BeBop

I'd suggest "the young lady who works the morning shift at Ministerstwo Kawy, Warsaw", but that doesn't really answer the question.

Gads, I feel so lucky. My usual January job (Minneapolis) went to someone else. I'm enjoying the relatively warm if damp London weather.

Ugh. London's just miserable. Rainy, cold... Actually, I'm kidding. This was about as nice a January day as I've seen in London...not to jinx us tomorrow....

Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat agus fan linn! (That's mainly for A Lark Ascending - plus or minus some typos and botched grammar - but the sentiments are for everyone.)

Belated Birthday Best, Tony!

Belated Birthday Best! BeBop

Good tips received just 16 months ago. Thanks. I'm heading back to "London" (probably more like Wembly or whatever my hotel rate limit will cover...with daily commute to work in the city). Any big changes to "the scene"? Happily, the Jazz In London program is posted for download. I don't recognize the names at Ronnie Scott, Jan 1-10 1 - 2 NINA SIMONE SONGBOOK 3 - 4 SARAH JANE MORRIS 5 MATT SKELTON-COLIN SKINNER ALL STARS featuring Jim Hart 6 - 11 MARIO BIONDI Nothing against Scott Hamilton (Pizza Express), but I've seen him about fifty times and, IMO, he isn't blazing any new trails. Sunday afternoon shows might be most workable, logistically, but it's ultimately a cr*pshoot. Anyone seen Kenny Wheeler: Master of Melancholy Chaos A temporary museum exhibition putting a spotlight on the quiet genius of jazz trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler. Overall, still just starting to digest it all.

Would that be mouth or nose? Sorry for the light sarcasm. I really enjoy his flutework too, often well integrated with vocal aspects. On a related note Here Comes the Whistleman. I'd probably choose I Talk with Spirits as best example of his flute work, but there are many others, including live . RRK really came alive with an audience.

That look like about 1km from here (Amsterdam)!

Not every player that had a long career was great until the end. Webster was.

Y'all have been a great community to be part of this year. Thank you. I hope yours is Merry!

Ending Amsterdam visit with good feelings about the place. My one day off a year (Christmas) is often spoiled by being somewhere where the whole city/country is shut down. Amsterdam is quite lively today, with only the big, international chains closed in the center of town. More broadly, my hotel treated me well (I spend 100+ nights a year with the company, but that doesn't assure anything), the coffee shop people were no problem (compare the people who go to Malta to drink) and AlbertHaijn kept me fed. The Bourbon Street concert was good until I couldn't stay awake any longer, but a great suggestion! One more, Christmas Eve trip to Concerto put me in the second-hand section, where I was delighted to find some recordings featuring actual Dutch musicians - not just reissues of big, American stars of the 40s, 50s, 60s. In the end, I'm thinking about making Amsterdam my European stopover city for connections to Africa and former USSR. Brussels worked for a while, but wasn't a great place to be stopped-over. We'll see how my next few trips through Schipol go. Thanks for all the hints and guidance.

I don't but much anymore, but back in the day, it was always good for a browse and ocassional purchase.

Great tip! Lamar Chase is from my hometown, Oakland, CA. "This veteran from Oakland, CA has been a fan favorite for over twenty years. Lamar Chase is well known by every blues lover in Amsterdam. No matter what he plays, or who he plays with, he always rocks out like there’s no tomorrow. "This blues veteran from Oakland, CA has been a fan favorite for over twenty years. Lamar Chase is well known by every blues lover in Amsterdam. No matter what he plays, or who he plays with, he always rocks out like there’s no tomorrow.

How come? Beer contains animal products? Q There are beers suitable for strict vegetarians, including Budweiser. Some strict vegetarians don't consume yeast, but the more common hangup is the "finings" used in beer production, to settle the yeast. - gelatin (made from bones and connective tissues) - isinglass (from the swim bladders of fish) - casein (derived from milk) - chitosan (made from crustaceans) - egg albumen And some beers have honey.

So far, I'm enjoying Amsterdam. Working too much, but, if it wasn't for waork, I wouldn't be here at all. Concerts haven't worked out so far. I'd made reservations for Joanna MacGregor/Eric Vloeimans at Bimhuis on the 20th, but my plane got in late. Otherwise, the clubs have been closed for the holidays or have featured vocalists. Makes little difference as I've worked every evening. My only breaks have been lunch hours, since my coworkers are adamant about lunch hour, mainly for shopping. So each day, I run off to a record store or two, just to see "what's up" - since there is absolutley no chance I will buy anything. Concerto wasn't my thing. The new selection was dominated by those "seven albums on four CDs", Lonehills, Andorrans and other things I find not-quite-right. (I do know I'm in the EU now, not the US). I was there about a minute and left - never noticed any second-hand stock. My next stop was Record Friends, which had a bunch of Jazum LPs (my old friend William Love) and other LPs of dubious parentage. If I found the Ajax/Ajazz/Joyce/Boris Rose LPs "cool" and the Andorran CDs "offensive", I suppose my hypocricy is showing. Quite a few old Blue Note LPs and some other stuff you don't see in the US often: original Tubby Hayes, Barney Wilen, Joe Harriott LPs, for instance. Really no CDs in this store. Rare Records on Wetteringschans was mildly interesting. A few interesting LPs that were "shelved", plus lots in boxes, seemingly unsorted. No CDs here either. Distortion on Westerstraat was just heaps of unsorted, unorganized LPs. Fame is a mall store. They give an address of "Fame Plaza", but it's really just the top floor of a mall. Mainly CDs, other than a little alcove with LPs. Absolutely "usual" stuff - Blue Note, OJC - with a smattering of the knock-offs. Discostars on Haarlemmerplein was LPs and CDs with a decent mix of legit and less-so. Again, lots of those old big band "from broadcast" LPs. Hard to pass up the Clifford Brown sings and plays piano CD (RLR)...but I did. Rush Hour on Spuistraat is small and apparently specializes non-pop edgier material. I saw a few interesting things toward the fringes of jazz (avant, jazz/world blend). I went by the Velvet Music location in Amsterdam (Rozengracht) twice. They weren't open during "opening hours". It looked pretty pop-oriented, but who knows. A few sources show a place "Outland" on Zeedjik. It may have been a music shop at some point, but it's a toy store now. Made Christmas dinner reservations - despite my aversion to restaurants - to keep myself amused that day. Otherwise, just lots of walking around for that day off. Cold. wet walking around.

Good news for me, I suppose. I stream DCB often (through TuneIn) because their webstream is pretty reliable. Most of the programming when I listen is fine. I really like Chicago, so the Chicagoland weather forecasts give me a warm fuzzy (or cold shivery) feeling.

I don't download, but I do use various metadata services when ripping my CDs. Most of the wacky categorizations I catch, but a few make it to the MP3 player where they can't be changed. My physical collection (in storage) is categorized as "good music" and "for sale".

If I get the concept we're shooting for here... My days as a "completist" probably fell into this category. Once you've got an artist's generally available material, you've generally got the good stuff. (Broad generalization, of course.) Once you get waaay out into the obscure/hard-to-find, it can be pretty crappy - it's out there for a reason sometimes - but it can be immensely satisfying to have and even listen to.

It could be worse than running into Beyoncé and entourage. A few years ago, I was on a travel pattern that had me sharing hotels with Kenny G, four or five times.

I couldn't have anticipated that our paths would cross in 2013, but I'm delighted that they did. I still appreciate your contributions around here, so I join the 2013 "Happy Birthday" chorus with enhanced vigor. All the bestest.

All you need is an apple. Yes, time for a snack. Thanks for the reminder! Apple? Snack? Oh, I thought you said "snake". Never mind. Go back to eden' your apple.

15% off (presumably) everything at amoeba.com until December 15th. Code "GIFT15". Does anyone even shop Amoeba online?

My problem - and it IS a problem - is that I'm always doing what I'm supposed to be doing...occasional Organissimo board distractions aside. I guess that's how I went five years without a single day off. As I say, "problem". Perhaps recent "wake-up calls" in my life will change things, but, now back to work, perhaps not. Wake up and live, BeBop.

Thanks AGAIN, page, especially because my hotel is (virtually) in CS. As for the cyclists, well, my first career was as a bicycle road racer (though for a Belgian, not Dutch team). That was long ago and I turned out to be too slow! But riders scare me now.