To improvise is to play with your ears.
Hamid Drake (1955-, drums; MCOTD Hall of Fame) & Tanja Feichtmair (1972-, alto saxophone), live, Austria (Nickelsdorf), 7/26/26
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
two minutes of sonic bliss
Sticks McGhee (1918-1961), “Meet You in the Morning,” 1953
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
sounds of New York
John Zorn, Masada (JZ, trumpet, composition; Dave Douglas, trumpet; Greg Cohen, bass; Joey Baron, drums), live, New York (Tonic), 1999)
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
alone
Mark Turner (1965-, tenor saxophone), live, Italy (Perugia), 7/6/26 (published 8/24/26)
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lagniappe
reading table
We’re all in this apart.
—David Ferry (1924-2023), from “Found Single-Line Poems” (Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations, 2012)
like nothing else
Yesterday I drove 250 miles to a small town in southern Illinois for a hearing in an old murder case that did not take place. The good news? While driving, I listened to this, for the first time.
Julius Hemphill (1938-95, alto saxophone, composition) and Abdul Wadud (1947-2022, cello), “Syntax” (unknown recording location and date)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Columbus Park)
voices I miss
Lester Bowie’s New York Organ Ensemble (LB, 1941-1999, MCOTD Hall of Fame, trumpet; Frank Lacy, trombone; James Carter, tenor saxophone; Spencer Barefield, guitar; Kathy Farmer, organ; Famadou Don Moye, drums), live, Madrid, 1992
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
what’s new
Miguel Zenón (alto saxophone) & Luis Perdomo (piano), “El Día Que Me Quieras” (Alfredo Le Pera, Carlos Gardel), published yesterday
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
what’s new
Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet (JL, tenor saxophone; Julian Lage, guitar; Asante Santi Debriano, bass; Will Calhoun, drums), “Fanfare for Unity” (J. Lovano), live, Spain (San Sebastian), July 23, 2026
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois (Conservatory)
like nobody else
John Zorn, New Masada Quartet (JZ, alto saxophone, compositions; Julian Lage, guitar; Jorge Roeder, bass; Kenny Wollesen, drums), live, Poland (Poznan), 6/1/26
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
like nothing else
Miles Davis (with Pete Cosey, electric guitar, percussion [early AACM member]; Dave Liebman, soprano saxophone; Michael Henderson, bass; Reggie Lucas, electric guitar; Al Foster, drums; James Mtume, congas, percussion, rhythm box, water drum), live (“Turnaroundphrase,” “Tune in 5,” “Ife,” “Right Off [Jack Johnson Theme],” “Funk,” “Calypso Frelimo”), Vienna, 1973
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
