Justin V

I saw Jack DeJohnette at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild last weekend. You can stream the set that I attended here: http://mcgjazz.org/_wp/ (Click on the little banner with DeJohnette). It was a decidedly funky set. DeJohnette is is celebrating his 70th birthday at the top of his game. EDIT: MCG will also be streaming the Lewis Nash/Steve Wilson duo on March 16th at 9:30 PM, a surprise archive concert on April 3rd at 8 PM, and the Brecker Brothers Reunion Band on April 12th at 9:30 PM.

For anyone on the fence about spending the $115,000, it does come with free shipping.

Oh, man. I had front-row tickets for his show at the Wharton Center in May! I quite enjoyed his set in Detroit last summer (with Bob Cranshaw on upright, which was a pleasant surprise). Sonny Rollins is such a joy to watch and obviously still relishes performing live, so I'm sure that he's not happy about having to take a break. Here's wishing a speedy and full recovery for the Saxophone Colossus.

I received it a couple of days ago. It's excellent. I caught Altschul with the Ullman-Swell 4 last year in Buffalo, and Altschul is still at the top of his game. I'd love to hear an Altschul/(Hilliard) Greene duo album.

That was Buster Williams. Very nice album, played it continuously back then. There's also Eight Plus, with Leon Maleson manning the bass.

My dog pictured above is a Treeing Walker Coonhound mix.

I'm a dog person. I like cats, but I can't have one at this time. I've volunteered at a local shelter for 2.5 years as a dog walker, and it's been a great experience. When we adopted our dog last year, my wife and I had already spent a significant amount of time with him and made an informed decision. Unbeknownst to us at the time we adopted him, he had been used as a model for their ad campaign. The picture below graced a few billboards. He was in danger of being euthanized when the shelter I volunteer at rescued him; it's a sobering thought to think of how many dogs don't get that second chance. He's fun, smart and the cuddliest dog I have ever met.

I caught the band on Saturday when the tour rolled through Cleveland. For my money, Potter is one of the best tenors out there, and he didn't disappoint. We snagged seats in the front row, and I found myself watching Eric Harland a lot. My wife even pointed out how focused Harland was throughout, but the whole band really listened to each other. I wonder if this band will tour much, though, given their other commitments. In any event, I'm glad that I caught the group live, as it was the first time that I've had the chance to catch Potter leading his own group. Surprisingly enough, he played 'Darn That Dream' for his encore, which was one of only two non-originals of the night (he also played Monk's 'Four in One', which I've never heard live). On a side note, Potter was greeting fans after the show, so I overcame my chronic shyness and asked him whether he had any plans to record an album where he played only bass clarinet. He said that some people have asked him about that, but he said that such a project would be of limited interest. That's unfortunate, as his work on the bass clarinet is always a highlight for me; I also heard other people raving about his bass-clarinet playing after the concert. Given how few musicians focus on the bass clarinet and Potter's popularity, I think that an album where he focused on bass clarinet would actually generate a lot of interest.

The alto player looks like Tia Fuller to me.

With Claude Black on piano! I used to drive to Toledo to catch Claude Black with bassist Clifford Murphy at Murphy's Place, which closed after Murphy's life/business partner passed away. Claude Black mentioned growing up and being friends with Donald Byrd, but I didn't know about this record. Black is a fine pianist, and has been fighting some health problems. You may not be aware but Black died last month in Toledo. Like Byrd, he was 80. I'm very sorry to hear that. He was originally supposed to play a gig in Cleveland with Ernie Krivda a few months ago, but another pianist ended up playing instead. I quite enjoy the three CDs of his that I have, particularly the one with David 'Fathead' Newman, Cookin' at Murphy's. He also seemed like a nice guy. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at Cass Tech in the '40s and '50s.

With Claude Black on piano! I used to drive to Toledo to catch Claude Black with bassist Clifford Murphy at Murphy's Place, which closed after Murphy's life/business partner passed away. Claude Black mentioned growing up and being friends with Donald Byrd, but I didn't know about this record. Black is a fine pianist, and has been fighting some health problems.

Like everyone else, I'm thankful that Mr. Priester is still with us, and I hope that he gets a kidney transplant soon.

When I hear of a musician's passing, sometimes my mind skips straight past shock and sadness and goes straight to denial. This was the case with Donald Byrd. He left behind such a legacy of fine recordings and had such an interesting career. I'm so glad that I picked up his Mosaic set shortly after it went OOP, as every album is well worth hearing. Thank you, Dr. Byrd.

I just received this in the mail yesterday. Even with all of the rave reviews of the packaging, I was still surprised at how extravagant it was and am greatly enjoying the music. How worried should I be about the discs getting scratched up by the cardboard envelopes, either in storage or while trying to remove the discs? Has anyone had any issues with that?

I really like his playing on Bright Moments. RIP.

Catalytic Sound serves as the online store for Peter Brotzmann, Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love and Frode Gjerstad. If you use the promo code 'holiday', you get 20% off until December 31st. As many of the albums are imports and some are limited-edition titles that are mainly available at concerts directly from the musicians, it comes in handy to have a stateside seller. I ordered: Lonberg-Holm/Brotzmann/Nilssen-Love - ADA Hairy Bones (Brotzmann/Kondo/Pupillo/Nilssen-Love) - At Fresnes Die Like a Dog (Brotzmann/Kondo/Parker/Drake) - Close Up, which isn't included on The Complete FMP Recordings box.

I checked with Bob Sunenblick a year or two ago, and he does plan on reissuing the Don Joseph LP. One of my favorite Uptown albums is Charlie Parker's Montreal 1953. It was recorded around the same time as Bird's The Washington Concerts. It's great to hear Bird in fine form with a young Paul Bley, the obscure Valdo Williams and the even more obscure Steep Wade. Apparently, there's a book documenting Bird's visit to Montreal, which could make for an interesting read.

I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Greene's daughter was one of the victims of this tragedy. I can't imagine losing a young child in such a senseless manner.

I know that Baker played by ear, but did he ever compose a contrafact?

I really enjoy Henderson's drumming on Lou Blackburn's The Complete Imperial Sessions and Richard 'Groove' Holmes's/Gene Ammons's Groovin' with Jug. Does anyone know what became of him or anything about him?

I'd be interested in seeing it given the musicians involved. One of the memories that I will always carry with me is watching Roy Haynes tap dancing during a concert a few months ago. I had a seat in the front row across from his drums for the second set; it was so inspiring to watch him play, dance and work the audience from a few feet away. He was talking about his early career and said, "I never thought that I'd live this long, and I never thought that I'd be this loose!" I wonder if Louis Hayes has a dance background, because his drumming definitely has a dancing quality. When I saw Geri Allen performing with a tap dancer, I thought that it didn't add much to the music and was visually distracting. When I heard the same group on record, I enjoyed it more, but I'd rather have a more traditional percussionist.

I wish that I had seen him more than once in person, but I'm thankful for that lone opportunity. I don't have nearly enough of his music. RIP.

I saw the trio at Ohio Wesleyan, which started my love affair with Brotzmann's music. Like the other Bro releases, it is a pretty limited edition (in this case, 550 copies) and definitely worth picking up. It doesn't get much better than Brotzmann in a duo context.

He was a rare mix of adventurous and swinging playing, which made him an ideal drummer for someone like Joe Henderson. When I think of Pete LaRoca Sims, I think of his playing on 'Heavy Legs' from Johnny Coles' Little Johnny C. Right at the end of Joe Henderson's solo/beginning of Leo Wright's solo, LaRoca Sims unleashes a few seconds of barely contained fury that makes the tune for me. It's one of those brilliant, totally in-the-moment strokes that I look forward to hearing whenever I play that album. I remember reading an interview where he said that he had recorded a live album with his working group, but I don't think that he ever released it. RIP.