Leeway

Ratso Rizzo Henry Hill Paulie Gatto

The Four Brothers Brothers-in-Arms Arms and the Man

If you want the complete list of Nobel Prize winners in Literature, you can check out this link: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/ I too think that Roth should have been awarded the Nobel. His novels have such an incredible, personal, immediate voice to them, his approach is searingly honest, and his works are fearless in their subject matter. He also meets a standard of greatness an old literature professor of mine once mentioned to me: a substantial body of work, a uniformly high quality of work, and work composed over a sufficient period of time to allow judgment. Not only that, he "finished strong" in his literary career, with the later works rivaling, maybe surpassing, some of the earlier ones. So why hasn't he received it? Leaving aside the various dark mutterings one hears (who knows, they might be true), one reason I think is that his best known work is "Portnoy's Complaint," and the Nobel folks are probably too stuffy to contemplate naughty things done to a piece of liver, or base an award on it. OTOH, Elfride Jelinek got her Nobel with some very kinky material. What bothers me most is that some of the literature awards go to complete nonentities, people it seems no one has ever heard of, before or since; authors with slim vitaes; authors with little more than a local reputation. These surprises cause the obligatory fifteen-minute sensation, then return to obscurity.

The Baltimore Ravens that Used to be the Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns now that used to be the Cleveland Browns then before those Cleveland Browns later became the Baltimore Colts The Indianapolis Colts that used to be the Baltimore Colts then before they (the Baltimore Colts) became the Baltimore Ravens

I have the Few, totally dig it. There are sections on it where he makes Cecil sound like a Chopin recitalist. It's rough and raw, and I love that aspect., as well as the almost DIY facet of the album.

I just ordered a CD, The Cliff of Time, from Paal Nilssen-Love's label, with Akira Sakata, and am looking forward to it. Sakata is a burner. The Lasswell project looks interesting, but I'm a little bit leery of some of his mix work. Still, I'll check it out.

Jeremy Irons Rod Sterling Remington Steele

Some of the venues had existing seating; these were mostly pre-existing clubs or theaters. Some of the more makeshift venues (large halls or rooms) had no seating or very limited seating. It probably would be a problem to provide full seating in those venues. So it really varied quite a bit. The festival pass does not guarantee seating, or even admittance at a particular venue, if it is too crowded/over-capacity. It never really came up for me, but it pays to get to the more popular shows and/or the smaller venues a bit early. In practice, there are enough venues and shows that the crowd tends to spread out.

I hear you. Judson was used during Winter Jazzfest. No seats, lots of standing about (OK during winter when trying to keep warm), or sitting on the floor. It was OK because most people were there for only a couple of sets. For VF20, they are going to have to move chairs in there, hopefully not those cheap folding chairs with the narrow backs. Those hurt just thinking about them. A surprising choice really. The previous venue was Abrons Center, which had good seats and a more or less functional A/C system. I liked that venue actually. The one before that, Clemente Soto Velez, was an absolute steambath! Nothing worked. And I think they used those awful folding chairs . This just in: Roscoe Mitchell will be performing a major new work, PEAK/ABYSS, with his quintet: Roscoe Mitchell, Hugh Ragin, Craig Taborn, Tyshawn Sorey, and Kikanju Baku. That is strictly "don't miss!" (well, for me anyway). https://www.newmusicusa.org/projects/roscoe-mitchell-new-quintet-vision-festival-xx-world-premiere/

I just received the Arts for Art newsletter which indicates some big changes for Vision Festival, 2015 marking the 20th year of the Festival. After a few years at Roulette in Brooklyn, it appears the Festival is moving to Judson Memorial Hall on Washington Square South in Greenwich Village. That's smack in the middle of the NYU "campus," where I went to college eons ago. My first thought is that the venue is not as nice as Roulette (but which is not perfect either), my second thought is that it will be nice to be able to hang in Washington Square Park and hit the local food (and drink) places before, between, or after sets. The dates of the Festival also have changed, the usual June dates moving to July 7th to July 12th, 2015. Artists listed so far include Roscoe Mitchell, Douglas Ewart, Milford Graves and Ingrid Laubrock. The information is also on the AFA site: http://www.artsforart.org/about/vision20. Should be interesting.

Deep Throat (1) Deep Throat (2) http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=what-would-your-code-name-be_1

THE STARCHED BLUE SKY OF SPAIN - Josephine Herbst (1892-1961). Herbst is an interesting literary figure. Born and raised in Iowa, she formed a passionate devotion to literature and writing, and became a ubiquitous figure on the Bohemian and radical left scene of the 1920s and 1930s. This book is a collection of four autobiographical pieces, describing her Iowa upbringing; her life in Manhattan, Connecticut and Maine with her husband John Herrmann, also an author (Herrman's first novel was banned by U.S. Customs; he later became involved in the Whittaker Chambers-Alger Hiss affair, and fled to Mexico with his new wife and the FBI at his heels, where he lived an "Under the Volcano" life); her time in Weimar Germany; her travels to Communist Russia in the '30s; and her experiences on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War (the title piece, and best of the group), where she hung out with Hemingway and DosPassos. Along the way, Herbst talks of her friendships (or at least relationships) with Katherine Ann Porter, Maxwell Anderson, H.L. Mencken, and Hemingway (who turns up everywhere). Later in life, Herbst was befriended by Alfred Kazin (whose prose has an interesting similarity) and Saul Bellow. I believe she ended up in an old stone house without plumbing buried in the Pennsylvania countryside. Anyway, an interesting figure, one admires her feeling and her intellect, her literary passion and her political commitment, and although she must be considered a minor writer, she was a writer nonetheless.

Yes, you usually end up hustling from venue to venue (they're fairly close-by in Greenwich Village) to catch the shows you like most. Or, you can stay put if you like the line-up at that particular venue. Sets are about 50-60 minutes. Last year I was able to see about 6 sets each evening. It is a lot of fun, lots of hubbub, scurrying about, very loose and upbeat vibe.

The schedule and line-up for the Winter Jazzfest in New York City, Thursday January 8th, through Saturday Janaury 10th, have been announced. http://www.winterjazzfest.com/lineup/ I haven't digested the entire schedule yet, but thought I put it out here for your consideration, edification or vilification, as it may be. I see a lot of interesting folks on the schedule, enough to likely get me to NYC, provided it is not in the grip of a major snow storm. I suspect many of these musicians will be touring after or before the NYC gig, so they might be coming your way.

Your birthday today? Happy Birthday!

P. Diddy Mac Daddy Doobie Brothers

Sure, I'd like to hang with Miles. I'm sure he'd have some great stories, high and low as they say. But with one caveat: he'd have to be in one of his sunnier moods. Miles in a bad mood would not be much fun. While we're at it, I'd really appreciate talking with John Lennon, someone I'd always found very interesting (funny and inspiring too), warts and all. I'd be alright jumping into that video with Miles and Lennon and maybe sinking a few good shots. The reality is, I think, that if you want to know what a musician has to say, listen to his or her records (Charlie Parker said that). If you want to know what an author has to say, read the books. If you want to know what a painter sees, look at the paintings. In their art they can be immortal; in their person, well, it might be a mixed bag.

The Three Amigos The Three Musketeers The Three Stooges

Face of the Bass Face That Launched a Thousand Ships Face the Nation

I have In Real Time with Curran, Evan Parker, and Andrea Centazzo on Ictus (Ictus CD that is ). I suppose I should put it on the listening queue.

Booth Tarkington Clare Booth Luce Samuel Foote

Girl, Interrupted Girlie, Girl Spice Girls

Yes, that one. That's why I put "box" in quotes. I love the music, and I guess I respect the spirit of innovation, but what a mess as a storage device. I had to have a disc replaced because it was badly scratched on arrival (they all dislodged); a couple of others with just minor scuffs. I've heard others had the same problem. I wonder if they will go that route again? Of course, I'll buy it anyway

I guess this is stuff that couldn't make it into the initial "box" set? I don't see performance dates for this 4-CD issue on the Not Two site. In any case, looks like a must-have.

J.G. Ballard The Ballad of Jed Clampett The Ballad of John and Yoko