GA Russell

Didn't Michael Cuscuna find that sales decline when the retail price is more than $120.00? I can imagine that the smaller profit per cd combined with a price tag ceiling resulted in the 13-18 disc boxes we saw last year from Nucleus, Barbara Thompson and Henry Cow.

Episode 25 https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/track/straight-life-audiocast-episode-25

CELEBRATE MINGUS' CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY TODAY REFRESH YOUR JAZZ PLAYLIST WITH MINGUS THREE DELUXE EDITION OUT NOW INCLUDING JAZZ STANDARDS "YESTERDAY," "I CAN'T GET STARTED" AND "LAURA" TWO MINGUS ORIGINALS "BACK HOME BLUES" AND "DIZZY MOODS" Rhino / Parlophone Celebrate Jazz Month And Honor The Icon’s Legacy With A New Deluxe Edition Of His 1957 Album, Mingus Three, Featuring Eight Recently Discovered Unreleased Session 2CD, 2LP, And Digital Versions Are Available Today, On His Birthday “I look forward to the day when we can transcend labels like jazz and acknowledge Charles Mingus as the major American composer that he is.” – Guggenheim Foundation “For sheer melodic and rhythmic and structural originality, his compositions may equal anything written in Western music in the 20th century.” – The New Yorker “Mingus was something else, man. A pure genius, I loved him.” – Miles Davis LOS ANGELES – Rhino / Parlophone is celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month with one of the most influential figures in 20th-century American music, Charles Mingus, who would have turned 100 today, April 22. This year, Mingus’ legacy is in the spotlight with the release of the deluxe edition of his album, Mingus Three, for his centenary as a virtuoso bass player, an accomplished pianist, bandleader, and composer. Rhino/Parlophone salutes Mingus with an updated version of his 1957 trio recording with pianist Hampton Hawes and drummer Dannie Richmond. The seven original tracks have been expanded for the upcoming release, with eight previously unreleased session recordings discovered by chance recently in the London Parlophone vaults. The bonus tracks include different takes for all but one album track (“Laura”), plus two blues originals. MINGUS THREE: DELUXE EDITION is available today, April 22 – Mingus’ birthday – as a 180-gram double-LP set ($34.98) and as a double-CD set ($24.98). The music is also available on digital and streaming services today. The music comes in a replica of the original record sleeve issued by Jubilee Records and a booklet featuring photos from the era. The set also includes new liner notes written by jazz arranger and pianist Sy Johnson, who collaborated with Mingus in the 1970s and helped arrange his 1972 album, Let My Children Hear Music. He writes: “The Mingus Three session was booked for July 9, 1957. Mingus and Hawes brought their histories to the studio: Mingus with a long, powerful record of activism, outrage, and political attack anchored in serious music-making, and Hawes’ fanfare of jazz awards and huge success—and he could play!! The date would ultimately become a dialogue between Mingus and Hawes with punctuation from Richmond.” Mingus recorded the session in a day with Hawes, a childhood friend who’d been in bands with Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon, and drummer Dannie Richmond, whose association with the bassist lasted over two decades. Mingus Three included four standards (“Yesterdays,” “I Can’t Get Started,” “Summertime,” and “Laura”), two Mingus originals (“Back Home Blues” and “Dizzy Moods”), and a group jam “Hamp’s New Blues.” The bonus material provides a fresh glimpse into the principal players and offers alternate – not lesser – versions of album tracks, including swinging takes of “Summertime” and “Hamp’s New Blues.” Mingus’s music continues to reach new audiences through artists like Mingus Big Band (directed by his widow Sue Mingus), Kamasi Washington, Chrissie Hynde (whose latest album includes a Mingus cover), Candace Springs, Elvis Costello, Gang Starr (who samples him), and Joni Mitchell (who wrote lyrics to his music). His musical legacy is still ongoing and will continue to play an essential role in music history for many generations to come. # # # [facebook.com][twitter.com][instagram.com][soundcloud.com][itunes.com][spotify.com][google.com/music][youtube.com/music][tiktok.com] Artist Title Time Charles Mingus Yesterdays (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 04:14 Charles Mingus Back Home Blues (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 05:31 Charles Mingus I Can't Get Started (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 06:30 Charles Mingus Hamp's New Blues (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 03:53 Charles Mingus Summertime (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 04:39 Charles Mingus Dizzy Moods (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 06:55 Charles Mingus Laura (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 06:35 Charles Mingus Untitled Blues - Take 1 (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 06:57 Charles Mingus Untitled Blues - Take 2 (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 03:27 Charles Mingus Back Home Blues - Take 6 - Incomplete (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 03:11 Charles Mingus Hamp's New Blues - Take 4 (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 04:18 Charles Mingus I Can't Get Started - Take 4 (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 08:11 Charles Mingus Yesterdays - Take 2 - Incomplete (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 00:56 Charles Mingus Dizzy Moods - Take 2 (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 05:57 Charles Mingus Summertime - Take 3 (feat. Hampton Hawes and Danny Richmond) [2022 Remaster] 04:34

LIFO - My CDs and LPs are filed merely by how recently they have been played. Except... I file my bossa nova, surf guitar and surfing records separately (We've discussed this elsewhere.) for summer listening. I also file separately my newest (to me) albums, by year.

Dan, I don't see much difference between #2's first and third options. But thanks for this!

My apologies. I didn't look beyond the article mentioned. The site was from bing. I thought they avoided that sort of thing.

Rooster, I saw a comment the other day which you might enjoy. It said... Nowadays you have only two options. You can either be a conspiracy theorist, or you can be a coincidence theorist.

Late last week the CFOs of both Pfizer and Moderna resigned.

Gossip! https://3downnation.com/2022/03/30/insider-talk-x/ https://3downnation.com/2022/04/06/insider-talk-canadian-qb-tre-ford-salary-projections-giving-young-guys-a-chance/ https://3downnation.com/2022/04/13/insider-talk-the-ratio-positional-draft-needs-advice-for-prospects/ https://3downnation.com/2022/04/20/insider-talk-x-2/

Twitter's board has agreed to sell the company to Elon Musk. This is a "definitive agreement," so I guess that means that it is now too late for another bidder to come along. Will Musk reinstate the banned accounts? The other day, Twitter shares closed only 18 cents above their 2013 IPO price. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/spencerbrown/2022/04/25/breaking-elon-musk-buys-twitter-n2606302

Daryle Lamonica passed away Thursday at 80. RIP. He was a favorite of mine. I was surprised to learn last year that of all the starting US-pro quarterbacks in history, Lamonica is #2 behind only Otto Graham in winning percentage. To me, that is hall of fame-worthy. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/04/21/daryle-lamonica-dies-at-80/ https://www.si.com/nfl/talkoffame/state-your-case/lamonica-hall-of-fame

Ray Leatherwood has a Wikipedia page (which mentions Cry Me a River)! He died in '96. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Leatherwood

2 Russian oligarchs were found dead one day apart alongside their wives and children https://www.businessinsider.com/2-russian-oligarchs-found-dead-spain-moscow-reports-2022-4 Looks like something is going on.

RIP. I remember his scene with Jayne Mansfield in Guide for the Married Man.

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy pulls out his phone, and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says, "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, "OK, now what?"

RISING JAZZ PHENOM JULIUS RODRIGUEZ TAKES ON STEVIE WONDER’S CLASSIC “ALL I DO” NEW SINGLE SHIMMERS WITH OSCAR PETERSON-ESQUE JAZZ LYRICISM AND MOTOWN FLAIR Artist Title Time Julius Rodriguez All I Do 04:41 RODRIGUEZ BLAZES HIS OWN SONIC PATH ON DEBUT ALBUM LET SOUND TELL ALL SET FOR RELEASE JUNE 10 ON VERVE RECORDS, AFTER DROPPING OUT OF JUILLIARD TO TOUR WITH A$AP ROCKY, CAUTIOUS CLAY AND MORE "Beginning with a woozy synth pattern and what sounds like the whir of field crickets, the song tumbles into gear about 20 seconds in, shifting from waltz time into a relaxed yet sharply syncopated groove…this is music that prioritizes a vibe, rather than the mechanics of a plot.” NPR Music “a cosmic jazz saga that starts with a mesmeric two-chord cadence and expands into something colossal yet sleek and reserved” The Fader Julius Rodriguez, “rising jazz phenom” (NPR) and multi-talented pianist/drummer/producer, today releases “All I Do”, the second single from his forthcoming major label debut album Let Sound Tell All set for release June 10 on Verve Records. Rodriguez takes on the beloved Stevie Wonder classic, referencing Tammi Terrell’s 1966 version of the song and infusing it with a shimmering lyrical jazz pianism. The single is accompanied by an official lyric video, watch here: https://juliusrodriguez.lnk.to/AllIDoLyricVideo. Pre-order Let Sound Tell All here: https://juliusrodriguez.lnk.to/LSTA. Plus, an exclusive translucent LP as well as standard versions of the LP/CD will be available at the Verve Records Center Stage store. Julius Rodriguez tapped his childhood friend and singer Mariah Cameron to sing lead vocals on this track, which she handles with a mid-century Motown take, belting with a purity of sound, backed up on vocals by South African jazz artist Vuyo Sotashe. Ben Wolfe, Rodriguez’s Juilliard professor and legendary bassist (Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr.) adds a swinging, walking backbeat, buoyed by Stay Human drummer Joe Saylor. Julius takes the lead on piano, deftly weaving from supporting comps to Oscar Peterson-level laid back excellence. Whereas his first single “Gift Of The Moon,” was as The Fader described it, “a cosmic jazz saga,” this track calls to mind Rodriguez’s early days at Smalls Jazz Club, embracing a more traditional jazz sound but infusing it with the rich tapestry of soul and gospel sounds. Photo: Avery J. Savage On his debut album Let Sound Tell All, 23 year old musician Julius Rodriguez stirs a cauldron of gospel, jazz, classical, R&B, hip-hop, experimentation, production and sheer technical wizardry to create a stunning debut that commands attention. As an 11 year old kid, Rodriguez honed his jazz chops at Smalls Jazz Club, wowing audiences with his rendition of his favorite Ellington tune “Take the A Train.” Fast forward to 2018 when he dropped out of Juilliard, shimmying off the rigid curriculum to tour with A$AP Rocky. Now, in 2022, Rodriguez is on the cusp of a stellar release that weaves his life and influences - from Monk, Coltrane, Solange, James Blake, Sampha and more. This music is as much at home in Smalls Jazz Club as it is at Gov Ball. Let Sound Tell All is a complex combination of live improvisation weaved with high-level production. A song may start out in a well-oiled, Coltrane classic quartet energy and fed through distortion pedals to culminate in an exhilarating trippy meltdown of sheer sonic genius. Call him Gen-Z jazz, but when you hear Julius Rodriguez play “the music,” as he calls it, it’s a modern Sound, as fluent in history as it is aware of its contemporary context. His music dares to imagine a future of new standards and musical trailblazing. This vanguard was raised in an atmosphere where pop and hip-hop and dance influenced their approaches to melody and harmony and rhythm, so of course it is part of their improvisational DNA. And that’s what Julius Rodriguez’s Sound tells to whoever will choose to listen. Follow Julius Rodriguez Facebook | Instagram | Website

San Francisco Bay Area Guitarist/Composer George Cotsirilos Deepens His Explorations with "Refuge," Due May 20 on OA2 Records Album Is His Seventh, & Second with His Highly Interactive Quartet of Bassist Robb Fisher, Drummer Ron Marabuto, Pianist Keith Saunders CD Release Shows at Bird & Beckett, San Francisco, Sat.. 5/21; Mr. Tipple's Recording Studio, San Francisco, Sat. 5/28; The Backroom, Berkeley, Sat. 6/4 April 18, 2022 George Cotsirilos pushes into new frontiers with the May 20 release of Refuge (OA2). The guitarist and composer’s follow-up to his acclaimed 2018 album Mostly in Blue again features his quartet—pianist Keith Saunders, bassist Robb Fisher, and drummer Ron Marabuto—but repositions them both in pursuit of new challenges and, if anything, even more “in blue.” Cotsirilos added piano to his longtime trio in 2018, hoping to express the denser harmonies he was hearing in his writing. The success of the experiment encouraged him to keep moving forward, creating a group of compositions that are more complex and more seasoned in the blues. (He comes by that seasoning honestly: Though based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cotsirilos was born and raised in Chicago.) The lockdowns and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic gave him opportunities to explore a variety of music and assimilate it into his own work. However, it also hampered his ability to workshop the new tunes with the band. “It became more and more difficult to try out the pieces, so it took a while to get them to a point where we were all happy with them,” Cotsirilos says. “But I was confident … that everything would come together.” Indeed, come together it did. From the sumptuous melody and harmonies of “Refuge,” to the sly, sexy Latin groove of “Igualmente,” to the alluring intricacies of “Aftermath” and “Let’s Make a Break for It,” Refuge is every inch the work of an adept and highly attuned ensemble. It’s clear that the players are intimately familiar with not just the compositions, but the possibilities they offer. While Cotsirilos is the album’s leader and composer, the quartet functions very much on a level playing field. The pieces require close interaction among all four musicians—the entirety of “A Faint Light” hinges on the pocket they create—and even the solos achieve their high caliber through the full band’s chemistry. Cotsirilos’s Byzantine line on “Planet Roxoid” succeeds by virtue of Saunders’s anticipating his every step, and the guitarist pays it forward with an equally empathic accompaniment of Fisher’s bass solo on “The Three Doves.” Cotsirilos claims to receive inspiration from recordings of Beethoven’s cello sonatas—because, he says, they were written with an aim “for instruments to enhance each other.” His work with his quartet on Refuge leaves no doubt that this is so. George Cotsirilos was born in Chicago in 1951. His passion for music was stimulated by an aunt and an uncle—the former was a classical music lover who encouraged him to play the violin; the latter was an erstwhile drummer who took him to hear Louis Armstrong. The renaissance of Chicago blues during his teenage years ensured that George grew devoted to the electric guitar. In 1969, Cotsirilos enrolled at UC Berkeley. A sociology major, he briefly left school halfway through his studies to play guitar in a blues band. When he re-enrolled at Berkeley, he separately became a student of Warren Nunes, a legendary guitarist in East Bay musical circles. Nunes brought Cotsirilos under the sway of jazz, learning about the great guitarists as well as the ideas and techniques of other instrumentalists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Chick Corea. Even as he studied music more seriously—training on classical guitar through the San Francisco Conservatory of Music—Cotsirilos completed his sociology degree, then attained a law degree. He maintained a dual career for years working as a criminal defender and lecturer at Berkeley’s prestigious School of Law, while also performing alongside Pharoah Sanders, Etta James, renowned drummer Eddie Marshall, and Bay Area stalwarts Mel Martin and Mark Levine. He released his first solo album, Silenciosa, in 2003, followed by three trio albums with Fisher and Marabuto. In 2017, around the same time he expanded his trio to a quartet (with Saunders on piano), Cotsirilos retired from the law profession and devoted himself full-time to music. Refuge is one of the beneficiaries of that decision—and so is the jazz audience. The George Cotsirilos Quartet will be performing CD release shows on Sat. 5/21 at Bird & Beckett, San Francisco (7:30pm); Sat. 5/28 at Mr. Tipple’s Recording Studio, San Francisco (6:00pm); and Sat. 6/4 at The Backroom, Berkeley (8:00pm). Photography: Billy Douglas George Cotsirilos EPK - "Refuge"  George Cotsirilos Web Site ‌

Happy Easter everyone!

Specialty Records' Art Rupe has died at 104. RIP. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/16/arts/music/art-rupe-dead.html

1989 it was! I remember now. Soon after the concert I bought one of Pine's CDs. Perhaps it was his only one at that time. It was one of the first CDs I bought. I got my first CD player in November of 1988. You will recall that Pine was billed as "the new Coltrane." I remember at the concert his playing one note (maybe a half note) that had precisely Prestige Coltrane's tone. I thought, Aha! That's why.

I trust you. I would have said '86, but I don't remember years any more.

Yes! Thanks, Ken. What year was that?

RIP. I saw him in Atlanta in '85 with Stanley Jordan, and really enjoyed his work. Sometime later, I saw Courtney Pine with Cyrus Chestnut on piano, and Moffett may have been on bass for that one too. But I can't say for sure.

I once saw Annie Ross in an episode of The Saint with Roger Moore.

True story: Many years ago a young lawyer told me that a judge once him that... Most people think that the hard part of being on a jury is deciding who to find for when both sides have good arguments; when in reality the hard part is having to find for someone when they think everyone is lying.