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How does one determine what pressing an LP is? Are there marks on the inner groove of the LP itself? Just curious.

Visiting a couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed going to the Jazz Record Center. It's mostly LPs, but I found a bunch of interesting Fresh Sound CD reissues. Also, while high priced, the Tower on Broadway near Lincoln Center has an excellent selection.

I was in New York City and had the good fortune to go to Sweet Rhythm where the Vijay Iyer Quartet was playing, not being previously aware of his music. The music was quite powerful and immediately very impressive. I was able to see four sets over two nights and found this some of the freshest sounding music I've discovered in recent memory. I bought the new CD and it does play on a regular CD player.

Speaking of Wes, I was fortunate last week to be able to hear a group led by drummer Ray Appleton (featuring Gary Bartz, Larry Willis, and Peter Bernstein on guitar) at Jazz Standard, performing as Remembering Wes Montgomery. I sure enjoyed this geat sounding band, performing Wes's compositions and associated songs, and it also reminded me how much I like Wes. Mr. Appleton spoke of Mr. Montgomery playing him the full tapes from the Full House session (probably my favorite of his recordings), that they recorded the whole night. Has any of this been released beyond the original LP?

I have the Galaxy Box set and the Hollywood All Stars Box set, and both are unreservedly recommended. His 50s recordings are also great (my favorite being Meets the Rhythm Section) but ultimately I prefer the late period Art Pepper of the late 1970s and the 1980s.

151 Blue Note LPs

This sounds exciting. He's playing at the Village Vanguard in a couple of weeks and I'm expecting to be in New York City for several days during this engagement.

What I would recommend is simply to get the new two volume DVD set, American Folk Blues Festival, 1962-1966. It is great--with T Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Spann, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Earl Hooker, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf, Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, Lonnie Johnson, Willie Dixon, Misissippi Fred McDowell, etc--well filmed, and well recorded...

That critic is a moron. As far as I know, only Impressions, from the Jam Session, was released on Newport in New York 1972, and I've only seen it on LP. Kirk is awesome on that cut.

The Mis-Used Blues is one of the greatest blues saxophone solos I've ever heard. And I do mean BLUES!

I think my favorite Dolphy has to be his incredible playing on the Great Concert of Charles Mingus. His startling bass clarinet solo on Fables of Faubus, following one of Mingus' greatest recorded bass solos, is among my highlights in all music. As for Booker Little, I prefer his final two albums as a leader, Out Front (with Dolphy on Candid) and Victory and Sorrow (on Bethleham). These two both qualify as great.

His competition that night is a very interesting looking Charles Tolliver Big Band at Jazz Standard.

How does he sound today? He's playing at Birdland in a couple of weeks, and I expect to be in New York one night of his engagement. Should I go?

I sure enjoyed the time I saw Mal Waldron in a trio at the Village Vanguard, ten or so years ago. It was a hypnotic experience.

Here's a bonanza of McCoy Tyner on LP. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...1&category=1078

My LP copy has a letter from Mingus asking for his fans to send money.

Mingus recorded the concert for his own record label. The LP has all the annoucements accompanying the concert, but that was edited out on the Japanese CD reissue.

Dimensions (it's not on Milestone) is a wonderful McCoy Tyner recording from 1983 or 1984 featuring John Blake (and Gary Bartz). This was the first McCoy Tyner band I got to see live, on several occasions, and they were tremendous.

I have this on laserdisc, not LP or CD, but there's a Roy Eldridge Live at Montreux recording, from 1977, with Oscar Peterson, Bobby Durham and Nils Pederson, where Roy plays incredibly--one of his best recordings.

Just in case you missed it, the recently released Horace Silver live concert "Paris Blues" has some of the best Blue Mitchell (and Junior Cook) I've heard.

I like one of his late recordings, Inside Straight, a really nice live concert in a studio recording.

The Dizzy Gillespie and Machito recording is pretty close to masterpiece status, it may be Dizzy's last great recording, and he is in amazing form.

I have Commitment on Muse and Don't Look Back on Strata East, both on LP and both goods ones in my memory.

Dizzy Gillespie y Machito, Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods. That is a tremendous recording, from 1975 on Pablo.

I quite like Larry Coryell and have gotten to see him live on three occasions in different settings, all pretty memorable. Once, he played a solo concert at a small club in Arlington, Texas. A second time, I saw him at the Time Cafe, playing with a Mingus Big Band offshoot called Five Guitars Play Mingus. His solo on Better Get Hit in Your Soul was thrilling and had all the other guitarists looking on with admiration. A third time, at the Blue Note, in a double bill with Mark Whitfield. He was really fantastic this evening. If you prefer the more rock influenced side of his music, I would look for Cause and Effect, with Steve Smith and Tom Coster, from 1998, and Spaces Revisited, from 1997.