kh1958

Saskatchewan, 70.

Miles Davis in Concert, My Funny Valentine (Columbia two eyes)

Bola Sete--Jungle Suite (Dancing Cat)

Frank Wess--Poor You, Little Me (Prestige, silver and black) Shirley Scott--Now's the Time (Prestige blue label)

I should be more social, but I had to work half the day Thursday and get back to the office on Friday, so I arrived in Austin only about 30 minutes before the show and drove home right away afterwords. Al MacDowell is a great player--I saw him many times with Prime Time at the Caravan of Dreams in the 1980s, usuallly paired with Jamaladeen Tacuma. He had a couple of releases as a leader on Gramavision--the best one is called Time Peace (which I see is available used for one cent on amazon!). I would love to have a couple of CDs of live perofrmances by the band, but I suspect the odds of this happening are not good.

Last night, the Ornette Coleman Quartet (Al MacDowell on bass guitar, Tony Falanga on bass, Denardo Coleman on drums) in Austin. I found this concert to be positively thrilling, a truly great concert.

I checked my notes, and I can't believe it but it has been six years since Ornette last played in Austin!

The Bobby Watson/musical director edition is a fine one. As is the Terrance Blanchard/Donald Harrison/Jean Tousaint/Mulgrew Miller/Lonnie Plaxico group.

I like this one alot: Roswell Ruud/Toumani Diabate--Malicool. Jazz trombone and kora. Roland Shannon Jackson--When Colors Play. Not African music per se, but an album of compositions based on the leader's travels in Africa. Johnny Copeland--Bringing It all Back Home. Texas blues/African music fusion.

Horace Silver, Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins.

Miles Davis Seven Steps to Heaven box set for $20.

Ornette Coleman--Thursday night in Austin.

Johnny Hammond Smith--Stimulation (Prestige, yellow and black NJ mono)

Tonight, at Dallas' beautiful new Winspear Opera House, Buika and Lila Downs. Buika performed first, with a trio of piano, electric bass and percussion--a fusion of flamenco and jazz. A very nice set. Buika appears a bit shy, and the sound mix on her voice was not quite right, one has to strain a bit to hear her. Still, this improved over the course of the set, which was pretty compelling. Followed by the rather different Lila Downs--who in contrast has a powerful and dramatic vocal instrument and is more the pop performer. A bit more of an uneven set, in that a couple songs were not for me, but most was quite good, especially the traditional Mexican songs. A much louder set--with a quintet backing her. A quite pleasing concert overall, with two very contrasting, but compelling vocalists.

George Lewis--Concert (Blue Note, W. 63rd) 3 Sounds--Black Orchid (Blue Note, NY USA)

For small groups, perhaps Shelly Manne at the Blackhawk. For large groups, Duke Ellington, All Star Road Band, or Ellington Indigoes.

There's an official Sonny Rollins app too.

I have an iphone White Pages app. Not only does it give me your phone number, it gives directions to your house.

He's also a greedy hoarder--let someone else enjoy some of those copies.

Most of his Savoy date is available on an anthology called, I Just Love Jazz Piano. http://www.amazon.com/I-Just-Love-Jazz-Piano/dp/B00005BC82/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1289421311&sr=1-1 Has there been a complete issue of this date?

I have the James Weidman release--it is good. He was Abbey Lincoln's longtime accompaniest on piano.

It would be nice to hear any well recorded performance by the group with Adams/Pullen and Hamiett Bluiett.

LIonel Hampton, Art Tatum, Buddy Rich (Clef trumpet) Howard Rumsey, Music for Lightkeeping (Contemporary, yellow and black lighthouse label)

Happy birthday!

It sounds like EMI and the Blue Note catalog are heading towards bankruptcy or foreclosure. If you sue your lender, you better win. PRIVATE EQUITY Citigroup Prevails in Lawsuit Over EMI Deal November 4, 2010, 8:10 PM By PETER LATTMAN 8:10 p.m. | Updated In a stinging blow to the British financier Guy Hands, a jury has cleared Citigroup of any wrongdoing over its role in the sale of the EMI Group, the ailing music company. Mr. Hands sought an $8 billion recovery, plus punitive damages. The jury, after only a few hours of deliberations, awarded him nothing. EMI and Mr. Hands are now running out of options. The company risks defaulting on its debt and, barring a sharp turnaround in its business, could be forced to file for bankruptcy next year. In that case, Citigroup, as EMI’s lender, would take ownership of the company and most likely sell it. Despite its troubles, EMI still has desirable assets, particularly its music publishing unit. Terra Firma Capital Partners, the private equity firm controlled by Mr. Hands, sued Citigroup, accusing the bank of defrauding him during the auction of EMI. He said that David Wormsley, Citigroup’s star British banker and his once-trusted adviser, had lied when Mr. Wormsley told him three times that there was another bidder for EMI. Mr. Hands said those misrepresentations had duped him into paying $6.8 billion for the company. ... Mr. Hands, 51, left London last year to avoid paying its steep taxes and moved to the island of Guernsey, a tax haven off the French coast. Now, his future as a private equity investor is in doubt. Terra Firma’s investors are upset that he allocated so much of his fund — about one-third of the $7.7 billion pool — to one failed investment. Mr. Hands slashed costs at EMI, which helped its financial results but alienated music acts accustomed to the label’s spendthrift ways. When the Rolling Stones left the label, Mr. Hands personally appealed to Mick Jagger over lunch, to no avail. Mr. Hands has also destroyed his relationship with Citigroup, which as EMI’s lender controls the company’s fate. Because of the damage, the bank is unlikely to be accommodating in future restructuring talks. “If you accuse someone of fraud, it’s really game over” in terms of refinancing conversations, Mr. Hands testified in the trial. “It’s like putting a stick into a dragon.” http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/citi-prevails-in-lawsuit-over-emi-deal/