Wednesday, April 25th
passings
Bob Dorough, singer, songwriter, piano player, December 12, 1923-April 23, 2018
“Devil May Care” (B. Dorough, T. Kirk), live (studio), New York, 2015
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: jazz
2018
Tuesday, April 17th
serendipity
Last night I bumped into these guys via a live webcast from Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio. As here, their performance had what a friend calls “gather.”
Aram Shelton (alto saxophone), Håkon Berre (drums), live, Copenhagen, 2017
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lagniappe
reading table
cherry blossoms—
to my lowly sleeve
they cling—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
2018
Wednesday, April 11th
what’s new
Dafnis Prieto Big Band (DP [drums, compositions], Peter Apfelbaum [saxophones, melodica], et al.), Back to the Sunset (with guests Henry Threadgill [alto saxophone; MCOTD Hall of Fame], Steve Coleman [alto saxophone], Brian Lynch [trumpet]), released 4/6/18
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2018
Saturday, April 7th
passings
Cecil Taylor, pianist, composer, bandleader, April 25, 1929-April 5, 2018
Today we celebrate his singular musical presence by revisiting a few favorites.
Live, 1981 (Imagine the Sound)
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With Max Roach (drums), live, New York (Columbia University), 2000
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With Harri Sjostrom (soprano saxophone), Tristan Honsinger (cello), Thurman Barker (marimba), Paul Lovens (drums), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1995
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I try to imitate on the piano the leaps in space a dancer makes.
—Cecil Taylor
2018
Thursday, April 5th
timeless
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (AB, drums; Lee Morgan, trumpet; Benny Golson, tenor saxophone; Bobby Timmons, piano; Jymie Merritt, bass), “Moanin'” (B. Timmons), live, Belgium (Brussels), 1959
2018
Tuesday, March 27th
How about two minutes of joy?
Felix Quartet (Michael Moore, alto saxophone; Wolter Weirbos, trombone; Wilbert de Joode, bass; Michael Vatcher, drums), live, 2017
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lagniappe
reading table
That gorgeous kite
rising
from the beggar’s shack.—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
2018
Wednesday, March 21st
tonight in Chicago
They’ll be playing at Constellation.
The Thing (Mats Gustafsson, baritone saxophone; Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, bass; Paal Nilssen-Love, drums), live, London, 2010
#1
#2
2018
Tuesday, March 20th
spring!
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009; vocals, piano), “They Say It’s Spring” (M. Clark, B. Haymes), 1958
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Bob Dorough (1923-; vocals, piano), “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most” (T. Wolf, F. Landesman), 1997
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Sun Ra Arkestra (SR, 1914-1993, piano; June Tyson, vocals; John Gilmore, tenor saxophone, et al.), “Springtime Again” (S. Ra), live, Rome, 1980
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lagniappe
reading table
First day of spring—
I keep thinking about
the end of autumn.—Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
The lights are going out
in the doll shops—
spring rain.—Yosa Buson, 1716-1784 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
Not very anxious
to bloom,
my plum tree.—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese byRobert Hass)
2018
Saturday, March 3rd
voices I miss
Betty Carter (1929-1998) with Gerri Allen (piano), Dave Holland (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums), “Giant Steps” (J. Coltrane), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1993
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lagniappe
random sights
last night, Chicago (West Diversey)
2018
Wednesday, February 28th
trumpet festival
day three
Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quartet (WLS, trumpet, compositions; Anthony Davis, piano; John Lindberg, bass; Pheeroan akLaff, drums), “Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 381 Days,” live, Spain (San Sebastian), 2014
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill. (Oak Park Conservatory)
