Al testifies
Al Green, “Jesus Is Waiting,” live (TV show), 1974
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lagniappe
radio
Today, in celebration of his 84th birthday, it’s all Ornette all day on WKCR (Columbia University).
Ornette Coleman Quartet (OC, alto saxophone; Don Cherry, trumpet; Charlie Haden, bass; Ed Blackwell, drums), “Blues Connotation” (1961)
two takes
Weary of winter? Here in Chicago we’ve had six feet of snow. How about a little trip south, way south, to Argentina?
Juana Molina, “Un Dia”
Live (TV show), c. 2010
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Recording, 2008
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lagniappe
found words
This just in from Spotify:
Now trending near you. Bob Dylan.
only rock ’n’ roll
Cloud Nothings, “Psychic Trauma”
Live, Houston, 2013
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Recording, 2014
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lagniappe
reading table
August Kleinzahler (1949-), reading “Portrait of My Mother in January”:
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The older I get the more grateful I am not to be told how everything comes out.
—William Maxwell (1908-2000), novelist, New Yorker fiction editor, etc.
sounds of Chicago
Klang (James Falzone, clarinet; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Jason Roebke, bass; Tim Daisy, drums), live (studio performance), 2009
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lagniappe
art beat: the other day at the Art Institute of Chicago
Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Untitled (Purple, White, and Red), 1953
This painting and I have been getting together, several times a year, for decades. Admittedly, our relationship is rather one-sided. But, if anything, its indifference to me only deepens my feelings for it.
old stuff
Kansas City Six (Buck Clayton, trumpet; Lester Young, clarinet; Eddie Durham, electric guitar; Freddie Green, rhythm guitar; Walter Page, bass; Jo Jones, drums), “Pagin’ the Devil,” 1938
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lagniappe
reading table
in blossoming trees
suddenly he’s hidden . . .
my son—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
what’s new
Neneh Cherry, live (studio performance), New York, 2014
“Blank Project”
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“Weightless”
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These songs are on her new album, Blank Project, as is this track.
“Out of the Black” (feat. Robyn)
sounds of Chicago
Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things (MR, drums; Jason Roebke, bass; Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Tim Haldeman, tenor saxophone), “Wilbur’s Tune,” live, Paris, 2010
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Mike Reed’s Myth/Science Assembly (MR, drums; Tomas Fujiwara, drums; Josh Abrams, bass; Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Ingrid Laubrock, tenor saxophone; Taylor Ho Bynum, trumpet; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Tomeka Reid, cello; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Nick Butcher, electronics), live (rearranging a found Sun Ra fragment [excerpt]), Chicago (Chicago Jazz Festival), 2011
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Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly (MR, drums; Josh Abrams, bass; Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Tomeka Reid, cello; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone), live (studio performance), Chicago, c. 2009
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If other Chicago musicians are “busy,” what’s Mike Reed? In addition to leading various groups, he owns and operates Constellation, a performing arts center. Then there’s the Pitchfork Music Festival, which this summer will feature, over the course of three days, Beck, Giorgio Moroder, Kendrick Lamar, Grimes, et al. He books and produces it.
only rock ’n’ roll
Roky Erickson & The Black Angels, live, Los Angeles, 2008
“Bo Diddley’s A Headhunter,” “Two Headed Dog”
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“You’re Gonna Miss Me”
What could be more romantic?
Bo Diddley (1928-2008), live, 1981
#1
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#2
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#3
never enough
Monk, that is.
“Rhythm-a-Ning,” (T. Monk)
Art Pepper Quartet (AP, alto saxophone; Milcho Leview, piano; Tony Dumas, bass; Carl Burnett, drums), live
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Tom Harrell Quintet (TH, trumpet, flugelhorn; Wayne Escoffery, tenor saxophone; Danny Grissett, piano; Ugonna Okegwo, bass; Johnathan Blake, drums), live, Paris, 2008
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lagniappe
random thoughts
Given the number of lives that end in death, the odds of avoiding it seem slim.
music clip of the day 