Deal Expert

Something less than brain surgery - more like pieces of candy - offered by Eric Pederson 

Just out - The Top 100 Albums of All Time - Jazz Guitar

This is a great list for all jazz fans and guitar players.   All guitarists, even punkers and metal heads gotta respect the jazz cats.  Thanks to jazzguitar.be for this.

This list is like cheating to get your jazz cred. I'll admit, I'm ashamed I don't have more of these.  Check them out.

Leave your comments below!

 

Top 100 Albums - Jazz Guitar

  1. Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy
  2. Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue
  3. Antonio Carlos Jobim - Wave
  4. Baden Powell - At the Rio Jazz Club
  5. Barney Kessel - Kessel Plays Standards
  6. Barney Kessel - The Poll Winners
  7. Barry Galbraith - Guitar and the Wind 
  8. Bill Frisell - East/West
  9. Bireli Lagrene - Gypsy Project
  10. Bireli Lagrene - Standards
  11. Bucky and John Pizzarelli - Contrasts
  12. Charlie Byrd - At The Village Vanguard
  13. Charlie Byrd - The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd
  14. Charlie Christian - Genius of the Electric Guitar
  15. Charlie Christian - Solo Flight
  16. Charlie Hunter - Bing Bing Bing
  17. Danny Gatton - Untouchable
  18. Django Reinhardt - Djangology
  19. Django Reinhardt - Quintet du Hot Club de France
  20. Earl Klugh - One on One
  21. Ed Bickert - Live at The Garden Party
  22. Eddie Lang - Jazz Guitar Virtuoso
  23. Emily Remler - Firefly
  24. Ernest Ranglin - Below the Bassline
  25. Frank Gambale - Thinking Out Loud
  26. George Barnes - Don't Get Around Much Anymore
  27. George Benson - Bad Benson
  28. George Benson - Breezin'
  29. George Benson - Beyond the Blue Horizon
  30. George Benson - The George Benson Cookbook
  31. George Van Eps - Mellow Guitar
  32. Grant Green - Green Street
  33. Grant Green - Idle Moments
  34. Grant Green - The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark
  35. Hank Garland - Jazz Winds From a New Direction
  36. Herb Ellis/Joe Pass - Seven, Come Eleven
  37. Herb Ellis/Joe Pass - Two for the Road
  38. Howard Alden/George Van Eps - 13 Strings
  39. Howard Roberts - HR Is A Dirty Guitar Player
  40. Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
  41. Jim Hall - Concierto
  42. Jim Hall - Live
  43. Jim Hall/Bill Evans - Intermodulation
  44. Jim Hall/Bill Evans - Undercurrent
  45. Jim Hall/Ron Carter - Alone Together
  46. Jimmy Bruno - Burnin'
  47. Jimmy Raney - Wisteria
  48. Joe Beck - Strangers in the Night
  49. Joe Diorio Trio - Live
  50. Joe Pass - For Django
  51. Joe Pass - Virtuoso
  52. John Abercrombie - Timeless
  53. John Basile - The Desmond Project
  54. John McLaughlin - Extrapolation
  55. John Scofield - A Go Go
  56. John Scofield - Hand Jive
  57. Johnny Smith - Johnny Smith
  58. Johnny Smith - Moonligh in Vermont (w Stan Getz)
  59. Jonathan Kreisberg - Unearth
  60. Kenny Burrell - Guitar Forms
  61. Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue
  62. Kevin Eubanks - Guitarist
  63. Kurt Rosenwinkel - Deep Song
  64. Larry Carlton - Last Nite
  65. Larry Coryell (w John McLaughlin) - Spaces
  66. Lee Ritenour - Rit's House
  67. Lenny Breau - Live on Bourbon Street
  68. Luiz Bonfa - Solo in Rio 1959
  69. Martin Taylor - Spirit of Django
  70. Mike Stern - Play
  71. Mike Stern - Standards (and Other Songs)
  72. Mike Stern - Upside Downside
  73. Mundel Lowe - Guitar Moods
  74. Nguyen Le - Walking on the Tiger's Tail
  75. Norman Brown - After the Storm
  76. Pat Martino - El Hombre
  77. Pat Martino - Footprints
  78. Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life
  79. Pat Metheny - Question and Answer
  80. Pat Metheny/Charlie Haden - Beyond The Missouri Sky
  81. Pat Metheny/John Scofield - I can see Your House From Here
  82. Peter Bernstein - Earth Tones
  83. Peter White - Caravan of Dreams
  84. Phillip Catherine - Summer Night
  85. Ralph Towner - Solstice
  86. Rene Thomas Quintet - Guitar Groove
  87. Robben Ford - Tiger Walk
  88. Ronny Jordan - The Antidote
  89. Rosenberg Trio - Caravan
  90. Stanley Jordan - Stolen Moments
  91. Steve Kahn - The Suitcase (Live)
  92. Sylvain Luc - Trio Sud
  93. Tal Farlow - Verve Jazz Masters 41
  94. Ted Greene - Solo Guitar
  95. Tuck Andress - Wreckless Precision
  96. Wes Montgomery - Boss Guitar
  97. Wes Montgomery - Bumpin'
  98. Wes Montgomery - Full House
  99. Wes Montgomery - Smokin' at the Half Note
  100. Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

Do you agree with this list? Who was ignored? Which albums if any should be tossed? Comment please

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Guitar   Jazz   Music   Top 100  

Comments [1]

Free (the book) by Chris Anderson

height="500" width="100%" > value="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=17135767&access_key=key-1htgstmrudqatvm1xi4t&page=1&version=1&viewMode=">     </object>

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

Free? Anyone whose woken up with a hangover knows beer is never free

Smart as one may be, change is hard on humans.  Malcom Gladwell, Chris Anderson, Mark Cuban, Seth Godin and others are all passionately debating "Free" and it's future. Some people would like to belief free content is a phase, others that free is forever. The debate over free is likely an indication, by itself, that free is here to stay even though everything has a cost.

The efficiency of digital distribution changes things. Where one used to be able to distribute to many at a substantial cost, now one can distribute to everyone in the world with money (and therefore an Internet connection) at nearly zero cost. This jeopardizes any existing business that is based on content or information, like the news and music industries. Only a new and different business model will be competitively successful in the future. Stick with your old business model, and someone will develop a business to take your market away. Not because they are better, but because the glaring opportunity will not be ignored.

However, in a world where content is free and abundant, information organization, structure and insight become relatively more valuable.

If food is free, what becomes most valuable is the appropriate restaurant recommendation, or recipe. If MP3's are free, sell the playlist. If you doubt me witness the attention people are paying to lists. Lists, information organization - this is the new IP consumers want and (I think) would be willing to pay for; especially if it organizes the information in a way that is personal to the consumer.

 

- Eric Pederson

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Economics   Markets  

Comments [0]

Favorite Support One Liners

What are you favorite lines from tech support?
 
Here are a couple of mine:
 
(1). "Just call us if you have any more problems with your service.".
(Telecom support desk)
 
(2). "Email the helpdesk at helpdesk@xxx.com to open up a trouble
ticket". (IT support)
 
(3). "Is your phone working now?". (Live conversation over the phone)
 
There must be better ones - what are your favorites? Add below in
comments or by Twitter http://twitter.com/dealexpert
 
:)

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

Will Twitter survive mainstream adoption?

Scale can be the undoing of certain things. Imagine an intimate get
together with 1,000,000 "friends" attending.
 
Will Twitter survive mainstream adoption?
 
"Twittering" will survive but Twitter is at risk. The inherent
structure of Twitter does not work when and if it becomes very widely
adopted.
 
Social networking sites lose their value as entropy rises - and the
entropy will explode when it is broadly adopted by the populace.
However the idea of character limited short communications in a social
network context was brilliant even if it seems obvious after the fact,
and we should take our hats off to Twitter.
 
People will keep migrating forward to the next platform - we have not
seen the Google of social networking sites yet.
 
Have we?

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

Promising News for Small Businesses: The Long Tail Market is Alive

Small businesses have reason to keep the faith 

eMusic released information today proving just how long the "long tail" of consumer tastes is in music , and small Internet businesses can rejoice in their findings. eMusic, a leader in chasing the "long tail" market in music, has proven the business is out there.

The "long tail" is an exciting concept as a consumer, because it promises more variety in the marketplace.  Not enthralled with the pickings at the Macy's jewelry counter?  Fear not, small quantities of unique and beautiful jewelry that tickle your fancy is available via the web, if you can find it.  Not wild about the songs winning Grammies?  No problem, music you would like, no matter how unique your tastes, is available for download.

Data Proves the Long Tail is Alive
The old music industry has been selling you on the Top 40 and charts of the Top 100, and at any given time heavily promotes only a few artists, essentially telling consumers what they should want.  Consumers traditionally accepted the industry's promoted selection, given that was all that was readily available.  

As more variety becomes available, the industry story about what consumers should want no longer survives scrutiny.  Today eMusic announced that approximately 75% of the some four millions tracks it carries sold at least once during 2008 based on a recent analysis of worldwide sales data.  Let's take a minute and absorb that.

eMusic has found that  people will pay money for something like 3,000,000 tracks outside the Top 40.  This is maybe 30,000 artists outside the mainstream that have a paying audience.  That is a long tail indeed.

This goes against the wisdom of the marketers in the old music industry who know what Al Ries would tell us, that you can only keep the names of a couple top artists or brands in your mind.  It is not that Al Ries is wrong, it's that what people want is not just "music" or "jewelry".  People want things like "late 80's Punk with melodic guitar" or "big earrings with fire opals and feathers".  Consumers' tastes can be very specific.

We allow ourselves to want the most specific objects of our desire as finding them becomes easier, and we are especially compelled to buy them. 

Of course being consumers, you and I,  we knew this all along; the question has been whether business could accommodate our tastes.  The Internet makes it possible and this is fertile ground, ripe for small businesses to develop.

Ever been hungry?  Do you make your dining decisions in your home town based on someone else's list?  Anyone had this conversation?

I am hungry
        -- There are leftovers in the fridge

Lets go out
        -- OK, how about Italian food?

No noodles. Maybe Chinese food
        -- We could pick up some Golden Flower on 1st street

Their food is a little greasy.  Maybe Thai
        -- We've liked the Thai Garden

They have that soup I like, but it is not spicy enough
        -- We could order it extra hot

But its got chicken in it, and my new years resolution was to eat vegetarian
        -- We can ask them to make it without meat

OK, lets go


Conclusion
There is money to be made connecting the individual consumer to those things they most specifically desire.  This may not be a billion dollar opportunity in many cases, but it is a very real opportunity where people will happily part with their cash.


Postscript note: eMusic is a monthly subscription service for MP3 downloads.  If you're interested in learning about them, check out this Review of eMusic .


Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   longtail   marketing   music  

Comments [0]

Life is Busy Contemplation #1: How to Set Your Sights on Greatness

Life is busy and time to contemplate can get lost in the shuffle.  We know things which sometimes we forget.  I am trying to remember.  Here are some principles that come to mind.


  • We tend to hit the things we aim at
If we're aiming toward a tree we tend to hit the tree, especially rather than whatever is in the opposite direction.  We may not hit the tree, but we'll hit closer to it than if we aim for something else.

Someone that wants to be an entertainer probably is not well served by becoming a policeman, or at least they are less likely to become an entertainer if they focus on something other than entertainment.  In life there are no guarantees, which is what we really want.  We want to know that if we try something, we will succeed.  No such guarantee exists.

Still, we're more likely to achieve something, or succeed in the direction of something, if we focus on it and if we make it our explicit target.

  • The tendency to hit our target gets greater the more shots we take
If one is not already an expert marksman, one cannot expect to hit a target on the first shot.  The first shot will give us an idea of what corrections to make, the second shot will give us a better idea of further refinements, and so forth.  If we miss on either side of the target then we have it bracketed and we will hit it with adjustments, if we just keep taking shots.

It is completely unreasonable to think we will be successful at something new right off the bat.  Humans are born with limited instinctive skills, but with an amazing ability to learn and adapt.  Success tends to come from the focused targeting and learning as we persevere until we hit our mark.

  • When our egos discourage us from shooting at our target, they do us a disservice

Egos are a social artifact of our personality, a personal manifestation of our status in the group, however they discourage us from taking shots at new things.  Missing a target is generally seen as a failure socially, but we cannot expect to hit a new target on the first try.  The effect of the ego can be to avoid trying things which are new and different. 

When the ego is in the way, the answer may be to be anti-social, pursuing our goals apart from the scrutiny of those in our social circle.  You may go into seclusion and not talk to your old friends for a year, you might share fewer details of your life with your parents during this period, old romantic interests may be avoided.  This may be necessary to keep shooting at your target without emotional turmoil and distraction.

  • Remember we are social animals

While different people are different, Man in general is a social animal, we define ourselves in terms of other humans and human society.  Ultimately we cannot have a meaningful life taking shots for eternity with no one around.  If a person chops down a tree in a forest and no one else hears it fall, it doesn't mean anything.  There is going to be a limit on how long you can shoot for something in isolation, so if we can find a social environment that supports our endeavors rather than challenges our ego, we are in a better position to persevere toward the great goals we have had the courage to set for ourselves.

Perhaps we can be great without accomplishing great things, but striving for great things is part of the human make-up.  We should remember to focus on that we really want to achieve, and know that it takes many attempts and perseverance to achieve great things.  Keeping our ego out of the way may mean we need to avoid relationships that engage our ego during our trial and errors, but we all need people and there will be people out there who can be supportive as we strive for greatness.


This is all stuff that you and I know, but writing it down, or reading it, may help us remember that personal path each of us needs to choose.  After all, life is busy and sometimes there is little time to contemplate.

Lift your head up to look for shore, then get back to paddling your canoe!


Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Contemplation   Goal Pursuit  

Comments [0]

Putting People into Twitter Groups - Have I Got It Right? Where do You Fit?

One nice feature of TweetDeck , a desktop client application for Twitter, is the ability to put people one is following into groups.  That way you don't miss a tweet (140 character note) from your girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse while you are having a fascinating discussion about internet marketing with someone else.


The question remains, what groups to use?

Here is my take on groups or categories of people I am following.  My question for you - have I missed the boat on this?  Is there a proper group for you here, and aside from what I think, where would you say you fit?

Groups
  • Interesting People
  • Conversationalists
  • Thinkers
  • Builders
  • Generals
  • News
Surely everyone fits one or more of these, or have I got it all wrong?  Let me know @dealexpert 

/EP

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Twitter  

Comments [0]

Going to Launch - Soccer Blog - Launch, not Lunch! Attacking90.com

The Attacking90.com soccer blog may be of interest to die hard soccer fans, or Soccer Moms and Dads who find themselves getting sucked into the vortex of that sport.  It's about US and International soccer, teams, coaching, and news.

Over the course of my sons' growing up I went from "what is soccer" to:
  • Soccer parent
  • Soccer coach
  • Soccer coach requested by players
  • Soccer coach my sons no longer wanted to play for
  • Soccer parent
  • Subscriber to Fox Soccer Channel (FSC)
  • Occasional soccer player in the older league
  • Soccer player asking about forming even older, older leagues

All in all its a great sport that one really can play "for life" and it keeps me from having to prove myself by either signing up for a Everest summit expedition, or paddling a surfboard out at Mavericks , which is far too close to home for convenient excuses (but "sorry I have a soccer game" works OK).

So check out my world renowned soccer blog now!

Happy football!


Eric Pederson

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Soccer  

Comments [0]

After Christmas Sales - Specific Deals Found - and add your blog

The best deals on consumer goods in the after Christmas sale period may be found at brick and mortar stores rather than online.  There is something about physically holding stock one is unable to sell that really encourages making whatever deal it takes to sell it.


I'm offering this post as a place to collect intelligence on the deals being made.  If you are out and about (at the stores or online) here's how to play:

Add a comment to this post with the following information:

Store:
Brand & Item:
Price:
Link to your blog post if you are blogging about it:
Any commentary you want to add:

More perfect information about prices being offered makes it a more competitive marketplace!

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   consumer  

Comments [2]