Bill Nelson

Like you, I've been considering ordering a P2 online, with no prior opportunity to examine it. Here's my naive question: Is the P2 automatic -- will the tone arm return to its post upon reaching the record's trail-out grooves? Thank you.

The JH 'Blue Note Years' box is well-chosen. It takes me nearly everywhere Joe went with other BN artists, incl. his own tracks. Great for when I'm cooking or painting and my hands are too goopy for vinyl.

On 'Lighthouse': I've gone from the double LP to the 3-CD set and, fully pleased, will apply the brakes.

RE: cut-out bins at lower-end stores (Woolworth's, etc.) -- my success increased by knowing which day of the week the rack jobber came to re-fill. I'd run over after school every Wednesday and pick-up mono Verves for 57cents (with punch holes on the lower left cover front). The only Blue Note among my Woolworth grabs was Sam Rivers' 'A New Conception' and I had no idea who he was. (Yes, I've still got it.)

About TCM's programming: they book certain popular movies week after week, perhaps to match the movie titles pasted on their Wine Club bottles. And 'Noir Alley' host Eddie Muller ran 'Gilda' two shows ago. In this watered-down trend, 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' might be next.

George T. Simon often waxed on with elite phrases like this.

Given the surge in collector demand for this Prado classic, the heirs to the McKnight estate may be contacting you shortly.

The 'new normal' might be for all customers to drive to Secaucus' USPS "for curbside pick-up".

As for the jazz audience in Athens, GA, it's a case of perpetual quarantine.

The prospect of these '70 leftovers fills me with inertia.

There's a young woman from Sweden who weighs in on this subject:

Mostly off, but It depends on a couple factors: OFF: If LP is purchased exclusively for my enjoyment and inclusion in permanent collection ON: when LP is purchased for potential resale In either case, if I see the jacket warping, the shrink will always be removed. BTW, in the 50's, new LPs came in loose poly with 1/4-inch extra margin, not the tight shrink-wrap of the 60's..

A case of premature ejectulation -- and during a very high rate of speed.

In 1975, when my brother was in music at North Texas, he told me, "There's this keyboardist with the 1 o'clock band who writes the catchiest tunes -- they just stay in my head all day." He added, "I've gone to this pizza joint at night and seen Lyle writing charts in the middle of the racket from video games and chatter." BTW, Pete was there from '73-76 and was 1st horn with the NT Symphony under Anshel Brusilow. He got first call when the 1 0'clock needed a french horn.

RE: "Number of LPs pressed", the financial backing of Blue Note/Universal and distribution via Universal ensures ready access. The list price of $34.99 for all Tone Poets and the absence of 'limited editions' keeps the inventory steady. By comparison, Music Matters is a privately held company with limited edition releases available only by mail order*. As the available quantity of a title declines, MM increases the price. Once a specific title from MM is sold out, that's it. ("Sorry, Charlie.) *an exception: Waterloo in Austin, TX has been granted direct sales by MM, and perhaps others

No 'expertise' required. Just visit the Hoffman forum and peruse the hundreds of comments from Tone Poet customers. This past March when the first Tone Poets were released, keyboard flaws were easily heard on Andrew Hill's 'Black Fire', setting off a flurry of angry messages followed by returned LPs. The complaints about this and other TP releases are directed toward specific keyboard moments which customers have described as "warble", "wobble", or "pitch stability". Even more maddening, until the Tone Poets, these brief flaws had never been dramatically revealed in previous same Blue Notes on vinyl or CD -- as recently as Liberty, United Artists, Blue Note 75th vinyl, or CD issues be they early McMasters or Connoisseur series.

The state of the art in 1966 when it comes to white blues bands. For those wary of various artist albums, there's not a clinker anywhere on this.

Both of Emil Richards albums on Uni were released in 1967. Uni had just been formed by MCA for rock and soul releases that had more 'edge' than its staid Decca label. Richards' 'New Time Element' was the third album released on Uni and 'New Sound Element - Stones' was the eighth. I'll briefly describe each: 'New Time Element' is more traditional than its follow-up, venturing out with unusual time signatures on standards, movie themes, and hits of the day. It has Richards on vibes and all percussion, David MacKay - piano and organ, John Morell - guitar, Chuck Domanico - bass, and Chino Valdes on bongos nd congas. 'New Sound Element - Stones' goes much further 'outside' into a trippy world of synthesizers and oscillators which produce frequent 'effects' during all 12 compositions by Richards. Or as Johnny Carson would say, "That's some wild, wild stuff." As such, it's the more sought-after of the two by current collectors. Richards on synthesizer and all mallet instruments, Paul Beaver on Moog synthesizer and clavinet, David MacKay - piano, Bill Plummer - bass, Mike Craden - percussion, and Joe Porcaro - drums. Beat heads probably also have Richards' 'Journey to Bliss' (1969) and Bill Plummer's 'Cosmic Brotherhood (1968), both on Impulse. (You can see the progression from these 1967 Uni albums.)

Let it stand as is. No need for changes. I sent it to a professional journalist buddy who responded, "Brilliant!" For those having difficulty with the non-sequitur crepes rant, would you expect sequentially rational thinking from a madman?

The Eagles and crepe-themed captions matched the video superbly, esp. when you riffed from the sounds of the German words. Given that the video sequences and audio dialog are beyond alteration, you went nicely with the hand as dealt.

As HutchFan and Dan Gould noted above, the ordering of RSD items by each store varies, as does the certainty of shipment. (These are limited edition goodies, after all.) At 8:45 this morning (they opened at 8), I got the last copy of Tamba 4. (It could well be the only one they ordered -- I had to wade through vast duplicates of meat-and-potato rock items.)

Picked up 'California Soul' today and it's a sublime successor to 'Samba Blim'. It was $29 at my local indie Record Store Day. Mastering is by Kevin Gray at Cohearant and the vinyl is a solid black 180-gram. The jacket comes with a very informative insert sheet with details of finding the original tapes (as posted above) and why it never saw release until today-- 50 years later.

Only for instances of job interviews and airline flights, otherwise never in 66 years. I'm heavily right-hemispheric. Good topic, BTW.

In the original edition from 1988, Keepnews held his cards close and refrained from naming names. Since he still had one foot in the biz, Keepnews was careful not to disparage anyone who might hire him for future projects and deals. The book is basically a reprise of Keepnews' liner notes rather than an insider's tell-all of the record industry.

The DownBeat article of 4/12/73 cited above, 'Duke Pearson's Back In Town', is confined to the re-emergence of his big band on Sundays at the Half Note in December 1972. Blue Note records are mentioned just once in reference to Pearson's previous big band LPs for the label. The only hint of future activity is that his Sunday night band might, once established, complement the Jones-Lewis band on Mondays at the Vanguard.