GA Russell

I have that one on CD with this cover.

Karen Stachel Norbert Stachel & LehCats Join Forces with Giovanni Hidalgo On "Live at the Breakroom," A 2-CD Set to Be Released March 20 On Purple Room Productions Jazz-Funk-World Fusion Band Led by NYC Multireedist Couple Captured with Legendary Conguero In a Hard-Driving, Groove-Heavy Performance of 10 Original Compositions   January 15, 2026 Omnivorous jazz fusion combo LehCats channels the awesome percussive power and ingenuity of conguero Giovanni Hidalgo with Live at the Breakroom, set for a March 20 release by Purple Room Productions. Captured on a night at the titular San Jose venue when Hidalgo was featured with the New York–based band led by husband-and-wife Karen (flutes, vocals) and Norbert Stachel (saxophones, flutes), the double-disc album is a superlative example of what can happen when spontaneity, unforced chemistry, and an energetic and receptive audience all converge. Crucially, none of the six musicians working together on Live at the Breakroom knew that the performance was being videoed and multitracked. The night of October 18, 2024, was the first of two nights of engagements in the San Francisco Bay Area, with LehCats (Stachel, spelled backwards) inviting Hidalgo—among the most acclaimed and in-demand conga players in the world—to join them as special guest. They did, however, know that the performance, featuring 10 original compositions by Norbert or Karen, was on fire—which made it a delightful surprise when they discovered that it was documented for posterity. “We realized that it was a great opportunity to produce and release a new CD,” writes Norbert Stachel in the album’s liner notes. “We felt the good vibes, and you can feel and hear great moments of high intensity and spirited interactions.” You sure can. LehCats’ polished but driving blend of jazz, funk, and Afro-Caribbean traditions oozes with the excitement and joy of inspired creation. From the raw-edged dance beat of the opening “Step On It” and the graceful Latin flow of “Sunshine” (illuminated by both Karen Stachel’s vocal and Matt Clark’s montuno piano), to Norbert’s sleek, brawny tenor marathon on “Power Tap,” to the Stachels’ dual-flute-led slow burn on “Soul Cha Cha” and the ferocious African polyrhythms (Karen’s stellar percussive flute solo among them) that charge the closing “Mandela,” the set is positively hair-raising. LehCats is a dynamic ensemble with shifting personnel—Bay Area pianist Clark and bassist Dan Feiszli here joining New York’s Stachels and drummer Dan Gonzalez—that builds a formidable Latin-spiced groove on its own. Yet Hidalgo’s presence on Live at the Breakroom sends that groove into hyperdrive, as heard in his dazzling solo intro to “Afrobaldi” and gritty lock-in with Gonzalez, Clark, and Feiszli on “Power Tap.” What the band thought was a one-time, ephemeral moment in San Jose instead stands as indelible proof that rhythm and music might be the most powerful unifying forces on earth. Norbert Stachel was born in Vallejo, California and grew up just outside of Berkeley in the town of El Cerrito. Gravitating to the saxophone as a teenager, he became a friend and collaborator of Bay Area jazz multi-instrumentalist Peter Apfelbaum, which led to a remarkable career as a sideman for the likes of Prince, Sheila E., Boz Scaggs, and Tower of Power, as well as Andrew Hill, Freddie Hubbard, and Roy Hargrove. Karen Stachel (nee Anderson) was born in Fort Lewis, Washington, the child of a military family that raised her in a nomadic base-to-base lifestyle. She began playing the flute in the third grade and became fascinated with jazz in high school, earning a jazz studies degree at California State University Hayward (where she studied and played with legendary bassist Chuck Israels) and a master’s in classical music at San Francisco State before founding the Karen Anderson Jazztet in the 1990s. Meeting and developing their relationship on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene, Norbert and Karen married in 1996 and moved to New York in 2002, where they nonetheless maintained separate musical and professional trajectories until 2015, when they and drummer Dan Gonzalez came together to launch LehCats. The next year brought their debut album, Out of the Bag. They followed it up with 2018’s Movement to Egalitaria, with the Stachels and Gonzalez joined by a rotating cast of 28 musicians in various combinations. The unplanned but inspired recording Live at the Breakroom is LehCats’ third album. Upcoming performances by LehCats include Sat. 1/17 (7:30pm-10:30pm), Vault 240, Hawley, PA; Tues. 1/27 (7pm-11pm), Arthur’s Tavern, 57 Grove St., NYC; Sun 2/15 (7pm-8:30pm), Paul Kares: The Room at Cedar Grove, Lewes, DE; Tues. 2/24 (7pm-11pm), Arthur’s Tavern, NYC. Photography: Chris Drukker    LehCats EPK  LehCats Website  

Disc One

East analysis https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/12/mmqb-one-burning-question-for-every-east-division-team/ ***** The Ticats have announced their coaching staff. Bob Dyce has agreed to be their Special Teams Coordinator. https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/12/bob-dyce-joins-ticats-2026-coaching-staff/ https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/tiger-cats-hire-former-redblacks-hc-dyce-as-assistant-hc/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/13/hamilton-tiger-cats-promote-jarryd-baines-to-offensive-coodinator/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/13/buck-stops-with-orlondo-steinauer-in-hamilton-as-he-leads-tiger-cats-football-operations-department/ https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/hamilton-tiger-cats/tiger-cats-hire-bob-dyce-as-special-teams-coordinator/ ***** Top 5 Ottawa plays https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/14/top-5-ottawa-redblacks-plays-from-2025/ ***** The Rules Committee, whose recommendations are always approved by the Board of Governors, has suggested that ties be abolished. They will keep playing until somebody wins. https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/cfl-rules-committee-proposes-end-to-regular-season-tie-games/ https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/cfl-rules-committee-recommends-eliminating-ties-keeping-late-half-timing-as-is/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/14/cfl-rules-committee-recommends-leaving-late-half-clock-unchanged-eliminating-ties-in-overtime/ ***** Casey Sayles has signed with BC. https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/lions-sign-all-star-dt-sayles/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/13/casey-sayles-to-sign-with-b-c-lions-following-release-from-tiger-cats/ https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/bc-lions-sign-standout-defensive-tackle-casey-sayles-through-2027/ ***** PJ Walker had surgery on his throwing shoulder. https://3downnation.com/2026/01/13/dave-dickenson-stampeders-qb-p-j-walker-recovering-from-surgery-on-throwing-shoulder/ ***** Sask free agent analyses https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-malik-carney/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-mario-alford/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-aj-allen/

I remember well!

Disc Three That wraps it up till next year!

That's not a 1962 haircut! Maybe 1965.

The Riders have announced their coaching staff, including Micah Johnson. https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/09/riders-announce-coaching-and-football-operations-staff/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/09/saskatchewan-roughriders-name-josh-bell-defensive-coordinator-finalize-2026-coaching-staff/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/riderville-roundup-january-11-2026/ ***** Jim Furlong has died at 85. RIP. https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/former-all-star-linebacker-grey-cup-champion-with-stamps-furlong-dead-at-85/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/09/calgary-stampeders-mourn-longtime-player-grey-cup-champion-jim-furlong/ ***** Sask free agent analyses https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-nelson-lokombo/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-jacob-brammer/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-sean-mcewen/

Disc 1 (1946-1953) Disc Two Ghost, it's not bad, but it's not one of my favorites. It leaves me cold. Maybe others here think more highly of it.

Happy Birthday Cliff!

I think I'll keep it up until Sunday. I've still got a few I haven't heard yet.

New Argos head coach Mike Miller has announced his coaching staff. It includes Ka'Deem Carey, Jovon Johnson (!), Demetrious Maxie and Chris Miller (whom I remember well from when he played for Atlanta when I lived there). https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/08/argonauts-announce-2026-coaching-staff/ https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/former-rb-carey-retires-added-to-argonauts-staff-as-2026-coaches-announced/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/08/toronto-argonauts-hire-kadeem-carey-finalize-2026-coaching-staff/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/08/toronto-argonauts-hire-cfl-award-winner-jovon-johnson-as-position-coach/ ***** New Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie has announced his coaching staff. It includes Jeff Reinbold (!) and Drew Tate. https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/08/ryan-dinwiddie-redblacks-announce-2026-coaching-staff/ https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/veteran-coach-reinebold-returns-to-cfl-as-redblacks-special-teams-coordinator/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/08/ottawa-redblacks-hire-jeff-reinebold-finalize-2026-coaching-staff/ ***** More on the union's report cards. https://www.tsn.ca/nfl/article/tiger-cats-roughriders-earn-top-grades-in-cflpa-report-cards/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/08/b-c-lions-reveal-more-plans-for-renovated-practice-facility-address-cflpa-report-card/

Cameron Washington Brings His New Orleans-Inspired Lazy Californians To the World Stage with "Back to San Francisco," Set for Feb. 13 Release Via Angel Island Records Bay Area Trumpeter-Vocalist Debuts His 9-Piece Jazz/Brass/Groove Band With a Gregarious Mix of Originals, Standards, & Traditional Songs, Augmented by Multiple Special Guests CD Release Celebration at the Bodega, San Francisco, Friday, Feb. 13   January 8, 2026 Band name and album title notwithstanding, it’s the sound of New Orleans jazz and brass bands that resonates loudest on Back to San Francisco, the irrepressibly grooving debut album by Cameron Washington and Lazy Californians, dropping February 13 on Angel Island Records. But neither are there any misnomers here: trumpeter-vocalist Washington and his unique nine-piece band are indeed based in the City by the Bay, where they ply the rhythms and flavors that burst forth from this album with the energy and charisma of a blast furnace. Of course no one would call Lazy Californians a traditional New Orleans brass band, either. The genesis of their aesthetic unquestionably lies in the Big Easy—but how many of those hard-driving street bands also include upright bass and Hammond B-3, let alone practitioners of those instruments with the skills and smarts of bass man Tom Martin or organist Kevin Gerzevitz? How many wade into deep African traditions like Nigerian Afrobeat or kalimba-based folk music? “I knew I had a sound in my head that was something different,” says Washington, a San Francisco native with Louisiana roots (and a profound student of New Orleans’s musical heritage). “This was a gift to be able to put my favorite friends and musicians together to make this album, and I think we made some magic.” Bandleader/trumpeter Cameron Washington (center) with Lazy Californians. Magic it certainly is. Along with the aforementioned ingredients, Back to San Francisco offers generous portions of blues, funk, hip-hop, and R&B, plus other African and Afro-Caribbean flair. Sometimes several of these occur at once: the opening title track places traditional jazz horns (from Washington, guest trumpeter Leroy Jones, trombonist Jeremy Nesmith, and sousaphonist Benwar Shephard) against vocals both hip-hop and soul. “Ricochet” is Meters-style funk by way of New Orleans bounce music (with a searing rap from guest vocalist Todd “Woodz” Woodward), while the blues classic “I Ain’t Drunk” gets refit with a second line rhythm and wailing swing horn solos. Fantastic though the core band is, Lazy Californians proves to be a big tent, with lots of room for guest musicians to shine as well. Along with Jones and Woodward, guitarist Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz and harmonicist Glenn Appell add layers of fierce electric blues to “Back to San Francisco” and “The Cookout,” respectively. Meanwhile, Waahid Jones adds an impassioned Yoruba chant to “Mêlée in the Vieux Carré” and Shamila Ivory puts a bottomless supply of soul into her vocals on the joyful “Movin’ On Up” (yes, the theme from The Jeffersons) and the stirring “Ken’s Chariot (Swing Low, Sweet Chariot).” Taken together, it sounds like a party—and it is. The songs are mostly quick hits of good-time music, adhering to a strict mandate from Washington that “It’s got to groove and be fun and accessible.” These Lazy Californians have a rhythmic style all their own. Cameron Washington was born February 25, 1980 in San Francisco, but even then he was already immersed in New Orleanian music. His father and two uncles were musicians from Louisiana who surrounded the boy with the sounds they themselves had grown up on. Young Cameron cycled through several musical instruments, settling on trumpet in high school—where he also founded an 18-piece jazz big band. If music was his first love, however, Washington found another in film and video production. After graduating high school, the next step in his education was at the Hollywood dream factory, where he spent four years working behind the scenes on film sets. In 2002 he moved to New York, where he could cultivate hands-on experience in both film and music. Washington thus brought a considerably deepened CV back with him to San Francisco in 2010, which he was able to parlay into work that included lead trumpet in SFJAZZ’s Monday Night Big Band as well as the launch of his own film production company, Russian Hill Projects. The latter led him to a life-changing expedition in New Orleans, where he produced the acclaimed 2018 documentary A Man and His Trumpet: The Leroy Jones Story. He also channeled the musical side of that experience into Lazy Californians, which garnered high demand and accolades around the Bay Area. But even that massive region, as Back to San Francisco demonstrates, isn’t big enough to contain the band’s world-embracing sound. Cameron Washington and Lazy Californians perform a CD release show at The Bodega, 3359 Cesar Chavez in San Francisco, on Friday 2/13, 7-10pm. Photography: Willy Johnson (band), Parker Washington (Cameron)    Lazy Californians EPK  Lazy Californians Website  

The union today released its second annual "report card." https://3downnation.com/2026/01/07/edmonton-elks-improve-dramatically-ottawa-redblacks-drop-in-second-annual-cflpa-report-card/ ***** Tony Dennis has died at 63. RIP. https://3downnation.com/2026/01/07/former-saskatchewan-roughriders-receiver-tony-dennis-who-survived-devastating-stroke-dead-at-63/ ***** Sask free agent analysis https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-habakkuk-baldonado/

RIP Gordon Goodwin! I once spoke with him on the phone. Nice guy.

Did any of our European members exchange presents today?

Micah Johnson has retired, and joined the Riders' staff as the DL coach. https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/05/micah-johnson-retires-joins-riders-coaching-staff/ https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/three-time-grey-cup-winner-johnson-retires-joins-riders-coaching-staff/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/05/micah-johnson-retires-from-playing-in-cfl-accepts-job-as-saskatchewan-roughriders-defensive-line-coach/ ***** West analysis https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/05/mmqb-one-burning-question-for-every-west-division-team/ ***** Jarious Jackson has agreed to become the Stamps' QB coach. https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/05/jarious-jackson-joins-stamps-coaching-staff/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/05/calgary-stampeders-hire-jarious-jackson-as-quarterbacks-coach-finalize-staff/ ***** Jeshrun Antwi, a favorite of mine, has retired. https://www.cfl.ca/2026/01/06/running-back-jeshrun-antwi-announces-retirement/ https://3downnation.com/2026/01/06/canadian-rb-jeshrun-antwi-retires-from-cfl/ ***** The Riders' DL coach, Phillip Daniels, has agreed to become the Redblacks' DL coach. https://3downnation.com/2026/01/06/former-saskatchewan-roughriders-dl-coach-phillip-daniels-joins-ottawa-redblacks-in-same-role/ ***** Sask free agent analyses https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-damarcus-fields/ https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/roughriders-free-agents-jack-coan/

Cigar Page has a favorite of mine on sale today. Puros Indios (various sizes and wrappers) 20 for $$39.94 https://www.cigarpage.com/puros-indios-nip-deal.html

In 2002 or 2003, I joined AAJ. I remember when the Blue Note board guys joined AAJ en masse, but then left en masse to start up organissimo. I waited a few months before coming on board. August, 2003.

Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas!

Bottom 20 worst teams in league history https://3downnation.com/2026/01/04/celebrated-cellar-dwellers-counting-down-the-20-worst-teams-in-cfl-history/ ***** Sask analysis https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/riderville-roundup-january-4-2026/

This is great, Mike!

This is a bookshelf.