makpjazz57

In 2004, I was able to hear Jensen quite a bit in different settings on The Jazz Cruise. Great player. I remember trumpet player Greg Gisbert talking about loving her playing so much that he gave her many of his jazz solo spots when they had a steady Monday night gig at Visiones /NYC (with Maria Schneider's orchestra). Marla

I remember reading in a verrrrrrrrrrrrry old Downbeat mag that Buddy was toying with taking up vibes. Don't think that one every materialized... Marla

The FMJS 15th Annual East Coast Jazz Festival is being held this year from February 16-20 (Presidents' Day weekend). As in previous years, all events are at the Double Tree Hotel on Rockville Pike in Rockville, MD. This year's main stage performers include: Ernie Andrews, David Fathead Newman, Frank Morgan, Russell Malone, Ron Elliston, Ronnie Wells, Buck Hill, Rebecca Parris, Giacomo Gates, George Mesterhazy, Junior Mance, James King, Vanessa Rubin, Steve Novosel, Ron Kearns, Dick Morgan, Paul Carr, Harold Mann, Sue Matthews, U.S. Army Blues Band, Brooks Tegler's Big Band, Marlene Ross, many others. On Sunday evening February 19, there will be a special musical tribute to the D.C. area's own Keter Betts, who passed away in 2005. This tribute will feature Buck Hill, Junior Mance, Steve Novosel, Harold Mann, James King and Tommy Cecil. The East Coast Jazz Festival directly benefits the Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship Fund (FMJS), a non-profit organization created in memory of Elmore "Fish" Middleton. FMJS' programs continue to assist in the educational and artistic development of Jazz artists, promote Jazz education and performance and offer a wider base for the presentation of "straight ahead" Jazz in the Greater Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. I'm going to add my two cents once again and say one of the most rewarding benefits of attending this festival is getting to hear the young "up and coming" jazz musicians from area junior high and high schools. During the daytime hours, each day of the festival, you can walk by the atrium and hear some incredible young musicians, dancers, etc. The main focus is on jazz groups of all sizes (trios, quartets, big bands, etc.) to showcase the children who benefit from the proceeds of the festival. All events take place at the Doubletree Hotel and one of the nice "extras" is that some wonderful area vendors with unique clothing and jewelry are featured on the hotel's main floor. The atmosphere is somewhat similar to a jazz cruise in that while the jazz concerts and workshops are at specific times and in specific rooms, it is a very relaxed atmosphere with some serious jazz fans having a great time. Just added - a special celebration of the life of one of the D.C. area's finest drummers, Mike Smith, who passed away recently. Here's the info on this free offering from the ECJF. Joe LaBarbera, a long-time supporter of the ECJF and friend of Mike's will be the very special guest: We are having a "Celebration of Mike Smith's Life" on Thursday, February 16 at 10 p.m. Mike's best friend, Terry Plumeri (bass), along with David Goldblatt (piano), and Joe LaBarbera (drums) will be featured. It is free and open to the public. My final two cents - if you live in the area and can lend a hand, the festival folks are always looking for volunteers. You can reach one of the folks running the festival at the same number I've listed below (for ticket info). For ticket information you can call 301-933-1822 or visit the East Coast Jazz Festival's website at http://www.fmjseastcoastjazz.com Thanks, Marla

South of Boston -snow as of 9:00 a.m., but seems to be turning to the wet kinda snow pretty fast. We've been having some strange weather here in the Boston area this year. One day, we get a spring-like tease of 55 degree weather and then it turns on ya and all of a sudden we're back to winter temps of 30 degrees. Marla

I believe vocalist Sylvia Syms died while performing on stage at the Algonquin in New York, 1992. Or perhaps as she finished her set? Marla

Only to one friend who does not have the money to buy her own CDs. Meaning on a really tight budget due to losing her job. So, I do let her borrow my CDs and she has an excellent record of returning them to me! From time to time, I'll make a friend a brief jazz "sampler" of a particular artist to encourage him/her to purchase recordings of that particular artist. For example, a friend of mine had not heard of baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber. I took a few cuts off of some of his CDs and gave the CD to my friend. He is now a fan and I believe has already purchased Cuber's CDs on line! Marla

I'm guessing from the enthusiastic responses of those who have this that the sound quality is very good? Where was The Prelude located? Marla

Yes this sure is quite an historical audio recording! I enjoyed hearing Coltrane/Getz together and the audio quality is quite excellent. Fascinating, too, that Miles was ill and the performance became the John Coltrane Quartet! Marla

Oh my goodness!

That was my thought when I read this - wasn't the former Mayor Barry in some serious trouble for being caught at the Vista Hotel in D.C. with some white powder, a.k.a. "cocaine?" Marla

Makes perfect sense to me, thanks! I heard Mabern with Alexander, Farnsworth, Webber about 2-3 years ago at Sculler's in Boston with the same effect - almost tore the roof off of the club - well, maybe blew out the windows because there are about 8-10 more floors above Sculler's! Marla

I love Anthony Wonsey; one of my favorites of the younger guys, but curious as to why Harold Mabern is not doing the gig? Mabern, Farnsworth, Webber and Coleman almost blew the roof off of Iridium when I heard them there about 3 years ago. In any event, wish I could be there. Marla

Pretty funny...and true! Marla

I purchased the book at full price and it was worth it. It is basically "the real deal" Terry Gibbs and you can almost picture him talking a mile a minute while reading the book! Like many legendary jazz musicians, he's had a colorful life and isn't shy about sharing. Wonderful "road" stories. Marla

Wow! Had I been hip enough at 1 day old, I would have definitely at least made it to hear Phineas, Oscar Pettiford and the Cannonball Adderley Quintet that week! (Or perhaps all in one night)! Thanks so much for your patience checking out all of these dates!

Some friends, some food, some champagne and I'll be up 'til at least midnight, mainly because I'm a night owl! Marla

Just received my copy today Marla

If not too much trouble, could you check: 07/05/1957 and 12/28/1951 Thanks! Marla

Would just like to add that I've found Lovano to be sincere in his musical efforts and a plain 'ol great/nice man. Had occasion to share a van with Lovano and other musicians for a few minutes and had a delightful conversation with him. 52nd Street Themes is an all time favorite of mine. Marla

Pretty funny! Guess your iPOD was trying to get you to learn a new language! I'm going to "take the plunge" and synch mine today with my PC and hope I still have an iPOD when done with it! Marla

I'm addicted to my iPOD. I rarely download from itunes, since I have so many CDs. Sorry to hear of your problems since updating itunes. While my iPOD is still working after a long roadtrip/workout, I have yet to hook it back up to the PC since the problems. I'm leaving well enough alone for the moment! Marla

My IPOD started to skip and shut off and generally behave badly several days ago. I tried every trick in the iPOD manual - restore, reset, reloading of itunes and iPOD downloader. Nothing worked and I was ready to give up and did give up for the evening. The next morning, I accidentally dropped the iPOD from my desk to the carpeted floor. Picked it up and believe it or not - it worked and has worked since then. I, of course, do not recommend this to anyone, but I found it strange and amusing. There are also some great forums out there - i think one is ipodhacker.com and the other is at ipodlounge.com. Marla

I wanted to thank all of you for helping me out. I've decided to hang in there for about 2 months until my income tax refund arrives and just invest in a new PC - this one is approaching 4 years old and gets heavy usage. With one CD bay mechanically dead and one DVD bay MIA, as well as needing to add more RAM, I hope this is a wise choice. So, a big thank you to Claude, Chuck, Jim and Kevin. Instead of spending 4-5 hours a day on the problem at hand with my current PC, I'm going to browse the internet and get advice on what I should get next. In the meantime, a new 200 GB external hard drive arrived here today and now I can free up tons of space on my C drive. Also, I do have a Sony external CD/DVD drive and that will have to do 'til the purchase of the new PC. Thanks again! Marla

I have a copy of Love You Madly/A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral and it is wonderful. Some nice backstage time with Duke at Basin Street West. A Concert of Sacred Music features Esther Marrow (looking very nervous) and Jon Hendricks on vocals. Always great hearing Louis Bellson with Duke, too! Marla

Thanks, Jim and Claude. Yes, my E drive is my DVD/CD R/W drive. Claude, I'll try your next suggestion once I have some coffee to wake up a bit. Glad to have a day off from work, but not looking forward to doing another 6 or 7 hours of troubleshooting (though I do admit a part of me enjoys the "game" of trying to fix it with eveyone's assistance)