Patrick

Braves appear to be having a good time Sunday night in CLE. Not sure they will need a closer this evening.

Perhaps "Never Can Say Goodbye" or a Beatles tune performed by this organ trio called Organissimo?

Tonight: Henry Threadgill "Double Up Plays Double Up Plus" Tomorrow: Vijay Iyer Sextet First time that I get to experience either of these artists.

I have not watched the clip, and only skimmed the ad copy. Do folks still read these ads beyond learning the basics: leader name and players, album title, and label? Don't we have ECM ad copy in a separate thread because it is ad copy that is generally a waste of time to read (beyond the key facts listed above)? After that initial skim, I scroll down to see reactions of other (hopefully non-street team) community members. I have a few of the earlier Boom Tic Boom releases which haven't yet grabbed me, though I haven't spent that much time with them. My introduction to Alison Miller was playing with Ben Allison's Stars Look Very Different Today group with Steve Cardenas and Brandon Seabrook on guitars/banjo. Allison was tremendous/fully armed etc. in that setting. It was due to that experience that I'm exploring (to some degree) her work in other settings. My question to the musicians around here is whether the clip illustrates anything about the difficulty/challenges of being a band leader. Or is the view that this just reflects poor taste in material/method of execution? Or something else?

Familiar pattern for Tribe at season's start. Solid start by Kluber but zero offense against the Twins. Obviously missing Lindor, but...

Here is what was pitched as the US debut (following appearance at Berlin Jazz Festival) of the Roscoe Mitchell with Moor Mother duo. I'll freely admit to not being deeply familiar with the Roscoe cannon, but I'm not sure what to make of his contribution here. Interesting poetry/soundscape performance by MM but to me would have been more accurately billed as Moor Mother with Roscoe Mitchell. Millennium Stage

I had similar issue with parental units misplacing cordless phones. It got so bad that when we moved them into a care facility, I purchased a corded phone with big buttons. Parked it next to her chair in the living room area of her apartment and it worked well. She has since moved to a different (service) level and the phone jack is inconveniently located in the bedroom, so I am reevaluating cordless possibilities. One friend suggested just buying one that comes w several handsets and deploy them if/when they go missing.

Thanks for mentioning Moor Mother. I'm not familiar with her or her work. She and Roscoe are slated to perform a free concert on the Millennium Stage at Kennedy Center this Thursday, just prior to a show by Mary Halvorson's Code Girl. I don't know if Roscoe has any other performances lined up in DC area around this time.

Washington Performing Arts Society intends to commemorate her centennial with several performances next year. Here is a flyer that includes links to one or more of the stories linked to above, including a Smithsonian piece by the aforementioned Karen Chilton.

Tom (...or "Rooster" ), Couple of suggestions, mostly echoing others. 1. I'm not sure it suffices to have your name on your father's financial accounts. In order to avoid probate, you probably need a designation like "Joint and Survivor account" or "Transfer on Death" or "Payable on Death". With something like this in place, the financial institution should only need an official copy of death certificate to transfer the remaining assets to you. I'm not a lawyer, and this very well may vary by state. But this is planning that is worthwhile addressing now. And unless there is some tax burden that gets reduced w trust, I'd avoid them if there is another more direct solution. When that time comes, you will want things to be as simple as possible (and avoid/reduce court/lawyer/trustee costs). If there is an IRA involved, I believe one has to designate an inheritor. Check w bank if this is already set up. 2. Less urgent, but to simplify life would it make sense to consolidate various financial accounts? Again, you will want a simplified situation. 3. No one else has mentioned it, but have you looked at all into services offered by an Employee Assistance Program? They can be useful for getting some local (to your father) leads on elder law attorneys etc. When it came time to fine such an attorney for my (Ohio) parents' situation, the EAP offered by my wife's employer provided some useful leads. [Like your wife, I am a federal employee, but have not sampled the fed EAP.] 4. Plan on several visits out there. While the opportunity cost of your time and travel expenses should not be ignored, don't plan to get a ton done each time. It is stressful, and it is about stuff most of us encounter only when we are actually facing it for the first time. With my folks (both w dementia), it was a real grind meeting with lawyers, financial advisers, banks, assisted living residences etc. I felt exhausted every evening, despite having a fair amount of dead time most days. 5. Recognize that you have some freedom in how various meetings get scheduled. If St Louis is close by, arrange to be in town when you can take in a performance or something. Obviously, this is much lower priority than your main mission, but you (and your saintly spouse) will benefit from chill mode for a couple of hours. Seriously. Along these lines, if you have friends that still live in the area (or are willing to drive over from KC?), see if a shared meal somewhere can happen without too much logistic/transportation hassle. Again this is mainly for your mental health, and defer that planning to one of those friends. Just put it out there and see. 6. Based on your brief descriptions, your father is a creative force, and pretty damn robust. That is awesome! He is now a bit less robust, and would benefit from your help. Dealing with this from distance is definitely stressful, especially if you don't (yet?) have some local feet on the ground that can check in/help along various dimensions. But you are well organized and have an awesome wife, so this will get solved. Much grinding ahead.

Jason Moran has an extended project on James Reese Europe. Enjoyed the trio playing many of these tunes at Vanguard during Thanksgiving, before seeing the more theatrical show at the Kennedy Center.

I was at that show. My first time experiencing Shepp. He leaned against or half sat in a chair for the 60-70 minutes that he was on stage. Took the time to introduce every tune and connections to Coltrane (like explaining who Cousin Mary was) which I think is how most such theater shows should go. I greatly enjoyed the performance, though primarily due to the material and the supporting band. I’m a big fan of Moran and Waits, trumpeter Amir ElSaffar was the revelation to me, and bassist Daryl Hall was solid. Shepp played just a few choruses on each tune, and at times it seemed the ensemble wasn’t sure what should happen next (and not necessarily in a good way).

I think it was in parts of flyover country.

Thursday -- Nicole Saphos Friday -- Miguel Zenon and Spektral string Quartet performing his recent Yo Soy La Tradicion (available on Miel Music) Saturday -- Cecile McLorin Salvant performing Ogresse

Congrats to Mookie. So does the proper pronunciation rhyme with "bookie" (like the Mets outfielder) or more of the boo/Lou sound in first syllable? Or totally optional, as long as you smile while saying it?