what’s new
Asterids (alto saxophonists Charlotte Greve, Caroline Davis, Caleb Curtis, Oscar Noriega [l-r]), live, New York (Bushwick Public House, Brooklyn), 3/12/2018
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lagniappe
reading table
The two plum trees—
I love their blooming!
one early, one later.—Yosa Buson, 1716-1784 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
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
trumpet festival
day two
Marcos Balter (1974-), Landscape of Fear (2015); Ryan Muncy (soprano saxophone) & Peter Evans (piccolo trumpet), live, New York, 2017
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
trumpet festival
day one
Nate Wooley Quartet (NW, trumpet, compositions; Chris Pitsiokos, alto saxophone; Brandon Lopez, bass; Dre Hocevar, drums), live, New York, 2016
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Garfield Park Conservatory)
timeless
Marvin Gaye (1939-1984), “What’s Going On” (M. Gaye, A. Cleveland, R. Benson), “What’s Happening Brother” (M. Gaye, J. Nyx Jr.), live, Chicago, 1972
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of the Netherlands
Whenever I hear him, I want to hear more.
Ab Baars (shakuhachi, clarinet, tenor saxophone), live, Netherlands (Utrecht), 2016
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
more
No one plays ballads more tenderly—or tartly.
Von Freeman (MCOTD Hall of Fame, 1923-2012), “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” (E. Maschwitz & M. Sherwin) with Jodie Christian (piano), Rufus Reid (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums), live, Harrisburg, Penn., 1994
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“I Can’t Get Started” (V. Duke, I. Gershwin), live, Belgium, 1992
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“Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (R. Rodgers, L. Hart) with Mike Allemena (guitar), Matt Ferguson (bass), Michael Raynor (drums), live, Chicago (Mandel Hall, University of Chicago), 2011
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
voices I miss
Von Freeman (MCOTD Hall of Fame), tenor saxophonist, 1923-2012
“Oleo” (S. Rollins) with Clifford Jordan (tenor saxophone), Willie Pickens (piano), Dan Shapera (bass), Robert Shy (drums), Chicago (Chicago Jazz Festival), 1988
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“Take the ‘A’ Train” (B. Strayhorn) with Joanie Pallatto (vocals), Bettye Reynolds (vocals), Fred Anderson (tenor saxophone), Billy Brimfield (trumpet), John Young (piano), George Freeman (guitar), Larry Gray (bass), Michael Adams (drums), live, Chicago, 1999
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lagniappe
my back pages
On a cold, snowy night forty-one years ago, at a church thirty miles north of Chicago, Von Freeman and John Young played at our—Suzanne’s and my—wedding. All of what they played that night—”Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “More” (before); “In a Sentimental Mood” (as Suzanne walked down the aisle); “My Favorite Things,” “Song for My Father” (after)—can be heard here (0:15-). Years later, John told me: “When I marry ’em, they stay married.”
more
Steve Lacy Quartet (SL, soprano saxophone; Bobby Few, piano; Jean Jacques Avenel, bass; John Betsch, drums), “Revenue” (S. Lacy), live , 1995
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, San Francisco (Balmy Alley, Valencia St., City Lights Bookstore)
*****
*****
tonight in Chicago
They’re playing at Constellation.
Trio WAZ (Edward Wilkerson Jr., tenor saxophone; Tatsu Aoki, bass; Michael Zerang, drums), live, Lakeside, Mich., 2010
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday, Art Institute of Chicago
Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950), Kagurazaka Street After a Night Rain, 1929
music clip of the day 