GA Russell

Dana, are you old enough to remember when most of Canada's best selling beers were ales, rather than lagers? I've read that it was the massive ad campaigns of American brands that got the Canadian people moving over to lagers.

I have just learned that Gary Burton's Duster is available for a reasonable price for the first time that I can remember. It is coupled with Country Roads, and together they go for $9.74 +3.99. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KYBBSO2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've just learned that if you put 3.14 up to a mirror, it looks like PIE! page, take a look again at the OP. Today is (in the US) 3/14/15. Pi is 3.1415.

The Ticats have put up a nice collage to celebrate Pi Day! https://twitter.com/Ticats/status/576740849595224064/photo/1 ***** Here's an interesting article from yesterday's National Post about the Argos. http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/13/why-the-toronto-argos-are-left-feeling-unloved-thanks-to-the-split-interests-of-mlse/ ***** Here's an interesting marketing idea of the Bombers to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! http://www.thesnap.ca/bombers-ask-cfl-fans-to-turn-their-green-into-gold/ ***** I remember the first CFL game I saw on TV. It was the 1962 Grey Cup (aka the Fog Bowl), which was on ABC Wide World of Sports, as I recall on a same-day-tape-delay basis. I remember the announcer being Jim McKay, and him struggling to pick out Joe Zuger in the fog. Thirty years later, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Joe Zuger by Joe Galat! Anyway, here's a nice article about Zuger in today's Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2015/03/14/tiger-cats-great-joe-zuger-handles-shrine-snub-artfully.html ***** With Shomari Williams signing with the Stamps, they now have had a total of 17 first-overall draft picks on their roster over the years. http://cfl.ca/article/williams-the-latest-former-first-rounder-to-join-stamps-roster

page, it's "enriches." Your English is excellent!

I think that marketing is sometimes more relevant to this discussion than the music. Do you remember fifteen years ago when neo-swing was briefly popular with bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy? That music was found in the pop section of the record store I worked in, not in the jazz section. That's a reflection of the marketing, not the music.

Why Pi Matters http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/pi-day-why-pi-matters

The Dolphins have traded Mike Wallace to the Vikings. If I understand this correctly, he will be paid $12.1 million this year, after being paid $1 million last year. Nice raise! https://www.bing.com/search?q=Mike+Wallace&filters=tnTID%3a%222CE3161E-7C4C-4259-956F-426DC66ABA23%22+tnVersion%3a%22805652%22+segment%3a%22popularnow.carousel%22+tnCol%3a%221%22+tnOrder%3a%222f9788c0-4f66-4ee1-a482-74ac39c3bcab%22&FORM=HPNN01 http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/dolphins-trade-mike-wallace-to-vikings-exchange-draft-picks/ar-AA9K3UH?ocid=ansSBNation11

I saw him at the New Orleans JazzFest, I think in '91. i enjoyed it.

Jay Z and his friends plan to compete with Spotify, paying higher royalties, and offering better sound. http://www.showbiz411.com/2015/03/13/exclusive-jay-z-had-secret-pow-wow-with-music-superstars-including-beyonce-madonna-kanye-coldplay-to-start-renegade-streaming-service

As you probably read in today's paper, today is pi day - pi being 3.14. But to take it further, pi is 3.1415. One hundred years ago today in 1915, somebody somewhere made a special deal about that, so here we are again on 3/14/15. Maybe you should ask your wife to bake a pie for dessert tonight!

BC has published a nice article about Bob Ackles, whom I met with Don Mathews at the 1985 Grey Cup. http://bclions.com/article/bob-ackles-a-football-life ***** The league has started today what appears to be a weekly round-up of team activities, called Checking Down. http://cfl.ca/article/checking-down-notes-from-around-the-cfl ***** Terry Jones has written a nice article about Al McCann. http://www.calgarysun.com/2015/03/13/classy-al-mccann-was-ctvs-go-to-sportscaster?token=f599838e49af3e26ec998583e31ad296

Bev, may I mention your name the next time someone posts that I have a duty to attend the concerts and buy the records of those who are living? So you prefer to attend concerts by...the dead? David, I understand that there are Irish wakes in Boston which I would enjoy more than the concerts of many of today's jazz musicians!

Bev, may I mention your name the next time someone posts that I have a duty to attend the concerts and buy the records of those who are living?

I have mentioned elsewhere that I use Microsoft's Bing search engine, and that MS gives me a $5.00 Amazon gift card each month for doing so. If you wish to sign up for that deal, my thread on that is in the "misc. - no politics" forum like this thread is. Bing offers an aggregation service like Drudge. About 30 news items per day. Maybe 35% serious news, and 65% Hollywood. So imagine my surprise today, when who do I see featured on Bing's aggregation but Brandon Browner! https://www.bing.com/search?q=Brandon+Browner&filters=tnTID%3a%226687CB30-7D6F-4960-88C1-19B849F3A6AC%22+tnVersion%3a%22803964%22+segment%3a%22popularnow.carousel%22+tnCol%3a%221%22+tnOrder%3a%22761083c7-d576-4412-821e-95d8ba167929%22&FORM=HPNN01

He was listed in our local paper's celebrity birthdays this morning!

RIP. I'll have to find my copy of Camembert Electrique.

Yes, Kelly's Monk biography. Wikipedia says that she permanently rented a suite at the Hotel Stanhope on Fifth Avenue, but that following Parker's death there, she was asked to leave by the hotel management and relocated to the Bolivar Hotel at 230 Central Park West. I'm not familiar with the Bolivar Hotel. Was it the basis for the title of Monk's "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are"? Thanks bluesoul! And I'm guessing that today is the fiftieth anniversary of the Charlie Parker Memorial concert where Dave Lambert sang Donna Lee.

I've come across an interesting article about Canada in World War II that you might like. http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2015/03/04/bizarre-but-true-facts-canada-in-wwii/ ***** This reminds me of a story I was told in 1979 by Lynn Patrick, who was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame the following year. I can tell you that at that time, all American sports fans were familiar with the fact that most of the good baseball players were drafted in World War II, and that the quality of play during the war wasn't very good. It was also known that Maurice Richard had his famous 50 goals in 50 games season during the war; and American sports fans assumed that because it was during the war, the quality of play in the NHL, like in baseball, wasn't very good. Patrick told me that that was not the case. He said that what happened was that the Canadian government drafted the best players, and then "temporarily" assigned them to play for the Montreal Canadiens. The purpose was to boost national morale by ensuring that a Canadian team would win the Stanley Cup by fielding an all-star team! So that's why Richard was able to score 50 goals in 50 games. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Patrick ***** One final point, speaking of the Canadiens. All the American hockey fans I know pronounce that word as if it were "Canadians," and think that that's what it means. Actually, "les Canadiens" were the French Quebeckers. The English Quebeckers were called "les Anglais." The Canadiens were Montreal's French team. Montreal's English team was called the Montreal Maroons. They stopped playing in 1938, due to the Depression. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Maroons

Now the word is that Brandon Browner has signed a three-year contract with New Orleans. http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/cb-brandon-browner-signs-three-year-deal-with-saints/ar-AA9HuNv?ocid=ansFOXsports11

I don't know if this is important, but jazz doesn't have any young stars today, does it? Guys like Roy Haynes and Sonny Rollins were getting noticed when they were about 20. I remember my first copy of Down Beat - June of '67, I think. Larry Coryell with his long hair was on the cover. I think that the record companies had the right idea twenty years ago when they were promoting the Young Lions. It gave the appearance that there was a scene, that things were happening. I'm not aware of anything like that today. No scene, no fun.

Variety reports today that the Canadian federal government announced new rules for television broadcasters regarding Canadian content. I don't know how this will affect the league. Perhaps it will make the league more desirable to the television people. http://variety.com/2015/tv/global/canadian-tv-regulators-shake-up-system-with-new-content-rules-1201451597/

I found this at Yahoo: "I've never seen a decision that is this poor -- the melody wasn't taken, there were no lyrics taken, there was no chord progressions taken," he said. "If this is the standard, it's below floor level it's so low." That quote is from a songwriter, so he has a vested interest. But from what I heard from the video, I agree 100%. http://news.yahoo.com/blurred-lines-verdict-strikes-fear-songwriters-233941179.html

"Team & Variations," 2nd CD by Guitarist/Composer Isaac Darche, Due April 14 From Challenge Records Quintet Date Featuring Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Tenor Sax; Glenn Zaleski, Piano; Desmond White, Bass; E.J. Strickland, Drums CD Release Show at Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn, NY, April 28 March 12, 2015 In the nearly ten years that guitarist Isaac Darche has called New York home, the San Francisco Bay Area native has found opportunities to work with many rising jazz stars and to pursue his own muse. He's emerged as a rising star himself and is now following up on the 2012 release of his well-received debut Boom-Baptism with Team & Variations, to be released by the Dutch-based Challenge Records label on April 14. Darche's fluid, warm-toned style reflects the classic influence of Wes Montgomery and Pat Martino. But as indicated by the title of the album's opening track, "A 'Winkel in Time" -- a nod to influential guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel -- he is open to the innovations of all kinds of stylists. "Pushing the boundaries musically yet keeping a certain authentic 'jazz feeling' was very important to me on this project," says the leader. Darche's performances on the new CD with ace team members Chad Lefkowitz-Brown on tenor saxophone, pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Desmond White, and standout drummer E.J. Strickland confirm his status as one of the most impressive young guitarists on the scene. The playful titles of the originals are drawn from his life. "Sloped Perspective," a wry reference to Brooklyn's Park Slope community, where many jazz musicians live, strives for a combination of simplicity and complexity. "Arts of a Bachelor," an experiment in unusual intervals, reflects on his schooling. "Don't Run out of Money," a double time-exercise with a melody that evolved out of guitar voicings, is the ultimate advice for living in New York. Fresh readings of the standards "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "Nobody Else But Me" are also in the mix, along with his take on Wayne Shorter's "Ana Maria." Born and raised in San Anselmo, California, just north of San Francisco, Isaac Darche, 32, started playing the clarinet at age 7, switched to the guitar at 10, and was also playing the saxophone a year or so later. It was the sound of the guitar -- specifically the pure, beautiful jazz sound of the Gibson L-5 models as played by Montgomery and Martino -- that hooked him. He played in various groups at Marin Academy, a San Rafael high school known for its strong arts program. While attending the Stanford Jazz Workshop Jazz Camp as a young teenager, Darche was blown away by a performance featuring fellow students Ambrose Akinmusire, Jonathan Finlayson, Dayna Stephens, and Taylor Eigsti. "I kept thinking, oh my God, I'm so far behind, this is crazy," he recalls. He went on to attend UCLA, studying with Billy Higgins, Anthony Wilson, and, primarily, the distinguished guitarist and composer Kenny Burrell, whose groundbreaking course on Duke Ellington was an essential part of the curriculum. Burrell was a stickler for good tone, good phrasing, and swing feel. "He would stop us and say, 'This is not swinging,'" said Darche. "But he was open to all kinds of music." Darche was encouraged to go to New York by guitarist and "super sideman" Randy Napoleon. His "boom-baptism" there was eased by all the great music happening around him. He got hired by keyboardist Sean Wayland, and played with numerous other artists including Mark Shim, Jon Gordon, Randy Ingram, Henry Cole, Linda Oh, and his old campmate Ambrose Akinmusire. "It's no easy accomplishment in a field packed with guitarists," wrote David Adler in NYC Jazz Record of Boom-Baptism, "but Darche has found a unique sound and technical approach on the instrument. His tone is bright, his articulation blindingly fast and flawless, his rhythm consistently in the pocket but full of breath, never stiff. ... Effortlessly forward thinking, free of idiomatic clichés." Isaac Darche brings the exciting music of Team & Variations to Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn, NY on Wednesday 4/28 at 8:15 pm, appearing with the same quintet as on the new CD. Photography: Brian Geltner Web Site: isaacdarche.com Follow: Like:

Scott Mitchell reports that Calgary will build a new ballpark for the Stampeders soon, along with a new arena for the Flames. http://www.calgarysun.com/2015/03/12/calgary-stampeders-may-ride-flames-coattails-to-new-stadium ***** The union's website has recent interviews with Eric Fraser, Marc-Olivier Brouillette, James Yurichuk and Shea Emry. https://cflpa.com/category/news/ ***** Keon Raymond has tweeted that he would like Prime Minister Harper to invite the Grey Cup champions to a reception. I think it's refreshing to see a player want to do this, because in the US for the past forty years it has seemed to be more like a photo op for the president's benefit rather than the players'. http://calgaryherald.com/sports/football/cfl/calgary-stampeders/keon-raymond-wants-harper-to-host-a-grey-cup-reception ***** Jim Barker has written a letter to the Argos fans. http://www.argonauts.ca/article/letter-to-argos-fans-from-gm-jim-barker