DMP

The CD version does let you hear the whole thing without a break, for what that's worth. (One of the benefits of the CD is that occasionally we get a full-length performance of material we knew from an LP that was interrupted by a fade, like "Creator Has A Master Plan.")

The Blakey box... Night in Tunisia, Witch Doctor, Roots & Herbs, The Big Beat, Like Someone In Love, Freedom Rider, Africaine, one of the 2 "live" Jazz Corner of the World sessions... What am I forgetting? Does Drums Around the World have any of this material? Anyway, all these have been out.

Not that I want to, but at this point some of the Mosaic sets (ground-breaking at the time of their release) are almost superfluous given that individual CD's and sets of the same material have been issued. Off the top of my head I'm thinking of the Paul Desmond, Grant Green, Art Blakey, the Chet Baker "Live," Lee Morgan, maybe the "Candid" Mingus... (And most of the Larry Young and Jackie McLean...) Anything else?

Right - I like it, but am sick of it. (I'm sure everyone has a couple of songs they've had enough of.) For some reason it lends itself to ponderous interpretations Not just on records - the Jones/Lewis band was here once as part of some kind of jazz extravaganza down at the local arena, the crowd seemed up for them (a few calls for "Jive Samba," which was on their just released album) and about 2 songs in they pretty much brough the show to a halt with "Child." (And the versions mentioned above are all fine - I was just listening to Eddie Harris the other day, that may be as nice as any.)

Nice tune, but when I see it on an album I automatically take a pass - it can stop a record dead in its tracks.

I picked up "Red Garland's Piano" at my local shop, under $9.00 Nice package. They use the original Prestige label on the CD, there are new notes, it sounds fine... But, as has been noted, mostly the series has the same titles that have been re-issued and updated plenty of times, maybe even more than the Blue Notes. Too bad, considering the wealth of material available to Concord

CJ Shearn - I've had all these titles so long (and mostly in single, domestically released versions), I guess I assume they're readily available, when in fact they probably have been discontinued for years. And it is a good batch - you won't go wrong with any of them. But, geeze, is this policy of deleting and re-releasing the same albums really the best for anyone?

A nice batch, except that they've all been out. I don't get it - while I enjoy Bob Blumenthal as much as the next person, can't EMI find something new to release from their vast holdings? Aren't there some titles on Pacific Jazz or Roulette that would be commercially viable as well as musically important?? Instead, under the guise of some marginal improvement in sound (and the public has pretty much spoken on THAT issue) we get the same stuff.

"Leaving West," which was cut from the CD issue, showed up on a "Best of.." Stanley Turrentine release, so the whole double album has been out (in a convoluted way).

The only framed photo I have is a picture I took outside of Birdland (with one of those kid's cameras - not 35mm) in the summer of 1963. The sandwich board marquee (is that the correct word?) lists the current attraction: John Coltrane Quartet and Terry Gibbs Quartet. That was the gig where Coltrane met his future wife.

One of the best things about living in Pittsburgh is that we can catch Ludwig frequently, often with Jimmy Ponder and Roger Humphries. Pretty strong group!!

Davis is indeed from Kansas City, but, after a stint in Europe, took a job here at the University of Pittsburgh, where's he's taught for 35 years. At the time he took the job, his musician friends thought he was crazy - but now jazz musicians at colleges are fairly common. A pioneer! Rarely plays here in town - you're more likely to catch him in London or Brazil! His annual concert here is a highlight - this year it was Payton, Tolliver, Spaulding, Moody, Coryell, Rosness. I'm lukewarm on his records, but think he's playing better than ever.

Is Bob Cooper from Pittsburgh? Billy May?

Maybe Lonehill can put out "Don Fagerquist Plays For Lovers" with some computer virus software. Cover art to follow.

But I was able to get one of my all-time favorites, Illinois Jacquet's "The Message," which I thought I'd never see. (Although, after I got it, I saw it listed the other day as a Japanese import, which is probably legit.) Conte Candoli's "Coast To Coast' wound up on a couple of the "Cadence" critics top 2005 reissues lists.

I think at that point Pacific Jazz (or World Pacific - they pretty much ran together by then) was trying anything - Bud Shank doing albums of Beatles and Rolling Stones covers, Joe Pass and voices doing Petula Clark - jazz was about to be down for the count about then, but Richard Bock went down swinging. Most of it has disappeared in the CD era, except for a stray track or two (although the Pass has surfaced). I had all the Bakers, they were pretty sad.

And the Davis/Griffin material from Minton's.

Whatever it means (and it looks like you all have cleared THAT up), it's pretty good - small group, straight-forward and funky, none of the elaborate trappings of "Liquid" or some of the CTI stuff. (Speaking of trappings and "Columbia" - where's Bobby Hutcherson's "Highway One?" More involved and "produced" than the Blue Notes, but very good. Columbia had a pretty good jazz roster in that period - Hubbard, Tyner, Hutcherson, Gordon...)

Aren't there a couple of McCoy Tyner's "Milestones" albums that haven't been reissued?

Jack McDuff's "To Seek A New Land." Although I could never figure out exactly what this album had to do with Blue Note....

On record, at least, I don't think Hubbard ever gave a bad performance, whatever the setting or period. Even his youthful appearance on the Wes Montgomery "Pacific Jazz" album is first-rate. (His sideman appearances are often just as strong as the sessions where he's the leader - is there a better solo than his on "Maiden Voyage?") His "Columbia" albums have been lost in the shuffle (I think it's the only label where his material hasn't resurfaced) (even "Soul Experiment" has been out a couple of times), but his playing on them is up to the usual standards.

Gene Ludwig!! And Hank Marr - good call there; his 60's group with Rusty Bryant and Wilbert Longmire was as good as any at the time.

I can remember being a little disappointed with Hubbard's performances in the late CTI period (the group with Junior Cook, George Cables and Lenny White) - he would begin every solo in the upper register and stay there, and his beautiful tone sometimes got lost. But not TOO disappointed... (Those were the days - routinely catching a group like that in a local club.) (Hubbard usually had an electric piano and bass when he came to town - once it was Michael Moore on bass, of all people. But I caught that edition once at the Vanguard - all acoustic, Alex Blake on bass. Did he figure the New York audience was more sophisticated?)

I think I also slightly prefer "High Energy" to "Blue" - the latter is typical (but well done) post-bop, while "Enery" is a slightly different bag. (It also includes a performance of "Camel Rise," which might be known today from the Bobby Hutcherson Blue Note Latin album, reissued a couple years ago.) I also enjoyed "Skagly" - a stripped-down session with long, funk tunes (if I remember correctly).

Has anyone picked up the new Verve reissues, out today? Got the Howard Roberts and Herb Ellis - both very good, reasonably priced, no frills