GA Russell

Thanks, Duane. I'll pull out her CD right now. RIP.

June 26 - Blues Alley

Chris Potter Quartet on tour: May 31 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota June 1- 4 Chicago, IL Jazz Showcase June 6 Indianapolis, IN Jazz Kitchen June 7 San Diego, CA The Athenaeum June 8 Phoenix, AZ Musical Instrument Museum June 9 &10 Denver, CO DazzleJazz June 11 Half Moon Bay, CA Bach Dancing Society June 13 San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ Miner Auditorium June 14 Los Angeles, CA venue tba June 20-25 New York, NY The Village Vanguard June 26 Washington, DC Blues Alley

Recorded June 14, 2016 at Avatar Studios, New York Recording Engineer: James A. Farber DDD Producer: Manfred Eicher ECM Chris Potter The Dreamer Is the Dream Chris Potter: tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet David Virelles: piano, keyboards Joe Martin: double bass Marcus Gilmore: drums, percussion U.S. Release date : April 28, 2017 ECM 2519 B0026400-02 UPC: 6025 574 0661 0 Chris Potter Quartet on tour: May 31 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota June 1- 4 Chicago, IL Jazz Showcase June 6 Indianapolis, IN Jazz Kitchen June 7 San Diego, CA The Athenaeum June 8 Phoenix, AZ Musical Instrument Museum June 9 &10 Denver, CO DazzleJazz June 11 Half Moon Bay, CA Bach Dancing Society June 13 San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ Miner Auditorium June 14 Los Angeles, CA venue tba June 20-25 New York, NY The Village Vanguard June 26 Washington, DC Blues Alley For his third ECM release as a leader, Chris Potter presents a new acoustic quartet that naturally blends melodic rhapsody with rhythmic muscle. The group includes superlative musicians well known to followers of ECM’s many recordings from New York over the past decade: keyboardist David Virelles, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Marcus Gilmore, who each shine in addition to the leader on multiple horns. The Dreamer Is the Dream features Potter on tenor saxophone – the instrument that has made him one of the most admired players of his generation – in the striking opener “Heart in Hand” and such album highlights as “Yasodhara,” as well as on soprano sax (“Memory and Desire”) and bass clarinet (the title track). Potter is an artist who “employs his considerable technique in service of music rather than spectacle,” says The New Yorker, and his composing develops in texture and atmosphere with every album. Potter and company recorded The Dreamer Is the Dream at New York City’s Avatar Studios, following several days of preproduction run-throughs in Switzerland and a long string of live performances before that. By the time they convened at Avatar, the music flowed out abundantly, with producer Manfred Eicher helping to shape the end result to dramatic effect. Potter says, “As a player, you can get lost in the thicket of things. But Manfred sees the forest, not just the trees. He has a real feel for the big picture – mood, density, an album as storytelling. I’ve made a lot of records with him now, and I appreciate more and more the synergistic give and take with him.” As for the quartet, its “cross-generational mix of personalities feels special,” Potter says. “Joe Martin I’ve known the longest – we used to play all the same New York clubs back in the ’90s. Along with the fact that he always plays perfectly in tune, he has this focused, deliberate approach to the bass, very clear and supportive – he’s the foundation of the band. This quartet has a big dynamic range, but also more control, allowing me to play in a thoughtful way. Joe is a big part of that. “Now Marcus, he’s a very individual drummer,” Potter adds. “He doesn’t have a splashy, flashy sound, but one that’s subtle, detailed, very musical. He has his own way of playing and seems to evolve every six months. On piano, David is coming from a unique place, having grown up in Cuba but never playing in any stereotypical Latin way. His musical center is much further to the left than some of his forebears. He has made a serious study of Cuban folkloric rhythms but also of avant-garde jazz. He plays with Henry Threadgill, and then I’ll see him working on a Ligeti etude. The rhythmic sophistication of David’s playing is just extraordinary. And the way David and Marcus interact rhythmically has this particular generational character – it’s their own thing. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but Joe and I share it in our own way. Our generation – with people like Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel – has its own sensibility, its own center of rhythmic gravity. Marcus and David’s generation is building on what we did just as we did on the generation before us. That’s challenging – and inspiring.” Potter describes his compositional method as often being “like a dream state.” “Heart in Hand,” “Memory and Desire” and the album’s title track each came from such free-associative writing sessions. The title track includes some of Potter’s most expressive playing on bass clarinet, while “Memory and Desire” is notable for its opening atmosphere set by samples as well as the multiple woodwind overdubs, Potter having imagined it scored all of a piece. He explored inspirations further afield with “Yasodhara,” named for the wife Buddha left behind; this track reveals its Indian influence in a 10-minute cycling of tempos, along with being marked by an especially dramatic extended improvisation by Virelles. “Ilimba” evokes Africa, with Potter designing the piece around a pattern he wrote on the titular thumb piano; the piece also includes an exciting drum solo from Gilmore. “Sonic Anomaly” is the album’s “light-hearted kicker,” in Potter’s words. The creative process for each of Potter’s ECM albums has varied widely, part of an ideal of evolution. “One of the challenges in jazz is that we have to ask ourselves how comfortable we are working in a different way from the time before – and pushing past that,” he says. “I try to keep in mind that the primary value of jazz is its aesthetic of surprise, not only for the audience but for the artist. It’s the art of making it up as you go along, taking advantage of happy accidents and finding the story to unfold on the way. That’s when the magic happens.” Chris Potter Since bursting onto the New York scene in 1989 as an 18-year-old prodigy with bebop icon Red Rodney, Potter has steered a steady course of growth as an instrumentalist and composer-arranger. A potent improviser and the youngest musician ever to win Denmark's Jazzpar Prize, Potter has forged an impressive discography that includes 17 albums as a leader and sideman appearances on 100 more. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his solo work on "In Vogue," a track from Joanne Brackeen’s 1999 album Pink Elephant Magic, and he featured prominently on Steely Dan’s Grammy-winning album from 2000, Two Against Nature, and Dave Holland’s ECM Grammy-winner from 2002, What Goes Around. He has performed or recorded with such leading names in jazz as Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Jim Hall, Paul Motian, Ray Brown, John Scofield and Dave Douglas, as well as with the Mingus Big Band. Potter made his ECM debut on Dave Holland’s 2000 album Prime Directive, following that with appearances on the bassist’s Not for Nothin’, Extended Play: Live at Birdland and What Goes Around. Along with featuring on Steve Swallow’s Always Pack Your Uniform on Top and Damaged in Transit, Potter collaborated with Paul Motian and Jason Moran on the 2010 ECM live album Lost in a Dream. Potter’s ECM leader debut of 2013, The Sirens, saw him at the head of a quartet with bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Eric Harland and both Craig Taborn and David Virelles on keyboards. BBC Online praised the album as proof that “the union of Potter and ECM promises to be happy and fruitful.” The saxophonist’s second ECM release, 2015’s classically tinged Imaginary Cities, featured his Underground Orchestra, a group that built on the core of his previous Underground Quartet with Taborn, guitarist Adam Rogers and drummer Nate Smith to also include two bassists, a string quartet and Potter’s old band mate from the Dave Holland Quintet, vibraphonist Steve Nelson. All About Jazz called the album “a masterpiece.”

Chicago Saxophonist Chris Greene Continues to Explore New Musical Territories On "Boundary Issues," Set for April 14 Release by Single Malt Recordings New Album Is Greene's 8th with Long-Standing Quartet Featuring Pianist Damian Espinosa, Bassist Marc Piane, Drummer Steve Corley CD Release Shows Include 4/21 Constellation, Chicago; 4/28 Gibraltar, Milwaukee; 5/20 Winter's, Chicago; 5/30 Promontory, Chicago; 6/17 Noce Jazz, Des Moines March 22, 2017 Saxophonist Chris Greene, a fixture on the Chicago scene dedicated to transcending the stylistic and structural borders of jazz, continues to discover new musical territory on his new CD Boundary Issues. Set for April 14 release on Single Malt Recordings, the album is Greene's eighth with the long-standing quartet he formed in 2005 featuring pianist Damian Espinosa, bassist Marc Piane, and, since 2011, drummer Steve Corley. Joining the core quartet as guests on several tracks are saxophonist Marqueal Jordan, known for his work with smooth jazz star Brian Culbertson; percussionist JoVia Armstrong, who's played with Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble and JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound; guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, a member of D'Angelo's band; and vocalist Julio Davis (aka DJ WLS). Greene's eclectic song selection, inventive arrangements, and choice of guests not normally associated with jazz perfectly coalesce to present a portrait of an artist unafraid to take the road less traveled, push the envelope, and explore the frontiers of jazz. In addition to three originals, Boundary Issues includes creative covers of works by Horace Silver ("Nica's Dream"), Kenny Kirkland ("Dienda"), Yellowjackets ("Summer Song"), and Billy Strayhorn ("Day Dream"). As his previous treatments of songs by artists as diverse as Madonna, Coltrane, Sting, Mingus, and lounge music king Martin Denny attest, Greene's naming his latest album Boundary Issues could be viewed as a tongue-in-cheek self-diagnosis. "I have a hard time staying in place," he confides. "I don't know my place, I guess, which is why I'm always stepping outside so-called boundaries. With the music I like, I just can't help thinking, what would it sound like if I did this, or this?" A case in point is his spacious reggae version of Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream." "I thought the biggest tribute to him would be to do something different," says Greene. "The idea to cover that classic as a reggae tune came to me while I was listening to music in the shower. It was like, why not?" Born in 1973 in Evanston, Illinois, Chris Greene was exposed to a lot of music at home but only a smattering of jazz. His mother blasted Motown at her monthly card parties while his father played a lot of funk, soul, and disco; he absorbed all manner of pop styles watching MTV. Taking up the sax at age 10, he began studying it seriously when he was 16, "playing the hell out of a blues pentatonic scale," he recalls. He mainly played alto in the well-regarded Evanston High School Wind & Jazz Ensemble, as well as with local bands including a rock unit called Truth. "They were into Sting and I was eager to be their Branford [Marsalis]," he says. He would eventually play acid jazz with bands like Liquid Soul and Ted Sirota's Heavyweight Dub Band. Greene studied at Indiana University with the late David Baker and the current jazz studies department chair Thomas Walsh. "It was a great experience for me," he says. "I was a kid with a lot of natural talent, but with a lack of discipline. I learned how to practice, how to break things down, how to solve problems." Upon his return to Chicago, he continued his education by reaching out to established artists including Steve Coleman. "He was hard-headed in his determination to play music his way," he says. "It was a huge eye-opener for me how he put things together." Greene also got a major boost from Coleman's legendary mentor, Chicago tenor legend Von Freeman, at one of his famous jam sessions: "He didn't know me from Adam, but he was very encouraging. He said, 'Hey, I hear what you're trying to do. Keep at it.' That meant so much." In 2005, Greene formed his current quartet. Whether the group is hugging tradition or engaging in experimentation, it radiates a deep sense of well-being. With each release, Greene has moved steadily from funk mildly seasoned with jazz to uncompromising jazz boasting subtle funk touches. As witness the title of the quartet's 2012 album, A Group Effort, Greene prizes the band's ability to think and feel as one, to "leave fingerprints on each other's playing." The Chris Greene Quartet will be celebrating the release of Boundary Issues at the following Midwest engagements: 4/21 Constellation, Chicago; 4/28 Gibraltar, Milwaukee; 5/1 La Principal, Evanston, IL; 5/20 Winter's, Chicago; 5/30 Promontory, Chicago; 6/9-10 Pete Miller's, Evanston, IL; 6/17 Noce Jazz, Des Moines; 6/18 Custer St. Festival of the Arts, Evanston; 7/5 Jazzin' at the Shedd (concert series at Shedd Aquarium, Chicago). Chris Greene Quartet: "Boundary Issues" EPK Photography: Ozzie Ramsay Web Site: chrisgreenejazz.com

Ted, I picked up Slow Horses a while back. I suppose I should read it before the football season starts!

For those of you interested in the draft, here are some recent articles. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/10/simon-fraser-linebacker-herdman-embracing-lengthy-audition-nfl-career/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/10/eastern-regional-combine-sees-five-prospects-move-national-event/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/13/antony-auclair-sees-17-nfl-teams-attend-pro-day-laval/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/14/jordan-herdman-disappoints-pro-day/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/14/top-lb-prospect-christophe-mulumba-wont-attend-cfl-combine/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/14/nfl-teams-chasing-auclair-pro-day-agent/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/16/laval-offensive-lineman-added-2017-cfl-draft-class/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/18/justin-senior-enjoying-busy-off-season-leading-2017-nfl-draft/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/20/2017-cfl-draft-prospect-rankings/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/21/next-singleton-looks-to-follow-brother-to-cfl/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/21/dl-eli-ankou-top-ranked-cfl-prospect-posts-strong-ucla-pro-day/#comments ***** You may recall that Ticats OC Tommy Condell abruptly resigned last April. He has now agreed to be the Argos' receivers coach. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/21/formers-ticats-oc-tommy-condell-join-argos-receivers-coach/#comments ***** Drew Edwards considers the Ticats' neg list moves. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/21/ticats-put-kaepernick-rgiii-neg-list/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/21/3downpodcast-nfl-quarterbacks-condells-move-prospect-rankings/#comments ***** Justin Dunk has more to say about Jim Popp and Marc Trestman. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/03/deal-jim-popp-marc-trestman-came-together/#comments ***** The league's new marketing idea called CFL Week is in Regina this week. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/20/biggest-player-snubs-cfl-week/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/21/outsiders-perspective-cfl-week/#comments http://www.thesnap.ca/5-ways-apart-markscflweek-cant-come-ssk/ http://www.tsn.ca/moon-to-participate-in-cfl-s-panel-discussion-1.699129

What do you guys think of the assertion that Monk was at the height of his powers in 1959? Agree? As I recall, that was the year 5xMonkx5 was recorded, and I've always liked that one.

Thanks Paul. I wonder if they take the time to remaster. Allen, I'm not a fan of CDRs, but it's not like we have much choice.

Tenor Saxophonist Michael Pedicin To Release "As It Should Be: Ballads 2," On His GroundBlue Imprint, April 21 Includes 8 Ballads by His Longtime Collaborator, The Guitarist Johnnie Valentino CD Release Shows Scheduled for 4/16 Smalls, NYC; 4/22 Exit Zero Jazz Festival, Cape May, NJ; 5/12 Trumpets, Montclair, NJ; 5/13 Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia March 20, 2017 With the April 21 release of As It Should Be: Ballads 2, tenor and soprano saxophonist Michael Pedicin continues to spread the message of acceptance and justice he eloquently shared on his critically acclaimed 2011 album Ballads ... searching for peace. "I'm one of those diehard '60s kids that grew up concerned about peace and togetherness," Pedicin explains. "I think about that every day of my life. We're all one." In addition to covers of John Coltrane's "Crescent" and Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," the album, his 14th as a leader, features eight ballads by longtime collaborator guitarist Johnnie Valentino. Pedicin and Valentino are joined on the recording by Frank Strauss on keyboards, bassist Mike Boone, drummer Justin Faulkner (of Branford Marsalis's band), and percussionist Alex Acuña. With the exception of Acuña, all are either from, still live in, or have roots in Philadelphia. Ballads showcasing the exquisitely lyrical aspects of Pedicin's playing are the focus of the album, but several songs were treated to somewhat brighter grooves than had been originally intended after the musicians got to the recording studio, particularly "From Afar," which was double-timed at a bossa-nova-like clip by Faulkner and Acuña. L. to r.: Mike Boone, bass; Frank Strauss, piano; Michael Pedicin, tenor and soprano saxophones; Vic Stevens, engineer; Johnnie Valentino, guitar; Justin Faulkner, drums. A second-generation saxophonist, Michael Pedicin is the son of alto saxophonist and singer Mike Pedicin, a hugely popular entertainer and bandleader in the Philadelphia area for more than six decades until his retirement at age 80. When the younger Pedicin was 13, his father took him to the Harlem Club in Atlantic City to hear and meet the bluesy jazz saxophonist Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson, who became his hero on the horn. Then he heard records by John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, and he knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life: play the saxophone. Pedicin studied theory with guitarist Dennis Sandole and saxophone with Philadelphia Orchestra clarinetist Mike Guerra, both of whom had once taught Coltrane, as well as with onetime Woody Herman saxophonist Buddy Savitt. While attending Philadelphia's University of the Arts (UArts), where he majored in composition, he began competing at -- and winning -- collegiate jazz festivals around the country. Switching from alto to tenor as his main instrument at age 20, Pedicin supported himself throughout the 1970s as a member of the horn section at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. Working for producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell, he played on countless sessions by the likes of the Spinners, O'Jays, and Lou Rawls even as he continued to tour with Maynard Ferguson, the O'Jays, Rawls, Stevie Wonder, and David Bowie. Michael Pedicin Jr., his first album, was released in 1980 on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label. From 1976 to 1981 Pedicin taught at UArts, and during much of the '80s, he juggled teaching duties at Philadelphia's Temple University and two years of touring with Dave Brubeck. Besides leading his own quintet, he toured from 2003 to 2006 with Pat Martino and in early 2011 with the Dave Brubeck Quartet with Darius Brubeck filling in for his ailing father. Pedicin also continued his non-musical education, earning a Ph.D in Psychology from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/International University for Graduate Studies in 2002. The shingle above his office in Linwood, NJ, reads "Dr. Michael Pedicino" as he recently changed his last name back to the one taken away from his grandfather in 1906 when he arrived at Ellis Island from Foggia, Italy. While Pedicin has no plans to change his name in the world of music, he is in the process of obtaining dual American-Italian citizenship. The new album is just the latest chapter in this master musician's ongoing quest to help make Philadelphia's sobriquet as the City of Brotherly Love a reality for human beings of all races, ethnicities, and nationalities through sweet melodies and gentle improvisations. "My goal with this CD," Pedicin explains, "was to create some pretty and accessible jazz in ballad form. This is not about revolutionizing the art form we so love, but providing a soft and relaxing platform on which to enjoy it." Michael Pedicin will celebrate the release of As It Should Be: Ballads 2 at the following engagements: 4/16 Smalls, NYC; 4/22 Exit Zero Jazz Festival, Cape May, NJ (for which Pedicin is Artist in Residence); 5/12 Trumpets, Montclair, NJ; and 5/13 Chris' Jazz Café, Philadelphia. Personnel is the same as on the new CD, minus Alex Acuña and with drummer Anwar Marshall subbing for Justin Faulkner. Michael Pedicin: "As It Should Be: Ballads 2" Photography: Paul Dempsey Web Site: michaelpedicin.com I notice that his first CD party will be at Small's. Does Small's still stream their shows? I seem to remember that Pedicin's manager wrote a letter to Small's manager about playing there. I guess that has been happily resolved.

A few odds and ends... Marc Trestman will be the highest paid coach in the league, at over $600,000. per year. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/13/argos-make-marc-trestman-highest-paid-coach-in-the-cfl/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/14/3down-podcast-trestmans-contract-youngs-motivation-pitfall-pro-days/#comments ***** Vince Young's contract did not include a signing bonus. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/10/vince-young-contract-doesnt-include-signing-bonus/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/09/dont-call-comeback-vince-young-faces-slew-challenges-cfl/#comments ***** J'Michael Deane has signed with the Argos. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/13/canadian-ol-jmichael-deane-agrees-terms-argos/#comments ***** BC is shopping Jovan Olafioye. The Als might be interested. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/15/lions-exploring-trade-market-star-ol-jovan-olafioye/#comments ***** Bryan Hall has signed with the Stampeders. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/16/former-ticats-argos-dl-bryan-hall-signs-stampeders/#comments ***** Johnny Adams has signed with the Eskimos. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/16/eskimos-sign-former-bombers-ticats-defensive-back-johnny-adams/#comments ***** John Hodges examines how each team stands regarding its Canadian content. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/15/ratio-round-west-division/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/16/ratio-round-riders-bombers-argos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/17/ratio-round-ticats-redblacks-als/#comments ***** The Canadian football video game is almost ready. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/19/interview-canadian-football-video-game-almost-ready-launch/#comments ***** The Ticats have added both RGIII and Colin Kaepernick to their neg list. 3downnation.com/2017/03/20/ticats-add-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-neg-list/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/20/ticats-add-quarterback-robert-griffin-iii-neg-list/#comments ***** Brett Maher has signed with Cleveland. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/20/former-ticats-kicker-brett-maher-signs-browns/#comments ***** Justin Dunk previews the draft. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/20/2017-cfl-draft-prospect-rankings/#comments

Is Acrobat a legit label? I've received emails from oldies.com about Acrobat.

Even my mother liked C'est la vie, said the old folks! RIP.

Happy Birthday 2017 R_T!

Trio Mediaeval: Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Berit Opheim Arve Henriksen: trumpet Joined by trumpeter Arve Henriksen, Trio Mediaeval presents a unique program in which mediaeval and traditional music from Iceland and Norway and improvisation are integrated. The album highlights both Trio Mediæval's vocal creativity and the dramatically orchestral scope of Henriksen's array of trumpets and electronics. “A richly musical and imaginative encounter,” as described by The Guardian in a concert review. Recorded February 2016 at Munich’s Himmelfahrtskirche, produced by Manfred Eicher. RIAS Chamber Choir Berlin / Munich Chamber Orchestra Alexander Liebreich, conductor Tigran Mansurian has created a Requiem dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide that occurred in Turkey (1915-1917). It reconciles the sound and sensibility of his country’s traditions with the Latin Requiem text in a profoundly moving contemporary composition. The work is a milestone for Mansurian, widely acknowledged as Armenia’s greatest composer. The LA Times has described his music as that “in which deep cultural pain is quieted through an eerily calm, heart-wrenching beauty.” Momo Kodama piano “In the music of Toshio Hosokawa I find elements close to Debussy: the freedom of form and tone colour, the sense of poetic design, with a wide range of lyricism and dynamics, between meditation and virtuoso development, between light and shade, between large gestures and minimalist refinement.” – Momo Kodama © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

Happy fiftieth 2107 Birthday Conrad!

Baritone Saxophonist Jared Sims Celebrates Return to West Virginia From Boston With New Quintet Session "Change of Address" Ropeadope Records Will Release the CD, Sims's 5th Album as a Leader, April 14 CD Release Shows Scheduled for 4/14 James Street Gastropub, Pittsburgh; 4/27 The Bitter End, NYC; 4/28 Third Life Studio, Boston March 16, 2017 After two decades in New England, where multi-reed virtuoso Jared Sims made his mark as an instrumentalist, bandleader, educator, and all-around musical provocateur, Sims celebrates his return to West Virginia with Change of Address, his fifth album as a leader. On the new CD, which will be released April 14 by Ropeadope Records, Sims sticks to his favorite instrument -- the baritone sax -- in the company of an airtight, organ-dappled quintet. Change of Address commemorates Sims's homecoming to his alma mater, West Virginia University in Morgantown, which has named him Director of its Jazz Studies Department 20 years after he earned his own jazz studies degree there. The music on the album is notable for instilling the jazz-soul tradition with an up-to-the-minute sensibility and is deftly interpreted by the leader, joined by an intriguing collection of players for whom he wrote its tunes, Ellington-style. They include the wife-and-husband team of organist Nina Ott and bassist Chris Lopes (a longtime crony of guitarist Jeff Parker), and a pair of young Boston-area veterans in guitarist Steve Fell and drummer Jared Seabrook (older brother of guitar provocateur Brandon). Among the highlights on Change of Address are "Ghost Guest 1979," which showcases a full range of textural effects from Fell and seamless interaction between bass and Hammond B-3; the sprightly, wide-open "Lights and Colors"; and "Forest Hills," inspired by the Boston neighborhood in which he lived. Sims (b. 1974) started playing the baritone in the fifth grade in his hometown of Staunton, Virginia, but only became dedicated to this most colossal of saxes after bringing a tenor to a class at the New England Conservatory (NEC) and having his instructor chide him he would never be great on it because he would be following in the footsteps of too many legends. Far from taking offense, Sims took his teacher's words to heart. "There are a lot of gold standards on tenor," he says. "I was trying to find a way to move past those influences. Playing the baritone felt really natural to me. I felt like I could do something personal and interesting with it." A compelling example of this is Sims's "Seeds of Shihab," a tribute to baritone great Sahib Shihab, which like the other tracks on Change of Address luxuriates in the brawny, bottom-rich sound of the instrument. Sims attended his first jazz concert, by Michael Brecker, in tenth grade, and saw the World Saxophone Quartet perform the following year. His fascination with the saxophone went "over the top" after he spoke with members of the WSQ following the show. At WVU, he had a strong saxophone teacher in David Hastings, who schooled him in traditional styles. At NEC, where he played clarinet in addition to baritone, alto, and tenor, he tried to catch up to all the kinds of music he hadn't been exposed to, including Third Stream, under the wing of distinguished faculty members Gunther Schuller, George Russell, and Ran Blake. Sims went on to study for his doctorate in classical music performance at Boston University, where his lecture recital was on the modern Italian composer Luciano Berio and his solo Sequenza pieces. He also did research work on Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, and American popular music. While in Boston, where he earned a reputation as a "saxophone colossus," Sims roomed for four years with standout baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase, a cog in Either/Orchestra, who turned him onto Shihab. One of his mentors at NEC was Allan Chase, with whom he continues to play in a band, Blow-up!, dedicated to the music of bebop baritone legend Serge Chaloff (they recorded in March 2017). He also played in numerous Boston-based bands including the Afro-Latin group Mango Blue (in which he continues to perform); the organ funk outfit Akashic Record; Blueprint Project with guitarist Eric Hofbauer, and the jazz-rock quartet Miracle Orchestra. The list of artists he has collaborated is an eclectic one and ranges from the late Bob Brookmeyer, Han Bennink, Matt Wilson, Dave Liebman, and Anat Cohen to the Temptations, 10,000 Maniacs, and Oasis's Noel Gallagher. Sims made his recording debut as a leader with the trio effort Acoustic Shadows (2009). He followed it with another three-man outing Convergence (2011), the collective quartet album The New Stablemates (2012), and Layers (2016), on which he overdubs himself playing saxophones, clarinets, and flute on tunes by Ellington, Monk, and Mingus. Jared Sims will celebrate the release of Change of Address at the following engagements: 4/14 James Street Gastropub, Pittsburgh; 4/27 The Bitter End, NYC; 4/28 Third Life Studio, Boston (with same personnel as the CD). Preview: Jared Sims | Change of Address Web Site: jaredsims.com

Here is a Tommy LiPuma interview from April, 2012. http://www.jakefeinbergshow.com/2012/04/the-tommy-lipuma-interview/

The benchmark I use for the OACs, OASs, etc., is $16.00 for five albums. I have set the camels to signal me when the price is down to $12.10 + $3.99. I see that there are a number that currently fit that bill, most in the pop category. ***** These have four albums. Gerry & the Pacemakers https://www.amazon.com/Gerry-Pacemakers-YouLl-Never-Second/dp/B00FBTYX6C/ Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas https://www.amazon.com/Listen-Satisfied-Little-Children-Trains/dp/B00IKXVOW2/ Peter & Gordon https://www.amazon.com/Peter-Gordon-Touch-Hurtin-Lovin/dp/B009DTI380/ Charley Rich https://www.amazon.com/Every-Touch-Silver-Linings-Charlie/dp/B01H10GU0U/ Ray Price https://www.amazon.com/Another-Bridge-Touch-Heart-Danny/dp/B01G642M90/ Jim Reeves https://www.amazon.com/Yours-Sincerely-Reeves-Lonesome-Sadness/dp/B01IF5IZGM/ ***** These have five albums. The Association https://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Association/dp/B01FJ2UKDK/ The Guess Who https://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Classics-GUESS-WHO/dp/B01HJG3VZI/ Traffic https://www.amazon.com/5-Classic-Albums-Traffic/dp/B01MQ4BBYD/ Iron Butterfly https://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-IRON-BUTTERFLY/dp/B01M0VLFIV/ Jethro Tull, vol. 2 https://www.amazon.com/Two-Original-Album-Jethro-Tull/dp/B019HVNKTU/ Jean-Luc Ponty, vol. 2 https://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-PONTY-JEAN-LUC/dp/B019127KZK/

The great Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s New York Quartet returns with another masterful recording. Always an insightful bandleader, Stanko here encourages spirited improvisation to flower around his characteristically melancholic and soulful themes, and all players are presented to best advantage, with each one configuring their own lyrical domain within the world of a Stanko song. © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

Colin Vallon piano | Patrice Moret double bass | Julian Sartorius drums The Colin Vallon Trio has found its own space in the crowded world of the piano trio by quietly challenging its conventions. On its third ECM album Vallon again leads the group not with virtuosic solo display but by patient outlining of melody and establishing of frameworks in which layered group improvising can take place. With this group, gentle but insistent rhythms can trigger seismic musical events. Available on CD, LP and DOWNLOAD Benedikt Jahnel piano | Antonio Miguel double bass | Owen Howard drums The album picks up where the trio’s critically-lauded Equilibrium left off, extending ideas about pianistic patterning and textural playing. A distinctive and original pianist, Jahnel is also a prolific writer and The Invariant pools the best of many pieces he has composed, road-tested and revised in the last five years, incorporating the dynamic responses of his trio partners into the fabric of the musical material. Julia Hülsmann piano | Marc Muellbauer double bass | Heinrich Köbberling drums Over the last years Berlin-based pianist Julia Hülsmann’s trio has embarked upon extensive travels to distant destinations all around the world during which “something special developed”, says Hülsmann. “When traveling you not only gain new perspectives, but also experience even long standing partners anew. It helped to open up new sonic territory for us”. © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

LOL! Scott, I had completely forgotten about the horizontal hold!

Let's see how many contract extensions I can find, going back to Feb. 17. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/17/ticats-sign-receiver-brian-tyms-extension/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/17/riders-re-sign-offensive-lineman-thaddeus-coleman/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/17/argonauts-agree-terms-extension-canadian-defensive-back-matt-black/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/18/canadian-rob-cote-re-signs-stampeders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/18/canadian-rob-cote-re-signs-stampeders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/20/alouettes-extend-running-back-brandon-rutley/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/23/ticats-agree-terms-defensive-back-cleshawn-page/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/26/receiver-kevin-elliott-return-ticats/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/03/02/argos-ink-extension-canadian-ol-sean-mcewen/#comments ***** Here's a brief article about the Riders' salary cap considerations. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/02/riders-ask-vets-take-pay-cuts-madani/#comments ***** Riders backup QB Jake Waters has retired to become a graduate assistant coach at Iowa State. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/10/rider-qb-jake-waters-retires-take-ncaa-coaching-job/#comments ***** Here's a look at the pay the guys who have signed with NFL teams hope to get. http://3downnation.com/2017/03/11/much-former-cfl-players-getting-paid-nfl/#comments

ECM NEW SERIES Trio Mediaeval Arve Henriksen Rímur Trio Mediaeval: Anna Maria Friman: voice, Hardanger fiddle Linn Andrea Fuglseth: voice, shruti box Berit Opheim: voice Arve Henriksen: trumpet U.S. Release date: April 14, 2017 ECM New Series 2520 B0026410-02 UPC: 0289 481 4742 7 With their seventh album, the scope of Trio Mediaeval’s music continues to expand. Previous ECM New Series releases have focused on aspects of early music, particularly sacred monophonic and polyphonic medieval music, as well as the trio’s strong relationships with contemporary composers. In parallel, the trio has also investigated the world of traditional folk songs. Now Rímur emphasizes the group’s interest in improvisation, in a collaboration with trumpeter Arve Henriksen, which also explores music from diverse Northern sources. As Anna Maria Friman indicates in her liner note, improvisation has long been a significant component of Nordic musical tradition, and Trio Mediaeval has embraced it with enthusiasm. “Over the last ten years we have been fortunate to be involved in new collaborative projects with Norwegian jazz musicians and improvisers, and the inspiration and creativity that these musicians brought to the music and to the group have been hugely significant for us.” The trio has worked with Tord Gustavsen, Trygve Seim, Nils Økland, Mats Eilertsen, and many others. Arve Henriksen has often performed with Trio Mediaeval in live settings (and the singers and trumpeter appear together on Sinikka Langeland’s recent recording The Magical Forest) but Rímur is their first extensive collaboration on disc. The roots of the present project go back to 2007 when Trio Mediaeval and Arve Henriksen took part in a ceremony in Dalksfjorden on Norway’s west coast celebrating connections between the village of Rivedal and the Icelandic capital of Reykyavík, founded by Norse settler Ingólfr Arnarson. Over several summers Trio Mediaeval and Arve Henriksen spent many days together in Dalsfjorden, and it was there that most of the music for this recording was born. Fascinated and inspired by Icelandic sagas, chants, folk songs, religious hymns and fiddle tunes, the four musicians have arranged a unique set of songs where improvisation, mediaeval and traditional music – from Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Orkney islands – meet the present. Something new is created from the integration of Henriksen’s liquid trumpet sound into the Trio Mediaeval’s subtle blending of voices. “In this recording,” writes Anna Maria Friman, “we celebrate three saints with their famous medieval hymns: the monophonic chants of St. Sunniva of Norway, St. Birgitta of Sweden and a two-voice hymn of St. Magnus of Orkney. It’s hard for us to imagine now, but until quite late in the medieval period relatively little sacred polyphony was heard at all. Monophonic chant was the rock on which almost all musical experience was founded. In this context, even music composed for just two voices would have made a very special impression. The 17th century Icelandic Tvísöngur were originally two-part songs rather like the kind of improvised parallel organum known all over medieval Europe. Rímur, songs in the unique Icelandic tradition of rhyming narrative verse, were originally performed by kvæðamenn (male or female chanters) who went from farmstead to farmstead and were offered hospitality when reciting an evening wake. Like most of the Scandinavian folk songs the Rímur have been orally transmitted for centuries. Later in the twentieth century ethnographers and folk song collectors began to record these wonderful songs and tunes, and a vast number of melodies have been transcribed and preserved for future generations of singers and listeners.” Trio Mediaeval and Arve Henriksen will be performing music from Rímur in the UK at the in Leeds on March 8, London March 9, and Bristol March 10. On March 11 they play Oslo’s Svenska Margaretakyrkan. For further upcoming Trio Mediaeval dates, visit www.ecmrecords.com and www.triomediaeval.no * Trio Mediaeval was founded in Oslo in 1997. Its original members were Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, and Torunn Østrem Ossum. When Torunn left the group at the end of 2013, she was replaced by Berit Opheim, who had been singing regularly with the ensemble since 2010. The first album with the revised line-up was Aquilonis, released in 2014. Arve Henriksen has appeared on many ECM albums over the last two decades, beginning with the 1996 recording No Birch with the Christian Wallumrød Trio. He was recently featured in the Atmosphères quartet with Tigran Hamasyan, Evind Aarset and Jan Bang. Sampled voices of The Trio Mediaeval were incorporated into Henriksen’s Cartography (recorded 2005-2008), an album on which Anna Maria Friman also makes a guest appearance. Rímur was recorded in February 2016 at Munich’s Himmelfahrtskirche, and produced by Manfred Eicher. CD booklet includes all song texts with English translations, and a performer’s note by Anna Maria Friman. ECM Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet December Avenue Tomasz Stanko: trumpet David Virelles: piano Reuben Rogers: double bass Gerald Cleaver: drums U.S. Release date: April 14, 2017 ECM 2532 B0026460-02 UPC: 6025 572 6302 2 The great Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko has long been one of the most distinctive musicians in all of jazz, his grainy tone and smeared notes instantly recognizable, his intensely lyrical improvisations and soulful themes as characteristic as the noirish atmospheres they often conjure. He’s also a player who gives a great deal of thought to context, and a generous bandleader who encourages his co-players to express themselves within his world of dark melody. JazzTimes noted recently: “He writes melodies that pierce the heart like needles, but does not exactly write songs. His pieces are open forms, a few strokes or gestures that introduce a mood and set Stanko into motion. He needs musicians around him who can respond with independent creativity to his unique stimuli.” Stanko’s New York Quartet (featuring David Virelles, Reuben Rogers and Gerald Cleaver) is among his most exciting projects. A decade ago, Stanko took an apartment in the city he still considers the jazz capital of the world, the stomping ground of all his early musical heroes including Monk, Miles, Coltrane and Cecil Taylor. His initial thought was that a New York retreat would be an ideal space to soak up inspiration and write new music, but it was not long before he was interacting with some of the most gifted and creative players on the scene. The first documentation of this activity was the double album Wisława, which introduced the first edition of Stanko’s New York Quartet. Released in 2013, it immediately netted much praise from the international press with The Guardian hailing it as “a dream-ticket jazz meeting between a cutting-edge European legend, and an equally honed triumvirate of pioneering New York-based musicians.” Now December Avenue – recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the South of France in June 2016 and produced by Manfred Eicher – takes the story forward. There’s been one change in the line-up, and new bassist Reuben Rogers – originally from the Virgin Islands and perhaps best-known to ECM listeners for his work with Charles Lloyd (see Athens Concert, Rabo de Nube and Mirror) – proves to be a splendid addition to the team, establishing a profound understanding with Cuban-born pianist David Virelles and Detroit drummer Gerald Cleaver, and bringing a dancing buoyancy to the collective improvising. Rogers’ playing has, he says, internalized some of the lilting rhythms of the calypso music he heard as a child as well as the emotional fervor of gospel. An exceptionally well-rounded improviser, Reuben played clarinet, piano, drums and guitar before settling on the bass, and is well-placed both to drive the music forward and make cogent melodic contributions. Pianist David Virelles, widely regarded as one of today’s most original pianists, exemplifies the melting-pot character of New York in sparkling solos that can cross reference Cuban rhythm with lessons learned from Muhal Richard Abrams, or allude to early influences including Andrew Hill and Bud Powell. Virelles has two ECM leader recordings already, Mbókò and Antenna, and a third is on the way. He is also member of Chris Potter’s new quartet and is featured on its new album The Dreamer Is The Dream, released in April 2017. Gerald Cleaver, among the most resourceful of all contemporary drummers, first recorded for ECM 20 years ago, as a member of Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory. He has since appeared on albums for the label with Miroslav Vitous, Michael Formanek, Craig Taborn and, most recently, with Giovanni Guidi, Gianluca Petrella and Louis Sclavis on Ida Lupino. Cleaver is touring with Guidi, Petrella and Sclavis this Spring, as well as with Stanko. December Avenue is Tomasz Stanko’s 12th album as a leader on ECM. The first of them Balladyna, recorded in 1975, established him as a major force in European jazz. His other discs for the label areMatka Joanna (recorded 1994), Leosia (1996), Litania – Music of Krzyszstof Komeda (1997), From The Green Hill (1998), Soul of Things (2001), Suspended Night (2003), Selected Recordings (2004), Lontano(2005), Dark Eyes (2009), and Wisława (2012). He can also be heard on Edward Vesala’s Satu (recorded 1976), Gary Peacock’s Voice from the Past – Paradigm (1981) and Manu Katché’s Neighbourhood (2004). Stanko begins a European tour at the end of March, playing the music of December Avenue in Tromsø, Norway (March 30), Mo i Rana, Norway (March 31) Gateshead, United Kingdom (April 2), Rüsselsheim, Germany (April 3), Munich, Germany (April 4), Syke, Germany (April 5) Hamburg, Germany (April 6 and 7), Oslo, Norway (April 8), Voss, Norway (April 9), Helsinki, Finland (April 10), Poznan, Poland (April 11), Warsaw, Poland (April 12), and Stuttgart, Germany (April 16).

and Paul Desmond - The Complete RCA Recordings