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73. Getting old isn't all bad. My friends consider me a poor person and yet somehow I seem to have almost everything I ever wanted: several excellent acoustic guitars, an extensive collection of jazz, a huge library of books, a nice collection of cookware, clothes, video, computers, a reliable car etc, etc. I've lost much of my vocal range but my guitar has ripened over 60 years of playing and I'm able to amuse myself for hours every day. I'm retired, collect social security, and my needs are pretty modest so I don't have to work. Just at the moment the ghosts of all those long ago sports injuries have begun to haunt me and joint pain has become a way of life, cannabis has become legal (sort of) and excellent dry herb vaporizers have come on the market. I've had a hippie dream of living out in the country in Oregon since I was a teen and now I do.

They are rock solid as a seller and has been mentioned, tend to undergrade.

A film still of Una Mae Carlisle on the set of “I Like It ’Cause I Love It,” a soundie from 1944. (Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture)

Turned 60 last September. There is no plan to retire because there is no money and I do mean that literally. We operate at a deficit. My wife can't find a job that pays more and I fear she is about to be passed over for the one position that seemed the best possibility only a week ago. Our retirement plan consists of: my wife outliving me (I've maintaiined a life insurance policy, she let hers lapse and hasn't replaced) OR winning the lottery OR, me outliving my mother and her not outliving her assets. Given the above I am not sure why I made such an effort to achieve a level of fitness and general "health" in the last 23 months (down 90 pounds, normal BP and cholesterol and A1C) but I was tired of seeing myself at 275 and I figure "live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse": I can now achieve the last, at least. Being over 60 all my friends seem to speak of is our weight and whatever medical issue or test result comes down the pike. It's pretty boring frankly.

"Age is a condition, not an argument" (Helmut Kohl, former German Chancellor) ...

I love the sound of lovely Una Mae Carlisle’s voice and her phrasing. I wish someone would look deep inside the Columbia vaults. . . I bet there is more to discover there. Una Mae Carlisle “1944 - 1950” Chronogical Classics cd

Enjoyed the article Mark. Not enough Barry though.

I should add that, after my first 12 hour surgery I stopped sleeping (this was 2021). Six months went by; I was sleepless and suicidal until I discovered THC which, in small dosages, has kept me sane since September 2021. Thank goodness it was legalized and I recommend it; it kept me out of the looney bin (so far at least).

Youngster. So much to come ahead of you!

Colin Steele Quartet - The Blue Nile (Marina Records)

One of the (too few) albums that Duke Ellington was able to produce for Reprise Records before Sinatra sold the label, this one featuring one of his favorite people, Swedish singer Alice Babs. “Serenade to Sweden” Real Gone cd I have never become a fan of "New York Reunion"--I've really tried, I have the SACD. It's partly the sound which I don't connect with, and partly the music itself which I don't find that interesting. I do like the Swainson album a lot.

Only one of two albums he made. The other (Indian Summer) was recorded by Chuck.

I'm about 40 miles east of downtown Cleveland, out in the "rural suburbs," in Munson Township, Geauga County, Ohio. Trump country unfortunately, but I am living in a sparsely housed wooded neighborhood directly across from a large state wildlife preserve (read big forest, a half a mile up a really steep hill from a man-made lake, Bass Lake. It's nice to no longer be in an urban, and just outside of a suburban, environment, but it has disadvantages in the heaviest snowfalls of NE Ohio perhaps, and because of the forest and trees abounding dangers due to high winds (which have become a thing when a few years ago they were NOT). There's really so little going on in my life to talk about that the weather has more import to me than it ever did before.

I have seen live with varios groups. I am looking forward to hearing him tonight.

he's impressive indeed, saw him with Pharoah Sanders in 2019...

I'm 58.

Benito Gonzalez was out of this world last night. If you haven't seen him play live yet, prepare to be amazed.

I sometimes wonder about Joe taking so many sideman dates around this time (late 80's/early 90's). He did a lot of them. This is certainly one of the good ones. My favorite sideman date from this time is probably the one he did with Neil Swainson but Tyner's "New York Reunion" is great too.

I was in my late 20s when I had to quit playing basketball. When I was at Raytheon, we had a pickup game every Monday night. We played for hours. My first years out of college, I was still able to play OK. I could get my shot off without getting blocked and I could drive to the hoop and even sneak a layup by one of the bigger guys. Then after about 4 years, some younger guys fresh out of school started playing. I was getting my shots blocked and getting stripped every other time I came down the court with the ball. It was extremely frustrating. I switched to volleyball shortly after that. I played volleyball 3 or 4 nights a week until I was in my early 50's and loved it. Now I really can't jump much and I really shouldn't be diving around on a hard floor. I do think about playing again. There was a time when several of the guys I played with were in their late 60's. One guy played until he was 75. He couldn't spike and he never dove, but he could still bump/set/serve fine, which was more than a lot of the younger players could do.