GA Russell

Here is this morning's top 20 still available... http://3downnation.com/2018/02/17/whos-left-top-20-remaining-cfl-free-agents/#comments ***** Here are more memories of Leo Cahil. http://canoe.com/sports/football/cfl/toronto-argonauts/simmons-former-argos-coach-leo-cahill-dies-at-89/wcm/c8538f63-6c16-4c48-891d-4e52c14639c2 https://www.tsn.ca/former-argos-coach-gm-cahill-dies-at-89-1.1001648 http://3downnation.com/2018/02/17/davis-leo-lip-gone/#comments http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/argos-leo-cahill-obit-1.4539317

Shatner has signed to record a country record. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/16/william-shatner-inks-deal-with-country-music-label/

I'm confident that there will be more Leo Cahill obits tomorrow. ***** Today's signings... Kyries Hebert - Ottawa http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/als-cut-lb-kyries-hebert-upon-his-request/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/als-release-veteran-linebacker-kyries-hebert/ http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/former-alouettes-lb-kyries-hebert-signs-with-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/hebert-makes-guarantee-reed-fine-squandering-feb-1-bonus-paid-to-linebacker/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/hebert-goes-back-roots-signs-redblacks/ Craig Roh - Winnipeg http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/bombers-sign-former-lions-dl-craig-roh/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/bombers-add-craig-roh-d-line/ Juron Criner - Edmonton http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/eskimos-add-former-redblacks-receiver-juron-criner/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/criner-esks-agree-one-year-deal/ Johnny Augustine - Sask http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/riders-sign-canadian-rb-johnny-augustine/#comments Derek Dennis - Calgary http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/back-to-calgary-ol-derek-dennis-rejoins-the-stampeders/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/stampeders-re-sign-ol-derek-dennis/ Keelan Johnson - BC https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/lions-ink-db-special-teams-ace-johnson/ ***** The league has released details of this year's CFL Week. https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/cfl-unveils-detailed-run-marks-cfl-week/

Pianist Roberta Piket Revisits Jazz Trio Format With the April 6 Release of "West Coast Trio" Featuring Drummer Joe La Barbera & Bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz Nine-Track Recording Includes Two New Originals; Standards by Richard Rodgers, Michel Legrand, & Walter Donaldson; A Samba by Djavan; & Inspired Interpretations of Works By Fellow Modern Jazz Pianist-Composers Chick Corea, John Hicks, & George Shearing CD Release Shows at Mezzrow, NYC, Thursday, April 19 (With Harvie S, Billy Mintz) & Maureen's Jazz Cellar, Nyack, NY, Saturday, April 21 February 16, 2018 Roberta Piket, one of the most virtuosic and versatile pianists on the current international jazz scene, revisits the iconic jazz piano trio format with the April 6 release of West Coast Trio on her label 13th Note Records. Joining Piket is the consummate rhythm section of drummer Joe La Barbera and bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz -- part of the vibrant West Coast jazz scene centered in metro-Los Angeles and whose presence inspired the album's title. Guitarist Larry Koonse guests on two tracks. In addition to debuting two new Piket originals ("Mentor," "A Bridge to Nowhere"), West Coast Trio includes inspired interpretations of an eclectic set of songs ranging from standards like "Falling in Love with Love," "Windmills of Your Mind," and "My Buddy" to the samba "Flor de Lis" by Brazilian singer-songwriter Djavan, as well as works by fellow modern jazz pianist-composers Chick Corea ("Humpty Dumpty"), John Hicks ("Yemenja"), and George Shearing ("Conception"). Serendipitously, West Coast Trio's release comes almost 22 years to the day that Piket entered the studio to record her debut album as a leader -- 1996's Unbroken Line (Criss Cross), primarily a quintet session, with Donny McCaslin, Javon Jackson, and Michael Formanek, among others -- and embarked on a career path now in its third decade. Along the way the pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader has explored with equal ease and equanimity a spectrum of stylistic settings ranging from the mainstream to the avant-garde, from acoustic to electric, from the solo recordings Solo (2012) and 2015's Emanation (Solo: Volume 2) to 2016's critically acclaimed One for Marian: A Tribute to Marian McPartland, a loving homage to one of her champions and mentors and, until now, the crown jewel of a multifaceted discography. A sextet project featuring Steve Wilson, Virginia Mayhew, Harvie S, Bill Mobley, and Billy Mintz, One for Marian celebrated McPartland's underappreciated body of work as a composer while offering Piket meaty material as an arranger. Piket's first love and the format that inspired her early love for jazz was the piano trio, and she is at her most relaxed and commanding when she's stretching out with a bassist and drummer -- something she demonstrates with authority throughout West Coast Trio. "I definitely feel the most at ease in a trio," Piket confides. "What the trio means to me is intimacy. There's such a directness of communication between the three musicians. It's all about interaction and not knowing what's going to come next. It's the essence of jazz." "The last few records I've done had more of an agenda with regard to the repertoire," Piket reflects. "On the two solo records I was thinking of ways of challenging myself. I wanted to choose pieces that force me to stretch, not just a bunch of standards. West Coast Trio is the first record in a while where I chose several tunes that are simply fun to blow over. Our only agenda was to make some beautiful music." Born in Queens, New York in 1965, Roberta Piketinherited a passion for music from both of her parents. Her father was the Austrian composer Frederick Piket, who made significant contributions to both the musical liturgy of Reform Judaism and the concert hall. Her mother, Cynthia, introduced her to the treasures of the Great American Songbook, and she learned by ear the tunes of Porter, Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers, and Berlin. Piket enrolled in the joint five-year double-degree program at Tufts University and New England Conservatory, graduating with a degree in computer science from the former and in jazz piano from the latter. After a year as a software engineer, she realized that her calling was music and returned to New York, where an NEA grant set her up to study with pianist Richie Beirach. Piket made her recording debut on an album by jazz legend Lionel Hampton and gained invaluable experience during the formative years of her career performing as a side-woman with David Liebman, Rufus Reid, Mickey Roker, Benny Golson, and Ted Curson. She performs regularly with the Scott Reeves/Jay Brandford Tentet and the Virginia Mayhew Quartet, in duo with Mayhew, and with Mintz's quintet/quartet with saxophonists Tony Malaby and John Gross, and bassist Hilliard Greene (with whom she also plays in his In & Out Ensemble) as well as focusing on solo piano performance. Roberta Piket will perform with her trio -- bassist Harvie S and drummer Billy Mintz -- at Mezzrow, NYC, on Thursday 4/19. She'll also be appearing at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, Nyack, NY, on Saturday 4/21. Photography by John Abbott "West Coast Trio" EPK Web Sites: robertajazz.com & thirteennoterecords.com/west-coast-trio/ (with audio samples)

Leo Cahill passed away today at 89. RIP. I had the pleasure of having lunch with him in '96! https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/16/cfl-argos-mourn-passing-legendary-coach-leo-cahill/ http://3downnation.com/2018/02/16/former-argos-head-coach-leo-cahill-passes-away-age-89/#comments I recommend his book Goodbye Argos. I enjoyed it very much. https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Argos-Leo-Cahill/dp/0771090625/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518814793&sr=1-1&keywords=goodbye+argos

Some late news... Keelan Johnson - BC http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/former-redblacks-special-teams-ace-signs-on-with-lions/#comments Ronnie Yell - Toronto http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/argos-nab-former-lions-db-ronnie-yell/#comments Rory Kohlert - Edmonton http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/canadian-receiver-rory-kohlert-moving-down-highway-2/#comments

Last night... Otha Foster - BC http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/former-rider-otha-foster-signs-b-c-lions/#comments ***** Here is this morning's new top 20 of free agents still available. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/new-no-1-top-20-cfl-free-agents/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/14/not-done-yet-whos-radar-day-3/ ***** Announced today... Greg Morris - Toronto http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/argos-sign-former-riders-canadian-rb-greg-morris/#comments Cody Fajardo - BC http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/lions-add-qb-cody-fajardo/#comments ***** Now here are today's recaps after three days of free agency. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/3downpodcast-winners-losers-free-agency/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/15/still-shopping-still-needs-free-agency/ ***** Here is a lot of good gossip from earlier today. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/15/cfl-free-agency-live-chat/#comments

Day 2 signings... TJ Heath - Toronto http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/argos-closing-in-on-signing-all-star-db-t-j-heath/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/argos-make-it-official-all-star-db-t-j-heath-returns-to-toronto/#comments Travis Bond - Sask http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/former-bombers-offensive-lineman-travis-bond-bound-for-riders/#comments Sam Hurl - Sask http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/canadian-lb-sam-hurl-signs-riders/#comments Julian Feoli-Gudino - Ottawa http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/canadian-rec-julian-feoli-gudino-signs-redblacks-report/#comments Swayze Waters - Toronto http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/argos-bring-waters-back-boat/#comments Cory Watson - BC http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/another-former-eskimo-going-left-coast-canadian-receiver-cory-watson-report/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/14/lions-sign-national-receiver-watson/ Jamaal Westerman - Montreal http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/canadian-dl-jamaal-westerman-chooses-alouettes/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/14/westerman-heads-east-signs-deal-alouettes/ Jake Harty - Montreal http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/former-redblacks-canadian-receiver-jake-harty-going-to-alouettes-report/#comments Mitchell Baines - Winnipeg http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/bombers-sign-former-riders-ticats-canadian-receiver-mitchell-baines/#comments Rico Murray - Ottawa https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/14/redblacks-add-defensive-back-murray/ ***** Henoc Muamba declined to take a pay cut, so the Riders cut him. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/with-bonus-looming-riders-asking-lb-henoc-muamba-to-take-a-pay-cut/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/riders-release-canadian-lb-henoc-muamba-report/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/14/riders-release-lb-henoc-muamba/ ***** Here is a top 20 ranking of free agents from yesterday morning. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/cfl-free-agent-rankings-top-20/#comments Here is an analysis of yesterday's signings. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/grading-team-day-one-free-agency/#comments And here is a list of the top 20 still available this morning. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/whos-left-top-20-players-remaining-cfl-free-agency/#comments ***** Here are videos of Monday's preview, yesterday's recap and today's recap. https://www.cfl.ca/live/2018/02/09/cfl-ca-free-agency-day-2-recap-show-wednesday/ ***** Johnny Manziel has decided to play in a developmental league called The Spring League (anybody ever heard of it?). http://3downnation.com/2018/02/14/johnny-manziel-play-spring-league/#comments

Some late announcements... Ese Mrabure - Calgary http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/canadian-dl-ese-mrabure-signs-with-stampeders/#comments Mitchell White - Montreal http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/alouettes-agree-to-terms-with-db-mitchell-white/#comments Jerome Messam - Sask http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/canadian-rb-jerome-messam-to-join-riders/#comments

Quite a number of people changed teams today on the first day of free agency. Lirim Hajrullahu - Hamilton http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/lirim-hajrullahu-signs-ticats/#comments Alex Bazzie - Edmonton http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/eskimos-bolster-defence-signing-free-agent-defensive-lineman-bazzie/#comments Nic Demski - Winnipeg http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/canadian-receiver-returner-nic-demski-heads-winnipeg/#comments Joel Figueroa - BC http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/lions-bolster-offensive-line-signing-veteran-free-agent-joel-figueroa/#comments AC Leonard - Ottawa http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/redblacks-sign-former-riders-defensive-end-c-leonard/#comments Zack Evans - Sask http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/riders-sign-canadian-defensive-tackle-zack-evans/#comments Kienan LaFrance - Winnipeg http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/bombers-sign-former-riders-canadian-rb-kienan-lafrance/#comments Loucheiz Purifoy - Ottawa http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/redblacks-sign-db-loucheiz-purifoy/#comments Chandler Fenner - Winnipeg http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/bombers-sign-db-chandler-fenner/#comments Emmanuel Davis - Calgary http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/stampeders-sign-former-ticats-db-emanuel-davis/#comments Garry Peters - BC http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/former-eskimos-db-garry-peters-signs-with-lions/#comments ***** In related news... Ted Laurent decided not to leave Hamilton. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/ticats-re-sign-dl-ted-laurent/#comments Roy Finch will stay with Calgary. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/stampeders-extend-2017-outstanding-special-teams-player-roy-finch/#comments DaVaris Daniels will stay with Calgary. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/12/stampeders-re-sign-2016-outstanding-rookie-receiver-davaris-daniels/#comments ***** Sask has cut Derek Dennis. Last year he was the league's highest paid American OL. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/riders-cut-derek-dennis-leagues-highest-paid-american-lineman-in-2017/#comments ***** Here are summaries of the day. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/flurry-moves-cfl-free-agency-gets-rolling/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/free-agency-analysis-ticats-banking-2017-squad-can-get-done-year/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/bombers-hit-home-run-opening-day-free-agency/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/13/lions-hope-quality-comes-record-free-agent-haul/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/13/open-market-5-highlights-day-1-free-agency/ https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/13/team-team-look-free-agency/ ***** Here was the league's Jan. 22 list of the top 30 pending free agents. https://www.cfl.ca/2018/01/22/cfl-cas-top-30-pending-free-agents-2/

I remember my parents buying a record player in 1953 or '54. When they did, they also purchased a box set (a true box) of RCA recordings called "Music America Loves Best." These were not LPs, but 45 rpm EPs. Two songs I remember were Perry Como's Faraway Places and The Three Suns' Twilight Time.

Thanks Dana!

I thought that Jimmy Smith was not billed as "Incredible" until he moved to Verve. Is the OP album a Blue Note not released until after some Verve recordings were issued?

Continuing on... Dan LeFevour has decided to retire. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/10/bombers-qb-dan-lefevour-set-retire-football/#comments ***** The Argos have a very attractive pair of QBs in Ricky Ray and James Franklin, and their contracts are salary cap-friendly. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/10/contract-details-argos-quarterbacking-pay-structure/#comments ***** Kacy Rodgers II has signed with the New York Jets. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/06/riders-db-kacy-rodgers-to-sign-with-new-york-jets/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/10/jets-sign-former-riders-db-son-defensive-coordinator-kacy-rodgers/#comments ***** Diontae Spencer has worked out with Baltimore. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/07/top-pending-free-agent-receiver-diontae-spencer-works-ravens/#comments ***** Jeff Knox, Jr., has signed with Tampa Bay. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/31/riders-allow-jeff-knox-jr-contract-pursue-nfl-opportunity/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/06/former-riders-lb-jeff-knox-jr-signs-with-tampa-bay-bucs/#comments ***** It looks like Moe Leggett's Achilles injury has healed, and that he will be back with the Bombers. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/31/maurice-leggett-dunking-shows-achilles-injury-has-healed-quickly/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/06/bombers-re-sign-maurice-leggett/#comments

There is an ongoing story that I have held off on posting on because it is complicated, and not all the facts are known (at least by the public). On Jan 24, James Wilder announced that he would not play in 2018. The Argos will not let him out of his contract if he were to make an NFL team. Wilder feels the risk to his health is not justified by a second year of CFL wages. Other teams are letting their players try out for the NFL. Ambrosie has fined BC for letting Micah Awe go. I will post the links in the next few days. ***** Free Agency begins tomorrow at noon eastern. Here are a number of analyses of who is available and who might be interested. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/01/cfl-free-agent-rankings-quarterbacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/02/cfl-free-agent-rankings-american-receivers/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/08/cfl-free-agent-rankings-national-receivers/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/10/cfl-free-agent-rankings-running-backs/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/10/cfl-free-agent-rankings-offensive-line/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/11/cfl-free-agent-rankings-defensive-line/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/12/cfl-free-agent-rankings-linebackers/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/12/cfl-free-agent-ranking-specialists/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/12/cfl-free-agent-rankings-defensive-backs/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/11/2017-free-agent-frenzy-scorecard-west-division/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/12/2017-free-agent-frenzy-scorecard-east-division/#comments ***** June Jones has brought in Jerry Glanville! http://3downnation.com/2018/02/11/former-nfl-head-coach-jerry-glanville-joins-ticats-coaching-staff-2/#comments ***** Five have tried out with Baltimore. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/18/ravens-host-five-cflers-tryouts-including-grey-cup-mvp/#comments ***** Chris Matthews has worked out with Jacksonville. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/18/former-bombers-receiver-chris-matthews-works-jacksonville-jaguars/#comments Scott Milanovich was a coach with Jacksonville this past year. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/17/former-argos-head-coach-scott-milanovich-one-win-away-from-super-bowl/#comments ***** Edmonton cut Marcus Howard and Danny Groulx. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/22/eskimos-release-four-veterans/#comments ***** Rob Cote has retired. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/23/veteran-fullback-rob-cote-retires-11-seasons-stampeders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/01/23/rob-cote-trends-on-twitter-after-retirement-former-teammates-react/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/01/23/unsung-hero-rob-cote-steps-away/#comments ***** Montreal cut Frederic Plesius. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/31/alouettes-cut-lb-frederic-plesius-avoid-paying-roster-bonus/#comments ***** Winnipeg has signed Anthony Gaitor. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/01/bombers-sign-former-lions-db-anthony-gaitor/#comments ***** Josh Bell has retired, and will join the Stampeders' coaching staff. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/01/stamps-db-josh-bell-retires-joins-calgary-coaching-staff/#comments ***** DeVier Posey is signing with Baltimore. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/02/grey-cup-mvp-devier-posey-sign-baltimore-ravens/#comments ***** Dan Federkeil has decided to retire. http://138.197.137.206/2018/02/02/stampeders-ol-dan-federkeil-to-retire-report/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/08/stampeders-ol-dan-federkeil-announces-retirement-cfl/#comments ***** Jim Stillwagon has died at only 68. RIP. http://www.3downnation.com/2018/02/05/time-argo-jim-stillwagon-dead-68/#comments ***** Cuachy Muamba has signed with BC. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/12/canadian-db-cauchy-muamba-moves-to-the-left-coast-signs-with-lions/#comments ***** Ottawa has cut Drew Tate and signed Dominique Davis. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/12/redblacks-agree-to-terms-with-bombers-qb-dominique-davis/#comments ***** Nic Demski is expected to sign with Winnipeg. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/11/strong-indications-riders-nic-demski-headed-bombers-free-agency-report/#comments ***** Montreal has allowed Kyries Hebert to speak with teams to determine his market value. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/09/als-withhold-roster-bonus-tell-kyries-hebert-can-seek-trade-report/#comments ***** Calgary has cut Marquay McDaniel. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/09/stampeders-release-veteran-receiver-marquay-mcdaniel/#comments ***** Calgary has told Jerome Messam he probably won't be back. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/08/stampeders-tell-veteran-running-back-messam-test-free-agency/#comments

I have received an email from Laurie saying that she is making Red Car (16 minutes from 1981) available for free through 2/18. https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/track/free-valentine-2-11-to-2-18-red-car

Let's try to catch up. Ottawa and Montreal swapped bilingual fullbacks - Patrick Lavoie for JC Beaulieu. http://3downnation.com/2018/01/30/redblacks-trade-patrick-lavoie-montreal-swap-canadian-fullbacks/#comments https://3downnation.com/2018/01/30/redblacks-gamble-moving-patrick-lavoie/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/01/beaulieu-lavoie-mean-end-nik-lewis-montreal/#comments ***** Ricky Ray has decided not to retire, but to return to the Argos. http://159.203.52.247/2018/02/02/ricky-ray-coming-back-argos/#comments http://138.197.137.206/2018/02/02/ricky-ray-admits-retirement-was-on-his-mind-but-returns-to-argos/#comments ***** Calgary traded Charleston Hughes to Hamilton for picks. Hamilton then traded Hughes to Regina for Vernon Adams. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/02/stampeders-trade-dl-charleston-hughes-to-the-ticats/ http://3downnation.com/2018/02/02/ticats-flip-charleston-hughes-riders-vernon-adams/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/02/ticats-deal-vernon-adams-johnny-course/#comments http://159.203.52.247/2018/02/02/adding-charleston-hughes-helps-short-term-riders-abandoned-long-game/#comments http://www.3downnation.com/2018/02/02/charleston-hughes-trade-makes-sense-still-sucks-stamps-fans/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/05/new-ticats-qb-vernon-adams-eats-burger-makes-good-first-impression/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/07/crazy-day-charleston-hughes-happy-end-riderville/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/07/bill-will-come-due-riders-big-money-moves/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/07/charleston-hughes-happy-go-shed-new-mosaic-stadium/#comments ***** Edmonton traded Odell Willis to Ottawa for Jake Ceresna. Ottawa then traded Willis to BC for picks. https://3downnation.com/2018/02/02/odell-willis-dealt-ottawa-will-soon-flip-b-c-report/#comments http://159.203.52.247/2018/02/02/willis-trade-serves-dual-role-lions/#comments ***** It is time for bonuses to be paid. As a result, a number of good players are getting cut. Edmonton cut Adarius Bowman, who signed with Winnipeg. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/04/big-bonus-due-options-table-bowman-eskimos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/05/esks-release-receiver-adarius-bowman-report/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/05/esks-criticized-handling-bowman-release/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/05/riders-mix-adarius-bowman-sources/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/06/young-eskimos-fan-devastated-release-adarius-bowmam/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/06/eskimos-gm-sunderland-makes-unpopular-decision-to-cut-bowman/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/07/heartbroken-eskimo-kid-every-reason-sad/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/09/bombers-ink-star-receiver-adarius-bowman/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/09/why-adarius-bowman-landed-in-the-peg/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/09/bowman-rejects-better-offer-riders-join-bombers-report/#comments ***** Sask cut Kienan LaFrance and Shakir Bell. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/01/riders-release-two-running-backs-kienan-lafrance-and-shakir-bell/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/01/kienan-lafrance-cut-as-riders-dodge-off-season-bonus/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/02/andrew-harris-wants-fellow-winnipeg-native-kienan-lafrance-come-home/#comments http://3downnation.com/2018/02/06/alouettes-have-discussed-possibly-signing-kienan-lafrance-and-emanuel-davis/#comments ***** Winnipeg cut Dominique Davis. http://3downnation.com/2018/02/01/bombers-release-quarterback-dominique-davis/#comments

Happy Birthday BW!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Trumpeter/Composer/Arranger/Big Band Leader Bill Warfield Pays Tribute to His Late Mentor, Colleague, & Friend Trumpeter Lew Soloff On "For Lew," To Be Released March 9 by Planet Arts Records 10 Tracks Compiled from Four Warfield Big Band Albums (1990-2014) Plus Two Previously Unreleased Songs CD Release Show at the Zinc Bar, NYC, Saturday, March 24 February 7, 2018 Bill Warfield's career as a trumpeter was launched the moment he heard Lew Soloff's immortal solo on the Blood, Sweat & Tears hit "Spinning Wheel." "It just completely knocked me out," says Warfield, who was 18 at the time and gigging as a pianist, having given up hope of earning a living as a horn player due to dental problems. "I'd never heard anything like it. I decided at that point that I wanted to play the trumpet again." Eventually, Warfield would get to know, study, and record with Soloff, who died in 2014 at age 71. Warfield's latest album, For Lew, set for release on March 9 by Planet Arts Records, is a tribute to his late mentor, colleague, friend, and inspiration. Compiled from material Warfield recorded with his big band between 1990 and 2014, the album includes ten selections that first appeared on New York City Jazz (1990), The City Never Sleeps (1994), A Faceless Place (2005), and Trumpet Story (2014). Two of the tracks are previously unreleased. "Lew was such a warm, supportive human being," Warfield says of Soloff. "When he died, it took me a week to get over it. I patterned my playing after him. I wanted to do the gigs he did. I wanted to sound like him. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be him. I patterned my whole career after that guy. He was a little nerdy guy who would put a horn in front of his mouth and became Superman. He was the guy who got me to take my writing seriously. On the second record I used him on, I used a few other people's charts. Then he pulled me to the side and said, 'Look, your writing is really special. You shouldn't include anybody else's stuff on your records.'" Five tunes on For Lew are Warfield originals; six arrangements are his. While drawn from four different sessions, each made up of different players, every track is an all-star affair. Soloff is the soloist on one track, "Salsa En Mi Alma," and is heard playing lead trumpet on that song and two others. In addition to Warfield, who solos on three tracks, other world-class instrumentalists among the disc's collective personnel are trumpeters Randy Brecker and John Eckert; trombonist Matt Havilan; saxophonists Dan Block, Andy Fusco, Bob Hanlon, Rich Perry, Chris Potter, and Walt Weiskopf; pianists Ted Rosenthal and Joel Weiskopf; guitarists Vic Juris and Dave Stryker; bassist Mike Richmond; and drummers Tim Hornerand Bob Weller. Warfield followed Soloff's advice and over the past quarter century has created a canon of music for large ensemble that showcases his distinctive composing and arranging style. He counts Hank Levy, Fred Lipsius, Dick Halligan, Mike Abene (who would produce his first two big band albums), Michel Colombier, Charles Mingus, Thad Jones, Gil Evans, and Bob Brookmeyer, along with Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Webern, Prokofiev, and other classical composers, as influences on his arranging style. Bill Warfield was born in Baltimore on March 2, 1952. He took up trumpet in the fourth grade because, he says, "it looked cool. Because it only had three buttons, I thought it would be easier to play." By the time he was 14, he played Saturday mornings with the orchestra and brass ensemble at the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory School and Saturday afternoons with the Maryland Youth Symphony, as well as with a teenage soul band called Nina and the Marcels. After recovering from a car accident in which he lost his front teeth, he studied for four years at Towson State with Hank Levy, an arranger noted for his charts for Don Ellis and Stan Kenton who was a key early influence. Warfield moved to New York City in 1980 and began subbing in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, playing and arranging for the Bill Kirchner Nonet, and copying music for Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, and others, while earning a master's from the Manhattan School of Music. He toured Europe with Ornette Coleman, having been recommended by Lew Soloff. Warfield has spent three decades as an inspiring music educator. After stints at the Dalton School in New York, Brooklyn College, Towson State University in Maryland, and the University of North Florida, he joined the faculty at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, in 1996. He continues to teach and direct the jazz program there three days per week. The other four days are usually spent in back in Manhattan, where he currently directs four bands: the New York Jazz Repertory Ensemble, the New York Jazz Octet (which includes tenor saxophonist Don Braden and pianist Kenny Werner), the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra, and the Bill Warfield Big Band. The Bill Warfield Big Band will be performing two sets (7:00pm/8:30pm) at the Zinc Bar in Greenwich Village to celebrate the release of For Lew. Photography by John Abbott Web Site: billwarfield.net

Keith Jarrett to play solo concert Carnegie Hall March 21st at 8PM following release of new album: After The Fall Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette live in concert November 1998 release date: March 2nd The group colloquially known as “the Standards trio” has made many outstanding recordings, and After The Fall must rank with the very best of them. “I was amazed to hear how well the music worked,” writes Keith Jarrett in his liner note. “For me, it’s not only a historical document, but a truly great concert.” This performance - in Newark, New Jersey in November 1998 - marked Jarrett’s return to the stage after a two-year hiatus. Joined by improvising partners Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, the trio glides and soars through classics of the Great American Songbook, plays breathtaking accounts of hallowed bebop tunes, and tackles a rare, energetic exploration of Coltrane’s “ Moment’s Notice”. Copyright © 2018 ECM Records. 1755 Broadway, Floor 3. New York, NY 10019. All rights reserved.

ECM Jakob Bro Returnings Jakob Bro: guitar Palle Mikkelborg: trumpet, flugelhorn Thomas Morgan: double bass Jon Christensen: drums ECM 2546 B0028101-02 UPC: 6025 670 5850 2 “Danish guitarist Jakob Bro creates magical music, impossible to categorize”, wrote Downbeat, reviewing his album Streams. On Returnings, the magic is intensified as Bro and musical soul-mate Thomas Morgan join forces with two distinguished elders of European jazz, trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and drummer Jon Christensen. It’s an inspired combination: Bro’s watercolor guitar sounds, Mikkelborg’s soft, sometimes Milesian flugelhorn, Morgan’s impeccable choice of notes, and Christensen’s free-floating drumming. These components add up to one of the prettiest and subtlest jazz albums of recent times. The theme of “returnings” is central. The album opens with a new version of “Oktober”, picking up the story from Bro’s album Gefion. In recent years, Jakob’s trio with Thomas Morgan and Joey Baron has, happily, gained a strong following. Meanwhile, the guitarist had also been looking for a context in which to continue his association with Jon Christensen. Returnings provides this. It also reunites Christensen with Palle Mikkelborg for the first time on ECM since Terje Rypal’s Vossabrygg (recorded in 2003), and marks the drummer’s return to playing after a break of more than a year. “I never considered the first trio to be a one off”, says Bro, agreeing that bassist Morgan plays differently with Christensen than in the group with Joey Baron. “In some ways Thomas is a very socially-skilled bass player! He’s picking up on Jon’s ideas, he’s making the melody sound better and he’s also accompanying each of us in the improvised sections. It’s incredible what he does simultaneously.” Bro has admired Palle Mikkelborg’s playing for as long as he can remember. “I’ve known Palle since I was a kid,” he says. “I was playing trumpet myself, then, and listening to him a lot.” Both musicians live in Copenhagen, “and the scene is quite small, so we’ve crossed paths quite often. A few years ago, we were talking about collaborating on a large-scale music for choir. Then we decided to concentrate first on more improvised music. So I called Jon and Thomas and invited them to play with us. We did two concerts together with this formation in 2014 which really made me think about the potential. And Palle and I would meet, talk, drink wine and play a bit every few weeks, and gradually ideas for the album came together.” Working towards the music for this session, Bro and Mikkelborg began with the title track. “The main part of that is Palle’s. He had come up with a composition based on the letters ECM and Manfred Eicher’s name – similar in a way to his composition ‘Aura’ that he’d done for Miles Davis - almost a mathematical construction. We started improvising on that and developing it and it became, I think, an essential part of the program.” It seems to contain flashes of ECM history in its source code, and the way that Christensen and Palle Mikkelborg interact and overlap here is likely to make older listeners and scholars recall the tonalities and textures of 1970s albums like Waves and Descendre. Nonetheless, following Christensen’s free drumming, and the independence of the four voices moving in the transparent mix, leaves a deeper impression of music both modern and timeless. “I think it’s both fragile and strong at the same time,” says Bro of the music’s contrasting attributes, “and I love the way Jon very often won’t give you the obvious stressed rhythm you might expect. When Palle is playing strong lines, Jon is heading somewhere else in his own way. To my ears that’s really interesting.” For playing the unexpected in a jazz context, Jon Christensen has few rivals, though one of them would have been the late Paul Motian, erstwhile employer of both Bro and Morgan. The piece “Hamsun” here, dedicated to the Norwegian author of such classics as Hunger and Mysteries, was also partly inspired by Motian. “Paul Motian had talked a lot about Knut Hamsun when we toured together, and that got me reading the books…This is an older piece which I’d written originally for Kenny Wheeler to play.” The version of the tune on Returnings is played as a duet by Bro and Morgan. Mikkelborg’s piece “View” begins with Christensen and Morgan in duo, with Palle and Jakob introducing the theme only after the halfway mark. Bro: “This is really a collaborative album, the outcome of a creative session with good input from everybody. Musically, any one of us could be considered the ‘leader’.” One of the most touching pieces is “Song for Nicolai”, for Danish bassist Nicolai Munch-Hansen, who passed away last year, with soulful playing from both Mikkelborg and Bro. “Oktober” was included at the suggestion of Manfred Eicher. “It’s also a piece that Palle likes to play, and at the mixing stage it was becoming clear that this version had a special character.” The tune “Lyskaster”, also heard on Gefion, is dedicated to the memory of Jakob Bro’s father. “On Gefion, we had just touched the melody [in a version more spacious and textural]. Here, Palle and I play it together, and that felt good. Also, my father was a trumpet player, too, and liked Palle’s sound. So, I was thinking about that as well.” Returnings was recorded in July 2016 at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio and produced by Manfred Eicher. Further ECM projects with Jakob Bro are in preparation. Next up: a live album with Thomas Morgan and Joey Baron, recorded in New York. The Bro/Mikklelborg/Morgan/Christensen quartet will be playing some of the festivals this summer, including the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. More details soon. ECM Arild Andersen/Paolo Vinaccia/Tommy Smith In-House Science Arild Andersen: double-bass Paolo Vinaccia: drums Tommy Smith: tenor saxophone Release date : March 23rd 2018 ECM 2594 B0028100-02 UPC: 6025 671 6897 3 Norwegian master bassist Arild Andersen’s trio with big-toned Scottish tenorist Tommy Smith and Italian-born powerhouse drummer Paolo Vinaccia is one of the most viscerally exciting jazz small groups of the present moment. Some of its energies are arguably best captured in a live context, and here the three musicians deliver a characteristically smoking performance, recorded at the PKS Villa Rothstein in Bad Ischl, Austria, September 2016. The trio’s earlier concert recording, Live At Belleville, was issued a decade ago to rave reviews and a shower of awards. “Absolutely and unreservedly marvellous” said the BBC Music Magazine. “How often do just three musicians produce music as vast and panoramic in its scale and vision?” asked Jazzwise rhetorically. In recent interviews, Andersen has reflected on the group’s work method. “In the trio everyone is equal. Tommy might play the melody instrument, but he can also be an accompanist, and Paolo and I are the rhythm section but either of us can also be the lead voice… We are all soloists or rhythm section, the three of us simultaneously. It’s all to do with interplay, and as a trio we have developed quite a chemistry. Tommy is very good at listening to the bass and drums when he plays solo, and he leaves spaces for us to come up front again.” This is evident throughout this program of Andersen compositions, and not least on the album’s longest track “Science” which flies forth at breakneck tempo and keeps changing its angle of attack. Smith’s iron grip on its swerving rhythms is as profound as that of his partners and Andersen, equally, is as eloquent a soloist as the outstanding saxophonist. “Mira” was the title track of the trio’s studio album of 2014, originally conceived by Arild as a “Sunday morning album”. It opens In-House Science, transformed by the momentum of the night-time live performance. The same goes for “Blussy”, already powerful in the studio version, it is elevated to a new level of intensity in the rivetingly dynamic performance here, capped by overblown saxophone. Andersen’s commitment to burning energy music is of course not a new development but a continuation: in the early 1970s he played urgent streams-of-sound music in sax/bass/drum trios with Sam Rivers and Barry Altschul, with Juhani Aaltonen and Edward Vesala, and with Jan Garbarek and Vesala (see Triptkyon). The trio with Smith and Vinaccia extends this distinguished tradition on its own terms. “North of the North Wind”, thematically connected to an earlier Andersen cycle – refer to the 1997 release Hyperborean – begins with Arild playing his bass together with a sampler to create rich quasi-orchestral sonorities before Smith enters and the piece drifts into free ballad territory, with moving statements from tenor sax and double bass. “In-House”, in its full-throated exultation a sort of partner piece to “Outhouse” on the Live AtBelleville set, brings the album to a triumphant close, incorporating along the way solos by each of the trio members. As well as bracketing two song-titles together, album title In-House Science alludes to the venue where this fiery music was documented, the PKS Villa Rothstein, whose history has a connection to scientific inquiry, the “PKS” standing for Pythagorus Kepler System. The PKS Organization is devoted to furthering the study of natural energy as outlined by Viktor Schauburger and other unconventional researchers. The launch of In-House Science is celebrated with concerts in Japan, where the trio is joined by guest pianist Makoto Ozone for performances in Tokyo, Nagoya and Yokohama. * Arild Andersen was born in Oslo in 1945. He has been an ECM artist for almost 50 years, first recording for the label in 1970 on Afric Pepperbird with Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen. In the same period, he worked with Scandinavian residents Don Cherry and George Russell and backed a long line of visiting Americans – from Sonny Rollins to Chick Corea. After a New York sojourn in the early 1970s that found him working with Sam Rivers, Paul Bley, Steve Kuhn and Sheila Jordan, he returned to Norway and began leading his own bands. His first ECM leader dates were revisited in the 2010 box set Green In Blue: Early Quartets. Arild Andersen has issued more than 20 albums as a leader or co-leader for ECM, along the way making listeners aware of talents including Jon Balke, Tore Brunborg, Nils Petter Molvaer and Vassilis Tsabropoulos, all of whom first came to international attention as young musicians with Andersen bands. In 2008 he received the Jazz Musician of the Year award from France’s Académie du Jazz. Paolo Vinaccia was born in Italy in 1954, and has been based in Norway since 1979. He has toured and recorded with musicians including Terje Rypdal, Jon Christensen, Bendik Hofseth, Ketil Bjørnstad, Palle Mikkelborg, David Darling, Dhafer Youssef, Mike Mainieri and many others. On ECM he appears on Terje Rypdal’s Crime Scene, Vossabrygg, and Skywardsalbums, as well as Arild Andersen’s Hyperborean, Electra and Live at Belleville. Releases under his own name include the live box set Very Much Alive (Jazzland, 2010) with Rypdal, Mikkelborg, Wesseltoft and Ståle Storløkken. Saxophonist Tommy Smith, born in Edinburgh in 1967, made his mark on the Scottish jazz scene with his first album Giant Strides, recorded when he was sixteen, in 1983. That same year he won a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, he formed the group Forward Motion, and also joined Gary Burton’s band, with which he appeared on the ECM album Whiz Kids in 1986. He has since released more than twenty albums under his own name for numerous labels, including his own Spartacus imprint. Smith has worked in small groups and big bands, recording and touring with Joe Lovano, David Liebman, Benny Golson, Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Tommy Flanagan, John Scofield, Miroslav Vitous, Jack DeJohnette and many more. He has composed for and performed with classical orchestras and ensembles including the Orchestra of St. John's Square, the Scottish Ensemble, the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra and the Paragon Ensemble. Smith founded the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra in 1995, and remains its director. The orchestra is heard on the ECM album Celebration, with Arild Andersen as principal soloist. ECM ECM Jakob Bro - Returnings release date March 23, 2018 Palle Mikkelborg: trumpet, flugelhorn; Jakob Bro: guitar; Thomas Morgan: double bass; Jon Christensen: drums "Danish guitarist Jakob Bro creates magical music, impossible to categorize", wrote Downbeat recently. On Returnings the magic is intensified as Bro and musical soul-mate Thomas Morgan reconnect with two living legends of European jazz, trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and drummer Jon Christensen. It's a wonderful combination: Bro's watercolor guitar sounds, Mikkelborg's soft Milesian flugelhorn, Morgan's impeccable choice of notes, and Christensen's free-floating drumming. These components add up to one of the prettiest and subtlest jazz albums of recent times. Returnings was recorded in July 2016 at Oslo's Rainbow Studio and produced by Manfred Eicher.

I got this yesterday too. This is the first time I could get in since maybe Sunday.

Happy Birthday Thom!

presents One of the most prolific artists in the RareNoise roster, Jamie Saft has appeared on recordings by such groups as Metallic Taste of Blood,Slobber Pup, Plymouth, Red Hill, The Spanish Donkey andBerserk! as well as on his collaborations with Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte (The New Standard and Loneliness Road, which also featured Iggy Pop), Bill Brovold (Serenity Knolls), Roswell Rudd (Strength & Power) and his own New Zion w. Cyro album (Sunshine Seas, with Cyro Baptista). His sprawling discography, which includes prodigious sideman work with John Zorn, numbers over 160 albums. And yet, over all those sessions he has never recorded a solo piano album. “I've incorporated some solo piano pieces into other records of mine before, but this is something unique for me: This is my first proper full length solo piano album in 25 years of making records.” Solo A Genova is Saft’s highly emotive take on jazz standards and other uniquely American compositions. “I first conceived of this recital of music back in 2007,” he explains. “I was asked by my good friend Giuseppe Vigna to give a solo piano recital in Florence, Italy. At that moment in time, the United States was in a rough patch politically, so I wanted to present American music as an example of positive, forward thinking art — art that made a difference in the world, art that resisted hatred and negativity, art that promoted a positive path forward for mankind. I chose songs from artists that were dear to me: Bob Dylan,Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis/Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell, Curtis Mayfield, Charles Ives. Who better to represent the transformative powers of music than these brilliant writers?" Recorded at the beautiful Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Italy in an acoustically marvellous space, Solo A Genova showcases Saft on a 9-foot Steinway Model D piano in the service of these beguiling tunes. “My primary influences for solo piano are actually the very same influences for playing the piano in any situation: Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk and Garth Hudson of The Band. Each has a uniquely personal approach to solo piano stylings. Each of these masters incorporates the entire history of modern music within their piano worlds. Their music IS American classical music.” PREVIEW SOLO A GENOVA Tracklisting and Personnel Jamie Saft - piano 1. The Makings Of You (Curtis Mayfield) 2. Human / Gates (Jimmy Jam / Terry Lewis / Jamie Saft) 3. Naima (John Coltrane) 4. Sharp Dressed Man (ZZ Top) 5. Overjoyed (Stevie Wonder) 6. Po’Boy (Bob Dylan) 7. The New Standard / Pinkus (Jamie Saft) 8. Blue Motel Room (Joni Mitchell) 9. The Housatonic At Stockbridge (Charles Ives) 10. Blue In Green (Miles Davis / Bill Evans) 11. Restless Farewell (Bob Dylan) Recorded in the Auditorium Eugenio Montale of the Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova, Italy, on March 3rd 2017 Live Sound and Recording Engineer : Alberto Parodi of Studio Mulinetti, Genova Mixed by Jamie Saft at Potterville International Sound, NY Mastered by Vin Cin at Electric Plant Studios, NY Produced by Jamie Saft Art and Design by Steven Erdman Layout Assistance Graham Schreiner Jamie played a Steinway D-274 supplied by Storti Strumenti Musicali, Genova Cat.No.: RNR088 (CD) RNR088LP (Double Gatefold Vinyl - heavyweight)