GA Russell

Michael Sam has left the Als. He played only one game (last week), and failed to make a tackle. http://cfl.ca/article/michael-sam-announces-he-is-stepping-away

Edmonton 15....Montreal 12 http://cfl.ca/statistics/statsGame/id/12905 http://www.cfl.ca/article/shaws-game-winner-boots-eskimos-over-alouttes http://www.tsn.ca/shaw-hits-late-fg-as-eskimos-stun-alouettes-1.345367 For the most part, a defensive struggle. Cato was sacked eight times, including three by Odell Willis. Grant Shaw has been hot all year, but tonight he missed three field goals badly. But he won it with a good kick on the last play of the game.

Brandon Bridge crossbar trick shot http://www.tsn.ca/tnf-trick-shots-the-pin-point-crossbar-1.345042 ***** Dan Ralph Week 8 picks http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/lulay-bc-lions-look-to-hand-hamilton-ticats-their-first-home-loss/article25946648/ ***** John Hodge Week 8 picks http://3downnation.com/2015/08/13/week-eight-cfl-picks/#comments

cfl.ca 8/11 power rankings http://www.cfl.ca/article/nissan-titan-power-rankings-ticats-reclaim-top-spot ***** Malcolm Kelly 8/11 power rankings http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-power-rankings-week-7-1.3187101 ***** Scott Cullen 8/12 power rankings http://www.tsn.ca/tiger-cats-take-top-spot-in-cfl-rankings-1.344180 ***** The Bombers believe that Drew Willy will be out the next six to eight weeks. http://cfl.ca/article/willy-sidelined-6-8-weeks-with-injured-right-knee ***** 8/12 Checking Down http://cfl.ca/article/checking-down-key-injuries-could-affect-week-8 Week 8 game notes http://cfl.ca/article/cflca-game-notes-a-look-at-week-8 ***** More on Angelo Mosca. http://3downnation.com/2015/08/10/ticats-to-retire-angelo-moscas-no-68/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/08/12/angelo-mosca-passes-knowledge-wisdom-to-players/#comments ***** Boris Bede has been getting the job done, so the Als have released Sean Whyte. http://3downnation.com/2015/08/12/alouettes-hope-white-not-whyte-is-the-key-to-victory/#comments ***** Jamie Nye Week 8 picks http://cfl.ca/article/weekly-predictor-can-lions-beat-ticats-at-thf ***** Chris Schultz Week 8 picks http://www.tsn.ca/week-8-picks-ticats-dominant-at-home-1.344389 ***** Mike Beamish Week 8 picks and 8/12 power rankings http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/This+Week+Picks+power+rankings/11285568/story.html ***** Justin Dunk Week 8 picks http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/week-8-cfl-picks-eskimos-could-falter-in-monteal/ ***** CJOB Week 8 picks http://www.cjob.com/2015/08/12/680-cjob-panel-predictions-for-cfl-week-eight/

Week 7 review http://www.cfl.ca/article/cfl-replay-looking-back-at-week-7 ***** The Ticats will retire Angelo Mosca's number 68 August 27. I had his bubble gum card in 1959. http://www.cfl.ca/article/ticats-to-retire-angelo-moscas-number-68 ***** Two offensive linemen scored last week, so here is an item about recent such events. http://www.thesnap.ca/big-men-softer-hands-a-history-of-big-men-touchdowns-in-the-cfl/ ***** Week 7 Plays of the Week http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/114281

Keyboardist/Composer Michael Gallant's"Live Plus One"To Be Released October 9 Follow-Up to Gallant's Acclaimed 2013 Debut "Completely"Features His Working Trio ofDmitry Ishenko, Electric Bass, & Rob Mitzner, Drums,Plus Special GuestPepe Gonzalez, Acoustic Bass East & West Coast Dates ScheduledIn Support of the CD Release Gallant's Music Also to Be Featured In Major Hollywood Film August 12, 2015 With his well-received 2013 debut Completely, keyboardist/composer Michael Gallant emerged as a stylistically omnivorous musical force, "an artist unafraid and bending the tradition," in the words of one critic. Gallant continues to explore his disruptive musical proclivities on his sophomore release, Live Plus One, due out October 9 from his Gallant Music label. Recorded live and almost exclusively at Levine Music in Washington, DC, where Gallant studied piano as a teenager, Live Plus One first came together when the school invited him to perform as part of an alumni concert series in 2014. With his Nord Electro 3HP keyboard tucked underneath the keybed of a Steinway Model D, Gallant delivered a sumptuously inventive set with his working trio: electric bassist Dmitry Ishenko and drummer Rob Mitzner, a longtime friend and once-again bandmate from Gallant's days growing up in the DC area. The ensemble performed a kinetic program of Gallant originals, joined on five tracks by veteran DC acoustic bassist Pepe Gonzalez (the "plus one"), whom Gallant has considered a mentor since his teenage years. "When I work with this trio," says Gallant, "I want to combine the sophistication and rigor of the pianists I love -- people like McCoy, Herbie, Duke, and Bill Evans -- with the raw energy of the grunge rock acts that I grew up with. Melding those influences is a big reason why I play the Nord and piano at the same time. I love how those sounds can melt and fuse with each other, like two sides of the same voice." L. to r.: Michael Gallant, Dmitry Ishenko, Rob Mitzner. Co-produced by Gallant and his wife and frequent musical collaborator Rachel Rossos, the album opens with "Returned," a quietly captivating piece that combines the lush chords of a rock anthem with the soaring harmonies of a Romantic concerto. "Completely," the album's centerpiece, is fueled by a powerful rock riff that embodies the "edge, rawness, and rage" of Gallant's grunge roots "with more delicate, soaring harmonies and melodies." "Greens" is an altered blues that develops fierce momentum; the passionate "Sandra and Michel" was inspired by the legendary Dominican pianist Michel Camilo and his wife; "The Real Maria" is a piece of buoyantly grooving piano funk that pays tribute to his influential piano teacher Maria Rodriguez. "Love You Better," a solo stride-piano and dissonance-infused excursion recorded live at Musideum in Toronto, is the album's closer. Recently, Gallant was commissioned to compose, perform (leading a quartet), produce, and record original jazz for use in the Hollywood film About Ray, a transgender-themed drama starring Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, and Naomi Watts. Fanning plays a New York City teen transitioning from female to male; Watts is her single mother and Sarandon, a lesbian jazz manager/grandmother. The film is due for a 9/18 release by the Weinstein Company. A noted music journalist, Gallant spent almost a decade as a writer, and eventually Senior Editor at Keyboard magazine, interviewing artists ranging from Dave Brubeck and Billy Joel to will.i.am, Herbie Hancock, and many more. Often, his interviews would evolve into four-hand jams at the piano. Born in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1980, Michael Gallant attended Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. The son of a musical family, he began piano lessons at age five, but it wasn't until he began studying with Maria Rodriguez at Levine Music that jazz became a true focus. "I had always appreciated jazz and knew who Duke Ellington was, but she was the one who got me into improvised music and taught me the blues," Gallant says. He attended Columbia University, where a spontaneously chosen class on Japanese doomsday cults inspired him to earn an undergraduate degree in anthropology. "Being interested in pretty much everything, music and beyond, is a big part of my personality," Gallant says. Gallant's work at Keyboard began shortly after he earned his degree in 2003 and continues to date. He resigned his full-time editorship in 2009 to run Gallant Music LLC, a company through which he has composed theme music for the world's first iPad interactive graphic novel, scored the award-winning indie feature drama Remedy, and released albums by both the Michael Gallant Trio and Aurical, Gallant's singer/songwriter project with Rossos; the latter group made its Lincoln Center debut in 2013. Still an avid journalist, Gallant's writing clients include the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of State, and DownBeat. As a studio musician, Gallant contributed to the album Winds of Samsara by Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman, a project that won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. "Jazz is the best label for what we do, but it's only part of the picture," Gallant says of his trio. "There was such a great vibe in that room when we recorded live at Levine, playing for my friends and family in my hometown. It was wonderful to be able to capture that in a project that I'm really proud of." Fall 2015 Performances by Michael Gallant (more to be announced): Thurs 9/24 (6pm), Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Pennington, NJ(duo performance with James Popik, g) Tues 9/29 (8pm), Monthly Residency at Tomi Jazz, 239 E. 53rd Street, NYC(with Dmitry Ishenko, eb; Rob Mitzner, d) Sat 10/10 (8pm), The Record Collector, Bordentown, NJ(with Dmitry Ishenko, eb; Rob Mitzner, d) Fri 10/16 (9:30pm), Kuumbwa Jazz, Santa Cruz, CA Fri 10/23 (8pm), The Sound Room, Oakland, CA Fri 11/6 (8pm), Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center, Middletown, CT(with Dmitry Ishenko, eb; Rob Mitzner, d) Photos: Logan GrendelWeb Site: gallantmusic.comFollow: Like: View:

Tonight's Eskimos-Als game will be on ESPN2 starting at 7: 30 pm eastern. Let's see how much we can catch up on before the kickoff. ***** First, last week's other three games. Ottawa 26.....Montreal 23 http://cfl.ca/statistics/statsGame/id/12899 http://www.cfl.ca/article/ottawa-surges-back-in-fourth-for-victory http://3downnation.com/2015/08/08/redblacks-ko-cato/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/08/09/redblacks-deliver-capital-punishment-to-the-alouettes/#comments Lots of fun! The Als took the lead late in the game, but the Redblacks came back to win it. ***** Toronto 30....Sask 26 http://www.cfl.ca/statistics/statsGame/id/12901 http://www.cfl.ca/article/recap-argonauts-rally-in-fourth-to-beat-roughriders http://3downnation.com/2015/08/09/argos-show-up-just-in-time-to-take-down-riders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/08/09/saskatchewans-passive-defence-submarines-rookie-qb/#comments Brett Smith had a good game, but the Argos won the fourth quarter 14-3. ***** Hamilton 38....Winnipeg 8 http://www.cfl.ca/statistics/statsGame/id/12903 http://www.cfl.ca/article/collaros-dominant-ticats-feast-on-bombers http://3downnation.com/2015/08/10/blue-bombed-hamilton-blasts-winnipeg-38-8/#comments The Ticats led 21-0 less than 8 minutes into the game. After that, the teams played evenly. Drew Willy was hurt in the second half, and was replaced by Robert Marve, who will start this week. http://www.tsn.ca/bombers-go-with-qb-marve-against-argos-1.344642

Happy Birthday 2015 kinuta!

Steve Smith announced yesterday that this would be his last year. Here is an interesting article suggesting that he deserves to be elected to the Hall of Fame. http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/174021/making-the-hall-of-fame-case-for-steve-smith

Can any of you New Yorkers tell me if the Jets' quarterback Geno Smith is any good? He will be out ten weeks with a broken jaw because a teammate (now released) sucker punched him. http://nypost.com/2015/08/11/jets-qb-geno-smith-breaks-jaw-on-sucker-punch-by-teammate/

Happy Birthday 2015 Mark!

This came out Friday, and I see that it is already up on Spotify.

Laurie Pepper announced Friday her new release of The Late Show - Art Pepper, Hampton Hawes, Joe Mondragon and Larry Bunker recorded live at The Surf Club 2/12/52. $4.50 for the download. http://artpepper.bandcamp.com/album/repo-vol-2-reclaimed-art-pepper You will note that Laurie plans to release next spring a CD of Art previously unreleased, recorded live with Warne Marsh.

Jeff, did you grow up in a household like this? I would like to hear the opinions of the women in your family regarding this frank and candid video!

The WSJ comments on Frank Gifford. http://www.wsj.com/articles/frank-gifford-a-pioneer-for-the-modern-day-nfl-back-1439162412

Criterion: Bergman - Four Masterworks - $51.92 + $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/Ingmar-Bergman-Masterworks-Criterion-Collection/dp/B000WC39FY Smiles of a Summer Night The Seventh Seal Wild Strawberries The Virgin Spring

Mission: Impossible - Season 4 - $9.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012Z36FI

Tonight's Als-Redblacks game will be on ESPN2, starting in fifteen minutes.

Here's a concert performance of If on Forgotten Roads, featuring the one and only Terry Smith.

BC 26....Edmonton 23 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/edmonton-eskimos-bc-lions-20150806/Stats http://www.cfl.ca/article/role-reversal-lions-roar-back-to-stun-esks Great game! For the third consecutive week, BC started strong and then fizzled. But this time they got it together in the second half, and pulled it out. Take a look at this catch by Edmonton's Calvin McCarty! Catch of the year? http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/114071/autostart/true

Bay Area Bassist/Composer Fred Randolph To Release 3rd CD, "Song Without Singing," On His Creative Spirit Records August 28 Support from Randolph's Quintet--Erik Jekabson, Trumpet; Rob Roth, Tenor Sax;Matt Clark, Piano; Greg Wyser-Pratte, Drums--Plus Marcos Silva, Rob Reich,Sandy Cressman, Alan Hall, & Others August 5, 2015 One of the busiest bassists on the rich San Francisco Bay Area music scene for more than 15 years, in demand for his work on acoustic, electric, and fretless bass, Fred Randolph has been an integral part of bands led by artists from Ian Carey and Akira Tana to Dan Hicks and Maria Muldaur. For his third CD as a leader, Song Without Singing, Randolph highlights his vibrant original music performed by his own fine quintet and other longtime colleagues. His Creative Spirit imprint will release the new disc, his first since 2006's New Day, on August 28. Most of the 11 tracks feature the Honolulu native's working band of trumpeter Erik Jekabson, tenor saxophonist Rob Roth, pianist Matt Clark, and drummer Greg Wyser-Pratte. "These are some of my best musical friends who always bring their 'A' game to a project," says Randolph. "Their individual and collective talent and creativity are indispensable factors in making the music come alive." Among the guests contributing to Song Without Singing are percussionist Brian Rice, guitarist Matthew Heulitt, and pianist Marcos Silva. Vocalist Sandy Cressman, in whose band Homenagem Brasileira Randolph often performs, sings wordlessly on the samba "Pelo Mar"; accordionist Rob Reich stars on the set-closer "La Ultima Vez," a melancholy tango. The title track was inspired by the music of Malian singer-songwriter Salif Keita and rendered by the band in 6/4 time. Highly syncopated Venezuelan 5/4 time, expertly anchored by the leader's acoustic bass, Wyser-Pratte's trap drums, and Rice's hand percussion, propels "Story." South African melodies and West African highlife rhythms infuse the lyrical and lively "How We See." "I'm not trying to be authentic when I'm writing ethnic music," he says. "I'm just influenced by it." Like many young Hawaiians of his generation, Fred Randolph (b. 1956) took up ukulele as a kid, but didn't get serious about music until hearing Jimi Hendrix's album Are You Experienced? at age 11, when he switched to guitar. His guitar teacher soon turned him on to jazz guitarists Howard Roberts and George Benson. Moving to the mainland to attend UC San Diego, he checked out John Coltrane at the recommendation of another teacher. By the time he'd transferred to UC Berkeley to study political science, he was playing tenor saxophone for spare change on street corners near the campus. Eventually he went on to work with San Francisco bebop saxophone legend Bishop Norman Williams and to study with the great Joe Henderson. He also studied arranging and trumpet with onetime Woody Herman trumpeter Jerry Cournoyer. Randolph continued his trumpet studies at Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) with Jay Rizzetto while working on his master's degree in composition. For his master's thesis Randolph composed a piece for string quartet plus bass. Hearing Cal State instructor Carl Stanley play the bass part he'd written prompted Randolph to fall in love with the instrument. Although he had an upright bass in his closet and was proficient enough to get an occasional gig on it, suddenly he was dead serious. He studied classical bass with Stanley, jazz bass with Frank Tusa, and electric bass with Kai Eckhardt, among other instructors. Randolph was soon a first-call bassist in Northern California and since 1999 has recorded with such artists as the Full Spectrum Jazz Orchestra, the Collective West Jazz Orchestra, Jim Grantham, Ian Carey Quintet+1, Melanie O'Reilly, Ian Dogole, and Orquesta Dharma, as well as with The Zone, a combo he co-led with trumpeter Graham Bruce. Being able to play so many different instruments has greatly helped Randolph in his day job at Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School, which he's held down for the past seven years. "That's where my background comes in," he says. "Picking up a trumpet, a sax, a flute, or a clarinet and being able to play those parts is really nice. At Hayward State, I took every conducting class I could get my hands on, so when I teach symphonic band or string orchestra, I know what I'm doing, thank God." Randolph's mastery of a variety of instruments, his studies of arranging and composing, his globe-spanning tastes in music, and his extensive on-the-job training in jazz, blues, Latin, and Americana groups, as well as with European classical ensembles, are evident in the boldly eclectic body of music he has composed for and performed with his own quintet over the past dozen years. Song Without Singing stands as the latest shining light in Randolph's brilliant musical journey. The Fred Randolph Quintet will appear in support of Song Without Singing on Saturday 1/15/16 at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. Photos: Lincoln Adler Web Site: fredrandolph.com Follow: Like:

John Hodge Week 7 picks http://3downnation.com/2015/08/06/week-seven-cfl-picks/#comments

Tonight's Edmonton-BC game will be on ESPN2 at 10:00 pm eastern. ***** Justin Dunk Week 7 picks http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/week-7-cfl-picks-argos-should-carve-up-riders/ ***** Scott Taylor Week 7 picks http://mytoba.ca/sports/week-7-cfl-picks-take-hamilton-as-the-bombers-fall-to-3-4/ Check out the tattoos Jeff Reinbold has picked up since he coached the Bombers! ***** Last Word's Week 7 picks http://lastwordonsports.com/2015/08/06/week-7-cfl-predictions/ ***** The CFL and the NFL are joining forces regarding the study of concussions. http://www.tsn.ca/nfl-cfl-partner-for-concussion-testing-1.341619 http://cfl.ca/article/cfl-teams-and-nfl-partner-on-concussion-testing ***** Ottawa's Anthony Alix kicks a trick shot field goal. http://www.tsn.ca/tnf-trick-shots-zero-tee-kick-n-flip-1.341726 ***** CJOB Week 7 picks http://www.cjob.com/2015/08/05/680-cjob-panel-with-the-week-seven-cfl-forecast/

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Chris Schultz Week 7 picks http://www.tsn.ca/talent/week-7-picks-argos-finally-play-at-home-1.341115 ***** The Ticats today placed both CJ Gable and Andy Fantuz on the six-game injured list. http://www.tsn.ca/ticats-place-gable-fantuz-on-six-game-il-1.340935 http://cfl.ca/article/fantuz-gable-put-on-6-game-ticats-bring-back-grigsby ***** Scott Cullen 8/5 power rankings http://www.tsn.ca/eskimos-new-leaders-in-cfl-power-rankings-1.341135 ***** Jamie Nye Week 7 picks http://cfl.ca/article/weekly-predictor-do-redblacks-win-off-of-bye-week ***** 8/5 Checking Down http://cfl.ca/article/checking-down-roster-news-and-notes-for-week-7 ***** Week 7 game notes http://cfl.ca/article/cflca-game-notes-a-look-at-week-7 ***** It says here that the league has obtained the rights to the name and logo of the Ottawa Rough Riders, and is now selling Rider t-shirts. http://3downnation.com/2015/08/05/ottawa-rough-riders-retro-gear-hits-store-shelves/ ***** Mike Beamish Week 7 picks and 8/5 power rankings http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/This+Week+Picks+power+rankings/11268888/story.html ***** Luc Mullinder Week 7 picks http://www.properspective.ca/2015/08/hes-back-picking-week-7-in-cfl.html