Legacy reissues July 26

[Quincy]

Just a note for those who shop for discs in person. Columbia/Legacy and Epic/Legacy (Sony BMG mouthful) discs that are copy protected say so.

Look for the UPC symbol on the back. Growing out of the UPC symbol will be a box which may or may not have a white background. The writing in the box will run parallel with the writing on the spine.

It will say "Compatible With" written upside down parallel with the UPC symbol (the rest is written parallel to the spine):

Playback CD/DVD/PC/Mac. PC: Windows 98SE/ME/2000SP4/XP, Pentium II, IE 5.0, DirectX9.0, 128 MB RAM. Mac:OK

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Ripping: PC: Windows Media Player 9.0. Mac: OK

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Portable Devices: Secure Windows Media, Sony Walkman digital music players

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Limited copies

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The Ahmad Jamal and Woody Shaw releases do not have the box; Silver, Gordon, and Blakey do. (Not sure about the Brookmeyer or Getz.)

Maybe the protection scheme is to sell Sony Walkmans!

So anyway, if you are shopping in person, look for a box near the UPC symbol. No box, perhaps no copy protection.

Edited August 24, 2005 by Quincy

[Free For All]

I've been enjoying the Woody Shaw, no doubt about that, but I'd forgotten just how bad the piano sounded- out of tune and poorly recorded. Kind of surprising for a VV gig.

Don't let this stop anyone from picking this up, but it is a little distracting.

[robviti]

The Ahmad Jamal and Woody Shaw releases do not have the box; Silver, Gordon, and Blakey do. (Not sure about the Brookmeyer or Getz.)

i'm not sure this is true. i could have sworn i had a copy of the shaw reissue in my hands over the weekend and it did have "the box."

[Quincy]

The Ahmad Jamal and Woody Shaw releases do not have the box; Silver, Gordon, and Blakey do. (Not sure about the Brookmeyer or Getz.)

i'm not sure this is true. i could have sworn i had a copy of the shaw reissue in my hands over the weekend and it did have "the box."

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Well I have it in my possession and it does not. Having it "in the now" beats "over the weekend."

There is a black box that gives the FBI Anti-Piracy Warning, and the more colorful FBI Anti-Piracy Warning "Great Seal." Sheeesh, the way they crap up the back cover artwork!

[Brad]

Just to reemphasize what I said on a thread I started about these cds being protected, it would be a mistake not to pick up these discs, even if they are copy protected. You're missing some great music and that to me would be a mistake.

[AllenLowe]

I would look for the Jamal - I have heard only one cut from his Okeh stuff, and it is fascinating, very advanced in terms of voicings and space - I've never liked his later recordings, which, to me, seem to be formulaic and slick, but that early cut was full of possibilities -

[Quincy]

Just to reemphasize what I said on a thread I started about these cds being protected, it would be a mistake not to pick up these discs, even if they are copy protected.  You're missing some great music and that to me would be a mistake.

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Having bought 5 of them I couldn't agree more. The piano-guitar-bass Jamal recordings plays well in the morning and the evening. Probably afternoon too. The 2 that have surprised me the most are the 2 that I was somewhat less enthused about - the Blakey & Silver. Now mind you, this is mainly because I've been listening to the both of them a lot over the past year or so.

I picked up the Blakey for McLean's appearance on 3 tracks, but it's the drum ensemble that I find most interesting. Again, I love Silver but I was afraid I had had too much of a good thing lately. Uh, no, not too much. The deciding factor to purchase was Joe Gordon being on 2 tracks, but of course Byrd & Mobley are in fine form too. Sure it's still "new" to me, but this may end up being my favorite Silver.

Edited August 25, 2005 by Quincy

[Alexander]

Has anyone else noticed that the Getz didn't come out? My copy has been backordered from CD Universe, and Amazon is showing a release date of 2025(!). Also, it's not listed on Sony/Legacy's website. What happened? Why did this one get dropped?

[Brad]

I picked up the Blakey for McLean's appearance on 3 tracks, but it's the drum ensemble that I find most interesting.

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Couldn't agree more about that and I'm not one for excessive drumming.

[Bol]

The Ahmad Jamal reissue is one of the most enjoyable CDs I've bought in recent months. Some time ago I wrote Mosaic about the possibility of a Mosaic set of Jamal Argo sessions. MC wrote back to say that he is interested but that Jamal is "ever so cautious" about the idea. I hope this happens. I hope some others write Mosaic to encourage MC to keep bothering Jamal about this.

[RDK]

MC wrote back to say that he is interested but that Jamal is "ever so cautious" about the idea.  I hope this happens.  I hope some others write Mosaic to encourage MC to keep bothering Jamal about this.

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I've never understood an artist's reluctance to re-release older material. What could Jamal possibly mean by "cautious?" Does he not think it would sell? So what - it's the record company, not him, taking the risk. Is he embarrassed by his older material? I'd find that hard to believe. Does he not like the idea of maybe getting some money from some 40-year old performances that people are clamoring for?

[Michael Fitzgerald]

One would think if you wave enough money under someone's nose, all kinds of "cautious" attitudes would change.

But I still don't understand why he's got any pull whatsoever in the matter - the label paid the bill, they own the tapes and the copyright on the recording, right?

Mike

[JSngry]

Be that as it may...

It's nice to see an artist's "feelings" given consideration, for whatever reason.

If that is in fact the issue.

[Brad]

I happen to agree with Mike on this but I do think that labels do want to respect the artist nonetheless. When I said something similar to what Mike said awhile ago, man I got raked over the coals.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

I'm not saying that he *shouldn't* have a say in the matter, I'm wondering *why* - considering the labels' history of mistreating artists and ignoring their wishes.

Mike

[JSngry]

That's Cuscuna, I think. Remember - he's the guy who gave Horace back an unreleased BN session that Horace didn't dig. Just gave the tapes to him. At least that's what I think the story is.

Anyway, for all the carping that we all do, I think you gotta say that he's demonstrated a level of integrety and sensitivity towards artists that is as rare as it is welcome. Live ones anyway - Tex Book Tenor is an album title that makes me seriously question how he feels about dead ones...

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Actually, he gave Horace decoy tapes because he knew Horace hated the session and would never bother listening to them.

Mike

[JSngry]

Now that's a pro move!

[Swinging Swede]

That was the classic live session at Pep's!

[Adam]

up for more comments on these reissues?

[JSngry]

Just got done with the Dexter, and although Chuck's "beginning of the end" appraisal was in my mind the entire time (and not dismissively, either), I still dug the shit out of it for memory's sake. This was a great band, and even if Dexter's playing is in hindsight (for me, anyway) pointing towards things to come, the overall level of energy is downright buoyant.

The bonus cut of "Secret Love", however is a whole 'nother story. Power to spare here, no signs of impending dissipation, and Eddie Gladden totally kicks ass. That's two killer renditions of this song with Gladden on board, the other being James Moody's from Never Again! Interesting how Dexter stays so much in the lower register of his horn for this one. Quite uncharacteristic, but it adds to the power of his playing, which is a lot less "riding the groove"-oriented than it is on the rest of the album. The whole purchase would be worth it for this tune alone, even if the rest of the album sucked, which it most assuredly does not!

[JSngry]

Just finishing up on the Brookmeyer, and although it's still as "lightweight" as I rememeber it being (at least relative to the personnel), I gotta say that it's much more pleasant a semi-background listen than I remember it being, and by that I mean no dis. Getz in particular sounds better than I remember, and the tentative but audible interplay between him and Herbie on the ballads is something I'd never noticed before.

The bonus cuts are all cool, and Gary Burton's recounting of the tensions involved in the sessions are darn near priceless.

[JSngry]

Just finishing up on the Brookmeyer...The bonus cuts are all cool...

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Actually, I'll say that the bonus cuts are the highlight of the disc - three gorgeous ballads, with sublime Getz. And on "Daydrema", damn near perfect Getz.