Some performances just keep building, getting better, and better, and better.
Steve Coleman Five Elements (SC, alto saxophone, compositions; Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet; Anthony Tidd, bass; Sean Rickman, drums; Kokayi, vocals), live, Spain (Donostia San Sebastian), 2022
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago

my back pages
On a cold, snowy night forty-eight years ago, at a church thirty miles north of Chicago, my wife, Suzanne, and I were married. Tenor saxophonist Von Freeman (1923-2012, MCOTD Hall of Fame) and pianist John Young (1922-2008) provided the music, playing before the ceremony (“Over the Rainbow,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “More”); during (Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” [unaccompanied saxophone], as Suzanne walked down the aisle), and after (“My Favorite Things,” “Song for My Father”). All of what they played that night can be heard here (0:14-).
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago

like nobody else
Albert Ayler Quintet (AA [1938-1970], tenor saxophone; Donald Ayler, trumpet; Michel Samson, violin; Bill Folwell, bass; Beaver Harris, drums), “Our Prayer” (A. Ayler), live (TV), Germany (Munich), 1966
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), Day of the Dead exhibit

what’s new
Patricia Brennan Septet (PB, vibraphone, electronics, composition; Jon Irabagon, alto and sopranino saxophones; Mark Shim, tenor saxophone; Adam O’Farrill, trumpet, electronics; Marcus Gilmore, drums; Mauricio Herrera, percussion; Kim Cass, bass), “Earendel” (video by Frank Heath), published 8/22/24
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, outside Chicago

what’s new
One-word review: Wow!
Patricia Brennan Septet (PB, vibraphone, electronics, composition; Jon Irabagon, alto and sopranino saxophones; Mark Shim, tenor saxophone; Adam O’Farrill, trumpet, electronics; Marcus Gilmore, drums; Mauricio Herrera, percussion; Kim Cass, bass), “Palos de Oros” (Suit of Coins), published 8/6/24
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.

This guy, even after 50 years, I never tire of hearing.
Just one note and I’m hooked, again.
Vernard Johnson (1948-, alto saxophone), “Holiness Is What I Long For,” live, Louisville, Ky., 2017