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Maybe they should sign Santana? Black Magic Marker is my favorite Santana song.

Concord's black magic marker is now dry.

One in the Blues series that I just picked up and heartily recommend is Johnny Sparrow (and his Bows and Arrows). He's a fine tenor player I've never heard of before--but he played with Jay McShann, Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton in the 1940s. The music could easily fit in the jazz Classics series, as it ranges from a jazz/early rhythm and blues hybrid to mainstream jazz, mostly with unidentified musicians. He had one instrumental hit on the r&b charts, Sparrow's Flight, but these recordings are said to constitute his complete work as a leader. He's not Bird, or the Hawk, but the Sparrow is indeed a worthy player.

I also recommend Three and Meets Joey DeFrancesco, both on Leaning House. The three Leaning House CDs are all available from amazon and/or from amazon sellers.

I also recommend Three and Meets Joey DeFrancesco, both on Leaning House.

The Jazz Connection has been closed for seven or eight years. I saw Marchel there, playing with Joey DeFrancesco. One of my favorite Marchel Ivery concerts was at the Caravan of Dreams years ago, where his group played a set of bebop standards for the first set--then for the second set Cornell Dupree joined the group, and the style changed rather radically to blues and grease, and he sounded masterful in both contexts. Another was the Texas tenors concert in Fair Park a few years back, with Marchel playing first, then David Newman, and a final tenor battle.

That's the one where Hendrix used the name "Lawrence Welk"?

General rule is a limit of $20 per single CD. Once I spent $30 for a Japanese import, but that was a very rare exception.

Actually, I would say that it was fairly modestly attended. It was easy to see any concert you desired, in my experience. I hope they are able to do it again, but I suspect that attendance fell well short of their hopes.

Stanley Jordan at the Iridium.

I had a great time at this festival. I wasn't able to make it until the Friday night concerts. First off, the Avery Sharpe Trio with Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano and Winard Harper on drums. A very good group. Next, Geri Allen Trio. Interesting set, including interaction with a very skilled tap dancer. Onaje Allan Gumbs Sextet, with Mark Shim on tenor. One of the best sets I saw at the festival. Supergroup time, the McCoy Tyner Quartet with Gary Bartz, Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette. McCoy ended at around midnight, and about 75% of the crowd left after his performance. This was a big mistake. Pat Martino was the last concert of the night, and he was in masterful, burning form from the outset. Mostly he played Wes Montgomery tunes. This performance was great. Saturday, I had a bit of time to look at the exhibitions--the highlight of course was the Mosaic booth. Lots of sales ($10 for singles, $35 for Selects, and a number of the black boxes at sale prices also). At 3, Sonny Fortune Quartet. Certainly my favorite saxophonist heard at this festival. Next, Frank Kimbrough Trio. I wasn't familiar with him, but really enjoyed his set. After taking a break, my next concert was the Don Friedman Trio. He really sounds as good or better than on his Riverside recordings. A really fine trio performance. Vincent Herring with Jeremy Pelt. A bit of an odd group, with a very loud, funk styled electric bassist, but good playing from the horn players. Nice version of Norwegian Wood, of all things. Roy Haynes Quartet. With Jaleel Shaw. Nice set, by the amazingly energetic octagenarian. Finally, at 12:40, the Stanley Clarke Group begins the final set. I've never been a fan particularly, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But in fact, this concert was perhaps the most thrilling of the festival. Performing with violin, keyboards, and drums, Clarke was masterful and electrifying on four pieces. GoodBye Pork Pie Hat (on electric bass), Confirmation (trio with violin and drums), another piece for the quartet (name escapes me), and solo (amazing). The group was unknown to me, but they were superb (if very young in appearance). It was a fitting climax to the festival.

The same set list, I believe (my memory is a bit blurred by the intervening 11 concerts I saw over the last two days at the Jazz Improv festival). A slightly different band, as Orrin Evans was on piano, and Mark Turner was not present, rather there was Bill McHenry on tenor. Actually, Wallace Roney sounded pretty strong, probably the best I've ever heard him. It was quite enjoyable to hear Shorter's compositions in a large group context.

I was there Thursday night.

Last night, at the Iridium--David Weiss, A Tribute to Wayne Shorter, with special guest Wallace Roney. Nice to hear Wayne Shorter compositions played by a large group. They are there again tonight, with James Spaulding as the special guest.

Bill Charlap Trio at the Village Vanguard--Not my cup of tea, I was pretty bored. Then, David Schnitter Quartet at Smalls--A definite improvement, with Mark Soskin on piano.

Last night I saw the Mingus Dynasty at the Iridium. They were in excellent form--led by Craig Handy, the sextet also included Orrin Evans on piano, Boris Koslow on the Mingus bass, and Kenny Rampton on trumpet. Highlights included Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Diane, Noddin' Your Head Blues, Thrice Upon a Theme (I never thought I would see a performance of this obscure Mingus composition), and Cumbia and Jazz Fusion.

Dave Brubeck--Jazz Impressions of the U.S.A. (Columbia six eyes).

Duke Ellington--Ellington Uptown (Columbia six eyes, gray label)

Another forum member, David Weiss, is leading a group at midnight on Saturday.

I recommend them for air travel. They definitely reduce (but they do not eliminate) the unpleasant sound of jet engines. They operate with batteries, so you have to turn them on to get the noise reduction effect--in my limited understanding they emit an inaudible sound which cancels out certain low frequncy sounds. I wouldn't spend alot of money on a pair though, as I've found they tend to break fairly often--I'm on my third set right now.

Are you going to be taking photos?

Is anyone else going to this seminar/festival, a week from this Friday and Saturday in New York? I'm going to be in New York for a work related seminar at the end of next week, and was hoping to attend Friday night and Saturday. There's a pretty nice lineup of concerts, including McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette, Geri Allen Trio, Pat Martino, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Avery Sharpe, Jimmy Heath Big Band, Sonny Fortune, Don Friedman, Roy Haynes, Wallace Roney, Stanley Clarke and others. http://www.jazzimprov.com/live/

An obvious one, but I see no mention of Bags and Trane. Also, Milt is on some of the Bird Broadcasts from the Royal Roost, on Savoy.

Ahmad Jamal's Alahambra (Argo) Ahmad Jamal at the Penthouse (Argo)

Dave Brubeck Quartet--Jackpot, Live in Las Vegas (Columbia two eyes)