GA Russell

Although this is not free jazz, I think that most of you who like free jazz would enjoy this.

Grammy Award-Winning Multi-Instrumentalist Nicholas Payton Balances Studio Work As Bandleader, Producer With International Touring Schedule "Textures," His Fifth Album on Paytone Records, Set for Spring Release March 7, 2016 Grammy award-winning Nicholas Payton -- one of the era's definitive artists -- has been quite busy this winter blowing with the all-star Monterey Jazz Festival on a nationwide tour, putting the finishing touches on Textures, his fifth release for his very own label, Paytone Records, as well as producing and arranging Jane Monheit's latest project, The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald. As a multi-instrumentalist, improviser, composer, bandleader, producer, arranger, and essayist, the New Orleans-born and -bred Payton will debut his Afro-Caribbean Mixtape, a blazing new quintet featuring bassist Vicente Archer, pianist Kevin Hays, percussionist Daniel Sadownick, and rising New Orleans drummer Joe Dyson, at the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Set to record this spring, the rhythmically encompassing ensemble explores "how rhythms came from Africa and transmigrated throughout the Caribbean to New Orleans, and affected popular music all over the world," Payton says. His latest album, 2015's Letters on Paytone Records, features his trio with bassist Vicente Archer (an essential Payton collaborator for more than a decade) and veteran drummer Bill Stewart. The two-disc album features 26 original Payton compositions that run from "A" to "Z," a series of distilled motifs on which he moves gracefully from trumpet to piano, Fender Rhodes, organ, and even vocals. "It's largely uncharted territory and the landscape is wide open," Payton says, referring to the unorthodox method of playing both keyboards and trumpet simultaneously. "When I'm playing keys I'm functioning more in the rhythm section and thinking of orchestration. These pieces are springboards to get the creative energy flowing." Payton's creative universe keeps expanding, and with each new ensemble, project, and endeavor, the visionary artist redefines the parameters of #BAM (Black American Music). A whirlwind of activity, he's in the midst of a banner year marked by extraordinary new ensembles, new music, and exquisite new collaborations. In the process of mixing Textures, the latest in a series of conceptual albums geared towards defining a neological lexicon of #BAM, Payton has been composing using the Apple sequencing software Logic while collaborating with New Orleans visual artist Anastasia Pelias. "We both went into the studio not knowing what to expect, her with a blank canvas, and me with a MIDI keyboard controller and a laptop," Payton says. "We played off of each other and that first day I walked away from the studio with a new composition and she with a new painting." Payton is also applying his expertise and creative vision in service of other artists. He produced vocalist Jane Monheit's new album The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald (Emerald City Records), a project that revels in her glorious sound while revealing unexpected facets of her musical personality. "I love to hear the creative process, to bear witness to how that manifests and unfolds from artist to artist," Payton says. "For The Songbook Sessions I wanted to make a quintessential Jane Monheit album, to find the timeless DNA of these melodies and lyrics while taking free rein with rhythms and chord changes. I feel my job as producer is to make the artist comfortable, but also uncomfortable, to push them into spaces they might not go." Payton's influence extends far beyond the studio and stage. Payton, the polymath, is the creator of the #BAM movement. The conversation he's leading extends far beyond terminology. Payton's #BAM is a statement about social justice, self-definition, and refusing to allow one's creativity to be bounded by other's rules, language, and expectations. "I'm not the first person to talk about Black music," Payton says. "The information has been there: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Sidney Bechet said it. So did Charlie Parker, Ahmad Jamal, and the AACM [Association for the Advancement for Creative Musicians, Inc.]. I'm just here to deliver the message at this time. I've evolved and embrace the fact that I do more than one thing. I'd expect the artistic community to be open to that, but it's not always the case." Born September 26, 1973 in New Orleans, Nicholas Payton is the son of the late bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton and former operatic singer and pianist Maria Payton. A professional musician before reaching his teens, he joined his first band at age 11 with the All Star Brass Band under the leadership of James Andrews (Trombone Shorty's eldest brother), and landed his first regular gig with legendary New Orleans guitarist/banjoist Danny Barker at The Famous Door on Bourbon Street. Since his debut as a leader on 1994's From This Moment (Verve), Payton has released more than a dozen albums under his own name, including the Grammy Award-winning Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton (Verve). Payton has toured and collaborated with many of the greatest artists in music, including Roy Haynes, Joe Henderson, Dr. John, Elvin Jones, Hank Jones, Stanley Jordan, Daniel Lanois, Zigaboo Modeliste, Marcus Roberts, Jill Scott, Clark Terry, Allen Toussaint, Cassandra Wilson, and Dr. Michael White. Payton continues to maintain a busy touring schedule, with the following dates booked through the summer: March 11: College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL March 12: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign March 13: City Winery, Chicago (Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour w/ Ravi Coltrane, Raul Midon, Gerald Clayton Trio) April 7-10: Jazz Showcase, Chicago (trio w/ Vicente Archer, b; Joe Dyson, d) April 28: One Eye Jack, New Orleans (w/ Eric Krasnow & Chapter 2) April 29: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival April 30: Prime Example, New Orleans (Afro-Caribbean Mixtape w/ Vicente Archer, b; Joe Dyson, d; Daniel Sadownick, perc) May 1: New Orleans Jazz Festival (w/ Trumpet Mafia) May 6: Motorco Music Hall Art of Cool Festival, Durham, NC (trio w/ Vicente Archer, b; Joe Dyson, d) June 19: Miner Auditorium, SFJAZZ, San Francisco (w/ Stanton Moore) June 22: Clifford Brown Festival, Wilmington, DE (special guest) June 23-24: Blues Alley, Washington, DC June 27: Rochester (NY) International Festival (trio w/ Vicente Archer, b; Joe Dyson, d) Web Site: nicholaspayton.com

Last week's Checking Down http://www.cfl.ca/2016/03/03/checking-tebow-sheets-lighter-bo-levi-mitchell/ ***** Paul McCallum has decided to retire, and as a Lion. http://www.tsn.ca/kicker-mccallum-to-retire-a-lion-1.449344

The league feels that there were too many penalties called last year. However, a proposal to expand the use of replay review is feared to make the games drag on. http://3downnation.com/2016/03/04/15550/#comments http://www.tsn.ca/talent/cfl-to-consider-expanding-video-review-1.446631 ***** There are changes at the top of the BC organization going on. The President and CEO Dennis Skulsky is stepping down, and as you know Wally is returning to head coaching duties. http://3downnation.com/2016/02/29/15531/#comments http://www.cfl.ca/2016/02/29/bc-lions-president-ceo-dennis-skulsky-to-move-to-vice-chairman-role/ ***** Emanuel Davis had tryouts with a number of NFL teams, but has decided to re-sign with the Ticats. http://3downnation.com/2016/03/02/15541/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/03/03/15549/#comments http://www.tsn.ca/ticats-sign-db-davis-to-one-year-deal-1.446778 http://www.cfl.ca/2016/03/03/ticats-sign-playmaking-defensive-back-davis/ ***** Justin Hickman has left the Ticats, and signed with the Argos. http://3downnation.com/2016/03/02/argos-sign-dl-justin-hickman/#comments http://www.tsn.ca/argonauts-sign-veteran-dl-hickman-1.446812 http://www.cfl.ca/2016/03/02/argos-former-ticat-hickman-agree-free-agent-deal/ ***** Here's an analysis of the 2016 schedule. I'm going to need to read it more than once to understand it all! http://3downnation.com/2016/03/06/15566/#comments ***** Al Bradbury was the referee of last year's Grey Cup. Here's an interesting article about him. http://3downnation.com/2016/03/06/15570/#comments

Adventures of Briscoe County, Jr. (complete) - $12.96 prime http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F7CMPE Amazon customers love this show. I don't know it. Does anyone here have an opinion?

Scientists in London believe that they may have found a cure for cancer; but they have not tried it yet on humans, so it is too early to say for sure. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35718491

25 years ago I picked up a Gusto cassette of Charles Brown's great King Christmas album.

Thanks felser! Maybe I'll get it for Easter.

Guitarist Dave Fiuczynski Blends Microtonality, Exotic Bird Calls, Pan-Asian Music, J Dilla Beats On New RareNoise Album Flam! Blam! Pan-Asian MicroJam Guest Appearance By Rudresh Mahanthappa CD, VINYL AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON MARCH 25, 2016 AND THROUGH WWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM. CD RELEASE EVENT AT SHAPESHIFTER LAB ON APRIL 14, 2016 WITH SPECIAL GUEST RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA. FINAL LINE-UP TO BE CONFIRMED. WWW.SHAPESHIFTERLAB.COM CD PERSONNEL: David Fiuczynski guitars, keybards, percussion Helen Sherrah-Davies violin Yazhi Guo suona (Chinese oboe) and percussion Utar Artun microtonal keyboards, fender rhodes Jake Sherman microtonal keyboards, fender rhodes, piano Justin Schornstein electric bass Alex 'BisQuiT' Bailey drums and percussion Rudresh Mahanthappa alto sax (on tracks 8/9/10) (see CD-R for specific track-by-track lineups) All compositions by David Fiuczynski. 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 preconceptions 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 please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com. New York, March 3, 2016 - Fiuczynski opened the Pandora's Box on non-Western tuning on his 2012 RareNoise Records debut, Planet MicroJam. He pushes the envelope even further on his latest microtonal project, Flam! Blam! Pan-Asian MicroJam! Jointly dedicated to 20th century classical composer Olivier Messiaen and innovative hip-hop record producer J Dilla, this ambitious venture has the guitarist-composer pursuing his passion for the notes that fall in between the cracks with his intrepid microtonal crew. The seven movements that comprise Flam! instigated by Fiuczynski receiving a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship, show the connections between exotic bird calls and J Dilla's famous 'flam beats' while also referencing the colors of Messiaen's music, Gagaku, the ancient court music of Japan, and other Pan-Asian ingredients. The three extra tracks that comprise Blam! feature special guest Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone. Fiuczynski is joined on both portions of his latest release by former Microjam Institute students Utar Artun on microtonal keyboard, Yazhi Guo on suona (Chinese oboe) and percussion, Helen Sherrah-Davies on violin, Jack Sherman on microtonal keyboard, Justin Schornstein on bass and Alex Bailey on drums. After first hinting at a non-tempered vocabulary through his whammy bar articulations and fretless guitar playing with his band Screaming Headless Torsos during the '80s and '90s, guitarist-educator Dave "Fuze" Fiuczynski now finds himself knee-deep in the exotic world of microtones. As a guitar professor at the Berklee College of Music and director of its Planet MicroJam Institute, which engages in the study of microtonal harmonies that go beyond the 12-tone Western chromatic scale, the acclaimed guitarist and sonic adventurer maintains that 12-tones to an octave is just a suggestion. As he tells his students: "There are other opportunities, things you can do. And when it comes to groove music, in terms of microtonality, you can really be a musical Captain Kirk and go where no man has gone before. The field is wide open." Throughout FLAM!, Fuze utilizes field recordings of five bird calls (the Common Loon, the Carolina Chickadee, the Northern Nightingale, the Blackface Solitaire and the Brazilian Uirapuru) and transcribes them to be played by the various instruments in his microtonal ensemble. On the opening "Loon-Y Tunes," he employed the calls of the Common Loon and the Carolina Chickadee, then transposed the calls note-for-note onto fretless guitar, violin and microtonal keyboard. Pan-Asian aspects come into play in Fiuczynski's Indian-flavored slide guitar solo on this first track. The call of the Northern Nightingale is used on "Flam" while "Q&A Solitaire," a stunning showcase for violinist Sherrah-Davies, employs the call of the Blackfaced Solitaire. "Oiseaux JDillique" incorporates JDilla's flam beats, Pan-Asian motifs and the call of the Nightingale while "Gagaku Chord Candy," which contains elements of free jazz, has Fuze emulating an ancient Gagaku orchestra on his fretless guitar while utilizing some of Messiaen's chords. And the final piece of FLAM!, "Waldstimmen" ("Forest Voices") reprises all the bird calls together for a fitting conclusion. The three additional tracks feature fire-breathing saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa on "Uira Happy Jam," which is entirely based on the song of that sonorous Brazilian bird, the sparse "Organ Wren," and the intense closer "Loon-ly Solitaire," which has Fuze screaming with distortion-laced delight on his fretless guitar. TRACKS 1. Loon-Y Tunes 2. Dance Of The UiraPuru 3. Flam 4. Q&A Solitaire 5. Oiseaux JDillique 6. Gagaku Chord Candy 7. Waldstimmen 8. Uira Happy Jam 9. Organ Wren 10. Loon-Ly Solitaire BOOKING INFO David Greenberg DOG & PONY INDUSTRIES phone: 603-379-6602 davidg@dogandponyindustries.com www.dogandponyindustries.com Constanze Schliebs AsiaNetwork phone: +49 - 30 - 612 85 671 asianetwork@web.de www.asianetwork.de

Billy Cobham - The Atlantic Years (8 CDs) - $23.09 + $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/The-Atlantic-Box-Set-1973-1978/dp/B012HPDCSW Does anyone have an opinion of this music? How about the OAS for $13.82 + $3.99? http://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Billy-Cobham/dp/B009PHRIEA/

Happy Birthday Al!

Happy Birthday 2016 Garth!

There has been a little bit of news in the past week, so here we go. Last week's Checking Down http://www.cfl.ca/2016/02/24/checking-raising-roof-canadian-quarterback/ ***** Chris Getzlaf has signed with Edmonton. http://www.cfl.ca/2016/02/24/report-esks-getzlaf-close-to-a-deal/ ***** The Bombers think they won free agency. http://www.cfl.ca/2016/02/25/blue-bombers-won-free-agency/ ***** Calgary released Matt Walter. http://www.cfl.ca/2016/02/26/walter-released/ http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-release-rb-walter-1.444100 ***** Jerald Brown has signed with Toronto. http://www.cfl.ca/2016/02/26/argos-ink-jerald-brown-free-agent-deal/ http://www.tsn.ca/argonauts-sign-veteran-db-brown-1.444033 ***** Hasan Hazime has signed with Sask. http://www.tsn.ca/roughriders-sign-canadian-dt-hazime-1.443139 ***** Don Getty has died at 82. I had his bubble gum card in 1964. http://www.tsn.ca/former-eskimo-don-getty-dies-at-82-1.443931 ***** Kory Sheets has worked out for Ottawa. http://www.tsn.ca/sheets-reveals-on-social-media-he-worked-out-for-redblacks-1.444622 ***** In December, the league staff picked out its favorite plays of the year. returns http://www.cfl.ca/2015/12/18/top-10-returns-of-2015/ interceptions http://www.cfl.ca/2015/12/18/top-10-interceptions-of-2015/ offensive TDs http://www.cfl.ca/2015/12/18/top-10-offensive-touchdowns-of-2015/ runs http://www.cfl.ca/2015/12/18/top-10-runs-of-2015/ defensive plays http://www.cfl.ca/2015/12/18/top-10-defensive-plays-of-2015/

It appears to be three or four men, all standing up. One seems to be behind an upright bass. One perhaps is behind a snare drum. This would all be consistent with photos of The Four Freshmen. The liner notes, such as they are, appear to be like the fluff found on the backs of '50s Capitol albums, rather than serious wordy discussions of the music. The Freshman recorded for Capitol at that time.

Jim, could that be The Four Freshmen?

RARE NOISE RECORDS PRESENTS SLOBBER PUP'S POLE AXE Potent Improv Group returns with second chapter in their saga of powerful music and noise, their lineup bolstered by the presence of Swedish sax master MATS GUSTAFSSON AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE AND THROUGH WWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM ON CD, VINYL AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS. Jamie Saft Hammond, Analog Organs, Analog Synthesizers Joe Morris Guitars Mats Gustafsson Saxophones Balazs Pandi Drums ABOUT THE LABEL - RareNoiseRecords was founded in late 2008 by two Italians, guitarist/arranger/ producer Eraldo Bernocchi and all-round music nut Giacomo Bruzzo. Located in London, the label was created to present a platform to musicians and listeners alike who think beyond musical boundaries of genre. For further information and to listen please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com. New York - Two years after debuting with critically acclaimed debut album Black Aces, Slobber Pup are back with their sophomore release, titled Pole Axe.The original core lineup of renowned American keyboardist and pianist Jamie Saft (JS Trio, New Zion Trio, John Zorn's Masada, Merzbow, The New Standard, The Spanish Donkey), American guitar and double bass free music legend Joe Morris and Hungarian hardcore drummer Balazs Pandi (Wadada Leo Smith, Jamie Saft, Merzbow) is here augmented by the presence of Swedish sax titan Mats Gustafsson. Jamie Saft's, Joe Morris' and Balazs Pandi's artistic relationship has been steadily developing on RareNoiseRecords since late 2012 : Saft and Pandi both played on Metallic Taste Of Blood; all three played on Slobber Pup's first release, and again with Wadada Leo Smith on Red Hill; Saft and Morris both played on Plymouth (with Mary Halvorson, Chris Lightcap and Gerald Cleaver) and The Spanish Donkey (with Mike Pride) Recorded December 2013 in Jamie Saft's Potterville International Sound studio in the beautiful Catskills mountains, Pole Axe leverages the afore-mentioned chemistry and the tumultuous, monolithic yet psychedelic vigor of Mats Gustafsson's reeds, yielding three boundless free-form excursions . This journey, which starts with the torrential "Pole Of Combustible Memory", continues with the equally extended "Bring Me My Desire And Arrows To Shoot" (a title inspired by William Blake) and concludes with Incendiary Axe, is a chiaroscuro stream of consciousness that might have been burned on 35mm analog reel. Visions relentlessly follow visions, temperature and texture changes flow into another without hardly rest. (PLEASE NOTE: The order of the tracks stated on the CD is incorrect.) The endless depth of Saft's and Morris' interplay, multiple analog synths and organs engaged in a at times vertiginous dance with the guitar, is here deeply complemented by Gustafsson's saxophone multiform saxophone, sustained by Pandi's at times restrained, at times virulent drumming. Here again one can sense the manifestation of the notion of glacial time theorized by Morris - a state of deep listening between musicians, when time is felt and understood by all, but does not need to be overtly stated. Everyone is experiencing the pulse, yet everyone's focus is on the larger arc of the music. TRACKS 1. Pole Of Combustible Memory (29:35) 2. Bring Me My Desire And Arrows To Shoot (17:50) 3. Incendiary Axe (4:35)

AS PART OF THE INCUNABULA DIGITAL SERIES M.O.D. TECHNOLOGIES PRESENTS Dubopera Masahiro Shimba & Bill Laswell AVAILABLE ONLINE AND THROUGH WWW.MOD-TECHNOLOGIES.COM. THIS IS A DIGITAL-ONLY RELEASE. Masahiro Shimba Vocals Karl Berger Electronic Keyboard Rob Burger Electric Piano, Organ Yukari Fujita Piano Peter Apfelbaum Tenor Saxophone Graham Haynes Cornet Bill Laswell Bass Adam Rudolph Percussion Guy Licata Drums Hideo Yamaki Drums Sly Dunbar Drums Produced & Arranged by Bill Laswell. Material Strings arranged & conducted by Karl Berger. New York - A unique fusion of classic opera mixed with contemporary dub set in a progressive, futuristic, rhythmic environment.Masahiro Shimba is a leading Japanese opera singer, based in Milano and Tokyo. The tenor is the first Japanese artist to receive the "Maria Callas Award" from the International Maria Callas Foundation. He is highly evaluated by the Italian classical/opera world, has performed as a soloist at the Royal Opera Canada, Teramo City Theater, Lincoln Center (NY), Dal Verme Theater (Milano), Verdi Conservatory Puccini Hall (Milano), St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Vatican City/Rome) with Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini conducted by Daniele Agiman and more. TRACKS 1. Nessun Dorma dub / Bill Laswell 8:18 2. Moon dub / Bill Laswell 5:01 3. Tonight dub / Bill Laswell 8:03 4. I Pescatori di Perle (The Pearl Fishers) / Georges Bizet / Bill Laswell 5:18 5. Pagliacci (Clowns) / Ruggero Leoncavallo / Bill Laswell 5:24 Dubopera is a cross label project with ESP Disk.

M.O.D. TECHNOLOGIES RELEASES SONNY SHARROCK'S Ask The Ages ENHANCED AND RE-MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL RELEASE. AVAILABLE IN STORES & ONLINE AND THROUGH WWW.MOD-TECHNOLOGIES.COM. Sonny Sharrock Electric Guitar Pharoah Sanders Tenor & Soprano Saxophone Elvin Jones Drums Charnett Moffett Acoustic Bass New York, December 17, 2015 - Ask The Ages - The classic definer. Guitarist Sonny Sharrock wasn't just ahead of his time, like a freight train roaring through a darkened station, not just hours but weeks ahead of schedule. Channeling the energy and spirit of John Coltrane...with the support of two undisputed icons of free jazz and the avant-garde, legendary Coltrane-drummer Elvin Jones and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders with Charnett Moffett on bass. Absolutely an exploration of the stratosphere and beyond. Enhanced and re-mastered from the original. Produced by Bill Laswell - who upon emerging from the downtown NYC scene as a producer and bassist to be reckoned with, made it one of his first priorities to find Sharrock who he first heard at age fourteen...Ask The Ages. TRACKS 1. Promises Kept 9:43 2. Who Does She Hope To Be 4:41 3. Little Rock 7:12 4. As We Used To Sing 7:45 5. Many Mansions 9:31 6. Once Upon A Time 6:26 ©1992 Jack Vartoogian, FrontRowPhotos

For Immediate Release Please Free Jazz Icon ROSWELL RUDD Joins Pianist JAMIE SAFT and Colleagues TREVOR DUNN and BALAZS PANDI on Stirring RareNoise Release Strength And Power CD AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE NOW AND THROUGH WWW.RARENOISERECORDS.COM. Roswell Rudd Trombone Jamie Saft Piano Trevor Dunn Acoustic Bass Balazs Pandi Drums ABOUT THE LABEL - RareNoiseRecords was founded in late 2008 by two Italians, guitarist/arranger/ producer Eraldo Bernocchi and all-round music nut Giacomo Bruzzo. Located in London, the label was created to present a platform to musicians and listeners alike who think beyond musical boundaries of genre. For further information and to listen please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com. New York, February 29, 2016 - In a remarkable example of uncanny group-think, pianist-keyboardist and RareNoise regular Jamie Saft (Metallic Taste of Blood, Slobber Pup, Plymouth, The New Standard, Red Hill) joins with longtime collaborators Trevor Dunn on bass and Balazs Pandi on drums and master trombonist Roswell Rudd on the astounding, purely improvised Strength and Power. Recorded live in Saft's home studio near Woodstock, New York, this intergenerational offering features the 44-year-old pianist, 47-year-old bassist, 32-year-old Hungarian drummer and 80-year-old avant-garde pioneer blending organically, telepathically on a set of conversational music running the gamut of dynamics and emotions. As Saft explains, "All the music was completely improvised in the studio. No predetermined compositions at all. No hand signals, no charts: nothing but trust, deepest intuition, and mutual respect." The key to this highly interactive session, says Rudd, was not chops but rather the participants' highly attuned listening skills. "The really important thing, especially with collective improvisation, is that you're playing off of each other. So the music comes as a result of listening to each other and your response to the other players. I really found myself delving deeply on this occasion because the other musicians were not only putting it out there but they were also responding in depth. When you're lucky enough to be in the company of very proficient musicians who not only can play but also can listen deeply, this is what I think I love more than anything else in the performance of music." The revered trombonist, who came up playing Dixieland or trad jazz music while attending Yale University in the mid 1950s and later made his mark in the free jazz world through collaborations with Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, John Tchicai and longtime collaborator Steve Lacy, is a formidable presence on this RareNoise recording. Whether it's his lyrical playing on the spacious ballad "Luminescent," his unrestrained blowing on a surging "The Bedroom," his conversational plunger work on "Cobalt Is a Divine" and the title track or his early New Orleans tailgate-styled testifying on "Struttin' for Jah Jah," Rudd's trombone resounds with history, humor and humanity. Dunn provides thick grooves and potent contrapuntal lines throughout (particularly when he is paired in a duet with Rudd on "Dunn's Falls") while Pandi propels the proceedings with kinetic backbeats and swinging momentum. Saft, performing on his 1966 Steinway Model L piano at his home studio, adds spiky comping, cascading call-and-response lines and some exploration inside the piano. "This piano has a unique sound," he says. "It's darker than most modern pianos. Sometimes I will use paper and pen if they are handy as tools to modify the acoustic piano, but mostly it's just real time manipulation of the inside of the piano with these two hands." "The piano is a strange and opulent instrument," adds Saft. "It is a physical object which requires adherence to the basic laws of physics. The greatest pianists understand how to harness the power of gravity and understand the internal mechanisms of the instrument and how they relate to the laws of gravity. I always work to use gravity to my advantage as an instrumentalist. With proper understanding of the way the piano and the human body interact, one can constantly push the instrument into new areas while retaining a deep and rich tone. Whether I'm seated at the piano or working inside the piano, I'm still always dealing with laws of physics. The idea is to let gravity do all the work for you. This gives a deep and crisp tone and maximum technical flexibility." Saft explains that this collaboration with Rudd was partly born out of proximity. "Roswell and I live five miles or so from each other in Kerhonkson, New York. Roswell and Verna Gillis, his brilliant partner, have recorded a number of times at my studio Potterville International Sound. This is how we initially met. It was clear very quickly that we needed to make music together." Rudd says that the Strength And Power session is a continuation of "the pursuit of mystery" that he has tirelessly been on throughout his entire career, from his days as a collegiate Dixielander to the present. "This river that runs through all of my performing and recording from the earliest times, it's essentially what we did over at Jamie's that day. It's a special recording and I look forward to getting back together with the musicians, Balazs, Trevor and Jamie, and doing more, taking it out and playing for audiences somewhere. I'd love to play it for a bunch of people with thirsty ears." Adds Saft, who has also racked up numerous credits on various John Zorn projects over the years, "It's a great privilege to make music with a true legend of improvised music such as Roswell. His compositions are deep and vast, his sound is unmistakably brilliant, and most of all he's a truly beautiful human being. The last point is crucial here: when one improvises with such a beautiful person all is possible. Roswell constantly strives to impart his love of sounds to humanity. His positivity and shining vibe make this clear, obvious, and essential." TRACKS 1. Strength & Power 2. Cobalt is a Divine 3. The Bedroom 4. Luminescent 5. Dunn's Falls 6. Struttin' For Jah Jah

Mine arrived yesterday. I've spent much of today enjoying Disc One.

Thanks for that Groudhogs link, felser! Here's something else that appeals to me: Esther Phillips - OAS - $11.38 + $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019127L40?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Happy 40th Birthday Jon!

The Groundhogs - OAS - 9.99 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00QN1AC7Q?redirect=true&ref_=pe_208251_101272101_pe_epc__1p_5_lm ***** Donny Hathaway - OAS - 9.99 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0030Y10ZM?redirect=true&ref_=pe_208251_101272101_pe_epc__1p_6_lm $10.49 + $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0030Y10ZM/ref=tmm_acd_new_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=1456622887&sr=8-1 ***** Bill Evans - OAS - $11.28 + $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019127KG4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

I still like Disc One, and I'm still looking forward to March 21!

Avon Cobourne will coach the Bombers' running backs this year. I didn't know that he was a Riders coach last year. http://3downnation.com/2016/02/23/bombers-tap-avon-cobourne-to-coach-running-backs/#comments http://www.tsn.ca/blue-bombers-hire-cobourne-as-running-backs-coach-1.442217