GA Russell

Roswell Rudd passed away last night after a valiant, spirited fight with the emperor of all maladies. We were honored to be introduced to Roswell by Jamie Saft in 2015, which lead to us working with him in releasing Strength & Power (with Jamie Saft, Trevor Dunn and Balazs Pandi), and then, under the auspices of his partner, producer Verna Gillis, Embrace (with Fay Victor, Lafayette Harris and Ken Filiano). Two only apparently polar works of art, united by the exquisite voice, sensitivity, humanity and boundless curiosity of Roswell. May his voice resonate in perpetuity. We all at RareNoise are close to his partner Verna and their family in these very testing times. RareNoise

Bobo Stenson Trio Contra la indecisión Bobo Stenson piano | Anders Jormin double bass | Jon Fält drums A decisively beautiful new album on which the great Swedish trio of Bobo Stenson draws upon a wide range of source materials So strong is the group’s character and the musical identity of each of its members that the integration of this material always feels organic and logical. Stenson’s lyrical touch, Jormin’s folk-flavored arco bass and Jon Fält’s flickering, textural drumming are all well-displayed on Contra la indecisión, the trio’s first new recording in six years. John Surman Invisible Threads John Surman saxophones, bass clarinet Nelson Ayres piano | Rob Waring vibraphone, marimba Saxophonist and clarinettist John Surman is often characterized as a quintessentially English improviser and composer, and hints of folk music and a pastoral ambience are well-loved attributes of his music. Yet he also has a long history of working with musicians from other countries and cultures, players united by such invisible threads as a shared feeling for melody that transcends the idioms. Thomas Strønen / Time Is A Blind Guide Lucus Ayumi Tanaka piano | Håkon Aase violin | Lucy Railton violoncello Ole Morten Vågan double bass | Thomas Strønen drums, percussion Norwegian drummer/composer Thomas Strønen presents a revised edition of his acoustic collective Time Is A Blind Guide, now trimmed to quintet size, and with a new pianis. in Wakayama-born Ayumi Tanaka. Tanaka has spoken of seeking associative connections between Japan and Norway in her improvising, a tendency Strønen seems to be encouraging with his space-conscious writing for the ensemble, letting in more light. As on the group’s eponymously-titled and critically-lauded debut album there are excellent contributions from the string players – the quintet effectively contains both a string trio and a piano trio – and Manfred Eicher’s production brings out all the fine detail in the grain of the collective sound and the halo of its overtones, captured in the famously-responsive acoustic of Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in March 2017. Kit Downes Obsidian Kit Downes church organs with Tom Challenger tenor saxophone Kit Downes’s previous ECM appearance was as pianist on the debut recording of Time Is A Blind Guide in 2015 and he’s critically-regarded as one of the UK’s outstanding young jazz talents. In reviewing a recent concert of this material, critic John Marley of Jazz Views conjured the following: “Imagine that you are stranded in an alien and hostile environment. The sound you hear is constant, yet ever changing. It evolves, creeps, terrifies and fascinates. A slow rumble resonates through the air like the mechanical revolutions of a distant engine. Organic sounds emanate from the church organ. Kit Downes patiently manipulates the instrument to draw out a succession of pules accelerating frequencies and violent distortions. Brisk forays across the keyboard come and go. The notes run across your path like a creature, so quick they are almost unidentifiable….Hypnotic…” © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

The Alouettes have hired Mike Sherman to be their new head coach. Sherman was Green Bay's head coach from 2000 to 2005. He was also Texas A&M's head coach from 2008 to 2011. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/20/als-hire-sherman-next-head-coach/ https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/20/als-hire-sherman-next-head-coach/ http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/alouettes-hire-former-nfl-coach-mike-sherman-head-coach/ http://3downnation.com/2017/12/20/mike-sherman-named-alouettes-head-coach/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/20/mike-sherman-named-head-coach-montreal-alouettes/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/20/new-coach-mike-sherman-says-simple-objectives-alouettes/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/20/five-interesting-quotes-from-the-alouettes-introducing-mike-sherman-as-head-coach/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/20/alouettes-latest-east-division-team-to-hire-former-nfl-coach/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/20/mike-sherman-hire-alouettes-good-many-reasons/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/21/mike-shermans-deal-with-the-alouettes-multiple-years-plus-a-twist/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/21/new-alouettes-coach-mike-sherman-made-johnny-manziel-flip-commitment-to-texas-am/#comments ***** A Halifax group has registered the name "Atlantic Schooners." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/atlantic-schooners-gain-steam-in-cfl-bid-with-trademark-1.4446104 https://www.tsn.ca/halifax-cfl-group-registers-atlantic-schooners-name-1.942534 http://3downnation.com/2017/12/18/commish-says-riders-model-could-work-in-halifax/#comments

The league has collected video highlights of the year's best memories. Top 10 defensive plays https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/18/top-10-defensive-plays-of-2017/ Top 10 offensive touchdowns https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/15/counting-down-the-top-10-offensive-tds-of-2017/ Top 10 most clutch plays https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/14/who-made-the-biggest-play-of-2017-when-it-mattered-it-the-most/ Top 10 runs https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/13/counting-down-the-top-10-runs-of-2017/ Best leaps, jumps and dives https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/12/the-leap-year-10-of-2017s-best-jumps/ ***** The league has announced this year's draft order. https://www.cfl.ca/draft-tracker/2018/ ***** BC has hired Jeff Reinebold to be their special teams coordinator. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/19/bc-lions-add-jeff-reinebold-special-teams-coordinator/ ***** The league has listed its Top 12 moments of the year. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/19/frozen-time-top-12-moments-2017/ ***** Larry Tanenbaum has sold the Argos to MLSE. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/13/mlse-acquire-grey-cup-champion-toronto-argonauts/ ***** BC has hired former Eskimo president Rick Lelacheur to be its new president. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/18/lions-appoint-former-eskimo-boss-rick-lelacheur-teams-new-president/ ***** Here is a list of brothers who have played in the league. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/13/many-brothers-play-cfl/ ***** The Scouting Bureau issued its December rankings. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/13/knevel-stays-top-december-scouting-bureau-rankings/ ***** BC has traded Chris Williams to Montreal for Gabriel Knapton. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/12/lions-send-chris-williams-als-trade-gabriel-knapton/ https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/17/fresh-start-knapton-ready-bring-roar-black-orange/ ***** Pending free agent James Franklin informed the Eskimos that he would not sign with them. So they traded his rights to the Argos for Mason Woods. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/12/11/argos-acquire-rights-qb-james-franklin-trade-eskimos/

RIP. I saw her on TV about ten years ago, maybe on the Letterman show. Despite her age, she sounded great!

RIP. I thought he was younger than that.

"Moving Day," Second CD by Bassist/Composer Mark Wade, Set for February 2 Release On the Mark Wade Music Label Follow-Up to Wade's Acclaimed 2015 Debut "Event Horizon" Documents Evolution of His Trio With Pianist Tim Harrison & Drummer Scott Neumann CD Release Shows Scheduled for Feb. 15, Airtrain Jazz Festival, Jamaica, NY March 3, Club Bonafide, NYC December 18, 2017 On their 2015 debut, Event Horizon, bassist/composer Mark Wade and his trio displayed an uncanny empathy and earned a warm reception from press, radio, and fans. Moving Day, his sophomore recording which will be released February 2 by his label Mark Wade Music, showcases the evolution of the trio's tight, seemingly telepathic interplay. "We've had a chance to develop a sound and identity and an understanding of one another as an ensemble. We had some of that with the first CD," he explains, citing his bandmates Tim Harrison, on piano, and drummer Scott Neumann. "But this CD, three years later, shows that we've really formed some strong chemistry together. By the time we got to the recording session, we had been playing some of these tunes live in front of audiences a number of times." Wade started writing music for Moving Day a few months after the release of Event Horizon, and the new album includes seven harmonically and rhythmically challenging originals as well as inventive arrangements of the standards "Autumn Leaves" and "A Night in Tunisia" (reinterpreted as "Another Night in Tunisia"). With the exception of "In the Fading Rays of Sunlight," the gentle waltz that closes Moving Day, all of the selections utilize frequent meter changes. The meter shifts are not immediately obvious, however, due to the way Wade, Harrison, and Neumann keep their performances flowing so perfectly. "There aren't many tunes that don't have at least one or two meter changes," Wade explains. "It wasn't my intention to do that. It was just kind of the way the music worked out." Mark Wade was born on December 29, 1974, outside Detroit in Livonia, MI. He taught himself to play bass guitar at 14 in Long Valley, NJ. During his senior year in high school in Morristown, NJ, he joined the Royal Nonesuch, a rock quartet for which he began writing original songs. He attended New York University, studying with renowned bassist Mike Richmond, who encouraged him to take up acoustic bass for jazz and to hone his arco technique and sight-reading abilities in order to better play European classical music. He received a B.A. in music with a concentration in jazz in 1997. Wade considers Richmond, whose extensive resume includes work with Stan Getz, Jack DeJohnette, Lee Konitz, and Mingus Dynasty, a major influence, along with Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro, Michael Moore, and Red Mitchell. Over the past 20 years, Wade has balanced his musical schedule between jazz, classical, and commercial gigs. His jazz credits include playing in the string section for the Jimmy Heath Big Band's performances of Ernie Wilkins's Four Black Immortals; backing singer Stacey Kent on The Today Show; playing with trumpeter Bill Warfield's New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra; and recording with singer Elli Fordyce. Wade has performed with numerous classical ensembles, including the Key West Symphony backing guitarist Sharon Isbin and violinist Robert McDuffie, both of them Grammy winners. He is presently principal bassist of the Bronx Opera Company. Bill Warfield, who directs the jazz program at Lehigh University (where Scott Neumann and Tim Harrison also teach), invited Wade to join the faculty in February 2017. The bassist commutes one day a week from his home in Queens to the university in Bethlehem, PA, to give private lessons on both acoustic and electric basses. The Mark Wade Trio's gigs at Club Bonafide in Manhattan, Flushing Town Hall in Queens, and other venues have greatly increased since the release of Event Horizon, and Wade's own raised profile resulted in his landing a spot in the 2016 DownBeat Readers' Poll as one of the year's Top 10 bassists. The ensemble had its first appearance in Europe in late 2017, including a performance at the Sunside Sunset Club in Paris. Interest in the trio's music was sparked in Europe when the Edition 46 label in Berlin reissued Event Horizon a year after Wade released it himself in the U.S. Wade does not take for granted the rapport he, Harrison, and Neumann have established, which is evident in their ability to flawlessly navigate consistently challenging original compositions and arrangements in a flowing, unforced manner. "I'm really lucky that I have guys to work with to put this together," Wade says. "I'm only one-third of the sound. It takes all three of us to make it happen, and they do a really great job with it. We've been able to develop a certain kind of language together that helps bring out something deeper than just your average run-of-the-mill trio that you might throw together at a session." The Mark Wade Trio will be performing CD release shows at the Airtrain Jazz Festival, Jamaica, NY, on 2/15, and Club Bonafide in NYC, 3/3. Photography: Dennis Connors Mark Wade Trio "Moving Day" EPK Web Site: markwademusicny.com

Thanks, guys! I cancelled my Amazon order, and ordered from Amazon UK.

The price has been reduced $10 to $39.99 today. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077ZCTV18/

The Redblacks have let go four assistant coaches. http://3downnation.com/2017/11/29/redblacks-make-coaching-staff-changes/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/29/redblacks-fix-isnt-broken/#comments ***** The league has released the list of pending free agents. http://3downnation.com/2017/11/30/full-potential-cfl-free-agent-list/#comments ***** BC has hired Ed Hervey as its new General Manager. Wally will coach one more year. http://3downnation.com/2017/11/30/lions-are-likely-adding-ed-hervey-to-front-office/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/30/b-c-lions-hire-ed-hervey-gm-wally-buono-coach-one-year/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/30/new-lions-gm-ed-hervey-blames-maas-media-accessibility-issues-edmonton/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/30/changes-certain-lions-transition-buono-hervey/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/30/3down-podcast-hervey-right-choice-b-c/#comments http://138.197.137.206/2017/11/30/former-trading-partners-ed-hervey-and-wally-buono-now-together-with-lions/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/01/lions-deal-gm-ed-hervey-multi-year-agreement/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/12/02/analysis-hervey-gives-lions-hope/#comments http://www.sportingnews.com/ca/cfl/news/wally-buono-to-coach-bc-lions-in-2018-ed-hervey-to-serve-as-general-manager/p3umxhrxpto717g76ael0jbbr http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/b-c-lions-hire-ed-hervey-gm-buono-stay-coach-2018/ ***** The Lions then let go three assistants, and hired Jarious Jackson to run their offense. http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/bc-lions-part-ways-3-coaches-first-moves-new-gm-ed-hervey/ http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/lions-tab-ex-qb-jarious-jackson-fix-troubled-offence/

Michael, I just haven't seen the CD and DVD box bargains this year. Have you?

Now that we have all had some time to relax after that exciting Grey Cup game, let's try to catch up over the next few days. First, recaps of the Grey Cup. http://www.sportingnews.com/ca/cfl/news/105th-grey-cup-calgary-stampeders-toronto-argonauts-devier-posey/y7ysutwbq2dz1qr5thx2huh56 https://www.cfl.ca/videos/2017-game-recaps/ https://www.cfl.ca/2017/11/27/oleary-storybook-ending-leaves-ray-argos-awe/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/video#id=1104022083540 http://thegruelingtruth.net/podcast/2017-cfl-grey-cup-post-game-show/ http://3downnation.com/2017/11/26/grey-cup-quickly-turns-snow-bowl/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/26/missed-pass-interference-call-costs-argos-valuable-points-grey-cup/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/26/dramatic-fumble-return-ties-grey-cup/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/11/26/snow-boat-argonauts-win-grey-cup-stampeders/#comments

Thanks! I've put it on my list.

Start Shopping ECM VINYL: THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT! © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film Collection - $63.99 prime https://www.amazon.com/Best-Warner-Bros-Film-Collection/dp/B009L0H4F4/

British pianist/composer Django Bates has returned to ECM in force with two notable recordings. He made his leader label debut on an aptly named album, The Study of Touch (featuring the trio Belovèd with Swedish bassist Petter Eldh and Danish drummer Peter Bruun) and he rose superbly to the challenge of Anouar Brahem’s compositions on the Tunisian oud-master’s Blue Maqams (with Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette). These two albums evidence Bates as a skilful composer and arranger and masterful player, for which he has garnered superlative reviews on both sides of the Atlantic! “The Study of Touch journeys eloquently from impressionist balladry and bucolic reverie to florid harmonic development and counterpoint swing. Bates leads gently, merging with the delicate chemistry between Eldh’s lines and Bruun’s swishes and taps while displaying a compositional grasp of form.” - Mike Hobart, Financial Times “Bates has his own individual voice and this has undoubtedly been greatly aided by his participation in so many disparate musical projects. Bates’ own compositional talents are wonderfully showcased here.” – Tim Stenhouse, UK Vibe “…Not only did Brahem find the perfect collaborator in Bates, he assembled a program of all original compositions that showcases the pianist’s gorgeous touch, with some passages featuring solo piano, as well as duo sections that highlight subtle, intelligent conversations between oud and piano." - Bobby Reed, Downbeat Editor’s Choice “Bates is the real wild card of the session, his beautiful, imaginative playing illuminating Brahem's compositions at every turn.” - Mark Sullivan, allaboutjazz “Bates defies his reputation as a playful maverick to conjure thoughtful, spare lines that elegantly complement the virtuosity of Brahem.” - John Bunger, The Times © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011 ECM RECEIVES SEVEN GRAMMY NOMINATIONS! ECM and its artists are nominated for seven Grammy Awards as announce this morning by The Recording Academy. The nominations span the label’s unique work in recording both contemporary composition and jazz. Nominations go to Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, Hungarian composer György Kurtág, British composer Gavin Bryars, and producer Manfred Eicher in the classical categories, and to US jazz reedman/composer Chris Potter in jazz. Chris Potter’s The Dreamer Is The Dream, introducing his fiery new quartet with David Virelles, Joe Martin and Marcus Gilmore, is nominated as Jazz Album of the Year. Potter also has a nomination for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for his tenor sax playing on “Ilimba” on the same album. ECM has long-championed the work of Tigran Mansurian whose moving Requiem, dedicated to the memory of victims of the Armenian Genocide, and performed by the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the RIAS Choir Berlin, receives two nominations as Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Choral Performance. The Academy acknowledges Gavin Bryars for the first time with a nomination for The Fifth Century, with his settings of Thomas Traherne for the choir The Crossing, in the category Best Choral Performance. György Kurtág’s 3 CD set Complete Works for Ensemble and Choir, definitively performed by the Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble and the Netherlands Radio Choir under the direction of Reinbert de Leeuw, is nominated as Best Classical Compendium. And Manfred Eicher receives his 12th nomination as Classical Producer of the Year, winning the award in 2002. This year’s citation references his productions of Tigran Mansurian’s Requiem, Valentin Silvestrov’s Hieroglyphen der Nacht (with Anja Lechner and Agnès Vesterman), Momo Kodama’s Point and Line – Debussy and Hosokawa, Meredith Monk’s On Behalf of Nature, and Rímur by the Trio Mediaeval with Arve Henriksen. Winners will be announced at the 60th Grammy Awards ceremony in New York City on January 28, 2018. RIAS Chamber Choir / Munich Chamber Orchestra Alexander Liebreich, conductor ECM has long-championed the work of Tigran Mansurian whose moving Requiem, dedicated to the memory of victims of the Armenian Genocide, and performed by the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the RIAS Chamber Choir, receives two Grammy nominations as Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Choral Performance. Requiem - a milestone for Mansurian, widely acknowledged as Armenia’s greatest composer - reconciles the sound and sensibility of his country’s traditions with the Latin Requiem text in a profoundly moving contemporary composition. The Los Angeles Times has described Mansurian’s music as that “in which deep cultural pain is quieted through an eerily calm, heart-wrenching beauty.” Lusine Grigoryan: piano Complete in itself, this solo piano album by Lusine Grigoryan can also be considered a companion volume to the Gurdjieff Ensemble’s critically-acclaimed album of Komitas’s music. It was recorded at the same 2015 session in Lugano, directed by Manfred Eicher, and has some overlapping of repertoire. Where Levon Eskenian’s versions with the Gurdjieff Ensemble explored the composer’s sonic inspirations with folk instruments, Lusine Grigoryan conveys some of the same colors with her wide palette of piano articulation and her exploration of timbral possibilities: in her playing one can catch the flavor of the duduk, the tar, the zurna et cetera, as Komitas intended. As Levon Eskenian has noted, Grigoryan “conveys the mysterious presence typical of rustic and ritual music.” Pieces heard on this recording, the ECM debut of Lusine Grigoryan, include Komitas’s Seven Songs, Seven Dances, Pieces for Children, and Msho Shoror. © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

Happy Birthday 2017 Gheorghe!

Happy Birthday 2017 Jim!

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Mission: Impossible (5 Tom Cruise movies) - $15.89 prime https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Impossible-Collection-Jean-Reno/dp/B01B2B9O52

Sure! An actress who is 35 whom I've never heard of is old. If she started acting at 22, she has been in the business for 13 years. I'm not aware of any of her movies. My views are not about her talent or her movies' quality - only that she turned 35 before I had heard of her. Would you like to recommend a movie or two?

Thanks sp. She's old for someone I haven't read about over the years. Maybe that's because she has worked in low budget pictures.

Happy Birthday 2017 Dmitry!

I recognize her - Brit Marling. I read about her for the first time a few weeks ago. Do you guys have an opinion of her?

Laurie has made this 17 minute recording available. https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/track/free-patricia-paris-1980