BFrank

Saw the Brian Blade Fellowship last night. Interesting group - obviously been together a long time (16 years). Very long pieces with several transitions throughout each one and the musicianship was at a very high level. Definitely worth seeing. Next week: the Cookers

A rarity, for SURE.

Agree. What makes the 'technology' so frustrating is not completely the constant parade of new stuff, but the fact that the "old" stuff (2 or more years 'old'!) becomes obsolete and unusable for any number of reasons. It's like the old concept of planned obsolescence has come back to haunt us.

Larry Young - disk #1

Disk #4 (or #3) ...... they're all good!

That tour was a big break for them, I think. Glad to hear that the crowd liked them. Not always the case for opening acts. FYI, the mandolin/keyboard player is Raven Bush..........Kate Bush's nephew.

The Nano is actually better than I thought it would be. It doesn't have a huge capacity, but it's VERY small - a little taller than a standard Post-It. Yet, it still has a usable interface..........and an FM radio. My only fear is that I'm going to lose it.

I found another possible workaround, too. Apparently there's a way to run pre-Windows 8 programs, but it's a little complicated. Might be worth it, though.

Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism Very interesting exhibit about architecture and design.

I'll have to look more into Big Big Train. "Summoned by Bells" didn't grab me, but that's just one tune.

I wish! The OS doesn't recognize the Zune at all. Wow, brother. That's as lame as it gets. I found this on the Microsoft support site, and wondered if you had tried it: " Installing the .NET Framework 3.5 actually kickstarted the Zune Installation." Thanks, Dolan, I'll look into that. But the process of "Installing the .NET Framework 3.5" kinda scares me. Messing around with the OS usually results in more problems than I need.

2014 Prog Awards Winners (don't know if this is related to "Prog Monthly") Breakthrough Artist: Syd Arthur

"In My Time" is one, for sure.

I'm listening to their album Sound Mirror on Spotify right now. Good stuff, I'm enjoying it so far. Cool! They're definitely "lighter" than bands like Opeth and PT, but no less talented IMO.

I wish! The OS doesn't recognize the Zune at all.

I can't speak to the Zune, but there are ways to repurpose old iPods and make them still useful. For example, my alarm clock has an older iPod connection. I use the TuneIn Radio app on that iPod, and am able to wake up to any radio station without static. Somebody said that the Windows Media Player would work with the Zune, but I couldn't get it to recognize the device. It does have WiFi capability, but no Apps.

I also have a late-model Zune, which is actually quite good and not bad looking. Unfortunately, it was discontinued a year or two ago and they stopped upgrading and supporting the software - and doesn't work in Windows 8. So, even though the player still works great, I can't upload tunes to it - making it useless in the future.

I recently bought an iPod Nano. I don't know if that model's been discontinued. I like having a stand-alone music player because it doesn't fill up my phone's memory or use up it's battery life. Also, it's only about as big as a stick of gum and holds 1000s of tunes as well as an FM radio.

SFJAZZ Brian Blade Fellowship, 9/18 The Cookers, 9/26

The Carmell Jones Mosaic Select has a couple of nice Gerald Wilson dates on it, too.

Here are a couple of tasty, well-crafted videos of Syd Arthur. A band worth checking out.

Not unexpected considering his advanced age, but still a sad day. The Mosaic box is an indispensable part of my collection, and definitely one of my favorites. Unfortunately I only saw him once - at Yoshi's several years ago as part of Kenny Burrell's 75th birthday celebration. Fortunately, it was recorded by BN, so I'll always have that memory.

Tonight: The Baseball Project (Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, Linda Pitmon & Mike Mills) Always entertaining!

Surprised to see Aquarius Records the only US shop listed. It's been here in SF for a long while, but is small and very specialized. What about Amoeba or Waterloo or ...?

I second the Steeplechase/Inner City catalog. I've never heard one that I didn't like.