tenor fest
day three
Sonny Rollins Trio (with Henry Grimes, bass; Joe Harris, drums), “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” (E. K. “Duke” Ellington), live, Sweden, 1959
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lagniappe
reading table
frogs sing, roosters sing
the east
turns light—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue
tenor fest
day two
Von Freeman (MCOTD Hall of Fame), live, New Apartment Lounge, Chicago
2010
***
2008
*****
Von Freeman, who was considered one of the finest tenor saxophonists in jazz but attained wide fame only late in life, died on Aug. 11 in Chicago. He was 88.
—New York Times obituary, 8/18/12
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lagniappe
reading table
A wounded Deer – leaps highest –
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #181 (Franklin)
tenor fest
day one
Dexter Gordon (1923-1990), “Blues Up and Down” (G. Ammons, S. Stitt), live, Denmark, 1967*
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lagniappe
reading table
Withered grass,
under piling
heat waves.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto
*****
*With Kenny Drew, piano; Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Albert “Tootie” Heath, drums.
like nobody else
Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1935-1977), live, Paris, 1970
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday at the Chicago Cultural Center
Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist (through 8/31)
Black Belt, 1934
another take
These guys I could listen to all day.
Steve Lacy Quartet (SL [1934-2004], soprano saxophone; Bobby Few, piano; Jean Jacques Avenel, bass; John Betsch, drums), “Revenue,” live, 1995
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lagniappe
reading table
Escape is such a thankful Word
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #1364 (Franklin)
How about a trip to Paris?
Steve Lacy Trio (SL [1934-2004], soprano saxophone; Jean Jacques Avenel, bass; John Betsch, drums), “Epistrophy” (T. Monk), “Revenue,” live, Paris (Sunset Jazz Club), 1993
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lagniappe
reading table
A gentleman of the better type is, in our opinion, only he who entertains a fair number of vain and foolish ideas about himself, and who above all imagines that his nose is better than any other good and sensible human nose whatsoever.
—Robert Walser (1878-1956), “The Walk” (translated from German by Christopher Middleton)
tonight in Chicago
These guys are playing at Constellation.
Trio 3 (Oliver Lake, alto saxophone; Reggie Workman, bass; Andrew Cyrille, drums), live, c. 2008
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lagniappe
random thoughts: riding my bicycle
After a while, there’s no bicycle. No me. Only riding.
Back to Brooklyn.
Trio Caveat (James Ilgenfritz, bass; Chris Welcome, guitar; Jonathan Moritz, saxophone) with Mat Maneri (viola), live, New York (Barbes), 2012
#1
***
#2
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Too much music suffers from too little mystery.
*****
reading table
[T]hose who know her [nature], know her less / The nearer her they get.
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #1433 (Franklin)
This guitar player gets around. Last weekend Wilco—he’s been a member since 2004—headlined Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival. Here he’s playing a small performance space in Brooklyn.
BB&C (Tim Berne, alto saxophone; Jim Black, drums; Nels Cline, guitar), live, New York (Shapeshifter Lab), 2012
#1
***
#2
***
#3
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday morning
Columbus Park, Chicago
Here’s more of drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and reed player Ken Vandermark—this time together.
Live, Romania (Oradea), 2012
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lagniappe
reading table
These Songs are not meant to be understood, you understand. / They are only meant to terrify & comfort.
—John Berryman (1914-1972, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Dream Song 366
*****
random sights
last night
Columbus Park, Chicago
music clip of the day 