GA Russell

I'm not familiar with the Edifier brand. Hope they're good! ***** Amazon Music Unlimited - first four months for 99 cents. https://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/promotions/AmazonMusicUnlimited/

$100 Edifier bookshelf speakers for $70. https://www.amazon.com/Edifier-R1280T-Powered-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B016P9HJIA/

Not much. Yesterday I received a $5 discount for buying $20 worth of print books. I have read: If you buy a $25 gift card, they will give you a $5 credit for a future purchase. If you buy an eBook, they will give you a credit for a future eBook purchase equal to 30% of the price of the first eBook. I have not seen anything regarding cd's or dvd's.

Any suggestions for any other votes besides HOF?

ECM Tord Gustavsen Trio The Other Side Tord Gustavsen: piano, electronics Sigurd Hole: double-bass Jarle Vespestad: drums Release date: August 31, 2018 ECM 2608 CD UPC: 6025 675 1618 7 LP UPC: 6025 675 8251 9 Tord Gustavsen Trio on tour: September 25 New York, NY Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola September 27 Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa September 28 Stanford, CA Bing Concert Hall Studio (Stanford Univ) September 29 Vancouver BlueShore Financial Centre September 30 Portland, OR Classic Pianos October 2 Minneapolis, MN Mindekirken Norwegian Lutheran Church Pianist Tord Gustavsen began his ECM tenure with three trio albums, released from 2003 to 2007, that enjoyed a remarkable confluence of popular and critical success. JazzTimes described this trilogy as having the potency of “distilled magic,” while the Guardian stated “Gustavsen’s tunes are hypnotically strong, and the integration of bass and drums in his regular trio is total”. In four further recordings for ECM over the past decade, Gustavsen explored the quartet format, as well as worked with an expanded ensemble and vocals. Now, for his return to trio with the album The Other Side, the Norwegian pianist has convened a new working group, which includes ever-faithful drummer Jarle Vespestad – a kindred spirit who has drummed on all of Gustavsen’s albums. There is a new bassist, Sigurd Hole, whose eclectic approach to his instrument – drawing on influences from folk music as well as modern jazz – makes him ideally suited to the pianist’s gradually developing, melodic pieces. The Other Side incorporates Gustavsen’s love for the church music of his village youth and the ancient folk melodies of Norway that have become a passion in more recent years. This mix of compositions and arrangements of chorales ranges from grave beauty to flowing dynamism, marked throughout by the trio’s seemingly telepathic chemistry. Along with being 11 years since Gustavsen’s previous trio album, it has been seven years since the tragic early passing of the group’s original bassist, Harald Johnsen. “I didn’t want to just continue the trio with another bassist,” Gustavsen explains. “Then the quartet I had with Jarle, saxophonist Tore Brunborg and bassist Mats Eilertsen felt so strong that it demanded its own cycles of recording and touring. After that, we did like to explore new songs with electronics and vocals. But following all this, it seemed like the time to bring the piano back as the lead voice. This new version of the trio feels in line with the initial group, even as it exists on another wavelength – it would have to, as it somehow includes all that came in between those first records and now. And, the trio represents Tord’s passion for paradoxically uniting clarity and freedom. The title of The Other Side reflects multiple ideas, it also refers to the trio as being another side of Gustavsen’s music-making from the quartet and vocal explorations of recent years, not to mention his frequent side ventures with choirs, fiddle players and even Iranian musicians. “Then there is also this idea in the title of the way the trio plays as being the other side of virtuosity, a kind of paradoxical virtuosity where you don’t play all the notes you can but merely the notes that are really needed,” he says. “It’s about subordinating your ego to the flow of the music – and that takes a kind of ‘radical listening’ – listen more than you play. That’s a passion the three of us share.” Gustavsen arranged several chorales by Bach for the album, as well as one by 19th-century Danish composer, organist and folklorist Ludvig Mathias Lindeman. Bach’s “Schlafes Bruder” has deep groove led by Vespestad, while Lindeman’s “Kirken, den er et gammelt hus” has a feel that’s alternatively ruminative and rhapsodic, with an electronically shaded intro. “We’re interpreting the church music that I grew up with in an abstract way,” the pianist explains. Gustavsen composed the grooving “Re-Melt” and haunting “Leftover Lullaby No. 4” as divergent responses to the chorale arrangements. He originally wrote the gospel-tinged “Tunnel” and melodic highlight “Taste and See” for a literary festival in the mountains of northwest Norway, where the pieces were played in conjunction with readings; they evolved further as vehicles for the trio. The stately, blue-hued title track and ravishing “Curves” are original pieces that Gustavsen composed at soundchecks on quartet tours, inspired by how the other group members were responding musically to his ideas; the seeds of the quietly atmospheric “Duality” were also sown in that way, but the track ended up as a mostly free improvisation in the studio. Always subtle and lyrical, Gustavsen’s pianism has evolved in recent years to incorporate more modal playing, moving beyond chord changes; through his quartet work and his early experiences as a solo performer, his blending of composition and improvisation has also become freer, more seamless. Both of his trio mates have sensual sounds that complement his own. Sigurd Hole has a lyrical bent on bass, although his arco playing can be expressively percussive. “Sigurd also has a natural way of injecting modal Norwegian folk melodies into the music that makes the group’s connection to these roots stronger,” Gustavsen points out. “The old Norwegian lullabies and dance forms find their way in now almost without us thinking about it.” Gustavsen and Vespestad, musical soul mates, have played hundreds of concerts together. “Early on, in our playing of ballads, we discovered this sense of micro-timing, and loaded minimalism – the feeling that the less we play, the stronger it gets – and this sense has evolved ever since. Now, we are also stretching out and using more dynamics, but this fundamental experience of ‘essence’ and reduction is always our point of departure. Jarle can groove in such an understated way and play so quietly that all the timbres of the piano can be heard. That said, he has such technical ability. It’s fascinating that beyond his groups with me, he often plays complex music with fierce tempos and a lot of volume and noise. A funny thing is that he’s so attuned to the lyricism in the trio’s music that I can often hear him humming the melody as he plays. That’s rare for a drummer and something that, as a composer, I find touching.” “I like to analyse and break things down in music, of course, but first and foremost, it’s about touching people in the way that I like to be touched in music,” Gustavsen concludes. “That’s the most meaningful part of all this for me, being moved and moving others.” ECM Trygve Seim Helsinki Songs Trygve Seim: tenor and soprano saxophones Kristjan Randalu: piano Mats Eilertsen: double-bass Markku Ounaskari: drums Release date: August 31, 2018 Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim’s eighth ECM album as a leader or co-leader, Helsinki Songs, reaches out to the listener, tugging the ear with its overt lyricism, ethereal atmosphere and air of sustained melodic invention, often with hints of the East. Seim wrote most of Helsinki Songs on sojourns in the Finnish capital, in an apartment with “a composer’s aura.” Back in Oslo, he brought the compositions to life at Rainbow Studio with his simpatico quartet featuring Estonian pianist Kristjan Randalu, Norwegian bassist Mats Eilertsen and Finnish drummer Markku Ounaskari. Themes of dedication and tribute run throughout the new album, including pieces referencing Ornette Coleman and Jimmy Webb, as well as tunes dedicated to Seim’s children and bandmates. It was with his ECM leader debut, Different Rivers, that Seim made an immediate impact on the jazz scene, with the disc winning the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik as Album of the Year in 2001. Since then, the saxophonist has been heard on more than 20 ECM releases, including Sangam with his large ensemble, on multiple albums with the collective The Source, in duos with accordionist Frode Halti and with pianist Andreas Utnem, and on recordings led by Manu Katché and Jacob Young. Recently, Seim has been heard as part of Eilertsen’s septet (Rubicon), with Iro Haarla and symphony orchestra (Ante Lucem) and with singer Sinikka Langeland and Trio Mediaeval (The Magical Forest). As a leader, Seim’s previous ECM release was Rumi Songs, the 2016 album featuring his settings of words by the titular Persian poet, the group including Haltli, cellist Svante Henryson and mezzo-soprano Tora Augestad. The Guardian praised that record as “playful, guileless, accessible,” singling out Seim’s playing for being full of “tonal and melodic surprises.” A natural improviser, Seim ventured beyond early jazz playing to expand his palette via studies of Arabic music in Cairo; between 2005 and 2010, he collaborated often with Egyptian musician Fathy Salama. Seim has also explored Indian classical traditions, along with being inspired by Armenian duduk virtuoso Djivan Gasparyan – whose influence can be heard unmistakably in the emotive keening of “New Beginning” and “Sorrow March” on Helsinki Songs. In recent years, the saxophonist recognized certain kinships that these traditions – with their scales, modes and melodic arabesques – have with the folk music of his native Norway, even as he has returned to the format of the classic jazz quartet. “After the early ’90s, I was drawn to larger ensembles and small situations, like duos – perhaps unconsciously to avoid the jazz quartet, which has such a weight of history from Lester Young to John Coltrane and on and on,” Seim explains. “But now I’m surrounded in this quartet by players who enable me to really be myself.” “Kristjan Randalu has technical skills that are beyond belief for me – he can do anything you need to be done at the piano,” the composer says. “But most important is that he can really make the piano sing, which is a rare thing. His touch is so beautiful that when you hear him play a chord, there are more than just those four or five notes in it. There’s soul.” About Eilertsen and Ounaskari, Seim adds: “Mats is such a creative bass player, with a wonderful sound. And Markku was inspired by Edward Vesala and his free, dramatic playing, though he can also play very simply. Mats and Markku also have this great connection with each other, something you can feel.” The other dedications on Helsinki Songs include “Birthday Song,” which Seim wrote for Eilertsen. “For his 40th birthday, I got Mats a nice bottle of champagne and a Moleskine notebook for composing,” the saxophonist explains. “In that notebook, I wrote four melody notes and a chord – ‘here’s something to get you started,’ I said. Very early the next morning, after our celebrations, I came home a bit drunk and sat down at the piano, playing those four notes and the chord. I ended up ‘stealing’ them to write the rest of ‘Birthday Song’ before I went to sleep. The piece has some longing in it, like your 40th birthday can have.” Seim wrote the sweet-toned album opener “Sol’s Song” for his 7-year-old daughter and the Baroque-referencing “Ciaccona per Embrik” for his 9-year-old son, “although I actually wrote that tune when I first found out that I was going to be a father – when I felt emotions that were both fantastic and frightening, those feelings of a first-time parent.” The melancholy “Katya’s Dream” was inspired by Seim’s viewing of Coco and Igor, a film about Stravinsky’s early years in Paris and his supposed relationship with Coco Chanel. Katya is the famed composer’s long-suffering first wife, who sacrificed her artistic dreams for those of her husband. When Seim first wrote “Morning Song,” the pianist Andreas Utnem noted hints in its opening to Jimmy Webb’s ballad “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.” Seim didn’t know that song as a Webb composition, having assumed it was an original by singer Radka Toneff, whose cover was iconic in Norway. Subsequently delving into Webb’s music, Seim became a fan of the American hitmaker – and gave a new coda to “Morning Song” directly inspired by Webb. The album’s closing piece, “Yes, Please Both” manages to reference both a Winnie the Pooh phrase in the title and Ornette Coleman in the sound of the music (with the piano laying out in the introduction, à la Coleman’s classic recordings). Seim explains: “I’ve always been drawn to both free playing as inspired by people like Ornette and this other desire to play simpler, more melodic music.” Reflecting on his influences, Seim says: “When I was a young boy, my father got me a saxophone, but I was more interested in soccer. Then we went on a long car drive, and he played Jan Garbarek’s ECMalbum Eventyr. I was so touched by it, just by the sound of Garbarek’s saxophone, that I really became interested in the instrument. Even now, that impression never leaves me. It’s something about the special way he produces his tone, but also the fact that while most players are concerned with how many notes they can play, Garbarek is always telling a story on the saxophone. Ever since, I’ve always been drawn to musicians who tell a story through their instruments. And that’s what I hope to do.” ECM Sungjae Son - Near East Quartet release date: August 31, 2018 Sungjae Son: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Suwuk Chung: guitar; Yulhee Kim: vocal, percussion; Soojin Suh: drums with Sori Choi: traditional Korean percussion on "Baram" The Near East Quartet has been a force in Korean music since 2010, juxtaposing elements of contemporary jazz and traditional Korean music with pure sound exploration to create new forms. Saxophonist/clarinetist Sungjae Son and guitarist Suwuk Chung have been members from the outset and the group has been strengthened with the integration of pansori singer Yulhee Kim and highly creative drummer Soojin Suh. On their ECM debut the NEQ plays five compositions by Sungjae Son and three Korean traditionals. Near East Quartet was recorded in Seoul, and mixed at Studios La Buissonne by Nicolas Baillard, Manfred Eicher and album producer Sun Chung. “This is the chill-out as a state of grace, and it can go as deep as you like. Sublime,” wrote the Independent on Sunday of the Gustavsen’s Trio’s Being There, released in 2007. Over the last decade Tord has experimented with other ensemble forms and formats, but on The Other Side - recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in January 2018 – he returns decisively to the piano trio, with faithful drummer Jarle Vespestad, and excellent new bassist Sigurd Hole. Hole’s approach to his instrument, drawing on folk influences as well as modern jazz, is ideally suited to Gustavsen’s slowly-developing, deeply melodic pieces. PRE-ORDER CD With its overt lyricism, strong themes and a sense of perpetual melodic invention, Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim’s new album quickly identifies itself as a classic-in-the-making. Themes of dedication run through Seim’s Helsinki Songs, a set of tunes composed – for the most part – in the Finnish capital, and radiating tributes in many directions. Here are songs referencing Igor Stravinsky and Jimmy Webb, pieces dedicated to each of Seim’s gifted bandmates, and tunes that tip the hat, obliquely, to Ornette Coleman and Bill Evans. The quartet plays superbly throughout, with outstanding solos from leader Seim and pianist Kristjan Randalu. PRE-ORDER CD The Near East Quartet has been a force in Korean music since 2010, juxtaposing elements of contemporary jazz and traditional Korean music with pure sound exploration to create new forms. Saxophonist/clarinetist Sungjae Son and guitarist Suwuk Chung have been members from the outset and the group has been strengthened with the integration of pansori singer Yulhee Kim and highly creative drummer Soojin Suh. On their ECM debut the NEQ plays five compositions by Sungjae Son and three Korean traditionals. PRE-ORDER CD © *2018 ECM Records US, A Division of Verve Music Group. All rights reserved. NPR Music's Top 10 Classical Albums Of 2017 “You don't have to be a Scandinavian musicologist to fall in love with Last Leaf, the Danish String Quartet's new album of Nordic folk songs and dances. The fact that the atmospheric "Drømte mig en drøm" (I Dreamed a Dream) is over 700 years old and the rollicking "Stædelil" is based on a Faroese medieval ballad later reworked by Beethoven is not as important as the fluency and grace that infuses these blithesome performances. In the quartet's eloquent, but not overworked, arrangements, you can hear the shuffling feet of dancers and wheezy bagpipes. "Æ Rømeser," from the Danish island of Fanø, mesmerizes, as the whirl of a polka meets a wistful melody. The band stays busy playing Brahms and Haydn — and even contemporary composers like Thomas Adès and Hans Abrahamsen, featured on a superb album released last year. But when it comes to the simple idea of a classical string quartet performing folk tunes, the Danish musicians have exceeded all expectations.” – Tom Huizenga New York Times 25 Best Classical recordings of 2017 “It is wonderful to hear these superb players let their collective hair down in this collection of (mostly) Scandinavian folk tunes and original material composed in like fashion. This should warm the heart of every fan of fiddling, whether bluegrass, Celtic or Bachian. “ – James Oestreich VINYL / CD / DOWNLOAD / STREAM SUMMER CONCERTS August 7, 8 - Santa Fe NM St Francis Auditorium / Chamber Music Festival August 9 - Albuquerque NM Simms Auditorium / Chamber Music Festival August 10 - Skaneateles, NY First Presbyterian Church / Skaneateles Festival August 12 - Woodstock NY Maverick Concert Hall August 14 St John’s, Newfoundland The Old Church in Admiral’s Cove / Tuckamore Festival Repertoire will include works from and from their previous Adès/Norgaard/Abrahamsen recording. © *2018 ECM Records US, A Division of Verve Music Group. All rights reserved.

I remember that Shelly Berman was on Verve. Jonathan Winters? Mort Sahl? Anybody else? ***** Jazziz Magazine has named this cd one of July's Top Ten most exciting new jazz releases. https://www.jazziz.com/10-new-jazz-albums-you-need-to-know-about-july-2018/

"Getting Sentimental," Debut Recording by Chicago Jazz Vocalist Gayle Kolb, Set for 8/31 Release by JeruJazz Records Kolb to Showcase Album, Produced & Arranged by Bassist Dennis Carroll, At Her 8/31 Chicago Jazz Festival Appearance With Her CD Band: Guitarist Bobby Broom, Pianist Joey Skoch, Drummer George Fludas, Trombonist Tom Garling, & Carroll July 10, 2018 With the August 31 release of her debut recording Getting Sentimental, Chicago's Gayle Kolb makes a triumphant statement in song after a stretch of years away from music. Produced and arranged by acclaimed Chicago bassist Dennis Carrollfor JeruJazz Records, the album reveals Kolb's metamorphosis from a former nightclub headliner in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and her hometown of Chicago into a compelling jazz artist in full command of her material and her gift. Kolb will showcase the album on its release date during her Chicago Jazz Festival debut, performing with the same personnel heard on the recording: guitar great Bobby Broom, in whose trio Carroll has been a longtime member; Cleveland piano phenom Joey Skoch; ace trombonist Tom Garling of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and Chicago Yestet; bassist Dennis Carroll: and the always-in-demand drummer George Fludas. With her low tones and coolly relaxed phrasing, Kolb never settles for easy emotion. "Gayle sells a song without having to do the big dramatic stuff," says Carroll. "She is a subtle conveyor of story [with] real authenticity." Among the tunes Carroll had Kolb cover was Ray Brown's rarely heard "Gravy Waltz," recorded by the Oscar Peterson Trio in the early '60s and with lyrics by talk show host and jazz pianist Steve Allen. "I had her go toe to toe, back and forth, with [Broom]," says Carroll. "It was real old school." Kolb turns in a thoughtful version of "Two for the Road" featuring a smoldering trombone solo, and a bright but pensive reading of Marcos Valle's "If You Went Away," performed in a medium-tempo arrangement featuring Skoch on electric piano. Another highlight is a beautifully restrained rendition of Jimmy Webb's masterpiece, "Wichita Lineman," recorded not long after the death of its beloved interpreter, Glen Campbell. Kolb had sung the song early in her career, when she mixed a lot of country and pop into her sets. Gayle Kolb was born and raised in the southwestern Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, where her father served as mayor for nearly three decades. She studied piano throughout her childhood, and later sang in the high school choir. Relocating to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, she met the keyboardist and vocalist Mel Norfleet, who became her mentor and urged her to go hear Lorez Alexandria. Attending a show by the Chicago-born Alexandria, Kolb experienced a kind of epiphany. "Lorez was unbelievable," she says. "She spoke the lyrics, pronounced them, and you believed every word. I realized that that was what I wanted to learn and accomplish with my music." Though Kolb did mostly commercial singing during engagements at the Hyatt and Bel-Air hotels, she discovered that when she inserted a jazz classic like "Midnight Sun" into her set, she drew the crowd in. (Kolb has been compared to such cool-school singers as Peggy Lee and June Christie, but says her primary influences were actually Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, and Joe Williams.) After moving back to Chicago in 1974, Kolb was contracted to work five nights a week in a suburban showroom, a gig that lasted four years and gave her the opportunity to take her show to Las Vegas. Back in the Windy City, she was asked to fill in for Lainie Kazan, the theater and TV star. Eventually Kolb became fed up with commercial singing and quit the music business to devote herself to her family. She also found satisfying work as an interior designer. But jazz beckoned in the early 2000s. Newly single, Kolb reached out to musician friends and sat in at jam sessions, getting her chops back and learning tunes again. Singing before audiences after all her time away proved "difficult and scary," she says. Having seen the highly regarded Carroll (pictured above with Kolb) in performances in Chicago and admired his work with singers, Kolb called him out of the blue for advice on reentering the music world -- or not. "I knew he would tell me the truth about my singing," she says. "He would tell me if I should go home. I was ready for that." During her afternoon "audition" at his house, Carroll had Kolb sing songs at extended lengths and also scat -- something she had done very little of. "I wanted to see how much jazz she had in her," Carroll says. She passed all tests with flying colors, and it didn't take him long to make a decision. "We can do a CD," he told her after seven minutes, by his estimation. And thus began Gayle Kolb's exciting new chapter as a jazz artist on record -- singing, swinging, truth-telling. Photogrpahy: Suzanne Plunkett Web Site: gaylekolb.com

So far, I've been a fan of Zev Feldman. All that I have with his name on it have been mighty fine.

Yes, but you can sign up for a 30-day free trial. If not satisfied, quit without commitment.

Amazon has announced that this year's Prime Day will begin at 3:00 pm July 16 and continue through July 17. In the past, some other stores have also had big sales on Prime Day, so that Amazon would not get all of the day's action. If you see a relevant Prime Day deal, please post it here!

"My Shining Hour," New CD by S.F. Bay Area Vocalist Jennifer Lee, Highlights Lee's Songwriting Skills, Set for Release by SBE Records on August 10 Lee's 3rd Release on Guitarist Peter Sprague's Imprint & 1st Since 2009 Features 11 Originals Performed by Her Band, The Ever-Expanding Universe, Plus Special Guests Trumpeter Randy Brecker, Bassist Bob Magnusson, Violinist Mads Tolling, & Percussionist John Santos CD Release Shows Scheduled for Dizzy's, San Diego, 8/11 The Sound Room, Oakland, 9/23 June 21, 2018 With her first two albums, Oakland-based vocalist Jennifer Lee established herself as a gifted interpreter of the American and Brazilian Songbooks, producing a critically hailed body of work. On her new CD, My Shining Hour, Lee emerges as a composer who, in the nine years since her last release, has developed a striking repertoire exploring the human condition with humor, compassion, and imagination. "I always wrote a little bit," says Lee, "but I certainly never thought of myself as a songwriter. Then a shift happened and all this music started channeling in. It's like some crazy, overactive muse attached itself to me." Due for August 10 release on guitarist Peter Sprague's SBE Records, My Shining Hourfeatures Lee in the company of her band, the Ever-Expanding Universe, along with special guests including trumpeter Randy Brecker, bassist Bob Magnusson, Grammy Award-winning violinist Mads Tolling, and percussion maestro John Santos. Sprague, known for his extensive work with Chick Corea, Charles McPherson, and Hubert Laws, produced the album, which was recorded at his studio in Encinitas. He also produced Lee's first two discs -- Jaywalkin' (2003), named "finest debut of the year, big label or small" by Dan McClenaghan of All About Jazz, and Quiet Joy (2009), a mix of originals, standards, and Brazilian songs described as "a JOY from start to finish" by the late drummer and Grammy-nominated producer Bud Spangler. "Peter is an extraordinary musician and a deeply soulful player," Lee says. "Working with him over the years, watching how he'll reharmonize or phrase a line, I've learned so much. It's definitely influenced my writing." Lee wrote 11 of the 13 songs on My Shining Hour; all 13 were co-arranged by Lee and Sprague. The Harold Arlen-composed title track (and album opener), which contains an original vocalese written by Lee, is dedicated to her stepfather. "Song of Happy," the other non-original on the album, is an ebullient Latin number by guitarist Abel Zarate, best known as a co-writer of the Malo hit "Suavecito." "Song of Happy" and "Perfect Rendezvous" are duets pairing Lee's light and bright sound with the warm, resonant baritone of Carey Williams (pictured at right with Lee), Jennifer's life partner and musical collaborator who played with Zarate in the 1970s rock/funk/fusion band The Force. "Carey and I had been performing 'Song of Happy' live since 2011, and I fell in love with the song. It's just so fun and uplifting," Lee says. "When I brought it to Peter, he created a super-dynamic arrangement for it, which inspired me to write that intricate tapestry of background vocals. The recording is a gift we get to give to Abel." Other album highlights are the soulful ballads "Speak Your Love" and "Home," and the playful, gospel-like "Crammin' Crepes with Cathi at the Cock-a-Doodle Café," a tribute to the late jazz singer/songwriter and Jennifer's close friend Cathi Walkup: "She was a very clever lyricist who encouraged my songwriting endeavors before I ever thought of myself as a songwriter." Born in 1964 in Redwood City, just south of San Francisco, and raised in nearby Menlo Park, Jennifer Lee ended up at Menlo-Atherton High School as a pianist to take advantage of the school's respected jazz program. She continued her jazz piano studies at Foothill College, often accompanying vocalists, all the while nursing her secret desire to sing. She didn't take the plunge until an early, unwanted glimpse at mortality radically changed her priorities in the late 1980s, when she dropped out of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to tend to her stricken father. "My dad got really sick and I came back from school to take care of him," Lee says. "He died the next year. He was only 51. That really brought things into focus for me. I realized that none of us knows how long we have here on planet earth, so I'd better do what I want to do now." After her father's passing, she returned to the Foothill College music department, but instead of backing other singers she took over the microphone herself. Subsequently studying with esteemed Bay Area jazz singer Kitty Margolis, Lee gradually worked up the courage to start performing in public and honed her jazz technique on a succession of regular gigs around the Bay Area. She made her first appearance on CD in 2001 on Quintessential, an album featuring three tracks each by five Bay Area singers, including Jenna Mammina and Cathi Walkup. "It took me so long to come to singing -- to finally admit to myself that this is really what I want to do," says Lee. "Then it took another decade-plus for the songwriter in me to emerge. I'm the epitome of the late bloomer." Jennifer Lee brings her Ever-Expanding Universe band to Dizzy's in San Diego, 8/11, and the Sound Room, Oakland, 9/23, for a pair of concerts showcasing My Shining Hour. Jennifer Lee "My Shining Hour" EPK Web Site: jennifer-lee.net

“The mechanics of listening to an LP—removing the vinyl platter from the sleeve, placing it on the turntable, perhaps locking it down, moving the arm over, and lowering the cartridge and stylus—impose an unhurried experience….releases from ECM call for such deep listening.” – Derk Richardson, The Absolute Sound CLICK TO BUY © *2018 ECM Records US, A Division of Verve Music Group. All rights reserved. ECM Trygve Seim - Helsinki Songs release date: August 31st Trygve Seim: tenor and soprano saxophones; Kristjan Randalu: piano; Mat Eilertsen: double bass; Markku Ounaskari: drums With its overt lyricism, strong themes and a sense of perpetual melodic invention, Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim's new album quickly identifies itself as a classic-in-the-making. Themes of dedication run through Seim's Helsinki Songs, a set of tunes composed - for the most part - in the Finnish capital, and radiating tributes in many directions. Here are songs referencing Igor Stravinsky and Jimmy Webb, pieces dedicated to each of Seim's gifted bandmates, and tunes that tip the hat, obliquely, to Ornette Coleman and Bill Evans. The quartet plays superbly throughout, with outstanding solos from leader Seim and pianist Kristjan Randalu. Helsinki Songs was recorded in Oslo's Rainbow Studio in January 2018 and produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM Tord Gustavsen Trio - The Other Side releasing August 31, 2018 on CD and Vinyl Tord Gustavsen: piano; Sigurd Hole: double bass; Jarle Vespestad: drums Tord Gustavsen Trio on tour Sep 25 New York, NY (Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola) Sep 27 Santa Cruz, CA (Kuumbwa) Sep 28 Stanford, CA (Bing Concert Hall Studio) Sep 29 Vancouver (BlueShore Financial Centre) Sep 30 Portland, OR (Classic Pianos) Oct 2 Minneapolis, MN (Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church) "This is the chill-out as a state of grace, and it can go as deep as you like. Sublime," wrote the Independent on Sunday of the Gustavsen's Trio's Being There, released in 2007. Over the last decade Tord has experimented with other ensemble forms and formats, but on The Other Side - recorded at Oslo's Rainbow Studio in January 2018 - he returns decisively to the piano trio, with faithful drummer Jarle Vespestad, and excellent new bassist Sigurd Hole. Hole's approach to his instrument, drawing on folk influences as well as modern jazz, is ideally suited to Gustavsen's slowly-developing, deeply melodic pieces. The album, produced by Manfred Eicher, is issued on the eve of a major tour.

Week 3 checking down https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/27/checking-duron-carter-stay-defence-now/ ***** Week 3 game plans https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/27/cfl-ca-game-notes-look-week-3-3/ ***** Sam Giguere has signed with the Eskimos. https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/26/eskimos-sign-former-als-ticats-receiver-sam-giguere/ ***** I have added picks and power rankings to the previous post.

Week 3 power rankings http://3downnation.com/2018/06/25/3down-power-rankings-calgary-top-seismic-shake/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/26/nissan-titan-power-rankings-ticats-continue-upward-trend/ https://cflpowerrankings.wordpress.com/2018/06/26/power-rankings-after-week-2/ https://thegruelingtruth.net/football/cfl/cfl-power-rankings-week-3/ https://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-climb-to-no-1-in-cfl-power-rankings-1.1123789 http://boxscorenews.com/boxscore-cfl-power-rankings-week-ticats-trek-towards-top-p150409-68.htm http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/cfl-power-rankings-for-week-3/ ***** Week 3 picks https://cflpowerrankings.wordpress.com/2018/06/26/cfl-week-3-picks/ https://www.getmoresports.com/cfl-betting-week-3-preview-picks/ https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/27/cfl-ca-writers-make-week-3-picks/ https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/27/weekly-predictor-eskimos-need-add-another-ingredient-mix/ https://thegruelingtruth.net/football/cfl/cfl-week-3-preview-and-predictions/ http://3downnation.com/2018/06/28/week-3-picks-tell-us-really/#comments http://www.rodpedersen.com/2018/06/week-3-cfl-picks-2018.html http://3downnation.com/2018/06/28/slam-dunk-picks-consequences-50-burgers/#comments

Calgary 41....Toronto 7 Ricky Ray suffered a neck injury, and his playing career may be over. Bo Levi Mitchell had the all-time #3 pass completion percentage. https://www.cfl.ca/games/2473/calgary-stampeders-vs-toronto-argonauts/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/argonauts-stampeders-cfl-ray-carted-off-1.4719768 http://3downnation.com/2018/06/23/argos-qb-ricky-ray-leaves-game-with-injury-on-cart/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/23/bo-levi-mitchell-leads-calgary-stampede-argos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/24/argos-qb-james-franklin-didnt-know-say-ray-went-teammates/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/24/ricky-rays-injury-really-says-cfl/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/24/argos-say-qb-ray-has-feeling-in-extremities-after-sustaining-neck-injury/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/24/deductions-from-calgary-destruction/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/25/argos-waiting-test-results-determine-severity-ricky-ray-injury-popp/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/25/ricky-ray-released-hospital-no-timetable-return/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/26/ricky-rays-football-future-uncertain-injury-neck-popp/#comments ***** Plays of the Week https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/25/redblacks-rookie-thomas-leaps-his-way-into-week-2s-timber-mart-plays-of-the-week/ ***** Week 2 summaries https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/25/landrys-5-takeaways-week-2-2/ https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/25/thrown-loop-totalpickem-week-2-recap/ http://3downnation.com/2018/06/24/streveler-ballin-lapo-installin-canadians-haulin-o-line-maulin-als-fallin-ticats-callin/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/25/podskee-wee-wee-episode-113/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/26/3down-pod-duron-db-ray-collaros-streveler-alouette-troubles-live-mics/#comments

Winnipeg 56....Montreal 10 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2471/winnipeg-blue-bombers-vs-montreal-alouettes/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/winnipeg-blue-bombers-montreal-alouettes-cfl-1.4719388 http://3downnation.com/2018/06/23/bombers-embarrass-alouettes-friday-night-football-13-thoughts/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/23/alouettes-continue-deep-dark-spiral-downwards/#comments ***** Hamilton...38....Edmonton 21 Surprise! And this was in Edmonton. It looks like Manziel will remain on the bench a while longer. https://www.cfl.ca/games/2472/hamilton-tiger-cats-vs-edmonton-eskimos/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/hamilton-ticats-edmonton-eskimos-1.4719103 http://3downnation.com/2018/06/23/video-ticats-discuss-beating-eskimos-38-21-in-edmonton/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/23/edwards-masolis-performance-quiet-manziel-talk/#comments http://www.3downnation.com/2018/06/23/johnny-manziel-chomping-at-the-bit-to-play-but-supports-ticats-starter-masoli/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/24/many-highs-lows-ticats-38-21-win-edmonton/#comments https://3downnation.com/2018/06/24/6-takeaways-from-the-eskimos-surprising-loss-to-hamilton/#comments ***** More later.

Week 2 checking down https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/20/checking-stamps-ready-right-wrongs-grey-cup-rematch/ Week 2 game notes https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/20/cfl-ca-game-notes-look-week-2-2/ ***** Week 2 results Ottawa 40....Saskatchewan 17 Zach Collaros suffered a concussion, and will miss some games. Brandon Bridge will start. https://www.cfl.ca/games/2470/saskatchewan-roughriders-vs-ottawa-redblacks/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-ottawa-saskatchewan-recap-1.4717560 http://3downnation.com/2018/06/21/riders-qb-zach-collaros-undergoing-concussion-protocol-brandon-bridge-enters-game/#comments https://www.3downnation.com/2018/06/21/duron-carter-victimizes-trevor-harris-for-pick-six/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/21/redblacks-throw-shade-at-duron-carter-on-td-place-jumbotron/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/22/ottawa-puts-concerns-rest-10-thoughts-redblacks-season-opening-win/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/22/two-weeks-two-different-riders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/26/zach-collaros-suffered-head-injury-will-miss-riders-game-against-als/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/26/riders-place-qb-zach-collaros-six-game-injured-list/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/26/riders-to-start-canadian-qb-bridge-in-place-of-injured-collaros/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/26/riders-jones-on-collaros-dont-mess-around-when-its-a-concussion-situation/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/26/davis-collaros-bridge-will-finally-get-chance-shine/#comments ***** More later.

Week 2 power rankings http://3downnation.com/2018/06/19/3down-power-rankings-riders-rise/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/19/stamps-esks-pace-nissan-titan-power-rankings/ https://thegruelingtruth.net/football/cfl/cfl-power-rankings-week-2/ ***** Here are some power ranking from last week that I came across tonight. https://www.oddsshark.com/cfl/power-rankings http://www.rodpedersen.com/2018/03/mullinders-off-season-cfl-power-rankings.html http://boxscorenews.com/boxscore-cfl-power-rankings-week-eskimos-p149659-72.htm http://nationalpost.com/sports/football/cfl/week-1-cfl-power-rankings-calgary-stampeders-enter-season-as-the-team-to-beat ***** Week 2 picks http://nationalpost.com/sports/football/cfl/cfl-week-2-lions-qb-jennings-trying-to-find-the-right-amount-of-swagger http://breakingfootball.com/cfl-week-2-preview/ https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/20/cfl-ca-writers-make-week-2-picks/ https://www.docsports.com/2018/free-cfl-week-2-picks-expert-canadian-football-handicapper-618.html http://www.sports-teller.com/2018-cfl-week-2-picks-and-tv-schedule/ https://cflpowerrankings.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/cfl-week-2-picks/ https://www.docsports.com/free-picks/cfl/2018/Winnipeg-Blue-Bombers-at-Montreal-Alouettes-Week-2-CFL-Picks-Predictions-6-22-2018-036.html https://www.covers.com/sports/cfl/matchups https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/20/weekly-predictor-expect-upset-week-2/

Week 1 results Edmonton 33....Winnipeg 30 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2466/edmonton-eskimos-vs-winnipeg-blue-bombers/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-edmonton-winnipeg-season-opener-2018-1.4706902 http://3downnation.com/2018/06/14/storm-halts-bombers-eskimos-cfl-season-opener/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/15/defensive-breakdowns-cost-bombers-season-opener-11-thoughts/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/15/storm-delays-in-season-opener-another-chapter-in-cfls-weird-weather-history/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/18/blue-bomber-talk-podcast-defensive-breakdowns-strevelers-debut-week-two-preview/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/18/cfl-had-thoughts-to-suspend-eskimos-bombers-marathon-game/#comments ***** Sask 27....Toronto 19 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2467/toronto-argonauts-vs-saskatchewan-roughriders/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/saskatchewan-roughriders-toronto-argonauts-cfl-1.4709003 http://3downnation.com/2018/06/15/riders-dl-charleston-hughes-records-100th-career-sack/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/16/nine-things-learned-riders-win-toronto/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/17/davis-riders-chance-beat-east/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/20/green-cast-even-watch-game/#comments ***** Calgary 28....Hamilton 14 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2468/hamilton-tiger-cats-vs-calgary-stampeders/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/calgary-stampeders-hamilton-tiger-cats-1.4709703 http://3downnation.com/2018/06/16/video-ticats-june-jones-jeremiah-masoli-loss-stampeders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/17/edwards-ticats-win-calgary-set-tone-season-didnt-happen/#comments https://3downnation.com/2018/06/17/8-things-learned-from-calgarys-win-over-hamilton/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/18/milton-plenty-ticat-takeaways-loss-calgary/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/18/podskee-wee-wee-episode-112/#comments ***** BC 22....Montreal 10 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2469/montreal-alouettes-vs-bc-lions/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/montreal-alouettes-bc-lions-1.4709709 ***** A pantless BC fan ran onto the field. Gee, do you think alcohol was involved? He was banned from BC Place for one year, and he has hired an attorney. http://3downnation.com/2018/06/16/idiot-field-gets-destroyed-b-c-lions-player/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/17/hit-fans-everywhere-points-ponder-lions-win/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/17/lions-fan-ran-onto-field-got-leveled-banned-b-c-place-one-year/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/18/marcell-youngs-hit-b-c-lions-fan-sparks-online-debate/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/06/20/guy-ran-onto-field-b-c-place-hires-lawyer/#comments

I have added to my June 13 post what I expect will be the last season previews I will come across. I never did find one by Dan Ralph.

Here are two ways for Americans to watch the games without cable TV. The league is now offering to those in the US a package of every game for streaming for $79.99. http://cfl.yaretv.com/packages.php Most of the games will be shown on ESPN+, which is now offered for streaming for $4.99 per month. https://watch.espnplus.com/sports/

Leo Sayer - Gold Collection (3 CDs) - $8.99 prime https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Collection-LEO-SAYER/dp/B077Y82BQM/

I have added more season previews and Week 1 picks to this post: It's going to take me a long time to read them all!

Jack DeJohnette / Ravi Coltrane Matt Garrison June 15 Brooklyn, NY (Shapeshifter Lab) Vijay Iyer June 16 New York, NY (Le Poisson Rouge) June 22 Katonah, NY (Caramoor Center) June 25-29 New York, NY (The Kitchen) Django Bates June 19-20 New York, NY (Jazz Standard) June 23 Rochester, NY (Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival) June 25 Ottawa, ON (Ottawa Jazz Festival) Thomas Strønen June 21 San Diego, CA (The Athenaeum) June 23 Seattle, WA (Poncho Concert Hall) June 24 San Francisco, CA (Red Poppy) June 26 Baltimore, MD (An Die Musik Live!) June 28 New York, NY (Scandinavia House) June 29 Washington, DC (DuPont Underground) June 30 Rochester, NY (Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival) Kuára Trygve Seim, Samuli Mikkonen, Markku Ounaskari June 24 Rochester, NY (Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival) Maciej Obara Quartet June 19 New York, NY (Dizzy’s Coca-Cola Club) June 22 Edmonton, AB (Edmonton International Jazz Festival) June 25 Victoria, BC (Victoria International Jazz Festival) June 26 Vancouver, BC (Vancouver International Jazz Festival) June 28 Ottawa, ON (Ottawa International Jazz Festival) June 29 Rochester, NY (Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival) © *2018 ECM Records US, A Division of Verve Music Group. All rights reserved.

Ted, my contact says that their use of the word Verve is, as said above, "a name Josh chose to express his love of the music and the recording legacy put out by the storied jazz label."