Jazz for aficionados

Frogman, you might as not even read my post, because you write anything you want anyway, that has no relation to my post.

My last post was about "records"; those are the things that existed before CD's were invented. They were in Japan before Grant Green died; they were in the hands of Japanese collectors, while fans like me were unaware of their very existence, how do you explain that? We did not know about their existence till after Grant Green was dead and long buried.

Now I guess you and Rok will give me a perfectly good explanation that will include Prince, Elvis, Miles, Chuck Berry, and you might as well throw in the Pope. Now you say you're not concerned about records when that's exactly what my post was about. Since you and Rok are in lockstep, you can answer for him.

I saw Grant Green the person many times, I even talked to him face to face, I liked his music very much, I should have been able to purchase his records; they should have been in my collection, not some Japanese collection. The question is why? Why were they not available for purchase in the United States where the man lived and died, where Rok who is so patriotic that if I say anything that might hint at failure of the government is all over me, but he doesn't see anything wrong with records that were not made available to citizens of this country, but were made available to citizens of Japan.


Enjoy the music.

Jon Hendricks:

Why on earth would it suffer the same fate as the Bey Sisters?  Great stuff indeed.  Rok, you may not recall, but I posted that very Freddie Freeloader clip a couple of years ago (!).  And, coincidentally and if memory serves, I posted some Manhattan Transfer in my comments about The Bey Sisters around the same time; we must have been on a vocal group binge at the time.  Great clips.  Jon Hendricks kills me.

BTW,  re Benson's singing: one of the reasons that he rose and became a star in the soul/jazz guitar scene and Green lost some steam; imo.  There is a long tradition of vocalists taking improvised instrumental solos and scatting them and/or putting lyrics to them.  Manhattan Transfer's rendition of Coleman Hawkins' famous solo on "Body And Soul", long considered one of the milestone recorded jazz solos (and available here as well as Japan :

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SAqUNlWUxlA

****Since you and Rok are in lockstep.....****

Horrors!  I don't think so.  When I can get Rok to agree with me about the sound of audio cables....then, maybe 😄.  O-10, it's simpy called respect and confidence in one's opinions.  You can join the party anytime.

Frogman, the subject is "records"; they are those black disks we used to play before CD's, remember them? They were supposed to have been unfit for release. Now we find they were among the best Grant Green ever made. If they had been released here in the United States, Grant Green might still be alive, he was just a little older than me, and I'm still kicking, unless this is a ghostwriter post.

He left his hospital bed, against the doctor's orders, to perform, because he needed the money. Now you and Rok argued that since Blue Note's bottom line was money, if the records had been any good they would have been released; now we find they were released for "Japanese" consumption. Apparently Blue Note's bottom line, and Grant Green's bottom line were not in harmony.

Now I know you and Rok want to move on. After you and Rok respond with some sensible answers we can move on; but I'm not going to gloss over the injustice that Grant Green suffered.


Enjoy the music

O-10, I have no way of knowing (and I’m not sure you do either) whether the records you speak of (and yes, I know what lps are, I have 3500 of them) where actually released, or whether they are copies that, as I tried (in vain) to describe to you previously, can survive a move by the record co. to stop release (Prince’s "Black Album"). However, perhaps this may mean something to you; it does to me:

In 1991, I toured Japan with a major symphony orchestra (first of seven trips there). A colleague who was also going on this tour had setup for himself a minor "business" of bringing along two or three flutes in order to sell to a dealer in Japan with whom he had a relationship. At the risk of alarming the pc crowd, I will point out that Japanese collectors are a unique breed; they are passionate about collecting musical instruments and records (among other things). I cannot directly speak to the records side of all this, but I can tell you from direct experience that they will pay considerably more for a musical instrument than what it will fetch in the USA; not because it is a superior, or even a good instrument, but simply because it may be a certain vintage, a certain serial number that completes a series, was manufactured on the same day that the Japanese prime minister farted in public, etc, Long story short: I was able to sell an instrument that was inferior and mediocre at best for $8100 when it would have fetched about $4500 in the states. Why? Because he already had instruments in the serial#2000 series and in the #4000 series; none in the #3000 series like mine. Extrapolate from this what you will. Not much, I suspect.

Btw, who exactly says they were Green’s best? Somebody who happens to post on the Internet? Seriously? What does O-10 think? And since you insist on debating the issue, more importantly, why are they his best? I know what I think.

Frogman, the definition of "Aficionado" is so very simple: a person who likes, knows about, and fervently pursues an activity or interest; in this case "jazz records". Is there anything else I can help you with?


Enjoy the music.