GA Russell

I remember seeing the album of a pseudo group called The Buggs.

The Searchers have announced that they will retire next month after 57 years of performing. John McNally, the last of the original members, suffered a mild stroke in 2017. Another founder, Mike Pender, left the group decades ago, and continues to tour with a group he calls Mike Pender's Searchers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Searchers_(band) There are three collections to commemorate it all. Collected - $16.34 + $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/Collected-SEARCHERS/dp/B007F6CDHA/ The Farewell Album - $7.81 + $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Album-Searchers/dp/B07JYQTKNP/ When You Walk In The Room: Complete Pye Recordings 1963-1967 - $38.79 prime https://www.amazon.com/When-You-Walk-Room-Recordings/dp/B07MX27KSQ/ I can also recommend the cd of their two Sire albums, Another Night: The Sire Recordings 1979-1981 - $19.14 prime https://www.amazon.com/Another-Night-Sire-Recordings-1979-1981/dp/B076CVSCF5/

It snowed in Las Vegas today. https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-vegas-snow-20190218-story.html

June Jones is 66 today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Jones

Don Newcombe has died at 92. RIP. My dad took me to see him pitch for Spokane in 1961.

RareNoiseRecords Presents Marilyn Mazur's Shamania An all-female band, a gathering of ten of Scandinavia's most inventive and respected female musicians. CD, LP AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON FEBRUARY 22, 2019 AND THROUGH WWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM. Lotte Anker sax (DK) Josefine Cronholm vocal and percussion (SE/DK) Sissel Vera Pettersen sax and vocal (NO Hildegunn Øiseth trumpet and goat horn (NO) Lis Wessberg trombone (DK) Makiko Hirabayashi keyboards (Japan/DK) Ellen Andrea Wang bass (NO) Anna Lund drums (SE) Lisbeth Diers percussion (DK) Marilyn Mazur composer/leader, percussion, balaphone, kalimba (DK) Everyone additionally sings and plays percussion. ABOUT THE LABEL - RareNoiseRecords was founded in 2008 by two Italians, entrepreneur Giacomo Bruzzo and music producer Eraldo Bernocchi. Located in London, the label's mission is to detect and amplify contemporary trends in progressive music, by highlighting their relation to the history of the art-form, while choosing not to be bound by pre-conceptions of genre. It seeks to become a guiding light for all those enamored by exciting, adventurous and progressive sounds. For further information and to listen to excerpts, please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com. New York, February 12, 2019 - In 1978, Danish percussion master Marilyn Mazurfounded the bold, innovative Primi Band, an all-female music-theater ensemble that drew from a deep well of primal energy and experimental audacity. Four decades later, Mazur reinvents the core concepts in an adventurous new fashion with Shamania, a gathering of ten of Scandinavia's most inventive and respected female musicians. Whereas Primi Band culled its members from risk-taking but non-professional musicians,Shamania comprises ten highly respected (but equally daring) artists from the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian avant-jazz scenes. Their stunning debut album is a vivid combination of primeval forces and virtuosic musicianship, fiercely original imaginings and deeply organic emotions, communal energies and singular voices. The core tenet of Shamania, as with Primi Band before it, is the Danish term urkraft - which translates roughly as "primeval power" or "primitive force." As Mazur interprets it, urkraft represents "getting back to instinctive ways of expressing yourself. I had the vision of some kind of tribal female gathering from the past. This ritual feeling was the main idea of Primi Band and the starting vision for Shamania." The distinctive atmosphere that arises in both bands, Mazur explains, stems in part from the unique opportunity they provide. Most of these musicians are used to being the minority in male-dominated ensembles - Mazur herself has the distinction of being the only woman ever to have been a member of a Miles Davis group. While she's hesitant to differentiate musicians by gender, Mazur does stress that Shamania thus tips the scale back to a more equitable position. "It feels good to have this group to help balance out things in the world," she says. "In the jazz world, it's very much been men that have created the language. It's nice to be able to be a part of creating the modern sound of jazz. I don't think you can really hear a difference -- you can hear each individual contributing their qualities to the music - but it provides a very special feeling to everyone in the band, and allows us to bring some fresh energy to the music." Regardless of any categorization, the ten musicians that make up Shamania are a remarkable gathering of artists, with a decades-spanning age range from 28-year-old drummer Anna Lund to Mazur, taking on elder stateswoman status at 64. Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker was an original member of Primi Band, and has since gone on to perform with such esteemed improvisers as Craig Taborn, Sylvie Courvoisier, Fred Frith, Gerald Cleaver, Ikue Mori, Marilyn Crispell, Tim Berne, and countless others. Award-winning Swedish vocalist Josefine Cronholm and Danish percussionist Lisbeth Diers are both frequent collaborators of Mazur's, including as part of the now-defunct quintet Percussion Paradise. Japanese-Danish keyboardist Makiko Hirabayashi has also enlisted Mazur for her own trio as well as working in several of Mazur's other ensembles. The remaining members of Shamania are largely new acquaintances for the veteran percussionist. Norwegian vocalist and saxophonist Sissel Vera Pettersen has brought her experimental approach to the music of composers like John Hollenbeck, Theo Bleckmann, and Chick Corea, while trumpeter Hildegunn Øiseth (also from Norway) offers the unfamiliar sound of her hand-made goat horn to Shamania's already wide-ranging palette. Lis Wessberg is one of the leading trombonists in Denmark, where she's played with such world-renowned artists as Randy Brecker, Ray Charles, and Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Norwegian bassist and singer Ellen Andrea Wang blends genres in new and unprecedented ways, merging jazz and pop elements with a unique balance of the lyrical and the rough, the acoustic and the electric, creating a unique sound with her own trio as well as the critically acclaimed indie-jazz band Pixel. Swedish drummer Anna Lund is the founder of the uncategorizable indie-jazz band Hurrakel. Live, Shamania also features the improvising dancer Tine Erica Aspaas, reinvigorating the ancient bond between music, percussion and dancing while joining the ensemble in forging new paths forward. "I've always been very much into dancing when I play music," Mazur stresses. "It's not even a conscious thing; my approach to playing is just naturally very physical and also very visual -- at least that's what I hear from people. When people go to hear concerts they're looking at all these musicians playing, so it really adds a lot to the music to have someone concentrate on visualizing the music with their movement." "New Secret" opens the album with the insistent, rhythmic chanting of an invocation. The cyclic piece is built on one of the core elements that Mazur has carried forward from Primi Band, which she calls "Primi ostinatos." These small, repeated sonic units were inspired by the minimalist composers of the 1970s, game-changing pioneers like Philip Glass, Mike Oldfield and Steve Reich. Mazur put her own spin on that lineage, however, imbuing these repetitions with a more vigorous momentum, her rhythmic impulses in conflict with the minimalists' inherently static compositions. "Rytmeritual" and the later "Kalimbaprimis" are also made up of these ostinatos, in this case two variations on the same melody and repeated figures. Both pieces reveal Mazur's deeply personal absorption and reinterpretation of diverse musical cultures and traditions, emerging with hints of Indonesian gamelan and African folk traditions. Mazur insists that these globe-spanning accents are unintentional, arising organically from her expansive tastes rather than any attempt at some kind of world music fusion. "I listen to a lot of different music, and of course it influences me and becomes part of my subconscious musical language," she says. "But I write more by having visions and dreams and putting them into the music. The tribal feeling of the music in Shamania might draw parallels to gamelan music, to African music, to Indian music. But it's not a conscious choice to use those musical languages." "CHAAS" is one of several pieces drawn from the Primi Band repertoire. This piece takes its name from the Danish notation for the four notes of the basic melody - in English, these would be C, B natural, A, and A flat. The origins of the self-explanatory "Old Melody" may date even further back - Mazur says the tune has been around so long she can't remember when she conceived it originally - but it has remained on the shelf until now, unused but memorable enough to emerge decades later to find its proper place in this group. "Fragments" is a free improvisation ripple effect, with each member of the ensemble contributing a brief exclamation, which is responded to and carried forward by the next artist in line. It's something of a functional piece on the bandstand, serving to introduce each member of the band in turn through their own musical voice. "Space Entry Dance" enjoys a similar position, its African-inspired melody used to usher the musicians and dancer onstage during live performances; here, it closes the album on a thrilling, upbeat note. "Time Ritual" is another composition conceived for the live stage, usually a showcase for Aspaas, with the musicians reacting in real time to the dancer's improvised movements. In the studio, without the dancer present, it's transformed into a sonic sculpture, built on the hypnotic rhythms of human breath. "Crawl Out & Shine," with its celebratory, sinuous melody, is the sole piece on the album with lyrics. It was written after Mazur won the prestigious JAZZPAR Prize in 2001, and entreats the audience to join in the band's communal spirit, to enjoy life and music together with the musicians. "Behind Clouds" is a landscape rendered in percussion, a solo improvisation by Mazur that strives to illustrate the diverse colors of light streaming through the clouds as the sun sets over the ocean. "Shabalasa" combines the name of Shamania with the balafon from Mali, which Mazur plays with unbridled joy. "Heartshaped Moon," like the majority of the album, was composed specifically for Shamania, reflecting on the powers of the moon and its echo in the female cycle. Vera's ferocious vocal improvisations, engaged in a back and forth with Diers' tribal percussion, gives the feel of a frenzied primitive ceremony to "Surrealistic Adventure." The two brief pieces titled "Momamajobas" were written for Mazur's duet performance with pianist Jon Balke at the 2008 Moldejazz Festival, its name a combination of MOlde, MArilyn MAzur, and JOn BAlke. They bookend a dialogue between the percussionist and Anker called "Talk for 2." Shamania is the latest stunning venture in a consistently intrepid career. Since she emerged on the Danish scene in the mid 1970s with Primi Band and the fusion group Six Winds, Mazur has been an invariably original percussionist and composer. She toured the world with Miles Davis as well as the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Wayne Shorter Quintet in the 1980s, before returning to her own visionary music with the 7-piece international orchestra Future Song, then later with the Marilyn Mazur Group, Celestial Circle and Mystic Family, among other ground-breaking ensembles. At the same time she spent more than a decade touring and recording with Norwegian sax giant Jan Garbarek. Video (Jazzahead 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPMU8SAIv70 TRACKS 1. New Secret 5:59 (solo: Lotte Anker) 2. Rytmeritual 5:01 (solo: Josefine Cronholm) 3. CHAAS 5:40 (soli: Hildegunn Øiseth & Makiko Hirabayashi) 4. Old Melody 5:30 5. Fragments 1:36 6. Crawl Out & Shine 3:27 (solo: Lis Wessberg) 7. Behind Clouds 3:30 (solo: Marilyn Mazur) 8. Time Ritual 3:06 9. Shabalasa 4:54 (soli: Marilyn Mazur & Lis Wessberg) 10. Heartshaped Moon 5:43 (soli: Makiko Hirabayashi & Sissel Vera) 11. Surrealistic Adventure 3:12 (soli: Sissel Vera & Lisbeth Diers) 12. Momamajobas 1 0:20 13. Talk for 2 2:06 (duo: Lotte Anker & Marilyn Mazur) 14. Momamajobas 2 0:23 15. Kalimbaprimis 3:52 16. Space Entry Dance 4:24 (soli: Hildegunn Øiseth & Lotte Anker) All compositions by Marilyn Mazur except: Fragments by Shamania Surrealistic Adventure by Mazur, Diers, Pettersen Talk for 2 by Mazur, Anker Produced by Marilyn Mazur Recorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug in Rainbow Studio, Oslo May 13+14, 2017 Mixed august 2017 by Jan Erik Kongshaug Mastered by Martin Abrahamsen, Rainbow Studio 2018 Cover painting "The Red Forest" by Bitte Cecilie Bang Graphic art / Layout by Petulia Mattioli

RareNoiseRecords Presents Dave Liebman, Adam Rudolph, Hamid Drake CHI A transcendent collaboration deeply possessed of fresh inspiration and deep roots, ancient traditions and modern invention. CD, LP AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE FEBRUARY 22, 2019 AND THROUGHWWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM. Dave Liebman soprano and tenor saxophones, piano ("Formless Form"), wooden recorder Adam Rudolph hand drumset (kongos, djembe, tarija) piano ("Becoming"), sintir, multi-phonic vocal, percussion, electronic processing Hamid Drake drumset, vocal, frame drum, percussion ABOUT THE LABEL - RareNoiseRecords was founded in 2008 by two Italians, entrepreneur Giacomo Bruzzo and music producer Eraldo Bernocchi. Located in London, the label's mission is to detect and amplify contemporary trends in progressive music, by highlighting their relation to the history of the art-form, while choosing not to be bound by pre-conceptions of genre. It seeks to become a guiding light for all those enamored by exciting, adventurous and progressive sounds. For further information and to listen to excerpts, please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com New York, February 12, 2019 - Chi brings together these three master musicians for a breathtaking excursion into spontaneous composition, an extended, adventurous set of free improvisation that maintains a through line of resilient architecture and unexpected twists and turns. Nowhere revealing the tenuous moments that might be expected in an initial collaboration, the music is vivid and powerful from beginning to end, evoking timeless traditions while surging forward with ferocious abandon. "Taoism is all about being in tune with our true nature," Rudolph explains. "Chi is all about the yin and yang of receptivity and action. Musically, that becomes the ebb and flow of listening and generating ideas. The music on Chi was so successful because everyone was listening and letting the music happen in a very natural, organic, spontaneous way." Chi captures what was, until that moment, the only time these three pioneering artists had shared the stage together. Recorded on a spring evening at The Stone at the New School in New York City, the freely improvised set is fueled both by the vitality of new encounters and the unparalleled chemistry of longstanding relationships. "There's real freedom going on in this music," Rudolph continues. "I feel like anything that I can imagine, Dave and Hamid will be able to hear and understand it, and respond to it through their creative action." Rudolph and Drake share a nearly half-century of history together, dating back to their teenage years in Chicago. The two met in a downtown drum shop when both were 14 years old, and have since enjoyed a profound personal and creative friendship. In the decades since they're worked together with such greats as Don Cherry, Yusef Lateef, Fred Anderson, Pharoah Sanders and Hassan Hakmoun and in each other's ensembles. "We grew up sharing a similar pursuit," Drake says. "The music, of course; not only the history of the various musical traditions that we're interested in but also the cosmology of those traditions, the spiritual practices that informed or fed those musical genres." In both Drake and Rudolph, that spiritual element has fueled a never-ending search that has led both to constantly pursue new avenues of expression and exploration. Traveling those parallel pathways, that continual seeking has allowed their decades of collaboration to be renewed and invigorated each time they've convened. "When you've known someone for a long time but you also share a creative pursuit, that feeds into and gives energy to the relationship," Drake says. "My relationship with Adam continues to be refueled. It's not just the embers; new logs are always being put on the fire." The addition of Liebman's singular voice certainly stokes that already blazing flame. While this recording marks the veteran saxophonist's first meeting with Drake, he's been enjoying a fruitful collaboration with Rudolph over the last several years. The pair first worked together during another of the percussionist's residencies at the original Stone in 2016, then expanded to a trio with the inventive Japanese-born percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani for the RareNoise release The Unknowable. Long before that, however, Rudolph and Drake had deeply immersed themselves in Liebman's voice via his influential work with such icons as Miles Davis and Elvin Jones. "Dave Liebman was one of the people who was committed to pushing the music forward," Drake says. "When Adam and I were studying Miles' music, at the time when he started moving into other dimensions, Dave was a strong force in that movement. So as players coming up and trying to delve into that, he was one of the exemplars for us. And he continues to remain open to many different types of music and musical vocabularies." Liebman has always found a great source of inspiration in the sound of the drums, making him an ideal partner for the two virtuosic percussionists. As far back as 1974, his Liebman's second album as a leader was titled Drum Ode and featured a stellar gathering of percussionists from various traditions that included Bob Moses, Barry Altschul, Badal Roy, Patato Valdez, Collin Walcott and Jeff Williams. Rudolph pays Liebman the high compliment of calling him a "rhythmist," a term he reserves for only the most simpatico of improvisers. "Not every 'melody' player is a rhythmist," he explains. "That means having a really evolved sense of phrasing and timing. Dave went through the Elvin Jones and Miles Davis schools, and you have to be a supreme rhythmist to go through those experiences. Hamid and I have developed a unique language together, and Liebman can not only hang with that but thrive in it and add to the mix with a multiplicity of layers and interweaving thematic threads." "The drum has always been a focal point of my playing career," Liebman says. "The more the better. In this case, when I turned around and saw what these two guys had in back of me, it was like a Hollywood set. If you sit in the middle of all that rhythm, you're definitely going to play something different and hopefully adventurous." That battery of instrumentation includes Rudolph's trademark hand drumset, which includes kongos, djembe and Tarija, as well as a variety of other percussion instruments and the three-stringed Gnawa lute known as the sintir. Drake supplements his drumset prowess with the thunderous frame drum and his own arsenal of percussion. In addition, both Rudolph and Liebman take turns at the Stone's piano, while Rudolph adds multiphonic vocals as well as the limitless possibilities offered by electronic processing. Liebman is particularly excited by the transformative effect of Rudolph's electronics, an interest that dates back to the percussionist's days in the groundbreaking electronic music program at Oberlin College. "I love the different textural elements it contributes," Liebman says. "If my back is turned and I hear something going on, I don't know if it's coming from Adam or from Hamid, from a machine or form outer space." The album initiates with otherworldly electronic shimmers on "Becoming," as the sound of bamboo flute is mutated into ricocheting breaths against the stark tolling of piano keys and Drake's subtle interjections on his cymbals. The piece builds in intensity with the entrance of Liebman's soulful tenor before abruptly dissipating. "Flux" begins with the subtle, interlocking rhythms of Rudolph and Drake, which Liebman then weaves a serpentine path through and around. The momentum builds like an avalanche before hanging suspended for a moment on the saxophonist's breathy soprano. His wisps of melody become warped into spirals of sound via Rudolph's processed echoes, which Drake engages in a playful tug of war. A suspenseful, prodding dialogue between the two percussionists opens "Continuum," eventually pierced by the plaintive wail of Liebman's soprano, establishing a tension that is maintained thrillingly through the remainder of the piece. "Formless Form" begins on a dark, ominous note with Liebman's ruminative piano accented by faint percussion atmospherics. The piece is a masterpiece of slow build, from the gripping use of space to an exhilarating cavalcade of discordant eruptions. The compelling power of the drums is evident in the rapturous conversation that opens the album's longest piece, "Emergence." The instant rapport of these three masters is nowhere more in evidence than in the sustained structure and organic evolutions of this 14-minute piece, which moves from the sinuous dance of Liebman's soprano with Rudolph's vocals to hypnotic grooves and wrenching howls. Rudolph's sintir provides the foundation for album closer "Whirl," utterly mesmerizing in its fluid momentum. While the life force it attempts to describe has been given many names across a wide swath of cultures, the trio chose the Taoist word Chi due to Rudolph's and Drake's shared study of the Chinese martial art and health exercise T'ai chi ch'uan. "This life philosophy has informed our worldview," Rudolph says. "Being in tune with each other's chi and the chi around and about us is where this group works really well. Approaching the musical moment with humility and receptivity: that's the philosophy of this music." TRACKS 1. Becoming 2:53 2. Flux 13:11 3. Continuum 6:00 4. Formless Form 8:57 5. Emergence 14:56 6. Whirl 9:49 Recorded @ the Stone, New York City. MAY 8, 2018 by Rashaan Carter and Emanuel Ruffler. Mixed and mastered by James Dellatacoma at Orange Music Sound Studio, New Jersey. Adam Rudolph appears courtesy of metarecords.com. Dave Liebman plays Keilworth saxophones, Alexander reeds and tenor mouthpiece, Silverstein ligatures and LeBayle soprano sax mouthpiece. Music composed by Dave Liebman, Adam Rudolph and Hamid Drake. Published by RareNoisePublishing (PRS). Cover Photos by Adam Rudolph. Design by Sylvain Leroux. Produced by Adam Rudolph & Dave Liebman. Executive Producer for RareNoiseRecords: Giacomo Bruzzo. Cat. No. : RNR102/ RNR102LP

RANDY BRECKER ROCKS & NDR BIGBAND - THE HAMBURG RADIO JAZZ ORCHESTRA With DAVID SANBORN, ADA ROVATTI, WOLFGANG HAFFNER CD AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON FEBRUARY 22, 2019 AND THROUGH WWW.PILOORECORDS.COM. RELEASED IN EUROPE AND JAPAN VIA JAZZLINE RECORDS. Randy Brecker trumpet David Sanborn alto saxophone Ada Rovatti tenor & soprano saxophones Wolfgang Haffner drums AND NDR Bigband - The Hamburg Radio Jazz Orchestra New York, February 14, 2019 - This CD came to fruition after two successful tours featuring Randy Brecker fronting the NDR Bigband - The Hamburg Radio Jazz Orchestra [please note the spelling: Bigband versus Big Band]. Arranger/Conductor Jörg Achim Keller handled works Randy composed from different periods of his career. The tours were so well received that the "higher-ups" in the NDR organization gave the green light to record everything in a studio situation. Jörg's idea was to have the original three-horn front line of the Brecker Brothers Band augmented by the NDR Bigband, with an extended woodwind section featuring double reeds such as oboe and bassoon, and extensive woodwind doubling like bass clarinets and flutes, etc. for coloring. Original Brecker Brothers Band member alto saxophonist David Sanborn was brought in, along with Ada Rovatti on tenor and soprano saxophones, and world famous drummerWolfgang Haffner. Ada Rovatti (Randy's wife) has been a member of the Brecker Brothers Band Reunion since its inception, has had a successful recording career of her own, and has continued the tradition of 'saxophonistic excellence' in the Brecker family. The end results are organic big band arrangements, which augment the concepts behind Brecker's original compositions. Along with the other soloists - all regular members of the NDR Bigband - this CD is a spirited romp, one that will stand the test of time. Have fun listening, there is never a dull moment! For further information, please go to: http://randybrecker.com/ TRACKS 1. First Tune Of The Set [8:08] 2. Adina [6:16] 3. Squids [6:38] 4. Pastoral [7:22] 5. The Dipshit [6:22] 6. Above And Below [7:32] 7. Sozinho [7:26] 8. Rocks [6:54] 9. Threesome [6:33] All Randy Brecker compositions from different periods.

Singer Carolyn Fitzhugh Demonstrates Flourishing Vocal & Compositional Chops on "Living in Peace," Set for March 15 Release by IYOUWE Records Recording Produced by Mark Ruffin Features Eight "New Standards" & Four Originals, Arranged by Pianist-Composer Amina Figarova & Performed by All-Star Ensemble with Special Guest, Jazz Legend Freddy Cole February 18, 2019 Carolyn Fitzhugh's soul-infused jazz vocals attain new heights with her March 15 release of Living in Peace, for Lenny White's IYOUWE Records. Fitzhugh's second album also finds the Chicago native in esteemed company. Produced by Grammy nominee Mark Ruffin and given lush arrangements by state-of-the-art pianist and composer Amina Figarova, the recording features Figarova's working band -- a murderer's row of major jazz musicians that includes tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, guitarist Rez Abbasi, and drummer Rudy Royston -- and, on one track, the legendary Freddy Cole. "I can't tell you what a thrill that was for me," says Fitzhugh. "When Mark asked me would I like to sing with Freddy Cole, I couldn't believe it." Elder and fellow Chicagoan Cole appears in a sly duet with Fitzhugh on Ivan Lins's "I'm Not Alone," one of eight "new standards" on Living in Peace. Brazilian singer and percussionist Nanny Assis joins her on another tune, his cowritten "Intimate Acquaintances" from the 2016 musical Rio Uphill. Among the other jazzed-up modern staples are a lively take on the Average White Band's "Queen of My Soul"; Gil Scott-Heron's startlingly tender "Combinations"; and "Strollin'," Prince's swinging George Benson pastiche. Amina Figarova, Carolyn Fitzhugh, Mark Ruffin. Alongside these scintillating interpretations, however, are four of Fitzhugh's own original compositions. "Mark said he was impressed with my writing and wanted to showcase it," she says. The selections include the fragile, wounded title track; the funky "Wish I Knew"; the upbeat charmer "Once Upon a Lover"; and "In the Autumn," a sweet bossa nova that also features a bravura bass solo by Yasushi Nakamura. Fitzhugh's elevated technical accomplishment on Living in Peace is not incidental. While she received acclaim for her 2016 debut album, Simply Amazing, Ruffin felt that her voice needed further development before she recorded a follow-up. Fitzhugh accepted his constructive criticism gamely, even agreeing to work with vocal coaches to hone her instrument. (Among other things, the coaches helped Fitzhugh discover that she was not an alto, as she had long believed, but a mezzo-soprano.) Her self-improvement efforts are evident on the new album, which shines not only with moments of grand virtuosity but with attention to the smallest of details: the precision, in short, that marks the truest and most dedicated of artists. Born in Chicago on May 16, 1961, Carolyn Fitzhugh began taking classical piano lessons at the age of five. She became enchanted with all kinds of music through the songs she heard on the radio -- songs like Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song," which she started playing when she ventured into playing popular sheet music at about nine. Fitzhugh sang in her high school chorus and played piano in a jazz combo, dreaming of becoming a professional musician. At her family's insistence she studied accounting at Chicago's Roosevelt University, but supplemented that education with evening vocal and piano courses at Bloom School of Jazz. Even after she embarked on a 30-year career as an accountant and analyst for the federal government, she continued nursing her dream, sitting in with musicians at various clubs and restaurants and singing for two years straight as part of the legendary Von Freeman's weekly jam session. In 2011, with her children growing up, Fitzhugh made the decision to begin a six-year retirement plan from her accounting job and devote herself full-time to singing and songwriting. She retired in the summer of 2017. In 2014, she began recording her first album, Simply Amazing, in a sextet setting featuring guitarist Larry Brown Jr. and pianist Stu Mindeman. Upon its release in 2016, Fitzhugh was lauded as "an artist of the first order," with "that something extra that inspires you to keep an ear cocked in her direction." That cocked ear finds its reward on Living in Peace. Carolyn Fitzhugh will be performing at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on Tuesday 8/13 and will be announcing other Chicago-area dates in the coming months. Photography: Nick Carter Carolyn Fitzhugh "Living in Peace" EPK Web Site: CarolynFitzhughMusic.com

Altec Lansing - Baby Boom Portable Bluetooth Speaker - $9.99 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/altec-lansing-baby-boom-portable-bluetooth-speaker-black/5844900.p

So Concord has licensed Prestige material to Ace?

That's plausible, Brad, but I read an article about cars in the Wall St. Journal two weeks ago that I think is relevant. The middle class is shrinking. Sales of sedans have collapsed. Coincidence? I think not. I believe that the sales of box sets have never returned to their 2007 eBay price levels. (Felser might know!) It could be that not enough people have enough disposable income for 6-CD box sets. With a smaller middle class, I suspect that price point has become as important as value.

kinuta, my sister gave me that for my 2015 birthday. I guess I ought to read it too!

ORNETTE COLEMAN: Something Else!!!! - $1.95 https://www.hamiltonbook.com/ornette-coleman-something-else

ECM Larry Grenadier - The Gleaners Digital release date: February 15 CD and Vinyl: February 22, 2019 Larry Grenadier: double bass Larry Grenadier solo performances: March 15 New York, NY Zürcher Gallery March 22 Knoxville, TN Big Ears Festival Larry Grenadier's The Gleaners is a profound and highly creative album, harvesting influences from many sources, its title inspired by Agnès Varda's film The Gleaners and I. In between his own pieces here, including a dedication to early hero Oscar Pettiford, Grenadier explores compositions by George Gershwin, John Coltrane, Paul Motian, Rebecca Martin and Wolfgang Muthspiel. "The process for making this record began with a look inward," Larry writes in his liner note, "an excavation into the core elements of who I am as a bass player. It was a search for a center of sound and timbre, for the threads of harmony and rhythm that formulate the crux of a musical identity." The result is an important addition to ECM's series of distinguished solo bass albums. The Gleaners was recorded at New York's Avatar Studios in December 2016 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

I received an email today saying that my ETA has been changed from Feb. 15 to April 12!

Las Cuevas de Mario https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/track/las-cuevas-de-mario

Make a List Make a Wish https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/track/make-a-list-make-a-wish

Ophelia https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/track/ophelia-sample-for-movie-music

Derel Walker and some decent players signed today. Jeremiah Johnson to Montreal. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/alouettes-sign-rb-jeremiah-johnson/ https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/als-ink-free-agent-rb-jeremiah-johnson/ ***** Courtney Stephen to Calgary. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/canadian-db-courtney-stephen-joins-stampeders/ https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/stamps-sign-national-db-courtney-stephen/ ***** Derel Walker to Toronto. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/derel-walker-leaves-toronto-without-signing-deal-with-the-argos/ https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/argos-sign-star-receiver-derel-walker/ https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/fa19-analysis-argos-offence-takes-shape-with-derel-walker-signing/ ***** Cody Fajardo to Regina. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/riders-sign-qb-cody-fajardo-to-one-year-deal/ https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/riders-sign-free-agent-qb-fajardo/ ***** Kevin Francis to Ottawa. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/redblacks-sign-lb-francis-one-year/ ***** Maleki Harris to BC. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/lions-sign-linebacker-harris-one-year-deal/ ***** AC Leonard to Regina. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/free-agent-c-leonard-returns-riders/ https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/riders-bring-back-dl-a-c-leonard/ ***** Caleb Holley to Ottawa. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/redblacks-sign-wr-holley-one-season/ ***** Rico Murray to Hamilton. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/14/defensive-back-murray-returns-ticats/ https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/rico-murray-has-re-signed-in-hamilton-and-thats-cool/ ***** Lirim Hajrullahu has decided to take a shot for an NFL offer, and will definitely not sign with a CFL team this month. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/lirim-hajrullahu-wont-sign-until-at-least-march-wants-to-take-nfl-shot/

Twenty years ago, I picked up the soundtracks of two of my favorites, Secret Agent and The Saint.

Now, at the end of Day 2, here is the list of free agent signings. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/13/all-the-player-moves-in-cfl-free-agency-so-far/ ***** The Eastern teams had a better day today than they did yesterday. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/13/excitement-east-day-2-free-agency/

Ted, quite some time ago I picked up eBook of Slow Horses. You've just decided what my next read will be!

Yesterday was the first day of free agency, and many stars changed teams. Here is the best list I've found of who went where, and who lost whom. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/12/sudden-impact-team-team-look-free-agency-2/ ***** Two observations: 1) BC and Edmonton made the most headlines. 2) Eastern stars moved west, but Western stars didn't move east. ***** Here are the names of the best players still available. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/13/big-names-day-2-free-agency/ https://3downnation.com/2019/02/13/the-top-50-remaining-cfl-free-agents/ ***** The word Monday night was that BC had signed Duron Carter, but the league has not confirmed it. Perhaps the Argos have filed a charge of tampering. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/12/duron-carter-reportedly-agrees-to-terms-with-b-c-promptly-gets-called-a-cancer/

I didn't know that Concord now owns the Vee-Jay catalogue.