Leeway

That Detto Fra Do Noi is a great pick-up. I got lucky in acquiring my copy. MALUS - Nate Wooley, Hugo Anyunes, Chris Corsano.

The new Calumet reissue. Wild and passionate music. The reissue is OK if you crank the volume a bit.

Tribal Ghost - John Tchicai, et al. A lovely album.

The reissue but not bad. Love the album; it has that sincere yet occasionally cheesy quality of the time, very full of personality.

The Thing - Bohemian Caverns, Washington DC Passion, energy, commitment, fun, and a total kick-ass performance. Two very hot sets.

Based on The Thing performance in DC last night, I would highly recommend going if you can possibly do so. They come bearing a new album too, "SHAKE."

Evan Parker - Ned Rothenberg Duo - Union Arts, Washington, DC Saw Parker-Rothenberg duo last night. Evan played soprano and tenor (of course). Ned played alto sax, clarinet, shakuhachi, and bass clarinet in varying combinations with Evan. Some fireworks, but the performance struck me as geared towards rapport and musical expressiveness. A treat.

Try the movie! Thanks, I was unaware of the movie, I'll give it a look.

Boredom (aka The Empty Canvas") by Alberto Moravia. 1960. Philosophically brilliant but not significantly emotionally engaging. Another NYRB reissue.

The Berlin Stories, by Christopher Isherwood I've probably read more about Isherwood than I have read things by him. He has an urbane engaging manner. The rise of Hitler, seen indirectly through these stories, offers a continuing lesson on the rise of extremism.

Plan to go to the DC show. Fairly small venue; should be a blast- literally.

Pleasure and Piety: The Art of Joachim Wtewael (1566–1638)National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC I found the exhibition devoted to this Utrecht Mannerist painter quite fascinating. This review from the NY Times gives a good idea of what Wtewael's work is like: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/arts/design/review-joachim-wtewaels-provocative-and-puzzling-paintings-at-the-national-gallery.html?_r=0

It was good to take up another Murdoch after a while. THE SEA, THE SEA won the Booker Prize in 1978. The literary, philosophical and art allusions are as rich as ever, and the humor is as mordant, but there is also a tendency to prolixity. I thought Murdoch muddled the ending by adding a postscript that adds little.

Last night, Bohemian Caverns, Washington DC, the Tomeka Reid Quartet, with Reid on cello, Jason Roebke on bass, Tomas Fujiwara, drums, and Mary Halvorson, guitar. Strong performances all around. Reid shows her classical training in her cello playing, She divides her efforts between arco and manual, with strong digital dexterity. I like her compositions, especially the mid to slower tempo ones. Halvorson was playing her new, compact guitar with a very nice sound. A good evening.

BURMESE DAYS (1934) - Orwell's first novel and a very good one.

Quotes are a form of repetition that I generally find to be a drag, although occasionally they are inventive enough to pass muster.

On the back of the "Rudolph's" LP jacket, the indication is that there were numerous concerts at Rudolph's club over a two-year period, although the LP itself was recorded at Spectrum Studios, on 9/6/76 & 7/4/77. So I wonder if the CDs will have an actual Rudolph's date, or at least extra tracks from the two studio dates. Either would be most welcome.

Bugsy Malone Biggy SMall Whitey Bulger

Years ago I read Bernard Crick's biography of Orwell, which seemed OK. I believe the Crick is pretty good. It was the previous "authorized" bio, until Sonia Orwell decided to take legal action against it (and failed). Shelden was able to interview a few more people, and find a few more documents, than Crick, and most of all, didn't have to deal with Sonia Orwell. Mostly, I went with Shelden because I had a copy of the book handy.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Robin Hood The Partridge Family

ORWELL: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY - Michael Shelden. Overall, this seemed to me a "fair and balanced" approach to telling Orwell's life.

Isabel Alende Salvador Allende Fred Allen