GA Russell

  SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL JUNE 13-15, 2025 Curated by SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard Patrice Rushen · Stanley Clarke & Gonzalo Rubalcaba Charles Lloyd Sky Quartet · Cimafunk · Lakecia Benjamin Lisa Fischer · The Soul Rebels · Zig Zag Power Trio SFJAZZ Collective w/ Kurt Elling · Jason Moran · Eric Harland Theo Croker · Dave Holland & Lionel Loueke · Orrin Evans Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble · Nicholas Payton Sullivan Fortner & Ambrose Akinmusire · Mark Letteri Group And Many More JazzCorner™ is proud to partner with SFJAZZ on their varied and compelling content including Drop The Needle series, SFJAZZ at Home, The Breakdown series, Video On Demand, and more. We are excited to share with you more about the the 42nd San Francisco Jazz Festival. This three-day bash celebrating music and community will feature 12 concerts each day in both the Miner Auditorium and Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ, as well as the Festival Tent. In addition, curated guest DJ sets, an outdoor festival street market will take place on Franklin & Oak St., and will feature food, wine, and beer vendors, a vinyl record swap, book and zine merchants, and more. A community art market will be held in the SFJAZZ Center, offering a unique selection of local artwork. Limited full access VIP & 3-Day Passes, 1-Day Passes, and venue specific passes are available now! Tickets SFJAZZ Lois Gilbert Managing Director JazzCorner.com

Jordan VanHemert Faces Down Difficult Times On "Survival of the Fittest," Set for May 16 Release by Origin Records Saxophonist-Composer Draws Inspiration From Person, Political, & Cultural Adversities In a Collection of Nine Originals & Standards In a Sextet with Michael Dease, Lewis Nash, Terell Stafford, Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker   March 19, 2025 Tenor saxophonist and composer Jordan VanHemert considers the twin poles of adversity and resilience with Survival of the Fittest, arriving May 16 on Origin Records. VanHemert’s fifth release as a leader, the album of post-bop jazz finds him leading a sextet with a jaw-dropping all-star lineup: trumpeter Terell Stafford, trombonist Michael Dease, pianist Helen Sung, bassist Rodney Whitaker, and drummer Lewis Nash. While in a broader sense it’s part of a sequence of recordings that explore VanHemert’s identity and struggles as a Korean American, Survival of the Fittest was inspired by the very specific occurrence of his sudden termination due to budget cuts from a tenure-track position as a university director of jazz studies. “The only way I was able to make sense of it was through the music I wrote, which brought me comfort,” he says. “My hope is that in sharing this journey, it would be one that people would identify with because it’s part of the human experience to go through difficult times.” Yet the music never wallows in anger or self-pity; if anything, it’s an antidote to those crippling feelings. The album opens with the strident determination of “Here and Now” and closes with the celebratory glow of “Survival of the Fittest,” bookending a wide range of ideas, images, and emotions that recast the personal as universal. There is a balance within this range of darkness and light, intensity and subtlety. The doleful “Mourning Comes Again,” inspired by the racially motivated Atlanta spa shootings of 2021, is offset by the buoyant “Tread Lightly,” a vehicle for Nash to ply his formidable but ever tasteful chops. Similarly, a hard-driving rendition of the standard “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” is juxtaposed against the spare, peaceful wonder of “Sea of Tranquility.” Those dueling forces come together in pieces like Ellington’s “Come Sunday”—a song of both oppression and hope—and in the traditional Korean murder ballad “Milyang Arirang,” which VanHemert and company temper with beauty and spirit. The album’s thesis statement, muses VanHemert, comes from an old Japanese proverb: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.” Whether by accident or design, there are nine tracks to be found on Survival of the Fittest: VanHemert takes one extra stand just to remind us, the listeners, of the hidden strength we all have within us. Jordan VanHemert was born in 1988 in Cheongju, South Korea, but was adopted as an infant by American parents who raised him in Holland, Michigan. The family loved music and Jordan had taken up alto saxophone by the time he was 11 years old. When his school band proved a less-than-ideal training ground for his instrument of choice, VanHemert talked his way into the jazz band despite his being a beginner. He learned the repertoire first through a Charlie Parker album he’d received from his grandfather, then by checking out stacks of CDs from the local library. The jazz-education-by-fire stuck. VanHemert (who by then had switched to tenor sax) earned a degree in music education from Central Michigan University, then went on to graduate studies in music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was while he was at UM that VanHemert also began investigating his Korean heritage, which became an essential component of both his personal and artistic identities. Capping off his education with a doctorate in jazz performance from the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign, VanHemert made the transition from student to teacher. He was also a working musician and composer, incorporating Korean traditional music into his jazz rubric. This, plus the emotions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent scapegoating of Asians and Asian Americans for the spread of the virus, led to the creation of his first album, I Am Not a Virus, released in 2021. VanHemert dug deep into his musical and cultural heritage as a Korean American with his second album, Nomad (2022), and the following year’s Metamorphosis EP. He then plumbed the depths of the modern jazz tradition with 2024’s Deep in the Soil, an album that introduced the same all-star sextet that populates Survival of the Fittest. He is currently director of jazz studies at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Photography: Jamie Pratt    EPK: Jordan VanHemert "Survival of the Fittest"  Jordan VanHemert Website  

👍

Adam Rita will be the OC in Berlin this year. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/19/six-time-grey-cup-champion-adam-rita-hired-as-berlin-thunder-offensive-coordinator/ ***** Combine news https://3downnation.com/2025/03/19/the-top-15-players-not-attending-the-2025-cfl-combine/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/19/5-things-to-keep-an-eye-on-for-the-cfl-combine/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/19/1-position-group-to-watch-at-the-cfl-combine-for-every-team/

Officials now believe that Mrs. Hackman was alive February 12, due to her requesting healthcare on that date. The records from Hackman's pacemaker indicate that he died February 18 from heart disease (with Alzheimer's contributing). Police change timeline of Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa’s death after new details emerge

The Stampeders had some sort of function yesterday on St. Patrick's Day, and the fans were given explicit instructions that nobody would be allowed to wear green! ***** Combine news https://3downnation.com/2025/03/17/mike-miller-brent-monson-to-serve-as-coordinators-at-cfl-combine/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/17/10-interesting-facts-about-2025-cfl-combine-participants/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/18/5-prospects-to-watch-at-the-2025-cfl-combine/ https://www.cfl.ca/the-answer-to-all-your-2025-cfl-combine-questions-is-here/ ***** Another favorite of mine, Nate Behar, has retired. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/16/canadian-receiver-nate-behar-announces-cfl-retirement-with-emotional-video-essay/ ***** The Argos' training camp will be at U. of Guelph this year. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/18/toronto-argonauts-returning-to-university-of-guelph-for-2025-training-camp/ ***** The Ticats have announced their coaching staff. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/18/hamilton-tiger-cats-finalize-coaching-staff-hire-10-year-cfl-fb-james-tuck-as-assistant/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/18/ticats-announce-2025-coaching-staff-james-tuck-as-rbs-coach/ https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/hamilton-tiger-cats/welcome-to-the-2025-season-the-hamilton-tiger-cats-coaching-staff/ ***** Predictions on 2025 breakouts https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/17/mmqb-5-breakout-candidates-for-2025/ ***** Sask draft needs https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/combine-szn-canadian-draft-needs-for-roughriders-offense/ *****

RIP Jesse Colin Young! I found their album Rock Festival to be an unappreciated surprise.

Years ago I read that Conover insisted that he be an independent contractor rather than an employee. He felt this avoided the potential of the staff interfering with the editorial content of his program.

BC has already admitted that it was over the salary cap last year. If they were $100,000. over, they will forfeit their first round pick, which will be awarded to the worst team, Calgary. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/08/b-c-lions-salary-cap-violation-could-lead-to-extra-first-round-cfl-draft-pick-for-calgary-stampeders/ ***** Brandon Alexander, now a free agent, has decided that he will not re-sign with the Bombers. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/09/veteran-bombers-db-brandon-alexander-announces-retirement-from-cfl/ ***** Ty Long has retired. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/08/former-cfl-nfl-punter-ty-long-officially-retires-from-pro-football/ ***** Doug Specht has died at 83. RIP. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/10/ottawa-redblacks-mourn-two-time-grey-cup-champion-doug-specht/ ***** It took BC 12 minutes to sell out its preseason game in Langford. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/11/that-was-fast-b-c-lions-sell-out-langford-preseason-game-in-under-15-minutes/ ***** Loucheiz Purifoy, a favorite of mine, has retired. He will become a high school coach in Pensacola. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/12/longtime-cfl-db-loucheiz-purifoy-joins-tate-high-school-coaching-staff/ ***** Mock Draft https://3downnation.com/2025/03/11/john-hodges-2025-cfl-mock-draft-1-0/ ***** Jamal Morrow has retired. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/13/former-riders-rb-jamal-morrow-retires-from-cfl/ ***** BC let Alexander Hollins go prior to their owing him a roster bonus. However, he was injured, so the union filed a grievance on his behalf, and won. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/14/b-c-lions-pay-alexander-hollins-75000-bonus-after-cflpa-wins-injury-grievance/ ***** Western analysis https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/10/mmqb-answering-some-west-division-questions/ ***** Combine news https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/11/5-intriguing-ncaa-prospects-at-2025-cfl-combine/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/10/top-5-40-yard-dash-bench-press-performers-from-last-5-years/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/12/6-standout-performers-from-recent-cfl-combine-testing/ https://www.cfl.ca/all-time-cfl-combine-records/ ***** Three star Canadians of each team https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/11/3-high-impact-canadian-players-from-every-cfl-team/ ***** Important stats of five team-switchers https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/12/5-pff-stats-that-standout-for-players-switching-teams/ ***** Each team's Canadian deserving more recognition https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/13/1-canadian-on-every-team-flying-under-the-radar/ ***** Sask analyses https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/riders-biggest-defensive-needs-still-have-question-marks-as-offseason-continues/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/riderville-roundup-march-9/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/riderville-roundup-march-16/ ***** From CFL Stats Geek:

OK, but the protagonist detective was a young woman whom I didn't like.

Just the other day I was missing Larry, MG and aloc.

A newlywed couple were caught getting frisky in the cloak room at church. The pastor told them if they could not learn to control themselves they would have to leave. As a test they were instructed to abstain from relations for one week. The following Sunday the pastor asked if they succeeded. The man said, “I’m sorry we could not. We refrained until Friday but when I saw her bent over in front of the freezer I was so overcome by my passion that I took her on the floor right in front of it. “I’m sorry my son, you clearly love your wife but we cannot have you in this church,” the pastor exclaimed. “We understand,” the man replied. “They don’t want us back at the grocery either.”

Smack Up has been remastered, and is now available. https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/album/smack-up-contemporary-records-acoustic-sounds-series-remastered-2024

When I think of Flying Dutchman, I think of Leon Thomas.

No idea!

In 1959 and 1960, my favorite team was the Senators. I thought he was terrible. I didn't know there was such a thing as a negative WAR! As soon as Zorro Versailles (aka Zoilo) came up, Valdivielso was gone. Nevertheless, RIP. I'm happy for him that he enjoyed a long life, and was a big shot among the Hispanic New Yorkers.

Free Agent analysis https://3downnation.com/2025/03/06/what-the-hamilton-tiger-cats-paid-their-2025-free-agent-signings-how-they-fit-into-the-roster/ ***** The Lions and the Bombers led the league with most Canadians on the field for the most snaps, and as a result they will both receive an extra draft pick at the end of the second round. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/07/b-c-lions-winnipeg-blue-bombers-awarded-extra-second-round-pick-in-2025-cfl-draft-for-most-canadian-snaps-played/ ***** Andre Bolduc has agreed to be the Bombers running backs coach. https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/07/bombers-add-andre-bolduc-billy-jean-to-2025-coaching-staff/ https://3downnation.com/2025/03/07/winnipeg-blue-bombers-add-andre-bolduc-billy-jean-to-2025-coaching-staff/ ***** Terry Wilson has died at 83. RIP. https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/terry-wilson-who-helped-stampeders-win-1971-grey-cup-dead-at-83-1.2266761 https://3downnation.com/2025/03/07/former-stampeders-elks-defensive-back-terry-wilson-dead-at-83/ ***** Henry Burris will be Florida A&M's assistant head coach this year. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/06/cfl-legend-henry-burris-promoted-to-assistant-head-coach-at-florida-am-university/ ***** Combine news https://www.cfl.ca/cfl-combine-historical-results/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/06/3-things-to-know-about-the-cfl-combine/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/07/photo-gallery-iconic-moments-at-the-cfl-combine/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/07/argos-mital-proof-that-strong-cfl-combine-can-turn-it-all-around/

Jose Valdivielso has died at 90. RIP. I had no idea that he became well known in the New York area as a broadcaster. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/port-jefferson-station-ny/jose-valdivielso-12270432

March 8 Mississippi John Hurt - 1893 Dick Hyman - 1927 George Coleman - 1935 Gabor Szabo - 1936 Mickey Dolenz - 1945 Randy Meisner - 1946 Little Peggy March - 1948 Gary Numan - 1958

Guitarist Bobby Broom Joins Chicago Jazz Orchestra & Strings On "More Amor," Wes Montgomery Tribute CD Due March 28 From Chicago Jazz Orchestra Records Album Release Concert with Broom & CJO Takes Place Sunday, March 16, 3pm Logan Center Performance Hall, Chicago Broom Also at Work on a Trio Recording In Tribute to His Mentor & Former Longtime Employer Sonny Rollins & Is Planning to Record His First Solo Guitar Album   March 6, 2025 Acclaimed guitarist Bobby Broom is the featured soloist on a new recording by the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery, due for release March 28 on Chicago Jazz Orchestra Records. The brainchild of CJO musical director/conductor Jeff Lindberg and Broom, the recording began with a seed planted in 2004, after Broom’s successful Montgomery retrospective concert performance with the big band and strings. “I was thrilled when Jeff contacted me about finally getting to work on this recording,” says Broom. “Seeing this vision through was an important collaboration for both of us.” For this recording, Broom and Lindberg enlisted three arrangers—Alex Brown, Tom Garling, and Charley Harrison—to create brand-new arrangements of some familiar and not-so-familiar Montgomery material, including “Four on Six,” “Somewhere,” and “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” Of particular significance for Broom is the fact that his longtime trio (bassist Dennis Carroll, drummer Kobie Watkins) make up the core rhythm section for the album. “For me, this project is a dream,” says Bobby. “Having the trio included was a no-brainer and provided a level of comfort and inspiration for me to create. For years I’ve longed to record in this setting, particularly with strings. But to do so in such majestic fashion, with this ultra-swinging big band, is beyond my wildest dreams.” Broom’s trio went into the Sound Mine Recording Studio in Chicago in late 2024 to record tracks dedicated to Bobby’s mentor and former employer of ten years, Sonny Rollins. With a working title of TYSR (Thank You Sonny Rollins), Broom, Carroll, and Watkins recast Rollins’s compositions from different eras in the Saxophone Colossus’s career. “Sonny has left us so much music to draw from, from so many periods in his long career,” says Broom. “I wanted to try to touch on some of the gems, like ‘Alfie’s Theme’ and ‘Strode Road,’ but also some more recent and perhaps hidden ones, like ‘Allison’ and ‘Kim.’” In further recording news, Bobby plans to begin recording his first solo guitar album in the spring of 2026, and he announces the re-release of Stand!, his first trio album from 2001 with the Bobby Broom Trio, featuring Dennis Carroll and Dana Hall on bass and drums respectively. The album has been digitally remastered and will be available on all major streaming platforms, via Clean Sweep Music (release date pending). Having recently performed a successful three-night run at the Half Note Jazz Club in Athens, Greece, as well as performances at Berklee College of Music and City Winery Chicago, Broom continues to keep his schedule of bookings full. On Fri. 4/4, he’ll be part of a Benny Golson Tribute with the Ravinia Jazz Mentors at Bennett Gordon Hall, Ravinia Festival Grounds, Highland Park, IL. The Jazz Scholar Program is one of the Ravinia Festival’s many community outreach arms. It involves professional jazz musicians working closely with jazz-aspiring, Chicago-area high schoolers. Over the years, the program has yielded players like Marquis Hill, Rajiv Halim, Kyle Swan, and Isaiah Collier. Broom has been a Ravinia Jazz mentor for 25 years. Broom performs with the Ben Paterson Organ Trio at Chicago’s Jazz Showcase 4/10-13. Paterson is a member of the Bobby Broom Organi-Sation, which toured with Steely Dan in 2014 and is featured on that trio’s 2024 Jamalot CD. This fall (10/15), Broom will perform with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra at Daniels Pavilion, Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, FL. And of course he’s looking forward to the More Amor CD release concert this month (Sun. 3/16 at 3pm), at Logan Center Performance Hall, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago. “This concert premiere will be an important event for Jazz from the city of Chicago during this time,” notes Broom. “It will be a celebration and demonstration of the excellence that went into the making of this remarkable recording.” Photography: Tom Chadwick    Behind the Scenes: Wes Montgomery Tribute Album with the CJO & Bobby Broom  Bobby Broom Web Site  

RIP Roy Ayers! I saw him twice with Herbie Mann, when they had recorded these two albums.

Free Agent analysis https://3downnation.com/2025/03/05/what-the-ottawa-redblacks-paid-their-2025-free-agent-signings-how-they-fit-into-the-roster/ ***** Combine news https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/04/5-eye-popping-stats-from-cfl-combine-participants/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/05/10-current-cfl-players-who-raised-their-stock-at-the-cfl-combine/ ***** Rob Ralph will be the Lions' new Assistant GM https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/05/lions-promote-rob-ralph-to-assistant-general-manager-add-scout-will-ark/ https://3downnation.com/2025/03/05/b-c-lions-promote-longtime-scout-rob-ralph-to-assistant-general-manager/ ***** Jack Morneau has died at 99. RIP. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/04/ottawa-redblacks-mourn-grey-cup-champion-jack-morneau/ ***** Steve Charbonneau will be a Conservative candidate for a Quebec seat in the upcoming federal election. https://3downnation.com/2025/03/05/longtime-cfl-player-steve-charbonneau-to-run-for-conservative-party-in-federal-election/ *****

Happy Mardi Gras! Did anyone have pancakes for breakfast this morning? I have opened up this $4.99 cutout I purchased over twenty years ago. Great '50s New Orleans R&B. This is a 30-song single disc compilation taken from the 4-CD box of the same name.