Because my brother's gifts to me just arrived (and he said I could open them early), i'll start.

Since he knows I love the sound of a Hammond B-3 in the right hands...



...Groovin' At Smalls' Paradise (2 CD set)

In the 20 months between Jimmy Smith's first Blue Note session and this live appearance at the great Harlem club Small's Paradise, he'd become a nationwide hit and launched a whole new sound in jazz, playing the electric organ. He'd made 15 albums (!) in a variety of contexts, but this live session captured how he reached people night after night with his working trio. Nine selections here had made up two volumes of "Groovin' At Small's Paradise". Making its first appearance on CD, the session has been restored to the original order in which the band played the music that night with four previously unissued tunes added. Rudy Van Gelder returned to the original tapes he made in a corner of the club that night to achieve the best possible sound for this valuable document.

http://www.bluenote.com/d...ionID=9850



And of course he included a guitar great...



...The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark (2 CD set)

Over a five-week period in early 1962, Grant Green recorded three amazing quartet sessions with Sonny Clark on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes or Art Blakey on drums. As magnificent as the results were, the three albums, considered too progressive for Green's soul-jazz following, languished in the vaults for 18 years. In 1980, "Airegin," the session with Blakey, came out in the United States, while the two with Hayes ("Gooden's Corner" and "Oleo") came out only in Japan. Later issued briefly on Mosaic with three bonus tracks, they have since become collectors' items of legendary proportions. Now Blue Note is finally making them available on this specially-priced 2-CD set. Some of the best music Grant Green ever recorded.

http://www.bluenoteeurope...untry_id=3


So what did you get?

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

My wife got me something i've had my eye on for a long time...



...The Complete Roost Johnny Smith Small Group Sessions (8 CD Set)


Johnny Smith hasn't been a household name since his hit single MOONLIGHT IN VERMONT in 1952. There is the occasional magazine or newspaper article, but it is largely the guitar community (a rather clannish bunch) who still sings the praises of this titan of the guitar. Guitarist Barney Kessel once said about Smith: "As far as i'm concerned, no one in the world plays the guitar better than he. They might play it differently, but nobody plays better. Johnny could easily overplay because he's got chops unlimited, but his musical taste would not allow him to make an overstatement. As a result, he makes beautiful music." Kessel's comments are indicative of the universal respect that Smith enjoys among his fellow guitarists. While Smith himself steadfastly maintains that he does not consider himself a jazz player, critics and musicians alike continue to hail him as a giant among the Jazz guitar elite.


Smith diligently practiced and progressed to the point where, by age 13, he had a number of adults studying under him. In fact, one of those adults gave Johnny his first guitar while the young man was a sophomore in high school. Some of his early influences included Django Reinhardt, Andres Segovia, Charlie Christian and Les Paul. Smith listened to a wide spectrum of music and musicians on radio and records, but was really drawn to the freedom, spontaneity and creativity of jazz and wholeheartedly appreciated the musicianship and improvisational skill it demanded.

...Excerpts from the booklet.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Johnny Smith is an exquisite jazz guitarist known mostly to fellow musicians and serious jazz fans. This beautifully packaged and expertly annotated eight-CD limited-edition boxed set from Mosaic includes his complete small-group recordings for Roost, most of which have languished out of print for decades. Smith's unique voicings on his instrument set him apart from other players, yet he maintains a lush, crystal-clear tone no matter the tempo or setting. Smith draws from a wide range of sources within the 22 featured sessions, ranging from show tunes and standards ("My Funny Valentine," "Yesterdays," "'I'll Remember April," and "Body and Soul") to jazz compositions by Duke Ellington, George Shearing, John Lewis, and Bud Powell, along with a number of his superb originals, which have been unjustly overlooked. The best-known material comes from the three 1952 sessions which made up Moonlight in Vermont, featuring Smith with either Stan Getz or Zoot Sims, and a meeting with some of New York's busiest session musicians (Hank Jones, George Duvivier, and Ed Shaughnessey). Especially rewarding is the first of two solo efforts by Smith, which draws from the vast Jimmy Van Heusen songbook. The guitarist is never disappointing, even on the few dates which fall outside of jazz. Pick up this valuable boxed set right away before you have to resort to paying an exorbitant price through an auction.

http://www.allmusic.com/c...2zef5k3gfo

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The discs come in a box the size of an LP complete with historical booklet (#3310 of an edition limited to 5,000).

Johnny Smith was the first real guitarist I ever heard...



...I used to sneak this record out of my Dad's record collection and play it on my cheap stereo. Eventually I ruined it.

My Dad knew i'd been listening to it because years later he gave me the record.
I still have a vinyl copy for sentimental reason. It's great to be able to hear these tunes again.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431
[Edited 12/26/06 11:03am]

congrats on getting what you wanted...
are you familiar with Charles Earland (it might by Charles Midland)...
he also plays jazz organ..

purplerein said:

Thanks, she always comes through.

I don't have any Charles Earland as a leader ( I don't think) but i'm sure he's on something i've got around here.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Pretty slick presents. Gives me a few ideas for my boxing day shopping...

I never get music for Christmas - I think my family has given up on trying to follow my tastes.

But of course I chose it myself. I would never ever let my family get me music on their own. Except maybe for my brother.

damosuzuki said:

Thanks.
Consider just telling them what you'd like. That's what I do with my wife.

My brother is the one I can count on for musical surprises.
He's always right on the money though.

Do they have after Boxing Day sales?
Might be a strategic time to shop for a deal.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Unfortunately, I have such an extensive library and folks can't just give me CDs without risking duplication. I used to specifically ask for the latest Miles Davis box set, but that program is pretty much done. Therefore I'm better off receiving giftcards and hitting the stores for after Xmas sales on my own. I can really clean-up if it's a used-cd store, but the number of those outlets has rapidly dried up, so I end up with cards to hi-markup units like Borders and Best Buy.

My mission this year is to beef up my Aretha section and/or finish off The Meters wing.

There is a Weather Report boxset,



but I have almost everything on it.

Plus there's this...
.


[Edited 12/25/06 9:39am]

My bass player bought me the Beatles' Love

Sounds great, and some cool ideas. I'd like to hear something that deconstructs the music even more, though, and flowed from one song to the next--I'm sure some raver has done it.

But the sound is amazing as many have pointed out already, and it's a good mix of some of their greatest hits
[Edited 12/25/06 10:24am]

Somehow I never got this



when Rhino Handmade announced the limited release couple of years back. It's selling on the internet at $150 and up, but I should find it at the remaining haunts I favor.

I will never stop spinning this. EVER.

PFunkjazz said:

I bought this set as a christmas present for myself this year.

I paid $249, which is A LOT... After listening to the album, i`ll have to say i wouldn`t recommend anyone paying that much for it...

Only one album, and it's one I've been meaning to get for some time now:

TommyRoss said:

Icicle said:

Damn playa. That hurts. I ain't goin' after it for more than $75.

[Edited 12/25/06 13:42pm]

...and I'm pretty sure I got this one just for being cool:

TommyRoss said:

Led Zeppelin 4 cd box set and a 70's soft rock compilation cd

CinisterCee said:

Jel! I want this thing so fuckin' bad!

I bought Rose Royce's Greatest Hits at the used cd shop on Saturday and Paula Abdul's Spellbound (with Prince's U) for free. It was supposed to be a dollar but since the place is going out of business the clerk gave it to me.

Wanted to get some vinyl, JB, Stevie, & B52's but they didn't have anything good. I'll have to hit the stores in NYC this week with my xmas money.

(My family barely knows who Prince is so they cannot be expected to buy me any music...I made them listen to Miles' Kind of Blue while eating lunch on Sunday. My dad said, "It's okay." I have no idea how I lucked out and got the funk, but I'm glad! )

GangstaFam said:

yes. yes you do.



my fam and i played texas hold 'em while listening to disc one

CinisterCee said:

I've listened to that one online many times over the past few months, and I will buy a hard copy soon!

CinisterCee said:

That's it! I'm getting it this coming week.

GangstaFam said:

indeed.

We've had no less than three threads on that sucker. Why haven't more of us gotten it?

http://www.prince.org/msg/8/198984
http://www.prince.org/msg/8/204283
http://www.prince.org/msg/8/208164

TommyRoss said:

highly recommended.

CinisterCee said:

I've heard it, silly.

TommyRoss said:

aww I hope DavidEye got it for christmas

No one bought me any music for Christmas, but I'm going straight to my favorite record store with the money I got!

I have no idea what to get though