a reissue from the Very Special Old Phonography label. Oh well. I’m sure the record is nice and I will play it and listen to it sometime soon and give you all a report. One of the nice things about having the record, even if it’s a reissue, is having access to the liner notes, which help to explain what J. R. Monterose was doing in Cedar Rapids in the first place, playing with the world famous Joe Abodeely trio. Here’s some quotes from J.R. from the liner notes: “From the time I started to play, I was under the impression that New York City was the place for jazzmen.” Then, he moved upstate and played in Albany and, eventually did 16 weeks in Ocean City, Md. “The tourists really dug it,” J.R. said. “The same thing happened in Albany. So, I decided to keep my eyes open for places in smaller areas where I could play my kind of jazz.” That led him to The Tender Trap Night Club in Cedar Rapids, where he had been playing for ten months at the time of this recording in 1964. So there you have it.