DrJ

That's a damn fine album, isn't it? It's really a shame it hasn't reached CD. Think I'll reach for my vinyl tonight...

Actually I didn't take your comments as non-constructive at all Chuck - sorry, I think in reading it back my post was not very clear. I was making blanket statements about multiple posts, without enough precision. Anyway, I just meant to say I am at least glad to see someone fired up about some good music. I would hate for him to stop contributing (and in the process, lose out on learning - heck, I know how much I have personally learned from such discussions over the past 7-8 years myself on the old BN boards and now here) because he felt some people were overly critical in their responses to his posts. I'm probably over-reacting, though. He seems to be taking it in the right spirit.

I'm dredging this one up because I saw a used copy today and ended up passing on it. Something about the date (1982) and Stanley Clarke's name on it - unfair I suppose but I'm not a huge fan, even though here he reportedly is on acoustic bass throughout. LarryCurleyMoe's post from last year didn't exactly alight the world. So is this a worthwhile date, or one that failed to live up to its potential?

Well...yes, I can't say I even remotely agree with him on comments like that, and I personally think they betray a lack of deeper insight about the music. But then again, that may just be how he hears it right now, honestly. The way I look at it, he'll either a) be mortified some day when he's listened more and looks back on what he said or b) always feel that way (too bad, definitely HIS loss!). Either way I have to admire him for not becoming a "dittohead" in response to the pasting he'll take around here!

I found a nice one today in browsing some used haunts... I quite like this one - actually even much better than the (excellent) trio recording with Frank Butler metnioned earlier, which I found used a couple months back. On this one both Hope and Foster are in really hard-driving, bop mode. Nice one.

I'm with Jim R. I think if you look at Cannonball Addict's posts it's clear he's young and enthusiastic, not trying to denigrate any players or anything. So OK, he got a little carried away, but I think most of the veterans here are able to take these types of threads and educate everyone else, putting a little more meat on the bones of an otherwise potentially bankrupt line of discussion. While I could also do without any more poll threads for a while, it seems to me the best reaction is either to add something deeper to the discussion or simply ignore them, not make a big deal about it.

That was my impression too, but figured I'd check. I appreciate you all helping me maintain my sanity. Thanks folks!

A couple more I thought about today: Jerome Richardson - MIDNIGHT OIL and ROAMIN' WITH RICHARDSON Don't miss 'em, especially fond of the latter:

Bobby Hutcherson - CIRRUS (BN)

I have a line on a mint used copy of this set for about $300. 6 LPs. Seems pretty steep to me but then it's a relatively rare one and much of the music is unlikely to see issue anytime soon in any other format. So maybe not unreasonable. What do people think - fair price or exhorbitant?

Interesting info. So Morton must be the primary driver behind their (very welcome) inclusion and championing of less "mainstream" artists.

Nice thoughts, Bev. I agree that it is Cook and Morton's lack of humilty that rankles me most - that's what I meant by saying they were getting more and more insufferable. Yet I do like the humor, and it's not so much that I want to agree with them all the time. I certainly understand the idea of trying to bring some of the sacred cows like Blue Note down a peg, and at times I've agreed with their comments about certain much-lauded sessions that I also find ludicrously overrated, but they try so hard to make a GLOBAL case for this agenda that they seem to have lost all objectivity. Also, it is quite clearly true that many of the more modern, European-led sessions they rave about would likely have never even been conceived had not there been the foundation of those "meat and potatoes" sessions from Blue Note and other "foundation" labels. I think one needs to view those recordings, then, with at least an attempt at projecting into the past to see how innovative and fresh and influential they once were and in many cases still are. Anyway, all that aside, it's mainly just that I find the internal inconsistencies in PENGUIN are becoming more and more frequent and the quality control for the book abysmal. For example, I found another error last night that had me seriously wondering whether they had even listened to the recording they were reviewing (they talked about someone not playing a particular instrument on the record when in fact they had, prominently, which would be pretty darn obvious if they HAD listened). Then there's the lack of an index, as discussed previously - totally ridiculous. Clearly having purchased this many volumes, I've been a committed reader, despite the faults of their approach. But I think I'm now getting fed up. Inexcusable to get WORSE at what one does as the years go by IMHO.

Hee hee hee...

First Pretenders album, and a couple of the follow-up singles and isolated tunes on the disappointing PRETENDERS II, were about as tough and gritty as rock has ever been. Not in the faux manner of most rock artists, but in the honest, unglamorous mode. Sure, nothin' else Chrissy Hynde has done since has ever come close (although then again that doesn't seem to be what she's after anymore), but all cred is due. Classic stuff.

Glad to hear there's a new disc in the works, just so happens I have BOOGALOO SISTERS on my stack of discs to revisit over the weekend.

Wow, THAT could be really interesting (assuming the "old" Stevie shows up) or really hideous (assuming the "I Just Called to Say I Love You" Stevie is on the gig)!

More input: The "diagnosis" the HMO wants is probably just a working diagnosis, not a "definitive" one. They have to have something (an ICD-9 code, which is a numbering system for medical diagnosis) to put down on the paperwork. This working diagnosis can just be descriptive/symptomatic, e.g. "facial numbness" or something, doesn't have to be a final, pathologic diagnosis. Re: cerebellar herniation, usually it would take a catastrophic event (e.g. large brain hemorrhage or tumor) to cause the cerebellum to herniate outside of the setting of a Chiari malformation. I think you can safely cross those things off your list. Re: the fall, as it relates to the Chiari/herniation, it is basically about as close to zero chance as it can be that they are related. For a fall to cause a brain herniation, it would have to have created a major bleed (hematoma) due to head trauma - she'd have to have really smacked her head and would have other physical signs/symptoms (you see brain herniation after head trauma in cases like high-speed car accidents where someone hits there head and is brought in unconscious, for example - not after a fall like this where there is no loss of consciousness etc). So those two really can't be related. It is possible she torqued some nerve roots in the neck with the fall as you indicated earlier, but that also seems quite unlikely to me. Re: the Chiari angle, I think (at least from this distance and with what I know) you and your primary doc are absolutely on the right track - that's exactly what I was getting at with the "watchful waiting" comment (it's one of a doctor's greatest tools, since with time and follow-up often all becomes clear - assuming of course the patient is not getting worse or hopefully improving some). There's even an old medical saw we are taught - "don't just do something, stand there" - to remind us not to be overly aggressive unless it's truly unavoidable or an emergent situation, lest we end up potentially doing harm to a patient by being hasty in trying to force a diagnosis/therapeutic plan. This is something it's hard for patients to understand sometimes, but having seen what can happen from people being too certain too soon, I will take a cautious doctor ANY day. So by all means, sounds like a good idea to get the neurosurgeon's opinion and then watch and wait. Your wife thankfully lacks a lot of the potential symptoms of full on "classic" Chiari, things may resolve, another cause may declare itself, etc. If not, you will be "plugged in" and can always cross the Chiari bridge if you get there. I'm SO glad you are starting to hone in on things!

It's usually readily diagnosed by MRI. My guess is the prior imaging studies simply didn't clearly support the diagnosis. A second opinion at this point from the proper sub-specialist MIGHT help, although one frustrating thing you're already experiencing is, the more doctors involved in cases like this, the more opinions you tend to get. Plus the treatment is major surgery, not to be taken lightly in itself and one reason to consider watchful waiting. For example, one of my medical resources puts it thusly: "The object of treatment is to stop progression and hopefully relieve symptoms. This may be accomplished by: 1) decompression of the neural structures, the brain stem and cerebellum and 2) re-establishment of spinal fluid circulation if it is affected. Decompression is achieved by removing the bony structures compressing the brain stem and cerebellum. Re-establishment of spinal fluid circulation may be established in a variety of ways. Treatment of the different disorders are diverse but generally involve a posterior decompression, a shunt, or a combination of both." It also says just before this that asymptomatic anatomic abnormalities should be LEFT ALONE. The point here is that this could just be a normal anatomic variant and the symptoms could have nothing to do with it - so you don't want to go through all the above and STILL find you have the symptoms you began with. I think GREAT caution in giving a firm diagnosis is definitely in order, particularly if there has been some improvement. Still, overall this sounds like the only relatively promising lead, so again may be worth pursuing another opinion. Again, my thoughts are with you guys.

Oh, PLEASE...

Well, YOU brought up the idea that it was somehow hard for younger people to get into this type of recording. Not only is there no good evidence I can see that this is actually the case, if that's not making an assumption about motivation for people's comments, then what the heck is? For my part, I have no such illusions - for all I know, teenagers might love this music while old fogeys like me don't. All I was saying was that for me, age, expectations, etc have nothing to do with it. Again, YOU made the point, I would never presume to try and explain why people do or do not warm to a recording, so - huh? Big Al - THANKS for the nice comments about my little one - he seems to dig traditional New Orleans style jazz most at this point, so maybe a nice regal Satchmo ballad for bedtime!

I still feel like people in various camps are shouting over different chasms rather than over the same one. I too revisited the recording due to this post, and... To reiterate: my position is that I do occasionally enjoy AM I BLUE? and don't think it's a total dud by any means, nor would I part with it. But after multiple listens (and with the context that I'm someone who has pretty darn catholic tastes, which include a dedicated place for sessions with this type of mood and vibe), AM I BLUE? remains a dissapointment. Age, expectations, and the alignment of the planets have nothing to do with it.

Well I'll try and post some examples when I get home this weekend, but basically there are quite a few segments that are taken pretty much verbatim from liner notes of CDs but there is no acknowledgement given that they're borrowing. To me, that's ethically questionable, tacitly taking credit for someone else's work. It's not rampant, not every entry or anything, but as I say, now that I have several thousand titles in my collection I am seeing more and more examples crop up. That troubles me. I remain unconvinced about their giving in-depth critiques, too. For a good example of what I'm talking about, compare the few instances where they DO provide a real in-depth and somewhat original spin - e.g. look at some of the entries for "major" figures like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis - with the other 99% of the book. To me, when I do that, it's clear they're often on autopilot. The other thing that is irking me more and more about Cook and Morton is that they honestly seem bent on docking every Blue Note session (and many other "glory days" American label sessions as well) at least 1/2 to 1 star simply because they have the agenda that many of their recordings were "overrated." And by the same token, they are about as Euro-Centric as one could hope to be, seemingly adding stars just on principle because the artist is NOT from the U.S. I find this ironic given that most people point accusing fingers in the opposite direction, claiming this type of chauvinism is a U.S. thing - not so. While I'm not going to argue the point, to me it's simply assinine to do stuff like give a recording like LEAPIN' AND LOPIN' less than 4 stars (and make snide comments in passing about how the band don't seem to realize the "rhythmic subtlety of "Voodoo" - huh? - and about Clark's inability to maintain prolonged interest in solos - WTF??!?) when they give 4 stars to some of the mediocre recordings they do that feature UK or European artists (a good example is the ECM date with Surman and Abercrombie, I forget the name because I forget the music - bland as can be, I bought it on their rec). I like Surman in the right setting but that one is simply a snoozer. Yeah, I know they're totally different gigs and such, and it boils down to personal taste, but come on, I've yet to meet a jazz fan who DOESN'T love the Sonny Clark date...it's pretty much a universally-recognized classic. Based on a quick perusal of the new edition of the Penguin Guide, which I just got, I couldn't find a single "new" BN reissue that has been added since their last volume that was given more than 3 stars, which includes dates by Larry Young, Andrew Hill (PASSING SHIPS gets 3 stars...everything recent by Dave Holland gets 3.5-4...hmmmmmm) and Rivers' FUCHSIA SWING SONG for christssake! That's just petty and perverse. I should add that I have been making a conscious effort over the last few years to explore jazz from other places in the world and so it's not a vendetta against "non-US" jazz that is motivating my comments. Rather, I think Cook and Morton exhibit a clear-cut bias in the other direction. Another quibble - their policy about supposedly "excluding" OOP or limited edition recordings is getting more and more fuzzy with each edition. I noted for example that for an artist they really like - Wadada Leo Smith and Paul Motian are good examples - they have continued to include listings for ECM dates that have yet to be reissued on CD, are still LP (not reissue, long OOP) only! Yet they exclude a slew of Conns that are still readily available. Oh-kayyy..... Finally - editing errors GALORE have always been a problem, but never more so than with the new version. I only spent 15 minutes reading last night and found at least 4 instances where a review for an album remained in the text (often incongruously beginning in the midst of discussing another album!) while the album and personnel listing itself has now been deleted...pretty much inexcusable. Proofread much? Basically, I am finding Cook and Morton more and more insufferable and arbitrary and sloppy, less and less broadminded and insightful. I think this is going to be my last edition, which is saying something since I've bought all of 'em up to this point.

Boy I have DEFINITELY taken OJCs for granted, given that so many other reissue series have gone in/out of print they have tended to be lowest priority. That will now be changing! A recommendation from me: REFLECTIONS, Steve Lacy. Some of the finest Monk interpretations and best soprano sax playing you're liable to hear.

Lon mentioned the Water booklets being great, and I'll second that. Not just the notes themselves, but they tend to be printed on heavier, glossy paper stock that is really nice to read and handle.

Sorry I offended you with my suggestion, etherbored. In your tally you must be including expensive imports in your "three issues" comment. There's exactly ONE version of this on the market in the US, the only other American release I'm aware of on CD, as part of the Mosaic box, is LONG gone. While in the past I bought up some Japanese imports (those not available in the US) I've gradually been trading them in as stuff becomes available in comparable remastering technology here. In fact, I stopped buying Japanese imports over a year ago, as my A/B tests upon getting American equivalents using similar technology (24 bit etc) have almost all revealed either that the available American issue sounds better or it's a coin toss, and the American issues are way cheaper. I think the frenzy over the supposed across the board superiority of Japanese CD issues is one of the biggest pieces of hype in collectors' circles. With that in mind: the current TALKIN' ABOUT in the US is a Ron McMaster job. I don't much like his work and greatly prefer the sound of RVGs. Plus TALKIN' ABOUT is a stone classic album, a summit conference among three masters at the peak of their game. Thus the request. BTW, the RVG series is not by any stretch a line to issue only stuff that isn't readily in print in the U.S. - you must want the Connoisseur series thread, down two doors to the left. Many of the RVGs have been of material that was already readily available in the US in inferior remastering. Anyway, I'll try and get your approval ahead of time before I make any future suggestions, hadn't known it was required.