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No idea how long this will be available (it aired Sept. 28, 2025), and Mulatu apparently just recommended the tracks (mostly Ethiopian jazz with some classic Miles Davis and Mary Lou Williams mixed in) and doesn't really chat or provide any commentary. Still, it is an interesting 1-hour mix that I enjoyed a lot, leading me to a few albums I wasn't aware of. https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/mulatu-astatke-28th-september-2025 Apparently Mulatu is wrapping up a farewell tour and had a couple of nights in London. I really hope one of these sets was recorded and will be broadcast later on the BBC, though that seems unlikely. I can certainly recommend his latest (final?) album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, available on various streaming sites and Bandcamp: https://mulatuastatke.bandcamp.com/album/mulatu-plays-mulatu

This particularly anthology (and some of the full albums, though NOT Storm Warning) is still available on Apple Music. There is not very much overlap with this 3 CD set of UK jazz rarities, aside from, you guessed it, Storm Warning. I was able to pick this up through Dusty Groove. https://www.cherryred.co.uk/blog/a-new-awakening--adventures-in-british-jazz-3cd-coming-soon

I did make it to Bob Le Flambeur. I had seen a fair number of French noir or neo-noir films, and I had assumed I had seen this, though it was definitely the first time. A few odd plot holes (Bob had known Marc for years and only just found out he was still pimping -- really?), but generally quite interesting.

Terrific! 👍

Saw The Usual Suspects in the theatre. I was planning on seeing something from the European Union Film Fest, but decided to catch Bob Le Flambeur instead (as they were on the same day).

Agreed. I thought this was really interesting. I listened once through but will try to take more time on it.

Well, Montreal made it a little interesting there at the end...

Had a long detour into Virginia Woolf, rereading Orlando and Mrs. Dalloway, and I am now back into Russo's Empire Falls, which I expect to wrap up next week. Next books on the horizon are McCullers's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Nabokov's Ada, or Ardor, and Maxwell's So Long, See You Tomorrow. Oh, and Jane Austen's Persuasion.

That is intriguing (that the 1982 recording is floating around). I have no idea what they mean either. Even stranger, the 1982 recording is available for streaming on Naxos Jazz (though I think Naxos is generally not allowed in the US but it is in Canada). So maybe its scarcity is greatly exaggerated...

This Guardian article discussing this release makes it sound pretty intriguing. I'll see about streaming it and maybe picking it up. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/12/jazz-legend-mike-westbrook-laurence-olivier Doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to compare it to the studio recording (from 1982) if that ever sees the light of day.

Montreal 55 points

Saw Mike Murley and Pat LaBarbera with Neil Swainson(!) at the Rex, playing the music of Joe Henderson. Neil of course played with Joe, and apparently Pat studied with Joe for a few years in the 70s. Joe even asked Pat to join his band, but on bass clarinet, and Pat declined. Anyway, it was a very good couple of sets, ending in a rousing version of In N' Out. Neil and Terry Clarke are playing with Kirk MacDonald at the end of the month at the Jazz Bistro and I'll try to make one of those sets as well.

Most likely I'll get this, even though I very rarely made it over to the Empty Bottle. One time I saw the Portico Quartet play there, which wasn't exactly typical... And indeed that appears to have been 2010, so not even in this timespan.

Same thing happened to me with Dusty Groove. I think I'm done buying CDs that cross international borders. Sad. 😟

I ordered this a while back but haven't really digested it...

According to a short piece in today's Guardian UK (reporting on something in the Washington Post): Kennedy Center ticket sales for orchestra, dance and theatre performances are at the worst they have been since the pandemic, analysis by the Washington Post has found. Back in September, the Guardian reported that ticket sales at the Kennedy Center had continued to plummet following Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington DC’s premier performing arts venue. Since then typical ticket sales are down from 93 per cent in late 2024 to about 57% this year, according to the Post.

Very sorry to hear this. 😟 I also had several positive interchanges with him.

I have a feeling Game 6 will go to the Dodgers due to pitching. Though one never knows. I feel the Dodger's will-to-win has been badly bruised. All in all, I would prefer to avoid a Game 7 as there's too much tension around the city already...

There has been a slow release of some of the tracks from Touch. I heard one of them on BBC 3's Round Midnight. The CD/LP should be out now and it is on Bandcamp. https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/touch It appears 3 or so tracks are currently available on other sites, with the rest of the album released on non-Bandcamp digital platforms on Nov. 11. I'm not super familiar with Tortoise. Apparently they are from Chicago, but I wasn't really aware of them and don't recall hearing about any of their gigs, though presumably they were around. (I wonder if they used to play the Empty Bottle; I didn't get out that way often enough...) They have an upcoming tour in support of Touch, but no Canadian dates so far. I'd go see them if they do come to Toronto. Less sure if I would travel to Montreal, as an example...

Not sure it really counts, as it was animated, but from all accounts Spaceballs: The Animated Series was pretty dire. Mel came back, as well as Joan Rivers and Daphne Zuniga. Dom DeLuise showed up in one episode, but I think the other actors from the movie avoided this.

From the ridiculous (saw Clue in the theatre today - haven't seen it since the original release in the 1980s) to a much more intriguing offering, Edward Yang's A Confucian Confusion. I'm planning on watching Mahjong tonight, as the set is due at the library tomorrow! I might have been willing to stump up for a DVD set, but Criterion only issued this on Blu-Ray, and it does not appear that this will be turning up used, though I suppose one never knows... I've heard that this is the first time the films have been made available in decent condition.

GoGo Penguin was in town. I enjoyed the show, though I definitely prefer groups with a horn involved somehow. I would say all three are very good musicians, but the drummer is at another level. Apparently, this was the very last gig on this leg of the tour, and they are flying back to the UK tomorrow.

I saw Allison Au and her quartet at Hirut, which is sort of a restaurant that turns into a jazz club at 8 pm. It's my first time, which is a bit ironic, given that it is the only club of its nature on the East Side of Toronto, but I only just found out about it.

It's Bandcamp Friday again. 👍 I picked up a few things: https://pmg-label.bandcamp.com/album/sahara-all-star-band-jos-sahara-all-star-band-jos-1976-2016 https://sunramusic.bandcamp.com/album/supersonic-jazz-expanded-edition (Very expanded Sun Ra album!) https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/if-music-presents-you-need-this-world-jazz-grooves-compiled-by-jean-claude-victor-kiswell https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/if-music-presents-you-need-this-world-jazz-grooves-volume-2-compiled-by-jean-claude-victor-kiswell I'm a bit on the fence on pre-ordering of what is essentially a remake/update of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Brian Jackson, who was heavily involved in the original, but I'll probably order it before the day is over. https://thebrianjackson.bandcamp.com/album/now-more-than-ever (The code bbetwenty is good for 20% off today for the last three items in my list, including the Brian Jackson pre-order)

I also saw an outfit called www.forcedexposure.com has it for pre-order, though I have a lot more experience with DG. 😜