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Did you see the Jaune Quick-to-See Smith? I thought that was a very interesting exhibit by an artist I wasn't familiar with. I also saw the Hokusai show in Boston, which was a lot of fun. (Yes, this is The Great Wave made out of Lego...)

Saw Past Lives about a week ago. And Asteroid City. Planning on checking out Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny tomorrow.

I have to admit that I am not feeling The Adventures of Augie March this time around. It just feels like it drags, and I am almost completely uninterested in the doings of Augie's callow older brother, Simon. I remember liking the novel very much in my 20s, but my tastes and tolerance for long novels have definitely changed... Will try to stick to shorter novels for a while. Next up are Reuss's Henry of Atlantic City and Desani's All About H. Hatterr (NYRB).

Surprisingly, the weather cleared up (though it was pretty muggy) and I saw the Trash Pandas Brass Band (mostly playing arrangements of Lady Gaga and Madonna songs 🏳️‍🌈) and Mark Kelso & the Jazz Exiles at the Jazz Fest. Then later I swung by The Rex. Pat played one original and lots of interesting standards, including Tricotism and Monk's We See (instead of more commonly played songs). Neil Swainson was terrific. Pat said that he actually was playing the saxophone once owned by Lucky Thompson! Tonight, bad weather prevented Brad Mehldau from making the gig!!! ☹️ In truth, I was there mostly to see Avishai Cohen (this was the bass player and his trio), but of course would have preferred to see both. Some people clearly requested refunds, but for those who stayed, Avishai played for 90 minutes and it was quite the set. So a lot of stunning bass playing over the past few days. 👍

Weather does not look like it will cooperate at all tomorrow for the Toronto Jazz Fest, which is a real shame. ☹️ I am not sure I will be able to get to any of the outdoor events. I am still planning on going to The Rex tomorrow to catch Pat LaBabera and then have tickets to Brad Mehldau Trio/Avishai Cohen Trio at Koerner Hall on Monday.

Well, I can tell you whom I'm not seeing. Vijay Iyer has a mini-tour across Canada in next two weeks: Vancouver, Montreal and even Ottawa, but he can't be bothered to squeeze in Toronto. https://vijay-iyer.com/events/ While the local jazz scene isn't too bad, the overall jazz scene in Toronto (and ability to drawn bigger names from the States or Europe) is absolutely dire. It really was quite a bit better when I was living in Vancouver. Sigh...

Wow - that is lucky. (I didn't send it that way.) So glad it made it ok.

Thanks for looking, everyone. I'm shutting down the sale. Most of the CDs I really wanted to go to good homes were picked up except the Barbara Thompson. I may have another flash sale at the end of July but not 100% sure.

On hold. Thanks!

Yes. Apologies...

Hi all. I'll be in NYC this weekend, and thus can offer media rate shipping ($3) to US addresses (free if you order 3 or more CDs). However, I need to finalize any orders by Wed. (tomorrow) evening. Sorry for the short notice! I'm only going to list a small number of items that I would prefer to sell to folks on the board rather than flog them at the second hand shops (such as still exist...). Louis Armstrong Integrale Vol 6. 1931-33 (Fremeaux) 3CDs - 15 HOLD Kenny Drew Home is Where the Soul Is (Xanadu) - 10 Dexter Gordon In the Cave (Live in Utrecht) (Dutch Jazz Archive) - 10 - one light mark not affecting play HOLD Bennie Green Soul Stirrin' (Blue Note - TOCJ) - 6 HOLD Ian Hamer Sextet (w/ Tubby Hayes) Acropolis (2 CDs) (Jasmine Records) - 8 HOLD John Hicks Inc. 1 (DIW) - 11 HOLD John Hicks Sketches of Tokyo (DIW) - 9 - very light scuffing not affecting play HOLD Terumasa Hino Unforgettable (Blue Note) - 4 HOLD Hank Mobley To One So Sweet, Stay That Way (Dutch Jazz Archive) - 12 J.R. Monterose The Message (Xanadu) - 10 - hole drilled in case/bar code Joe Newman and Joe Wilder Hangin' Out (Concord) - 4 John Patton Boogaloo (Blue Note Rare Grooves) - 3- light scratches not affecting play John Patton Got a Good Thing Goin' (Blue Note Rare Grooves) - 5 - one light mark not affecting play, notch in spine John Patton Blue John (Blue Note) - 5 HOLD Bernie Senensky Re-Action (Unity) - 5 Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia The Last Fandango - 7 - still sealed! HOLD Barney Wilen & Philppe Petit Flashback (Paris Jazz Corner) - 10 Thanks for looking! Eric

I know that he comes and plays in Toronto from time to time. I found that there is a fairly interesting group, BadBadNotGood, coming to the Toronto Jazz Fest, but I can't go to both shows unfortunately. Will opt for LaBarbera (and hopefully Swainson!).

Had a bit of a detour but now will try to wrap up Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March. I was reading Murakami's new short story collection - First Person Singular. Unfortunately, I found these stories pretty shallow and unsatisfying. Definitely glad I just picked it up from the library!

Sadly, Swainson wasn't at the gig on the 28th. He also was going to miss the 29th, so I didn't stop back on the 2nd night. Thermo is a pretty good outfit, but I was really hoping to catch Swainson again. He is supposed to be backing Pat LaBarbara at the Rex on June 24, and I should be able to make that show.

Just saw the news this morning and am pre-ordering now. 😊 Discussed here in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/01/john-coltrane-recordings-lost-in-new-york-public-library-will-finally-be-heard

Managed to catch a few films in the Pop Japan series here at TIFF: A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness and Tokyo Drifter both directed by Seijun Suzuki. I was trying to see Spirited Away but all the showings were sold out. 😢 It's supposed coming back to North America at the end of Oct. as part of Ghibli Fest, and I'll just try harder to get tickets then.

I'm sure he gets a much, much bigger cut through Bandcamp vs. mere pennies (if that) through the streaming sites. But the downside is almost no visibility at all. I had no idea about any of these releases whereas I do find out about new jazz releases every month or so through Apple Music.

I guess this is just the sign of the times. Jason Moran released a full-length CD on Bandcamp back in January - https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-dancehall-to-the-battlefield As far as I can tell there is no physical release (or perhaps there was one but it sold out). I also don't think it is available on any of the typical streaming sites, which is definitely unusual. There seem to be two other releases (from 2021 but this is the first time I heard about them) also on Bandcamp. https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/graves-moran-live-at-big-ears https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/the-sound-will-tell-you-2 And then some odds and ends from before this.

I'll probably pick this up but agree it is far from ideal.

Going for the first set at The Rex tonight - It's the Tim Posgate Quartet. He plays both banjo and guitar. Not sure which we'll get more of in the first set. My money is on the banjo... 😉 Next week there are two dates by Thermo (Nathan Hiltz on guitar, and Mike Manny on piano) at The Rex. But their recent recording features Neil Swainson on bass, and I'm certainly hoping he'll be at both gigs (May 28 & 29). I'm fairly likely to go both nights if he is playing.

Terrible way to go... I read Money and London Fields quite a long time ago and had been thinking of rereading them. I might do so now, though I am a bit more inclined to read something "fresh" to me. I'm pretty sure I never got around to Time's Arrow, and I might tackle that one next.

I'll go with this performance from 2006. https://www.bimhuis.nl/en/calendar/andrew-hill-quintet-2/ I didn't have the nerve to talk to Andrew himself, but I did speak briefly with Jason Yarde, who said that the "book" for the gig was pretty challenging. However, I didn't jot down what they actually played. 🙁 So in that sense I found it a really noteworthy performance, but not one where I remember the details all that well...

I finished Farrell's The Singapore Grip, completing his Empire Trilogy. I thought the ending was a bit of a strange cop-out, but overall it's a good read. Of the three, I'd have to say Troubles, the first, is my favorite. I'm midway through Vanderhaeghe's Homesick now, which is about a widow returning with her young son to her father's house. After this, I think I start in on rereading Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March.

Agreed. I must have all these albums in one format or another (and possibly even the Rhino CDs - will have to check), so I probably wouldn't have gone for it, but the fact that the vinyl set gets 3 extra bonus tracks really gets under my skin, and now there is no way I would consider it. Not a compelling offering on any level.

In March and April, the Rex has been able to bring in a fair number of Juno nominees and even some winners. I saw Mark Kelso & the Jazz Exiles a couple of weeks ago, and tonight was the Jocelyn Gould Quintet. Gould is a guitarist heavily influenced by Wes Montgomery. She is a Juno winner. If I'm able to swing it, I'll see the Lauren Falls Quintet next Monday evening.