Bill Nelson

At 2:45 EST - TCM will show Ingmar Bergman's 'The Magician' (1958) with Max Von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin as touring magician and his assistant. It's set in 19th century small-town rural Sweden where the local officials are suspicious of the 'powers' of the magician. For a Bergman film of this era, it's refreshingly not focused on death and dying but -- dare I say -- comedic. And it starts in 30 minutes !!

If it's my estate sale, why would I care? There was a similar estate sale in Atlanta of a former promo rep for Mercury, mid-1960's era. The very minty LPs were a dollar each -- all in white, poly-lined plastic sleeves. "So where's the jackets?", I asked the widow. "Oh, I threw them out -- they took up too much space."

In 2010 a large (3,000-plus) CD collection of mostly jazz formerly owned by a Univ. of Georgia professor was brought to a local antique shop. The manager had little idea of what to do and priced them at $3 each or five for $10. I bought at least 50, along with Japanese box sets of Roland Kirk and Helen Merrill, plus a Mosaic of 'Mingus on Candid' CD box. (The Kirk and Mingus were $40 each.) Two weeks later, I returned and noticed about half of the collection was gone, so I asked the proprietor about the buyer. "Someone from France saw my post on Craig's List and bought 'em. He's got buyers in Eastern Europe and the Ukraine.". Looking to the East, Japan and South Korea continue to be huge markets for physical music product. As a percentage of music purchased, physical media is about 85% in Japan.

It defies every aspect of corporate responsibility that Sony Music has continued to bankroll Marsalis' productions since 1982.

Since I just mentioned it, please sample how the super-bad Henderson Quintet with Lenny White was burning-up the Lighthouse in late 1970:

The LP you're thinking of is 'In Pursuit of Blackness' (three tracks running 28:05, rec. May 12, 1971, issued on Milestone 9034). Don't know why Orrin Keepnews splintered this album by adding a track on each side from JH's previous Milestone live date, 'If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem' (MSP-9028). Almost as wacked as Dick Bock, but instead of slicing-up tapes Keepnews gives the customer 15:04 mins. of Joe's prior group with Woody Shaw, Tony Waters, and Ron McClure, prior to Yellin and Fuller.

When it comes to his concerts, an award for Honorary Asshole would seem to be more appropriate.

Punk writers often lard their copy with vacuous, empty accolades: "legendary", "award-winning", and "Grammy-nominated".

One proceeds with a 'rubbing process' while making a wish?

Bob Drasnin was largely involved in the arranging on Martin Denny's 1964 album 'Latin Village' (along with Bob Florence). Drasnin's talents make this Denny album a very tasty combination of exotica, jazz, and Latin rhythms -- one of Denny's best.

from Down Beat, May 20, 1976 -- Blue Mitchell on touring with John Mayall: "I've never seen them (Basie and Ellington) get the kind of receptions we used to get. When we were abroad in Australia or New Zealand, there would be receptions at the airports, and press conferences in rooms filled with cameras and floodlights. I must say John (Mayall) wasn't a selfish man, because when they started asking him too many questions he'd say, "Talk to some of my men; you've got Blue Mitchell here and Clifford Solomon, they're well-known musicians." on first meeting Mayall: "I'd never heard of John Mayall but he knew all about me. Anyway, he called and wanted me on a session he was doing with a blues singer (and) about a week later he called and asked if I'd like to go on the road with him. I must say his terms were very generous." The first concert was in San Diego: "I'd never seen so many people at one time. It was a different audience altogether, it was a young audience, we couldn't do anything wrong. There must have been 7,000 people out there and HE was the headliner." (from Down Beat, 5/20/76, pgs. 20, 44.)

"Cause when the drummer has to drop a 'big one' in the middle of a tune, the sheets allow them to stay clean without missing a beat." (C'mon, where's all the drummer jokers? This topic title was the perfect set-up!)

It's admirable when a retiree finds a meaningful hobby which fosters personal growth and self-renewal. And then there's this.

While I've got several London Phase 4's in my 'easy listening' stack, all of the vinyl records are "Made in England". (Even my dollar copy of 'Ted Heath & His Music'.) Not to 'gaslight' you but I can't recall having passed on 'any which might've said "Made in USA". I'll concede London/Decca had their fat Phase-4 gatefold jackets fabricated from 'Merican pulp n' cardboard. But while we're on the subject, let me list my fave gatefold Phase-4 albums: Edmundo Ros - 'The New Rhythms of the South' (the continent) (44054) Edmundo Ros - 'Arriba' (44080) Frank Chacksfield - 'The Great TV Themes' (44077) and my top favorite: Werner Muller - 'The Latin Splendor of' (44139) Of the slew of Bernard Herrmann London Phase-4's, the grand champion is 'The Fantasy Film World of BH' (SP-44207) released in 1974 in a single jacket. The National Philharmonic Orchestra's full version of 'Journey To the Center of the Earth' will rattle your molars, if not loosen your fillings.

Yes, the consistently high level performances defy the industrial sludge/crud depicted on the cover. I'm sure it was Not Quite Runner-up for 1970 Album Cover of the Year. Ten years later, when purchasing my sealed cut-out at Atlanta's Wuxtry, even the punkster clerk raised his eyebrows. That was when they had remainder lots of sealed original ESP-Disk LPs hanging around the jazz bins for $5 each.

Tiny Bradshaw Tiny Grimes Tiny Parham

Thirty years later, I'm gald I'm bald! ("At least you have your health.")

Yosemite Sam goes to a gun shop and gets fingerprinted along with a criminal background check -- and is denied service..

Damn Jim, you coulda played me for a sucker by laying bets on who sang the original of 'Betcha By Golly, Wow'. Ain't nobody gonna guess 'Connie Stevens'. And listen to those French horns 'ska-weee' each time the melody and verse lands on "wow". Still, I must say Miss Connie is no match for Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s lilting, graceful falsetto. For that matter, nobody was.

Exactly. For myself, it's a guilty pleasure just to gauge the 'differential' imposed by changing market conditions, record label expectations, and desired target audience. Also, when it comes to playing CDs in my car, grooving to lighter-grade albums suits the horizontal plane of the road ahead because they're less demanding (vertical). Among my auto-faves are 'Black Byrd', Idris M's 'Power of Soul', and most anything by the Crusaders.

NP: Farlow disc 6 is playing clean and clear (from U.S. Mosaic # 529).

With pleasure, I can confirm the 'SLB' soundtrack is "as anti-Hollywood as it can get". It's quality jazz all the way, dispensing with the obligatory 'love theme' vocal (usually on side 1, track 1 or 2). With George Coleman credited on alto sax, I can 'get' the similarity to Charles McPherson when there's strong bebop blowing. (Charles Davis is credited on tenor.) You may still be able to find this album cheaply. While visiting Charleston in tourist mode with my wife (serious record hunting eliminated), I was permitted entry into a 'fine quality' used book store. "Well looky here," I said upon noticing they also carried about 500 LPs on the side. The jazz bins were a bust, with mostly Pete Fountain and Earl Grant, which shifted my digging to 'Soundtracks'. There it was -- a sealed mono copy of 'Sweet Love Bitter' (cut-out with a jacket corner hole punch) -- with a $5 tag. Record Search Tip: in some antique consignment and used book venues without a resident wiseguy/record shark, the tendency is to price LPs 'high enough' in lieu of an eBay search. Also, there may still be a reliance on price guides by Jerry Osborne and Goldmine from years back "just so we don't make a mistake" -- a legacy bargain if they're pricing Blue Note albums. Example: in the last 'official' price guide for movie and TV soundtracks (Jerry Osborne, 1997), the top values for 'Sweet Love Bitter;' are $10-12 in mono and $12-15 in stereo. "At my store, I go with this here price guide." "Hey pops, no problem!"

Mandy's Maxim for Young Achievers: "My life has been one long descent into respectability."

This one's so cloying, I'll bastardize it as: 'Do You Smell What I Smell?'

Wild Bill Davison Wild Man Fischer Wild Magnolias