Kevin Bresnahan

I went to Birdland several times in the late 90's and saw some great shows. I was lucky to see Andrew Hill with his big band (that was recorded later for the CD, "A Beautiful Day"). Another time I saw Lovano, Liebman & Brecker go toe to toe as I sat at the bar with Maria Schneider. We got to talking after the set about the show. It wasn't until after she left and someone asked me what we talked about that I found out it was her.

The Kimbrough appearance is why I've resurrected it. I was re-reading Frank's contributions to our board and came across this one.

Jocko's Jazz was a Tuesday night event at the Sahara Club in Methuen. It was there for quite a few years. It featured mostly local players with the occasional bigger name who usually came through as a solo and used the local rhythm players from Berklee. My good friend Bob posted some pictures from the club: https://bobfesta.com/copy-of-scullers-1 Some of my favorite shows I saw there were Harry Allen, Phil Woods and Gary Smulyan. The rhythm section often had Tim Ray on piano and John Lockwood on bass. I bet I saw Harry Allen at least 5 or 6 times there and he always put on a great show. He often brought up local players to get the 4 brothers thing going and one of them was local legend Ralph Norris: I was at this show... I believe it was the last one:

Small little club where I got to see many great shows over the years, often with Berklee professors manning the rhythm section. https://www.facebook.com/288501074507570/photos/a.288570477833963/3914495048574803

Allen - did you ever tell us this story after Lorraine died? I could use a little hilarity these days.

Many years ago, I was talking to the late Steve Schwartz about how much I enjoyed Frank's piano playing. He asked me if I heard the solo show he did live from the WGBH studios in 2008. I told him I didn't hear it and wished I could some day. Steve was kind enough to let me hear it shortly afterward. Two of the nicest guys in Jazz, both gone now.

https://ethaniverson.com/2020/12/30/rip-frank-kimbrough/?fbclid=IwAR2_lgxr1YaD59QpGBir5s0IW4GKDf0fHiV9xTjkpAa799Jl1ojo4PoO_sM

It really bums me out to let you all know that pianist Frank Kimbrough has died at the age of 64. I was lucky to have seen and talked to Frank many times over the years and he was always a great player and conversationalist. Damn.

Is there a story as to why they didn't call this Jazz club the Village Vanguard: It's awfully close:

Dawn Wells died due to "causes related to COVID-19". She was 82. https://people.com/tv/dawn-wells-gilligans-island-star-dies-at-82

Ray Charles - The Genius After Hours (MFSL SACD). Ray playing some of his finest blues. I really should pick up the companion date, "The Great Ray Charles", one of these days.

I saw that too. I was a bit surprised at the piano player though. Jon Batiste is not a name that first comes to mind when I think of a current Jazz pianist on the scene. I certainly don't have any of his recordings. Funny take - When the band was playing on stage, I thought to myself, "That sounds like Kenny Garrett". As I watched the credits (and waited too fucking long to find out who the musicians were!) I saw that it was Tia Fuller, who I have seen live many times, so I wondered why I thought Garrett. Maybe she was his student, right? I Googled "Tia Fuller Kenny Garrett" and found a couple of articles where Fuller mentions that she has had people compare her to Kenny Garrett so I guess I am not the only one who thought that.

Me & my family watched Pixar/Disney's newest release on Disney+ the other night. It's called "Soul". It's a story about a Jazz musician in a fictitious city that looks a lot like New York. The big jazz club is called the Half Note but it looks just like the Village Vanguard, right down to the red awning & red door as well as it being in a basement with a stage backed by red velvet drapes. Herbie Hancock was a consultant on it as the lead character was a pianist. I found a story on the NY Times about how they made it: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/25/movies/soul-jazz-animation.html Truth be told, I found it a bit depressing. It's tough for me to discuss why it depressed me without giving away too many spoilers so I'll wait to see if more people see it before doing that. When you see it, you'll have to decide for yourself which side you fall.

I believe that "Happenings" is scheduled for release in the Tone Poet series in 2021.

That is the opposite of a "chick magnet". My wife made gagging noises when I showed it to her. She didn't balk at the idea of the throw, just the comforter.

This cover always makes me think it's a Mobile Fidelity record, with a tiny cover inside a black surround. All it's missing is the banner on top. Great CD.

I picked up a couple more of these LPs today and they continue to make me wonder why Kevin Gray can't seem to get the cutting speed right. I opened Pete LaRoca's "Basra" and saw that side1 looked "normal" i.e a normal amount of dead wax. About a half inch. Played nicely too. I thought that he finally figured it out. Then I flipped it over and saw that side 2 had about an inch and a quarter of dead wax. Both sides run ~20 minutes. Dude - whatever angular velocity you used on side 1, use on side 2! Even worse - the tighter cut on side 2 resulted in underfill on track 1. Great.

What's fucking crazy is that we were in the single digits this past summer.

Does anyone see the need to get this in print over the Kindle version? I can get the Kindle version for $10. The paperback is $22.

I prefer "Yip-ee ki-yay mudda fuccah" with a fake German accent. RIP Professor Snape.

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 PC speakers for $90 with free US shipping. These were $150 less than a month ago. I don't know if they're clearing them out or if they're just heavily discounting them. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Klipsch-ProMedia-2-1-THX-Computer-Speakers-Two-Way-Satellites-3-Midbass-Drivers-and-6-5-Subwoofer/591789309

Shrugs is on Facebook under his actual name. Todd Irzyk is there too.

Now how about this one?

Stanley Cowell has died at age 79. https://www.wbgo.org/post/stanley-cowell-pianist-composer-and-educator-kaleidoscopic-view-jazz-dead-79#stream/0