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Happy Birthday!

So today at work I heard a song and I recognized the singer but thought: "Which song is that?" So I looked for the playlist of the radio station and I saw "What are you doing New Year's Eve?" with the album cover that belonged with it and I thought: "I have that album myself!" Since I usually do not listen to Christmas music outside the season, I hadn't recognized it. I bought the album at the time since I had to perform a song at a Christmas recital and had picked a classic, but really liked the rendition of this singer and wanted to do something similar. That song was "Christmas time is here." Still, one of my favourites, although not my favourite Christmas song. The album: Christmas Songs by Diana Krall This is my favourite Christmas song of all time: Fay Lovsky - Christmas was a friend of mine. Fay is a wonderful talented musician, talented in many ways. I have admired her for a long time. She plays several instruments with the theremin and singing saw among them. This was her first hit probably and I never forgot about her so I play it every year. I especially like the choir part at the end.

One of my favorites, too. Hall and Raney were an intense pairing, especially on "Move It" (think that's the title and think it's a Hall piece). The young Steve Swallow adds a lot to this date, as he does to the Art Farmer Quartet with Hall, and Walter Perkins or Pete LaRoca. Actually I came to learn about Jim Hall through this album. Raney's son pointed it out to me as one of his father's best albums. Yes, you are right about "Move it", a lovely piece. I'd like to think they brought the best up in each other as can happen when musicians really connect and interact. Anyway, it is still one of my favourites.

Yes, I know. Good for her! Or for the British Royal Family... You bet! I can see her performing at one of these 'little' parties they throw every now and then in their backyard.

Yes, I know. Good for her!

I have that a bit too. I do like some songs, but when I listen to an whole album I get a bit impatient, well not sure what word to pick but I find it a bit too much of the same somehow. However, she does interest people for jazz and I like the way she presents herself in her performances. She has some class. I think her concept is very well figured out to have success and it works.

I have her first album, the one Cyril mentioned. She is quite popular in our country and in the U.K. I hear she has more plans for the U.S. I wouldn't call her music jazz myself, but she adds some kind of jazzy vibe and it is happy music. Thanks for the links Cyril, I didn't hear all of the new album yet. I did her song "A night like this" with my last combo. People like it a lot.

Yes, I understand. Always be sure to look 2 ways before crossing a road or bikepath even when it is one way. I got 'ran over' once by a bike riding the wrong direction and he shouted at me for not looking. I hadn't expected someone coming from that way. I think I know which hotel you mean. In case you are there in the weekend I want to add 2 addresses near your hotel. You probably can see a pub called 'Kobalt' from your hotelroom window. It is at the head of the Singel (canal). They have live jazz on sundays starting at 4 P.M. A pub called 'The Cotton Club', at the Nieuwmarkt-square I mentioned earlier, has live jazz on saturdays starting at 4.30 P.M. This weekend Anton Goudsmit is there. He is known from the Ploctones and The New Cool Collective and Fugimundi. Free entrance at both places. http://www.cottonclubmusic.nl/en/Welcome.html and http://www.cafekobalt.nl/jazz_en.htm Have a lovely time! page

You're welcome. I wouldn't recommend getting a cab at the C.S. There has been a lot of trouble with cab drivers there. Depending on where you are staying there are trams and busses and a subway in the city to get you where you want to go. There are nightbusses as well. Bimhuis, Bethany's and Casablanca and the C.S. in walking distance of each other. From the center/ railway station you can take bus 22 to the Northseajazzclub. From C.S. it would take you about 25 minutes to walk I think. For public transport you'll need to get a card called 'ov chip' where you put some money on to be able to travel. As a tourist you get an anonymous card. See here: https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/aanvragen/welkekaartpastbiju/toeristen/?taal=en You could also rent a bike of course, but be careful. Bikeriders ride like mad men. Most restaurant will have at least one vegetarian dish but that isn't always that tasty. I do not like meat that much myself, although I'm not (yet) a vegetarian, so I have eaten vegetarian or fish in restaurants often. Besides restaurants there are a lot of 'traiteurs', little shops which have delicious food you can point out and they can heat for you and you can eat there or take with you.

Wow, you're quite a traveler! I haven't been there but wanted to wish you a good trip on that one too! Have fun! page

Check for concerts at the Northsea jazz club in the Westerpark. http://www.northseajazzclub.com/ (tickets need to be bought online unfortunately). For cheap healthy real Dutch food I can recommend restaurant "Hap hmm" in the "1e Helmerstraat 33" in walking distance of the Leidseplein. Open from 5 PM till 9 PM. (It is more like a living room than a restaurant) The Rijksmuseum is open again if you would like to see some art. The Van Gogh museum and Het Stedelijk are next to it. Casablanca is a pub at the Zeedijk, near the C.S., where they have big bands regularly, as they have today ánd tomorrow. http://www.cafecasablanca.nl/ There is a jazzclub very near here called the Bethany's jazzclub, but they aren't open every night. http://www.bethanienklooster.nl/Bethanienklooster/nl-NL/bethanys+jazz+club/agenda+tickets.aspx It is in a side street of a square called the Nieuwmarkt. The place itself has been a monastery. Someone already mentioned the Bimhuis. http://bimhuis.nl/home Have fun, BeBop!

R.I.P. Sad news. I'm gonna play the album 'Two Jims & Zoot' later, one of my favourites..

That head stripe around her head was fahionable some time in the eighties, but maybe she was ahead of her time.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Yes, I have seen him before. He is wonderful. I have seen these guys live a few times: The Nylons - Bop 'till you drop These girls as well: Yes sister, jazz sister - Stop and - What's up

Might it have been in Bethlehem? That stable probably needed fixing up and they might have been singing in their break. I'm not sure. I'll have to look for it, it is probably in the attic. I do not play my cassettes very often these days, but I still have some.

That is great Pete. It really helps when someone believes in you and encourages you to discover and pursue what you love to do, doesn't it?

I think I have a cassette of the Carpenters singing carols somewhere, can't remember the title of the album though.

Nelson Mandela and I share a favourite poet. This is from one poem he read partly out loud in 1994 when they had the first democratically elected parliament and he called her Afrikaner ànd Afrikaan. "The child is not dead. The child lifts his fists against his mother who shouts Afrika!" .......... "The child is the dark shadow of the soldiers on guard with rifles Saracens and batons; the child is present at all assemblies and law-givings the child peers through the windows of houses and into the hearts of mothers." "This child who just wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere. The child grown to a man treks through all Africa. The child grown into a giant journeys through the whole world. Without a pass." from "Die Kind" - "The child is not dead" by Ingrid Jonker RIP Nelson Mandela Here you can listen to him reading part of the poem. ( I chose to post some he read and some of what he left out)

Yes, that is possible. I don't know whether it is due to not speaking a shared language or dialect though, but who knows? I still believe what I said was correct, even when something might be official, it needn't be looked at that way in the general opinion. I didn't even stated that it was that. I just said "not every one..." and that was just what it was. This said however, I am really sorry if I did offend someone with my comment since I didn't mean it in any negative way; but if it was felt as such I do want to apologize for that. Friesland is a beautiful part of the Netherlands. My family has lived there for some time too, so I know some.

Well, I'm sorry for getting into this. I just expressed a feeling and that was what I said when you read my reply, didn't mean to offend anyone or state a fact. I have a natural love for language ánd dialects, so my reaction was just spontaneous. Etherbored, I think that too about regions, It is fun to discover things about a language that way.

Really? That's nice. Not eveyone would call it a language, more a dialect. We have quite a few of those. On another forum I wrote about the different ways the "r" can be pronounced. This is due to geografics but also to social influence. I find these things fun to learn and get to know about.

I think you mean Johan. Think it got mistranslated as Jan over here. Just checked one of my old 17thC history text books and it definitely says Jan. There's a great name for a rock'n roll band there - Jan van Oldenbarnevelt and the Stadtholders. Though I always liked the idea of a Czech punk band calling itself The Defenestrators. It is "Johan" which probably comes from "Johannes" and could be shortened as well as "Hans". It is still a name that is been used. Yes, great name. I would name the sidemen "de Stadhouders" in that case. I once was part in a band that was called "Lemon juice vs the Radicals" if I would translate it. Some rock'n roll but also rock, before you ask. I will have to look up that last name, since I have no clue what it means.

Well, yeah I know, I was just trying to keep it short.