Chicago Expat

They had Jason Moran's "Ten", Garbarek's "Dresden" and TBP's latest, can't remember what it was called, like "Don't Stop" or something. That's about the only new jazz of note I can remember hitting in the last six months. Other than that, they got some more Verve Originals during that stretch, too, though I unsure what kind of appeal they have to listeners. I do miss BMG. I used to take advantage of those sales where it was something like buy one at regular price, get two free, and every other album 90% off. We would pick up enough cds (like 40 or more) to get our effective price down to two dollars and change. Those were the days.

Sheet music? (not really sure what this emoticon is, but it seemed apropos.)

The lawsuit won't go anywhere, but as a fan, I totally think the guy is a hero. I haven't yet read anything about what the potential fallout from this will be. But from the view of my recliner, IMO, it will really test the resolve of the owner's solidarity. All it'll take is for one owner to scoop up another team's free agent or make a trade of draft picks with another team's arch rival, and then the owners will begin a major slap-fight over who's not being nice. And if the owners don't go to any Machiavellian lengths to screw a division rival before an owner-friendly judge reinstates the lockout, the players will claim the lack of personnel activity is proof the owners are colluding against the players. Heh.

Yes, the little guy is laughing in C major with a diminished 7th. Wow. I would've been content if it had just pointed me in the direction of some decent Xanadu recordings.

It's cute, but will it guide me to jazz?

Archie Shepp - "The Cry of My People"

That's the one. The album doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but it probably makes it into my stereo once every couple of weeks, so something in the music keeps bringing me back. Cheers.

I listened to sound samples - is there a bass player or did Shepik overdub bass lines? The music itself is fine ... Must've overdubbed. I don't see anywhere a bass player was credited. Honestly, it's not my favorite Shepik, but it fit your criteria. "Places you go" subs an organ for sax with some nice results. But it's his Human Activity Suite and Across the Way (his two latest releases under his own name) that really float my boat. Glad you like "Lingua Franca". I enjoy it, too.

All modern: "Lingua Franca" by Brad Shepik (g), Peter Epstein (sax), Matt Kilmer (d,perc) "The Shell Game" by Tim Berne (s), Craig Taborn (p), Tom Rainey (d) "The Well" by Brad Shepik (g), Peter Epstein (sax), Siedo Salifoski (perc) Also, you might want to look at Charlie Hunter. He's done some odd configurations. I've never been a huge fan, so I don't feel comfortable making recs.

I think I read that if Celtics and Heat stay at #2 and #3, they actually face each other to get into the Conf. Finals. I could live with that. Honestly, I'd rather face Celtics than Heat over 7 games. Of all the match-ups, I think Bulls would do worst against the Magic, though oddly enough Omar Asik did an amazing job keeping Dwight Howard off balance, while Noah was pretty useless. Lighting might not strike twice though, esp. over 7 games. It's close either way, but I'd rather face the Heat in the conference finals. A team needs depth to succeed in the postseason, and the Heat ain't got that (the Bulls, however, got it in spades). Also, the Heat are weak with their big men. Boozer, Noah, Asik, Gibson, and even good ol' Kurt Thomas should have a field day with the Heat's lineup. Not to mention, aren't the Bulls three and oh against the Heat this season, whereas I think the Bulls can only salvage a season split against the Celtics if they win on Thursday. Of course, that's assuming a lot way too early. While I think the Bulls pretty much have the top seed wrapped up, there's actual games that gotta be played. Indiana is showing evidence of a strong finish to their season and Orlando can't be overlooked. The Bulls are going to have to work big time to get to the conference finals. Sure is fun watching them, though. Didn't expect this season to unfold like it did.

A movie based on the Remedios Varo painting "PHENOMENON OF WEIGHTLESSNESS"... ...and I'd like it done in an animation style similar to that of the original BBC Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And though it's kind past its date, I'd still be interested in seeing a movie made of William Gibson's "Neuromancer"

That site apparently no longer exists. If only we had a map with which to locate it.

Jazz: "Way out East" by the Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet. Non-Jazz: This past week, it felt like it was Spring again, so pretty much everything by the Flaming Lips. If I had to pick one, "A Change at Christmas" from the Ego Tripping EP.

I just joined a Mark Knopfler forum and posed the question to them. We'll see if they can come up with anything. Here's a link to the discussion thread if you want to follow it yourself... Knopfler forum Local Hero thread

I saw that discussion group earlier. There was some talk about the movie producers borrowing the melody so as to avoid copyright, etc. I couldn't get a read from those posts if it was idle speculation or the straight dope. My first inclination was to keep looking for a better lead.

Shit, when Amie St. was still up and running, I felt like I was slacking if I was only refreshing the new arrivals screen four times an hour.

And add my name to any of those John Handy titles that aren't on cd.

Tough one. ASCAP's got nothing. I checked the Library of Congress site and there's no mention. However, apparently there was a book... Local hero : the making of the film / by Allan Hunter and Mark Astaire. Perhaps you could contact the authors and see if they have any insight. Great song from a great movie. One of my top three movies of all time (subjectively speaking). Good luck. I'll be interested to hear what the answer is. P.S. Mods, I accidentally hit the Report button instead of Reply. I backed out of the screen, but in case it pops up an alert anyways, well, now you know it was an accident.

Billy Mitchel & Al Cohn - "Live in Dakar" Billy Mitchell - "The Colossus of Detroit" Morris Nanton - "Soul Fingers" Morris Nanton Trio - "Preface" Anything by Clifford Jordan's Magic Triangle that hasn't been put to cd.

Maybe I shouldn't have quoted your post, but I most certainly LOLed at your laziness. Then it appears that Kentucky will place pretty high on the Top Ten Cities Impervious to Sarcasm and Irony list as well. Even better, I think Kentucky would've been the next slide had you continued past Arkansas. I'd confirm this before posting, but I'm kinda outta breath, and besides, I just don't feel like doing it right now. Hey, Mods, can you please do something about this site? I'm sick of having to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page to hit the Submit button. Yeesh.

It's in a slideshow format, so I don't think anyone actually has had the patience to look at the entire list. (I know I gave up after Arkansas.) Well, I think I know where Kansas City is going to rank on the Top Ten Cities Impervious to Sarcasm and Irony list.

Could somebody please just post the list so I don't have to follow the link?

Hey, thanks for that rec. It does sound pretty good. I'll be looking more into it. I think you should definitely look into Guillermo Klein. His album "Filtros" is excellent, and he just recently put out a tribute album for "Cuchi" Leguizamon ("Domador de Huellas") which is also very good. Here's Klein's myspace... Klein myspace Huh, crap, I had another decent rec for you, but just forgot it. Well, I'll post the Klein rec and come back when I remember the other one.

I was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed Gala. A friend played it for me and I wound up listening to it several times in a row. Probably easy to find pretty cheap at used stores in larger towns. Also a big fan of Spiritualized and, to a lesser degree, Spacemen 3. Never could get into MBV, despite the best efforts of various friends.

When I lived in Chicago, I used to stop in there pretty often. I picked up more used than new, but a decent mix of both. The last used cd I got there, I think, was Mal Waldron's "Seagulls of..." (not trying to spell that word this early in the morning). Their prices had a wide range. For something that was newly issued, say a Verve or Impulse Originals, the price would be around $8-10 new, but if it was something significantly older, then maybe you're talking upwards of $16 new. Their used prices could vary, but I could walk out of there with three used cds (say an old BN, a Prestige, and some random thing) for about $25. They didn't always compare favorably in price to nearby stores (ie, Reckless), but considering that they didn't have any kind of significant rock/pop section, I looked upon their pricing as being more in line with a niche market. And like I said, their selection was far superior to other stores nearby. They had a whole section of cds that were Japanese pressings. They were these cardboard oversized sleeves that needed their own section of shelf to fit in properly. They were all pretty cool looking, and typically, really expensive ($25-30). Usually couldn't understand most of what was printed on the covers. Remember, they also have their own label, reissuing old album, but also, I think, putting out new stuff. I picked up the marvelous Bill Cosby jazz jam session "Badfoot Brown" there, which was on their label. One poster called the store well-scrubbed, which is pretty funny, because it is really clean in there and I'd never really put that quality of the store to words before, but now that he mentions it... All my experiences with staff have ranged from civil to very friendly. I've never encountered a creepy vibe there. However, retail is an odd beast, so I'm not one to discount other people's experiences in a particular environment. Just saying for me, nice people who work there. I've never done anything through the mail with them, nor have I ever sold to them. I hope you find that helpful. If you have further questions, don't hesitate to ask. It might jar loose more information from my (shaky) memory.