HutchFan

Good news! I wonder if he'll be ready to go tomorrow night? I'd be surprised if he was. Maybe he'll come back by Game 6? ... We'll see. EDIT: Just reading more about Giannis' injury -- he's currently listed as "doubtful" for Game 5. ... Incidentally, Trae is also still listed as "questionable" for Game 5. I suppose it's likely that neither team will be playing with their star in the next game. (And maybe even longer.)

NP: Billy Hart - Oshumare (Gramavision, 1985) with Steve Coleman (as); Branford Marsalis (ts); Didier Lockwood (vn); Bill Frisell (g); Kevin Eubanks (g); Kenny Kirkland (kybd); Mark Gray (kybd); Dave Holland (b); Manolo Badrena (perc) FIVE stars.

Jorge Sylvester - MusiCollage (Postcards, 1996) Excellent!

and

Agreed. I hope Giannis and Trae (and Capela) are all back for Game 5.

Yes, and I'm grateful that Edel has made much of the MPS catalog available through streaming services. And they've offered downloads too. But the collector in me says, "Streaming and downloads are not the same thing as tangible formats like CDs or LPs." I may be a dinosaur, but I still like objects that I can hold in my hands!

That Hawk was ALWAYS flying high!

NP: Jim McNeely - From the Heart (Owl, 1985) with Marc Johnson & Adam Nussbaum

That movie is so much fun. It's one that I can watch over and over again.

Anyone else looking forward to Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson's Summer of Soul as much as I am?!?! https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_soul Available on July 2nd. I'm going to resist the urge to stream it. I want to see & hear it in a theater for maximum impact.

I follow the NBA, but I'm pulling for the other team. With Trae Young "questionable" tonight, it's going to be really tough for the Hawks to beat the Bucks. Especially if Middleton continues his scorching hot shooting. But regardless of what happens in this series, the Hawks' future looks very bright. (It's been a LONG time since anyone could say that.) And not just because of Trae. The playoffs would be very different if De'Andre Hunter (who is probably our best perimeter defender) was available, and Bogdan Bogdanović is clearly bothered by his knee injury. Not to mention Cam Reddish just returning from his injury and nowhere near full-speed. Oh well. We'll see what happens tonight. Regardless of whether Trae plays, I think the Hawks will put up a good fight.

A desert-island disc.

Seconded -- especially the Hannibal.

The Jimmy Giuffre 4 - Liquid Dancers (Soul Note, 1991) Jerome Sabbagh - North (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2004)

I'm in Chicago for a few weeks. Yesterday, I spent a good bit of the time kicking around in record stores. Here are a few things I bought: Richard Beirach - The Breathing of Statues (CMP, 1982) I have the domestic LP issue of this album -- licensed by the short-lived Magenta label -- but I'd never even seen a German CMP original until yesterday. Normally, I'm not much of a player in the incremental sound improvement game, but I made an exception in this case. Since it's one of the finest records that Beirach ever made (IMO) and Beirach is one of my favorite pianists, I was HAPPY to scoop it up. My gut tells me that the pristine German vinyl will be a big improvement in sound over the Magenta LP. (The AQ of all other CMP records I've heard has been wunderbar.) Alma Con Alma: The Heart & Soul of Celia Cruz & Tito Puente (Tico, 1970) Craft LP reissue. Tito Puente put out a TON of records; he was crazy-prolific -- but I'm discovering that he was also consistently interesting, a superb musician. Sonny Rollins - Dancing in the Dark (Milestone, 1987) CD. A Sonny Milestone that I didn't have. Steve Coleman and Five Elements - Sine Die (Pangea, 1988) CD. I've been exploring Coleman's beginnings, back in the 80s. Really digging what I'm hearing. Vital music. Mads Vinding Trio with Alex Riel & Enrico Pieranunzi - The Kingdom (Where Nobody Dies) (Stunt, 1997) CD. Love Vinding. Love Pieranunzi. Easy decision. The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet - Change Is (Columbia, 1969) BGO CD reissue. I've been meaning to check out this group; I'm especially interested in the latter releases with Michael Garrick. So I guess I'll begin with the last one and work my way backwards.

Now streaming: Alma Con Alma: The Heart & Soul of Celia Cruz & Tito Puente (Tico, 1970) I bought the Craft vinyl reissue yesterday, but I can't spin the LP yet -- since I'm out of town. No 'table. In the meantime, streaming will do. As for the music, it's terrific.

I pretty much ignored them when they came out too. Definitely a bad decision in retrospect. Over the last few years, I've slowly collected many of them. Whenever I come across one at a reasonable price, I snatch it up. I got lucky about a month ago. I came across three CDs from the series -- none of which I owned -- at a shop for just $2.99 each!

Richard Beirach - ZAL (Trio Japan, 1976) with Terumasa Hino & Yoshiaki Masuo Gorgeous.

NP:

Yes indeed! NP: Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Legends of Acid Jazz (Prestige) Originally released as two LPs: Soul Talk (1969) and Black Feeling! (1970)

Perfect Friday afternoon and work is almost done music: So glad ARC Records UK reissued this!