GA Russell

This is no bargain, but just a few months after releasing the third season of Maverick Warner Bros. is releasing the fourth season with Roger Moore. This time they are dividing the year into two four-CD boxes, but selling them together for $49.95. http://www.wbshop.com/product/maverick+the+complete+fourth+season+6061+1000466710.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search $48.98 http://www.oldies.com/product-view/7520ED.html

A new one from Ian Carey! I'll look forward to this. Kabocha Records to Release "Duocracy," A Duo Album by Trumpeter Ian Carey & Pianist Ben Stolorow, February 25 First Collaboration by the Bay Area Musicians CD Release Shows February 21 at the Jazzschool, Berkeley & March 7 at St. Hilary's, Tiburon January 22, 2014 In the musical realm of Duocracy, the new CD by trumpeter Ian Carey and pianist Ben Stolorow, "two" rules. Mainstays on the Bay Area jazz scene, Carey and Stolorow have released highly regarded albums as leaders but found their way to the duo format after several satisfying gigs together last year. They chose to capture their singular improvisational ensemble on record, and Carey's Kabocha label will release the inventive results as Duocracy on February 25. "It's super-naked and that was intimidating at first, especially once the tape started rolling, but it's also really freeing. On my last album I felt like I was trying to build something perfect," Carey says referring to Roads & Codes, an album selected by many critics as one of 2013's best releases. "This was about going in and enjoying playing with each other, about playing jazz and seeing what we could come up with, and letting these tunes shine." Carey credits a satellite radio station focusing on recordings from the 1940s with reigniting his love for vintage pop tunes. Struck by the effortless swing that was the era's rhythmic default, he and Stolorow decided to keep the duo loose and limber, unencumbered by involved arrangements. Opening with Walter Donaldson's lilting "Little White Lies," the pair also includes Rodgers and Hart's "You Took Advantage of Me," a piece that showcases Stolorow's gift for melodic invention, and Henry Mancini's "Two for the Road," a standout Latin-tinged ballad performance that highlights Carey's gorgeous tone. They co-wrote the album's sole original, "Comin' Along," an abstract tune built upon the chord changes of Benny Golson's standard "Along Came Betty." Closing with a pair of enduring standards, the Gershwins' jaunty "How Long Has This Been Going On," and Kern's masterpiece "All the Things You Are," the duo departs in a blaze of beauty, refreshing the ubiquitous songs with unfussy eloquence. "We're drawn to a lot of the same repertoire, lovely mid-century well-crafted pop tunes," Carey says. "What makes working with Ben so satisfying he is very into the idea of breaking out of traditional duo roles. There's a lot left to discover." Duocracy is the fourth album for Ian Carey, 39, who previously has written for and recorded his audacious, highly cohesive working quintet on Sink/Swim (2005), Contextualizin' (2010), and Roads & Codes (2013). The Binghamton, New York native earned a New School degree in Jazz and Contemporary Music and spent five post-grad years in New York City before relocating to San Francisco, where he has performed with top-notch ensembles like the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, multi-instrumentalist Adam Theis's Realistic Orchestra, accordionist Rob Reich's Circus Bella, and vocalist Betty Fu, which is how he started playing with Stolorow. Ben Stolorow, 37, was born in New York City but had settled in Los Angeles by the age of 12. In 1994 he moved to the Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley, studying piano with Bill Bell, Susan Muscarella, and Dick Hindman and before long joining the Jazzschool faculty. His 2008 debut album I'll Be Over Here, is a highly interactive trio session focusing on his lustrous originals with bassist Ravi Abcarian and drummer Greg German. On his 2011 followup with bassist Dan Feiszli and drummer Jon Arkin, Almost There, Stolorow deals more explicitly with song forms. The partnership with Carey grew out of their accompanying Betty Fu, and was fed by their camaraderie on and off the bandstand. When Carey moved to the East Bay, just a few miles north of Stolorow, proximity allowed them to start playing together informally, which led to several gigs at an art space in Berkeley. "It was really successful," says Stolorow. "I had this idea to record to see what happens, and Ian felt, if not now, when?" The duo will celebrate the release of Duocracy with concerts at the Jazzschool in Berkeley on Friday 2/21 and at St. Hilary's in Tiburon on Friday 3/7. Photography: James Knox Web Sites: iancareyjazz.com benstolorow.com

Anthony Calvillo made it official, and announced his retirement today. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=441750 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=112077 Top 10 Calvillo Moments video http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/94209 Calvillo's 1st TD pass video http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/94209

That's terrific, JT! Congrats!

I enjoy Dance Without Answer as background music, but I find that the songs seem too similar for me to give the album my undivided attention throughout. I enjoy Stories Yet to Tell much more.

In Ottawa, Toronto Dominion Bank has arranged for Lansdowne Park to be renamed TD Place. Ugh. http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/td_bank_to_rename_ottawas_lansdowne_park/

Johnny Cash: 20 Original Albums (Sony/Columbia) - 33.00 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/Johnny-Cash-20-Original-Albums/dp/B00DYZJ6RQ/ref=pd_sim_m_h__10 ***** Gerry & the Pacemakers - four albums - 9.41 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catch-Crying-Second-Album-There/dp/B00FBTYX6C/ref=pd_sim_m_h__17 ***** Strawberry Alarm Clock - two albums - 9.80 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/Incense-And-Peppermints-Wake-Tomorrow/dp/B00EYUIQ7Q/ref=pd_sim_m_h__10

in 1964... Capitol released Meet the Beatles. It remains one of my favorite rock albums.

My Own Worst Enemy: Complete - $5.73/1.74 http://www.amazon.com/My-Own-Worst-Enemy-Complete/dp/B001QE99BA?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ7T5BOVUVRD2EFYQ&tag=camelhomealerts-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B001QE99BA

This obit doesn't get much into specifics, but it sounds like a book about his career would be interesting. http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-donald-engel-20140119,0,6327069.story#axzz2qoUPkM8n

These look to me like they are legit Universal issues, but maybe not. Brenda Lee - 50 songs - 4.99 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Very-Best-Brenda-Lee/dp/B00BFCJKWQ/ref=pd_sim_m_h__6 The Everly Brothers - 60 songs - 4.99 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004XF5W6A/ref=pe_59001_43446921_pe_epc__1p_4_ti

I was in Walmart today, and saw a number of different titles in this series. So it's not just Miles. I guess this is to complement their OAC's.

Happy Birthday 2014 vajerzy!

This AP obit says that Johnson often laughingly pointed out in interviews that for all his ingenuity, The Professor never figured out how to patch the hole in the boat's hull! http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/16/3538952/russell-johnson-gilligan-professor.html

My understanding is that all of the British Invasion groups were blue collar and prided themselves on being working class - which is ironic, because where I went to high school (New Orleans), and perhaps most everywhere in the US, it was the white collar kids who liked them, and the blue collar guys who didn't. The blue collar guys liked r&b.

Keyboardist Matthias Bublath put out an album last summer called Oceans which I have been enjoying a great deal. The instruments are flute, trumpet, piano, bass and drums. I find it unusual because the sound is very smooth (without being "smooth jazz"), yet the music is very modern. I have found three of his albums on Spotify, but not this one. I have found it on CDBaby, but they're apparently sold out at Amazon. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/matthiasbublath2 http://www.amazon.com/Oceans-Matthias-Bublath/dp/B00DBCUYHS/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1390006177&sr=1-2&keywords=Matthias+Bublath

I'll be there!

Want to sign up to be on the email mailing list of the league or any of the teams? Go here. http://cfl.ca/profile/new

I received a CD mailing from oldies.com the other day, and reading it this morning I noticed that they have a huge number of Miles Sony CDs for $5.97. http://www.oldies.com/search/results.cfm?results=Music-CDs&q=miles+davis

Let's take a look at what has happened in the past ten days. Nick Setta has signed with the Redblacks. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440524 ***** The Ticats traded Simon Charbonneau-Campeau to the Stampeders for Spencer Armstrong. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440544 http://cfl.ca/article/stamps-acquire-charbonneau-campeau-in-trade-with-cats http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4653479 ***** Adrian McPherson hopes to make a comeback with the Stampeders. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440551 http://cfl.ca/article/report-mcpherson-could-be-headed-back-to-cfl http://cfl.ca/article/making-it-official-stamps-sign-qb-adrian-mcpherson http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4653707 ***** Dontrelle Inman has signed with San Diego. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440629 ***** Justin Medlock has signed with the Ticats. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440641 http://cfl.ca/article/just-kickin-it-ticats-sign-medlock-re-sign-lauther http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4654062 ***** The Ticats announced that they had released Dave Stala, and the Als signed him the next day. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440760 http://cfl.ca/article/ticats-release-receiver-dave-stala http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440849 http://cfl.ca/article/back-where-he-started-stala-signs-with-alouettes ***** Martell Mallett will attempt a comeback with the Stampeders. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=440640 http://cfl.ca/article/back-again-mallett-signs-on-with-stamps ***** Weston Dressler will try out with Kansas City. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=441066 ***** Neiko Thorpe has signed with Oakland. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=441107 ***** The Scouting Bureau has released its winter rankings. http://cfl.ca/article/cfl-scouting-bureau-releases-winter-rankings http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=112023 ***** Here are lists of the top free agents. Imports http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=111840 Non-Imports http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=111828 Likely NFL Bound http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=111907 ***** It looks like Anthony Calvillo will announce his retirement on Tuesday. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=441191 http://cfl.ca/article/end-of-the-line-calvillo-to-make-important-announcement http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4655841

Russell Johnson, who played The Professor on Gilligan's Island, has died at 89. RIP. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/01/16/russell-johnson-who-played-professor-on-gilligan-island-dies-at-age-8/?intcmp=features

Happy Birthday to Sade, who is 55 today!

Spotify announced today that there will no longer be the ten-hour per month limit for non-paying customers. http://news.spotify.com/uk/2014/01/15/no-more-time-limits-on-spotify-freeyourmusic/ http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/01/16/spotify-lifts-limit-on-music-streaming-service/?intcmp=features

Happy Birthday HBJ!

For thirty years I have usually started my day at a fast food restaurant with a cup of coffee and the day's newspapers. Twenty-five years ago my regular spot was the Burger King in Tucker (suburban Atlanta), Georgia. I called it the Jazz Burger King because over the sound system they played solid mainstream jazz! I remember one day hearing Horace Silver's Song for My Father, and telling everyone seated nearby that I grew up with that song. For the past year I have lived in downtown Raleigh, and started the day at the McDonald's two blocks away. Since New Year's Day, they have played solid mainstream jazz over the sound system! I have heard a lot of Prestige Coltrane, and also songs from Cannonball's Somethin' Else a few times. And this morning I heard Horace Silver's Song for My Father! We'll see how long this lasts. I made sure to tell the manager on duty how much I appreciate the music.