WHY and What are you Listening to?

[Nick B]

Have you found a tech that can repair your Supratek here in the states?  I see they are still around, down under.

Yes, there’s one in the US and he’s in North or South Carolina. The repairs are covered under warranty, but the shipping is on me. Stuff happens….dont think it was anything on my part….

[S Clark]

More from my friends vinyl collection:

This Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was the very first cd I owned in 1982.  It was an excellent and dynamic cd, and now I have it on vinyl.  Great music.  Barber's Adagio is very lush and full. 

[S Clark]

Another from my friends collection:

Paul Desmond "From the Hot Afternoon".... but it couldn't be cooler.  Can anyone play cool west coast jazz like Desmond?
There are two jazz guys that I can never get enough of... Bill Evans and Paul Desmond.  I can listen for hours.  This one is a bossa nova style.   
This is an A&M records/CTI pressing from 1969.  Oh, and a bonus... Ron Carter on bass. 

[S Clark]

Another pick up from my buddy. 
I usually listen to the Nutcracker at least once over Christmas, but it slipped by me this year. 
So I've got a new/old RCA Living Stereo shaded dog by Fritz Reiner/Chicago.  It's playing very cleanly as I type (hope it holds up).  Although Tchaikovsky held his creation in low regard, it's just a lovely bit of musical fluff. 
These old RCA's were really quite special in sound quality.   

[James Edward]

Another from my friends collection:

Paul Desmond "From the Hot Afternoon".... but it couldn't be cooler.  Can anyone play cool west coast jazz like Desmond?
There are two jazz guys that I can never get enough of... Bill Evans and Paul Desmond.  I can listen for hours.  This one is a bossa nova style.   
This is an A&M records/CTI pressing from 1969.  Oh, and a bonus... Ron Carter on bass. 

Well, I’m listening to this on a cool/cold morning in NY, far from Brazil, and it’s great music. Listening via Tidal though…
It’s always great to pick up new music suggestions here so thanks. I need some more of Nick B’s 60’s easy listening suggestions too!

[S Clark]

I was putting these new records in the shelves when I realized I already had a copy of "From the Hot Afternoon".
Anyone around here still spinning vinyl?  I don't need two of them.   

[Nick B]

Another from my friends collection:

Paul Desmond "From the Hot Afternoon".... but it couldn't be cooler.  Can anyone play cool west coast jazz like Desmond?
There are two jazz guys that I can never get enough of... Bill Evans and Paul Desmond.  I can listen for hours.  This one is a bossa nova style.   
This is an A&M records/CTI pressing from 1969.  Oh, and a bonus... Ron Carter on bass. 

Well, I’m listening to this on a cool/cold morning in NY, far from Brazil, and it’s great music. Listening via Tidal though…
It’s always great to pick up new music suggestions here so thanks. I need some more of Nick B’s 60’s easy listening suggestions too!

Jim,

Easy Listening is a big category. Depending on taste, here are some options…Ray Conniff, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Bert Kaempfert, 101 Strings, Acker Bilk, Roger Whittaker, the Mr Blue Music for Hotel Restaurant Bar series, Lawrence Welk.
Think I’ll stop there for now…

Nick

[S Clark]

Ok guys.  If you like jazz at all, you've got to find this and listen to it.

A buddy picked up "Rollins in Holland", a new release of Sonny Rollins from a tour in Holland in 1967, and gave it to me for my impressions. 
'67 was a difficult time for jazz.  Numbers were down.  Many, desperate to connect with a younger audience, had merged into a more pop sound.  And Sonny, for me, has always been someone I appreciated in small portions.  But he teams up with a Dutch bass and drummer that he'd heard, but not played with.  The tour proceeded unrehearsed.   But by '67 Rollins could set a tone, a beat, and a feeling- and others could follow and even freely take flight of their own.  It's perhaps one of the last breathes of post bop that still had vitality- just as all the jazz greats moved to different stuff.
Side one is Bernie Grundman showpiece of great tonality and spaciousness (perhaps too much?).  But even if at times you wonder how that got that sound in a tiny studio, the fact is that they did get an amazing sound.  I actually jumped once when the bass hit huge accent.  The sax is just liquid.

And then side 3 is from a different session.  Right off the bat, it just isn't as magic, but as you keep listening, you stop listening to the recording and start listening to the music... and it goes on, and on.  After all, it's a 22 minute take.  And it gets better... and better.... and better.  In some ways it reminds me of the energy from the great Paul Gonsalves solo for Ellington at Newport (if you don't know it, find it).  But Sonny is better than Gonsalves.  He's more of master of his instrument, and more of a master of musical complexity.  Finally I turned off my rig.  I'd been listening way too loud compared to my usual
I've still got side 4  to listen to tomorrow.  But I can already say that I thing this pressing is the best Sonny Rollins stuff I've heard-  better than Saxophone Colossus or Way Out West.   I think my buddy paid full price for this "Record Day" release, but I'll go find an nice used copy. 
If you are a jazz guy, or sort of a jazz guy, find this and let me know what you think.

[S Clark]

Pepper Adams "Urban Dream"
i'm

A friend dropped by a few days ago with a gift to aid my recovery from back surgery... a later recording of Pepper Adams showing he still had his baritone sax chops even in 1981.  The guy played with all the big names in the 50's and 60's. Unlike guys like Mulligan who played a cooler style, Pepper could swing that big horn like it was an alto.  His version of "Dexter Rides Again" is pretty nice. 
I'm 18 days out from surgery, getting around pretty good, and discomfort is manageable. 
I'm looking forward to being able to lift more than 10 pounds.  That's still weeks away, but I'm geitting stronger each day. 

[Nick B]

Pepper Adams "Urban Dream"
i'm

A friend dropped by a few days ago with a gift to aid my recovery from back surgery... a later recording of Pepper Adams showing he still had his baritone sax chops even in 1981.  The guy played with all the big names in the 50's and 60's. Unlike guys like Mulligan who played a cooler style, Pepper could swing that big horn like it was an alto.  His version of "Dexter Rides Again" is pretty nice. 
I'm 18 days out from surgery, getting around pretty good, and discomfort is manageable. 
I'm looking forward to being able to lift more than 10 pounds.  That's still weeks away, but I'm geitting stronger each day.

Glad you’re doing better. I was just about to post and ask. Stay out of mischief for a bit longer and listen to more albums 🎶 🎺🎸🎻🎹

[S Clark]

Glad you’re doing better. I was just about to post and ask. Stay out of mischief for a bit longer and listen to more albums 🎶 🎺🎸🎻🎹

Thanks, Nick.  A key seems to be to get up and move.  Been a pretty good day today.  I"ll probably listen to one more and hit the sack.
From the RCA Living Stero CD collection-- 60 cd's from their Golden Era. 
Saint-Saens Sym 3 Boston Sym conducted by Munch

[Nick B]

Glad you’re doing better. I was just about to post and ask. Stay out of mischief for a bit longer and listen to more albums 🎶 🎺🎸🎻🎹

Thanks, Nick.  A key seems to be to get up and move.  Been a pretty good day today.  I"ll probably listen to one more and hit the sack.
From the RCA Living Stero CD collection-- 60 cd's from their Golden Era. 
Saint-Saens Sym 3 Boston Sym conducted by Munch

Glad you’re coming along, Scott. I don’t recall the type of surgery… did they cut out a bit of the disc and the muscles they cut through need to heal and get stronger? When I had my hip replaced, the doc had to cut through muscles on the side (the old surgery technique) and I had to wear a corset/support for a while when sleeping.
I believe Dave has an appt coming up for his hurting back. Getting older sucks 😵‍💫

[S Clark]

My op was Laminectomy and fusion of lumbar 3 and 4.  Basically, they cut the top of the vertebra and thow it away, opening the top of the spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord.  They also trimmed some off of L2 and L5 for the same issue. 
They go in through about a 4-5" incision in the lower back.  Obviously they have to cut through some muscle and bone.  So it's not fun for a week or two.  I'm 20 days out, and getting around ok, but with stiffness and variable discomfort.  Can't lift anything significant for months.  No switching out amps as the weather warms (unless I can get my wife to do it... tubes get Too hot)

[Nick B]

My op was Laminectomy and fusion of lumbar 3 and 4.  Basically, they cut the top of the vertebra and thow it away, opening the top of the spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord.  They also trimmed some off of L2 and L5 for the same issue. 
They go in through about a 4-5" incision in the lower back.  Obviously they have to cut through some muscle and bone.  So it's not fun for a week or two.  I'm 20 days out, and getting around ok, but with stiffness and variable discomfort.  Can't lift anything significant for months.  No switching out amps as the weather warms (unless I can get my wife to do it... tubes get Too hot)

There’s a long recovery involved. There are different post op protocols, but my surgeon ordered an electrostim belt that I wore an hour a day and it was good for 280 days. I wore it about 80% of those days and the electronics actually counted each day whether you used the belt or not. I got a very good, but not perfect, result.  Had I not had the surgery, I really wouldn’t be able to function normally in day to day activities. I don’t have weight restrictions either, other than using good technique to lift heavier objects and not lift heavy items regularly and repeatedly.

Hopefully you’ll get a very good result like I did.