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Jack and Al I heard Jack DeJohnette live many times, but the first time I saw him in person he wasn’t performing. He was hanging out in the corner of a long-gone Greenwich Village club, Lush Life, checking out a casual trio gig by pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Al Foster. It was March 1982 and I was 18.  On the break, my older brother crossed paths with Al at the sink in the men’s room. Without prompting, Al looked at my brother and said, excitedly, “Did you see Jack DeJohnette is in the club?! I’m so nervous! Jack is my idol!” Think for second about how brilliant Al Foster was, and how much he had accomplished by 1982. Only five months younger than Jack, Al was 39 and at the top of his game. Yet Jack’s presence at his gig had Al gushing like a 12-year-old who just saw his favorite baseball player in the flesh. That’s how great Jack DeJohnette was and how much respect he commanded from his peers. Now both Jack and Al are gone, having ided almost exactly five months apart. They died almost exactly five months apart, Al at 82 on May 28 and Jack at 83 three days ago on the 26th.   It's almost impossible to fathom how much aesthetic ground Jack covered during his career, how many diverse bands and recordings he defined with his creativity and unique sound, how many drummers he influenced. Jack remains in a class by himself, partly because beyond his landmark work as a drummer, he was also an imposing bandleader, composer, conceptualist, and multi-instrumentalist.  But Al also belongs in the top tier of post-bop drummers, and it’s interesting to think about the similarities and differences between them. Both were first-rate colorists, masters of texture and dynamics, each able to strike a groove across a dizzying array of idioms. There was more pure bebop in Al’s DNA than in Jack’s. Al might opt for minimalism where Jack might choose a maximalist approach. These are just generalities, of course. The decision making of both drummers was at once remarkably advanced and unpredictable. I never heard either make a bad choice on the bandstand. Some losses are tougher than others but losing Al  and Jack within five months? Goddman ... All I can say is that whoever is running this fucking circus better be taking damn good care of Billy Hart and Louis Hayes.

I love her cover of "Sign o' the Times", closing the bonus tracks portion of the previous CD version.    

Don't know how

Due to Lucinda’s broken arm we opted out of our usual Halloween dispensing and had a quiet evening. It’s a cold morning, but the quietness continues. Starting off the morning before Lucinda awakens with Pharoah Sanders “Heart is a Melody” from this box set

That's so small. Would love to see a bigger picture