Greg Keyes of Ann Arbor, MI wrote:

Have you any idea if Columbia/Legacy is planning on reissuing remastered versions of Miles Davis' mid 70's albums Agharta and Pangaea?

Greg:

I haven't seen either of those CDs listed on the advance release sheets that Columbia/Legacy sends me, which usually list upcoming titles for the next 3 months or so.

CLAIRE FABIAN of WLV (?) USA wrote:

What is the name of the artist that recorded "But not for Me" in 1958? The name becan with an A and I believe the first and last name was the same. Thank you.

Claire:

"But Not for Me" has been recorded several hundred times and I've got pretty sketchy information to give you any answer. But pianist Ahmad Jamal recorded it on a 1958 LP called But Not for Me, so I hope that's what you're seeking.

Ernesto Almeida of Buenos Aires, Argentina wrote:

Dear Ken:

I would like to know the original recording dates (or approximate) of "Tenor King" by Lester Young and "Doggin' That Thing" by Henry Red Allen. I've searched the web and I just can't find them. Thanks a lot.

Ernesto:

I'm afraid that I'm not going to be of much help. I'm not sure whether you're referring to album or song titles. "Tenor King" is a compilation on Prestige from Fantasy, but I don't own it and there's no date given on line for the recordings on it; the release date I found of 1997 is rather unlikely as it is already out of print, so it must have been an LP. I could not find any trace of "Doggin' That Thing" as an LP, CD or song recorded by Heny "Red" Allen.

Ana of Toronto, Ontario, Canada wrote:

I used to have the vinyl "Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges". I've looked everywhere for it. I am almost positive they have not released it as a CD. Do you know where I might be able to get a copy?

Ana:

You're right, "Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges" has never been reissued on CD, which seems puzzling. It is also one of the hardest Mulligan LPs on Verve, in my opinion, to locate, though I finally found a copy myself a year or two ago.

Try the following businesses: Jim Russell Rare Records, they don't seem to have a web site, but they're on Magazine Street in New Orleans.

Euclid Records in St. Louis (www.euclidrecords.com) They don't have it in stock in their current listings, but I bet that they get a copy from time to time.

Jason Schwager wrote:

Any pointers on where I could locate a copy of David Liebman's THE LONELINESS OF A LONG DISTANCE RUNNER? I found mention of it in the All Music Guide site but all my regular sources do not list it.

Jason:

This 1986 CMP release by David Liebman does exist but it seems to be out of print. Check for it at Cadence Records, www.cadencebuilding.com (in their used & cutout section), www.euclidrecords.com, or in other similar web sites.

Carlos Morales of Chicago IL wrote: I'm looking for a trio date by Herbie Hancock with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. I think it's called simply Herbie Hancock Trio, from the early 1980s and includes the tune "Stablemates" Any help finding the cd would be most appreciated; I know it's out of print and that it's in the Sony catalog.

Carlos:

From what I've been able to find, the Herbie Hancock Trio, a 1981 CBS LP, has never been reissued on CD in the USA. Possibly it has appeared overseas on CD.

Des Stanley of Bloemfontein, South Africa wrote:

I first heard Dwike Mitchell with Willie Ruff during the early seventies. His style encompassed elements of my favorite keyboard players including Ramsey Lewis, Ray Bryant, Dave Brubeck, Erroll Garner, et al. I have been unable to trace anything over the last 30 years,apart fom a shared CD with the Francy Boland Big Band. Please advise any info regarding this brilliant player and his current status, any CDs etc. Many thanks for your time.

Stanley:

I've managed to find quite a few of the original Mitchell-Ruff LPs, but sadly, few of them have been reissued on CD. The Mitchell-Ruff Trio: The Catbird Suite (with drummer Charlie Smith) has been compiled with a mediocre date by Les McCann: 20 Special Fingers by 32 Jazz. The Mainstream LP Dizzy Gillespie & the Mitchell-Ruff Duo was reissued by Sony's Legacy series in 1993, but now seems to be out of print. My recommendation would be to keep your eyes on the Collectable label, as they would seem to be the most likely outfit to reissued material by this fine but overlooked group.

Ghayyan Al Amine of Beirut, Lebanon wrote:

I wanted to ask you if there is any album (preferably free jazz) that contains extensive solos or even a completely drum (or percussion) album? I've heard bass solo albums like Dave Holland's 'Emerald Tears' so there must be a drum solo album.

Ghayyan:

I'm not aware of any free jazz albums with extensive drum solos, but that's not my primary jazz interest. I know that there have been bass/drum duets, but the ones I aware of are swing or bop. One such CD is drummer Jo Jones and bassist Milt Hinton, called Percussion & Bass, which has been reissued on Fresh Sound.

Curtis Heisey of Sudbury, MA wrote:

Hi, I'm looking for any info on the "Watrous and Fontana" CD which was originally released in 1984 on the Atlas Jazz label. The All Music Guide web site (www.allmusic.com) lists it as being in print in 2001. I have tried all the domestic dealers as well as many dealers that import Japanese CDs to no avail. Any leads would be appreciated or other places to order Japanese imports that I may not have though of.

Curtis:

Japanese labels are always tougher to deal to obtain in the U.S., but I doubt that this CD is still in print, in spite of the All Music Guide listing it that way. It is impossible to keep up with the in-print status of so many titles, so it's not their fault. I haven't even found any dealers on line who seem to have any current Atlas titles, so I wonder if they are still in business. I haven't run across any sites carrying Atlas product, but try www.redtrumpet.com, as they seem to specialize in other Japanese Jazz CDs. Good luck.

Jean L. of Paris, France wrote:

I'm having a lot of trouble finding any of Nancy King and Glen Moore's recent collaborations on the Justice Records label -- from and about whom I haven't been able to learn a great deal. I know that King - Moore have just put out a new one, but it is their earlier efforts, such as "Im- pending Bloom" and "Cliff Dance" that I'm interested in. Thanks for the help, Ken!

Jean:

Pardon the delayed answer but questions have been scattered between several email accounts so they have been hard to track down. Justice evidently has ceased operations, so that's why they are hard to find. Used copies should be available through www.eucldirecords.com and similar web sites dealing in used jazz CDs.

Sharon Stokes of LA, California wrote:

We are trying to locate a recording by Miles Davis of the tune "Al Jarreau." We believe he recorded it in the 80's live at the Montreux jazz festival. Do you know any sources?

Sharon:

I'll have to admit I'm not a fan of Miles Davis' work in the 1970 and 1980s, but I can find no record of him recording a song called "Al Jarreau." It is definitely not on the Live at Montreux CD recorded in 1991 jsut a few months before his death (I have that one).

Ernesto Almeida of Buenos Aires, Argentina wrote:

After searching the Web for long I've decided to ask for your help. My name is Ernesto, I'm Cuban, and I've just turned 33. I've been a music lover since I was a teenager. I've been into the wonderful world of jazz for about a couple of years. However, I've managed to get my hands on about 150 Jazz CDs. I've got a compilation CD set entitled "The Golden Years of Jazz" (Premium 44005, 44006 and 44007). Through it I've come across amazing albums. One of the tracks of the first CD is Louis Armstrong's live rendition of "Muskrat Ramble." I've got his original Chicago recording of this track with the Hot Five in 1926. However, I would like to find the complete recordings of this session in which he played and sang it live. The track clocks 2:55 (in case it is of any help). Can you tell me in which album Louis sings this track live. Is it with his All-Stars and when?

Ernesto:

I've found several live versions but I have no way of knowing which one you have:

One is 5:42 from 1955 on Ambassador Satch (Columbia/Legacy CD, in print)

Satchmo at Symphony Hall (6:13) is from 1947 (GRP/Decca, not sure if it's still in print)

The 4 CD set California concerts has two more versions, (2:57) from 1951 and (5:52) from 1955.

There are probably some live broadcasts of the song as well on other LPs and CDs, but I can't confirm over the internet whether any of them are live for sure.

Heidi Zecher of New York, NY wrote:

I am working on a documentary about a family and they often perform standard jazz songs all together. I am in search of any jazz songs in the public domain that they could perform and we could film. If you have any ideas, please let me know. Thanks!

Heidi:

I'm afraid I don't have the time to do the proper research to guarantee that any song I might suggest is in the public domain. Since most actual jazz compositions were written after the 1920s, few are likely to have expired copyrights. But here are some suggestions: when you're sure you have the complete title under which a song was originally published, check both the ASCAP and BMI sites using a title search. You can find both of them using www.google.com. The other thing is to look for songs which are a century or more old whose writers are unusally unknown, including folk tunes like "Shenandoah," Stephen Foster's songs, and a few of Irving Berlin's earliest works (Alexander's Ragtime Band) have copywrights which have expired. Do not trust a CD liner or album jacket, as the research is often spotty or nonexistent; it would be a wise idea to search any title which you are not 100% sure is over century old, because of the copyright lawsuits possible if you take it for granted and goof. Good luck!