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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.

Saw an interesting focused exhibit (in Montreal) on Berthe Weill who was an important art dealer in Paris who helped launch the careers of Picasso and Modigliani, among others. The exhibit features many of the paintings that passed through her gallery. https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/berthe-weill/ The exhibit runs through Sept. 7 or so in Montreal and then heads over to Paris this fall. Here in Toronto there is a new exhibit at the AGO on Joyce Wieland. https://ago.ca/exhibitions/joyce-wieland-heart There is also a very focused exhibit of woodblock prints by Naoko Matsubara, which just opened at the AGO. https://ago.ca/exhibitions/naoko-matsubara I haven't managed to get over there yet to see it, but I will in the next week or so.

It does appear these performances are on Apple music/iTunes. How "legit" is a bit hard to say, but I'm certainly willing to listen and decide if it does merit chasing down the CDs. I am gradually moving away from buying physical media, as the house is just too damn cluttered, but there are always exceptions to be made...

Rereading Calvino's Invisible Cities (for probably the 3rd or even 4th time) I am almost through Walden as well. I've read long excerpts in the past, but this is the first time reading the entire thing. And maybe a third of the way through di Lampedusa's The Leopard, for the first time. (Planning on watching the movie soon as well, which I have never gotten around to seeing either...)

Are you referring to this album - https://haroldlandjazz.bandcamp.com/album/a-lazy-afternoon-with-strings-by-ray-ellis or a different one? I'm sure I've listened to A Lazy Afternoon at least once, but can't recall if I still have the CD. Most likely not...

Any news on packaging, etc.? I'm assuming it is probably 3 albums on 2 CDs rather than 3 CDs with appropriate slipcases. Am tempted either way. Thanks!

Inspired by DG's glowing reviews 😄 (but also this one - https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/a-beautiful-day-revisited), I ordered the expanded edition of Andrew Hill's A Beautiful Day. Curious to see how different it really is. Maybe I will forgive them for not pointing out that Charles Mingus's Folk Forms (on the Penny label) is just a different incarnation of Mingus at Antibes 1960, so I shouldn't have picked that up. ☹️

It's not until early Aug., but the Revue is showing eight 4K restorations of key Kurosawa films. I'll be going to most of them, and in particular I am looking forward to Seven Samurai and Stray Dog.

I haven't done much of the free jazz shows that make up the Toronto Jazz Fest. Maybe I can change that on Fri. evening or Sat. Anyway, I forgot that Marc Ribot was in town on Monday and this was technically under the Jazz Fest umbrella, so I saw that as well, and that Arooj Aftab on Tues. Both very different shows, but both pretty incredible. It was essentially sold out, but I managed to get in to see Kneebody at the Rex tonight. Formerly a quintet, they are currently a quartet, and the drummer actually plays bass with his left hand and drums with his right! Pretty wild. They are playing tomorrow, and there might be a ticket or two left, but not much is available. There are currently no tickets at all for Ghost Note on Sat. at the Rex, but I will check back in the next couple of days to see if one does become available.

Just saw Midnight Cowboy (for first time!) on the big screen. Tonight will be catching Some Like It Hot, which I have seen. And tomorrow probably Chunking Express, which I have not seen.

Saw a group of local musicians playing hard bop compositions of Horace Silver at the Rex. The main notable thing about the group was there was no piano and was more guitar led by Reg Schwager, perhaps the best known member of the group. It was a lot of fun but not "challenging." Next week is Arooj Aftab, as part of the Toronto Jazz Festival (the only thing I am paying to see, unless I swing by the Rex again).