Jazz is inherently improvised music, and there's a very valid argument that some of the best 
improvising goes on in a live-performance setting. So I agree with you very much about jazz. There 
was a time when rock was the same, except usually the musical skill wasn't all that good. Nowadays, 
a typical popular pop or rock artists's live show is a scripted/automated/computerized light and 
sound and multimedia thing, with little room to go off on an interesting improv. Not universal, but 
typical. Like these stage-show extravaganzas, classical music is "scripted" (scored), so a good 
conductor and orchestra should be able to deliver a note-perfect and exciting performance to the 
recording mics, using retakes to patch up less than perfect sections. In a live setting, sometimes 
the script goes awry due to human imperfections and/or poor conducting. A live audience rarely 
notices the mistakes unless they are terrible.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Milan P Milovanovic" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2012 10:20 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Who needs vinyl?


> Tom,
>
> I've read this interesting discussion few times, and while I'm no expert in classical field, I 
> could not agree with you when jazz broadcasts/club and concert dates are involved, for they often 
> contain so exciting, thrilling, joyful music ever recorded "on wax", despite some technical flaws, 
> imperfections, bad ensemble work at some given spots, intonation problems and so on.
>
> The same occurs with alternate takes in studio environment. One can think of many cases from 78 
> rpm when record companies recorded two or three complete takes with no audible "mistakes" or 
> "fluff" (whatever the reason was to cut them - I put this question about a week or so, 
> unfortunately no discussion followed it) but overall results were so much different in terms of 
> quality of given solos, musical thinking, instantaneous reflex reactions to what is unrolling 
> during studio time and so on. Then again, I can think of "Oh Memory" take Louis Armstrong did on 
> "Stardust", while for broadcasts there are some Benny Goodman live 1943. recordings of FH 
> arrangements that probably, IMHO, are above any studio date he did.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Milan
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Tom Fine" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2012 7:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Who needs vinyl?
>
> This is why I don't believe in issuing recordings of radio
>> broadcasts, because the performance was a one-time event and often containing flubs or other 
>> things that would not pass muster with a recording session of yore
>