BFrank

Bartz was a highlight for sure! I wanted to see Amina Claudine Myers, but it was at Bar Zinc so it got crossed off the list. Also wanted to see Kassa Overall Trio with Mark Shim, but after Allen/Murray I decided to call it a night. Interesting how the Saturday shows were much more crowded than Friday. Something I'll have to take into account if I go next year.

My thumbnail review of the weekend (also posted in the "What Live Music ..." thread) Saturday: - Michael Formanek’s Very Practical Trio w/Tim Berne and Mary Halvorson. Enjoyable combination of musicians. I've seen her with Formanek, but not Berne before. It worked. - Maria Grand DiaTribe w/Faye Victor. Nothing notable about the band, but Faye was outstanding. At Bar Zinc - terrible venue for a festival. Long narrow space with front half table seating only w/one drink minimum. Back half is the bar, but unless you're AT the front of the bar it was very difficult to see the stage. Overall difficult if you're venue hopping. - Ralph Alessi and "This Against That" w/Ravi Coltrane, Drew Gress, Andy Milne, Mark Ferber. Very good sextet performance. Ravi is getting stronger all the time. Surprisingly light attendance for this show. - Ben LaMar Gay. Nice sounding neo-jazz with a groove and vocals. At Nublu in the E. Village - a LONG walk from Bleeker St. - Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society + Hamid Drake. Again ... nice sounding groove, but I left after a half hour of noodling. Sunday: - Pocket Science with Gary Bartz, Kahil El Zabar, Jamaladeen Tacuma, Robert Irving III. Excellent set especially since I've never seen Tacuma or Zabar before. Nice auditorium, but for some reason they had the band near the back wall of the stage instead of up front. - Dave Liebman, Adam Rudolph & Hamid Drake. Three sets in a row at Subculture, like kh. Interesting trio and pretty abstract. - Allison Miller and Carmen Staaf ‘Science Fair’ w/Dayna Stephens, Jason Palmer, Matt Penman. The discovery of the weekend for me. I wasn't familiar with Miller, and her drumming is outstanding. Staaf is a force to be reckoned with, too. - JD Allen Encounters David Murray. Very intense and a good way to close the festival for me. Allen has a solid Rollins/Coltrane presence and of course Murray takes his Ayler blowing to the max. They played off each other very well. Looking forward to NEXT year!

I had a good time, too. Saturday: - Michael Formanek’s Very Practical Trio w/Tim Berne and Mary Halvorson. Enjoyable combination of musicians. I've seen her with Formanek, but not Berne before. It worked. - Maria Grand DiaTribe w/Faye Victor. Nothing notable about the band, but Faye was outstanding. At Bar Zinc - terrible venue for a festival. Long narrow space with front half table seating only w/one drink minimum. Back half is the bar, but unless you're AT the front of the bar it was very difficult to see the stage. Overall difficult if you're venue hopping. - Ralph Alessi and "This Against That" w/Ravi Coltrane, Drew Gress, Andy Milne, Mark Ferber. Very good sextet performance. Ravi is getting stronger all the time. Surprisingly light attendance for this show. - Ben LaMar Gay. Nice sounding neo-jazz with a groove and vocals. At Nublu in the E. Village - a LONG walk from Bleeker St. - Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society + Hamid Drake. Again ... nice sounding groove, but I left after a half hour of noodling. Sunday: - Pocket Science with Gary Bartz, Kahil El Zabar, Jamaladeen Tacuma, Robert Irving III. Excellent set especially since I've never seen Tacuma or Zabar before. Nice auditorium, but for some reason they had the band near the back wall of the stage instead of up front. - Dave Liebman, Adam Rudolph & Hamid Drake. Three sets in a row at Subculture, like kh. Interesting trio and pretty abstract. - Allison Miller and Carmen Staaf ‘Science Fair’ w/Dayna Stephens, Jason Palmer, Matt Penman. The discovery of the weekend for me. I wasn't familiar with Miller, and her drumming is outstanding. Staaf is a force to be reckoned with, too. - JD Allen Encounters David Murray. Very intense and a good way to close the festival for me. Allen has a solid Rollins/Coltrane presence and of course Murray takes his Ayler blowing to the max. They played off each other very well. Looking forward to NEXT year!

I listened through this set several times before deciding it wasn't for me. As mentioned earlier, it was "dull" (IMO). I sold it here a year or so ago.

See you THERE!

The other night I saw Ravi play a piece on Sopranino. I found it interesting and much less annoying than Soprano.

Joe Hen "Milestone Years" - disk 2

There's also the interviews (which I only listened to once, though).

If I remember correctly, Sunday was a little less crowded last year.

Glad there's a map. I have a rough spreadsheet of the shows/venues/times which should help, too.

Yes. He started out as a writer on Smothers Brothers and became a regular character in skits as "Officer Judy".

Seeing Herbie tomorrow night "subbing" for Wayne at SFJAZZ. Wayne had to cancel his 4 dates here because of illness. So instead of cancelling, they're bringing in guests to play with his band over 4 nights and calling them "Tributes." Tomorrow it's HH, Terrence Blanchard and Terrace Martin.

I remember him from way back as the cop on Smothers Bros, which most people don't mention (other than here!).

Haven't heard it in a while, but I remember it had a lot of energy, too!

Ricky was great! I saw him live a couple of times and he was always a good character actor in films, too. He will be missed. I need to listen to that Fresh Air episode.

Blakey 1960, disks 3/4

Looking forward to this. I put together a rough spreadsheet schedule, but haven't figured out my plan of action yet.

This sounds a little ominous. But I have tickets for the Jan 3 show, which should be excellent. Thinking of Wayne ... Friends of Wayne Shorter to Celebrate His Legacy and Music at SFJAZZ While the legendary saxophonist recovers from an illness precluding travel, friends from his musical family will gather to celebrate the NEA Jazz Master's incredible body of work. Legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter will be honored by an amazing array of his peers January 3-6 at SFJAZZ. For these historic concerts celebrating the 11-time GRAMMY winner and recent Kennedy Center Honors recipient, a wonderful group of his musical "family members" will perform music from his celebrated career along with Shorter's longtime band members. Artists scheduled to perform in various configurations throughout the four-day residency include Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Kamasi Washington, Terence Blanchard, Joshua Redman, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Terrace Martin along with Shorter's longtime band Brian Blade, Danilo Pérez, and John Patitucci. THU-SUN, JAN 3-6 SCHEDULE THU, JAN 3 Herbie Hancock piano & keyboards Terence Blanchard trumpet Terrace Martin alto saxophone & keyboards Danilo Pérez piano John Patitucci bass Brian Blade drums FRI, JAN 4 Branford Marsalis tenor saxophone Terence Blanchard trumpet Danilo Pérez piano John Patitucci bass Brian Blade drums SAT, JAN 5 Kamasi Washington tenor saxophone Terrace Martin alto saxophone & keyboards Danilo Pérez piano John Patitucci bass Brian Blade drums SUN, JAN 6 Joshua Redman tenor saxophone Ambrose Akinmusire trumpet Danilo Pérez piano John Patitucci bass Brian Blade drums NOTE: Wayne Shorter will not be in attendance for these concerts. If you have any questions or would like to request a refund, please contact our Box Office at boxoffice@sfjazz.org or 415.788.7353. We send our thoughts to Wayne Shorter and his family as he recovers. —SFJAZZ

Been listening to the Nancy/Cannonball album. For some reason I never had it before. What a great piece of music!

When I lived in NYC in the 80s my girlfriend lived on the same block as the cafe. It wasn't so much of a music/performance venue then, but I remember it fondly.

Lee Morgan Complete BN 50's, disk 3

I got the replacement set already ... unbelievable! Everything seems to be there. I checked each cover to make sure there was a disk inside, AND that it matched. As to CJ's comment, the slip covers ARE very loose and the CDs can fall out easily. BTW this box IS numbered (3286), unlike the previous one. Maybe THAT's why the disk was missing?

I just realized that I’m missing the Leo Smith disk (#5). The cover is here, but no disk. Amazon will send a replacement. Anyone else have this happen?

I was glad they finally posted the Marathon schedule, but it's not laid out very well for coordinating different show times/venues. I hope they publish some sort of grid or interactive version, too.

Randy, if you can afford the VIP it's definitely worth it. As you said, the priority seating makes a BIG difference. There are also some bonuses like a Sunday Brunch and some other goodies. We'll have to make another attempt to meet up - Nessa, too!