The last time I heard a trumpeter this quiet, this subtle, this interesting was . . . hmmm . . .
Ambrose Akinmusire (ah-kin-MOO-sir-ee) Quintet,* live, Luxembourg (Dudelange), 2014
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*AM, trumpet; Charles Atura, guitar; Sam Harris, piano; Harish Raghavan, bass; Justin Brown, drums.
testify!
Inez Andrews (1929-2012), James Cleveland (1931-1991), “I Appreciate,” live
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lagniappe
reading table
Don’t you love the Oxford dictionary? When I first read it I thought it was a really really long poem about everything.
—David Bowie (1947-2016)
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random thoughts
Note to self: Incline, always, toward the light.
today in Chicago
He’ll be performing, solo, at Corbett vs. Dempsey.
Ken Vandermark, baritone saxophone
Live, Portugal (Marvão Castle Cistern), 2010
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
only rock ‘n’ roll
More of Tenement.
Live, Madison, Wis., 1/15/16
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lagniappe
my back pages
On a cold, snowy night thirty-nine years ago, at a church outside Chicago, tenor saxophonist Von Freeman (MCOTD Hall of Fame) and pianist John Young performed at a wedding ceremony. Both are now gone. All of what they played that night – “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “More” (before); “In a Sentimental Mood” (unaccompanied saxophone, as the bride walked down the aisle); “My Favorite Things,” “Song for My Father” (after) – may be heard here (0:15-).
Ashley Fure (1982-), Soma (2012)
Curious Chamber Players, live, Germany (Darmstadt), 2012
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Why shouldn’t our music be as mysterious as our life?
More of the late Otis Clay.
“That’s How It Is (When You’re In Love),” 1967
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“Trying to Live My Life Without You,” 1972
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“Precious, Precious,” 1972
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“The Woman Don’t Live Here No More,” 1974
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“I Can’t Take It,” 1977
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lagniappe
reading table
. . . life, that storm before the calm.
—Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012, MCOTD Hall of Fame), “Negative” (translated from Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
sounds of Chicago, and Germany, and Norway – in Japan
Peter Brotzmann (Germany, alto saxophone), Fred Lonberg-Holm (Chicago, cello), Paal Nilssen-Love (Norway, drums), live, Japan (Chiba), 2011
spellbinding
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998), Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano (1978); Natalia Gutman (cello), Vassily Lobanov (piano)
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
How sad that some miss out, put off by an unfortunate label – “classical.”
More of Otis Clay, who died the other day.
The Gospel Songbirds (Otis Clay [right]; Maurice Dollison, aka Cash McCall [left], 1941-), “I Believe,” live (Jubilee Showcase), 1964, Chicago
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lagniappe
reading table
There was very little time for small talk, so I said, ‘Does God exist?’
—James Tate (1943-2015), “The Wrong Wedding” (Dome of the Hidden Pavilion, 2015)
generous-souled
Salim Washington/Darius Jones Quintet (SW, tenor saxophone; DJ, alto saxophone; Yayoi Ikawa, piano; Mark Helias, bass; Tyshawn Sorey, drums), live, New York, 2012
music clip of the day 