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Regarding Gilbert's "catch," how did that not hurt? Or rip the short off his back?

First Weekend of New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival First Thursday: Starting and ending the day with Mali guitar great Vieux Farka Toure (Blues Tent and Cultural Pavillion). Fantastic. Peter Harris Presents Double Bird: Bassist Peter Harris presides over different jazz groups four nights a week at the Bayou Bar in New Orleans. Aurora Nealand the the Royal Roses (Special Edition). I had not seen the Royal Roses since 2022 at the Big Ears Festival. This lineup featured three reed players (Rex Gregory and James Evans). Started off with an amazing composition taken from a Punch Miller piano roll. There were also Ellington and Sidney Bechet songs. Set was ecstatic. First Friday: Ex-Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio guitarist now has his own organ trio, Parlor Greens. He's a real fine guitarist and the group was quite exciting. Wendell Brunious: In Economy Hall, but more of a swing era style small group led by New Orleans trumpet icon Wendell Brunious. This group really swung hard, with William Moten on bass and the groove master Herlin Riley on drums. Tribute to Ragtime Piano, with David Boeddinghaus, Tom McDermott, and Terry Waldo. Each pianist played for twenty minutes. I gather Terry Waldo is the best known but Tom McDermott was the best of the three. Adonis Rose Orchestra with Andromeda Turre: Formerly the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Excellent big band. Andromeda Turre (Steve Turre's daughter) joined on vocals for the second half of the set. She was good. Hiromi's Sonic Wonder: Featured Adam O'Farrell on trumpet. This is Hiromi's version of a fusion band. The compositions were elaborate and her virtuosity was very impressive. Very good set. First Saturday: Hordes of Stevie Nicks fans descended on the Fairgrounds, making for an overcrowded mess. My schedule was light and I left early. David Bode Big Band: A new to me saxophonist/leader. It was a solid big band, including Rex Gregory. Mahmoud Chouki: My favorite New Orleans based Jazz musician on acoustic guitar and oud, with a band including Ricardo Pascal on saxophone and Oscar Rossignoli on piano, performed another electrifying set. First Sunday: Roger Lewis Baritone Bliss: Four baritone saxophonists, plus bass saxophone and drums. Started off with a dedication to Kidd Jordan. A very pleasant surprise as this set was outstanding. Catherine Russell (interview and performance in Economy Hall): This woman is really a great vocalist. Ron Carter Foresight Quartet: With Jimmy Greene on saxophone and Rene Rosnes on piano, at 89 Ron Carter was an ageless wonder, sounding just as good as ever. Wonderful set.

A lot of great pictures are showing up on Facebook. I liked this one: He was good friends with John Fedcock. John posted this tribute on Facebook: The world lost someone special today. There are few people who touch your life in a way that makes an indelible mark, and Paul McKee was one of those people. He was one of my oldest and dearest friends. I first met him in 1984. An opening came up on Woody Herman’s band, and I was given the task of hiring the new trombonist. In reviewing all the audition tapes, Paul was the clear winner, without question. His soloing was so mature for someone in their 20s, and the charts he shared on the tape were professional level. I still have that tape! After only a day or two on the band, we just clicked and have been close ever since. We shared so much in our likes, dislikes, musical heroes, best-liked movies, favorite comedians, the way we thought about music, etc, it was like I had known him my whole life. We both left Woody’s band on the same day in the summer of 1987, and although going our separate ways to different parts of the country, we stayed in close touch and continued to work together. On the road, we developed a special musical connection, first born from us playing unaccompanied choruses together, inspired by our mutual love for bootleg recordings of Carl Fontana and Frank Rosolino doing the same. That developed into a special kind of telepathy when playing in small groups over subsequent years, to the point of us many times falling into the exact same line for a quick few beats amidst an involved counterpoint. That never failed to crack us up. My experiences playing with Paul were some of the most important moments in my musical life. But he was not only a master musician. Paul was also just a fantastic guy. Someone that everyone loved. A great hang. An amazing wit. A BBQ & grill master. To be able to call him a true friend is a privilege I will never take for granted. My heartfelt love, thoughts and unending support are with Angie, Sam and Julia in this immensely difficult time. I feel honored to have been with Paul during his last days on this earth. I will miss him for the rest of my life. But I’m also so glad to carry with me all of the special memories from everything we shared. Rest easy, my friend. You will be in our thoughts forever.

That's the only one. Everything is with Aebi; I know she wants it to go to an institution but nothing has happened as far as I am aware.

April 29, 2026: Robert Cray, Heights Theater, Houston April 30, 2026: Isaiah Collier (The World is on Fire), Steve Masakowski Family Band, Sasha Masakowsti as Trash Magnolia, Helen Gillet, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials, Poor David's Pub, Dallas May 1, 2026: Terence Blanchard with Ravi Coltrane; Charlie Gabriel; Victor Campbell, Stephen Walker, D.K. Harrell, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Jackie Venson, Main Street Crossing, Tombull May 2, 2026: Dianne Reeves; Uptown Jazz Orchestra; Alexey Marti, Leroy Jones, Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers feat. Dr. Michael White and Shaye Cohn, Larry McCray, Leyla McCalla, , New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Kenny Garrett, Jazz and Blues Market, New Orleans Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan (sitar), Unity Church of the Hills, Austin May 3, 2026: Herbie Hancock; Jason Marsalis, Trumpet Mafia featuring Keyon Harold, Jackie Venson, Lila Ike (Jamaica), Doreen's Jazz New Orleans, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival May 8, 2026: Guitar Prasanna, Windmills, The Colony May 9, 2026: Hiromi's Sonic Wonder, Cullen Theater, Houston Guitar Prasanna, Windmills, The Colony May 16, 2026: Chucho Valdes, Paramount Theater, Austin Sandip Chatterjee (Violin) & Subhajyoti Guha (Tabla), Kathak Rhythm Studios, Plano May 17, 2026: Lucia, Eldorado Ballroom, Houston May 21, 2026, Stockton Helbing, Bank of America Theater, Richardson May 30, 2026: Jackie Venson, Beer City Music Hall, Oklahoma City June 6, 2026: L Shankar (double violin), Unity Church of the Hills, Austin Abhisek Lahiri (Sarod) & Subrata Bhattacharya (Tabla), Kathak Rhythm Studios, Plano June 7, 2026: Eleonora Strino Duo, Unity of Dallas June 8, 2026: Eleonora Strino Duo, Bates Recital Hall, Austin June 9, 2026: Eleonora Strino Duo, Dianne Benaco Concert Hall, San Antonio June 10, 2026: Eleonora Strino Duo, Bayou Theater, Houston June 11, 2026: Shelley Carrol, Bank of America Theater, Richardson June 19, 2026: Mohini Dey, Windmills, The Colony June 20, 2026: Mohini Dey, Windmills, The Colony June 26, 2026: Oz Noy, Windmills, the Colony June 27, 2026: Oz Noy, Windmills, The Colony August 22, 2026: S. Akash (flute) & Vivek Pandya (tabla)/ Manas Kumar (violin) and Ojas Adhiya (tabla), Unity Church of the Hills, Austin August 27, 2026: Buddy Guy, Majestic Theater, San Antonio August 28, 2026: Buddy Guy, Austin City Limits August 29, 2026: Buddy Guy, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands August 30, 2026: Buddy Guy, Majestic Theater, Dallas September 5, 2026: Samara Joy, Riverfront Jazz Festival, Dallas October 10, 2026: Niladri Kumar (sitar), Stafford Center, Houston October 11, 2026: Niladri Kumar (sitar), Austin October 18, L. Shankar (violin), Selvaganesh Vinayakram, Swaminathan, Amit Kaythekar (percussion), Matchbox4, Houston

We had him over for dinner once. He was a big man, and he ate robustly but never gluttonishly. Similarly, his comportment was musicianly but always respectful, especially around my wife. The evening seemed to have been a delight for all!!!

Disc 2

R.I.P.

$#@! Another fine man to be missed.

Both the performance and the sound quality far exceeded my expectations. I think this is a fantastic live recording. “Giant Steps” is great, but “Satellite” is this good (including McCoy) —I wonder why it never made it into their live repertoire. I definitely want to hear the rest of the recordings.

This now 20 year old release was supposed to be the first volume in a Lacy Archives series that never materialized: https://www.discogs.com/release/2345655-Steve-Lacy-Quintet-Esteem-Live-In-Paris-1975

Wow, great sound. Miles Davis 'Round About Midnight, Sony 2 SACD set in 7" packaging 2026 release, disc 1

Love this set. I find it interesting that Pepper here sounds much closer to ‘late Pepper’ than I was expecting. I can’t think of much live Art from this earlier phase of his extraordinary career.

From a recent batch of LPs at a very nice price … John Tchicai——Timo’s message—-( Black Saint) this was more in the tradition than I was expecting with some inside/outside playing that I love.

Have any recordings been issued from Lacy's tape archive? I have not seen or heard of any. If so, one wonders why not? Presumably, his estate and the archive are with Irene Aebi.

Buy any recording of La Venexiana with confidence.

Interesting to hear Trane playing Giant Steps on a live recording. In comparison the well known studio version now sounds to me like he was on speed or something.

Sad news .....

I didn't know he was sick. I've seen several Facebook posts from his numerous students. He was a well-respected teacher, with stints at University of Colorado, DePaul University, Youngstown State University, Northern Illinois University, the University of Missouri at Kansas City and Florida State University.

Damn I read this as Mitch Miller and expected an ode to singalongs.

Starting off a cool morning with disc 2 of Yusef Lateef “Alight Upon The Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase” Resonance Records 3 cd set This is so far my favorite of the new Resonance releases. Kenny Barron really delivers on this one.

Evolution Ensemble Unity – Concrete Voices

Mtume - In Search of the Rainbow Seekers

Philip Catherine & Martin Wind - New Folks (ACT)

Very sorry to hear of this. I thought of him from time to time. RIP Free For All!