GA Russell

Vanier Cup: Laval Rouge et Or 13....Sakatchewan Huskies 8 The game was played in Saskatoon, the first time ever outside Ontario. I read a couple of days ago that the temperature at kickoff was expected to be -20C, which I think is about 0F. This article doesn't specify the temp, but implies that it was too cold to be playing football. This is Laval's third Vanier Cup in four years. For those of you who don't know, the Vanier Cup is awarded to the Canadian collegiate champion of Canadian rules football. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Is there the usual bedding of beautiful women? Somewhere along the line I got tired of that schtick and started longing for a good adventure story.

Rooster, I have Dark Journey, which is a 2-CD compilation.

Various - Jazz Yule Love II (Mack Avenue) Michael Franks - Watching the Snow Charles Brown - Please Come Home for Christmas (King) Various - Superstars of Christmas 1995 (Capitol) Manhattan Transfer - The Christmas Album

I'm very sad about this. Walter Booker was my first favorite bassist. I think I first heard him on the Ray Bryant album Gotta Travel On. A couple of years later I saw him with Thelonious Monk, and a year later with Cannonball Adderley, when I was fortunate enough to interview him for my college radio station. Nice guy. RIP.

RIP, Anita. I just gave my sister for her birthday a copy of the Anita entry in The Diva Series; so I am glad I did that during her lifetime. Yesterday I alerted The Drudge Report on Anita s death, and today Drudge has the link to her obituary near the top of the column; so I guess that Drudge pays attention to the people who alert him to the news. Of course, I can imagine that there were many jazz fans from throughout the world who did as I did, so maybe Drudge figured that Anita was someone he should know about.

Good find, Jim!

My CFL Encyclopedia says that Garcia was a rookie for the Stamps in 1994. Here is an article that says he is 36. The Eagles play the Colts on Sunday night, so all of North America will be able to see if he still has it. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Shane, I ordered your Blakey Mosaic today. If it goes out on Monday the 27th, you can probably count on receiving it Monday the 4th. Hope you enjoy it!

Chet Baker PJ Live, disc 1

I'm not sure how old Jeff Garcia is now, but he was a rookie for the Calgary Stampeders about 1990, so he's getting up there. Today the Eagles named him their starter to replace the injured Donovan McNabb. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Remember to take a moment out to consider your blessings and give thanks for them!

No plans, so I'll probably catch up on chores. Good luck to Jazzbo and Jazzbette!

OK, eMusicheads! Sonny, Please should be available at eMusic today. Have at it!

Hang On Ramsey! was also on CD, but with a different title. I think the title was just The Ramsey Lewis Trio. As I recall it was not on the Chess label but rather a Universal discount label such as Rewind. I remember seeing it at Borders about 2000.

About 25 years ago I read a terrific review of a guitarist named something like Yngwe Malmsteen. So I took a chance and bought the record. Biggest disappointment ever.

Here's a good article that discusses the game in chronological order: http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4050286.htm

Jim Popp is a personnel guy who took over as the interim head coach. If he returns as the permanent coach next year, I'll have big doubts about the Als' chances. I think he didn't challenge the call because of his lack of experience. This was I think only the 8th game he has served as a head coach (at any level) in his career.

BC, I have attended, seen on TV or listened on the radio to about 25 Grey Cup games, going back to 1962's famous Fog Bowl. This year's game was the worst in my book. The 1986 game was a blowout, but I found it interesting because Edmonton was expected to clobber Hamilton but instead Hamilton clobbered Edmonton. Oh well, last year's game was one of the best, and they can't all be good!

That trio was my gateway to jazz. My first jazz album was their Hang On Ramsey! with the hits Hang On Sloopy and A Hard Day's Night. I believe that the Ramsey Lewis CD Finest Hour will satisfy your immediate wants.

The Onion couldn't have said it better!

Thanks Claude. The 2.0 is what I had in mind. I think I'm using the 1.4.

The Calgary Stampeders have signed Marc Boerigter for next year. After playing out his option with the Stamps, he played four years with Kansas City, and spent some time this year with both Green Bay and Indy. In his rookie year with KC he caught only twenty passes all year, but eight were TDs. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...2431129-cp.html

Didn't Mozilla just recently release a new version of Firefox? If so, where do I get it?

Maybe it's just me, but I haven't felt like there has been a lot to offer in regard to new Christmas albums in the past five years. I think we were spoiled in the 90s when so much great Christmas music of the past was released for the first time on CD, plus the occasional CD from the likes of Wynton Marsalis or some compilations from the Young Lions. Last year I got Michael Franks' Christmas album from 2003 called Watching the Snow. It's a great one, if you don't mind that all of the songs are originals and secular. I'm looking forward to pulling that one out the day after Thanksgiving. Three years ago I reviewed a new release for AAJ called Jazz Yule Love. It was a Christmas compilation from the Mack Avenue label. As I recall, Stix Hooper, the label's a&r man and former Jazz Crusader, had each of the label's artists finish his recording session with a Christmas song. After a year or so of recording, Hooper had enough to issue a CD. It left me cold at the time. Part of the problem was that I opened it up fairly early in November and before I was in the mood to listen to Christmas music. But as Christmas albums go, this one was definitely not cheery. All of the songs were good taken out of context, but together the album was somewhat dreary. Last year Jazz Yule Love clicked for me, and I started to enjoy it more than I had in the past. This year, it's not an album I'll be listening to by itself, but I'll definitely include it in the mix when I am listening to more than one at a time. So now this year Mack Avenue has issued a new Christmas compilation entitled Jazz Yule Love II. I would give it four stars out of five. It is not dreary like the 2003 edition was, and the music is quite good. The two standouts for me are the first two cuts on the CD: trumpeter Sean Jones doing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Gerald Wilson with an all star lineup in his orchestra doing Jingle Bells. Other artists include Bud Shank doing Let It Snow, Oscar Castro-Neves playing two classical pieces on accoustic guitar, a good vocalist I am unfamiliar with named Ilona Knopfler singing two standards, and a group called the Hot Club of Detroit (which borrows from the swing style of Django Reinhardt's group) making a jazz version of The Chipmonk Song. Oscar Brown, Jr., contributed the only original of the album in what I suppose was one of his final recordings. The album is 11 songs totalling 48 minutes. It won't be the best Christmas album of my collection, but I'm glad I have it, and it will suffice for my new Christmas album of the year.