Free For All

The one Norm McDonald comment I'll always love was his line regarding Kenny G's Christmas album. "Happy Birthday, Jesus! Hope you like CRAP!"

......and the Chiefs' playoff streak continues.

Tony is a great NYC lead player- he plays with Maria's big band and also John Fedchock's. Plus many others.

That last touchdown run by Lynch was amazing. One of the best runs I've seen. Saints' defense was a no-show. Shocker for sure! I wonder how far the Seahawks will go.

....."spewing his lame-ass, jive, pseudo bluesy, out-of-tune, noodling, wimped out, fucked up playing all over one of the great Louis's tracks"..... ....."musical necrophilia"..... That still cracks me up every time I read it.

It's better than the original. But the original stunk to high heaven in my opinion, so it's not exactly praise. Better how, though? Has the plot or storyline been changed? Better acting? BTW, I think John Wayne and company did a marvelous job in the original...but that's just me. Rooster Cogburn [w/Katheryn Hepburn] is better, IMHO. Better photography, better script, better cast,better direction. ....better score. Truly grittier.

1987, Sketches of Spain. Shortly after that there was a big Blue Note cutout sale at Camelot Records in the mall- they had a ton of BN CDs for 2.99 each. They all had a big sawed notch on them. Still, a great deal and what got me going on my CD collection.

Wow, amazing photos! I spelunked all over myself. :blush2:

Just heard (from Bobby Watson) that bassist Charles Fambrough passed away today. I haven't heard any details beyond that. Sad news. Not a good start to 2011.

Pun intended?

Sad news. Obit

Haven't heard Sam yet. I'm not sure how much he's actually playing these days. Gigwise, I've been all over the place lately (LOTS of flying ). Been doing a lot of guest-artist type things with big bands and some small group things here and there. Wherever they'll have me. I'll bet you're excited about your move east!

Wow, how wild to read this thread again. Thanks again for all the support, guys. I'm in my fourth year (next year begins the tenure process) and am very much enjoying the job. Since it was a new position I didn't inherit any students and have been working hard to recruit players- I've got about ten in my studio now with a steady trickle coming in each year. I like my colleagues for the most part and enjoy playing with them- we play for the students frequently. The College of Music commissioned me to write a piece for the jazz ensemble for the opening of a new concert hall- this happened in October. So job-wise I'm very happy, and am working my ass off. I teach private students, direct a big band & small group and teach improv, jazz ear training and arranging. I am writing a lot for my various groups. Can't say I really like living in Tallahassee, though- it's a very isolated place. All the larger cities are 4-5 hours away. On the plus side there have been two jazz clubs that opened since I moved here, but outside of the students there's not a big jazz fan base in the general population. Weather-wise, winters are very pleasant, summers suck big time. I do love going to nearby St. George Island, a beautiful white sand Gulf Coast beach (which was spared any immediate damage by the oil leak). I still travel quite a bit to play gigs here and there as time permits. I really enjoy visiting Savannah & Charleston. Politically Florida is a very strange place, but I don't want to get into that here. The bottom line is I'm very grateful to have a job I like. It remains to be seen if this is the last stop. Thanks again for all the kind words, guys!

Don't forget my favorite, the Abe & Mrs. Lincoln.

I also like that group Royksopp that was the source for the music.

You dig?

When I was in London I was going nuts over the beers from the pulled taps in the pubs, but I couldn't help noticing the younger people were drinking Budweiser like it was some stylish exotic import.

*sigh* Yeah, those were some good times.

Bumsha Swing? Bemsha Swing anagram: Man's web sigh

Impressive comeback by the Texans to tie up the game! I thought they were done. Matt Schaub played a great second half. EDIT: Damn, too bad about that last int. I was hoping they'd pull it off.

Haven't seen anything like that since the 1954 Cotton Bowl, when Tommy Lewis, who was on the Alabama bench, tackled SMU's Dickie Moegle as he was racing for a touchdown. (I actually only saw a video of that one, years after it happened.) Alosi should be fined and suspended, if not fired. Looks like this kind of thing is what happens when the Rex Ryan mentality takes over a team. It made me think of Woody Hayes slugging that Clemson player. A sad end to an otherwise great career.