GA Russell

Leeway, maybe Ayn Rand?

Umar Ali Week 11 preview http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4435168

Correct, FFA! I thought she was a ten before she put on weight when she had a baby. When she got the job with that television show with Tim Allen, they told her not to lose the weight.

I've been told that this will be up only through the 12th.

While we're waiting for Dave to give us a hint, here's one you might get.

Kookie, Kookie Lend Me Your Comb. Cricket Blake in Hawaiian Eye. Connie Stevens. Correct, Dave!

Globe Week 11 picks http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/week-11/article2159053/

I'm starting to run out of ideas!

Chick made the right move. He's been activated by the Jaguars for Sunday's game. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=375341

Yahoo fired its CEO this week, and she has given a statement about the company which you might find refreshing or amusing for its candor. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/top-business-stories/carol-bartz-slams-the-yahoo-board-doofuses-who-ousted-her/article2158075/

Dave, that looks like Al Franken.

Gregg Xenakes Week 11 picks http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4434760

Correct, Leeway! It's Christine Perfect McVie!

Thanks, mjzee! I forgot to mention that it comes in a jewel case (which I prefer) rather than a digipak.

Great find, Leeway! I was going to guess Paula Dean! Who is this lady on the left?

Correct, Paul! Actually, that photo is pretty good. I've seen some recent photos of her that are quite unflattering, particularly because I was in love with her when Sea of Love and The Big Easy came out!

As you can see, this is a press release for the fact that Sonny will receive the Kennedy Center Honors award. At the bottom of the piece is the list of concerts Sonny has lined up for the rest of the year in the US and Europe. Saxophonist/Composer Sonny Rollins To Receive 34th Annual Kennedy Center Honors Other Honorees Are Barbara Cook, Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, and Meryl Streep Honorees' Careers to Be Celebrated Sunday, December 4, 2011 September 7, 2011 Sonny Rollins is one of five individuals who have been selected to receive the Kennedy Center Honors of 2011, it was announced today by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. These individuals' "collective artistry has contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world," said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. Along with fellow recipients singer Barbara Cook, singer and songwriter Neil Diamond, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and actress Meryl Streep, Rollins will be honored at the 34th annual national celebration of the arts on December 4. "I am deeply appreciative of this great honor," says Rollins, who turns 81 today. "In honoring me, the Kennedy Center honors jazz, America's classical music. For that, I am very grateful." Other jazz artists who have been Kennedy Center Honorees are: Ella Fitzgerald (1978), Count Basie (1981), Benny Goodman (1982), Dizzy Gillespie (1990), Lionel Hampton (1992), Benny Carter (1996), Quincy Jones (2001), and Dave Brubeck (2009). Rollins's "masterful improvisation and powerful presence have infused the truly American art form of jazz with passion and energy," said Rubenstein. On Sunday, 12/4, on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage in Washington, DC, the 2011 Honorees will be saluted by great performers from New York, Hollywood, Nashville, and the arts capitals of the world. Seated with the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama, the Honorees will accept the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes. The President and Mrs. Obama will receive the Honorees and members of the Artists Committee who nominate them, along with the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, at the White House prior to the Gala performance. The 2011 Kennedy Center Honors Gala concludes with a supper dance in the Grand Foyer. The Kennedy Center Honors medallions will be presented on Saturday, 12/3, the night before the Gala, at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Honors Gala will be recorded for broadcast on the CBS Network for the 34th consecutive year as a two-hour primetime special on Tuesday, 12/27 at 9:00 pm (ET/PT). Rollins's attendance at the Gala will mark his second visit to the nation's capital this year for the purpose of collecting a major award; in early March, President Obama presented him with the National Medal of Arts. Next month (10/10), the saxophonist returns to Washington for a performance at the Kennedy Center. His other 2011 concerts include three in California this month (9/18 Monterey Jazz Festival; 9/22 Royce Hall, Los Angeles; 9/25 Segerstrom Center, Costa Mesa). He will perform at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville on 10/14. An eight-city European fall tour will take in Eindhoven, Holland (10/25); the Tourcoing Jazz Festival/Jazz en Nord in France (10/29); Istanbul (11/2); Warsaw (11/6); Budapest (11/10); the Olympia Theatre in Paris (11/14); Mannheim, Germany (11/18); and, on 11/22, his first visit to Prague since 1982. Next Tuesday, 9/13, Sonny Rollins's new CD Road Shows, vol. 2 will be released by Doxy/Emarcy Records. Four tracks on the new disc were recorded at his September 2010 @80 birthday concert in New York, with special guests Roy Hargrove, Jim Hall, Christian McBride, Roy Haynes, and -- in their first meeting on record -- Ornette Coleman. "Even in all this illustrious company, some of it 40 years younger," wrote Thomas Conrad in this month's JazzTimes magazine, "the player here with the most ideas, the most muscle, the most stamina, the most juice, is Sonny Rollins." Photo by John Abbott For further information about the Kennedy Center Honorees, contact: John Dow, The Kennedy Center 202-416-8448 jrdow@kennedy-center.org

Here's a recent picture.

Andy Fantuz has reported to the Riders. http://www.theglobea...article2156522/ ***** Dave Naylor Labor Day wrapup http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=375298 PS - Naylor points out that Garrett McIntyre made the New York Jets.

Happy Birthday Sonny Rollins! 81 today. I've been digging this since I got it last week, and can recommend it to everyone, but there are a few things you should know. There are six tracks, four of which are from the Sonny Rollins @ 80 concert last year. But one of the non-@ 80 tracks is a token St. Thomas without improvisations lasting less than 3 minutes. One of the @ 80 tracks is Jim Hall playing In a Sentimental Mood with Sonny sitting out. It's great, but there are no tracks with Sonny playing with Jim. I imagine that most of us here saw/heard the Sonnymoon for Two performance with Ornette Coleman on YouTube before it was taken down. Ornette is a lightning rod, and most jazz fans already know whether they will think that his presence is a good or bad thing. I'm not much of a fan of his, and as a result this 21:49 track doesn't do much for me. YMMV. That leaves only three tracks, totalling only 36 minutes. They're great. Sonny sounds terrific despite his age, which is remarkable in itself. Whether that's enough music for you to shell out the cash is for you to decide. I imagine that spotify will get the album, which will help you make up your mind.

Ubu, you're making me laugh! It's not a homework assignment. Nobody is asking you to read anything you don't want to. I've been posting these press releases because I expect there are some who would enjoy seeing the same thing professional critics see in preparation to hearing the music.

RIP. I had all of The Fourth Way's albums in college. Loved them. I also had one he did with Mike Nock and Bennie Maupin called Almanac. Although his drumming never stood out to me, I greatly respect those guys who always seem to be on good albums, and he was one of them.

Correct again, Valerie! One of the things I notice about these old photos is the women's eyebrows. They really stand out compared to today.

This looks interesting. Saxophone Virtuoso James Carter & His Organ Trio Celebrate 10th Anniversary With "At the Crossroads," Due for Oct. 4 Release by Emarcy New CD Spotlights Carter with Organist Gerard Gibbs & Drummer Leonard King Jr. Plus Special Guests On Blues, Ballads, Swingers, & More Organ Trio Dates Planned for New York, Oakland, Los Angeles September 6, 2011 One of jazz's most acclaimed, distinctive improvisers, virtuoso saxophonist James Carter returns to a favored format and simpatico colleagues with At the Crossroads, his 15th CD as a leader and the third showcasing his long-standing Organ Trio. Emarcy Records will release the CD on October 4. Enjoying consistently inspired interplay with fellow Motor City stars organist Gerard Gibbs and drummer Leonard King Jr., Carter gets down in his inimitable way on a 12-track program that boasts rollicking swingers, moving ballads, a gospel standard, and, of course, plenty of blues-drenched items. A powerhouse companion disc to Live at Baker's, the 2001 recording that marked the trio's formation, and 2005's Out of Nowhere, their formal CD debut, the album places Carter right where he wants to be -- grooving in the pocket with Gibbs and King. "There's a reason the trio is my longest running and most cohesive band," says Carter, 42, who notes that all members contribute tunes and arrangements to the trio's book. "Gerard and Leonard are consummate musicians who have shaped the music at every level. We all have our own projects, so we go out into the world and deal with whatever musical merriment we have, and when we come back as this particular group, we bring our musical experiences back with us." James Carter Organ Trio, with drummer Leonard King Jr. & organist Gerard Gibbs. The Detroit-centric cast of special guests includes the actress and vocalist Miche (pronounced Mickey) Braden, guitarists Brandon Ross and Bruce Edwards, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, trombonist Vincent Chandler, and percussionist Eli Fountain. Carter packs At the Crossroads with a wide variety of gems. The opener "Oh Gee," a romping blues-with-a-bridge, displays Carter's tradition-rich tenor saxophone wares and reveals what potent partners Gibbs and King are. On the slower side are Ellington's timeless "Come Sunday," with a stirring vocal by King, and the ballad "My Whole Life Through," written by organ pioneer Sarah McLawler in the early 1950s. Carter's tender tenor shines here, as does Gibbs's locked-hands organ solo. "I was just struck by Sarah's music," Carter states. "She's a continued source of inspiration." Other memorable selections include "Misterio," which investigates a comely Latin-ish beat, with Carter's warm soprano saxophone out front; and a searing version of Julius Hemphill's "The Hard Blues." The trio's longevity is certainly a chief factor in the unmistakable success of At the Crossroads. Carter first met organist Gibbs in the late 1980s at Detroit jam sessions and was immediately impressed. "He continues to surprise and startle as far as the potential of what the organ can really do," Carter says. King and Carter go back to his teenage years, when he was a member of King's combo Strata Nova, an important proving ground for young Detroit players. "He's been able to hip me to various artists, providing stacks of albums and cassettes over the years," Carter recalls. Described by critics as "outrageously accomplished" and "simultaneously sensual and powerful," with "soulfulness and technique in perfect balance," James Carter has been a jazz marquee artist for more than two decades. He started playing high-level gigs with people like Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Julius Hemphill in the late 1980s and established himself as a restlessly curious artist who finds "tremendous beauty in cross-pollinations of music and influences." Earlier this year, his collaboration with classical composer Roberto Sierra, Caribbean Rhapsody (Emarcy), was released to strong reviews. The CD contains Carter's tour de force performance of Sierra's Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra, which he premiered with the Detroit Symphony in 2002. Carter "often blends the far-out and the far-in within the same solo," Will Friedwald wrote in the New York Sun when the saxophonist's Present Tense (Emarcy) was released in 2008, "and lately he seems to be doing it at the same time, to have a traditional rhythm section playing against a screaming free jazz solo. He uses honks and screams not just the way the free jazzers do, but the way R&B-styled tenorists do, and thus somehow reconciles what is generally considered the least commercial variety of the music with the most accessible." The James Carter Organ Trio will perform at Yoshi's Oakland 9/28-10/2; at Birdland NYC 10/4-8; and at Catalina's in Los Angeles 10/13-16. For the New York engagement only, the trio will be joined by guests Miche Braden (10/4-8), Steve Turre (10/4-7), and Rodney Jones (10/7-8). Photos by Ingrid Hertfelder James Carter Web Site: www.jamescarterlive.com

Yes, that about sums it up! LOL Correct, Valerie! Here's another you might remember.