RogerF

Yes I'll contact Mark but thanks anyway. I love Skid's playing (TCB an all-time favourite) but am not keen on mono if there's more than one player.

A key member of the great Clarke Boland Big Band and one of its last surviving members. RIP Duško

He was a consummate professional and all-rounder who seemed to fit in with any music and always enhanced it by his presence. Although veering towards the mainstream he was, like his contemporary and colleague Kenny Wheeler always happy to participate in genres in which he was not usually a regular exponent. Ian Carr's Labyrinth is one example. However, he did make one record which is extraordinary in its breadth and compositional imagination. Zeitgeist, which was produced under the aegis of the great British jazz Svengali, Denis Preston is a true one-off but its interesting to note that there are seemingly no reviews of it, or at least none that I can dredge up via Google. Would love to read some. Plus it's surely time for a reissue of this album? RIP Tony

Just listened to my copy of the sampler Journeys In Modern Jazz: Britain, part of Decca's British Jazz Explosion which includes Storm Warning which is the only track on this double LP to be rendered in mono so either it was intended as a mono only recording or they couldn't locate the (stereo) tape. I think this happened with Tubbs' 100% Proof originally reissued in mono on CD (in the Redial series) but miraculously later released in stereo on the huge Tubbs Fontana box set.

I bought AWB's eponymous debut album with the big hit Pick Up The Pieces but went off them (as with Jamiroquai). Back with Dick Morrissey I have a feeling he was overshadowed by fellow tenorist Tubby Hayes who desevedly basked in the limelight for almost the entire 1960s. But Dick Morrissey was still nevertheless an important figure on the British jazz scene.

Inititally I wasn't an If fan and saw them as BS&T copyists but later warmed to them as their sound had a distinct edge and the songs were well-written and often very engaging and memorable. Terry Smith was a hugely underrated guitarist. I have all the If CD reissues (I think). Morrisey Mullen didn't do much for me but having seen Jim Mullen post-MM play live he is a phenomenal guitarist, his comping, using his thumb, not a plectrum, is faster than most guitarist can play single notes. Storm Warning is alway a disappointment for me, not for the music which is obviously great, but for the lack of stereo. Surely Mercury must have recorded it with two mics but then only released a mono album? If so it's overdue a proper stereo release as happened with the RCQ's Dusk Fire. Both the Morrissey and RCQ dated from 1966.

Yes, terrible news. RIP Mick

I've now started a separate thread on this in the Artists section including Mick's Go Fund Me page link. Thanks for posting this here first anyway Bresna, it is important.

I realise there's another thread about Mick elsewhere however I think this is probably the place to post this information. It's unfortunately true that jazz guitar legend and ex-Berklee tutor Mick Goodrick is ill with a particularly aggressive strain of Parkinson's which is rendering him increasingly reliant on aids which are beyond the scope of his medical insurance (he has revealed this information on his Go Fund Me page). I only learned about Mick's predicament from a posting on Instagram by Bill Frisell. It's terrible that artists such as Mick, so influential in jazz, have to resort to this mechanism for help, but sadly he is not alone in these matters (I can think of another legendary jazz guitarist who has solicited help in this way). Please consider donating something to Mick's Go Fund Me appeal which you can find here: Mick Goodrick Go Fund Me page

Ah, 5.1 yes, that’s interesting and yet a other technology too sophisticated for me unless I move to a bigger house - my stereo is primitive - thanks.

Apologies if this has been covered in another thread but as a relatively technophobic listener I am really mystified as to why there seems to be a tendency to include Blu Ray and even DVD audio discs in eg box sets such as various King Crimson (mainly) CD albums and I just noticed the forthcoming Zappa WakaWazoo box. I can only play Blu Ray and DVD on the gear I use to watch movies so it's not hi fi, per se. Why do they do this? Do people own separate Blu Ray/DVD audio equipment or are there integrated audio systems? I am genuinely perplexed and would love to bear some explanations.

Slide Hampton recorded one of my all time favourite albums: Slide Hampton & Vaclav Zahradnik Big Band : B&S. Released in 1971 it also features The Trio (Surman, Phillips, Martin)! RIP Slide and thank you for that.

Guilty as charged! However, the 12CD box is now actually 13CDs and will retail for £70. Having listened to all the CDs I can attest that this material, which has been painstakingly remastered by Eroc is really quite stunning. In addition to the "usual" Nucleus fare - and frankly there was nothing usual about Nucleus - there are some extremely rare, never before heard programmes such as Gordon Beck's suite The Dream with Norma Winstone and Nucleus. Then there's the hour long Radio 3 Music In Our Time broadcast in which varying permutations of Nucleus members play entirely improvised pieces. There's more of course, but another nice feature (also heard on the Barbara Thompson box) is the inclusion of announcements by some of the best comperes of the day, not least the late, great Peter Clayton whose witty intros added piquancy to the sets. The same can also be said for John Peel whose voice opens CD1 with some very amusing banter. Voices also heard include Brian Priestley, Digby Fairweather and Ian Carr himself (coincidentally all co-authors of the Rough Guide To Jazz). Whilst the intros aren't as crucial as the music they do add some perspective and sense of place and sometimes explain the pieces in detail which is a useful adjunct. By the way, the 13th CD is comprised of two sets, the tapes of which were produced at the very last minute and contain some truly fabulous stuff. If I could rate this box obectively (which I can't) I would wager, quite seriously, that it's going to be British jazz archival release of the year.

Nucleus’ seminal album Roots is reissued on vinyl this week (Oct 22) on the Be With Records label: https://www.bewithrecords.com/products/ian-carrs-nucleus-roots-lp

Mary Halvorson - great guitarist and great improviser http://www.maryhalvorson.com/bio/