Mostly jazz, with a special interest in the
music of the 60's, variously known as
The New Thing The Avant Garde La Cosa Nova Out Jazz
with an exteme passion for John Coltrane, Ornette
Coleman, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Some months I'm really into it, some months I
don't want to be bothered, but if you have something rare by one of the above musicians,
I'll want want it no matter what my mood. I don't have much interest in trading for tapes
of music available on lp or cd.
After kicking the idea around for a while, I have decided to add select videos to these lists. In addition to performances taped off of tv, I've also added a few that were at one time for sale, but are no longer in print. The source listing for these will be: TV for those originally made as television shows, DOC for documentaries, and LIVE for those that were taped at concert or club performances, even if they were taped expressly for tv. Videos are in bold in the listings.
I'm not really picky, but I do have my preferences.
Recording Quality-use a decent tape, Maxell XLII, TDK SA, etc. It really does make a difference. Try to make sure the recording level isn't too low or high,
Packaging-send without cases, but with Jcards, in a bubble envelope, or wrapped in bubble wrap.
Noise Reduction-I don't care one way or the other. My dual well deck will only allow me to to tape in the same mode I play, so I usually send the way I received. Most are without dolby.
I rate the sound quality of my tapes, but I won't guarantee you'll agree, or even find much consistency in the ratings. I do my best, but my sonic discernment changes from day to day. (and while we're at it, I try to be pretty accurate with the performance timings, but I'm sure I've made mistakes). In other words, the emptor might want to caveat, though I'm sure, in most cases, we'll both be delighted.
Then there's the problem of comparing tapes from different types of sources. Does a good audience tape. which won't have much frequency range, rate better or worse than a soundboard tape with some glitches? To simplify things, I have simplified my ratings.
A pleasure to listen to.
Nice to listen to.
A chore to listen to.
This refers to the original tape.Most of the time I get the information from the person I got the tape from, sometimes I guess.They or I could be wrong. I rarely know what generation the recording is.
a-Audience
r-Radio
sb-Soundboard
tv-Television
