jammin' on the fourth

shameless plug redux

another reminder about the gig tonight...

...plus i'm playing with the portland jazz composer's ensemble tomorrow. we are doing a radio broadcast on kmhd (89.1fm or kmhd.org) from 2-3pm, and will be playing at the community music center at 8pm. it's a great band playing some wonderful new compositions by local composers.

shameless plug

we will be playing a mix of standards and ben macy originals. yes, it will be good.

benmacy.com

the old church, this sunday

Quadrophonnes
PDX Saxophone Quartet
Northstar Quartet

The Old Church
www.brownpapertickets.com

(click to embiggen)

thanks max....

Link: Drummer Max Roach; Architect of Bebop - washingtonpost.com.

Sax great Michael Brecker dies

Link: Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/14/2007 | Sax great Michael Brecker dies.

pretty rough weekend for jazz lovers.  both michael brecker, and alice coltrane in the same weekend.....

old wine, new bottles

i purchased some cd's today at everyday music.  browsed for awhile at both locations.  to be honest i didn't really see much that i wanted to come home with.  i ended up getting two cd's that are replacements for cd's that have been missing for years, and one that i should have had for years.
1. branford marsalis trio:  the beautyful ones are not yet born
2. bela bartok: concerto for orchestra & music for strings, percussion and celesta, montreal symphony,     charles dutoit
3. gustav mahler: symphony no. 5, berlin phil, claudio abbado

this branford cd is a favorite of mine.  sadly it got jacked when i had a vehicle stolen about 10 years ago.  pretty silly that i haven't replaced it until now.  at any rate the playing on it is phenomenal.  his jackass trumpet playing brother is on it as well.  luckily he doesn't get a chance to poison the entire album, as he is only on one track.  branford's soprano sound on this album in particular, really sings to me.  when i first heard this cd i immediately fell in love with his tonal concept on the horn.  it's nice to own it once again.  it's kinda like an old shoe, only without the stink and busted laces.  perhaps more on this cd once i have a chance to get reacquainted with it.

a groaner...sort of

i ran across this joke on the interwebs today:

A jazz critic dies and goes to heaven. Walking around the gardens he sees a small gathering of great jazz legends. As he walks over he sees this old man wearing sunglasses, snapping his fingers and walking straight through the crowd. When the critic gets there, he asks the musicians, "Who was that?" They answer "That was God, but he thinks he's Miles Davis."

the following is a subliminal message: listen to kind of blue

joni

had an ever so brief conversation earlier today about joni mitchell.  it was briefer than brief actually, it was really just a snippet of a much larger conversation.  at any rate i'm going through a joni phase right now, and my boy ward has just decided to start investigating her musical and lyrical genius.  another very good friend, and my musical messiah definitely did his joni homework, both musically and lyrically.  at any rate i was listening to the ipod later and joni came up in whilst the ipod was shuffling.  the tune was all i want, and one lyric really resonated with me....

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling
Looking for the key to set me free
Oh the jealousy, the greed is the unraveling
It's the unraveling
And it undoes all the joy that could be....

don't read to much in to that.  or do, i'm still trying to make sense of it myself. at any rate, you should listen to joni today......maybe everyday.

new discos

picked up two new cd's today...new to me anyhow

1.  metheny mehldau: ok, i love pat metheny's playing, and i love brad mehldau's playing.  so you'd think this would be a no brainer.  i haven't given a true listening yet, but so far i'm not that crazy about it.  it seems a little sleepy.  it kinda reminds me of the some of the lamer ballads that the pat metheny group puts out and you can hear on most smooth (wine in a box) jazz stations.  no final judgements yet though, these guys do deserve an honest listen.

2. joni mitchell: i just picked up mingus today.  what a great album.  jaco and wayne shorter are men among boys and john guerin keeps time like an atomic clock.  fantastic playing. joni's voice is astoundingly pure and clean and absolutely loverly.  joni mitchell is an amazing song writer. i can't say enough about this album.  if you don't own it you are a loser like i was.  get it asap.

has it been that long?

....apparently it has.  i didn't realize i hadn't posted in so long.  the blog isn't the only thing i've avoided for the past month or so.  it seems i have a backlog of emails to reply to and peeps to catch up with.  some from the quite distant past, thanks to the myspace action.  (again, still not sure how i feel about that particular outpost on the interweb.)  i'll get it done shortly.  it will be great to catch up with old friends again.  i have been writing much more lately.  i'm sifting through it now for some possible editing and posts.

..."we're gettin' the band back together man."  spectrum is getting back together for a day of frolicking in the studio.  adnan wrote a piece for us and we are going to record it this tuesday.  also on the docket is the final decision on artwork and such for the cd that should have come out two years ago!  it has some wonderful music on it, all original compositions, written specifically for the group.  it will be much fun to hang and make some music with the lads again.

i'm going to see eddie palmieri tonight at the vancouver wine and jazz festival.  no, i will not be drinking wine in a box. 

cheers!