GA Russell

COMPOSER / MUSICIAN / PRODUCER PETER GORDON AND HIS LOVE OF LIFE ORCHESTRA (LOLO) PRESENT Symphony No. 5 AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE FEBRUARY 16, 2015 OR VIA FOOM MUSIC ON CD, VINYL AND HI-RES DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. Peter Gordon organ & synthesizer Katie Porter clarinet & bass clarinet Paul Shapiro tenor & soprano saxophones Max Gordon trumpet Peter Zummo trombone Bill Ruyle vibraphone Ned Sublette electric guitar Randy Gun electric guitar Yunior Terry bass guitar Elio Villafranca piano Robby Ameen drums Produced by Jeff Jones "The Jedi Master" with Peter Gordon Excecutive Producer Benjamin Freeney Recorded live on June 5, 2013 at Roulette, Brooklyn, NY, USA Peter Gordon New York, February 5, 2015 - Peter Gordon's Symphony No. 5 traces the growth of the New York-based composer'smusical ideas from 2007 to 2012. The number "5" of the title refers to the five-year gestation period as well as the five-movement form of the work, and the idea of a "fifth symphony" as a significant point in a composer's trajectory. The composition is a striking and elaborate statement, with the communication and energy of an ensemble performance, and the punch and careful attention to detail of a studio recording. Peter Gordon has been a driving force of New York's thriving "downtown scene." Performng on saxophones and keyboards, he draws inspiration from musical genres as diverse as jazz, rock, opera and world music. His complex and diverse body of work includes recordings, as well as scores for operas, theater, films and dance. Gordon performed his first symphony, Symphony in Four Movements, in New York in 1976, with a band that included Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Arthur Russell and Rhys Chatham. Combining disco, electronic, pop and jazz elements with experimental music, he formalized his ensemble - the Love of Life Orchestra (LOLO) - and has kept it active ever since. LOLO, with its performers grounded in diverse musical backgrounds, has ranged in size from a trio to 12+ musicians. Its core personnel has remained stable since inception, with recent additions from New York's Latin jazz scene. LOLO is represented by several influential recordings - including 1978's Extended Niceties EP (Lust/Unlust Records) and 2010's retrospective album Love of Life (DFA Records). "The Love of Life Orchestra was founded on the coexistence of multiple musical orientations," Gordon explains. "Counterpoint is central to my music, and prevalent in all five movements of Symphony No. 5. Each voice maintains its integrity and forward motion, but intersecting voices illuminate harmonic and rhythmic dimensions that are shared and larger than any single voice. This is both a musical and social concept: counterpoint developed in Europe during the Enlightenment, when multiple voices needed to coexist, and be heard, for society to function." Homeland Security was created after Gordon returned to New York City, when the country was at war, with a new culture of surveillance. Juvenalia was inspired by Mannie Freshʼs Project Chick with the Cash Money Millionaires of New Orleans, as well as by the Roman poet Juvenal. Both the Roman and New Orleanian works are built from simple, catchy, and symmetrical phrases. Gordon imagined Chamber Disco as a danse macabre that begins in a stark, empty, closed-down club. At first stone cold, then festive, it leads up to a spinning frenzy, then drops to a sudden sobriety. After composing Homeland Security, Juvenalia, and Chamber Disco, Gordon completed the symphonic structure with Exposition and Transgression, the first two movements. Recorded live by producer Jeff Jones "The Jedi Master," who received Grammy Awards for his work with Dr. John and Wynton Marsalis, Symphony No. 5 exhibits Peter Gordon's complex, yet funky, compositional process. Mr. Gordon keeps a busy schedule. Recently, Robert Ashley's Vidas Perfectas saw Gordon reprise his role as music producer of the seminal video opera Perfect Lives. Future projects see him directing a new version of Arthur Russell's Instrumentals in Europe, as well as a new recording with Tim Burgess (Charlatans), scheduled for release on Record Store Day. TRACKS 1. Exposition 2. Transgression 3. Juvenalia 4. Homeland Security 5. Chamber Disco

FREE NELSON MANDOOMJAZZ Presents New Full-Length Album Awakening Of A Capital On RareNoiseRecords AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON MARCH 2, 2015 AND THROUGH RARE NOISE RECORDS ON CD, VINYL AND HI-RES DIGITAL DOWNLOAD [TO LISTEN TO THE MUSIC PLEASE SEE THE NON-PUBLIC LINK AT THE BOTTOM] Rebecca Sneddon Sax Colin Stewart Bass Paul Archibald 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 3, 2015 - Hot on the heels of their debut Double EP The Shape Of DoomJazz To Come / Saxophone Giganticus Scottish doom-jazz trio Free Nelson MandoomJazz are back with their first full-length album, Awakening Of A Capital. In the time that has passed since the release of their first double EP on RareNoiseRecords, Free Nelson MandoomJazz have gone from strength to strength, touring across central Europe during the summer and capping it off by performing at the Match & Fuse London Festival and they also received a personal invitation from Dr. Bert Noglik, the artistic director of Jazz Fest Berlin to play at the festival. The album title is homage to Luigi Russolo's 1913 seminal recording "Veglio Di Una Città" (from "Die Kunst Der Geräusche") and further develops the musical crossroads of Free Jazz and Doom / Sludge Rock which is so uniquely characterized in their debut recording. Awakening Of A Capital was recorded in Glasgow, mixed in Italy by sound sculptor Eraldo Bernocchi, and mastered in the US by Mike Fossenkemper. It finds saxophonist Rebecca Sneddon, bassist Colin Stewart and drummer Paul Archibald pursuing a progressive alliance - the saxophone sounds of Peter Brötzmann and "Interstellar" skronk with massive rhythmic distortions, all referenced against '80's stoner-doom, rock-metal and drone noise. The opening track, "Sun Ra," is a tongue-in-cheekacknowledgement of this marriage." TRACKS 1. Sunn Ra))) 2. The Stars Unseen 3. The Land Of Heat And Greed 4. Poking The Bear 5. The Pillars Of Dragon 6. Erich Zann 7. Slay The Light 8. Beneath The Sea

Infolding SPIN MARVEL'S Third Provocative, Genre-Busting Project Nils Petter Molvaer Appears On Upcoming RareNoiseRecords Debut AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON MARCH 2, 2015 AND THROUGH RARE NOISE RECORDS ON CD, VINYL AND HI-RES DIGITAL DOWNLOAD Nils Petter Molvaer Trumpet Martin France Drums Terje Evensen Live Electronics Tim Harries Bass Emre Ramazanoglu 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 3, 2015 - Spin Marvel is the brainchild of British drummer Martin France, here joined by an all-star crew of celebrated Norwegian trumpeter and electronic music pioneer Nils Petter Molvaer, bassist Tim Harries (formerly of Bill Bruford's Earthworks), Norwegian electronic sculptor Terje Evensen and remix maestro Emre Ramazanoglu. Together they create spacious and dramatic soundscapes of profound intensity on the startlingly original Infolding, blending aspects of free jazz, ambient music and electronica in provocative ways. From the serene to the unsettling, this latest Spin Marvel project morphs into a myriad of moods and melodies over the course of six dynamic tracks. "Canonical" opens with an airy ambient touch before exploding into free jazz tumult paced by Harries' throbbing fuzz bass and France's powerful traversing of the kit, with Molvaer's highly processed cathartic wail layered over the top. "Tuesday's Blues" opens with spacious trumpet before gradually evolving into an in-the-moment adventure anchored by Harries' hellacious fuzz bass and France's interactive, Elvin Jones-inspired swing beat. "Two Hill Town" has Molvaer creating half-time trumpet melodies that float dreamily over France's simmering pulse before the proceedings heat up to a turbulent boil. "Leap Second" makes dramatic use of silence and echo, with Molvaer's haunting trumpet tones resounding over France's subtle brushwork before the piece builds to an intense crescendo. The 16-minute "Same Hand Swiss Double Pug" opens as a kind of ambient bolero before France bursts into a Buddy Rich styled flurry on the snare drum midway thru, triggering a change in mood that culminates in a freewheeling collective improv. And the collection closes on a haunting and kinetic note with the echo-laden "Minus Two," Emre's lone drumming showcase. France, a veteran drummer on the U.K. jazz scene who played in the cooperative group First House and the big band Loose Tubes during the '80s and later worked with Iain Bellamy and Django Bates in the '90s, has performed and recorded with some of the world's great musicians including Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Lee Konitz, Dave Holland, Arild Andersen, Ralph Towner and Marc Johnson. Currently a Professor of Jazz (Drums/Percussion) at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he applies his considerable skills and musical touch to the kit in the more open-ended environment of his Spin Marvel projects. "The use of openness and space is a very important part of what we do," he says. "And creating something from this place allows the musician to feel free and uninhibited and move it in a direction they want to express. I have known Nils for many years and was always hoping that an opportunity would arise to somehow get him involved with Spin Marvel". Nils commented, "To play with such wonderful gifted and open minded musicians was a true pleasure". Emre, a ubiquitous London session drummer and in-demand producer-programmer-engineer-remix artist, brings a visionary vibe to this latest project. "Infolding was my first time working with Spin Marvel," he says. "I was a huge fan of the earlier records and was hugely excited to get involved. It's a very honest record despite the heavy processing. It's all live takes with no edits or overdubs. Infolding began as a single day of live recording with France, Molvaer, Harries and Evensen before Emre came onboard. "It was recorded live in a four hour session for the BBC," explains France. "Sometime after the recording I sat and listened to the takes and selected the performances to form a programme to fit the BBC R3 running time. We were all very happy with the session and how the music was sounding so I forwarded the master files to producer Emre Ramazanoglu, who then worked with the music and produced it for us. "Martin asked if I would be interested in trying to take the sound on from where it had got to at the end of this session," says Emre. "We didn't really plan this next stage at all but it was understood that we both wanted to keep the unedited live takes and bring out the intensity of the performance as much as possible. I spent a few hours with Martin and Tim on the first mix to check that they were into the approach I was taking and then I mixed the rest myself, trying to establish a coherent atmosphere for the record whilst letting the music and performances lead the way." Emre explains his modus operandi on Infolding: "I tend to mold my mixing style to the project at hand and on this one I just was led to that kind of dramatic, spacey sound by immersing myself in the mix and creating as much of a performance there as I could. I mixed these tracks really quite intensely and stuck with my first reaction and the decisions that I made from it. I intensively used convolution processing to get different instruments modulating each other and a lot of interactive compression and effect processing to shape the individual voices into larger, dense blocks of sound in which the boundaries between the instruments are blurred perhaps. A dynamic and inventive collaboration between potent musical forces, Infolding breaks all the rules while leading the way for new possibilities in music-making. TRACKS: 1. Canonical 2. Tuesday's Blues 3. Two Hill Town 4. Leap Second 5. Same Hand Swiss Double Pug 6. Minus Two Photo © Robert Abel 2015 (please credit the photographer)

Tonight's Powerball jackpot should be $317 million. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/powerball-jackpot-climbs-317-million-lull-28709628

Thanks to BeBop's thread entitled "Bios on sale," I this evening purchased the new Frank Cosentino book I mentioned earlier. The book is $18.73, but with BeBop's discount code GOPHIL, the price was reduced by $5.62. https://www.lulu.com/shop/frank-cosentino/home-again/paperback/product-21944940.html

Thanks BeBop! Tonight I ordered the Canadian football book I've been planning to get.

Joe Farrell Quartet - $9.59 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CS45CHM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=RVSBV717YT9&coliid=I1XA9YACCY81EM

I'll look forward to this one. I didn't particularly go for his Freedmantown album not because of the music but because of the politics. Drummer/Composer Reggie Quinerly's "Invictus" To Be Released March 17 By Redefinition Musc Follow-Up to 2012 Debut "Music Inspired by Freedmantown" Features Warren Wolf, Vibraphone; Yotam Silberstein, Guitar; Christian Sands, Piano; & Co-Producer/Bassist Alan Hampton CD Release Show at Smoke, NYC, March 25 February 2, 2015 Drummer/composer Reggie Quinerly made an indelible impression on the jazz world with his 2012 debut recording, Music Inspired by Freedmantown, a soulful and serious-minded tribute to the historic African-American neighborhood in Houston where he grew up. For his second CD, Invictus, which will be released by the drummer's Redefinition Music label on March 17, Quinerly takes inspiration -- and the CD's title -- from the 1875 poem by William Ernest Henley ("I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul"). "Many of today's artists face great uncertainty," Quinerly observes in the new CD's notes, ". . . and while critics, musicians and fans continue to debate the commercial sustainability of an entire industry, I firmly believe its sustainability rests solely within us creators: no matter who is (or isn't) listening, we must persevere, we must create and we must document, because only that which is documented lives on." Invictus demonstrates with its very different musical demands just how much Quinerly has developed into a balanced yet ever-evolving artist. The album surrounds him with a brilliant young cast: vibraphonist Warren Wolf, regarded as one of the most exciting players on the instrument in years; prodigious pianist Christian Sands; rising guitarist Yotam Silberstein; and lyrical bassist Alan Hampton. One of the wonders of Invictus is how much freedom the compositions allow these ravishing soloists while staying inside its textural designs. Quinerly had this particular instrumentation in mind from the start, crafting compositions that took into account the sonorities and lyrical abilities of each player. Wolf is showcased on the album opener "Tavares," dedicated to Horace Silver and "rooted in tradition with a certain earthiness." Bassist Hampton, Quinerly's high school classmate and "one of my favorite musicians to work with," is the soloist on the melodic "Nimzo Indian," named for the chess strategy. Guitarist Silverstein is featured on the ballad "Variation 24," and Sands on the solo piano piece "Kunst Überlebt" (Art Survives). On Reggie's arrangement of "My Blue Heaven," the disc's only nonoriginal, the leader tips his hat to another musical influence, the illustrious pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams. "As a composer, the melodies you write are like parts of your identity, like your name," says Quinerly. "If a melody is not done right, if the notes are not played properly, it's like mispronouncing your name. but all the musicians on this project pay special attention to properly interpreting the intended themes." Reggie Quinerly, 34, was born and raised in Houston's Fourth Ward -- once known as Freedmantown -- and attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where his classmates included Mike Moreno, Robert Glasper, Eric Harland, Jason Moran, and Alan Hampton. After graduation he headed for New York City, enrolling at the Mannes School of Music at New School University and studying there with Jimmy Cobb, Lewis Nash, and Kenny Washington. He earned a B.A. from Mannes and later an M.A. from Juilliard, both in Jazz Studies. Noted as "a drummer and composer of swinging disposition" (Nate Chinen, New York Times), Quinerly has worked with such notable musicians as Von Freeman, Vincent Herring, John Hicks, Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis, Christian McBride, Wynton Marsalis, and Greg Osby. With saxophonist Marcus Strickland, he also played and lectured in New York City schools as part of Lincoln Center's Jazz in the Schools program. He frequently collaborates with vocalist/pianist Enoch Smith Jr., who appeared on Quinerly's first project. The first CD release show for Invictus will take place on Wednesday 3/25 at Smoke, 2751 Broadway, New York City, when Quinerly will lead a quartet comprised of Jaleel Shaw, alto saxophone; Lawrence Fields, piano; and Alan Hampton, bass. Additional dates are in the works. Photography: Javier Oddo (top), Adam Sjoberg (bottom) Web Site: reggiequinerly.com Follow: Like:

©2015 ECM | 1755 Broadway, Floor 3, New York, NY 10019

Here is the list of the 2014 jazz releases that are up for a Grammy. http://www.grammy.com/nominees?genre=16 Any recommendations?

Happy Birthday 2015 Thom!

A man in a Florida supermarket tried to buy half a head of lettuce. The very young produce assistant told him that they sell only whole heads of lettuce. The man persisted and asked to see the manager. The boy said he'd ask his manager about it. Walking into the back room, the boy said to his manager: 'Some asshole wants to buy half a head of lettuce.' As he finished his sentence, he turned to find the man standing right behind him, so he added, 'And this gentleman has kindly offered to buy the other half.' The manager approved the deal, and the man went on his way. Later the manager said to the boy, 'I was impressed with the way you got yourself out of that situation earlier. We like people who think on their feet here. Where are you from, son?' ‘Canada, sir,' the boy replied. 'Well, why did you leave Canada?' the manager asked. The boy said, 'Sir, there's nothing but whores and hockey players up there.' ‘Really?' said the manager. 'My wife is from Canada.' ‘No shit?' replied the boy. 'Who'd she play for?

And with Shorty Rogers, I feel like I started with the best and could never find anything as good afterward. I became aware of him through a CD called "Short Stops," which collected two of his early 10" albums and the Wild One EP. I then started picking up all of the LPs I could find, but none of them ever struck me like the music on that CD. Is it because those are his best arrangements, or is it because I heard them first? TTK, that was precisely my experience as well!

And later... and I have seen composer's credit for One Monkey given to Joe Tex.

I had a couple in college... and

Bill Polian, who was the personnel man for both the Als and the Bombers when they won Grey Cups way back in the day, has been elected to the Canton hall of fame. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/polian-elected-to-pro-football-hall-of-fame-20150131

I have seen a number of reports that Chicago has signed John Chiles to a future contract, but I haven't seen a definition of what that is. Any idea? http://www.tsn.ca/bears-ink-former-argos-wr-chiles-to-contract-1.193703 ***** The Bombers have traded Cory Watson to the Riders for Kris Bastien. The word is that Watson told the Bombers he would retire if he was not traded. http://www.tsn.ca/roughriders-acquire-wr-watson-from-bombers-in-exchange-for-wr-bastien-1.194696 http://cfl.ca/article/trade-riders-acquire-wr-watson-from-bombers ***** Tom Higgins has decided that Anthony Calvillo will be his receivers coach this year. http://www.tsn.ca/former-star-qb-calvillo-named-alouettes-receivers-coach-1.194801 ***** Hamilton native (and therefore national/non-import) receiver Austin Collie has signed with the Lions after five years in the NFL. Collie has a history of concussions, so his passing his physical and getting much playing time are yet to be determined. http://www.tsn.ca/b-c-lions-sign-former-nfl-receiver-collie-to-contract-1.195009 http://cfl.ca/article/buono-inks-free-agent-wr-collie ***** Ian Wild has tweeted that he will sign with Pittsburgh. http://www.tsn.ca/former-bombers-lb-wild-tweets-he-s-signing-with-nfl-s-steelers-1.195864 ***** The Eskimos have released Matt O'Donnell so that he can sign with an NFL team, presumably Cincinnati. http://www.tsn.ca/former-bombers-lb-wild-tweets-he-s-signing-with-nfl-s-steelers-1.195864

I have a pet peeve with the press reporting items which I do not believe meet the New York Times' minimal standard of news which is fit to print. Two weeks ago, the news was that the husband of a woman soccer player was arrested for DUI. I remember a couple of years ago that our local paper reported that a baseball player's brother-in-law (!) was arrested for DUI. Today the news on CNN is that the late Whitney Houston's daughter needed to be taken to the hospital. I believe that these are instances of violation of a person's privacy. Personally, I have a problem with the press reporting on the problems of a "public person" when the problems are irrelevant to the reason the person is "public." But in these cases, the person is not at all public, but merely a relative of a public person. I think that the press is way out of line here. Any thoughts?

FWIW, when I think of West Coast Jazz, I think of... 1) the Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker, and 2) the Shorty Rogers Short Stops collection. If a recording doesn't remind me of one or the other, I don't think of it as West Coast Jazz.

I remember back thirty years ago, the Libertarians were objecting to the fact that the number of taxi cab medallions in NYC was fixed in the 1930's. The issue was the number. I don't recall anyone objecting to the government's right to regulate who received a cab license (ie, the prohibition of convicted pimps). As I see it, Uber is (de facto) arranging for anyone to become a cab driver without first clearing the driver. I think that's asking for trouble.

I'll catch up with the week's news later. In the meantime, here is an interview with Jon Ryan on the alumni association's facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/cflaa/posts/10152653740726453

Jim, I'm pretty sure I had that card! That's a 1960!

Rocky Bridges passed away Tuesday at 87. RIP. My favorite story of his was of the time he joined a group of players who toured Japan in the off-season. He said (quote approximate), "We'd beat them, and then two hours later we'd want to go out and beat them again." http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-rocky-bridges-20150131-story.html

Two new Iyer stops. Vijay Iyer Trio on tour: February 19 Eugene, OR The Shedd February 20 Portland, OR Portland Jazz Festival - Winningstad Theater March 7 New York, NY Temple of Dendur- Metropolitan Museum of Art March 26 Albuquerque, NM The Outpost March 27 San Francisco, CA SF Jazz – Miner Auditorium March 28-29 Chicago, IL Constellation April 10-11 Boston, MA Regattabar

The Argos have released John Chiles early so that he can sign an NFL contract, presumably with Chicago. http://cfl.ca/article/chiles-released-set-to-become-a-free-agent http://www.tsn.ca/argonauts-release-rb-chiles-expected-to-sign-with-nfl-s-bears-1.192864 ***** It looks like Duron Carter will sign with Indianapolis. http://www.tsn.ca/report-former-alouettes-wr-carter-close-to-deal-with-colts-1.193153