Kevin Bresnahan

I loved my Pioneer DV-45A player. I got two years of great music out of it. I only traded it in because I got a great deal on a Denon DV-2900 player that has fantastic video to go with the fantastic audio. If I were "stuck" with that old Pioneer unit, particualrly if I wasn't using it for video, I imgine I would still be very happy. Kevin

"all superior to other digital versions"? I didn't know you had an SACD player? SACD is a digital version. If you don't have an SACD player, you really aren't able to say that every DCC gold is better than every digital version, particularly if you've never heard all those other versions. Sure, Steve's gold CDs are way up there in the audio ranking. I have a lot of them. I also have some incredible sounding XRCDs, JRVGs, AP gold CDs, DVD-Audio discs and SACDs. Steve doesn't have the exclusive ability to make a nice-sounding audio playback. And that's not even getting into the analog vs. digital stuff! BTW, Steve did an incredible job on the Time Sonny Clark SACD. I wish AF would have kept up with the SACD hybrids. Steve remastering talent combined with DSD playback make for some awesome sounding playback. Speaking of comparing multiple digital versions of a session, I am planning to have fun with John Coltrane's "Blue Train" one of these weekends. Maybe when my buddy Rob comes up for a visit. I just picked up the Mobile Fidelity gold CD. Now, I have 6 digital versions of this title! Should make for a fun shoot out. Wait... maybe I should order the HDAD first? Kevin

Interesting that the MoFi redbook layer comes up short. Did the MoFi remastering engineer add reverb like the AP guys did? I only have the MoFi SACD of Sonny Rollins's "Plus 4". I think the SACD layer sounds very nice which is strange considering Steve Hoffman has said that the master tapes for this session are in rough shape. When I pick up these MoFi discs before they go oop, I'll be able to compare with the DCC gold CDs. I hope the SACD layer is better than the redbook. It would be a first if it's not the case. To answer the off topic statement about AP's SACDs... well, we've been over this before, but I just can't agree that the AP SACDs sound inferior to Steve's DCC gold CDs. That hasn't been true in any of the ones I've compared head-to-head. Since we hang out on Steve Hoffman's board, we've been told that AP added some reverb to their SACDs. I didn't even realize it was there until Steve pointed it out. This added bit of reverb was a strange choice by AP and I suppose some may find it detracts from their enjoyment, but on the whole, these AP SACDs sound phenomenal to my ears. You can say you prefer the same material without that reverb but to imply that this reverb makes it sonically inferior doesn't hold up... at least in my system. I think these SACDs are the definitve versions, particularly Cannonball Adderley's "You Know What I Mean" as well as the two Bill Evans Village Vanguard dates. However, I will admit that I have not listened to the redbook layer on any of these discs. Why would I? I have a great SACD player. On top of that, there's the fact that Steve's board seems to have created a huge demand for these opp DCC gold CDs. They are fetching big bucks. I think most people here would be better off finding the "next best" version or else they'll be facing the insanity on eBay like the rest of us loonies. Also Claude, I thought you had said that you got rid of your SACD player? Is that true? If not, I'm glad to hear that you can still listen to the high resolution layer of your SACDs. I have given up on trying to convert anyone over to this format these days, especially since Sony seems to have killed it off, but I do appreciate having some people on the Internet forums that can talk about these discs. Kevin

Nope. yourmusic.com has the picture for the MoFi of "Steamin'" but they ship the regular K2 CD. FWIW, I generally prefer Steve Hoffman's DCC remastering jobs as well... well, at when comparing redbook CD. However, I have yet to hear a regular CD that's sounded "better" than an SACD version of the same title. There have been several discs where there was little difference between the two, but never have I said, "That CD is better than the SACD". There's also the fact that the DCC gold CDs have been oop for many years and that there is a bit of "cult market" that has driven the prices very high. In my opinion, get the MoFi now before it goes oop and you'll have the best currently-available version at a reasonable price. If you have an SACD player, you'll probably have the best version to date. Kevin

The "new" Mobile Fidelity, who restarted the lable about two years ago with a batch of Jazz titles, is about to start deleting a few of those titles as their license runs out. The first couple of batches were SACD/CD hybrids. The titles going oop on November 1, 2005 are: Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul Ultradisc UHR™ SACD Miles Davis - Steamin' Ultradisc UHR™ SACD John Coltrane - Soultrane Ultradisc UHR™ SACD Get 'em while you can. I know I will be. Kevin

Can do. Kevin

Over on Steve Hoffman's forum, there is talk that Red Trumpet may have filed for bankruptcy. The only reason I bring this up over here is in case any of you have an order in with them. A few people have reported that Red Trumpet charged their credit card prior to shipping the item... something they have never done in the past. Also, they are no longer answering the phone or E-mail. If you have an item on order with them and they charged your credit card but have not shipped, I would cancel that order ASAP. If it's true that they filed bankruptcy, the courts may have your money soon. However, I don't know if I would cancel a pre-order that hasn't been charged yet. Who knows, maybe it was only chapter 11? Kevin EDIT: This is a touchy situation over on Hoffman's forums as a few people have said that they have received stuff within the last three weeks from Red Trumpet. I am not advocating cancelling your order, I am just saying that if I had an order with them, I would cancel it. You are free to do as you feel is right. If I had been doing a lot of business with them and was assured that things would work out, I might have a different opinion.

Does Andrew have something more going on than his past problem with arthritis (in his hands, I believe)? Kevin

Up with some price reductions! I was hoping someone needed that Jimmy Smith CC CD for those unissued tracks. Kevin

Exactly! The original show used the music to get a laugh. From what I've read (but not seen), the music they've substituted did not fit the scene at all. Of course, the people doing these substitutions are banking on John Q. Public being unable to remember exactly what music was playing during these scenes.

One of my favorite television shows when I was a young man was "WKRP In Cincinati". Almost every show from that time has made the transition to DVD. Not "WKRP". It likely never will. In case you don't remember, it was a show about a radio station and nearly every episode had snippets of classic rock tunes. The owners can't get clearance for any of it. In fact, I hear that they have had to substitute different music for re-runs on Nick At Night, many times ruining the scene. Kevin

Price reductions! Added some notes... Shipping for US/Canadian buyers is $2.00 for the first CD and $1.00 each additional CD. International shipping is extra and depends on the destination. Payment is by PayPal (preferred) or money order. My PayPal account does accept credit cards. Blue Note Connoisseur CDs do not include obi strip. NOTE: All CDs are used and show signs of being played. Barely-visible-under-bright-light scratches may be on some of the discs and I just can’t see them. Cases and artwork are in excellent condition unless noted. $16 each Fred Jackson – Hootin’ ‘N Tootin’ (Blue Note Connoisseur) Note: This version has 7 tracks that were never issued before *On hold* Freddie Redd – Shades of Redd (Blue Note Connoisseur) *On hold* “Baby Face” Willette – Face To Face (Blue Note Connoisseur) $12 each Horace Parlan – On the Spur of the Moment (Blue Note Connoisseur) *On hold* Jimmy Smith – House Party (Blue Note Collector’s Choice – white/blue label/black CD tray) Note: This version has "Cherokee" (20:18) & "What Is This Thing Called Love" (15:12) that have not been included in the two RVG reissues. *On hold* Please pm me. Multiple requests will be decided by PM time. Kevin

Why? It predates the copy protection scheme in question. It's the responsibility of the scheme to work around iTunes, not the other way around. I blame iTunes because I ran several other applications that use the CD drive and they all recognized that a CD with music was in the drive. iTunes clearly was designed to recognize a copy protected CD by disallowing the user from forcing it to "see" the hidden audio tracks. The technique of "hiding" the audio is not new and predates iTunes by years. iTunes knew of this and put in code to prevent their software from getting around the copy protection. I wonder if iTunes's next revision will prevent importing mp3s not created by iTunes? That would show their thinking for sure. Kevin

I got good news and bad news. The good news is that I was able to get "Manhattan Symphonie" into iTunes. The bad news is I had to use Musicmatch to rip the mp3s and import them into iTunes. iTunes simply refused to "see" the CD. Nothing I could do would make it work. BTW, I don't blame the copy protection on the CD. I blame iTunes. I don't like iTunes. It's just a bloated file manager program with a link to their store. Apple should have just made the iPod Plug & Play. I mean, really, it's an mp3 player, no more, no less.

Has this been out under another title? It looks like "Tenors Head On" but with Art Pepper? Kevin

Chauffeur Bresnahan reporting in. We visited Jack and then walked around Harvard Square a bit. Indian at the Bombay Cafe (the vindaloo was nice) and then off to the club. Killing three hours in there was a bit too much and well, I'm home now so obviously I won't be there. I did help lug their gear into the club, though. Those cymbles are heavy! I'm with Jack. 11:30 is just too late for me. I'll be seeing the inside of my eyelids by then. I think jazzshrink will be there. Good luck guys. Kevin

Holding down the shift key merely prevents the copy protection application from installing and running. What you do with that "CD-Rom" in your PC after is up to you. You can play it, rip it or open iTunes and import it. It's just a CD-ROM. If you don't hold down the shift key for each and every one of these discs when you insert it into your PC and this software ever gets installed once, from then on your machine will recognize the copy protection and lock it out. Stopping this copy protection software the first time and every time, is key. I have used both Exact Audio Copy as well as EZ CD Creator to make copies of these copy protected CDs and the resulting disc does not have any software on it, just audio. In fact, when using EZ CD Creator and selecting File>New CD Project>Music CD you cannot burn anything but music files. Exact Audio Copy sees the data but doesn't list it as "extractable" either. Kevin EDIT: My daughter has iTunes running on her PC. I will attempt to load "Manhattan Symphonie" into it tomorrow.

In the guy's "defense" (how do you defend insanity?), he does say that he knows it's crazy but that's the way he is. At least he recognizes he has a problem. He's made quite a few of these anal-retentive requests lately. He says he's trying to fill some early pressing holes. BTW, he is not alone on the SH forum with this desire for first pressings. First pressings are very much in demand over there. He's preaching to the choir. This guy reminds me of the time I had a rare CD up for sale on eBay. I got an inquiry from someone asking me if the jewel case had "ribs" or bumps holding the booklet in place. He said he wouldn't buy it if it had "bumps" because the bumps always put little indentations in the booklet. I told him that this case had "ribs". I was sooooo glad that guy didn't bid on that CD! Kevin

Me and bock beer do not agree... too much sugar and/or alcohol. I get the kind of hangover where you think you're better off without a head. A local store got in Hofbrau House's Oktoberfest bier. How is it? Their "regular" beer (a Helles?) never impressed me. Seemed like it was brewed for the tourists. Kevin

The two or three times I've seen Cyro Baptista, he was incredible. He seems willing to tailor his choice of instrumentation (and he has a lot of instrumentation) to the music. I'd recommend him just based on the time I saw him with James Carter. Wow, was he something else! Kevin

Harold, sad to say, but Congress recently passed a law benefitting cell phone manufacturers, disguised as an anti-terrorism law, that would likely prohibit you from starting service with this old phone. Effective 7/01/05, all newly activated phones must transmit a GPS locator signal. Most old phones do not. You might get lucky and have an old phone with this but it is unlikely. Just last month, I took my old Motorola V70i, a pretty decent phone when I bought it two years ago, and tried to get it activated for my daughter. Verizon wouldn't do it. The only thing old phones like this are good for now is 911 calls. Charge it up and put it in your glovebox. In an emergency, it will connect you with 911. There is a law that a 911 call from any phone, registered or not, must go through. Other than this use, they're really only landfill. Kevin

But your discs have the most evil stickers on the right side of the jewel cases, just a 2 cm long and 5 mm wide strip... never one succeeds to get those off without any glue being left on the case! And on this photo you can see the other Italian variety that's even more evil than the small ones: ← Those come off with the "un-hinging" trick as well, you just have to un-hinge both the top & bottm to flip the case open. With the case un-hinged into two pieces, you're removing the case from the sticker, not the sticker from the case. The thing about these shiny stickers from Italy is that the sticker does not make a good residue remover (as I mention above) because they tend to leave the silver stuff behind. Kevin

First off, my buddy Rob is the person who taught me the trick on how to get these stickers off easily. I may have perfected it in my own way, but he is the one who showed me how to do it. I'm sure he's glad ro read that so many of us have benefitted from his trick. Sticker residue is a problem that I solved all on my own. I discovered that the gummy sticker doesn't like to leave it's gummy residue behind. Most stickers themselves make great gummy residue removers. I simply push the sticker onto the residue (make sure it a part of the sticker with sticky stuff still on it) and rapidly yank it off. Do this up & down on the same sticky area and it should start coming up. If you can't use the sticker, scotch tape can work but not often. Later, Kevin

I thought we talked about this before: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...wtopic=9763&hl= I just re-read that other thread and I still laugh at that John Valby autograph! What a riot that guy is. Crude, rude & obnoxious... but funny as hell. Kevin

I only started asking for autographs in the mid-90's, sometime after I got this incredible Francis Wolff calendar. I looked at those B&W photos and said to myself, "You know, this picture would look really nice if I got it signed". So it began. I've gotten a lot of signatures by now and one of the things I've realized is that a vast majority of the artists are flattered that I think enough of them to get their signature. I have gotten many happy smiles, particularly when I pull an old photo or LP. They enjoy signing my CDs and LPs and I am happy to talk with them for a bit, usually thanking them for the show. I bet there have only been two artists who wanted nothing to do with signing stuff and I wonder if they just had a bad night.