GA Russell

Thanks John!

Pianist/Composer Richard X Bennett Connects Mumbai & New York City With 2 New Ropeadope Releases, His First Recordings on an American Label, Due October 6 Trio Date "What Is Now" & Indo-Jazz Quintet Album "Experiments With Truth" Both Feature Rhythm Section of Bassist Adam Armstrong & Drummer Alex Wyatt Baritone Saxophonist Lisa Parrott & Matt Parker on Tenor/Soprano Are Added on "Experiments ... " CD Release Show Set for October 11, Rockwood Music Hall, NYC August 25, 2017 Since moving to New York from his native Toronto in the 1990s, pianist and composer Richard X Bennett has thrived as a performer in a broad variety of stylistic contexts. Splitting his time between New York and Mumbai, he released a series of acclaimed albums on several Indian imprints, with his last two on Times Music, India's largest label. Until now, however, Bennett had yet to put an album out on an American label. On October 6, a dual release by Ropeadope Records will mark the pianist's first American recordings -- the trio date What Is Now and the Indo-jazz quintet session Experiments With Truth. Bennett displays his loose, percussive, and conversational instrumental style on the trio album. The raga-infused music on the quintet album is something else again, as stylistically remote from his trio opus as the Big Apple is from Bollywood. Bennett is joined on both CDs by bassist Adam Armstrongand drummer Alex Wyatt, with baritone saxophonist Lisa Parrott and tenor and soprano saxophonist Matt Parkeraugmenting the trio on the quintet album. What Is Nowpresents Bennett as a bold instrumentalist and as a composer of themes that beg for lyrics. The album's mood, energy, and tone range from the tender opener "Vital Grace" to the playful "Go Against the Tide," from the sanctified sway of "Sefrou Soul" to the cinematic scope of "Bittersweet Success." One also gets a taste of Bennett's sense of humor on a distinctly original doo-wop arrangement of "Over the Rainbow." Bennett describes the quintet's sound on Experiments With Truth as "Mingus meets raga in the 21st Century." Music he originally conceived and performed with North Indian classical musicians is arranged and performed in a jazz context. "As far as I can tell it's the first time it's been done," Bennett says. "I don't claim to be a raga musician, because first off, the piano isn't a raga instrument. I'd say it's raga-based. I like the analogy they use on cooking shows, 'This is my take on a dosa.' As a jazz musician, this is my take on raga," the vast vocabulary of melodic structures, or modes, upon which classical Indian music is based. "I was always somewhat of a minimalistic player," Bennett adds. "The blues is also like a specific raga, and if you play it academically it won't sound right. You can't just run the scales. With Indian music, everybody else was doing fusions based on complicated rhythmic figures. I'm much more interested in the melodies." Experiments With Truth opens with "The Fabulist," a long, persuasively surging piece based on a particularly ancient raga (raga malkauns). "Portrait in Sepia" feels like an Ellingtonian tone poem by way of Calcutta, opening with an ominously swaying cadence designed for Parrott's brawny horn. The album's centerpiece is the two-movement "Durga Suite," which evokes dual but very diverse aspects of the warrior goddess Durga (also known as Devi and Shakti). The title track, which borrows its name from Gandhi's autobiography The Story of My Experiments With Truth, is a stimulating and increasingly wild piece inspired by the early morning raga ramkali. While growing up in Toronto, Richard X Bennetthoned his own approach to the piano. His highly personal sound flowed from limited contact with bebop and early exposure to traditional New Orleans jazz and avant-garde combos like the Art Ensemble of Chicago and World Saxophone Quartet. The first jazz he ever saw live was South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim "and I walked out of the concert being able to play five of his songs," Bennett recalls. "I've always loved that inside/out approach, Jaki Byard and Don Pullen. I don't play bop but I do just about every other jazz style." He introduced his Indo-jazz concept on the 2009 solo album Ragas on Piano (Dreams Entertainment), and expanded the instrumentation with the late bassist Gaku Takanashi and tabla master Naren Budhkar on 2011's Raga and Blues(Mystica Music). Picked up by Times Music, India's biggest label, he released 2013's critically hailed New York City Swara, with Takanashi, Budhkar, Carnatic violinist Arun Ramamurthy, and drummer Michael Wimberly, followed by the 2015 duo album Mumbai Masala with Hindustani vocalist Dhanashree Pandit Rai. Today Bennett also works with Honk & Tonk, a "N.O.L.A. meets noir" duo with saxophonist Michael Blake, and composes for modern dance, most recently a piece for the Alvin Ailey Company performed at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. Bennett will celebrate the release of What Is Now and Experiments With Truth in the company of his trio and quintet, at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on Wednesday, October 11. Mini-videos from "What Is Now" Mini-videos from "Experiments With Truth" Photography: Sean Yoo Web Site: richardxbennett.comFollow:

Soft Machine - NDR Jazz Workshop - $18.19 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GEDLEY/ I remember that this received many votes for Jazz Album of the Year from someone's critcs' poll. Contrary to the Amazon listing, I recall this to be 2 CDs + 1 DVD.

Dan, I suspect that it would be a matter of state law. If so, only a Florida attorney's advice would be trustworthy. Anyone want to disagree, and say that it is a federal matter?

Week 10 picks http://3downnation.com/2017/08/24/slam-dunk-picks-value-in-small-west-road-favourites/#comments ***** There was a lengthy article on the front page of last Sunday's sports section of The News & Observer about Armanti Edwards. http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nfl/article167843882.html

Breaking... As the GM, Kent Austin has resigned as the Ticats' head coach, and replaced himself with June Jones. http://3downnation.com/2017/08/24/kent-austin-appoints-june-jones-ticats-head-coach/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/24/austin-appoints-june-jones-head-coach/ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/kent-austin-june-jones-ti-cats-head-coach-1.4260822 http://www.tsn.ca/jones-appointed-as-new-head-coach-of-ticats-austin-remains-vp-1.838227

Peter Erskine https://jazztimes.com/departments/farewells/peter-erskine-remembers-john-abercrombie/ DownBeat http://downbeat.com/news/detail/guitarist-john-abercrombie-dies-at-72 WaPo https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-abercrombie-influential-jazz-guitarist-of-the-70s-fusion-scene-dies-at-72/2017/08/23/af0970e2-8814-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.574e25815571 NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/arts/music/john-abercrombie-lyrical-jazz-guitarist-dies-at-72.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170823&nlid=57793556&tntemail0=y&_r=0 Nate Chinen/NPR http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/08/23/545611872/john-abercrombie-wry-and-exploratory-jazz-guitarist-dies-at-72 ***** My ECM contact mentions that the text of Roger's post contains an error. It was the New Directions band, not the Special Edition band.

Week 10 picks http://3downnation.com/2017/08/24/week-10-picks-can-the-riders-compete-away-from-mosaic/#comments http://www.rodpedersen.com/2017/08/cfl-week-10-picks-2017.html https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/23/cfl-ca-writers-make-week-10-picks/ https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/23/weekly-predictor-riding-momentum/ http://www.sportingnews.com/ca/cfl/news/week-10-cfl-picks-my-lone-upset-call-is-ottawa-knocking-off-the-lions/xxbuo0nkznx9103b4rs6i4prh ***** another Power Ranking http://thegruelingtruth.net/football/power-rankings-cfl-week-10/

I too hit one. First time ever!

While we have time, let's take a quick look at the Week 7 games. Calgary 41....Toronto 24 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2396/calgary-stampeders-vs-toronto-argonauts/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/03/ricky-ray-hit-hard-leaves-game/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/03/marc-trestman-ricky-ray-argos-qb-shoulder-injury/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/03/bo-levi-mitchell-roy-finch-lead-stampeders-convincing-victory-argos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/04/bo-levi-flip-bird-beating-toronto/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/04/argos-bracing-for-possible-time-without-ricky-ray/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/04/argos-ricky-ray-to-miss-four-to-six-weeks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/03/canadian-receiver-lemar-durant-knee-bends-looks-painful/#comments ***** Winnipeg 33....Ottawa 30 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2397/winnipeg-blue-bombers-vs-ottawa-redblacks/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/04/justin-medlocks-last-second-kick-lifts-bombers-redblacks/#comments http://www.3downnation.com/2017/08/04/bombers-complete-second-consecutive-comeback-win-14-thoughts/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/06/henry-burris-theory-redblacks-struggles-includes-henry-burris/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/05/new-week-story-13-others-thoughts-redblacks-loss/#comments ***** Edmonton 33....Hamilton 28 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2398/hamilton-tiger-cats-vs-edmonton-eskimos/ http://www.3downnation.com/2017/08/03/time-running-ticats-save-season/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/04/eskimos-high-pressure-defence-powering-undefeated-start/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/04/eskimos-face-injury-tsunami-prepare-winless-ticats/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/04/eskimos-vidal-hazelton-puts-tourist-hit-don-unamba/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/05/eskimos-withstand-late-surge-from-ticats-improve-to-6-0/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/05/video-ticats-austin-lawrence-collaros-loss-esks/#comments ***** BC 30....Sask 15 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2399/saskatchewan-roughriders-vs-bc-lions/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/05/chris-williams-to-make-long-awaited-debut-as-lions-host-riders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/05/ridiculousness-bryan-burnham/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/05/lions-make-it-look-easy-in-win-over-riders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/05/lions-make-it-look-easy-in-win-over-riders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/06/riders-give-fans-hope-crush/#comments

Maybe one day I will catch up with the results of Weeks 7 and 8, but for now let's look at this past weekend's games. Week 9 results Winnipeg 33....previously unbeaten Edmonton 26 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2404/edmonton-eskimos-vs-winnipeg-blue-bombers/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/17/bombers-hand-eskimos-first-loss-season/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/18/bombers-earn-biggest-win-history-igf-11-thoughts/#comments ***** Ottawa 37....winless Hamilton 18 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2405/ottawa-redblacks-vs-hamilton-tiger-cats/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/18/banks-drop-key-moment-ticats-loss-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/18/video-ticats-kent-austin-qb-zach-collaros-loss-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/19/brett-mahers-foot-carries-redblacks-win-ticats-hamilton-still-winless/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/19/milton-ugly-right-now-season-ticats/#comments http://www.3downnation.com/2017/08/19/13-thoughts-redblacks-getting-much-needed-win/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/19/learned-hamiltons-crushing-defeat-hands-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/22/terrible-ticats-historical-precedence/#comments ***** Calgary 21....BC 17 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2406/calgary-stampeders-vs-bc-lions/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/19/stampeders-grind-out-victory-over-lions/#comments ***** Toronto 38....Montreal 6 https://www.cfl.ca/games/2407/montreal-alouettes-vs-toronto-argonauts/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/19/ricky-ray-argos-dismantle-alouettes/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/20/argos-pass-mid-term-exam-flying-colurs/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/20/five-observations-alouettes-ugly-loss-argos/#comments

My email from ECM is the same text as Roger's post, and adds the following line: "John died peacefully at Hudson Valley Hospital outside of Peekskill, NY, in the presence of his family." My introduction to his work was on the first Dreams album in 1971. That was also my introduction to Michael Brecker and Billy Cobham.

RIP. This comes as a great surprise to me. If ECM issues a press release, I'll post it here.

Thanks! Felser, I thought you would jump in soon! By the way, I have two the group made on MCA, and like them both quite a bit. Do you have those as well?

current Power Rankings http://3downnation.com/2017/08/21/3down-power-rankings-new-no-1/#comments http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-power-rankings-1.4256642 http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-stay-at-no-1-in-cfl-power-rankings-1.835989 http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-stay-at-no-1-in-cfl-power-rankings-1.835989 https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/22/nissan-titan-power-rankings-new-no-1-town/ ***** more on the John Chick trade http://3downnation.com/2017/08/21/qa-ticats-gm-eric-tillman-trading-john-chick/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/21/qa-eskimos-gm-brock-sunderland-on-acquiring-dl-john-chick/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/21/ferguson-john-chick-trade-means-ticats-esks/ ***** Nik Lewis has moved into the #2 spot for career catches. http://3downnation.com/2017/08/21/nik-lewis-closing-time-cfl-receptions-record/#comments https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/19/nik-lewis-passes-ben-cahoon-now-second-time-receptions/

BS&T - New Blood/No Sweat/More Than Ever - $10.48 + $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sweat-Tears-More-Than/dp/B009DTI36M I remember seeing these three albums in the stores, but I never heard them. Does anyone have an opinion?

Happy Birthday 2017 Tom!

RIP Valerie.

August 21 1961 - Patsy Cline records Crazy. 1961 - Tamla releases The Marvellettes' Please Mister Postman, Motown's first #1 hit. 2005 - Robert Moog dies. 2008 - Buddy Harman dies. ***** Born... 1904 - Count Basie 1938 - Kenny Rogers 1939 - James Burton (I saw him back Elvis in 1973 in Las Vegas.) 1941 - Jackie DeShannon 1947 - Carl Giammarese 1952 - Joe Strummer

The Ticats have traded John Chick to the Eskimos. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/20/eskimos-land-john-chick-in-trade-with-ticats/ http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/tiger-cats-trade-star-de-john-chick-eskimos/ http://3downnation.com/2017/08/20/ticats-trade-john-chick-eskimos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/08/20/ticats-traded-john-chick-eskimos/#comments http://www.tsn.ca/eskimos-acquire-all-star-de-chick-from-ticats-1.834547 ***** Jim, here's a video about the food at the Riders' new ballpark. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/20/best-food-in-the-cfl-mosaic-taste-test/ ***** Here are the current standings. As you can see, the fourth place team in the West has a better record than the first place team in the East. https://www.cfl.ca/standings/

August 20 1969 - The Beatles record together at Abbey Road studios for the last time ***** Born 1924 - Jim Reeves 1934 - Sneaky Pete Kleinow 1942 - Isaac Hayes 1948 - Robert Plant

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: steel pan, claves; Alex Lipowski: orchestral bass drum, temple blocks, bongos, gong | Matthew Gold marimba, glockenspiel | Mauricio Herrera ekón, nkomos, erikundi, claves | Thomas Morgan double bass | Yunior Lopez viola | Christine Chen violoncello | Samuel DeCaprio violoncello | Melvis Santa, Mauricio Herrera vocals “…Authoritatively rendering and coalescing popular and folkloric Pan-American styles, classical music and jazz is the holy grail of artistic aspiration,” raved Ted Panken in a 2015 Jazziz reference to David Virelles. 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. © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet Showcases Their Unique Fusion of Jazz & Afro-Peruvian Music on "Diablo en Brooklyn," Set for Sept 22 Release on Saponegro Records Recorded at Lima's Legendary IEMPSA Studios, The Band's 6th Release Includes Premiere of Alegría's 4-Part "Brooklyn Suite" CD Release Shows Kick Off with Two Nights at Roulette, Brooklyn (Oct. 21-22) With Special Guest Arturo O'Farrill + Peruvian Dance Company August 18, 2017 Gabriel Alegria has dedicated his life to introducing audiences to jazz-infused interpretations of traditional music from his Peruvian homeland, Afro-Peruvian arrangements of works from the Great American Songbook, and original compositions inspired by both styles. On Diablo en Brooklyn, the sixth recording by Alegría's Afro-Peruvian Sextet, the ensemble presents what is without a doubt their most fully realized and boldest album to date. It is also the first to be made entirely in Peru and, most notably, at Lima's legendary IEMPSA Studios-a landmark in the production and distribution of Afro-Peruvian music that was founded in 1942. The new CD will be released by Saponegro Records on September 22. Trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator Alegría has long committed himself to being the standard-bearer of Afro-Peruvian jazz in the U.S. and, over the past 12 years, has brought this music to American audiences through both recordings and concerts. Diablo en Brooklynwas loosely inspired by the Peruvian "Son de los Diablos" tradition going back to colonial days and featuring a parade of mock devils down the city streets of Lima. Alegría, who has lived in Coney Island for the last decade, got the idea to musically transport that tradition to his Brooklyn neighborhood after being exposed to the diverse sounds emanating from the "speakers on wheels" residents roll out to street corners every summer along with their barbecue pits. "You can't really hear anything but bass," he says. "But over the months, on my way to pick up my daughter from daycare, I would hear bass lines that I really liked." They show up integrated into the Peruvian panalivio and festejo grooves at the heart of his fourt-part "Brooklyn Suite." In an intriguing departure from standard sequencing, the four movements of the studio-recorded suite are interspersed among four live tracks: three originals featured on previous albums and a 12-minute version of "Summertime," the "hit single" from the band's 2008 debut recording Nuevo Mundo. That the musicians in the Afro-Peruvian Sextet have been playing together for years is evident from their finely-meshed performances and the facility with which the players blend traditional Peruvian rhythms and American jazz. Saxophonist Laura Andrea Leguía, master percussionist Freddy "Huevito" Lobatón, bassist Mario Cuba, drummer Hugo Alcázar, and acoustic guitarist Yuri Juárez tackle the challenges of the polyrhythmic grooves with an energy that is infectious. Alegría and company celebrated their decade together in 2015 by inviting a stellar cast of guest artists including Ron Carter, Arturo O'Farrill, and Yellowjacket Russell Ferrante to play on their last release, 10. Alegría explains that on Diablo en Brooklyn "we went back to the essence of the sextet. The six core members. This album represents what Afro-Peruvian jazz music and a bicultural ensemble can contribute to the world." Gabriel Alegria was born in Lima on June 11, 1970. His grandfather, Ciro Alegría, was a famous, politically involved novelist (Broad and Alien Is the World) who spent half his life in exile in Cuba and Chile because of his political views. Gabriel's father, Alonso Alegría, is a prominent playwright (Crossing Niagara) and theater director. Rebelling from the predominantly classical music tastes of his father, Gabriel got into rock and pop via albums by the likes of the Police and Genesis, but when it came time to choose an instrument for the school band, he picked the trumpet. It was in the band that he discovered jazz. Alegría attended high school in Ohio, where his father was a visiting professor at Kenyon College, and then studied at the National Conservatory in Lima. He returned to Ohio to attend Kenyon College, after which he moved to New York, earning an M.A. in jazz studies at City College under the tutelage of Ron Carter. He subsequently moved back to Peru to play with the Lima Philharmonic. During his five years with the orchestra, and in side gigs in jazz and rock bands, Gabriel started to develop his concept of Afro-Peruvian jazz. In 2005, while completing a PhD in jazz studies at USC, he formed his sextet. Its first album, Nuevo Mundo(2008), recorded for his own label Saponegro ("black frog"), was produced by one of his mentors, trumpet great Bobby Shew. Moving back to New York he got a major boost from Arturo O'Farrill, who contacted him about writing for his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. The Afro-Peruvian Sextet recorded its second album, Pucusana (2010), followed by the live Afro-Peruvian Jazz Secrets (2012), Ciudad de Los Reyes (2013), and then its tenth-anniversary disc 10 (2015). That year the band won Hot House magazine's "New York City Ensemble of the Year" award. The Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet is set to perform an ambitious CD release concert (10/21-22) at Roulette in Brooklyn with special guest Arturo O'Farrill and, direct from Lima, dancers Graciela Bramon, Javier Barrera, and Wendy Cotito, with choreography by Antonio Vilchez. The sextet + dancers will also perform two nights (10/25-26) at DePauw University, Greencastle, IN. Sextet only appears Fri. 10/27, Merriman's Playhouse, South Bend, IN; Sat. 10/28 at the Bop Stop, Cleveland; and Sun. 10/29 at Erie (PA) Art Museum. Web Site: afroperuviansextet.com

Take a look at this. It appears to me that Speedy Banks is a victim of mis-identification. https://www.bing.com/search?q=Brandon+Banks+Vanderbilt&filters=tnTID%3a"D47C13D9-4A4C-4d73-82AE-B12DCCC7FB82"+tnVersion%3a"2084824"+segment%3a"popularnow.carousel"+tnCol%3a"12"+tnOrder%3a"e83163a4-0919-4858-b7bd-4df679bc3b47"&FORM=BSPN01&crslsl=1956&efirst=13 A Vanderbilt player named Brandon Banks has been convicted of rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Bing is identifying him as our Brandon Banks. I sent an email to the Ticats to let them know.

Happy Birthday 2017 Laurie!