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I saw Allison Au and her quartet at Hirut, which is sort of a restaurant that turns into a jazz club at 8 pm. It's my first time, which is a bit ironic, given that it is the only club of its nature on the East Side of Toronto, but I only just found out about it.

It's Bandcamp Friday again. 👍 I picked up a few things: https://pmg-label.bandcamp.com/album/sahara-all-star-band-jos-sahara-all-star-band-jos-1976-2016 https://sunramusic.bandcamp.com/album/supersonic-jazz-expanded-edition (Very expanded Sun Ra album!) https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/if-music-presents-you-need-this-world-jazz-grooves-compiled-by-jean-claude-victor-kiswell https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/if-music-presents-you-need-this-world-jazz-grooves-volume-2-compiled-by-jean-claude-victor-kiswell I'm a bit on the fence on pre-ordering of what is essentially a remake/update of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Brian Jackson, who was heavily involved in the original, but I'll probably order it before the day is over. https://thebrianjackson.bandcamp.com/album/now-more-than-ever (The code bbetwenty is good for 20% off today for the last three items in my list, including the Brian Jackson pre-order)

I also saw an outfit called www.forcedexposure.com has it for pre-order, though I have a lot more experience with DG. 😜

It is a great set, though I didn't have any luck selling my copy either. I did, however, find a university music library that accepted it as a donation. (Not that easy these days, as we discussed on another thread...)

I finished Kundera's Ignorance, which I didn't really care for. I'm in the middle of a few books: Russo's Empire Falls (quite entertaining), Canetti's Auto-da-Fé (a bit pretentious but overall ok) and Buzzati's The Singularity (NYRB), which seems promising though I haven't gotten to the SF core of the novel yet.

A blast from the past - Devo and B-52s were playing in Toronto last night. It threatened to rain the whole evening, and I think the B-52s cut a couple of songs from their set list to make sure people didn't get caught in the rain, which finally started around 11. It could have been a lot messier! Fun night!

Not one of the all time great LPs. It had a few good moments. Mostly I am just surprised no one has put it out on CD.

Is it actually the case that Stan Kenton's Plays for Today has not made it to CD? I've been digging around and it seems like a few of the songs were on CD compilations, but not the whole album, which is quite surprising to me. I haven't listened to it yet (I just picked it up from a charity shop!), so I can't really say if it is a great LP, though it seems promising. Do let me know your thoughts.

I have to admit, based on what showed up from Nagel Heyer (on iTunes etc.) I assumed it was just another one of the PD labels muddying the waters, and that still seems to be the majority of its newest releases. I only just found out that it does put out legitimate releases of new music. The one that caught my attention first was Marc Copland & Greg Osby – Round & Round. Copland and Osby also have a CD called Night Call, but I haven't heard that. I do wish there was a simple way to sort through their various releases and figure out what is a new release and what is repacked PD material.

I enjoyed Kajillionaire, though the parents (Debra Winger & Richard Jenkins) were really hard to take. Gina Rodriguez was quite good in a supporting role. The movie didn't really have an opening in Toronto (due to COVID), though it did eventually open in the States, so it was nice to have the chance to see it in a theatre here. I hadn't connected the dots to realize that it was Miranda July (author of All Fours) who wrote and directed this. It was her third (and so far final) feature.

I'm probably going to see this. Not sure where it is playing though. I just saw a screwball comedy called Midnight with Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche. Quite fun. John Barrymore was particularly amusing. They were showing a quite gloriously restored print.

We shall see how long it takes to stabilize and if some exemptions for records and LP are carved out. At the moment, postal traffic into the United States has plunged by more than 80%. Article here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/06/postal-traffic-us-plunges

It definitely looks promising. I also put in an order for a few things on Bandcamp, as it was Bandcamp Friday. Gary Smulyan Royalty at LeDuc Eddie Higgins Haunted Heart Tsapiky! Modern Music From Southwest Madagascar Mr. Bongo Record Club No 7 Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight (not the recent remastered version but an older version with a ton of bonus tracks)

I ended up putting in a fairly large order of random used CDs from Dusty Groove. The main CD that caught my attention was Charlie Rouse - Soul Mates (Uptown), largely curious about the interplay between Rouse and Sahib Shihab, but I also got Eddie Harris There Was a Time (Echo of Harlem) (Enja), Larry Young's Mothership (possibly have this in some form already, LP??, but it was cheap), a couple of George Wallington CDs, and Lou Donaldson's Play the Right Thing (Milestone). I suspect I'll end up paying some import fees, but I'll find that out in a week or so.

Planning on checking out Out of Sight tomorrow, and then Naked Lunch a few weeks after that. And should squeeze in Kajillionaire in between. Of the three, I've only seen Naked Lunch before.

Halfway through Denis Johnson's Angels. Compelling but so very, very bleak. About a quarter of the way through Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, which is about two college friends who team up and become master (computer) game developers. Very good so far.

Saw Mike LeDonne and Eric Alexander at the Jazz Bistro last night. Some really great music. LeDonne was on organ and really went wild on a few numbers. They were selling a double CD due to come out in a few days, which comes with an unreleased set from 2004! With the same line-up! I managed to get Eric to sign a copy but not Mike. Will be swing by the Rex a few times in Sept., and indeed I might go tonight or tomorrow to see Mike Murley, but not sure just yet. In a few weeks there is a Coltrane tribute with Kirk MacDonald and Pat LeBarbara, and I'll want to go see that once or twice, and indeed I probably ought to reserve a spot for later in the week, as this often sells out... The new CD is on Bandcamp but not officially out for a few more weeks: https://mikeledonnegrooverquartet.bandcamp.com/album/turn-it-up-live-at-the-sidedoor

I feel the bigger risk (that will deter a lot of shippers) is the uncertainty that some agent will just ahead and make up some new rules on the spot and slap on tariffs whether justified or not. I definitely would not rely on the protocols being applied accurately, and in particular I would not count on CDs and LPs being exempt from tariffs. I found it was about 50/50 whether Canada post charged me import duties on shipments from the US (the de minimus threshold has always been laughably low and I don't think Canada did raise it, though it was supposed to), and I can guarantee you that in Canada at least import duties are applied to books, CDs and LPs.

Just back from Varda's Le bonheur. I have to admit, I didn't care for it very much. On top of everything else, the Mozart-based soundtrack was so loud and overwhelming at many points throughout the film. In next couple of days I plan on catching Tarkovsky's Solaris. I have seen it before but not in a theatre, and I think it's worth experiencing it that way.

Not going in person, but I might tune in on one of the live streams at Smoke - https://tickets.smokejazz.com/shows/7570/?date=2025-08-15 (Eric Alexander & Vincent Herring Quintet “Split Decision” Record Release) The reason I bring this up is that Mike LeDonne and Eric Alexander are playing at Toronto's Jazz Bistro on Aug. 29 and 30th. I plan on making the Aug 30 show. I haven't seen Eric since I was living in Chicago and he played the Jazz Showcase, usually accompanied by Harold Mabern.

Just finished The Leopard. Will try to get around to watching the movie very soon. Just under halfway through Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Also midway through Richler's St. Urbain's Horseman.

Quite the series. Last night was Hidden Fortress, and I am just back from The Seven Samurai. (They did put an intermission in, which was helpful...) Pretty amazing films all in all. I'd seen a few on the big screen before, including Dreams and Ran and High and Low, but this is a pretty exciting chance to see some of Kurosawa's best back to back to back.

I see.

Didn't know about the Eric Alexander pre-release. Might have picked that up also. Is there a specific reason you want download as Wav and then convert to mp3, rather than just dl as mp3 from Bandcamp in the first place? I don't dl as much as I probably ought to, but when I do, it is as 320 mp3s.

Bandcamp Friday! I picked up a few things (dls only...) that have been on my wishlist for a while - a couple by Eric St-Laurent a local guitarist I've seen at the Rex a few times: Darn That Band https://eric-st-laurent.bandcamp.com/album/darn-that-band and El Choclo https://eric-st-laurent.bandcamp.com/album/el-choclo and Sweet as Broken Dates https://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/album/sweet-as-broken-dates-lost-somali-tapes-from-the-horn-of-africa (which is very much in the same vein as the Ethiopiques series) Then I got an email from Cuniforme and picked up a few of their releases as well... Doors of Perception by Raoul Björkenheim https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/doors-of-perception Bring Your Own by Led Bib https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bring-your-own-2 and The People in Your Neighbourhood https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-people-in-your-neighbourhood also by Led Bib I did consider pre-ordering Hotel Pupik by Led Bib, but I need another track to preview. I'm not sure I am sold on their new direction.