosaic's reputation for customer service, but it was maybe $10, so I let it go. I was just so happy to finally have the great sets, which to this day are among the 5 Mosaic sets I would take to a desert island.

Bought my first jazz record at 17 - Buddy Rich Live at Ronnie Scott's and have listened to little else but jazz since then (nothing else seriously, at least). Listened to mainly modern big bands at first, since I played trombone in the high school jazz and stage band. There were good radio jazz shows in the Toronto area at that time, and I well remember my jaw hitting the floor when I first heard JJ Johnson and McCoy Tyner on the radio. Read Ross Russell's Bird Lives at age 18 and bought my first Parker/Gillespie record. Within a year or two I was really starting to explore small groups - Miles, Trane, 'Tyner, Brubeck, Rollins, the Blue Note label, etc. etc., helped along by a friend in college who was really into Miles and 'Trane. By age 20 I was exploring all kinds of jazz styles, though my preference then and still is today what I would call the modern mainstream, jazz that swings, is coherent, is not too far from the blues. Still love modern big bands, too.

For me, the big reason is time. I just don't have the time to keep tabs on more than one Board (plus the 2 e-mail lists I belong ,too). I checked out AAJ for a while, but haven't posted there for several months. Nothing really wrong with it, but I enjoy this Board, and since I was among the first to join after the BNBB folded, I feel a sense of commitment and attachment to this group. Also, I remember that when people left BNBB we were gladly welcomed here, but at AAJ we had to tip-toe in with cap in hand, almost apologizing for our presence. I remember some grumbling about the old BNBB members invading AAJ and changing the cozy atmospehere and balance of the place. So all in all I feel at home here.

John, here's the solo order: WL, that's really helpful. I've printed it out for insertion in the jewel case. Thanks alot.

Has anyone metioned Joe Temperley? Of course, he holds the baritone chair in the LCJO, but he has recorded on his own too. He's a great player. I have a Hep album he made with Jimmy Knepper, a Hep CD called "Concerto for Joe" (big band and quartet tracks), plus his duo Cd with Dave McKenna on Concord. I love his warm, "reedy" sound, almost a classical baritone sound I would imagine.

That is a great Cd, but what drives me nuts about it is that the baritone solo order is never identified. It always bugs me supremely when someone is soloing and I don't know who it is. I think I have figured out who solos when and there is fairly good stereo separation on the soloists, but since these guys all have a similar style, I'm not absolutely sure.

Yes, that's right Jim, - a great baritone player. Anyone who's not convinced try to find Maynard Ferguson MF Horn 3 on Columbia or especially MF Horn 4&5 Live at Jimmy's. I believe he lives now in uptate New York and still plays a mean baritone, appearing on the recent Mike Vax "On the Road" CD on Summit records. He solos on a couple of pieces including his own comp. "Sunrise Lady" (which he had previously recorded with Woody Herman). But the Maynard days were really his high point.

When you reach for a recording with a baritone saxophonist on it, what album, or artist, do you find yourself most commonly reaching for? Mulligan, Adams, Brignola, in that order • Are there any baritone saxophone-led recordings that you would personally consider a "hidden gem" in the vast sea of improvised recordings? Cecil Payne's Delmark recordings from the '90's.

Blue Note's classic era gets my vote, as the sounds of "Blue Train"come through my speakers.

I know it has been much maligned by the critics, but I really love the Ellington "Three Suites" Cd, which includes "The Nutcracker Suite," "Peer Gynt Suite" and "Suite Thursday." Other Favorites: "The Queen's Suite", "Afro-Eurasian Eclipse"

No question about it. Defintely Hank Mobley's Roll Call.

Wes: I agree 100% with your comments (and Soul Stream's) and have the same kind of questions as you have. I also get the same kind of uplift and inspiration from jazz as you do. I always try to play some jazz when I'm shaving and getting dressed in the morning. It definitely gets my day off to a better start, and is usually much more uplifting than listening to news and traffic reports and sports scores repeated endlessly. I just think that jazz always has and always will appeal to a small but significant minority (even in the swing era, the most popular big abnds were not necessarily the most jazz oriented). I don't know why some people "get" it and some don't. It doesn't seem to have much to do with musical ability, since I have very little yet I seem to somehow connect very well with jazz. I do think that to love jazz you have to be a bit of a lone wolf type person, not caring about being part of the "in" crowd or following what's popular. Even though all of us probably have a few jazz friends, you have to be the kind of person who doesn't mind standing alone and going against the grain. Ask yourself where would you rather be, as part of a huge stadium crowd cheering on your favorite football team, or home listening to your latest Mosaic purchase (or any other fine jazz recording for that matter). For me, even though I enjoy sports, it's defintely the latter. For me, that is peace and joy. For others, it would be akin to hell. Some people just seem to need the presence and approval of lots of people. Others are more content in their solitiude (and if you're a jazz fan, you'll likely have lots of that). For all that North America talks of encouraging individuality and independent thinking, I think our culture really encourages conformity to whatever is popular at the moment. Personally, I could care less about conforming to what is popular.

I haven't bought many of the more recent Criss Cross CD's, but have perhaps 20-25 in total. Two which come to mind that I really dig are Ralph Lalama's "Momentum" and Gary Smulyan's "Saxophone Mosaic", both roughly a decade old. As I think of others I'll post them. Here's another - Jimmy Knepper's "Dream Dancing".

Happy Birthday, Chris! Can't say I always (or even very often) agree with your politics, but musically speaking, you're OK!!!

Art Blakey - 1960 Messengers Mosaic Gerry Mulligan - Concert Band Mosaic Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple (RVG sounds great!) Earl Hines - The Father of Modern Jazz Piano - 5 LP's Duke Ellington - Jazz Party Cat Anderson - Americans Swinging in Paris Ike Quebec - Congo Lament Jim Widner Big Band - Flying High Buddy Rich - Wham! Sammy Nestico - This is the Moment Jim Snidero - Storm Rising Phil Nimmons - Vintage Air Checks '59-'64 Hank Mobley - Roll Call Lee Morgan - The Rajah David Schnitter - Invitation Wayne Shorter - JuJu