GA Russell

Week 6 results Winnipeg 41....Montreal 40 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2392/montreal-alouettes-vs-winnipeg-blue-bombers/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/27/bombers-receiver-weston-dressler-injured-montreal/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/27/soft-roughing-passer-call-upheld-cfl-command-centre/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/28/andrew-harris-bombers-make-late-comeback-beat-alouettes/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/28/bombers-complete-miracle-comeback-alouettes-12-thoughts/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/28/alouettes-stef-logan-slams-officials-wild-loss-bombers/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/28/alouettes-stef-logan-slams-officials-wild-loss-bombers/#comments ***** Edmonton 37...,.BC 26 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2393/bc-lions-vs-edmonton-eskimos/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/28/mike-reilly-connects-longest-career-completion/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/28/mike-reilly-connects-longest-career-completion/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/29/esks-stay-perfect-downing-lions/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/29/5-thoughts-eskimos-continuing-unbeaten-run/#comments ***** Sask 38....Toronto 27 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2394/toronto-argonauts-vs-saskatchewan-roughriders/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/29/riders-honour-joe-mcknight/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/29/duron-carter-makes-ridiculous-backhanded-td-grab/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/29/argos-johnny-sears-jr-inexplicable-decision-costs-argos-chance-win/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/29/duron-carters-breakout-performance-amazing-td-catch-leads-riders-victory/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/30/5-thoughts-argos-letting-early-lead-slip-away-regina/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/30/riders-really-needed-win/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/30/duron-carter-gives-ball-spectacular-td-catch-young-cancer-survivor/#comments ***** Calgary 60....Hamilton 1 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2395/hamilton-tiger-cats-vs-calgary-stampeders/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/30/ticats-suffer-second-worst-defeat-franchise-history/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/30/video-kent-austin-ticats-60-1-loss-stampeders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/30/jerome-messam-runs-three-tds-stampeders-stomp-ticats/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/30/blowout-win-mask-problems-stampeders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/31/learned-hamiltons-embarrassing-60-1-loss-stampeders/#comments ***** Here is a summary of the former CFL people now in NFL camps. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/31/comprehensive-guide-canadians-former-cflers-nfl-training-camps-2/#comments ***** Dan Ralph summary of Week 6. http://3downnation.com/2017/08/01/sixth-week-cfl-season-featured-share-good-bad-ugly/#comments ***** The Plays of the Week for Weeks 7 and 8 are now up. https://www.cfl.ca/videos/

AS PART OF THE DIGITAL INCUNABULA SERIES M.O.D. TECHNOLOGIES Presents METHOD OF DEFIANCE "COLUMN 3" Babylon Deconstruction AVAILABLE ONLINE SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 AND VIA WWW.MOD-TECHNOLOGIES.COM Dr. Israel vocals, electronics Bill Laswell bass, effects Guy Licata drums Adam Rudolph percussion Henry Kaiser guitar Steven Bernstein trumpet The Master Musicians of Jajouka Bachir Attar ghaita Mustapha Attar ghaita, drums New York, August 14, 2017 - The ever mutating and expanding collective founded by ikonoklast producer / bassist Bill Laswell. This latest release consisting of live and studio recordings transcends obvious genres and challenges all generic boundaries...dub, North African, drum'n bass, reggae vocals, noise, and much more. Column 3 features core members - Bill Laswell - bass, effects, Guy Licata - drums, and Dr. Israel - voice, electronics, beats, with Adam Rudolph - percussion (Jon Hassell, Philip Glass, Yusef Lateef, Pharaoh Sanders), Henry Kaiser - guitar (Richard Thompson, Fred Frith, Wadada Leo Smith), Steven Bernstein - trumpet (Lou Reed, Aretha Franklin, Sting, Sex Mob), Bachir Attar and Mustapha Attar of The Master Musicians of Jajouka, Morocco. MAGIC CALLS ITSELF the OTHER METHOD for CONTROLLING MATTER and KNOWING SPACE. TRACKS 1. Method 1 7:42 2. Sensimellia 5:01 3. Dread Inna Babylon 6:28 4. Method Jajouka 6:33 5. Patterns of War 9:35 6. Gangsta n Police 6:10 7. Method 7 6:59 8. Dread Inna Babylon 2 / Method Jajouka 2 6:54 Total: 55:19 Produced & arranged by Bill Laswell. Recording, mixing & mastering by James Dellatacoma.

I want to congratulate Dana for that huge upset win tonight! Also, I watched the 1960 NFL Championship Game in which Chuck Bednarik played both offense and defense, and I think that tonight's game was the first I've seen since then when that was done (by Duron Carter). I remember the 1990 game in which Rod Hill intercepted five, and Ed Gainey's four (plus the fumble recovery) made the game special as well.

Let me point out that it will be tomorrow's game which will be on ESPN2, not tonight's. ***** The Ticats, needing defensive help, signed Terrence Frederick. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/12/ticats-sign-former-bombers-defensive-back-terrence-frederick/#comments ***** Usually it is the Argos' games that have the largest TV audiences, but this year it has been the Riders'. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/13/riders-driving-cfl-tv-ratings-far-season/#comments ***** The Als released Ryan Phillips. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/16/alouettes-release-veteran-db-ryan-phillips/#comments ***** The Eskimos signed Jacob Ruby, who was the Als' first round pick in '85. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/17/former-first-round-pick-ol-jacob-ruby-signs-with-eskimos/#comments ***** To the six-game injured list: Ryan White http://3downnation.com/2017/07/18/riders-place-canadian-ol-ryan-white-six-game-injured-list/#comments Adarius Bowman http://3downnation.com/2017/07/20/adarius-bowman-placed-six-game-injured-list/#comments Cam Judge, Ese Mrabure and Ivan Brown http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/riders-place-cam-judge-ese-mrabure-ivan-brown-six-game-injured-list/#comments Brandyn Bartlett http://3downnation.com/2017/07/27/canadian-lb-brandyn-bartlett-goes-riders-six-game-injured-list/#comments ***** The Riders accused the Ticats of spying on them, and of course the Ticats denied it. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/18/riders-close-practice-accuse-ticats-spying/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/19/kent-austin-dismisses-riders-spying-allegations-absurd/#comments ***** Jerrell Freeman is a hero! He is now with Chicago. He saw a man choking and successfully gave him the Heimlich Manoeuvre. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/24/former-riders-lb-jerrell-freeman-performs-heimlich-saves-life/#comments ***** Greg Van Roten has signed with Carolina. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/25/former-argos-ol-greg-van-roten-signs-carolina/#comments ***** The Ticats brought back Dominique Ellis. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/26/ellis-returns-shore-beleaguered-ticats-secondary/#comments *****

Happy Birthday 2017 kinuta!

Happy Birthday 2017 Mark!

more Week 8 picks http://www.rodpedersen.com/2017/08/week-8-cfl-picks-2017.html http://3downnation.com/2017/08/10/week-8-picks-desperation-setting/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/10/slam-dunk-picks-some-easy-pickins/#comments ***** Soupy Campbell has died at 73. RIP. I met him at the '96 Grey Cup. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/10/rough-rider-great-jerry-soupy-campbell-passes-away/ http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/cfl-legend-soupy-campbell-dies-73/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-hall-of-famer-soupy-campbell-passes-away-at-73-1.4242086 ***** Week 8 game notes https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/09/cfl-ca-game-notes-look-week-8/ ***** 8/09 checking down https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/09/checking-whos-back-action-week-8/ ***** more Power Rankings http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/cfl-power-rankings-balance-power-clearly-west/

This is a podcast of an interview which includes about 80 minutes of Art Pepper recordings. https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/album/laurie-pepper-rocco-bertels-jazzquestradio

Before we look at the Week 6 results... Current Power Rankings http://3downnation.com/2017/08/07/3down-power-rankings-riders-tumble/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/08/west-remains-best-nissan-titan-power-rankings/ http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-hold-steady-in-cfl-power-rankings-1.825036 http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-power-rankings-1.4238819 ***** Week 8 picks https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/09/cfl-ca-writers-make-picks-week-8/ https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/09/weekly-predictor-weeks-dogs/ ***** Kevin Glenn has passed the 50,000 yard passing mark, and has passed Ron Lancaster on that list. Should he be in the Hall of Fame? Yes http://3downnation.com/2017/08/01/kevin-glenn-hall-fame-worthy/#comments No http://3downnation.com/2017/08/01/3down-debate-kevin-glenn-not-hall-famer/#comments

First, I will point out that this SUNDAY'S game (BC at Sask, 8:00 pm eastern) will be on ESPN2. ***** Week 5 picks http://www.rodpedersen.com/2017/07/week-5-cfl-picks-2017.html https://www.cfl.ca/2017/07/18/cfl-ca-writers-make-picks-week-5/ https://www.cfl.ca/2017/07/18/weekly-predictor-ticats-bombers-vengeance-week-5/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/19/week-five-3down-picks-games-fun/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/19/slam-dunk-picks-figuring-out-funky-lines/#comments Week 5 results Ottawa 24....Montreal 19 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2387/montreal-alouettes-vs-ottawa-redblacks/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/19/nik-lewis-records-career-catch-no-1000/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/19/defending-grey-cup-champion-redblacks-enter-win-column/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/20/12-thoughts-redblacks-first-win-2017/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/20/good-bad-alouettes-error-filled-loss-redblacks/#comments ***** Edmonton 31....Hamilton 28 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2388/edmonton-eskimos-vs-hamilton-tiger-cats/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/20/eskimos-db-gary-peters-appears-make-contact-official/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/20/ticats-dl-knocked-jonathon-jennings-last-week-crushes-mike-reilly/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/20/mike-reilly-leads-eskimos-last-minute-drive-to-keep-ticats-winless/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/video-breaking-ticats-loss-eskimos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/video-kent-austin-zach-collaros-simoni-lawrence-loss-esks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/milton-ticats-spoil-solid-effort-horrid-ending/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/5-thoughts-eskimos-last-minute-victory-hamilton/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/learned-hamiltons-tough-31-28-loss-eskimos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/ticats-db-keon-lyn-suffers-serious-broken-bone/#comments ***** BC 45....Winnipeg 42 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2389/winnipeg-blue-bombers-vs-bc-lions/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/bombers-execute-onside-and-legal-sleeper-play/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/22/bombers-darvin-adams-needs-just-one-hand-touchdown-grab/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/22/lions-win-wild-west-shootout-bombers/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/22/bombers-relive-west-semi-final-nightmare-11-thoughts/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/22/things-learned-lions-come-behind-win/#comments ***** Calgary 27....Sask 10 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2390/saskatchewan-roughriders-vs-calgary-stampeders/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/21/stampeders-seek-bounce-back-win-rested-riders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/22/stamps-reaping-rewards-sticking-jorden/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/22/duron-carter-crosses-centre-line-josh-bell-takes-exception/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/22/riders-qb-kevin-glenn-joins-50000-passing-yards-group/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/23/jerome-messam-runs-riders-leads-stamps-victory/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/23/back-square-one-riders-not-ready-take-next-step/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/23/back-square-one-riders-not-ready-take-next-step/#comments ***** Toronto 27....Ottawa 24 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2391/ottawa-redblacks-vs-toronto-argonauts/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/24/argos-suffer-trio-defensive-injuries/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/24/hajrullahus-game-winner-gives-argos-last-second-win-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/24/hell-genie-bouchard-argos-game/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/25/5-thoughts-on-argos-last-second-win-over-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/26/argos-anthony-coombs-growing-andre-duries-shadow/#comments

August 8 1969 - Abbey Road cover photo taken ***** Born... 1933 - Joe Tex 1944 - John Renbourn

Paul Desmond with Jim Hall Gerry Mulligan with Chet Baker Monk Bue Note

Break a leg, Allen!

German Saxophonist Philipp Gerschlauer Joins Forces with American Guitarist David Fiuczynski On Microtonal Album for RareNoiseRecords Drumming legend Jack DeJohnnette and bassist Matt Garrison on board for Mikrojazz - Neue Expressionistische Musik CD, VINYL AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 AND THROUGHWWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM. PHILIPP GERSCHLAUER ALTO SAXOPHONE DAVID FIUCZYNSKI FRETTED AND FRETLESS GUITARS JACK DEJOHNETTE DRUMS MATT GARRISON FRETLESS BASS GIORGI MIKADZE MICROTONAL KEYBOARDS New York, August 7, 2017 - On Mikrojazz, their cutting edge joint project forRareNoiseRecords, German saxophonist Philipp Gerschlauer and guitarist David Fiuczynski explore the world of music that falls between the cracks of the tempered scale. Joined by jazz drumming legend Jack DeJohnette, fretless electric bassist Matt Garrisonand microtonal keyboardist Giorgi Mikadze, this daring crew creates dreamy, otherworldly soundscapes on tunes by Gerschlauer like aptly-titled "Hangover" and "LaMonte's Gamelan Jam" along with a swinging microtonal tune "Mikro Steps" and other originals like Fiuczynski's "MiCroY Tyner", Zirkus Macabre and "Lullaby Nightmare". Fiuczynski, who heads up the Planet MicroJam Institute at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, previously released two microtonal recordings on RareNoise - 2012's Planet MicroJam, which opened a Pandora's Box on non-Western tuning, and 2016's Flam! Blam! Pan-Asian MicroJam!, which was jointly dedicated to 20th century classical composer Olivier Messiaen and innovative hip-hop record producer JDilla. Gerschlauer, who was inspired by French composer Gérard Grisey and Paul Desmond had been independently exploring the world of microtonal music in Berlin and New York before developing a method of dividing an octave (12 notes in equal temperament) into 128 notes on the alto saxophone. "I started to use microtones on the saxophone about ten years ago," Gerschlauer explained. "I wanted to extend the harmonic and melodic language which was used in jazz music so far. I began noticing that the regular piano and keyboards could not provide the full harmonic and melodic spectrum that was needed for my compositions. So five years ago, I decided to also develop my own microtonal keyboard which now fills this gap. The tunings and programming I am using are a complete novelty in a jazz context. When I found out about David and what he is doing, I naturally was very excited and it made sense that we would be meeting and playing at some point." This meeting of the minds was jump-started when Fiuczynski invited Gerschlauer to Berklee to present his music, talk about playing microtonal saxophone and playing with Berklee's resident Planet MicroJam Ensemble. "David and I had already been in an intensive email correspondence on microtonal music, so I knew that he was combining jazz with microtones and that his music was really grooving," said the saxophonist. "I couldn't wait to meet him in person and felt honored by the invitation to hold a workshop there. I was pleased to find out that David's microtonal ensemble at Berklee sounded great! You could hear right away that they played and rehearsed on a regularly basis. I think it's awesome that such a band can exist in a university context." For Fiuczynski (aka Fuze), this collaboration with Gerschlauer was marked by a kindred connection that was apparent from the outset because of their mutual interest in melding micro- jazz and grooves. "Just as there are jazz and classical snobs and uptight indie rockers, there are many divisions in microtonality," he said. 'I've had plenty of micro-snobs turn me away because I was injecting a groove element into microtonality. But Philipp was stunned at how I was using grooves and coloring microtones in a completely unique way, and I was intrigued by how he was working with a very high order of microtones - 128 notes per octave and untempered - amazing! So we decided to join forces because both had something to offer to the other." Fiuczynski has been operating on the fringe for decades, flaunting mondo-chops with his avant- jazz-funk band Screaming Headless Torsos in the early 1990s, as a member of Hasidic New Wave in the late '90s and in collaboration with keyboardist John Medeski on 1994's Lunar Crush and subsequently with his KiF trio and experimental Black Cherry Acid Lab. A longtime exponent of the fretless guitar, his wicked whammy bar articulations over the years have gone well beyond the 12-tone Western chromatic scale. In more recent years he's been studying microtonal music in a more formal sense while also experimenting with a quarter tone guitar. Perhaps eerie-sounding, unsettling and 'out of tune' to Western ears, microtonal music, which employs intervals smaller than a semitone, has nonetheless been around since the Hellenic civilizations of ancient Greece and continues to be prevalent in musical cultures around the world today from India to the Balkans to China, Turkey and Africa. As Fiuczynski noted, "When taken outside of the context of blues, gamelan, Middle Eastern music - in other words the 'micro' sounds we're used to - it can be jarring, especially since we're doing microtonal harmony. You don't hear harmony in East Asian and Middle Eastern music. At times it's polyphonic but harmonies are incidental. Microtonal harmony started with Julian Carillo, Alois Haba, Ivan Wyschnegradsky (and also Charles Ives) in the first half of the 20th century. These are our microtonal classical forefathers. But what Mikrojazzdoes - and I've done this on Planet Microjam and FLAM! - is jazz microtonal chord scales. This is fairly new, I don't really know anyone else doing this. And when you play those microtonal melodies and then you stack them in harmony, it can certainly throw you for a loop." "I can't understand why the wide majority of jazz musicians is still using only 12 notes per octave," Gerschlauer added. "I feel we are stuck in this system because there aren't many people who seriously think about this. Art has always been a reflection on the time it is created in. The Zeitgeist or 'sign of the time' we live in is rapid communication and innovation and artists should be the interpreters of this Zeitgeist. I feel this is my mission. Microtones build the foundation of my scale and harmonic language. None of the pitches I am using fits into our predominant tone system. And I believe that due to it's physiology, the ear finds justly tuned chords more consonant than other tunings. Hermann von Helmholtz suggested in his book On the Sensations of Tone that there is a direct link between the physics of a sound wave, the physiology of our ears, the reception in our brain and music theory. This opened up a field of study for me. When I listened to the opening chord of Grisey's "Partiels" it hit me like a wave. Microtonality is the sound of TODAY, of NOW! This is how today, the time we are living in, sounds like and I hope that when people will hear this music, they will realize how rigid the predominant tuning system is." Kindred spirits Fiuczynski and Gerschlauer dive headlong into the microtonal pool onMikrojazz and are ably supported in their explorations by the empathetic crew of DeJohnette, Garrison and Mikadze. As an added visual treat, each piece on Mikrojazz, which is subtitled Neue Expressionistische Musik, meaning 'new expressionist music', is paired with expressionist paintings by the likes of Georg Grosz, Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, August Macke, Egon Schiele, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Jean Michel Basquiat and more. "Both Philipp and I grew up in Germany and expressionist painting is an influence, certainly for me," said Fiuczynski. "I do consider myself to be a Black German expressionist and those paintings are major influences. The jagged forms, the intense colors and the African-American elements (Basquiat) and other non-Western elements that influenced many German expressionists are kind of a visual summary of what I do. I feel very 'Black'' when listening to James Brown or playing with Jack DeJohnette, but I feel very 'German' when injecting microtonality and jagged lines and so forth. It's a personal thing, I don't have a rationale for this, I'm just reacting." "So Mikrojazz is about our affinity with expressionism, something that's been close to my heart for a while," Fiuczynski said of his joint effort with Gerschlauer. "I love painting in general, but particularly expressionist painting. We've paired paintings with our music in a very intuitive manner, based more on emotions than literal or direct connections. It's literally a personal EXPRESSION of our music and art." Regarding the provocative music heard throughout Mikrojazz, Fiuczynski believes it just might be, to borrow the title of a 1959 Ornette Coleman album, The Shape of Jazz to Come. "I would like to think that Western microtonality is an evolutionary extension of 20th century music, and since our 12 note per octave musical language is becoming exhausted and repetitive, I think microtonality is a very natural and necessary musical development," he said. "Here is where Philipp and I can contribute the most to the evolution of jazz and hopefully bring new insights and perspectives to the art form. I think this record will change the way people hear and listen to music." Bold words from a bold visionary. But he delivers once again in this microtonal meeting of the minds with the amazing Mr. Gerschlauer. TRACKS 1 MikroSteps 4:43 2 Für Mary Wigman 7:02 3 Lullaby Nightmare 3:37 4 MiCrOY Tyner 7:31 5 Umarmung 5:05 6 Last Chance 4:26 7 November 6:48 8 Hangover 7:57 9 LaMonte's Gamelan Jam 6:32 10 Walking Not Flying 2:57 11 Sofia Im Türkischen Café 3:44 12 Zirkus Macabre 3:21

The tour has begun!

ECM Tim Berne’s Snakeoil Incidentals Tim Berne: alto saxophone Oscar Noriega: clarinet, bass clarinet Ryan Ferreira: guitars Matt Mitchell: piano, electronics Ches Smith: drums, vibraphone, timpani, percussion With David Torn: guitar U.S. Release date: September 8, 2017 ECM 2579 B0027074-02 06025 576 7257 2 Incidentals is the fourth ECM album from alto saxophonist Tim Berne’s dynamic Snakeoil band. Complete and self-contained, it can also be considered a partner volume to the 2015 release You’ve Been Watching Me, further documenting a period in the band’s life in which the energetic core group of Berne, fellow reedman Oscar Noriega, pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer/percussionist/vibraphonist Ches Smith was augmented by guitarist Ryan Ferreira, whose textural playing and floating, ambient sound-colors both thickened the plot and leavened the density. “We somehow achieved more sonic space by adding another player,” Berne notes wonderingly. Ferreira had been introduced to Berne by Matt Mitchell, guitarist and pianist having attended the same music school. “I’m always on the lookout for guitar players”, says Berne, “always looking for new blood.” He and Ferreira played duo for about a year, improvising freely, before the guitarist was invited to join a Snakeoil concert. “I gave him a great pile of music, and he learned it. The job required a player who was content not to be a soloist. It was almost like having a far-out keyboard player in the band, and it gave me a few more options, compositionally.” There was also a wish to subvert and challenge the modus operandi of the group. Over several years, the four piece Snakeoil had become very tight, “and when something starts to work well I like to throw something else in, to see if I still have the touch, and just to see what happens.” However, the first guitar sounds heard on Incidentals derive from another source, as producer David Torn’s hands-on approach to the work extends to picking up his own instrument. Thereafter, things happen fast. Group improvisation leads towards a dramatic first theme, then into and out of vamps, until the listener is left, as is often the case with Berne pieces, in a new and unfamiliar space. Recapitulation is rare in his tunes: the music keeps on moving, dodging, swerving to other destinations. To follow the action in “Hora Feliz”, Berne recommends zooming in on Snakeoil’s prodigiously gifted pianist, Matt Mitchell: “A lot of the transitions are on Matt’s shoulders. If you focus on him through the whole improv section here you can hear the amazing way he manages to develop and set up the ending of the piece with his improvising. “I’ve always liked the idea of steering people away from the material we start with. With the writing, it’s almost done the way I improvise – a lot of motives, a lot of melodic improvising, tossing little thematic things around and developing them. That’s part of the story, anyway. Some of that also comes from seeing the AACM guys when I was starting out, and Julius Hemphill, too – in their worlds, improvisation was often a collective and amorphous thing, rather than a rhythm section playing a groove with a solo on top of it. Very little of that music was head-solo-head format, and I think that stayed with me. A lot of the suite-like pieces I make come out of not wanting to repeat improvising ideas. If you’re improvising and you know you’re going to something completely different you have to think a little more compositionally than if you’re just playing a solo and going back to the same head.” The trajectory of the 26-minute epic “Sideshow” - with another guitar cameo for Torn at its climax, weaving between thunderous timpani and over the twinned reeds of Noriega and Berne – all but defies itemization. Truly event-packed, it was once even more so. Originally “Sideshow” was part of an hour-long piece, the other half being “Small World In A small Town”, already documented on You’ve Been Watching Me. Berne: “I didn’t want to use up a whole album with one large composition, so I split it in half. This was something we’d already successfully tried live, dividing the material over a couple of sets.” Not everything in the Snakeoil book is obsessively complex. Berne says that “Stingray Shuffle” begins with a composed statement which, after the head, blossoms into textural collective improvisation, subtly shifting layers of sound against which Berne and Noriega play prettily. “Incidentals Contact” comes flying out of the starting gate, its strong rhythmic drive established by the whole ensemble while Ches Smith is still, insistently, playing vibes: “Many bands will use the drums to set up the time. I’m adamant about that not happening, ever, because it’s too obvious. Ches is really great at ignoring us as long as possible, and the more freedom you give him, the more interesting the tension gets. Quite often in this group, you’ll find everyone playing rhythm except the drummer.” “Prelude One/Sequel Too” folds together two pieces, the first a futurist stepwise construction made stranger by the “weird high part” which Matt Mitchell contributed to the composition. After open improvisation it segues into “Sequel Too”, based upon the same written material as the title track ofYou’ve Been Watching Me. Interpreted as an acoustic guitar piece in its previous incarnation, “Sequel Too” sounds radically different when voiced for the group and develops as a powerful, emotionally-expressive feature for Berne’s alto and Smith’s free, slashing drums. *** Tim Berne has been declared “a saxophonist and composer of granite conviction” by The New York Times. Acclaim for the first, eponymous ECM album from Berne’s quartet Snakeoil came from far and wide, with The Guardian calling it “an object lesson in balancing composition, improvisation and the tonal resources of an acoustic band.” With the release of his second ECM album, Shadow Man, All About Jazz affirmed Snakeoil as “Berne’s most impressively cohesive group yet.” Since learning at the elbow of St. Louis master Julius Hemphill in the ’70s, the Syracuse, NY-born Berne has built an expansive discography as a leader. In his ensembles over the past few decades, he has worked with improvisers including Joey Baron, Django Bates, Jim Black, Nels Cline. Mark Dresser, Marc Ducret, Michael Formanek, Drew Gress, Ethan Iverson, Dave King, Herb Robertson, Chris Speed, Steve Swell, Bobby Previte, Hank Roberts, Tom Rainey and Craig Taborn. As a sideman, Berne has made ECM appearances on albums by Formanek (The Rub and Spare Change, Small Places, The Distance) and David Torn (prezens). The New York Times summed him up by saying: “Few musicians working in or around jazz over the last 30 years have developed an idiomatic signature more distinctive than Tim Berne.” Snakeoil, in the original Berne-Noriega-Mitchell-Smith line-up, tours North America through September and October, and plays European dates in November. Further ECM recordings featuring Tim Berne are in preparation, including an album with the Sun of Goldfinger trio with David Torn and Ches Smith. ECM Gary Peacock Trio Tangents Gary Peacock: double-bass Marc Copland: piano Joey Baron: drums U.S. Release date: September 8, 2017 ECM 2533 B0027130-02 UPC: 6025 574 1910 8 Some of Gary Peacock’s finest music has been made in the context of piano trios. Early in his career, he helped to establish a fresh role for the bass as an independent melodic voice, an evolution carried forward in history-making groups led by pianists Paul Bley, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. Peacock made his leader debut on ECM in 1977 with Tales of Another, featuring the trio with Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette before it recorded famously under the pianist’s leadership. In the 21st century, one of Peacock’s most striking vehicles has been his trio with pianist Marc Copland and drummer Joey Baron. The group earned just praise on both sides of the Atlantic for its initial ECM release, Now This, in 2015.The Guardian called it “captivating,” while All About Jazz said: “These players are always in the present: listening, reacting, knowing when to play and when not to play.” These words apply just as aptly toTangents, the group’s exceptional follow-up. This trio’s tensile strength – its muscular virtuosity tempered by poetic restraint – animates five originals by Peacock, one by Copland and two by Baron, along with a darkly atmospheric free improvisation and ravishing versions of two classics associated with Bill Evans: “Blue in Green” and “Spartacus.” Peacock has been collaborating with Copland since the early 1980s. “I felt a compatibility with Marc right away, a sensation of being on the same page,” the bassist recalls. “That’s only developed and deepened over the years as we’ve worked in duo, trio, quartet and quintet formats. As a composer, his harmonies offer real possibilities, as with ‘Talkin’ Blues’ on the new album. Marc and I have a kinship in that we both aspire to something that can’t be conceptualized – something more intuitive. We’re out to surrender to the muse.” For his part, Copland has said: “Taking chances is the essence of playing jazz. This is something I always felt, and when I started playing with Gary Peacock, I knew I’d met a musical soul who believed this as much as I did.” Along with his detail-rich work behind the kit, Baron – a veteran of many ECM sessions – penned one of the album’s highlights, “Cauldron,” a pouncing number filled with apposite runs by Copland. About the drummer, Peacock recalls: “I played with Joey previously in a quartet with Lee Konitz and Bill Frisell about five or six years ago, so I knew that he was always there for the music, always listening. Marc and I played with several different drummers, but when we got Joey for a week at Birdland, we knew right away that this was the guy for our trio. Like Roy Haynes, Joey has this sensitive touch. He can swing brilliantly even at a low volume. After that Birdland run, I called Manfred to say that we just had to record this band. There’s a real sense of freedom with this trio, but also a lack of me, me, me. Everyone is listening for what the music tells you to do. “I remember once playing a gig with Keith and Jack, and Dave Holland was there,” Peacock adds. “He came backstage afterward and asked me how I came up with ‘all those different bass lines.’ I said that it was Keith and Jack. He said, ‘No, no, how do you do it?’ But, honestly, I was responding to them, inspired in the moment by listening to them play – that’s how a bass line comes out for me, with this trio, too. It’s organic and spontaneous, reacting intuitively.” Tangents opens with Peacock’s melody-rich “Contact,” with its solo bass intro offering an alluring entrée into the album. The 82-year-old bassist’s sound remains as individual as a fingerprint: rich and powerful, but also lithe and conveying a seemingly inexhaustible flow of ideas. Regarding the beautiful way his instrumental tone is captured on ECM recordings, the bassist says: “Manfred Eicher and his engineers are masters at capturing the sound of the bass. Manfred isn’t thinking about frequencies as much as he is the personality of the instrument, and the player. Also, it’s not just about the sound of the bass but how it fits in with the other instruments. And I have to say that the radio studio in Lugano where we recorded the new album is special – it’s a small auditorium, with the trio set up onstage. The ambience was fantastic, and that has such a positive effect – you can feel it.” Another album highlight is Peacock’s Ornette Coleman-evoking “Rumblin’,” which features his bass singing and dancing ebulliently throughout the track. Peacock is quick to credit his early influences as a bassist. “For the melodic aspect, an early inspiration was Red Mitchell,” he says. “Red was a real mentor for me, even if it was just on records. Ray Brown was another inspiration, but for his uncanny ability to swing no matter what. Those were my guiding lights when I was a teenager just starting to play. Later, I discovered Jimmy Blanton and Oscar Pettiford, then Scott LaFaro and Paul Chambers – all were important for me. But there was also the influence of horn players – especially Miles Davis and Stan Getz – as well as a slew of pianists, particularly Bill Evans. Bill was such an inspiration melodically, harmonically, dynamically, through his choice of voicings. There was also a sense of vulnerability in his playing that drew you in – a very human feeling. He was definitely the sort of player who had a realization of the music being more important than him. One should never forget that the music is more important than you.” Peacock, who recorded the classic album Trio 64 with Evans, underscores his affinity for the pianist’s legacy on Tangents with the inclusion of both the impressionistic “Blue in Green” (recorded famously in 1959 by Miles Davis on Kind of Blue, then by Evans on Portrait in Jazz just months later) and the emotive “Spartacus” (a deeply lyrical film theme by Alex North). The bassist says: “These are pieces that we’ve played often as a trio and that are always inspiring for me. The tendency when someone records a piece by a master is to attempt to re-create it, but that process just makes the piece less than what it was. Rather than emulating someone, if you just play the music and let the inspiration come through that – then you might have something. Don’t try to make it ‘better’ or ‘different,’ either. To paraphrase Miles, ‘Just shut the fuck up and play’.” On Now This, Peacock, Copland and Baron reinterpreted some key compositions from the bassist’s songbook: “Moor,” “Gaia,” “Vignette,” “Requiem.” For Tangents, the trio revisited the tumbling tunefulness of “December Greenwings,” which the bassist first recorded on the 1978 ECM LP December Poems with Jan Garbarek and then again on the 2000 ECM album Amaryllis with Marilyn Crispell and Paul Motian. “The piece takes on a different quality with different instruments and personalities – you could say that each recording is a new view of similar terrain,” Peacock says. “One thing that appeals to me about it is the lack of a fixed tempo. I’m more and more drawn to music like that. A tune like ‘Gaia’ demands that you play in time – it’s important for the piece. But ‘December Greenwings’ is something else. I first really got into playing without tempo while working with Albert Ayler and Don Cherry, in the ’60s – we didn’t play time. No chords, no going back over the melody, no time – it was truly free.” Asked about “Empty Forest,” the seven-minute free improvisation on Tangents, Peacock says: “Who knows where that comes from? It was just: ‘start.’ Marc, Joey and I are ideally suited to free playing together, the three of us. We’re having the same experience in the moment, feeling the music together. It doesn’t mean it’s always perfect what we do – sometimes, it’s more mud than a beautiful, flowing river. But that’s where the trust comes in – that we’ll search together and eventually find the muse, find the music.” Peacock is increasingly drawn to “the unknowable,” he says, “something beyond conception. Conceptualizing can put a limit on what you can do as an improviser – you’re limited to what you can preconceive, instead of just surrendering to the music as it’s happening, tapping intuition. Theory and technique are essential, but they’re not enough – they just provide a sort of milieu. It’s not easy to find the muse. You can’t grab it, you can’t summon it – and lord knows, I’ve tried every route to that. I’ve realized that you can only get out of the way and listen. It’s there, if you really listen.”

August 7 1980 - John Lennon began recording his final album, Double Fantasy. 1984 - Esther Phillips dies. 2001 - Larry Adler dies. ***** Born... 1925 - Felice Bryant 1928 - Herb Reed 1942 - BJ Thomas 1950 - Rodney Crowell

Great find, Jeff! You will note that Bob Allison is listed as "Minneapolis*" because the Senators moved to Minnesota after the cards' artwork was done.

Jim, I haven't been to Canada in twenty years. Back then the prices were more reasonable than American stadiums'. If by "fare" you mean the food, beer and hot dogs were the biggest sellers that I recall. I don't recall local delicacies sold like at the Orioles' games. ***** In case not everyone clicks on every link, I want to point out that Travis Lulay set a league record, passing for 436 yards having come off the bench. That total was also his personal best. Here's the link again: http://3downnation.com/2017/07/15/travis-lulay-sets-cfl-record-coming-injured-jonathon-jennings/#comments

Let's see if we can catch up through Week 7 by Wednesday! Here are the Plays of the Week for every week through Week 6. https://www.cfl.ca/videos/plays-of-the-week/ ***** Here is a collection of SJ Green's highlights. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/04/sj-green-2017-highlights-so-far/ ***** last Week 4 picks http://3downnation.com/2017/07/13/week-4-picks-west-setting-another-crossover/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/13/slam-dunk-picks-road-dogs-primed-to-bark/#comments ***** Week 4 results Winnipeg 33....Toronto 25 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2383/toronto-argonauts-vs-winnipeg-blue-bombers/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/14/bombers-win-karen-loses-13-thoughts/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/14/penalties-cost-argos-33-25-loss-bombers/#comments I'll have more on this game later. ***** Montreal 30....Calgary 23 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2384/calgary-stampeders-vs-montreal-alouettes/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/14/stampeders-rb-jerome-messam-ejected-montreal/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/14/montreal-miracle-alouettes-upset-stamps-late-touchdown/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/15/5-thoughts-on-alouettes-upset-win/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/16/good-bad-alouettes-huge-win-stamps/#comments ***** Edmonton 23....Ottawa 21 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2385/ottawa-redblacks-vs-edmonton-eskimos/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/15/esks-score-20-straight-points-keep-redblacks-winless/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/16/former-redblacks-make-ottawa-pay-9-thoughts/#comments ***** BC 41....Hamilton 26 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2386/bc-lions-vs-hamilton-tiger-cats/ http://3downnation.com/2017/07/15/b-c-lions-quarterback-jonathon-jennings-leaves-game-injury/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/15/b-c-lions-rec-bryan-burnham-makes-redonkulous-td-catch/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/15/travis-lulay-sets-cfl-record-coming-injured-jonathon-jennings/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/16/milton-ticats-dont-need-much-begin-downward-spiral/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/16/learned-hamiltons-41-26-loss-b-c-lions/#comments ***** Glen Suitor says that there is tension between Kent Austin and Zach Collaros, but Austin denies it. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/15/tsn-analyst-says-theres-tension-austin-collaros/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/16/ticats-kent-austin-denies-tension-qb-slams-glen-suitor/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/17/tension-ticat-turnarounds/#comments ***** Now back to the Winnipeg-Toronto game. Every game Safeway and others sponsor a contest. If a game includes two kickoffs returned for touchdowns, a randomly selected Safeway customer receives $1 million! The Bombers' Ryan Lankford returned the opening kickoff to the house! In the second quarter, the Argos' Martese Jackson did the same! But Jackson's was called back because of a questionable penalty. So fans bombed Twitter with #WhatAboutKaren? The league gave the lady tickets to the Grey Cup, and the Bombers gave her season tickets for this year and next. Here is the video. http://3downnation.com/2017/07/13/bad-cfl-officiating-costs-woman-million-dollars/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/14/karen-kuldys-speaks-losing-million-dollars/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/14/cfl-commish-randy-ambrosie-whataboutkaren-call-one-gone-either-way/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/07/14/whataboutkaren-a-public-relations-calamity-for-cfl/#comments

Happy Birthday Lon!

Happy Birthday Shawn!

ECM David Virelles - Gnosis release date: September 15, 2017 David Virelles: piano, marímbula, vocals; Román Díaz: lead vocals and percussion (bonkó enchemiyá, ekón, nkomos, erikundi, itones, nkaniká, marímbula, claves, mayohuacán, pilón, carapacho de jicotea, coconut shells);Allison Loggins-Hull: piccolo, flute; Rane Moore: clarinet, bass clarinet; Adam Cruz: percussion (steel pan, claves); Alex Lipowski: percussion (orchestral bass drum, temple blocks, bongos, gong); Matthew Gold: percussion (marimba, glockenspiel); Mauricio Herrera: percussion (ekón, nkomos, erikundi, claves); Thomas Morgan: double bass; Yunior Lopez: viola; Christine Chen, Samuel DeCaprio: violoncello; Melvis Santa, Mauricio Herrera: vocals In this vivid and exciting project, the Santiago-raised and New York-based pianist-composer David Virelles looks towards one melting pot from the vantage point of another. A far-reaching work with deep cultural roots, Gnosis speaks of transculturation and traditions, and of the complex tapestry of Cuba's music - the sacred, the secular, and the ritualistic - but the work's shapes and forms could only have been created by a gifted contemporary player thoroughly versed in the art of the improvisers. Strings, woodwinds and percussion all have their roles to play in Gnosis, viewed by Virelles as "several families functioning within one unit: this dynamic symbolizes multicultural interaction." Virelles' responsive piano and the vocals and percussion of Román Díaz, a profound figure in the transmission of Afro-Cuban musical history, are at the center of the action. Gnosis was recorded at New York's Avatar Studios in May 2016 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

The tour has begun!

ECM Vijay Iyer Sextet Far From Over Vijay Iyer: piano, Fender Rhodes Graham Haynes: cornet, flugelhorn, electronics Steve Lehman: alto saxophone Mark Shim: tenor saxophone Stephan Crump: double-bass Tyshawn Sorey: drums U.S Release date: August 25, 2017 ECM 2581 B0027073-02 UPC: 6025 576 7386 9 “Rambunctious, furiously funky…. [This sextet offers] the sort of head-bobbing drive and invention that has landed Iyer on multiple best-of lists over the years” — Los Angeles Times, June 2017 Keyboardist-composer Vijay Iyer’s energized sequence of ECM releases has garnered copious international praise. Yet his fifth for the label since 2014 – Far From Over, featuring his dynamically commanding sextet – finds Iyer reaching a new peak, furthering an artistry that led him to be voted DownBeat Artist of the Year in 2012, 2015 and 2016 and for The Guardian to dub his work the “dizzying pinnacle of contemporary jazz multitasking.” Far From Over features this sextet of virtuoso improvisers – with horn players Graham Haynes, Steve Lehman and Mark Shim alongside rhythm partners Stephan Crump and Tyshawn Sorey – leveraging a wealth of jazz history even as the group pushes boldly forward. The music ranges from the thrillingly explosive (“Down to the Wire,” “Good on the Ground”) to the cathartically elegiac (“For Amiri Baraka,” “Threnody”), with melodic hooks, entrancing atmosphere, rhythmic muscle and an elemental spirit all part of the allure. “This group has a lot of fire in it, but also a lot of earth, because the tones are so deep, the timbres and textures,” Iyer says. “There’s also air and water – the music moves.” Iyer’s previous ECM releases include A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke, a duet album with iconic trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith from last year; Break Stuff from 2015, featuring his longstanding trio with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore; the ravishing 35-minute score to the 2013 film Radhe Radhe – Rites of Holi, presenting Iyer alongside the International Contemporary Ensemble; and Mutations, Iyer’s ECM debut as a leader, showcasing an extended suite for piano, string quartet and electronics. Far From Over found Iyer working in his sextet at New York City’s Avatar Studios, with Manfred Eicher producing the album. Throughout, the pianist plays off the melodic-rhythmic possibilities of the material in a characteristically engaging way – witness his solos in the grooving “In Action” and “Nope.” His orchestration of the horns is both textural and exciting, but in creating his sextet music, Iyer tends to “build from the rhythm first, from the identity of the groove,” he explains. “Many of the rhythms come from folk music – from West African drumming or Indian classical music. ‘Good on the Ground’ draws on South Indian folk rhythms, with this simple but rugged dance quality, a bounce that makes you feel like you might be at an outdoor festival of some kind.” The member of the sextet with whom Iyer has had the longest relationship is bassist Stephan Crump. “I’ve played with Stephan since I moved to New York in 1999, contacting him out of the blue when he didn’t know me from Adam. Stephan is in my trio but was also in my quartet, so we’ve made a lot of records together. It’s often said that my music is complicated, but Stephan has a way of giving it this lyricism and simplicity, backing off technical details to treat the music as a shape and as a feeling.” Drummer Tyshawn Sorey has long been an alternate member of Iyer’s trio, often subbing whenever Gilmore can’t make the gig. Iyer and Sorey have also worked together in various other configurations since 2001, including the sessions for Radhe Radhe. “Tyshawn has perfect pitch and total recall, this sort of omniscient listening skill,” Iyer says. “There are other drummers like that: Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts and Jack DeJohnette come to mind. Tony Williams was like that, too – just hyper-aware of everything that’s happening in the ensemble. Tyshawn is right in that legacy. He has this total view of music, with an understanding of how form and memory are related and how they work through time. He’s a wizard with that. And as a drummer, he has some of the most incredible technical virtuosity, but his groove, his pocket is so deep.” The track “Nope” has a deep funk to it, illustrating Iyer’s point about Sorey’s grooving abilities. Then there is the rhythm trio’s cohesive, high-energy base that the horns fly over ecstatically in “Far From Over,” “Good on the Ground” and “Down to the Wire” (the latter of which also includes a long, roiling solo by Sorey). The elegy “For Amiri Baraka” is given a dramatic trio performance, sans horns. Through touring as a trio, Iyer, Crump and Sorey have developed their own discrete character as a rhythm section, having spent much time “in the heat of things, finding ways to make music work,” the pianist says. “That’s given us a certain unity together. There aren’t many words for it, and there’s no shortcut to getting there. We’ve learned over the years how to hold something down and also how to grow something – how to create the arc of an experience for the audience and ourselves.” The three horn players on Far From Over – Graham Haynes (cornet, flugelhorn and electronics), Steve Lehman (alto saxophone) and Mark Shim (tenor sax) – “are some of my favorite musicians,” Iyer says. “Each of them has a unique identity, sound and vision.” About Shim, whose solo roars through album opener “Poles,” Iyer says: “I think Mark is the rare tenor player of his generation to have that depth and size of sound. With him, I hear all these references: Joe Henderson, Billy Harper, Coleman Hawkins. It’s like taking a sip of a certain wine, and it can have an association with all these flavors. Each of these guys has a sound that has so many nuances and textures that make me think of a lot of other music. Partly, it’s because each of them has had such a long, interesting career. Mark played with Betty Carter and Elvin Jones. He has a lot of wisdom from contact with some of the legends in this music.” Haynes – whose horn pairs sensuously with Iyer’s Fender Rhodes in “Poles” (shades of late-’60 Miles Davis) and has extended atmospheric features with electronics in “End of the Tunnel” and “Wake” – enjoyed more than just working contact with jazz icons. “Graham’s father is drummer Roy Haynes, a true legend, so Graham comes directly from that musical legacy,” Iyer explains. “He has a certain relationship to time that’s mysterious. I remember when I had him up as faculty at Banff in Canada a few summers ago, he gave a workshop titled ‘Time Does Not Exist.’ There’s a quality to his playing where you hear that sensibility, in that he has this sense of form that’s really expansive. You hear in his improvisations that he takes the long view, and he achieves a lot with sound, where one note can speak volumes.” Iyer has worked with Lehman – who gives an especially stirring, climactic performance in “Threnody” – nearly as long as his rhythm mates. “I met Steve when he was playing in Anthony Braxton’s group,” the pianist recalls. “Steve turned my head with his sound and his improvisational language. Again, it conjured up a lot of associations: Braxton himself, but also Jackie McLean, with whom he studied. I also heard a compositional wisdom in the way Steve improvised. There’s a burning alto-player sound that people are used to hearing, whether it’s Cannonball Adderley or Kenny Garrett. Steve can have that quality with his technical fluidity and an acerbic sound that can cut. But the way he puts solos and lines together, there’s a lot of other information in there, too. We’ve worked pretty steadily together for more than a dozen years, including in the trio Fieldwork that we’ve had with Tyshawn. So, with all of these guys, I have deep history and great admiration.” In his liner note for Far From Over, Iyer hints at the driving, free-minded spirit of the album by quoting Wadada Leo Smith on the ideal function of music, saying that it should “transform” a listener’s life if only for an instant, “so that when they go back to the routine part of living, they carry with them a little bit of something else.” Iyer expands on that notion while reflecting on the troubled socio-political climate around the world: “There’s a resistance in this music, an insistence on dignity and compassion, a refusal to be silenced. The music can hit hard while also having a searching quality, a yearning – which is basically a blues aesthetic that has been abstracted and then embodied in different ways by the different players in the group. There’s a defiance there, though it’s balanced by a unity the sextet achieves. Defiance and unity, somehow together – that’s the sound this band captures to me. Joy and danger – that spectrum of possibilities is in there, too. There’s real exuberance in the playing, though a lot of the music is fiendishly difficult to play. Sometimes we don’t know how we’re going to make it, which puts us in this vulnerable space. But that vulnerability enables us to access emotion and bring that into the music. It’s not about showing off a certain prowess or being ‘angry.’ It’s about being vulnerable – that has to be in the music. When I hear that in somebody else, I feel like it’s inviting me in. When you reveal something of yourself in the course of making music, it brings the listener right up close to you. It can make them feel involved in the music, so that it’s a shared experience. And that’s the idea.” Vijay Iyer piano, Fender Rhodes; Graham Haynes cornet, flugelhorn, electronics Steve Lehman alto saxophone; Mark Shim tenor saxophone; Stephan Crump double-bass Tyshawn Sorey drums Keyboardist-composer Vijay Iyer’s energized sequence of ECM releases has garnered copious international praise. Yet his fifth for the label since 2014 – Far From Over, featuring his dynamically commanding sextet – finds Iyer reaching a new peak, furthering an artistry that led The Guardian to call him “one of the world’s most inventive new-generation jazz pianists” and The New Yorker to describe him as “extravagantly gifted… brilliantly eclectic.” Far From Over features a sextet of virtuoso improvisers – with horn players Graham Haynes, Steve Lehman and Mark Shim alongside rhythm partners Stephan Crump and Tyshawn Sorey – leveraging a wealth of jazz history even as it pushes boldly forward. The music ranges from the thrillingly explosive (“Down to the Wire,” “Good on the Ground”) to the cathartically elegiac (“For Amiri Baraka,” “Threnody”), with melodic hooks, entrancing atmosphere, rhythmic muscle and an elemental spirit all part of the allure. “This group has a lot of fire in it, but also a lot of earth, because the tones are so deep, the timbres and textures,” Iyer says. “There’s also air and water – the music moves.” Vijay Iyer Sextet On Tour August 5 Newport, RI (Newport Jazz Festival) September 4 Detroit, MI (Detroit Jazz Festival) September 17 Monterey, CA (Monterey Jazz Festival) October 20 Brooklyn, NY (BRIC Festival) January 9 - 13 New York, NY (Birdland) January 20 San Francisco, CA (SFJAZZ, Miner Auditorium) April 27 Los Angeles, CA (Disney Hall) May 11 Appleton, WI (Lawrence Memorial Chapel) For information on these and other concerts between these dates, visit vijay-iyer.com Top banner Photo © Lynne Harty/ECM Records © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011