The Blue Wisp Big Band is known far beyond the confines of Cincinnati. This band is simply sensational, performing with a remarkable blend of great old songs and scintillating new arrangements. The combination is unbeatable. The Blue Wisp (the name comes from a night club they work in) boys are worth a trip to hear. And they are a trip to hear, come to think of it. They perform a Larry Dickson tune called "Paging Bette."

William Menefield was introduced as a teenage phenom on an album from J Curve last year. In this album, the young pianist plays a song he wrote in tribute to Bill Cosby's murdered son, Ennis. Its called "B.E. Cos," and its lovely.

Keyboardist Billy Larkins has formed a new trio called "Triage," and the notes say the song played here, "One More Day," is a salute to Larkins' mother, who died last April.

J Curve released Phil DeGreg's first album about a year ago. On this collection he's heard on "Satan Takes a Holiday." DeGreg is joined by clarinetist Joe Lukasik. DeGreg, who's a professor of music in Cincinnati, has a light touch and sure jazz feeling that makes his sound distinctive and pleasing.

Judy James has been around Cincinnati forever, or at least it seems that way. Easily the equal of singers who went on to major fame and riches, Judy stayed around home and entertained all who heard her. The voice is in good shape, as is Judy, on a solid version of "Angel Eyes." Not just anybody can sing that classic and emerge unscathed. Judy does just fine.

Cal Collins, mentioned earlier, joins with the Kenny Poole Quartet to offer a fine arrangement of "There Is No Greater Love." Pianist Steve Schmidt's Trio plays "Monkyside," which is Schmidt's idea of what Thelonious Monk would have done to "Sunny Side of the Street." Interesting! The album wraps with a Dixieland version of "Southern Stomps" by the Frank Powers' (no relation) Jazz Ensemble.

Knitting Factory Launches Reissue Imprint Label

The scope of the project will range from the avant-garde compositions of such as James "Blood" Ulmer and Anthony Braxton to the long out of print and commercial recordings by Dizzy Gillespie, the Modern Jazz Quartet and John McLaughlin. The first three rare reissues will be Rashied Ali's classic Survival label, reissues from legendary producer Alan Douglas, including the complete Wildflowers loft jazz sessions, and rare live performances from the visionary drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and his highly influential band, Decoding Society.

Michael Dorf, who is CEO of Knit Media and Knitting Factory, said, "This label is recognizing the music that the Knitting Factory grew out of when I started the club in 1987. It is an honor to work with the building blocks and go backwards to the foundation of this important and largely unrecognized music." Legendary drummer and proprietor of Survival Records, Rashied Ali said, "This is untouched music. These recordings were born out of a struggle for recognition and now Knitting Factory is giving this music a chance to blossom."

All Knit Classic titles will only be available on line at www.knitclassics.com and www.jazze.com until March 2000. There will be limited offers, special prices, and unique artist information available for all Web consumers who purchase the Knit Classic titles on line. After March, 2000, Knit Classics will release and distribute selected titles from each aforementioned catalog to worldwide retail market places.

Traumton CDs Available On Web