kh1958

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/

Probably your car player is doing the damage.

Lucky Peterson--Kessler Theater. Horrendous and overloud opening act drove me to wait in the lobby; but the payoff was big, as Lucky was in outrageous form on guitar last night.

Shirley Scott--Scottie (Prestige, yellow and black NJ) The Happy Horns of Clark Terry (Impulse, red and black)

I find her voice and vocal style pleasing. The dubious source known as Wikipedia says: "During the frenetic post-April 25, 1974 period she was falsely accused of being a covert agent of the PIDE, causing some trauma to her public life and career. In fact, during the Salazar years, Rodrigues had been an occasional financial supporter of some communists in need. "

The ten inch LP I found recently has a photo of her on the back (looking beautiful) and the photo is credited to William Savory.

I'm enjoying her late '60s era recording with Don Byas. The Byas tenor weaves seamlessly with the vocalist and multiple guitarists and a bassist. I'm enjoying this one. I also have an anthology, The Art of Amalia Rodrigues, that is worthwhile, and an old 10 inch LP that is fine as well.

New Randy Weston out next week: http://www.amazon.com/Storyteller-Randy-Weston/dp/B0043URV8W/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288789016&sr=1-1

Freddie Hubbard's Keep Your Soul Together, with Junior Cook, is a solid date. Also, so is Milt Jackson's Olinga, with Jimmy Heath. Beyond the Blue Horizon is perhaps the best George Benson LP.

The Exciting New Organ of Don Patterson with Booker Ervin (Prestige, blue label) Mel Brown--The Wizard (Impulse, red and black)

I ordered the most recent one this week.

Oliver Nelson--More Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse, red and black)

Sonny Criss--The Beat Goes On (Prestige, blue label)