GA Russell

I saw him twice around 1970 and '71 at a club in Washington called Mr. B's. I loved it!

Fox News is reporting that Bud Selig will resign following the 2014 season.

Kory Sheets' knee is still bothering him, and he will not play again this week. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=432758

I put this on yesterday in anticipation of its release Tuesday, and I think it's terrific. Matt White has three albums on Spotify, so I'll keep an eye out to see if this one goes up there too.

Greg Xenakes Week 14 picks http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4627408 ***** The Ticats have signed former Texas A&M and Dallas Cowboy QB Stephen McGee. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=432723 ***** More Week 13 video highlights http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/90089/autostart/true

Vincenzoni wrote the scripts of the Eastwood/Leone spaghetti westerns. RIP. http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-passings-20130926,0,441419.story

A name from my youth has passed on. Paul Dietzel was LSU's football coach. When it was rumored that he would leave to take the Army job, he vehemently denied it. Then he did. The folks in Louisiana really hated his guts after that. One sports guy (Hap Glaudi) would list his name on the screen instead of Army's whenever they lost, which was often. Eventually he returned as LSU's athletic director. http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-passings-20130926,0,441419.story

Hans, I was thinking that it is PD because it stops at 1962. I don't know when Bethlehem stopped recording, although Wikipedia says that it was sold to King Records in '62. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem_Records

I disagree. It's a myth that you get the best people by offering the most money. One tenant of good business is never to hire someone who's just doing it for the money. Hey Joe, a little sleepy tonight? Shouldn't it be tenet?

Another character from On the Road has passed away. Carolyn Cassady, the wife of Neal Cassady and who was portrayed as Camille, the second wife of Dean Moriarity in the novel, died Friday in England. RIP. http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-carolyn-cassady-20130925,0,4132307.story

The Astros did even worse Sunday. They got a 0.0 rating. Not a single Nielsen family watched. http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/09/24/astros-break-another-record-a-0-0-tv-rating/

CFL.ca power rankings. They have the Argos at #1. http://cfl.ca/article/cflca-power-rankings-a-new-number-one-in-town ***** The Als have used Olympic Stadium for home playoff games since 2002, but they announced today that they would not this year. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=432642

Capitol/Universal will release two 2-CD Beatles sets Nov. 11. Amazon is offering them for pre-order for $22.51 each. The first is the remastered Live at the BBC. The second is On Air - Live at the BBC, vol. 2. http://www.amazon.com/Live-At-The-BBC-Remastered/dp/B00F4BJ4M0/ref=pd_luc_wl_01_01_t_lh?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/On-Air-Live-The-Volume/dp/B00F3VOL38/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_y

Amazon UK is currently offering a 3-CD set called Love Me or Leave Me: The Bethlehem Records Story. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Me-Leave-Bethlehem-1958-1962/dp/B00E7QTRWK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=15OXMQC9Z0YS9&coliid=I2DTBZSXR6XZUS Its price is only 6.99 GBP. Do you think that it is a public domain "bootleg" or a legit promotional compilation?

Is anyone familiar with Marquis Hill and his group The Blacktet? "The Poet," 3rd CD by Rising Star Trumpeter Marquis Hill, To Be Released Oct. 22 By Skiptone Music Hill's Sextet, The Blacktet, Includes Christopher McBride, Alto Sax; Justin Thomas, Vibes; Pianist Josh Moshier; Bassist Joshua Ramos; & Drummer Makaya McCraven CD Release Show at the Jazz Showcase, Chicago, Oct. 31-Nov. 3 September 24, 2013 Already an established presence in his native Chicago, trumpeter/composer Marquis Hill will see his star continue to rise on the national jazz scene with the release of The Poet, his third CD in as many years. The dynamic session, featuring his working band, the Blacktet, is due October 22 from Skiptone Music. Hill spent considerable time and care preparing his band for the recording of The Poet, including performing songs from the upcoming album during a February engagement at Chicago's Jazz Showcase less than two weeks before he entered the studio. Among those in attendance was Chicago Tribune arts critic Howard Reich. "Considering the melodic beauty of Hill's themes and the subtle ways the band dispatched them, the recording could be an important one for this ensemble," Reich predicted in his review. The Poet opens with "Mary's Intro," a poem written by Kevin Sparks and recited by Mary E. Lawson, and closes with "Legends Outro," a Free Style by Keith Winford of the Chicago hip-hop band Legend Haz It. Hill's sextet, which he calls the Blacktet, provides the instrumental backing on both. The remaining 13 tracks place the spotlight on the Blacktet -- Hill, alto saxophonist Christopher McBride, vibraphonist Justin Thomas, pianist Josh Moshier, bassist Joshua Ramos, and drummer Makaya McCraven -- with Juan Pastor adding his Latin percussion prowess to three. All, with the exception of brief improvised interludes by Thomas, Moshier, and Hill and a rendition of the Bill Lee ballad "Again Never" from his son Spike's motion picture Mo' Better Blues, were composed by the trumpeter. The title of the new CD was inspired by remarks made by Hill's friend, poet Kevin Sparks, after hearing his previous release, 2012's Sounds of the City. "Your music is so poetic," Hill recalls Sparks saying. "It's modern, but at the same time, it's in the tradition. It reminds me of great poetry. " The remarkable empathy between Hill and saxophonist McBride stems from their having played together since they were classmates at Northern Illinois University (NIU) nearly a decade ago. McBride played on Hill's two earlier CDs -- Sounds of the City and 2011's New Gospel -- as did pianist Moshier. "The thing that really, really attracted me to Chris is the way that we blend," Hill says. "He has a really dark sound for an alto saxophone, and I try to go for a dark sound on the trumpet. We're kind of like the same person when it comes to playing horn parts and cutoffs and how to articulate and how much vibrato to put on the notes." Marquis Hill, 26, was raised in the Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. He took up drums in the fourth grade but soon switched to trumpet after hearing his older female cousin playing one. (He still has a drum set and does occasional gigs as a drummer.) By the time he was in sixth grade, the young trumpeter was a member of the South Shore Youth Jazz Ensemble. It was one of several prestigious student bands in which Hill played while growing up, including the Ravinia Jazz Scholars, in which he first came in contact with future mentors Bobby Broom, Tito Carillo, and Willie Pickens. Hill graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2009 with a B.A. in music education and from DePaul University in 2012 with a M.A. in jazz pedagogy. For the past four summers, he has taught high school students at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, and he recently joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2012, he won the International Jazz Trumpet Competition in Atlanta. While still a student at NIU, Hill became one of the most in-demand jazz trumpeters in the Windy City. When not leading his Blacktet, the trumpeter currently works with saxophonist Ernest Dawkins (another major mentor), pianist Willerm Delisfort, bassist Matt Ulery, the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and groups led by his own sidemen McBride and Thomas. Hill and the Blacktet return to the Jazz Showcase 10/31 through 11/3 to celebrate the release of The Poet. "I want my music to feel good," Hill states. "No matter how modern it sounds, I want the swing and the groove and the feeling to be there." Photography: Jacob Hand Web Site: www.marquishill.com Follow Marquis:

Is anybody else bothered by this? I remember perhaps ten years ago reading that Elizabeth Dole was paid $600,000 to head the American Red Cross. Personally, I believe that involvement with a charity should be an act of service; and the fact of making the organization's leaders rich should call into question the nature of that organization. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-non-profit-salaries-20130924,0,2016783.story

Ted Michaels power rankings http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4627054 ***** Top 10 plays of week video http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/90025

Happy Birthday 2013 Ron!

TSN Week 14 power rankings http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=97698

Well, I guess it's possible that Weather Report had been listening to Soft Machine.

Saturday, Sept. 14, the 'Stros averaged 915 households! I wonder if there was a college football game on at the time. http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/09/20/astros-pull-in-historically-low-tv-ratings/

MG and John, I think the same can be said about the Herbie Nichols. For that matter, I don't believe that all of the Mulligan/Baker was easily available until Mosaic issued it, and then shortly after it was released by EMI.

BClug, as I recall, Pocklington failed to pay all that he owed Gretsky and thus voided the contract. Gretsky allowed him to trade him to Los Angeles to save face, when the reality was that Gretsky could have declared himself a free agent and signed with the Kings without the Oilers' permission. Moose, I was thinking the same thing. In those days, wasn't $3 million a lot of money?

It's that time of year again! The Grand Final will be this Saturday (Friday night in the US), pitting my Hawthorn Hawks against Freemantle. Calling freelancer for your expertise! http://www.theage.com.au/afl#poll

See what you think of this list. http://www.thefumble.com/galleries/22-worst-trades-sports-history/2008256