passings
Steve Cropper, guitarist, songwriter, producer, October 21, 1941 – December 3, 2025
Booker T. & the M.G.’s, live, New York, 1991
*****
Phil Upchurch, guitarist, July 19, 1941 – November 23, 2025
With Booker T. & the M.G.’s, “Love and Peace,” live (TV show), published 2010
**********
lagniappe
art beat: other day, National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), annual Day of the Dead exhibit
passings
George Freeman (guitarist), April 10, 1927-April 1, 2025
Birth Sign,* 1970 (Delmark Records)
When, fifty years ago, I first heard this album, I thought it was wonderful. I still do.
*****
*1. “Mama, Papa, Brother” 2. “Cough It Up” 3. “My Scenery” 4. “Must Be, Must Be” 5. “Birth Sign” 6. “Hoss” 7. “My Ship”
George Freeman, guitar; Lester Lashley, trombone (track 4); Von Freeman (brother, MCOTD Hall of Fame), tenor saxophone (tracks 2-3, 6-7); Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, tenor saxophone (track 4); Sonny Burke, organ (tracks 1–6); Robert Pierce, organ (track 4); Billy Mitchell, drums
timeless
Shirley Scott (1934-2002, organ) with Harold Vick (1936-1987, tenor saxophone), Billy Higgins (1936-2001, drums), Jimmy Hopps (1939-, cowbell), “Keep On Movin’ On” (H. Vick), rec. 1974 (One for Me [Strata-East], 1975)
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Drooping
in this upside-down world,
a bamboo in the snow.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by Tom Lowenstein
timeless
Returning to a record after years away, both you and it are new.
Miles Davis (1926-1991, trumpet), In a Silent Way (with Wayne Shorter [1933-2023], soprano saxophone; John McLaughlin [1942- ], electric guitar; Chick Corea [1941-2021], electric piano; Herbie Hancock [1940-], electric piano; Joe Zawinul [1932-2007], electric piano, organ; Dave Holland [1946-], bass; Tony Williams [1945-1997], drums), 1969
**********
lagniappe
reading table
nothing left of the house
I was born in
fireflies—Taneda Santoka (1882-1940), translated from the Japanese by Burton Watson
basement jukebox
Meters, “Cissy Strut” (A. Neville, Z. Modeliste, L. Nocentelli, G. Porter), 1969
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
How about something quiet, delicate, beautiful?
Jürg Frey (1953-), Extended Circular Music No. 8 (2014): Klaus Lang (organ); Ranjevš & Óbasz (Jakub Švejnar, percussion; Štefan Szabó, electric guitar); Prague Quiet Music Collective (Anna Paulová, clarinet, bass clarinet; Milan Jakeš, violin; Luan Gonçalves, bass; Ian Mikyska, string and wind instruments), live, Prague, 2022
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
mesmerizing
Lea Bertucci (alto saxophone, bass clarinet, organ, electronics), “On Opposite Sides of Sleep” (film by Fern Silva), published 2/21/21
**********
lagniappe
random sights
a while ago, Chicago
never enough
Guitarist Pete Cosey? Miles gave him a lot of space, as he had pianist Bill Evans. And just as the Miles of Kind of Blue is unimaginable without Evans, so too with Cosey here.
Miles Davis Septet (MD [trumpet, organ, compositions], Dave Liebman [soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute], Pete Cosey [guitar, percussion], Reggie Lucas [guitar], Michael Henderson [bass], Al Foster [drums], Mtume [aka James Foreman, James Mtume; conga, percussion]), live, Stockholm, 1973
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
timeless
Who would’ve guessed in 1966, when he made this record—a hit single in England and the United States—at the age of 17, that he would sound this good in 2020?
Steve Winwood (1948-), “Gimme Some Lovin'” (S. Winwood), published 8/11/20
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
music clip of the day 