GA Russell

I have been using the free version of eTrust PestPatrol which the computer repairman put onto my machine to eliminate adware. It said that I have four viruses, if that's the word, which it will not remove, and that I would need their pay-for program to remove them. So I wonder, if I am going to pay for an adware blocker/remover, which is the best? And which is the best freeware program? Any suggestions?

Happy Birthday Kevin!

June 7th has come and gone, and Live at Birdland is now available to everyone in the US. I received this press release about it today. Lee Konitz/Brad Mehldau/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian Live At Birdland Lee Konitz; alto saxphone Brad Mehldau: piano Charlie Haden: double-bass Paul Motian: drums U.S. Release date: June 7, 2011 ECM CD: B0015764-02 UPC: 6025 277 4616 6 “This week,” reported the New York Times in December 2009, “Birdland has booked an ad hoc quartet with three eminences and a great younger player. (…) It’s going to be a week of soft anarchy, a gig without preparation or rehearsal, despite the presence of recording microphones for a couple of evenings. The jazz musician’s trust in the present moment is elevated nearly to worship among this group’s elders, all of whom, one way or another, were in on the early stages of loosening up rhythm and structure in jazz.” On this live recording from New York’s legendary club, an ensemble of history-making players dives into the music without a set list. Four exceptional jazz musicians –Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian – approach the standards from new perspectives and unusual angles. They play them with freedom, tenderness and a melodic and rhythmic understanding found only amongst jazz’s greatest improvisers. The recording was made at Birdland and mixed by Manfred Eicher and the quartet, with James Farber as engineer, at New York’s Avatar Studios. Songs selected by this team from the performances of December 9 and 10, 2009, are: “Lover Man”, “Lullaby Of Birdland”, “Solar”, “I Fall In Love Too Easily”, “You Stepped Out Of A Dream” and “Oleo”. Konitz has often said that he tries to play the material as if encountering it for the first time. With all four musicians listening intently, discoveries are continually made in the music. “Lover Man”, the ballad strongly associated with Billie Holiday (but also, for instance, with Lee Konitz and Gerry Mulligan at Newport) makes an arresting opening track, with the uniquely melancholic cry of Lee’s alto sax to the fore. Mehldau’s solo gives immediate notice of his architectural intelligence as a player, and in his subtle comping he continually builds bridges between the idiosyncratic playing styles of his associates. Haden’s bass solo is characteristically soulful, Motian’s deft brushes perfectly placed. “Lullaby Of Birdland”, composed in 1952, acquires additional poignancy through the recent death of its composer, George Shearing. (Lee Konitz, now 83, is said to be the only living jazz soloist to have played all of the diverse addresses of the Birdland club, starting in 1949.) The piece is driven here by the marvellous rhythmic interplay of Haden and Motian, their near-telepathic understanding honed long ago during their decade-plus association with Keith Jarrett in the 1960s and 70s. “Solar” begins with an abstract clarion call from Konitz. “Mr. Konitz, with a piece of fabric stuffed into the bell of his horn to mute it, started playing Miles Davis’s ‘Solar’ and Mr. Motian joined in, followed by the others. A skeletal groove emerged…”, wrote Ben Ratliff in the NY Times. Mehldau’s solo is a marvel of invention, lifted up by the waves of Motian’s wayward drums. “I Fall In Love Too Easily” is a touching rendition of the Jule Styne ballad (a song first intoned by Frank Sinatra in 1945) with fine outlining of the melody by Mehldau, and Konitz almost Ornette-like in his phrasing. The singing quality of the performance is extended in Haden’s heartfelt solo. “You Stepped Out Of a Dream” was previously recorded by Konitz, Mehldau and Haden for a Blue Note trio album 1997: the powerful presence of Paul Motian on the present recording transforms it completely. Sonny Rollins’s “Oleo” is given one of the freest performances of the set, beginning with a beautifully elastic Konitz/Motian duet. Brad Mehldau has commented on the performance’s cool chromaticism, allied to the rhythmic phrasing of bebop, until the tune is deconstructed in the final moments of collective soloing. When these musicians play the standards, they do indeed make them new. * All of these musicians have some previous ECM history. Paul Motian’s considerable ECM discography as leader of his own groups includes a series of highly acclaimed albums by the trio with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano, as well as a recent recording in trio with Jason Moran and Chris Potter, Lost In A Dream. Motian has also drummed on a wide range of other albums for ECM – with Paul Bley and Gary Peacock, Enrico Rava, Bobo Stenson, Arild Andersen, Marilyn Crispell, and more. Haden’s and Motian’s associations with ECM go back almost to the beginning of the label’s history. Haden’s first ECM appearance was in 1972, as a contributor to Motian’s Conception Vessel, Paul’s first album as a leader. Both men recorded for ECM with Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet (the epic Survivors’ Suite and Eyes of the Heart). Haden’s also been heard on ECM with Pat Metheny, Denny Zeitlin, Carla Bley, and the much-loved Magico trio with Jan Garbarek and Egberto Gismonti. He’s also led his own large ensemble on Ballad of the Fallen (also with Paul Motian). Last year, after a longer absence, he returned to the label for Jasmine, a series of duets with Keith Jarrett. Mehldau played on a pair of Charles Lloyd discs, The Water Is Wide and Hyperion With Higgins, drawn from an inspired session in December 1999, and Konitz contributed to Kenny Wheeler’s classic Angel Song in 1996. I've been enjoying Faithful very much as well. I think I like January better, but Faithful is great for a quiet Sunday afternoon. The Marcin Wasilewski Trio is currently wrapping up its European tour: Dortmund May 19 Bielsko-Biala, Bielskie Centrum May 27 Coutance , France, Jazz Sous Les Pommiers May 31 Here's a press release about Faithful I received when it was issued. Marcin Wasilewski Trio Faithful Marcin Wasilewski: piano Slawomir Kurkiewicz: double-bass Michal Miskiewicz: drums U.S. Release date: April 12, 2011 ECM CD: B0015391-02 UPC: 6025 275 9105 6 “Marcin Wasilewski does not think like other jazz pianists, His improvisational underpinning, his sense of musical space and his aural imagery are so fresh they are initially mysterious, then get more so. The same can be said of his trio as a whole with bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz…It takes nerve for a young trio to create music of such stillness, such patience. The fact that the three have played together since they were teenagers is audible in the way they trust the epiphanies they collectively come upon.” - Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes Continuing directions sketched on 2007’s January, and the earlier album called just Trio (2004), Faithful is the third ECM album by Poland’s Wasilewski Trio. Their ECM discography also includes a further three albums as members of the Tomasz Stanko Quartet: Soul of Things, Suspended Night and Lontano, recorded between 2001 and 2005. Furthermore, pianist Marcin Wasilewski and bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz are featured on Manu Katché’s Neighbourhood and Playground albums of 2004 and 2007. Nonetheless, it is to the trio that the listener must turn for the most comprehensive account of the players’ capabilities and inspirations. And Faithful may be the most comprehensive album yet from this group, capturing the trio’s admixture of energy, lyricism and ideas. The album opens strikingly with Hanns Eisler’s “An den kleinen Radioapparat”, a song written (in 1942) from the perspective of a German exile still pursued and haunted by the voices of his persecutors through the medium of the radio. The tune’s had a latter-day revival under the title “The Secret Marriage”, but the Wasilewski Trio reach for a feeling closer to the piece’s original intention. “Night Train To You” is the first of five new Wasilewski tunes here, described by the composer as “a motoric piece, a process.” At the outset, three chords set up a pattern, “like a loop.” Time signatures progress from 6/8 to 11/8. A “very simple melody” takes us to a solo sequence for piano and drums, before the piece slows like a locomotive approaching a station, leading to a final section with improvisations around the chords heard in the open moments. Faithful takes its name from its title track, a tune originally from Ornette Coleman’s 1966 album The Empty Foxhole, long a reference at ECM for the clarity of its melodic line and the purity, the innocence, of its improvisation. In an indirect way, it can be related to the history of Wasilewski, Kurkiewicz and Miskiewicz, players who found their shared musical identity when just schoolchildren. Their trio has been in existence since the mid 1990s, and the three musicians have made their discoveries in jazz together. Marcin’s tune “Mosaic” is patterned like its title, a musical mosaic, with moving and fragmented chords painting a larger picture. “Ballad of the Sad Young Men”, now a jazz standard, was written by Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesmann for the Beat Generation musical The Nervous Set in 1959. Hermeto Pascoal’s “Oz Guizos” (The Bells) was brought to the session by bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz, who counts Brazilian music amongst his inspirations. “Slawomir brought a bunch of Pascoal tunes to rehearsal and we ran them through. This one seemed to speak most clearly to the character of our group.” “Song for Swirek” is a tribute to the trio’s close friend Marek Swierkowski. The dreamlike “Woke up in the Desert” was named by Marcin’s friend, Polish rock singer/songwriter Edyta Bartosiewcz. “Every time we have a new recording session, I go over to her place and I like to listen to the music with her. I respect her opinion very much and she’s great at finding titles. This title still makes me laugh, but it also works on the imagination. It seems to suggest all kinds of associations.” (Henri Rousseau’s “Sleeping Gypsy” might come to mind, perhaps.) Marcin points out, furthermore, the snakelike movement and sonorities of Michael Miskiewicz’s cymbals and snare. Paul Bley’s ”Big Foot” (a.k.a. “Figfoot”) was heard one of the very first of ECM’s releases, Paul Bley With Gary Peacock, issued in 1970. In the present version, its dryly witty twists and turns are more characteristically Bley-like than its romping energy. Finally there’s “Lugano Lake”, named for the site of the recording, made with producer Manfred Eicher at Lugano’s Auditorium SRI. “It’s a fond memory of a beautiful town, with the lake and the mountain, and sums up for me, the feeling of being there, in a recording.”

I received this press release today about Craig Taborn, his new album Avenging Angel, and his touring. Craig Taborn solo concerts: June 16 Baltimore, MD An Die Musik Live! June 17 New York, NY The Rubin Museum Avenging Angel, a powerful, creative and rigorously uncompromising album, is the first unaccompanied solo disc in Craig Taborn’s discography as well as the first ECM recording issued under his name. The album was recorded in the exceptional acoustic of the recital room at Lugano’s Studio RSI, with Manfred Eicher producing. The disc follows several distinguished ‘sideman’ appearances for ECM, including three Roscoe Mitchell albums – Nine To Get Ready, Composition / Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 and the recent Far Side – as well as Michael Formanek’s The Rub and Spare Change, Evan Parker’s Boustrophedon and David Torn’s Prezens. Taborn (born 1970) has been widely-valued for his resourcefulness as an improviser, in and out of the jazz tradition, since the early 1990s, when his work with saxophonist James Carter’s groups drew the attention of musicians, press and listeners alike. His own groups have since explored a range of options, and he’s also been at the forefront of experiments cross referencing jazz and electronics. In this regard his 2004 album Junk Magic (on the Thirsty Ear label), has been cited as a pioneering work, and Craig has repeatedly been voted #1 Rising Star Keyboardist in the DownBeat Critics Poll. In the last few years, however, solo piano performance has become a priority for Craig Taborn. “If the areas of improvisation that I deal with are always ‘compositional’ in a certain sense, in this case a very focussed compositional approach is applied, rather than allowing a broader exploration to yield a result. Throughout this recording I’m honing in on specific details. The music is really improvised: I just start. But having started, I try to relate everything that happens, like the motivic or rhythmic and textural detail, to the initial ideas as closely as I can. In terms of my own playing I try to have things emerge from the musical material itself. And a lot of that can depend on the instrument, too [in Lugano, a Steinway D]: the sound of the piano itself and what it is generating. I’m interested in the history of piano music, certainly, but I’m not hearing the instrument quite in those terms. I’m experiencing it also as a pure sound source, very aware of the tones and the overtones and how the instrument is ringing. This music is not about ‘transcending the piano’ as much as it is about working with what is possible within it. ” Amongst the album’s striking characteristics is the way in which Taborn balances density of sound-events and structural clarity. “I like transparency and I like the details to be clear. But I also like layering the sounds: I like a complex palette, multiple voices, multiple rhythms, but I also want to be able to discern things, including all the spectral details that come up. ” Craig Taborn is on tour in May in Europe and June in the US playing solo concerts in the spirit of Avenging Angel. 2011 is set to be a busy year for the pianist, and the solo concert periods alternate with European and North American tours with the Michael Formanek Quartet.

Amazon/Newbury now has more in at the $9.99 price. http://www.amazon.com/Debut-Records-Story-Various-Artists/dp/B000000XB7/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1307747753&sr=1-1

Remington Steele - Season 1 (4 DVDs) - $11.79 http://www.amazon.com/Remington-Steele-Season-Stephanie-Zimbalist/dp/B00096S45S/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307742769&sr=1-1 The first season of Remington Steele was classic television IMO. The writer Glen Gordon Caron joined about episode 5. Unfortunately, the ratings were dismal. Instead of cancelling the show, they dumbed it down for the remainder of its run, and it became fairly popular! Caron left after that one year to create and enjoy success with Moonlighting. Thanks - I love The Prisoner, but have only faint memories of the German synchronisation of Danger Man in my teens - I will get me a copy later this month. Available in Germany for a similar price. Fifteen years ago I saw the show dubbed in French in Quebec. It was called Destination: Danger. I hadn't realized till then how important McGoohan's voice was to the appeal of the character. The French guy sounded like a nerd!

We don't want no stinkin' NFL team... Interesting that three of the five teams used to be located in LA.

Here's an AP article which says that five NFL teams are willing to consider moving to Los Angeles. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/five-nfl-teams-willing-to-relocate-to-los-angeles/article2055920/

Van Morrison - Still on Top: The Greatest Hits (3 CDs) - $15.99 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WAEK0E/ref=pe_74340_20152350_pe_epc_d5

Pryor's attorney has now said that wouldn't be interested in the CFL. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/terrelle-pryor-says-no-to-roughriders/article2053717/

I received this press release today, which might be of interest to some of you in Europe. LATVIAʼS FESTIVAL CELEBRATES THE FIRST 10 YEARS! WITH A STELLAR LINE UP OF INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS June 30 - July 2, 2011 Riga, Latvia NEW YORK, June 9, 2011 - Ten years after its founding in 2001, The Rigas Ritmi Festival in Riga, the capital of Latvia, has become a bonafide jazz destination and important stop on the European jazz circuit. Created by Artistic Director and jazz drummer Maris Briezkalns, the Festival is a showpiece in the Baltics, featuring an expansive view of jazz, honoring music drawn from a variety of cultures, including home-grown artists. Staged in numerous indoor and outdoor venues around the city, this year's programs - many of them free of charge - feature a sterling cast of international musicians, among them, Das Kapital, Till Broenner, Carmen Souza, Alfredo Rodriguez, Francesco Cafiso, Philip Hamilton Vocal Project and the Alex Wilson Salsa Orchestra. Past headliners have included Diane Reeves, Bobby McFerrin, Richard Bona, Patti Austin and The Yellowjackets. In keeping with its long-standing programming tradition, the festival will once again focus on jazz education, offering workshops and master classes. This year, famed United States vocalist and educator Philip Hamilton leads the way. Beginning with 2011 the festival will broaden its scope with two auxiliary programming seasons in Spring and Winter. These concert series will ensure high level jazz in Latvia all year round. A beautiful seaport city, Riga was founded more than 800 years ago. It boasts a rich heritage of influences and nationalities, laying the framework for its role as an important cultural hub among Baltic countries. Riga's historical center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers the perfect backdrop for a musical stroll through the largest city of the Baltic States. Latvia borders Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. The Rigas Ritmi Showcase is hosted by the festival every four years. It serves as a meeting place for international members of the jazz industry. All gather to meet and evaluate local Latvian talent. In mid-May Latvians were invited to the U.S. when Jeff Levenson, EVP of Half Note Records, created a Cultural Exchange Program, which enabled Latvian jazz artists to perform at the famed Blue Note jazz club in New York. This program was enacted through the cooperation and sponsorship of New York University (NYU) and The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). Next year's Rigas Ritmi Festival will feature American artists performing under the same auspices. WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT LATVIAN JAZZ AND THE CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM Jeff Levenson, Executive Vice President, Half Note Records "Maris Briezkalns and his group proved that Latvian jazz is more than just alive and well - it is the embodiment of a creative energy that characterizes the human spirit. This cultural exchange program proves that Latvia is taking the lead in asserting its place in the cultural landscape, and that its musicians are significant players on the world stage. The night at the Blue Note was an uplifting triumph." Steven Bensusan, President, Blue Note International "It's a great honor to host jazz musicians from Latvia. Our belief is that jazz is a global music, constantly nourished and reinvented by influences the world over. We're proud to participate in a cultural exchange program that promotes the belief that music is the means by which countries can unite. We salute the jazz musicians of Latvia." Dave Schroeder, Director of Jazz Studies, New York University "Maris's music connected people, proving that there's a wide audience for real art expressed by committed artists. His performance and ideas married perfectly with America's jazz aesthetic." Brian Lynch, Jazz Musician "I had a great time playing with this group of talented musicians. Judging by this group, the jazz scene in Latvia is world-class. Our night together was wonderful, and I hope to return to Latvia and extend further the cultural exchange fostered by this very important presentation." Further Information Online For general info on the Rigas Ritmi Festival please visit Rigas Ritmi's WebsiteFor further detailed info on requirements and how to apply for the workshops, please go to their Workshop Info Page

Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor announced Tuesday that he would turn pro. He is on Sask's neg list. I don't think that he would sign with a CFL team, however, because there is a minimum two-year commitment. He might play in the UFL, or he might apply for the NFL supplemental draft and wait out the lockout. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=368289 ***** TSN is filming a four-part documentary on the Argos. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=368365 ***** The Lions have signed Kamau Peterson. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=368370 ***** The Riders will announce that their profit this past year was $6.6 million. As I recall, the Green Packers' profit for 2009 was only $9 million. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/saskatchewan-roughriders-credit-fans-for-doubling-profits-this-year/article2052920/

My contact tells me that the out-of-tune portion of Sentimental Mood is not included.

Happy Birthday Steve!

Happy Birthday 2011 bertrand!

The Toronto Globe & Mail has been highlighting athletes' concussions for the past year or so. Here's an interesting editorial from a sports columnist about the suspension of the Vancouver player Rome, and the league's policy toward shots to the head this season. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/consulting-burke-shows-woes-of-nhl/article2052012/

Remember former Argo Eric Crouch, the Heisman Trophy-winning Nebraska QB whom no one in the NFL would let play QB? He's now trying out for the Omaha UFL team. http://www.theglobea...article2051514/

I have read that Art Pepper was once listed as Art Salt. Can't remember the album, though.

Have you seen this? Cecilia Thompson! http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//110602/480/urn_publicid_ap_org7e4615fc56ba4d4583c125d2c4364003/

The Eskimos are bringing back Kerry Joseph. You will recall that they signed him late last year as insurance, and then cut him when the season was over. The Esks have need a backup QB since they cut Jared Zabransky. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=368193

I can think of two Art Pepper dates, where Art was contractually prohibited from being listed as the leader of the date. The first is the Hollywood All Star Sessions box. http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-All-Star-Sessions-Pepper/dp/B00005CCBI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3QQPK8XGD3OH8&colid=RVSBV717YT9 The second is the Ronnie Scott's 1980 date Blues for the Fisherman which was issued under Milcho Leviev's name. http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Fisherman-Milcho-Leviev/dp/B000001HLA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307497265&sr=1-1 The complete recordings of this session will be released by Laurie Pepper Tuesday.

LOL! Well, I just wanted to get it started. Don't anybody hold back!

The Clint Eastwood Star Collection (4 spaghetti westerns) (4 DVDs) - $12.99 http://www.amazon.com/Clint-Eastwood-Collection-Fistful-Dollars/dp/B002M9WW3A/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307488945&sr=1-2 Clint Eastwood Western Icon Collection (3 westerns) (2 DVDs) - $7.49 http://www.amazon.com/Eastwood-Western-Collection-Plains-Drifter/dp/B000N3SSBW/ref=pd_cp_d_3 Dirty Harry Collection (5 movies) (6? DVDs) - $16.07 http://www.amazon.com/Collection-Magnum-Enforcer-Sudden-Impact/dp/B002Z7FWBI/ref=sr_1_5?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307489206&sr=1-5 Clint Eastwood American Icon Collection (4 movies) (3 DVDs) - $12.46 http://www.amazon.com/Eastwood-American-Collection-Sanction-Beguiled/dp/B001M9ELQ2/ref=sr_1_9?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307489206&sr=1-9 Spaghetti Westerns 20 Movie Pack (4 DVDs) - $5.00 http://www.amazon.com/Spaghetti-Westerns-20-Movie-Pack/dp/B0014CKCCY/ref=sr_1_19?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307489506&sr=1-19

Police Squad! - The Complete Series (1 DVD) - $12.53 http://www.amazon.com/Police-Squad-Complete-Leslie-Nielsen/dp/B000H7JCFK/ref=sr_1_9?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307487654&sr=1-9 Mission: Impossible - The Complete First TV Season (7 DVDs) - $22.51 http://www.amazon.com/Mission-Impossible-Complete-First-Season/dp/B000HWZ4HU/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307487654&sr=1-2 Mannix - The First Season (6 DVDs) - $26.72 http://www.amazon.com/Mannix-First-Season-Mike-Connors/dp/B0014FAIVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307487938&sr=1-1

Route 66 - Producer's Picks (2 DVDs, 11 ep.) - $10.81 http://www.amazon.co...A/ref=pd_cp_d_2 Get Smart - Seasons 1 & 2 (8 DVDs) - $14.99 http://www.amazon.co...Q/ref=pd_cp_d_1 Get Smart - Seasons 3 & 4 (8 DVDs) - $15.49 http://www.amazon.co...d_bxgy_d_text_b Perry Mason - Season 4, vol. 1 (4 DVDs) - $14.71 http://www.amazon.co...07486281&sr=1-4 Charlie's Angels - The Complete First Season (5 DVDs) - $14.90 http://www.amazon.co...07486696&sr=1-1 Barney Miller - The First Season (2 DVDs) - $10.14 http://www.amazon.co...07486864&sr=1-4 Barney Miller - The Complete Second Season (3 DVDs) - $10.43 http://www.amazon.co...K/ref=pd_cp_d_2 Barney Miller - The Complete Third Season (3 DVDs) - $10.28 http://www.amazon.co...0/ref=pd_cp_d_1