GA Russell

RIP. Time to go to Spotify and listen to the Mosaic box! I can also recommend his Orchestra of the '80s recordings. I never heard of them at the time, but I stumbled upon a couple of 99 cent cassettes in the mid-'90s.

Father Dowling - Complete Series - $28.00 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AMU8K8C/ref=pe_338200_123270080_pe_epc__1p_0_lm ***** Perry Mason 1930's Warner Bros. Movies (6 movies) - $17.99 http://smile.amazon.com/Perry-Mason-Mysteries-Original-Collection/dp/B009TTGKS4/ref=br_lf_m_9768036011_1_11_ttl?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=movies-tv&pf_rd_p=1915780142&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=9768036011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1H0X24N34VKCKEKBRZYW ***** The Falcon (George Sanders, 7 movies) - $20.49 http://smile.amazon.com/Falcon-Mystery-Movie-Collection-Volume/dp/B005XB8SWI/ref=br_lf_m_9768036011_1_13_ttl?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=movies-tv&pf_rd_p=1915780142&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=9768036011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1H0X24N34VKCKEKBRZYW ***** The Falcon (Tom Conway, 6 movies) - $17.99 http://smile.amazon.com/Falcon-Mystery-Movie-Collection-Volume/dp/B00BH419CG/ref=br_lf_m_9768036011_1_12_ttl?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=movies-tv&pf_rd_p=1915780142&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=9768036011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1H0X24N34VKCKEKBRZYW ***** Philo Vance (6 movies) - $17.99 http://smile.amazon.com/Philo-Vance-Murder-Case-Collection/dp/B00BBI7EZY/ref=br_lf_m_9768036011_1_2_img?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=movies-tv&pf_rd_p=1915780142&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=9768036011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1H0X24N34VKCKEKBRZYW

I am under the impression that Herbie Mann's/Bobby Jaspar's two albums Flute Souffle and Flute Flight were more popular as CDs than as LPs.

MG, was Lockjaw an important record? After all, it was important enough that Eddie Davis used its title in his name for the rest of his life!

Paul Wiecek Week 11 picks http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/cfl-this-week----week-11by-paul-wiecek-274061201.html

This one is still not up on Spotify, but his album Annasaid is.

I see that Two is up on Spotify, but I'll Fly Away is not.

This one is now up on Spotify.

Since the release is three weeks away, this one is not up on Spotify yet, but two of hers are - Free Flying Bird and Mysterious Encounter.

This is another one I haven't gotten to yet, but see that it is up on Spotify for all to hear.

I haven't gotten to this one yet, but I see that it is now up on Spotify.

This one is now up on Spotify.

Happy Birthday 2014 sidewinder! Time to once again celebrate, and pull out your Four Freshmen Mosaic!

Let's first catch up with the Labour Day weekend games. Riders 35....Bombers 30 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4720563 I took a nap, and it looks like I missed the best game of the weekend! Good video. http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/101845 ***** Ticats 13....Argos 12 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4720853 From a scoreboard point of view, it was a thriller, with the Argos marching down the field when time expired. But the quality of play was awful. The Argos receivers were dreadful. Ricky Ray became the youngest QB in history (beating Anthony Calvillo by ten days) to pass for 50,000 yards. Here's the first touchdown scored at Tim Hortons Field http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/101877 ***** Stampeders 28....Eskimos 13 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4721262 Mike Reilly was injured last week, so Matt Nichols played. The Stamps were simply the better team. ***** Eskimos' signature uniform http://cfl.ca/article/gree-and-gold-look-esks-unveil-signature-uniform ***** cfl.ca Week 10 review http://cfl.ca/article/cfl-replay-a-look-back-at-labour-day-weekend ***** Plays of the Week video http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/101975 ***** cfl.ca power rankings http://cfl.ca/article/pintys-power-rankings-ticats-make-a-move ***** You will recall that the first pick of the 2013 draft, Linden Gaydosh, chose to sign with Carolina. The Panthers cut him last month, and today he signed with the Ticats. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=460906 ***** Chris Schultz Week 11 picks http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=460839 ***** Gregg Xenakes Week 11 picks http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4721309 ***** Here's a link which will take you to the lists of the various cfl.ca writers regarding which players have enjoyed the best first half of the season. http://cfl.ca/article/mid-season-all-stars-cfl-writers-make-their-picks ***** Dan Ralph Week 11 picks http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2014/09/03/cfl_picks_week_11_bombers_need_to_win_rematch_against_roughriders.html ***** Mike Beamish Week 11 picks and power rankings http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Week+Picks+power+rankings/10172129/story.html http://www.theprovince.com/sports/football/lions/Week+Picks+power+rankings/10172129/story.html ***** Matthew Kelly CBC power rankings http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/football/opinion/2014/09/cfl-power-rankings-week-10-2.html ***** Travis Lulay will start this week, for the first time since last Sept. 15. http://cfl.ca/article/morris-lulay-returns-in-time-for-bc-playoff-push

I received my sixth $5 Amazon gift card from Bing today. I've followed Howdy's advice, and spent a few minutes each day looking at Bing's own list of headlines (which for the most part is divided between serious international news and fluff about starlets). I figure a couple of minutes a day will get me a box set or two by Christmas.

I'm a fan, so I'll look forward to this one. Vocalist Roseanna Vitro Follows Up Her 2011 Grammy-Nominated Randy Newman CD With "Clarity: Music of Clare Fischer," To Be Released Sept. 30 By Random Act Records CD Is the First Book of New Material by a Solo Singer Of Fischer's Music CD Release Show at Joe's Pub, NYC, 9/26 With Other Performances Scheduled in Oakland (9/28), Houston (11/22), Kitano NYC (1219) September 3, 2014 The richly harmonic, deeply melodic music of pianist and composer/arranger Clare Fischer (1928-2012) has proven to be fertile terrain for many jazz and pop artists over the last half-century. Vocalist Roseanna Vitro puts her passionate stamp on nine of Fischer's compositions (and a favorite of his by Ary Barroso) on her gorgeous new CD Clarity: Music of Clare Fischer, which will be released September 30 by Random Act Records. As on her 2011 Grammy-nominated disc, The Music of Randy Newman, Clarity finds Vitro focusing her talents on a pioneering composer of renown. With their intricate structures and overlapping debts to jazz, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music, and classical forms, Fischer's songs are not always easy to sing. "I really didn't realize what I was getting myself into with this project of difficult melodies," says Vitro. "But once I was in, well, I was in." It took almost two years to cultivate lyrics for six Fischer compositions "that have never been sung before. This is the first vocal book by a solo singer of his music." On this heartfelt project, Vitro pays tribute to a real musician's musician whose fascination with bossa nova and jazz samba is brought to vivid life by her longtime working band (and Randy Newman collaborators): pianist/arranger Mark Soskin, the savvy Sonny Rollins veteran and one of jazz's most in-demand players; brilliant young violinist Sara Caswell, a member of groups led by Esperanza Spalding and Marc O'Connor; bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Tim Horner, rhythm-mates to Vitro and a host of other top vocalists. The prolific percussionist Mino Cinelu (Weather Report) also contributed; vibist Brent Fischer, for whom his father composed "Sleep Sweet Child" (presented here as "Sleep My Child"), guests on one track. Roseanna Vitro (l.) with Dean Johnson, Sara Caswell, Tim Horner, Mark Soskin. Clare Fischer's distinguished career began with his work as arranger for the Hi-Lo's in the late 1950s and included 11 Grammy nominations along with high-profile arranging work for Prince, Chaka Khan, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, and other pop stars. His lifelong involvement with Brazilian and Afro-Caribbean music first came to light on 1962's Bossa Nova Jazz Samba (with Bud Shank) and continued with 1964's Só Danço Samba and 1981's Grammy-winning Clare Fischer and Salsa Picante Present 2+2. The program on Clarity features several of Fischer's more widely covered compositions, such as "Morning," "Seagull" (Gaviota), and "Pensativa," as well as lesser known gems: "Take Your Breath and Sing" (O Canto), originally recorded in Portuguese with a vocal group, and boasting new English lyrics by Roseanna's husband (and CD producer/engineer) Paul Wickliffe; "Love's Path" (Love's Walk), written for Fischer's wife Donna, with new lyrics by Wickliffe; and "Swingin' with the Duke" (The Duke), whose lyrics were co-written by Vitro and Cheryl Pyle. The non-Fischer number, "Web of Love" (Inquietação), is by Brazilian master Ary Barroso and dates from 1935; new English lyrics are by Roger Schore. "My doing Clare's music is a deliberate effort to expand the jazz repertoire," says Vitro, whose previous CDs have also spotlighted composers Ray Charles and Bill Evans. "While the American Songbook now includes works by composers from the 1960s forward -- Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb -- I felt that Clare was a neglected figure. He's an insider's composer, representing a chamber-leaning point of view. I'm hoping that this record will introduce him and his songs to a wider audience, and that my fellow jazz singers hear this material as worthy of modern interpretation." To illustrate this point, Vitro asked her daughter, Sarah Wickliffe (a painter and film animator for ABC's The Chew), to create a visual depicting Fischer's "undiscovered" music as the desert. In Wickliffe's startling cover art, inspired by a Salvador Dali painting, the water flowing from the piano and violin "illustrates the birth and beauty of new music flowing into a bottomless well of creativity," explains Vitro. "My image is smiling, gazing at our new creation of stories set to intriguing melodies. Clare Fischer's harmonic colors and resplendent melodies are rhythmic chamber music for the voice, waiting to be discovered." A native of Hot Springs, Arkansas who emerged on the music scene in Houston before relocating to New York in 1978, Roseanna Vitro has made her mark as an educator in addition to her accomplishments as a recording artist and bandleader. For the last 14 years she has been the Vocal Chair at New Jersey-City University. Until last year she was the vocal jazz teacher at NJPAC, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Wells Fargo Jazz for Teens Program in Newark. She founded and runs JVOICE, a Facebook page for singers (with over 2800 members) where she posts videos, workshops, school info, and interviews with dozens of "great teachers, performers, gatekeepers, and pianists -- it's all about the singers." These interviews led to an affiliation with JazzTimes magazine for whose web site she hosts a column, Voices in Jazz, featuring interviews with artists such as Tony Bennett, Bob Dorough, and Mark Murphy. Her piece on scat singing, "How to Doo Bah -- A Guide to Scat Singing," appears in the September issue ("My first paid article!"). Vitro scheduled the following shows in support of the new CD: 9/26 Joe's Pub, NYC; 9/27 The Seqnoia Room, Fort Bragg, CA; 9/28 Bird's Nest Jazz, Oakland; 11/15 Deer Head Inn, Delaware Water Gap, PA; 11/22 Cezanne Jazz Club, Houston (with Mark Soskin; Warren Sneed, saxophone; local bass/drums); and 12/19 Kitano Jazz Series, NYC (with Mark Soskin and special guest). She will also be giving master classes while in Houston: 11/21 at the High School of Performing and Visual Arts (with Soskin), and 11/23 at Jane Vandiver's Star Singers Studio. Photography: John Abbott Web Sites: roseannavitro.com / reverbnation.com/roseannavtroclarity Follow: Like:

My first hardcore jazz album was Richard "Groove" Holmes' Soul Message, and it remains a favorite to this day. I bought it because it included Misty, which was a hit on the radio at the time. However, Misty has become my least favorite track on the album. A few years ago it was given the RVG treatment, so maybe it is not as unappreciated as I think. Groove's second Prestige album, Living Soul, is in my view also far less known than it ought to be.

These are all Amazon Marketplace Sellers, so $3.99 shipping will have to be added to the price. The Beatles - Live at the BBC - $6.90 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F4BJ4M0/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1 Peter & Gordon - four albums - $12.08 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009DTI380/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas - four albums - $12.07 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKXVOW2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Gerry & the Pacemakers - four albums - $12.08 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FBTYX6C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Herman's Hermits - four albums - $11.87 http://smile.amazon.com/Hermans-Hermits-Theres-Kind-Brown/dp/B00IKXVMLK/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_y

I would have a positive attitude about this, except that I suspect that the bun is too small to do a good job at holding the meat. http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/08/26/could-tackle-arbys-10-meat-mountain/?intcmp=obinsite

A Delta flight had an unruly passenger who was unusually candid with the stewardess. So they dropped her off at Jacksonville on their way to West Palm Beach. http://abcnews.go.com/US/delta-flight-routed-due-passenger-disruption/story?id=25209486

Sounds great, John! I haven't heard of George Freeman since he recorded with Groove Holmes in the '60s. Is that the same guy?

It's my impression that Wadada Leo Smith has a lot of fans here. Any thoughts? Avant-Garde Icon Wadada Leo Smith Joins Forces With Jamie Saft, Joe Morris and Balazs Pandi On Startling RareNoise Release Red Hill AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 AND THROUGH RARE NOISE RECORDS ON CD, VINYL AND HI-RES DIGITAL DOWNLOAD Wadada Leo Smith Trumpet Jamie Saft Piano, Fender Rhodes Joe Morris Double 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, September 2, 2014 - There's a sense of mystery, majesty and daring surrounding this remarkably deep studio session, the first of its kind for the adventurous renegade label RareNoiseRecords. Each piece resounds with such compelling, conversational, in-the-moment playing that it sets a new standard in collective improvisation. "I believe it raises the bar for what improvised music can achieve on record," says pianist Jamie Saft of Red Hill, the group's mesmerizing debut on the RareNoise label. Fueled by the urgent high note blasts and expressive muted trumpet work of avant-garde icon Wadada Leo Smith and underscored by an uncanny group-think of RareNoise stalwarts Saft (Metallic Taste of Blood, Slobber Pup, Plymouth, The New Standard) on keyboards, Joe Morris (Plymouth, Slobber Pup, One) on acoustic bass and Balazs Pandi (Obake, Metallic Taste of Blood, Slobber, Pup, One) on drums, Red Hill is a kind of clarion call for the new avant-garde. "It's rare that four improvisers with such a broad depth of approach are given complete freedom to construct an album such as this," adds Saft. "I think there is nothing like Red Hill. It is a wholly unique and previously unheard shape for an album. The session was totally improvised. No sketches or preconceptions, really no discussion at all before playing." A dynamic, highly intuitive offering, Red Hill is full of tensions and releases and characterized by dramatic use of space juxtaposed with turbulent crescendos by the provocative collective. That this music really breathes and flows organic is due in no small part to the incredibly sensitive, remarkably flexible playing of drummer Balazs, who covers a very wide spectrum on this recording. "Balazs has a sense of freedom that is rare in improvised music," says Saft. "He brings a depth of knowledge of both hardcore and metal music as well as free jazz and noise styles. He is of the moment and always pushing forward. He's a deep listener and a sympathetic thinker, so improvising with Balazs always flows properly." Saft has similarly high praise for Pandi's rhythm tandem mate, bassist Joe Morris. "His approach to the acoustic bass is completely unique and like nothing else in this world. Joe pushes the music into uncharted territory while sustaining the flow brilliantly. The idea of 'Snake Time' is in full effect here, and Joe and Balazs together create truly unique and crucial spaces to frame the improvising." Pandi's sensitive, highly interactive brushwork and coloristic cymbals underscore Smith's lyrical muted trumpet playing on the sparse opener, "Gneiss." And yet, when that piece builds to a turbulent crescendo near the end, the drummer is right there to fuel the frantic proceedings. With mallets, Pandi engages in a conversational duet with Smith at the outset to "Janus Face," a piece that evolves from slow, open rubato statements to dense explosions of tumultuous free jazz sparked by Saft's Cecil Taylor-esque attack on the piano. Saft switches to Fender Rhodes electric piano to attain another color on "Agpaitic," a conversational romp that features some aggressive bowing on the bass by Morris. And Pandi supplies the rolling free pulse beneath Morris' trance-like bass ostinato and Smith's edgy trumpet excursions on "Tragic Wisdom," which also has intrepid improvisor Saft plucking strings inside his piano. Silence is the watchword on "Debts of Honor," a thoughtful improvisation which evolves gradually over the course of nine minutes from zen-like tranquility to intense crescendo paced by Pandi's relentless drumming and Saft's spiky piano comping and is highlighted by some of Smith's most powerful blowing of the session. The trumpeter begins the closing number, "Arfvedsonite," with a high-note blast before Morris enters with some insistent arco work to create an edgy texture. Pandi's rolling pulse with mallets and Morris' resounding bass tones quickly establish a solid launching pad for Wadada's stratospheric improvisations on trumpet, bringing this spell-binding collection to a ferocious conclusion. "I have worked with Wadada in the past both as a pianist and also as an studio engineer," says Saft of the revered elder statesman of this Red Hill session. "I was thrilled to record and mix Wadada's large ensemble album Lake Biwa as well as contribute some piano to it. I've worked closely with Wadada in the studio in the past and witnessed his incredible focus and deeply intuitive way of putting together albums. So it was thrilling for me to get the opportunity to put together this album with a lead voice as strong and important as Wadada's. My approach to this record was to accompany and support him as deeply and as intuitively as possible. All decisions were made in service of the whole." Adds Morris, "I first heard Wadada in my hometown of New Haven in 1973-74. I've always paid attention to him, heard all of his work, read his writings. We've known each other for more than 30 years but this was the first time we've had the chance to work together. I think of Wadada as a master trumpeter/improviser and as the inventor of his own methodology. He has a completely unique sound and way of playing. He uses space and pulse in very sophisticated ways, and he always plays everything from the deepest part of his being. He's a beautiful person, artist and musician. He always brings out the best in everyone around him." With the iconic Smith inspiring the rest of the crew of Saft, Morris and Pandi on this freewheeling session, the four daring improvisers hit a stirring accord on Red Hill, their monumental debut on RareNoise Records. TRACKS Gneiss Janus Face Agpaitic Tragic Wisdom Debts Of Honor Arvedsonite

Happy Birthday 2014 umum_cypher!

Happy Birthday 2014 Stompy Jones!

Happy Birthday 2014 romualdo!