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Rereading Calvino's Invisible Cities (for probably the 3rd or even 4th time) I am almost through Walden as well. I've read long excerpts in the past, but this is the first time reading the entire thing. And maybe a third of the way through di Lampedusa's The Leopard, for the first time. (Planning on watching the movie soon as well, which I have never gotten around to seeing either...)

From what is likely my final BRO order (RIP): The first disc has Josquin Missa "L'homme arme sexti toni" + Machaut Messe Nostre Dame. Second disc is various Chansons and Estampies by notable composers.

Riccardo Muti - The Complete Warner Symphonic Recordings, disc 84.

I lived in DC in 1970 and 1971. Cal's Skye records were everywhere. CCR's records were everywhere. So it surprises me that I didn't see Cal's Fantasy issues in the stores along with the CCRs.

I like CCR when I hear them on the oldies radio. But (like a lot of the stuff that comes off well on radio) one tune at a time is kind of the limit...a whole album or even LP side gets monotonous.

Yeah, Fogarty had a hot string of radio hits, his band left him, and he had exactly one hit after. I get that he feels like he got screwed, but objectively, he got stuck with the deal he made and he was kinda over before he had leverage to redo terms. Welcome to the record business. He wasn't the first and he won't be the last. Besides, CCR...good to hear on the oldies radio, but geez, who still listens to that? Ever? Take me out coach, I'm not ready to play.

Next up: with Billy Childs, Jeff Carney, and Eddie Marshall

Surprisingly good!

Thanks for correcting that. I read your original and (having dim memories of the John Fogarty brouhaha) thought I was losing my mind. 🤪

Same here.

Hey, Zaentz did business with Mingus...

Now spinning: LP 1 of 2 - originally released as All Smiles

That's what it sounded like in Duncan's book.

I got some interesting items from them, but this was many moons ago. Shipping fees from the US to Europe simply were prohibitive. I wish them well. They deserve their retirement.

The say they'll be selling their inventory to wholesalers. Where are the likely destinations for megabuttloads of all those micro-sized specialty classical labels? With the lack of old-school record stores, are their cutout bins left anywhere?

I'm sad to see them go, but I found their website maddening.

I haven't ordered from them in a long time. I used to get great deals on small label Jazz CDs & SACDs but I bet my last order was close to 15 years ago now.

Power Rankings https://3downnation.com/2025/07/21/3downnation-cfl-power-rankings-saskatchewan-roughriders-rebound-in-dominant-fashion/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/2025-week-7-piffles-power-rankings/ ***** Season review https://www.cfl.ca/2025/07/21/mmqb-6-breakout-players-at-the-one-third-mark/ ***** Week 7 reviews https://www.cfl.ca/2025/07/21/5-pff-stats-that-stand-out-from-week-7/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/07/21/landrys-5-takeaways-from-week-7-4/

Did you get any help with this?

Yoko Yates Deepens Her Evocative, Original Vision with "Eternal Moments," To Be Released September 19 by Banka Records Pianist-Composer's Second Album Features 10 Originals In a Quintet with Jamie Baum, Sam Sadigursky, Aryeh Kobrinsky, Jeff Hirshfield CD Release Concert at Greenwich House Music School, NYC; Saturday, September 20   July 21, 2025 Pianist-composer Yoko Yates expands on her unique musical concept on her Eternal Moments, her stunning sophomore album, set for a September 19 release on Banka Records. Retaining the quintet from her 2022 debut Mystic Life—flutist Jamie Baum, multi-reedist Sam Sadigursky, bassist Aryeh Kobrinsky, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield—it also includes 10 original post-bop jazz compositions that explore Yates’s enmeshed fascinations with visual imagery, autobiography, and the natural world. Eternal Moments is thus a natural, entirely organic follow-up to the much-lauded Mystic Life. “My first album was dedicated to childhood memory. I wrote from experiences related to nature and the world,” Yates explains. “This one is a little similar, but inspired by more recent experiences or events. I try to express more emotional complexity and more phases of each event, exploring a little more deeply.” Yates also makes use of her visual imagination, spawning the evocative imagery of titles like “Winding River,” “The Flower Before Its Last Day,” and opener “Outer Space – Myriad Stars!” The music behind these and other titles is melodic and highly expressive. Yates, Baum, and Sadigursky (on clarinet) coalesce into a moody but flourishing glory on “The Flower Before Its Last Day,” while on “Collage of Life” that same front line—Sadigursky now on bass clarinet—form themselves into intriguing patterns, Kobrinsky and Hirshfield seeming to fasten them in place. The album’s autobiographical element occurs via Yates’s drawing on her own experiences and memories of nature in its many guises. Both “Aster” and “Song of the Wild” reflect her keen observations of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in the spring and fall, respectively. “Winter Calls” and “Steps of Spring” also paint pictures of the seasons as Yates has seen them. “Outer Space – Myriad Stars!” captures her captivation with the idea of space travel. Yates, who studied both visual art and classical music in her youth, approaches jazz with a painter’s eye, a chamber player’s ear, and a stubborn individualist’s sense of style. “I like to express my feelings and emotions and I don’t care particularly about the form or genre,” she says. When the results are as thoughtful and gorgeous as the music of Eternal Moments, that approach will receive few complaints. Yoko Yates was born in Sapporo City, Japan, to a music-loving family that from as long as she can remember exposed her to a wide variety of styles. She began her piano studies at the age of four. While the training was classical, the era was the 1960s, and Yates was soon attracted to rock music, then to jazz when she discovered pianists Oscar Peterson and Toshiko Akiyoshi. Beginning her secondary studies at her hometown’s Hokkaido University of Education, she transitioned to the United States and to Boston’s Berklee College of Music after winning Sapporo City’s Cultural Merit Scholarship and Berklee’s Professional Music Scholarship. She completed her bachelor’s degree in music at Berklee, then enrolled at Lesley University in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a master’s in education, followed by the doctoral program in music education from Columbia University, Teachers College in New York City. For nearly 30 years, Yates has enjoyed a career in music education. Since 1996 she has been a faculty member in piano studies at both Manhattan’s Greenwich House Music School and at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music—serving for two years as the latter’s piano chair. She has also taught at several other schools. In the meantime, Yates has also maintained a parallel career as a performing pianist (and occasional vocalist) and composer. She has written and performed for films, media, and literary events, including the Japanese news program Reuters Business Weekly; journalist Kyoko Gasha’s award-winning 2009 documentary film Mothers’ Way, Daughters’ Choice; and author Akiko Endo’s 9.11, My Journey of Jasmine. In April 2022, Yates released Mystic Life, her first album as a leader, on Steeplechase Records with a quintet that featured flutist Jamie Baum, saxophonist/clarinetist Sam Sadigursky, bassist Aryeh Kobrinsky, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. Eternal Moments, featuring the same personnel, is her second recording. Yates's label name Banka has the meaning of “‘many different kinds of flowers’ and ‘changing in various ways,’ so ‘kaleidoscope’ is a good description of my music, with many compositions about nature involving different styles and elements.” Yoko Yates and her quintet will perform a CD release concert at the Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street in New York City, on Sat. 9/20. Photography: Erika Kapin    Yoko Yates "Eternal Moments" EPK   Yoko Yates Website  

Hamilton 30....Ottawa 15 The Redblacks were able to keep it close until Brown went down. Both Shiltz and Crum have not looked good when called upon. The Ticats have won their last four, all against Eastern opponents. https://www.cfl.ca/2025/07/20/recap-hamilton-30-ottawa-15/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/07/20/tiger-cats-win-fourth-in-a-row-after-defeating-redblacks/ https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/surging-hamilton-tiger-cats-top-struggling-ottawa-redblacks-for-fourth-straight-win-1.2337435 https://3downnation.com/2025/07/20/hamilton-tiger-cats-qb-bo-levi-mitchell-enters-top-10-in-all-time-cfl-passing-yards/ https://3downnation.com/2025/07/21/ottawa-redblacks-lose-game-dru-brown-to-hamilton-tiger-cats-12-other-thoughts/ https://3downnation.com/2025/07/21/hamilton-tiger-cats-keep-pace-atop-east-division-with-wire-to-wire-win-over-redblacks-eight-other-thoughts/ https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/cfl-scores-today-hamilton-tiger-cats-30-ottawa-redblacks-15-tiger-cats-extend-win-streak-to-four-games/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/07/20/3-stats-that-defined-hamiltons-week-7-win-over-ottawa/

PS plus Alexander Hawkins on piano, compelling.