Adam

Cecil "Big Jay” McNeely passed away this morning at 6:15 am in Moreno Valley CA due to cancer. He was a legendary R&B sax player, king of the honkers, whose first record was in 1948, and was playing until earlier this year. He’s been in difficult shape for a couple of years, but performed in April & May. I filmed his performance on his 91st birthday on April 29, 2018, and the last time I spoke with him, two weeks ago, he had a plan for his next album, a trio with sax, bass, and harmonica. But he’s out of pain now, after an amazing life well-lived. April 29, 1927-Sept 16, 2018.

I need to get those LA sessions. Some of those were recorded on my actual birth day.

According to recent correspondence with Steve Isoardi, Ortega still plays regularly in a place in California. Here's an article from 2016: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/sd-et-music-anthony-ortega-20161115-story.html And the place: Mr. Peabody's, Encinitas CA. He's playing on Sundays. https://www.peabodysrocks.com/live-music https://www.reverbnation.com/show/22524717?utm_campaign=HTML5_ShowSchedule_Widget_Details&utm_content=show_details_link&utm_medium=widget

Thank you all! I forgot that our birthdays are listed here. (I found that when I tried to reply using Firefox, but the new interface doesn't work to reply in Firefox; had to switch to Chrome.)

Still waiting as well, but I'm cool so far.

I went on Saturday for the Evan Parker & Roscoe Mitchell solo sets and the duo with the two Swedes, with whom I was previously unfamiliar. Alas, couldn't make it on Sunday to the group sets. Parker played about twenty minutes on soprano; Mitchell about twenty minutes on sopranino, both as superb examples of circular breathing. Parker's choices worked more for me. It was in a church, with a respectful & enthusiastic crowd of maybe 120-140? The organizer dedicated it to Cecil Taylor. Maybe I can get a few pics uploaded. More in a bit.

Hi, My mom used to go to the Haig in the 50s. She passed last year though. I'm working on a documentary on Big Jay McNeely, and although you are looking at jazz and not R&B, if you happen find any relevant materials regarding him or R & B places in LA in the 50s or 60s, please let me know. Thank you. Best regards, Adam

Two concerts in Los Angeles in early June at the Zebulon Cafe with Keiji Haino! https://www.facebook.com/events/150384332326426/ https://www.facebook.com/events/151713368874142/

I was told that Amoeba's business model for years was predicated on being underwritten by the sale of pot, so it doesn't seem like a stretch.

Movie Mars is sold out

So about Olly Wilson...

Have you had a chance to see his film on Albert Ayler? I had coffee with Kasper Collin a couple of weeks ago. They are doing some screenings in NY & LA to see if they can get it on the Oscar documentary short list (15 finalists, from which the 5 nominees are selected).

Planning on going...

Interesting article about a recently-deceased artist in LA, RoHo, who collaborated with an artists' group/space called Studio Z for a while. "RoHo began staging concerts and poetry readings in Studio Z's cavernous space in Inglewood that was once an old dance studio, booking his practitioners of avant-garde jazz such as saxophonists Julius Hemphill and David Murray, pianist Horace Tapscott, woodwindist John Carter, trumpeter Bobby Bradford and the performance-jazz troupe the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Photographer Tylon Barrea attended the latter: "During Malachi [Favors]'s solo, one-third of the ceiling fell down — and nobody paid any attention."' https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/enigmatic-artists-garage-holds-out-against-south-las-gentrification?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=artbound

Never heard of seen this, and I'm a big Mal Waldron fan. A trio with two pianos?

Rachel Maddow included two scenes from 30 Rock with a character making jokes about being pinned by Weinstein. Weinstein has been known to be an asshole ("open secret") for decades in Hollywood. All the networks & print sources have buried that story for many years, regardless of administration. Weinstein has given to political candidates in the past; no reason to think his treatment by Hillary would be any different (i.e., they wouldn't care). When the NY Times finally ran with a story, and the New Yorker the following day, as has been pointed out, it probably has as much to do with Weinstein not being as powerful now as he once was, and that Ailes & O'Reilly & Cosby have already gotten hit, not which political party was ascendant. Tangent: Ronan Farrow is the son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen. Ronan, named Satchel at birth, is estranged from Woody since Woody, another problematic male, had married Ronan's step-sister. Political: Donald Trump, another admitted sexual predator, is president of the United States, a position which theoretically involves being the defender of the nation's laws, and also means that one should be held to a higher ethical standard, than movie producer. It's a false equivalency. However, i could readily imagine Trump & Weinstein going bar hopping and groping females together in NY in the 1990s Observation: Most people in the world don't speak out about things until they are in a safe place to do so. That includes actors, who as a group generally are insecure and want public approval. No surprise that Paltrow & Jolie would wait til now; but if their statements help more come out now, that would be good. Anyone who claims to be shocked though was in a state of willful denial. Another observation: One brave woman actually recorded a conversation with Weinstein for the NYPD, (and that is now being played all over). The prosecutor's office sat on it and never prosecuted, it is said, because she had also accused other powerful men of groping her. (Presumably Weinstein has friends in that office as well.) The problem here is that the woman becomes the one to blame if she should accuse more than one, even though it seems more likely that multiple powerful men had in fact hit on her. People in power like to preserve their power, and so their ongoing general desire to blame the woman first (and then by extension in other cases, blame the victim first) is still largely the rule. And many people in power believe that they are entitled to whatever they take. And movies have an ongoing trope: Male protagonist is horrible; woman doesn't care for him; but in the end, as long as he keeps after her, then at some point she gives in and is happy to be with him. As long as that fantasy keeps being peddled to horny lonely men, why would they start thinking that they need to behave like decent people?

I'd been hoping for some live material from the Christian years; really looking forward to this Bootleg. Now hoping that the next one will be live material from the tour with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

More relevant: http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/indies/1554424/concord-music-group-to-be-sold-to-wood-creek-capital-management

archive.org = the Internet Archive, always has. Not a new iteration. https://archive.org/ Huge Grateful Dead collection on there too.

This has track listing: http://www.subdist.com/cart/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=419

Just received from GD: We are reaching out to you regarding MAY 1977: GET SHOWN THE LIGHT and CORNELL 5/8/77. We are very sorry for the technical issues that have plagued Dead.net since we announced the products. We are working around the clock to get things back up and running smoothly. In the meantime, intermittent orders are still going through. THESE TITLES HAVE NOT SOLD OUT. If you have not been able to complete your order thus far, you are welcome to keep trying. We will update you as soon as the website and shopping cart are back at full capacity. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your continued patience. Sincerely, Dead.net

Just received from GD: We are reaching out to you regarding MAY 1977: GET SHOWN THE LIGHT and CORNELL 5/8/77. We are very sorry for the technical issues that have plagued Dead.net since we announced the products. We are working around the clock to get things back up and running smoothly. In the meantime, intermittent orders are still going through. THESE TITLES HAVE NOT SOLD OUT. If you have not been able to complete your order thus far, you are welcome to keep trying. We will update you as soon as the website and shopping cart are back at full capacity. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your continued patience. Sincerely, Dead.net I suggest going straight to the Rhino store and buying there, without using dead.net as intermediary.

Potential simple solution. Don't use the Grateful Dead page. Just go straight to the Rhino site: http://rhinostore.warnermusic.com Search for Grateful Dead, click on it, etc. My order went through. Confirmation # ended with #9103 if that means anything.

Also posted at the end of the Grateful Dead thread.