chris

Sorry, Chris, but pet peeve time: no, it's not out of line, but if my opinion is that such approaches are misguided, that' not out of line either. This sounds a lot like the "I have a right to say what I want, so you can't disagree with me" argument... Jazzmoose: I think you misunderstand me. I was SUPPORTING discussion of this issue, which it seemed a few were implicitly trying to squelch with a kind of Gumpish circular reasoning that "a label is as a label does"-- That may be the case, but what I am asking is: should a record label have a coherent aesthetic approach to the music it publishes or is it just business-- or is there some middle ground, and what is it? Further, I am asking what does Blue Note stand for-- it must have some reason for existence, and if only as a marketing branch, what product is it trying to market? I'm certainly not expecting agreement, but I think hand-wringing about what Blue Note *was* is a lot less interesting than discussing what it *is* and what it *should be* given today's economic realities.

It may be that Blue Note is no longer the label it was 20-30 years ago, but does this mean that a discussion about what aesthetic position it takes (and whether a label SHOULD try to represent a coherent aesthetic-- or is that the kiss of death in today's economy) so out of line? Blue Note may just be a marketing wing of Capitol, but what is it this wing is trying to market? What does it stand for if anything?

I've never heard that song, so you may be right. But I don't hear anything out of tune on her albums... she's quite good.

Shermy?

Sure, jazz expresses spiritual emotion-- many forms of art do for both artist and audience. As much as I love jazz, literature is the altar at which I worship most. Luckily I can be a polytheist I think art provokes an emotional response which is, for many, at the heart of spirtual experience.

Yet unlike Aimee, Norah can sing in tune. Why I oughta-- Aimee Mann sings in tune. I find her work very expressive and her lyrics quite fine. I actually enjoy her work a lot more than Norah's, but I file them in the same place in a collection.

There's something to that. I would put Norah Jones in the same category as artists like Aimee Mann... I'm glad to see her on Blue Note, just as I am glad to see name authors on a publisher's offerings, which I know subsidizes some of the mid-list and lower authors that I am more interested in...

Hey, what's WRONG with the Peanuts theme. I oughtta sock some of you in the mouth

I'd like to get my hands on the first three too!

I'm surprised the Charlie Parker set has hung around for so long-- given how popular all the other recorded scraps seem to be, I'd think people would be snapping that up, sound quality notwithstanding! I'll probably get the Mobley, then maybe the JJ-- which I only passed on before because I got the Fuller and needed less trombone in my Mosaic life for a while

Just scratch something in there with a ballpoint

And here I was just about to make a snide comment about pissing on people who knock on the wrong door. Still, if someone DID get directed here because they like Norah Jones, wouldn't it behoove more people to attempt to direct that fan towards some "good" jazz? It wouldn't hurt most of our favorites to get a few cross-over listeners, and it wouldn't be the first time it has happened. Case in point: my mother. I bought her the Norah Jones album when it first came out. I knew she would like it. She told me later that she was going to purchase some more jazz. I recommended Kind of Blue (of course). Since then she has-- on her own-- bought a few Miles discs, some Coltrane, and has some Monk and Gillespie on the way. Not bad for someone who otherwise would have been buying another Seals and Crofts greatest hits disc.

After hearing "Far Cry" I definitely need some more Booker Little. Presumably there isn't that much, as he was taken from us early. What a talent he was! What recordings should I be looking for?

Nope, not looking for an investment. That was just a shallow witticism. I tend to buy when things hit "running low" not for the money but because that is usually the one key factor that makes a set one I BETTER buy rather than one of the many I REALLY WANT to buy. But which one to get first?

A few more of those and buying Mosaics will be more fun than buying stocks. I sprang for the Mitchell just this weekend because it was going low. There are so many sets that look good that I always end up waiting to buy... I was thinking about the Mobley (hasn't it been out a while?) or the Eldridge, but some "bad press" in the BNBB (I think) dissuaded me a bit...

Is everything here covered on the two discs: "The Best Things in Life" and "It's Been So Long"?

Fair enough-- that is really the question I have in mind. I have no problem with MP3 for what they are-- however, the point of the bootleg traders is twofold. One is pure sound quality, in which I agree with you, but the other is a simple commitment to the most exact copy possible. Thus I only deal with and trade SHN or other lossless formats-- because as you say, when something is an audience taping and already of lowered quality, I don't want it further diluted. Also, with SHN that is of pure lineage, you know you are getting the best possible copy-- hundreds of poorly produced MP3s start floating around and it becomes impossible to locate the best, particularly when they get converted back to WAV, then re-ripped to MP3, etc... MP3 sourced files are the bane of trading, particularly to those who can hear the difference. Better just not to go there at all in my opinion. But I love MP3, I own a few portable players and rip a lot of my CDs to MP3, so it is clearly a good and useful format! Burning TAO is clearly a sin Incidentally, the test we did was using Razor Lame at 256k, but we did VBR, so not the best test even at that rate.

Is it April 1?? Wow. I found this bit from the Celtic Frost bio to be pretty funny: Six months would pass before a disillusioned Warrior was finally convinced to resurrect Celtic Frost by Swiss guitarist Oliver Amberg. After drafting bassist Curt Victor Bryant and bringing back drummer Stephen Priestly, the revamped unit entered Berlin's Sky Trak studios in the summer of 1988 with producer Tony Platt to begin sessions for the infamous Cold Lake album. Warrior's lack of interest in the project allowed Amberg and Platt's commercial tendencies to run wild. In what has since been viewed as one of the most misguided changes in artistic direction in heavy metal history, the duo subverted Frost's ferocious death metal roar into a radio-friendly form of thrash. If this wasn't bad enough, the group then signed their own death sentence by adopting a glam rock image, including teased hair, makeup, and colorful outfits to match. The repercussions were instantaneous and devastating. Both album and band were burned in effigy as utter sellouts, and what was supposed to be a triumphant world tour became a protracted agony for all involved.

I'm still eagerly waiting for my CD-- you lucky bastards... given my track record on the last test I could do just as well without using the CD at all!

I don't think the player is nearly as important as the headphones and-- if you really want good sound-- even an inexpensive little headphone amp....

I've done a test very similar to this once (but using 256k) and I didn't have any problem picking out the MP3 tracks with my stereo, headphone amp, and a relatively cheap pair of headphones. I'll be curious to see the results of this. At what point do YOU think the differences become noticeable?

"BTW, we can now see the downside of the Brett Favre freelancing" All I can say is that if I had to choose between the careers of Favre and Brady, I'd take Favre for sure. Brady has a long ways to go to even get in the same class as Brett Favre... the upside of "freelancing" is called Super Bowl wins, and many more have been won by powerful quarterbacks not afraid to play outside the box and capable of making the big plays that go beyond fundamentals than anyone else. And by a large margin... Brady's a fine player. Favre is one of a few immortals.

Yeah, I'm just yanking your chain now I flipped the channel and watched McNabb convert a 4th and 26 over the middle with no defenders within five yards of the receiver. No matter, no one will claim an "easy" win in that game. Neither of those teams will make it past Carolina... Green Bay would be tougher for them though.

I'm bored with West Coast Offense too, so I should welcome any change. On the other hand, were it not for the ridiculous tuck rule, Pats would be looking for their first in three years, so maybe the real problem lies elsewhere

While avoiding the Green Bay game, I saw an amazing documentary on public television "Rocks with Wings" which is about a young African American high school basketball star who comes to a navajo reservation to coach the high school girls basketball team-- this story of conflict, sports, culture, and transformation as he takes this team accustomed to losing to (Eventually) four straight state championships is great work. Made all the more poignant knowing that the coach, Jerry Richardson, went on a few years later to the Univ. of Central Florida and coached them to their first conference championships and NCAA tournament berth before getting killed by a drunk driver... Those who want to know what high school sports are REALLY all about (especially in rural settings), or who just like a good story, should check it out...