timeless
James P. Johnson (piano), Sidney DeParis (trumpet), Vic Dickenson (trombone), Ben Webster (tenor saxophone), Jimmy Shirley (guitar), John Simmons (bass), Sidney Catlett (drums), “After You’ve Gone” (T. Layton, M. Harris), 1944
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lagniappe
reading table
Your actual experience is a complete flux.
—Robert Lowell (1917-1977)
bad news/good news
Bad news: You’ve heard nothing this good in who knows how long.
Good news: You’re about to hear this.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (AB, drums; John Gilmore, tenor saxophone; Lee Morgan, trumpet; John Hicks, piano; Victor Sproles, bass), “On The Ginza,” “Lament for Stacey,” “The Egyptian,” “I Can’t Get Started,” “Buhaina’s Delight,” live (TV show), London, 1964
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lagniappe
art beat
Robert Frank (1924-), Rooming house—Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, 1955/56
passings
Some drumming is solid. Some, like this, liquid.
Charles “Bobo” Shaw, drummer, September 15, 1947-January 16, 2017
With Lester Bowie (trumpet, MCOTD Hall of Fame), “Bugle Boy Bop” (Bugle Boy Bop, recorded 1977; released 1983)
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)
Helen Levitt (MCOTD Hall of Fame), New York, c. 1940
sounds of New York
Aaron Burnett’s Big Machine (AB, tenor saxophone, compositions; Peter Evans, trumpet, Carlos Homs, piano; Nicholas Joswiak, bass; Tyshawn Sorey, drums), live, New York, 11/30/16
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, The Guggenheim (New York)
Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Painting with White Border, 1913
sounds of New York
Pulverize the Sound (Peter Evans, trumpet; Tim Dahl, bass; Mike Pride, drums), live, New York, 2013
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lagniappe
reading table
Jackie Evancho, a 16-year-old singer who became famous after appearing on “America’s Got Talent,” announced last week that she would sing the national anthem at the inauguration.
—“Andrea Bocelli Won’t Be Singing at the Trump Inauguration,” New York Times, 12/20/16
sounds of Chicago
Here’s one of my favorite drummers, leading his own band, playing his own compositions.
Michael Zerang & The Blue Lights, live, Germany (Dortmund), 2015*
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), Untitled (Hôtel de la Duchesse-Anne), 1957
*****
*MZ, drums, compositions; Dave Rempis, saxophones; Emil Strandberg, trumpet; John Dikeman, saxophones; Kent Kessler, bass.
never enough
Miles Davis (with Wayne Shorter, tenor saxophone; Herbie Hancock, piano; Ron Carter, bass; Tony Williams, drums), live, Italy (Milan), 1964*
Listening to Tony Williams never fails to leave me feeling lighter.
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Arshile Gorky (1904-1948), The Plough and the Song, 1946-47
*****
*Setlist (courtesy of YouTube):
1. Autumn Leaves 0:43
2. My Funny Valentine 14:34
3. All Blues 26:22
4. All of You 40:03
5. Joshua 50:41
more
Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet), Louis Moholo-Moholo (drums), live
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of New York
Nate Wooley Quartet (NW, trumpet, compositions; Chris Pitsiokos, alto saxophone; Brandon Lopez, bass; Dre Hocevar, drums), live, New York, 10/6/16
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lagniappe
reading table
Seen in plain daylight
the firefly’s nothing but
an insect—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill)
