Rob C

I know the Nessa service is legendary around these parts, but since this is my first experience, I've gotta commend it here--I ordered on Sunday, got the discs today, Wednesday. Can't beat it. Thanks, Chuck....

While I do like the Empire Box stuff, Berne is making the best music of his career now, I think--some of the most exciting jazz of this decade, IMO. Check out Science Friction, that's the one that made me a fan. But pretty much any disc that teams Berne with drummer Tom Rainey is great.

I wasn't that big a fan of The Bear Comes Home, honestly. And though it wasn't the only reason the book didn't click with me, the bear/human sex scenes were strangely gratuitous. I don't think it's prudishness on my part--I just thought those scenes didn't work.

Wha? How'd you know that???

I got mine yesterday, too. Happy with them so far! I had them delivered to my office, so the bus ride home was my first test. I was a bit stymied about what to do with the ten feet of cord, but I realized later that I just hadn't found the little plastic doohickey to wind the excess onto. That solved that. They sound good to me, but then, I'm comparing them to earbuds and other more portable phones. I'd expect pretty much any full-size cans to improve on those. So, I like 'em. The only downside is, I feel like a bit of a dork walking around with them on. But I guess it's better to feel good (from the music) than to look good.

This thread came at an opportune time for me, as my Sony Fontopias quit on me last week. I pulled the trigger on a pair of the Sennheiser HD 202s today. Hopefully they won't prove to be too cumbersome for the bus...!

I just joined eMusic, and so far I'm pretty pleased with the service. They have a pretty great selection for my tastes, and while I guess I missed out on the real salad days, I think their pricing structure is fair. Just today, I noticed a bunch of downloads that are labeled "eMusic ONLY". Most of the Tzadik stuff says that, for instance. What does that mean? I think these are all available on disc--maybe it means these are only downloadable from eMusic?

I like Mountain Passages quite a bit, though not nearly as much as I liked the music performed live by a somewhat different band. Tyshawn Sorey was on drums, and oh, mama, was he good. Can't remember the name of the sax player, but I was impressed by him as well.... With the caveat that I'm not generally that big a Douglas fan, I'd still put Mountain Passages at or near the top of what I've heard from him. It's pretty unique music, puts me in mind of chamber music mixed with the polyphony of early jazz like Jelly Roll Morton.

Lincoln Park/Lakeview are a bit further North, but not a bad El trip, and are very popular landing areas for new arrivals to the city! Wicker Park is where I live now and I love it here, too. Both areas have lots of restaurants, bars, records stores, etc. All the necessities of life. The Gold Coast and South Loop neighborhoods don't seem so much like neighborhoods to me--you just can't walk out your door to nearly as many cool things as in the other neighborhoods I mentioned. But your mileage may vary. In any case, just get a year lease, spend your first year exploring the city and then move where you like best!

Speaking of Miles Davis and stickers, I was amused by the hype on the new Essential Miles Davis release, augmented with a DVD containing "The greatest documentary ever made!"

Man, that sounds like a Dylan line!

I'd probably have to go with: In a Silent Way 2d Quintet 65-68 Plugged Nickel Jack Johnson Miles/Gil Seven Steps Bitches Brew I just got Seven Steps a couple of weeks ago and am enjoying it quite a bit more than I expected, so it may move up in the rankings. Jack Johnson is another one that I like a lot more than I thought I would--I was worried it would seem too repeptitive, but there's so much great music on there that the repetition doesn't bother me (and I guess the same can be said of the Plugged Nickel and Seven Steps boxes, for that matter). I don't have the Coltrane box but I do have most of the original records--it would probably fall somewhere in the middle, if I owned it. CANNOT WAIT for the Cellar Door box. Based on how much I love Live/Evil, it will probably come in somewhere near the top! Whatever the rankings, if I could never listen to any music other than these boxes again, I would still be a pretty happy man. Overall, this body of work is my favorite in the world.

Of the three similarly-constituted discs mentioned above, I only have Dutch Masters, but I love that one. Think I'll play it right now, in fact!

I have had a 40 GB Nomad for a couple of years now, and I have been pretty happy with it. I was all about the space, and didn't want to pay iPod prices. Anyway, the only issues I've had are that it occasionally locks up when it's attached to the USB, and I have to turn the computer off to get it to unlock, and that the buttons on the right side occasionally seem to get their wires crossed--sometimes I press the rocker switch and it pauses. Or I have to hit the menu switch a couple of times to get it to read. This is an annoyance and worries me a little that they might stop working correctly entirely, but it doesn't seem to be getting worse.... Other than that, I've been quite happy with it, and haven't had any jack problems, at least!

This is a pretty nice disc. I'd call it a "very good" rather than great, maybe, but definitely worth getting. I'm surprised no one is commenting on it, but maybe there's too much new to listen to this week with the RVGs. I'm a fan of Osby, I think he's a real standout in the modern mainstream of the music. His records always sound up-to-the-minute.

Quack, quack, quack!

Thanks for posting about this one--I'd never even heard of it, but I was near Jazz Record Mart last night and there it was--and I couldn't resist that lineup.

Ed Peterson is great!

I've seen Brown live a couple of times and I think he's pretty great. He's definitely a showman, which fits in with the marketing angles mentioned above--but his music is no joke. At least not when I've seen him. I did listen to some of his Hip to Bop disc at a store, though, and there was a little too much smoothed-out material for me, like he was making some concessions to try to get some radio play. Well, if it gets him on the map so he can make some real music on record, that's okay. He's a young guy. Time will tell.

I saw them on their One Beat tour and they were fantastic. I'm hoping to catch them on this tour as well.

Right on! I think they're the best rock band around right now. I didn't find the new one as immediately appealing as their previous "One Beat" (which is probably my favorite rock record of the decade) but it's grown on me immensely and I think "Let's Call It Love" might be my favorite S-K tune. I saw somebody on Amazon describe The Woods as "'Daydream Nation' meets 'Back in Black'". Yeah, that sounds about right!

I was thinking about finally pulling the trigger on this thing, but it looks like the Seven Steps box isn't listed on yourmusic anymore?!?!

Dang! I think the Shell Game is great, and Berne's other recent discs with similar lineups are all terrific: especially Science Friction and The Sublime And. For my money, Berne and Rainey are one of the great sax/drum partnerships. I guess my feelings are a little hurt. Have you heard Acoustic and Electric Hard Cell Live? It is fantastic. Only available through the Screwgun website, I believe. I haven't heard the other discs you mention, but will be listening to The Shell Game soon and will post my thoughts. Indeed--I bought it from the man himself at an Acoustic Hard Cell show a few weeks ago. Good stuff. It's taken a bit to grow on me, but I'm digging the recent Big Satan disc now quite a bit as well. At first I was a little disappointed, didn't like it as much as the first Big Satan or his other recent discs--but as I say, it's a grower. Still, Science Friction is my favorite of all his groups.

Dang! I think the Shell Game is great, and Berne's other recent discs with similar lineups are all terrific: especially Science Friction and The Sublime And. For my money, Berne and Rainey are one of the great sax/drum partnerships. I guess my feelings are a little hurt.

If I was going to take one AEC with me to the fabled desert island, I think (today, anyway) it would have to be Phase One. Great stuff.