Free For All

Skinny Ennis Dennis Mackrel Sam 'n Dave

Penny Marshall Michael Stivic Meatloaf

STILL ALIVE.................. Phyllis Diller Marty Allen Al Lewis

Ian Fleming Moneypenny Dollar Brand

I'm no Dan Gould, but I'm guessing a Piggy/Grover Muppets connection.

Urbie Green Herbie Harper Winard Harper .....oops, sorry- wrong thread.

Joe Albany Sonny Dallas Sonny Stitt

Sounds like a line from.....

Bob Berg Ice T Jack Teagarden

How much for the ipod?

Jill St. John Will Robinson Phil Donahue

This one seems quite feasible. Shorter, Hancock, Chambers and McBee. All players still playing very well, IMHO. Speaking of Herbie, how about the Mwandishi band? Bennie Maupin, Eddie Henderson, Julian Priester, Buster Williams and Billy Hart?

h A p P y B i R t H d A y I m P o S s I b L e ! ! !

Lenny White Urbie Green Garnett Brown

Alfre Woodard Tree Rollins Sonny Rollins

Long Dong Silver Clarence Thomas Doubting Thomas Richard Thomas Cedar Walton Phil Woods

H a P p Y b I r T h D a Y j O e !!! Hope something nice happens for you today, whether you do it for yourself or someone else does it for you, or both. You've been giving a lot, time to take a little for yourself. Really looking forward to the new side. And also looking forward to seeing you around here a little more often. You da man!

Even the bulb above my head (that goes on when I get a good idea) has burned out. Or maybe it's just me.

Happy birthday, Mark! Your contributions here are significant and appreciated!

Kenny Burrell - Ellington Is Forever, vol. 1 (click to buy) I'm posting this a little early because I'm going to be out of town over the next week or so and don't want to wait 'til the last minute. This is a CD I listen to often. It is an "all star" project and frequently those don't work well, but this is an exception. The chemistry and joie de vie on this recording makes it a fun and energizing listen. Plenty o' greeze for all! Many perennial favorites participate- Burrell (of course), who assumes a fairly modest role and leaves much space to the other players (though he does get to shine, no doubt), Thad Jones (who IMHO deserves much wider recognition as a player), Joe Henderson, Jerome Richardson, Jimmy Smith and Jimmie Smith, Jimmy Jones, Snooky Young and Ernie Andrews, who has some nice moments. There is a Volume Two, and it's good too (though not quite as good as Vol. One IMHO), but Volume One is the one to check out first. Hope everyone enjoys this one. BTW, here is a LINK to CD Universe in case you're interested. There might be a cheaper source.

No choice. That's my domain. It is a finished basement so it's actually pretty nice. And yes, I worry about water. We did have some problems and recently put a sump in. I do keep things off the floor a few inches just in case, especially when I'm gone for a week here and there. Another good thing about the basement is that it's far from the bedroom so my wife can go to bed early (as she does) and I can stay up late (as I do) and listen to music w/o disturbing her. Well worth the risk, IMHO. BTW, it's currently 72 degrees with 45% humidity in my jazz cave. You mean no one else here is banished to the basement?

A favorite Stan Levey date...... This Time The Drum's On Me W/Dexter Gordon, Frank Rosolino, Conte Candoli, Lou Levy and Leroy Vinnegar. Excellent hard bop.

When the weather gets warm and humid as it does in the midwest this time of year it becomes necessary to use a dehumidifier. Not a particularly expensive item, and it will help remove the moisture from the air. We have one in the basement (which is my "jazz cave") and it really helps. You can also get an inexpensive hygrometer (I think that's the word) to check humidity levels in the house.

I was just listening to "Chops", the duet recording he did w/Joe Pass. He was one of my favorites- he made everything he was involved in much, much better. This is really sad news. Damn. RIP, NHOP.