GA Russell

Laurie's been busy! Laurie Pepper to Release the Eighth "Unheard Art Pepper" Album On Her Widow's Taste Label "Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Vol. VIII, Live at the Winery," Recorded September 6, 1976, Is Due for Release November 5, 2013 September 30, 2013 Live at the Winery, the eighth consecutive release in a series of critically acclaimed, previously unheard Art Pepper recordings on the Widow's Taste label, will be released on November 5. Laurie Pepper began her company in 2006 in order, she said, to unearth previously unreleased Art and share it with his loyal and very grateful fans. This 1976 concert dates from the exhilarating early days of the alto saxophonist's last comeback. "I thought it was time to focus on the music Art made with some of his alternate sidemen," says Laurie. "I also chose it because I listened to the first track, 'Caravan,' and it knocked me out. I knew it had to be heard." Recorded (anonymously) from the soundboard during a Labor Day jazz festival at the Paul Masson Winery, in Saratoga, California, this set features Art's Northern California band. He'd first encountered them in 1974 at Pete Douglas's Beach House -- aka Bach Dancing and Dynamite -- up in Half Moon Bay. He fell in love at once with pianist Smith Dobson (pictured below), a jazz educator and local performer who had worked with almost every jazz star who came through The Reunion in San Francisco and other Northern California venues. Art worked with him quite a few times and talked about taking him on the road. (Listen to Art's heartfelt little speech right after they play "Rainy Day.") The other band members were regulars Smith worked with: Jim Nichols on bass and young Brad Bilhorn on drums. This recording was made on the last day of a three-day gig, so the band was tight and relaxed. Art began the set with the aforementioned "Caravan," which seems, despite its quaintly Oriental or Saharan references, absolutely hurtling through a Latin landscape. That's followed by one of Art's most beautiful and idiosyncratic originals, "Ophelia." Written for Art's drug addicted second wife, it's a tune that is, by turns, tender, swinging, wildly raging, and finally as fresh and pretty as the morning after a storm. The third tune, "Here's That Rainy Day," is a classic ballad Art played frequently in those days -- during which he was still earning part of his living working "casuals," Bar Mitzvahs, and weddings. It was a regularly included standard at those functions, and Art loved to play it. Ballads were his forte, after all, and this time it moves him more than usual. You can hear his voice break as he singles out Smith Dobson's solo. If "Rainy Day" is heavenly, the next track is earthy. At casuals Art played "Ode to Billie Joe" and "Watermelon Man" for dancing and enjoyed that tremendously. "What Laurie Likes," his own original, reflects the joy he got from playing funk. But as his jazz comeback accelerated, he succumbed to his public's perception of "jazz rock" as too simple and passé and dropped that kind of thing from his repertoire, so we only get to hear this funky stuff in concerts like this one, from the '70s. Art usually ended his sets with "Straight Life," his original, which had become his signature. This one is as breakneck and exciting as can be. And then, as an encore we get another Pepper signature, a slow, sweet blues ("Saratoga Blues"). Widow's Taste Records is doing well, and Laurie hasn't come to the end of what she thinks the public needs to hear. Her next CD release will not be entirely "unheard." She'll respond to the pressure of the fans and put out the complete blues and ballads set released in by Omnivore in 2011 on vinyl as "Neon Art." She says she also wants to release a DVD of a rare Pepper performance in Norway, but she'll have to go to a public funding source to pay for the expensive sync licensing she'd have to deal with. At that point, she threatens to also release on DVD her own Art Pepper Movie which, for the past eight years, has had to take a backseat to the record company. In the meantime, Laurie has completed her memoir of her life with Art: ART: Why I Stuck with a Junkie Jazzman. It will be available both in print and as an ebook and will be published in the spring of 2014. Web Site: www.artpepper.net Blog: www.artpeppermusic.blogspot.com Follow Laurie:

Marc Myers recommended this the other day in his JazzWax blog, so I opened it up over the weekend and listened to it a couple of times. I like it a lot.

Elise Maye Pauling, the woman who was the inspiration for the song "This is dedicated to the one I love," died last week in Winston-Salem. RIP. http://www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_915473a4-2967-11e3-bef6-0019bb30f31a.html

The Lions have announced that Travis Lulay will miss another two more weeks. http://www.straight.com/blogra/432161/bc-lions-announce-qb-travis-lulay-miss-two-more-weeks ***** The Eskimos announced that Mike Reilly suffered a concussion in the Argos game. No word yet on when he will next play. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/eskimos-qb-mike-reilly-diagnosed-with-concussion-1.1872881

$92.90 http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Henderson-Milestone-Years-Box/dp/B000000XRM/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1380558809&sr=1-1&keywords=Joe+Henderson+Milestone+Years

Mr. Magoo: The Television Collection (11 discs) - $40.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FQ1ONG/ref=Deals3packCollections?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=19F11RBN07KDY9NY05P0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1615678282&pf_rd_i=2921749011 ***** The Complete Fractured Fairy Tales - $8.87 http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Fractured-Fairy-Tales/dp/B008N8A3JE/ref=pd_cp_mov_1 ***** Underdog: The Complete Series (9 discs) - $30.00 http://www.amazon.com/Underdog-Complete-Series-Wally-Cox/dp/B005SQRYG4/ref=pd_cp_mov_0

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

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-oscar-castro-neves-20130930,0,7395348.story This LA Times obit says that he was with Sergio Mendes for ten years. I had no idea it was that long.

LC Greenwood passed away Sunday at 67. It's my recollection that he signed with the World Football League, but they folded before his Steelers contract ran out. It was my opinion that that was the reason the Steelers cut him rather than have him retire with fanfare when the time came. http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-l-c-greenwood-20130930,0,5341745.story

Perry Mason: Complete Series Pack (72 discs) - $248.99 http://www.amazon.com/Perry-Mason-Complete-Series-Pack/dp/B00CL1516E/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_2_1

Montreal Alouettes 17....Saskatchewan Roughriders 12 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=433053 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4628350 Very low scoring game. The Als put Tanner Marsh on the nine-game injured list this week, so they went with third-stringer Josh Neiswander. But the Als' D was able to throttle the Riders' O. The Als led 4-3 at the half. Geroy Simon broke Ben Cahoon's career receptions record. Here's the video: http://cfl.ca/article/top-of-the-heap-simon-breaks-all-time-receptions-record

TTK, I'll have to go through and check. After Lani Hall left the group for sure. I guess late 70s, maybe 80s.

Calgary Stampeders 35....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 11 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4628134 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=432966 Boring game. The Ticats were never in it. The Stamps intercepted five passes. ***** Toronto Argonauts 34....Edmonton Eskimos 22 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=432983 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/scores/final/boxscore.aspx?GAMEID=1146 What a second half! Zach Collaros was unimpressive in the first half, and Swayze Waters was just awful. As a result, the Eskimos led 22-1 six minutes into the third quarter. The Argos then caught fire, and scored 33 unanswered points! This is the first time in CFL history (going back to the late 50s) that a team has played four consecutive road games and won all four of them. With the win, the Argos clinch a playoff berth.

RIP. I remember him for his stint with Sergio Mendes. http://www.oscarcastroneves.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Castro-Neves

AJ Foyt on George Bignotti: http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-bignotti-foyt-indy-20130928,0,6929727.story#axzz2gFANUIKd ***** Robin Miller: http://www.racer.com/george-bignotti-robin-millers-tribute/article/313844/

I remember well George Bignotti being mentioned on the Indy 500 radio broadcasts of the 60s and 70s, but I had no idea he was so successful. RIP. http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-passings-20130928,0,572493.story

Have a great time! If I were going to Rome, I think I would rent a Vespa to scoot around on for a day. In Spain, be sure to enjoy the gazpacho!

McDonald's through Oct. 3. http://blogs.newsobserver.com/centsiblesaver/free-and-cheap-coffee-coming-up-on-national-coffee-day-sept-29

Is there anyone whose catalogue is more screwed up than The Yardbirds?

Hawthorn wins! Final score... Hawthorn...11.11.77 Freemantle...8.14.62 Hawthorn took a big lead in the fourth quarter (about 30 points), but Freemantle closed furiously until Hawthorn thwarted their comeback in the last few minutes.

After three quarters... Hawthorn....8.8.56 Freemantle...6.10.46 The first five minutes of the third quarter belonged to Freemantle, and they nearly tied the game. Hawthorn regained its form after that, and they were fairly even from that point.

Halftime... Hawthorn....5.5.35 Freemantle....1.6.12 Freemantle has played very poorly, and scored only one goal in the first half. You can't win like that.

I think that this will do it. http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2013/27/haw-v-fre.liveradio

Happy Birthday Cactus Bob!

British Columbia Lions 53....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 17 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4627885 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=432894 The Bombers were just awful. A real comedy of errors. Buck Pierce came in to play a little bit for the Lions in the second half, and the Winnipeg crowd gave him a standing ovation, and cheered when he led them on a touchdown drive. The Lions clinched a playoff berth with the win.