medjuck

I just got an e-mail from a friend informing me that Kate McGarrigle has died. I'm a big fan of the McGarrigle Sisters and have Kate's composition "Kiss and Say Goodbye" as the ringtone on my phone. By my standards she was quite young-- 63.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll start looking for them ASAP. ( I do have the H.R.S. Mosaic set which is great but most of it is more up-tempo than the POH.)

I was there 45 years ago and I'd love to go back to see what the Aran islands are like today. We spent a few days on Inishmore the largest island and in those days they didn't have electricity. It was quite a wonderful place.

I love the Bluenote "Port of Harlem Jazzmen" cd (and Mosaic kindly sent me a copy of the notes to their OOP release) but I feel that I've never found anything else quite like it. ( I realize that each session under the name Port of Harlem Jazzmen was done by a slightly different group .) Anyone got any suggestions as to what I might find similar? I do have a few Bechet cds and the Mosaic box set and a good Frankie Newton compilation but nothing I like as much asa the Bluenote cd.

If you like the Ellington, most of it is from a great short called Bundle of Blues,(with different music) and which also features Ivie Anderson singing Story Weather. (The rest is from Black & Tan, Check and Double Check and a Pathe Newsreel (long version with no sound: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=50945 short version with sound: http://www.britishpathe.com/results.php?search=duke+ellington )

Hey "Everybody's Boppin". Happy B'day.

Well I was thinking of Sarah Palin and her ilk as much as Saudi Arabia. (I obviously don't know much about Haiti). I think those cultures already value families and hard work but I still think if you sneer at education, believe that religion trumps science and that people should be discriminated against because of their sex or sexual orientation then you're eventually doomed. But that may be my optimistic nature-- actually such cultures often prosper for years but that doesn't mean I have to approve of them to prove I believe in multi culturalism. I didn't like the Taliban as soon as they destroyed those amazing Buddahs-- and I think they were still Allies of the US at the time. And I doubt if the Taliban even care about their economy.

Sounds like Brooks got it wrong about Haiti but I am sympathetic to his thesis about culture. It's hard for me to be sympathetic to societies that don't value education and put superstition/religion ahead of science. They are eventually doomed to fail-- unless perhaps they have an unending supply of oil.

I don't have any practical advice (or even any spiritual advice). It's hard not to get depressed in a situation like yours, but try to concentrate on what you do have going for you: family, friends and music. I've always found that music (listening to it that is) was one thing that helped me make it through the night whenever I was too unhappy to sleep.

I saw Thigpen once with OP but I also saw him backing Sonny Rollins who happened to be passing through Toronto while Thigpen lived there.

I'm curious as to what people think of David Brooks' column on Haiti: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/opinion/15brooks.html?ref=opinion He blames their problems on their culture. But it does seem they can't get a break. They share an Island wit the Dominican Republic which is much better off but the hurricane hit Haiti and not as far as I know The D.R.

Just came back from my urologist. He discovered a tiny bit of cancer three months ago -- just enough to want to monitor it regularly. This morning my PSA was really low and the finger probe seemed to indicate that my prostate was better than last time. So pretty good news. Paps: when you say you're cured do you mean you had cancer and new don't? If so what was your treatment?

The originals don't give the set lists. I suspect that they may just be guessing.

Just got the box set and am really enjoying it. One question: How do they know the order in which the tunes were recorded? The Contemporary cds give the dates but not the actual set list. Also, am I nuts or do the insturments change physical position on different nights? I'm just on disc 2 but the bass seems to have moved from the left side to the right on the second night.

Thanks so much for all the messages of condolence. I really appreciate them

What kind of music did they present in the '30s? I have to admit I don't know much about it before the '50s.

And many more!!!!

And many more!!!

Then you should check out the DVD of Ron Mann's film "Comic Book Confidential".

IIRC Coltrane asked the Montreal guitarist Nelson Symonds to join his group but Symonds couldn't get a vis to work in the States. (I just read this again on Symond's Wikopedia entry-- which doesn't of course make it true.)

Yea. Trane already had a quintet that split the money 5 ways. He didn't need another musician. I don't think that Trane would have hired Wes if he didn't think that this was something that he wanted musically. I didn't know about Trane sharing his income equally with his bandmates (I've never read his bio). Is this common knowledge? Certainly not a practice of many jazz stars.

Are you already '36? Happy Birthday!!!

She definitely had a full life. Born in Russia and emigratied to Canada about 1913 (we think-- she never talked about it and implied (she never actually lied about it) that she was born in Cape Breton where she grew up. Moved to Fredericton after she married my Dad and lived here for more than 70 years.

My wife posted the following on her face book page: "Faye Claener Medjuck (b. 1908), wonderful wife , mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great grandmother--rest in peace. Died peacefully early morning this New Year's Day. We always marveled that Faye was the energizer bunny, even at 101, so we're not a bit surprised she saw the New Year in." I managed to get back to New Brunswick a couple of days before she died. She was already in the hospital getting good care and being kept comfortable but even the Energizer Bunny eventually runs down. The funeral will be Monday and my family is on the way but we've got a blizzard here and most of them are stuck in Toronto-- the last stop on their way here. One of my sisters has flown back from a vacation in Africa and will also spend in the night in Toronto. So I'm in a a hotel room in Fredericton New Brunswick catching up on the always interesting news at the Organissimo Forums.