GA Russell

Happy Birthday 2017 mg!

Happy Birthday 2017 Marty!

This was syndicated in the US in '85. I enjoyed it. Bergerac (complete, Region 2) - 29.99 GBP https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bergerac-Complete-Collection-John-Nettles/dp/B002KSA41A

Happy Birthday 2016 LWayne!

Film Noir - 10 movies (some very highly respected) - $25.49 https://www.amazon.com/10-Movie-Spotlight-Collection-Indemnity-Phantom/dp/B00MUNSV3S

Woodstock - Blu-ray - Director's Cut - 3 DVDs - $5.00 prime https://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-Anniversary-Limited-Revisited-Blu-ray/dp/B00JVFUNBG

Gerry Mulligan formed his pianoless quartet because Red Norvo's group didn't use a piano, so the club didn't have it available.

RIP. I think that the lids have been a more valuable contribution to mankind.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Now $23.00 prime https://www.amazon.com/Father-Dowling-Mysteries-Complete/dp/B00AMU8K8C

Happy Birthday 2016 Jeff!

I watched very few movies this year. By far, the one that stuck with me was Rififi.

David, I usually agree with you, but not this time. I am particularly enjoying the long list of reissues/vault items. Thanks uli!

ECM Ralph Towner My Foolish Heart Ralph Towner: classical and 12-string guitars U.S. Release date: February 3, 2017 ECM 2516 B0026178-02 UPC: 6025 571 4582 3 Ralph Towner solo tour February 15&16 New York, NY Jazz Standard February 18 St. Louis, MI E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall February 19th Chicago, IL Martyrs February 20 Portland, OR The Old Church February 21 Seattle, WA Seattle Art Museum February 23 San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ (ECM @SF Jazz II) February 26 Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa Jazz Center March 2 La Jolla, CA Athenaeum March 3 Los Angeles, CA Bluewhale My Foolish Heart is the latest solo album by master guitarist Ralph Towner, recorded at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in February 2016, and produced by Manfred Eicher. Solo music is an important thread through Towner’s rich discography. Diary was the title he gave to his first ECM solo album back in 1973 and each of his solo albums since then – the list includes Solo Concert, Ana, Anthem, and Time Line - has had a special autobiographical, diary-like character. The solo music is where one can see most clearly the inspirational strands informing Towner’s music. He alludes to this in the performer’s note introducing the new album, his first solo disc in a decade: “‘My Foolish Heart’, the title song of this album had an immeasurable impact on my musical life, as it did with many of my colleagues in the world of jazz and improvisation. The seminal version, played by Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian set me on a course to try to attain the magic of this trio in my own attempts to play the piano, and later, on the classical guitar which became my principal instrument. I needed to know how it felt to inhabit such a reverent musical space. So, many years later, I’ve decided to pay a visit to this song and include it among a variety of my own pieces. I hope I’ve continued to use the inspiration I gained from that first encounter in all the music I play.” The challenge, as Towner once spelled it out “was to develop the idea of embracing the interaction of a small group on the guitar itself.” Three lines of influence converged in his work: Evans’s conception of jazz, Brazilian music – a major inspiration for Towner in the 1960s - and classical guitar. “Over the years I kept on adapting each of these in my own way. I abstracted them and modified them until the sources were no longer recognisable, and I’d arrived almost without noticing it in an idiom of my own.” The Towner idiom was further extended with the 12-string guitar, on which experiments with different tunings led to evocative sonorities and atmospheres. On the new album, the 12-string is the vehicle for the mysterious “Clarion Call”, as well as the hovering miniature “Biding Time”. Amongst other striking pieces, “Blue as in Bley”, is a soulful tribute to Paul Bley, who had died a month before the session. Whether on classical guitar or 12-string guitar, Towner’s touch is immediately identifiable. As fellow guitarist Scott Nygaard has noted, “No one else plays guitar like Ralph Towner, And while his compositions often sound ‘classical’ (combining a fondness for Baroque voice leading, Stravinskian harmonies, and odd time signatures with his own strong sense of melody) that’s primarily because each piece grows organically and gracefully from an initial idea.” Towner’s feeling for form has been a consistent strength, as two older compositions - “Shard” and “Rewind”, both from the early repertoire of Oregon – confirm here. A key ECM recording artist for 44 years, Ralph Towner was born into a musical family in Washington in 1940. He began playing piano at age 5, followed by trumpet two years later. He launched his jazz career as a Bill Evans-inspired pianist, then travelled to Vienna to study classical guitar with Karl Scheit, the renowned Austrian guitarist, lutenist and teacher. In New York City in the late 1960s, he freelanced on both piano and guitar, before co-founding the band Oregon in 1970, with Collin Walcott, Glenn Moore and Paul McCandless – all of whom would appear on his ECM debut, Trios/Solos, in 1972. Towner’s recordings for ECM have included solo albums, duo projects (with John Abercrombie, Gary Peacock, Gary Burton and Paolo Fresu), bands under his direction (including Solstice with Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Jon Christensen) and discs with Oregon. Towner has also contributed to outstanding albums by Keith Jarrett (In The Light), Jan Garbarek (Dis), Kenny Wheeler (Deer Wan) and Egberto Gismonti (Sol do Meio Dia). In the last few years activities have included many concerts with Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, their album Chiaroscuro garnering much positive press along the way: “Lushly resonant guitar and stately trumpet, a masterful match of color and texture” – The Village Voice. Another important association is guitar trio with Austrian Wolfgang Muthspiel and Kazakhstan-born Australian Slava Grigoryan. “Three guitarists from three different continents with three very different disciplines unite for this breathtakingly beautiful trio outing,” wrote Down Beat of the album Travel Guide. ECM Craig Taborn Daylight Ghosts Craig Taborn: piano, electronics Chris Speed: tenor saxophone, clarinet Chris Lightcap: bass Dave King: drums U.S. Release date: February 10, 2017 ECM 2527 B0026199-02 UPC: 6025 571 3805 Keyboardist Craig Taborn’s Daylight Ghosts is the Minneapolis-bred New Yorker’s third ECM release as a leader, a quartet album following the solo Avenging Angel and trio disc Chants. Both projects earned wide acclaim, with The Guardian stating that Taborn’s “musicality and his attention to detail are hypnotic, as is his remarkable sense of compositional narrative within an improvised performance.” Along with Taborn on piano and electronic keyboards, the quartet ofDaylight Ghosts includes two other luminaries from the New York scene – reed player Chris Speed and bassist Chris Lightcap – plus drummer Dave King, the leader’s fellow Minnesota native and one-third of alt-jazz trio The Bad Plus. Each player draws from a broad artistic background, as informed by rock, electronica and diverse strains of world music as they are the various permutations of jazz improvisation. Dynamism and spectral ambience, acoustic and electric sounds, groove and lingering melody – all come together to animate Daylight Ghosts. The sonic fluidity of Daylight Ghosts – its dynamic stressing group improvisation over discrete soloing/accompanying roles – is enabled by the long relationships that Taborn has forged with each of the other musicians, who gathered in New York City’s Avatar Studios with producer Manfred Eicher for the sessions. Taborn has been playing music with King since they were teenagers in Minneapolis, the two venturing everything from bebop and free jazz to dance music and metal. Taborn and Lightcap have shared membership in each other’s groups in New York for more than 15 years, while the keyboardist and Speed have been occasional musical confreres for a decade. Speed, King and Lightcap also have their own web of associations. “Because the four of us have a history of commingling and playing a wide variety of music together, these guys were ideal for exploring a sound world of acoustic and electronic instruments in a seamless way, one that didn’t hit too hard on any obvious reference points,” Taborn explains. “Live, this band moves from a quiet, chamber-music space to a raucous, almost rock kind of energy, which Dave and Chris Lightcap really know how to drive. For the recording, I wanted to subtly infuse the chamber-like palette with some of that energy, yet with no hint of fusion. This music trades on transparency. I wanted all the elements to be crystalline, so that the layers of the music work like a prism.” The lone cover tune on Daylight Ghosts reflects another of Taborn’s longtime affiliations. Beyond his recordings as a leader for ECM, Taborn has played on albums for the label by Michael Formanek, David Torn, Evan Parker and Ches Smith. But his first appearances on ECM were via a sequence of albums by AACM pioneer Roscoe Mitchell. Taborn and company reinterpret Mitchell’s “Jamaican Farewell” on Daylight Ghosts, with Speed taking up his dark-hued clarinet to find the melodic heart of this gem of ruminative lyricism. “I’ve always loved this piece, and it has such a beautiful, simple melody that elicits so much in the improvisation,” Taborn says. “And with the introduction of subtle electronics, it really seems to open up a vast world we can explore.” The rest of Daylight Ghosts features eight Taborn originals, snaking and atmospheric by turns. Highlights include the tune-rich title track, marked by Speed’s Spartan-toned tenor and Taborn’s entrancing piano figures, as well as “Phantom Ratio,” which has Speed’s sax tracing long tones over Taborn’s pealing synth loop and keening electronic buzz. . “The Great Silence” and “Subtle Living Equations” have a hovering, almost ambient feel. Opening with a guimbre-like Lightcap solo, “Ancient” pulses on a long crescendo of rhythm, while “The Shining One” moves from the get-go, colored by Taborn’s high-energy piano improvisations and King’s skittering percussion. Reflecting on what his cohorts bring to this music, Taborn says: “Dave has a refined sonic sensibility at the drum kit, particularly in the way he integrates acoustic and electronic percussion. It’s about not having either one dominate; so that when you hear the record, it’s not always apparent what’s an acoustic drum and what’s an electronic drum pad. Chris Lightcap has a concept for both the double-bass and the bass guitar that’s invested in vintage sound quality. He likes flat, roundwound strings on the Fender Precision bass; he likes a dark amp tone; and he likes laying down strong, solid bass lines. We share an affinity for these vintage instrumental sounds while finding new ways of utilizing those sounds expressively.” Chris Speed is “one of my favorite saxophonists,” Taborn adds. “He has an astounding skill set for dealing with complicated music, but his approach is one of patience and consideration. He will always take the direct path, which is so important in music that emphasizes an integrated group sound. It can be a particular challenge with the tenor sax, which is so often a lead instrument. But his playing can both hold its own space and not overwhelm the texture. In that, he reminds me of John Gilmore, who when playing with Sun Ra could state a strong idea simply and then tuck back into the band. And on clarinet, Chris has just a gorgeous sound. It’s important for this band to have both the earthy tone of the tenor and the more lyrical sound of the clarinet. Chris brings both.” Taborn’s ever-involving pianism blends darting leaps with finely graded colorations and hypnotic minimalism. Beyond his virtuosity, he employs multiple keyboards with a compositional aesthetic, the mix of acoustic and electric timbres heightening each other and filling the spectrum with interest. He stresses his fascination with “sonics” in the making of Daylight Ghosts. The album’s electric keyboard sounds subtly reflect his love of the lo-fi mystery heard in transistor organs from ’60s Sun Ra to early Philip Glass, from psychedelic rock to ’60s-’70s music from Ethiopia and Benin. Then there were such subtle, serendipitous passing events as King striking an electric gong with a reverse-attack, white-noise effect, which was highlighted in the mixing process as a telling “micro-detail” within the transparent sound picture. “I really am a sound guy,” Taborn says. “After all, what’s music but a collection of sounds arranged in some evolving narrative. I tend to listen to things loud and with a certain focus so that I can hear as much detail inside of the sound as possible, not just the event or gesture – like here’s a drum fill – but the actual sound of the toms, how long a cymbal rings, the harmonic that arises when the cymbal is hit and that’s picked up by the piano. I live for the details, and there’s a lot of detail on this record. Don’t put it on in the background.” *** Born in Detroit in 1970, Craig Taborn first earned international notice as a member of saxophonist James Carter’s ensembles. In the late ’90s, he played regularly with Roscoe Mitchell, along with leading his own groups; and by the next decade, the keyboardist was heard often in Tim Berne’s bands and subsequently with Chris Potter and Dave Holland, among others. Taborn first appeared on ECM as a member of Mitchell’s ensembles for the albums Nine to Get Ready, Composition / Improvisation 1, 2 & 3, and Far Side. He has also appeared on David Torn’s Prezens, Evan Parker’s Boustrophedon and Ches Smith’s The Bell, as well as Michael Formanek’s Small Places and The Rub and Spare Change. In 2011, Taborn made his debut as a leader on ECM with an album of solo piano, Avenging Angel. A review in The New York Times called the album “a brilliant and unpredictable study informed by contemporary classical music as well as several currents of improvisation. It’s a sit-up-and-take-notice statement.” Two years later came the pianist’s next ECM release: Chants, a trio disc with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Gerald Cleaver. That album’s music was described in DownBeat as being without “borders, or ordinary structures, or typical narrative flow. The songs are positively shimmering, immaculately detailed, prismatic and very improvisational… They flutter and spiral, bend and float, and constantly surprise.”

New Origin Records CD by Pianist/Composer Bill Anschell, "Rumbler," Set for January 20 Release Features Anschell's Longtime Trio-- Bassist Chris Symer & Drummer Jose Martinez-- Plus Guest Appearances by Guitarist Brian Monroney, Jeff Coffin (Soprano Sax), Rich Cole (Tenor Sax), Percussionist Jeff Busch, & Wind Player Hans Teuber CD Release Show at Tula's, Seattle, Feb. 11 December 21, 2016 One of the most valuable players in Seattle's thriving jazz scene, pianist Bill Anschell is a prolific composer and adept arranger who's explored those aspects of his craft since debuting on disc 20 years ago. His new Origin Records CD, Rumbler, which will be released January 20, is Anschell's ninth album as a leader and his first full ensemble jazz recording in a decade. Throughout the recording, Anschell embraces odd meters, shifting tonalities, and other striking effects. "I've written enough conventional tunes," he says. "I don't need to do that anymore. I'm more interested in going beyond the 32-bar form. I like to set up unusual compositional challenges for myself and try to solve them in a way that still allows the band plenty of room for improvisation and interaction." Rumbler is anchored by his longstanding trio, including bassist Chris Symer and drummer Jose Martinez. Jeff Coffin makes a memorable guest appearance on one tune on soprano saxophone, while Rich Cole shines on tenor saxophone on another. In addition to the fine guitarist Brian Monroney, to whom Anschell was introduced by Symer, the contributors include versatile flutist and saxophonist Hans Teuber and percussionist Jeff Busch. From the opening strains of Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso," it's clear that Rumbler is less a showcase for Anschell's piano playing than for his writing and arranging. For "Misterioso," he heard in his head distorted guitar and a kind of power-rock countermelody. With guitarist Monroney providing the sonic edge, the frequently performed classic takes on intriguing new life. Anschell's favorite composition on the album, "Captive Light," written in 5/4, "sounds clean and simple, but it's very challenging for the improviser as the meter turns around against itself," he says. His distinctive take on the Beatles' "For No One" (from Revolver) pointedly avoids the tendency of many jazz artists to perform pop songs as written, just adding a facile swing feel. With a wide range of ethnic styles at his fingertips, including the Afro-Peruvian lando (as heard on "Dark Wind") and South Indian rhythms, Anschell has myriad directions to go in issuing those challenges to himself -- and the listener. Born in Seattle in 1959, Bill Anschell was a self-taught pianist who did not take formal music lessons until he enrolled at Oberlin College. He transferred to Wesleyan University, where he had the good fortune to study with esteemed saxophonist and composer Bill Barron and mridangam master T Ranganathan, whose teachings had a powerful impact on Anschell's approach to rhythm. Anschell subsequently studied arts administration at the University of Wisconsin. In 1989, armed with a master's degree, he went to Atlanta to become Jazz Coordinator of the Southern Arts Federation. While with the organization, he created "JazzSouth," an internationally syndicated radio show; published a book on grant writing; and dove headlong into the city's jazz scene as a sideman and leader of his own trio. The trio performed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and Atlanta Montreux Jazz Festival and toured South America four times. During the early to mid-1990s, Anschell worked with singer Nnenna Freelon as her accompanist, arranger, and music director, contributing to several albums of hers in one or more of those guises. He made his own album debut in 1995 with Rhythm Changes, a mix of originals, bebop classics, and standards, and followed it in 1998 with the eclectic a different note all together, which was selected as one of the top 10 jazz albums of the year by UPI. In 2002, Anschell, his wife, and their four-year-old son moved back to Seattle to be near their extended families. To say the Pacific Northwest has been good to him would be a huge understatement, judging by the regional honors and awards that have been bestowed on him and the opportunities he has had to alternate between his own projects and a multitude of ones involving first-rate players in collective-style settings. Anschell and his trio will celebrate the release of Rumbler at Tula's in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 11. He'll also be appearing with his quartet (Brian Monroney, g; Chris Symer, b; Brad Boal, d) at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham on Sunday, Jan. 29 (4:00pm), presented by The Jazz Project. "Each of the tunes on Rumbler has a very distinct personality," Anschell says. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what directions they take when we stretch out and explore them in concert." Photography: Steve Korn Web Site: billanschell.com

Norwegian Jazz Crew Straddles Free Jazz and Skronk on Tumultuous RareNoise Release REFLECTIONS IN COSMO CD, VINYL AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON JANUARY 20, 2017 AND THROUGH WWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM Kjetil Møster Saxophones Hans Magnus Ryan Guitars Ståle Storløkken Keyboards Thomas Strønen Drums ABOUT THE LABEL - RareNoiseRecords was founded in 2008 by two Italians, entrepreneur Giacomo Bruzzo and music producer Eraldo Bernocchi. Located in London, the label's mission is to detect and amplify contemporary trends in progressive music, by highlighting their relation to the history of the art-form, while choosing not to be bound by pre-conceptions of genre. It seeks to become a guiding light for all those enamored by exciting, adventurous and progressive sounds. For further information and to listen to excerpts, please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com. New York, December 21, 2016 - The fire and fury of '60s free jazz and the tumult of electronic rock-tinged experimental music is on full display on this new powerhouse offering from four cutting edge Oslo-based musicians collectively known as Reflections in Cosmo. With Kjetil Møster on saxes, Hans Magnus Ryan on guitar, Ståle Storløkken on keyboards and Thomas Strønen on drums, these four kindred spirits strike a tumultuous accord on their self-titled debut on RareNoiseRecords, which represents Møster's followup on RareNoise to his edgy avant-jazz collaboration in 2014 with the Hungarian power trio Jü. At times recalling the ferocious intensity of the late '80s free jazz quartet Last Exit (Peter Brötzman, Sonny Sharrock, Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson), this potent Norwegian outfit pushes the envelope with Møster's blowtorch intensity on baritone and tenor saxes, Ryan's wailing electric guitar work, Storløkken's crunchy, distortion-laced keyboards and Strønen's thunderous drumming. "This band was initiated by Thomas and Ståle," explains Møster. "They have been releasing albums on Rune Grammofon under the name Humcrush for 15 years and they wanted to try out an expanded direction, both in terms of band members and references. They asked me and Hans Magnus 'Snah' Ryan from Motorpsycho, actually not being aware of the fact that Hans Magnus just took over for Ståle in my own quartet Møster! Yes, it's a small inbred world, this." This small world that Møster refers to is the world of genre-crossing musicians operating in the twilight zone between experimental electric jazz, noise rock and psych rock. As Møster says, "Instead of the jazz-rock we had in the 70's and 80's, maybe we now can talk of rock-jazz? Jü would definitely be a part of this fellowship, as would Elephant9 and Møster!" Add Reflections in Cosmo to that list. And whether or not they are following in the footsteps of Last Exit, Møster is quick to point out, "Any comparison to Brötzmann I take as a big compliment! He has definitely been a huge influence on me for big periods of my musical upbringing. Last Exit is sure ringing in the back of my head in this band, even though we have not been discussing explicit references like that. We all bring in our own musical backgrounds and add it to the stew." Recorded in spacious Øra Studio in in Trondheim, Norway, Reflections in Cosmo reveals some uncanny group-think by these four Norwegian musicians. "I don't like rules in music," says Strønen, "and with the background we all have, from free-music to hip-hop and contemporary music, that's not going to be an issue." Møster does bring a Brotxzman-like intensity to bear on his bari blowouts like "Fuzzstew," "Cosmosis" and the kinetic "Perpetual Immobile." He switches to soprano sax on the spacious, ambient number "Ironhorse" and blows bold tenor lines on "Cosmic Hymn" and the title track. Ryan unleashes his ferocious guitar chops on the aptly-named "Fuzzstew" and "Balklava." Says Møster of his six-string partner, "Hans Magnus is one of my favorite guitarists of all time. His sense of texture and ability to build tension and raise this hellacious ferocity is quite unique. I think it comes from playing for about 30 years with Motorpsycho, thus rooted in a heavy but detailed rock aesthetic, but still been deeply into a broad variety of improvisational styles.' Drummer Strønen is featured traversing the kit with power and precision on the crushing title track. Regarding his own drum influences, Strønen points to myriad inspirations. "As a kid I was lucky to play a lot with older and better musicians. The first thing I learned was to listen to the other musicians and react to what they did. I played everything from pop/rock music to free improvised music and got the chance to perform on stage quite early. By the time I turned 18 I started to practice seriously. Since then I've been influenced by lots of jazz music, from Pharaoh Sanders, Miles Davis and John Coltrane to lots of European musicians on ECM Records. For a longer time, I was massively into Japanese classical music, West African Wolof music and American minimalist composers. Drumming-wise, I've picked from the history of jazz, Japanese drum ensembles and classical drummers. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what you dig into as long as you dig. It's a long and thorough process of collecting what's great about what you hear and putting that in the big melting pot, and with a large vocabulary you can put what's needed into the music." Their combination of refreshing new ideas, uninhibited improvisations and heavy-duty, throbbing intensity places Reflections in Cosmo in rarefied air. "The main key to the four of us, I think, is that we´re open minded and don't have a presumption of how to play," adds Strønen. "I find Snah, Kjetil and Ståle to be daring, curious and generous in the way they play. Our agenda is to put the music in front and not some solo performance. The instruments and way of playing blends well, I think. We all have a lot of energy too, which can make the music powerful." Indeed, Reflections in Cosmo is one of the more powerful albums you are likely to hear this year. TRACKS 1. Cosmosis 2. Ironhorse 3. Cosmic Hymn 4. Balklava 5. Perpetuum Immobile 6. Fuzzstew 7. Reflections In Cosmo

LED BIB Pushes The Envelope On RareNoise Debut UMBRELLA WEATHER CD, VINYL AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON JANUARY 20, 2017 AND THROUGH WWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM. Mark Holub Drums Pete Grogan Alto Saxophone Chris Williams Alto Saxophone Liran Donin Bass Toby McLaren Keyboard ABOUT THE LABEL - RareNoiseRecords was founded in 2008 by two Italians, entrepreneur Giacomo Bruzzo and music producer Eraldo Bernocchi. Located in London, the label's mission is to detect and amplify contemporary trends in progressive music, by highlighting their relation to the history of the art-form, while choosing not to be bound by pre-conceptions of genre. It seeks to become a guiding light for all those enamored by exciting, adventurous and progressive sounds. For further information and to listen to excerpts, please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com . New York, December 21, 2016 - Easily the most adventurous and audacious outfit on today's UK jazz scene, Led Bib has built a reputation over the course of seven albums for expansive improvisations and treks into genre-defying music of throbbing intensity. All Music Guide called their singular brand of jazz "explosive enough to blow up your speakers" while The Wire weighed in with: "This is the sound of a band having fun...like a hot chainsaw through butter." For their RareNoiseRecords debut, the five-piece group from London continues pushing the envelope on Umbrella Weather. Fueled by the muscular drumming of ringleader Mark Holub and the intense fuzz bass lines of Liran Donin, further tweaked by atmospheric washes and crunchy keyboard action from Toby McLaren and sparked by the pungent twin alto saxes of Peter Grogan and Chris Williams, Led Bib stakes out a unique spot in the musical terrain that falls somewhere between the realms of John Zorn, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, all imbued with a very strong jazz-rock sensitivity. From the odd-metered opener "Lobster Terror" to their raucous textures on "Too Many Cooks," from the fuzz-inflected mayhem of "Skeleton Key to the City" to the turbulent "At The Shopping Centre," the expansive 5-minute ambient jam on "Insect Invasion" and the surprisingly lyrical waltz-time closer "Goodbye," this renegade outfit never fails to inject an element of surprise into each potent track. And while certain pieces like "Ceasefire", "The Boot" or the groove-heavy "Women's Power" may seem like well-crafted and tightly executed compositions, Holub explains that most of the music heard on Umbrella Weather comes about organically in the studio through a keen sense of collective intuition honed over the past 13 years of playing together. "In general, very little is written. We are mostly working in a typical jazz style of head-solos-head but in almost every tune the solos are completely open. This concept of free improvisation is a tricky one because it has become a genre all its own, but we are looking at it in a different way. With some of the tunes, we are sort of composing in the moment, rather than the sort of free association that is often thought of as free-improvisation. Led Bib formed in 2003 as Holub's Master's degree project at Middlesex University. "We went through quite a few different people at the very beginning, but by the time of our first release in 2005 (Arboretum, SLAM Productions) the line up was set and hasn't changed since," he explains. Holub runs down the backgrounds of his Led Bib colleagues: "Chris Williams is perhaps the most involved in the 'jazz' scene of all of us, though this is definitely more on the contemporary side. He is a founding member of Let Spin, a key member of Laura Cole's Metamorphic. Liran Donin works a lot as a producer outside of Led Bib working both in Jazz, but also in the realms of Pop and World Music, most notably recently with Namvula Rennie, Mulatu Astatke, Arun Ghosh and Chrissie Hynde. Toby McLaren is working as a producer, mostly in the rock world. He also plays keyboards for The Heavy, a sort of soul rock band that does quite well in the USA. He seems to be over there all the time these days! Finally, Pete Grogan plays with the Alex Horne and the Horne Section, The Brothers Ignatius, The Heavy, while doing session work with Ed Sheeran and scoring and arranging music for a Roald Dahl film well as playing lots of sessions in that genre." Holub's own penchant for playing rock influenced jazz, or vice versa, came about over time. As he explains, "When I first started playing jazz, I was coming more from the sort of jam band/experimental rock stuff.... Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart. And then I got more into the free jazz of the '60s, particularly Ornette Coleman, but also Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. The two-alto frontline of Grogan and Williams is perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of this punk-edged jazz group. "The idea came about just by chance," says Holub. "Someone suggested another alto player and I thought, 'Hey, two altos! That could work!' I think I liked the sort of 'ugly beauty' of that combo. There is something harsh about having the two altos together, which is great for when the music is heavy. But also, there is something almost bittersweet about the crashing of timbres between the two of them in the quieter moments Since its inception 13 years ago, this forward-looking jazz unit has evolved to the controlled cacophony and 'ugly beauty' that we hear on Umbrella Weather. "Over time I think Led Bib has moved quite far away from my original vision," says Holub. "It has become very much a group project with it being as much influenced by the other guys' interests, but I am still steering the ship. To me, that is what has made Led Bib special, that the sound has been a natural evolution, which has naturally taken on everyone's ideas and influences rather than something which has been pre-determined to sound in a specific way." TRACKS 1. Lobster Terror 2. Ceasefire 3. On The Roundabout 4. Fields Of Forgetfulness 5. Too Many Cooks 6. Women's Power 7. Insect Invasion 8. At The Shopping Centre 9. Skeleton Key To The City 10. The Boot 11. Marching Orders 12. Goodbye

Alto Saxophonist & Flutist Mark Lewis's "The New York Session" To Be Released by Audio Daddio January 27 George Cables, Essiet Essiet, & Victor Lewis Lend Inspired Support In a Program of Originals by the Seattle-Area Leader December 16, 2016 As well-traveled and widely recorded as alto saxophonist Mark Lewis has been over the past four decades, his new CD The New York Session is likely to be the album that helps rectify his current under-the-radar reputation. Recorded last year in Brooklyn with a world-class rhythm section -- pianist George Cables, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Victor Lewis -- the new disc will be released by Lewis's Audio Daddio label on January 27. It's the work of an artist clearly reveling in the company of fellow masters making the most of his tasty compositions. "There's so much to savor and admire here," writes critic Ted Gioia, a self-professed Mark Lewis fan who contributed the CD booklet notes. "Lewis's musicality, his inventiveness, his humor, his ability to immerse himself in the soundscape of the performance with total emotional commitment -- these all stand out here in track after track." L. to r.: Victor Lewis, Essiet Essiet, George Cables, Mark Lewis. Whether he's inviting his listeners to a carnival on "Boberto's Magical World" or waxing philosophical on the introspective "Not As Beautiful As You," Lewis displays an utterly personal mix of authority, playfulness, and interactive immediacy. He's at home in the blues, playing with relaxed soul on the strolling, minor key "DL Blues," and draws on his deep love of African music for several pieces, most obviously on the lilting "Sierra Leone" and the boisterous 12/8 closer "Roll 'Em Joe." Legally blind, Lewis hasn't let his disability slow him down, traveling the world and establishing deep creative bonds wherever he's landed. But not being able to assess a colleague's immediate reaction to his music may shape his approach to recording. "I don't see well enough to see facial expressions," Lewis says. "I used simple compositions because I didn't want to clutter the purity of the sound we were trying to get. I think pieces of music are like places or rooms. You play in those spaces as a musician, in those settings, and they'll make you into slightly different people doing different things, which I think is good." Born in Tacoma (in 1958) and raised on a farm outside of nearby Gig Harbor, Mark Lewis absorbed music from both sides of his family. A standout player in middle school, he formed his first band at 14. By high school, Lewis's waking hours were filled with music as he played lead alto in the stage band and clarinet in the concert band. Leading several bands around the region, he supported himself while studying composition, flute, electronic music, and piano at Western Washington University and the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts. Settling in Seattle, Lewis started performing regularly at Norm Bobrow's Jazz at the Cirque showcase and quickly found invaluable mentors amongst resident masters. Drummer Otis "Candy" Finch, who'd moved to Seattle after a sterling New York career, recognized Lewis's budding talent and took him under his wing. He also encouraged him to get out of town, and in 1978 the 20-year-old saxophonist flew to Europe with a one-way ticket, his alto sax, and virtually no contacts. He ended up making Rotterdam his homebase for the next 14 years, and established himself as a vital force on the international jazz scene as a player, label owner, and producer. Building an extensive network of musical peers amongst Dutch players and American ex-pats ("Johnny Griffin got me my first gig in Europe," Lewis recalls), he maintained three working Dutch groups. Lewis's record company Audio Daddio became one of the era's essential outlets, releasing recordings by Art Foxall, Vonne Griffin, Al Hood, Art Lande, and David Friesen. The label's last European recording The Rotterdam Session features tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, who brought his ambitious "Presidential Suite" to the studio, and legendary jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones, in one of his last recordings. Lewis also maintained a strong presence back in the States, spending several long stints in the Bay Area in the 1980s. He gained a considerable following with a quartet featuring drum maestro Eddie Moore, pianist Mark Levine, and a brilliant young bassist named Larry Grenadier (the group featured on most of his critically hailed 1988 album In the Spirit on Quartet Records). Now based in Bremerton, a small city west of Seattle on the Puget Sound where he returned to be close to his family, Lewis maintains a busy schedule that includes teaching private students and college clinics. He continues to expand his daunting book of compositions, which number over 1,700. Though he's recorded more than 20 albums, only a fraction of his compositions have been documented on record, another reason why The New York Session is a particularly important release. The discovery of a master improviser is always thrilling, but finding a player/composer at the peak of his powers is a rare occurrence indeed. Though fully aware of his accomplishments, Lewis sees himself as part of a modern jazz continuum. "I try to approach each composition, each performance, with knowledge and technique from studying the masters who came before and also the innocence of a child," he says. "I hope it keeps the music authentic and genuine." * Mark Lewis Quartet on Tour: Wed. 1/4 Lighthouse Café, Hermosa Beach, CA, 6-9 pm with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, b; Steve Dixon, d. Thurs. 1/5 Jazz at the Merc, The Mercantile, Temecula, CA, 7:30-9:30 pm with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, p; Steve Dixon, d. Thurs. 1/12 Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse, Scottsdale, AZ, 7:30-9:30 pm with Nick Manson, p; Jack Radavich, b; John Lewis, d. Thurs. 1/19 Café Stritch, San Jose, CA, 8:30-11:55 pm with Eddie Mendenhall, p; John Wiitala, b; Jason Lewis, d. Photography: Rhonda Stewart Web Site: marklewismusic.com

ECM Craig Taborn Daylight Ghosts Album releases February 10, 2017 Craig Taborn: piano, electronics Chris Speed: tenor saxophone, clarinet Chris Lightcap: double bass, bass guitar Dave King: drums Craig Taborn Quartet on tour Feb. 23 Portland, OR The Old Church Feb. 24 Seattle, WA Cornish College of the Arts Feb. 25 San Francisco, CA SF JAZZ (ECM @SF Jazz II) Feb. 28-March 5 New York, NY Village Vanguard

ECM Colin Vallon Trio - Danse Album release January 27, 2017 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. Although Vallon (recently nominated for the Swiss Music Prize) is the author of nine of the pieces here, the band members share equal responsibilities for the music’s unfolding. The gravitational pull of Patrice Moret’s bass and the intense detail supplied by Julian Sartorius’s drums and cymbals are crucial to the success of Vallon’s artistic concept and the range of emotions the music can convey. Danse will be issued in both CD and LP editions.

Vocalist Barbara Dane To Headline a Concert in Havana December 28 Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Her Historic 1966 Concert Tour of Cuba December 19, 2016 San Francisco Bay Area-based vocalist Barbara Dane travels to Cuba today to headline a December 28th concert in her honor at the Casa de las Americas, one of Havana's most important cultural institutions. The event will kick off celebrations for Dane's 90th year and commemorate the 50th anniversary of her historic concert tour of Cuba in 1966, when she was the first American performing artist to defy the U.S. travel ban. While in Cuba this month, Dane will also receive an honorary membership to the Cuban National Writers' and Artists' Union (UNEAC) in recognition of her role as a cultural bridge between the two countries. Born in Detroit in 1927, Ms. Dane celebrates her 90th birthday in the coming year, inspiring the launch of the Barbara Dane Legacy Project, directed by her daughter Nina Menéndez with an advisory board that includes such luminaries as Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz; Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar; singers Bonnie Raitt, Silvio Rodríguez, and Judy Collins; actress and activist Jane Fonda, and many others. Concerts marking the milestone are planned for SFJAZZ's Miner Theater on July 16 and UCLA's Royce Hall on October 21. The Barbara Dane papers, an archival collection reflecting her decades of involvement in music and activism, have been organized, and a documentary film about Ms. Dane's extraordinary life, directed by Maureen Gosling, is in the early stages of production. In August, the indomitable singer released a new CD Throw It Away..., on her Dreadnaught Music imprint. The disc, her first new recorded work in 14 years, found her in inspired form; Living Blues called it "a triumphant capstone to her career." Dane points to her chemistry with the elegantly swinging pianist Tammy Hall as having "given me the freedom to explore new ways of singing." Rounding out the rhythm section are in-demand bassist Ruth Davies, known for her years of work with Elvin Bishop and the late Charles Brown, and the vocalist's old friend and colleague, Bill Maginnis, on drums. Barbara's son Pablo Menéndez, leader of the Cuban group Mezcla, produced the date on a visit from his home in Havana. And although his main instrument is guitar, here he blows some terrific blues harp on three tracks. The other special guest on the project is trad jazz veteran Richard Hadlock, who contributes soulful soprano sax on one selection. In the 1950s and '60s Barbara Dane performed and recorded with many of the greats of jazz and blues including Jack Teagarden, Benny Carter, Lightnin' Hopkins, the Chambers Brothers, Memphis Slim, and Willie Dixon. Her first album, Trouble in Mind, appeared in 1957 on the San Francisco Records label. She recorded Livin' with the Blues for Dot in 1959 with a combo that featured Earl Hines with Shelly Manne, Plas Johnson, and Benny Carter. Dane appeared on national TV's Timex Jazz Show with Louis Armstrong and was featured on Playboy After Dark, receiving a special award from Hugh Hefner as one of the outstanding jazz artists of the year. She scored a Top 40 hit in 1960 with a single on the Trey label titled "I'm on My Way" that was produced by Lee Hazlewood and Lester Sill and has become a cult classic in recent years on England's Northern Soul scene. Her album On My Way (Capitol Records, 1961) featured a different version of the song, which can be heard throughout the 2010 PBS special Freedom Riders. Never confining herself to one genre, Dane also performed and recorded folk and world music, taking a cue from early mentor Pete Seeger. Many young singers such as Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, and Ry Cooder were exposed to her music at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, where Dane was a frequent headliner. In the 1960s and '70s, she sang at demonstrations in Washington and in small towns all over America, from the Freedom Schools of rural Mississippi to the gates of military bases in Japan and Europe. In l966, Barbara became the first American musician to tour post-revolutionary Cuba. (Nine of her earlier recordings are available on her web site, barbaradane.net , and another five of her classic albums can be purchased from Smithsonian Folkways, folkways.si.edu.) Photography: portrait of Barbara by Steve Kahn; CD cover photo by Ashley James; young Barbara courtesy of the artist. Read Barbara's Q&A with Down Beat here. Barbara Dane with Tammy Hall, "Throw It Away ... " Web Site: barbaradane.net Like: Follow:

Vocalist Barbara Dane To Headline a Concert in Havana December 28 Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Her Historic 1966 Concert Tour of Cuba December 19, 2016 San Francisco Bay Area-based vocalist Barbara Dane travels to Cuba today to headline a December 28th concert in her honor at the Casa de las Americas, one of Havana's most important cultural institutions. The event will kick off celebrations for Dane's 90th year and commemorate the 50th anniversary of her historic concert tour of Cuba in 1966, when she was the first American performing artist to defy the U.S. travel ban. While in Cuba this month, Dane will also receive an honorary membership to the Cuban National Writers' and Artists' Union (UNEAC) in recognition of her role as a cultural bridge between the two countries. Born in Detroit in 1927, Ms. Dane celebrates her 90th birthday in the coming year, inspiring the launch of the Barbara Dane Legacy Project, directed by her daughter Nina Menéndez with an advisory board that includes such luminaries as Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz; Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar; singers Bonnie Raitt, Silvio Rodríguez, and Judy Collins; actress and activist Jane Fonda, and many others. Concerts marking the milestone are planned for SFJAZZ's Miner Theater on July 16 and UCLA's Royce Hall on October 21. The Barbara Dane papers, an archival collection reflecting her decades of involvement in music and activism, have been organized, and a documentary film about Ms. Dane's extraordinary life, directed by Maureen Gosling, is in the early stages of production. In August, the indomitable singer released a new CD Throw It Away..., on her Dreadnaught Music imprint. The disc, her first new recorded work in 14 years, found her in inspired form; Living Blues called it "a triumphant capstone to her career." Dane points to her chemistry with the elegantly swinging pianist Tammy Hall as having "given me the freedom to explore new ways of singing." Rounding out the rhythm section are in-demand bassist Ruth Davies, known for her years of work with Elvin Bishop and the late Charles Brown, and the vocalist's old friend and colleague, Bill Maginnis, on drums. Barbara's son Pablo Menéndez, leader of the Cuban group Mezcla, produced the date on a visit from his home in Havana. And although his main instrument is guitar, here he blows some terrific blues harp on three tracks. The other special guest on the project is trad jazz veteran Richard Hadlock, who contributes soulful soprano sax on one selection. In the 1950s and '60s Barbara Dane performed and recorded with many of the greats of jazz and blues including Jack Teagarden, Benny Carter, Lightnin' Hopkins, the Chambers Brothers, Memphis Slim, and Willie Dixon. Her first album, Trouble in Mind, appeared in 1957 on the San Francisco Records label. She recorded Livin' with the Blues for Dot in 1959 with a combo that featured Earl Hines with Shelly Manne, Plas Johnson, and Benny Carter. Dane appeared on national TV's Timex Jazz Show with Louis Armstrong and was featured on Playboy After Dark, receiving a special award from Hugh Hefner as one of the outstanding jazz artists of the year. She scored a Top 40 hit in 1960 with a single on the Trey label titled "I'm on My Way" that was produced by Lee Hazlewood and Lester Sill and has become a cult classic in recent years on England's Northern Soul scene. Her album On My Way (Capitol Records, 1961) featured a different version of the song, which can be heard throughout the 2010 PBS special Freedom Riders. Never confining herself to one genre, Dane also performed and recorded folk and world music, taking a cue from early mentor Pete Seeger. Many young singers such as Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, and Ry Cooder were exposed to her music at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, where Dane was a frequent headliner. In the 1960s and '70s, she sang at demonstrations in Washington and in small towns all over America, from the Freedom Schools of rural Mississippi to the gates of military bases in Japan and Europe. In l966, Barbara became the first American musician to tour post-revolutionary Cuba. (Nine of her earlier recordings are available on her web site, barbaradane.net , and another five of her classic albums can be purchased from Smithsonian Folkways, folkways.si.edu.) Photography: portrait of Barbara by Steve Kahn; CD cover photo by Ashley James; young Barbara courtesy of the artist. Read Barbara's Q&A with Down Beat here. Barbara Dane with Tammy Hall, "Throw It Away ... " Web Site: barbaradane.net Like: Follow:

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It's that time of year again. What were your favorite ten "new to you" albums that you have opened up in the past year?