Tom D'Antoni's Portland Music News

My KMHD Playlist from Saturday 9-26-09

2009-09-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

Wish I could reverse the order but, you know, I'm busy.

10PM HOUR

10:54Summer Pudding / Skerik's Syncopated Taint (Husky)

10:51Land Trust Picnic / Mylab (Mylab)

10:46Naluch / Jim Black (Houseplant)

10:41Meet the Zony Mash / Zony Mash (Brand Spankin' New)

10:34Ah Ndiya / Bela Fleck (Throw Down Your Heart)

10:26Loss Is Freedom / Gordon Lee (Rough Jazz at Jimmy Mak's)

10:16Shorty's Back Again / Edie Harris & Les McCann (Second Movement)

10:06Stardust On Your Sleeve / John McLaughlin (Belo Horizonte)

10:01Sunday Morning / Charles Lloyd Quartet (Keith Jarrrett tune) (Love-In)

11PM HOUR

11:57National Brotherhood Week / Tom Lehrer (That Was the Year that Was)

11:51Running For the Office of Love / Conjure (Cab Calloway Stands In for the Moon)

11:44To Lady Mac: In Retrospect / Michael Gibbs: Chrome Waterfall Orchestra (The Only Chrome Waterfall Orchesra)
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1:41Infinite Gentleness / Don Cherry & the Jazz Composers Orchestra (Relativity Suite)
11:35Pick Up My Life / David Ornette Cherry (Organic Journey)

11:29Bliss / Darryl haprer (Stories In Real Time)

11:26Groooving Out! / Jan Garbarek (Dresden)

11:16Walk In the Night / Grant Green (Live)

11:10Blues In the Closet / Gliuffre/Konitz/Connors/Bley (IAI Festival)

11:05Blues On Belle Isle / Gerald Wilson Orchestra (Detroit)

THE BAR!

12:59Drunk Again / Champion Jack DuPree (Red Robin Presents)

12:54When the Saints Go Marching In / Tuts Washington (New Orleans Deep Roots)

12:49Say Na Hey / Leo Nocentelli (single)

12:43Ain't Got No Home / Yockamo All-Stars (Rampart Street Rhumba)

12:40Everybody Wanna Get Rich Rite Away / Dr. John (Desitvely Bonnaroo)

12:39Message from the Meters / Meters (Greatest Hits)

12:36It Aint My Fault / Smokey Jackson (New Orleans Deep Roots)

12:29Love Doctor / Millie Jackson (DISCO PAR-R-RTY)

12:24Give Up the Funk: (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker) / Parliament (Greatest Hits)

12:19Doing It To Death / James Brown (LIve in Zaire 1974)

12:13Sissy Walk / Eddie Bo (New Orleans Deep Roots)

12:10The International Male / Int'l Male (Anthems of Potency)

12:09Saturday Night / Roy Brown (Complete Imperial Recordings)

12:03The Piano Has Been Drinking / Tom Waits (Small Change)

1:28Right Off / Miles Davis (Tribute to Jack Johnson)

1:19What'd I Say / Ray Charles (Complete)

1:13I Got My Mojo Workin' 1 & 2 / Muddy Waters (At Newport)

1:08Let's Make It Baby / John Lee Hooker (American Folk Blues Festival)

1:06Every Time I Get To Drinkin' / Sumlin/Dixon/Sunnyland Slim (Blues Anytime!)

1:02Good Jax Boogie / Dave Bartholomew (New Orleans Deep Roots)

My KMHD Playlist from Saturday Night 9-19-09

2009-09-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

10PM Hour
10:54
Wolverine Blues / Dirty Dozen Brass Band (Jelly)

10:52
Tempus Fugit / Bud Powell (The Genius of Bud Powell)

10:47
Over the Rainbow / Rich Halley (Objects)

10:43
Larry's Boogie / Larry Coryell (The Lion and the Ram)

10:32
In the Place of Calling / Friesen, et al (Voices)

10:25
Rondo Amoroso / Jan Garbarek (Dresden)

10:14
Cousin Mary / Leon Thomas (Gold sunrise on Magic Mountain)

10:07
Where Flamingos Fly / Gil Evans Orchestra (Out of the Cool)

10:01
The Cutting Edge / Sonny Rollins (The Cutting Edge)

11pm Hour

11:52
Transport Glamour / Kelly Shannon & John Stowell (unreleased)

11:46
Grand Max / Charles Tolliver (Impact)

11:39
Green and Pale / Ramsey Embick (Extended Shel Life)

11:35
Mad Love / Sertab Erener & Demit Demerkin (Painted on Water)

11:30
Malinyea / David Ornette Cherry (unreleased)

11:27
Queen of the Night / Flora Purim (Queen of the Night)

11:19
Dado / Nana Vasconcelos (Saudades)

11:13
Drethoven / Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (One Day In Broklyn)

11:09
Sicilian Clan / John Zorn (Naked City)

11:03
MTV / Sam Howard (Out Tonight)

THE BAR

12:53
Skinny Legs and All / Joe Tex (Greatest Hits)

12:52
Get Ready/Call Me / Temptations/Blondie (Another Motown Remix Project)

12:47
Supersitious / Stevie Wonder (Talking Book)

12:43
I Got Soul, I'm So Wasted / Wallpaper (Doo Doo Face)

12:38
Jungle Love / The Time (Ice Cream Castle)

12:35
Tell Me Something Good / Rufus (Rags to Rufus)

12:28
LIttle Queenie / Chuck Berry (The Great 28)

12:24
Soul Train / Snooks Eaglin (Teasin' You)

12:18
Hot and Heavy / Earl Hooker (Don't Mess with the Blues)

12:14
Shake It Baby / John Lee Hooker (American Folk Blues Festival)

12:12
The House of Blue Lights / Chuck Berry (Blues)

12:10
Saturday Night / Roy Brown (Complete Imperial Recordings)

12:06
The Piano Has Been Drinking / Tom Waits (Small Change)

12:01
Hotplate Heaven at the Green Hotel / Persuasions (The Persuasions Sing Zappa)

12:01
Hotplate Heaven at the Green Hotel / Persuasions (The Persuasions Sing Zappa)

1:52
Goodnight Moon / Vagbond Opera (The Zeitgeist Beckons)

1:48
Twenty Slivers (Remix) / Stephanie Schneiderman (Dangerous Fruit)

1:42
America / Auditory Sculpture (unreleased)

1:36
My Melody / Chirgilchin (Chirgilchin)

1:27
Afrique Du Sud / Jali Musa Jawara (Soubindoor)

1:16
Just Kissed My Baby / John Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen (John Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen)

1:14
Nutbush City Limits / Ike & Tina Turner (Top 70's Party)

1:10
You Be Illin / Run DMC (12" single)

1:05
Potential / Jimmy Castor Bunch (Butt of Course)

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night

2009-09-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Still back to front:

10PM HOUR
10:55
That's Chicken or Beef / Reptet (Chicken or Beef)

10:51
All the Way / Chris Mosely (Semi-Somnus)

10:46
Country Girl / Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (One Day In Brooklyn)

10:38
Song of Eve / Kelly Shannon w/ John Stowell (unreleased)

10:35
Having the Blues Is Not So Bad / David Ornette Cherry (Organic Journey)

10:28
There Were Swallows / Jan Garbarek Group (Dresden)

10:18
Hattie / Andrew Hill / Nefertiti vinyl)

10:13
Just Us Blues / Elvin Jones Jimmy Garrison Sextet (Illuminations vinyl)

10:06
Reminder / Billy Hart (Rah vinyl)

10:01
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting / Charles Mingus (Passions of a Man vinyl)

11PM HOUR

11:55
Julie Christie / Lorraine Brown (Far Out)

11:50
Twice / Margaret Slovak Quartet (For the Moment)

11:44
Egyptian Fantasy / Allen Toussaint (Bright Mississippi)

11:38
Kaira / Toumani Diabate (Music Meeting Festival Highlights 2009)

11:32
Useless Landscape / Nancy King & Glen Moore (Impending Bloom)

11:32
Useless Landscape / Nancy King & Glen Moore (Impending Bloom)

11:24
Johnny Hornet / Slow Poke (Redemtion)

11:16
Wonton / Mediski, Martin & Wood (Radiolarians III)

11:13
You Gotta Give Me Some / Loose Marbles (Recession Session)

11:08
Wait Till You See Her / John Abercrombie (Wait Till You See Her)

11:03
August Day Song / Bebel Gilberto (Tanto Tempo)

THE BAR

12:56
Trick Bag / Meters (Funkify Your LIfe)

12:50
Hang Tough / Crescent City Gold (The Ultimate Session)

12:46
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) / Sly & the Family Stone (Greatest Hits)

12:42
Ain't Nuttin' Nice / John Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen (Pin Your Spin)

12:34
Walk on Gilded Splinters / Dr. John (Gris Gris)

12:27
Let It Rock / Chuck Berry (The Great 28)

12:20
The Red Rooster / Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley (The Super Blues Band)

12:18
Saturday Night Daddy / Little Esther (Sleazy R&B)

12:15
Fare Thee Well, Deacon Jones / Bullmoose Jackson & His Buffalo Bearcats (Big Fat Mamas Are Back in Style)

12:08
She Ain't So Such-a-Much / Cousin Joe (New Orleans Piano Blues)

12:06
Saturday Night Function / Roy Brown (Complete Imperial Recordings)

12:03
The Piano Has Been Drinking / Tom Waits (Loose Change)

1:54
Fuga Y Misterio / ? (Tango Chill Out)

1:51
Alone With the Moon / Tiger Lillies (The Brothel To the Cemetery)

1:49
Boulevard of Broken Dreams / Marianne Faithfull (20th Century Blues)

1:48
have you met miss jones / lennie niehaus (the octet)

1:41
unknown / Auditory Sculpture (unreleased)

1:31
I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself / Isaac Hayes & Dionne Warwick (A Man and a Woman Together)

1:27
Embrace Me / LIv Warfield (Embrace Me)

1:23
Smooth Operator / Sade (Diamond Life)

1:18
Outta Space / Billy Preston (Instrumental HIts)

1:16
Soul Finger / Bar-Kays (Instrumental Hits)

1:13
Think / James Brown (Think)

1:09
Siucker MC's (Krush Groove) / Run DMC (12" single)

1:04
Slippin' / Rubberneck (El Nino)

1:01
Slippery When Wet / Commodores (Soul Legends)

Last Night's KMHD Playlist

2009-09-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

I sat in last night on Soul Station

10PM HOUR

10:52
Be Thankful For What You Got / William DeVaughn (Be Thankful For What You Got)
10:46
How Long Do I Have To Wait for You / Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (Ticklah remix) (Daptone Records Remixed)
10:39
Jet Set / Dr. John (12" single)
10:32
If You Want Me To Stay / Linda Hornbuckle & Janice Scroggins (Sista)
10:26
The Third Rail / Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet (Husky)
10:15
Drum Suite / Thara Memory (Chronicle)
10:11
Funky Runthrough Pt. ! &2 / The Poets of Rhythm (Practice What You Preach)
10:03
Brother Man / Liv Warfield (Embrace Me)

11PM HOUR

11:55
This is My Country / Curtis Mayfield (Best of)
11:50
Living Just a Little, Laughing Just a Little / The Spinners (New and Improved)
11:47
The Hen / Leslie Overdrive (With the Hammond, In the Beauty)
11:42
Scrape / Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk (Live at Jazzfest 2005)
11:35
The Dealer, The Peeler and the Stealer / Andre Williams (The Black Godfather)
11:30
Hard Times / David "Fathead" Newman (Back In My Disc Jockey Days)
11:25
Mojuba / Melvin Gibbs Elevated Entity (Ancients Speak)
11:17
Anthony Hamilton / They Don't Know (Southern Comfort)
11:08
Brooklyn Works Suite / Lester Bowie's New York Organ Ensemble (The Organizer)
11:05
Action Jackson / Liquid Soul (Evolution)
11:01
Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) / Angelique Kijdo (Keep On Moving Best of)

My KMHD Playlists from Friday and Saturday Nights

2009-09-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

For some reason, unknown to me, the new KMHD playlist begins at the end of the hour and ends at the beginning of the hour.

Here's what I played when I sat in Friday 6-10pm

6PM HOUR
6:49I Wanna Dance With You / Nathaniel Mayer (I Just Want to be Held)
6:46Tacks In My Shoes / Ike Turner (Blues Roots)
6:43At Least I'm Not With You / Insomniacs (3rd Annual Delata Groove All-Star Blues Revue Vol.1)
6:36I Made Up My Mind / Clifton Chenier (Live at Grant St.)
6:33Everyday I Have The Blues / BB King (Singing the Blues)
6:23The Red Rooster / Wolf/Muddy/Bo Diddley (The Super Blues Band)
6:19Get Tough / Terry Robb (Rose City Blues Festval The Album)
6:08Try Not to Kill Me / Paul deLay Band (Last of the Best)
6:06Shim Sham Shimmy / Champion Jack DuPree (Red Robin Presents)

7PM HOUR
7:48I Got the Blues / Albert King (New Orleans Heat)
7:43We Got It / Big Sam's Funky Nation (Peace, Love and Understanding)
7:38I Just Keep Lovin' Her / LIttle Walter (The Blues World of Little Walter)
7:34Ball of Confusion / Neville Brothers (Walkin' In the Shadow of Life)
7:30Cream Them Beans / `Cyril Neville (Brand New Blues)
7:27Danger Zone / Percy Mayfield (Walking On a Tighrope)
7:18Come to the River / Terry Evans (The River)
7:15I Knew Who Threw the Whiskey In the Well / Bull Moose Jackson & His Buffalo Bearcats (Fat Mamas Are Back In Style)
7:12Wiggles / Red Prysock & His House Rockers (Honkers & Screamers)
7:08Give Me Back My Wig / Hound Dog Taylor (Beware of the Dog)
7:02Out In the Woods / Buddy Guy (Skin Deep)

8PM HOUR
8:54Fannie Mae / Buster Brown (Best of)
8:49Dirty Dealin' Mama / Paul Oscher (The Deep Blues of)
8:46When Hearts Grow Cold / Candi Staton (His Hands)
8:38Super Hero / Jim Suher & Monkey Beat (Tijuana Bible)
8:34Black Water Side / Woodbrain (Swimming In Turpentine)
8:31Trashy Dog / A. King/Cropper/Staples (Jammed Together)
8:29We're Gonna Rock / Memphis Slim (American Folk Blues Festival)
8:27Gray's Boogie / Henry Gray (Swamp Blues)
8:20Jump and Shout / Ealine Harris (Sleazy Rhythm & Blues Vol.3)
8:16I Believe In You / Johnny Taylor (20 Greatest Hits)
8:14I Don't Want No Woman / Bobby Blue Bland (Two Steps from the Blues)
8:09Ball and Chain / Big Mama Thornton (Ball and Chain)
8:05St. Louis Blues / Linda Hornbuckle & Janice Scroggins (Sista)

9PM HOUR

9:57The Piano Has Been Drinking / Tom Waits (Small Change)
9:55St Louis Blues / Eartha Kitt & Shorty Rodgers (St. Louis Blues)
9:51Boogie Children / Snooks Eaglin (A Legacy of the Blues)
9:45Mardi Gras In New Orleans / Dirty Dozen Brass Band (Louisiana Spice)
9:40Pearl River / Mike Zito (Pearl River)
9:37Hen Layin' Rooster / Dr. John (Dis Dat or D'udda)
9:25Slow Blues Medley / King Louie & Baby James (Around the World)
9:18A Little Meat On the Side / Katie Webster (No Foolin')
9:12Back Door Man / Willie Dixon (I Am the Blues)
9:09I've Got a Toothache / Watermellon Slim (No Paid Holidays)
9:05Will There Be a Shopping Mall In Heaven / Rev. Billy C. Wirtz (Deep Fried & Sancified)
9:02Drunk Again / Champion Jack DuPree (Red Robin Presents)
9:00Pass the Biscuits / Andre Williams (singles Collection)

Here's the playlist from Saturday night.

10PM HOUR

10:52Drum Suite: Mr. Ahnoh / Thara Memory (Chronicle)
10:48Naima / McCoy Tyner (Solo)
10:42Out of Towner / John Abercrombie Quartet (Wait Till You See Her)
10:32Hip Joint / Commotion (Commotion)
10:27The Black & Crazy Blues/ A Laugh for Rory (For Joel Dorn) / Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (Out of Brooklyn)
10:16Blue / Dave Holland Trio (Triplicate)
10:10Remember/I Remember Cifford / Ramsey Embick (Extended Shelf Life)
10:07King Porter Stomp / Fletcher Henderson (Developing an American Orchestra 1923-1937)
10:01The Watergate Blues / Heath Brothers (Marchin' On)
10:00Duke / Wayne Horvitz (Monologue)

11PM HOUR
11:39Chameleon / Herbie Hancock (Headhunters)
11:30Transit / Darcy James Argue's Secret Society (Infernal Machines)
11:26Swing 41 / Kung Pao Chickens (Live at the Roost)
11:15You Talk That Talk / Gene Ammons (Have You Had Your Vitamin B-3 Today)
11:09So Long Mickey Mouse / Return To Forever (Live)
11:03Flora On My Mind / Airto (Identity)

THE BAR
12:58They Don't Know / Anthony Hamilton (Southern Comfort)
12:50Flash iIght (Groovemaster Mix) / George Clinton (Essential Funk)
12:48Get the Funk Out My Face / Brothers Johnson (Get the Funk Out My Face)
12:45Mother Popcorn / James Brown (The CD of JB)
12:41Oops Up Side Your Head / Gap Band (Essential Funk)
12:36Peace, Love and Understanding / Big Sam's Funky Nation (Peace Love & Understandng)
12:30La La Jam Up / Kalyan (Kalyan
12:23It Don't Make Sense / David Vest Live at 2008 Waterfront Blues Festival / (Unreleased)
12:20Send Me Back My Money / Clarence Reid (Dancing with Nobody But You)
12:17Rats in the Kitchen / Sleepy John Estes (Sun Records Vol. 1)
12:14Shake Baby Shake / Champion Jack DuPree (CDP feat Mickey Roker)
12:12You Live the Life, You Pay the Price / Jimmy Witherspoon (Jazz Me)
12:10Classified / James Booker (Classified)
12:07Saturday NIght / Roy Brown (Complete Imperial Recordings)
12:03The Piano Has Been Drinking / Tom Waits (Small Change)

1:51Goodnight Moon / Vagabond Opera (The Zeitgeist Beckons)
1:29Spanish Key / Miles Davis (Bitches Brew)
1:24Long Way to D.C. / Staples Singers (Soul Folk In Action)
1:22This Is My Country / Curtis Mayfield (Superfly)
1:18Why Can't We Be Friends / War (Best of Stan Kenton)
1:12Yes We Can / Pointer Sisters (single)
1:07Too High / Stevie Wonder (Innervisions)
1:04Got to Give It Up / Marvin Gaye (Every Motown Hit)

Partial KMHD Playlist from Saturday night 8/22

2009-08-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

There are still glitches in the new system at KMHD. All that showed up today was the 1am hour of the bar:

Counting backwards:

1:54Zoe of Rome / Rachel Taylor Brown (Susan Storm's Ugly Sister)
1:44Liminal / Meredith Monk (Impermanence)
1:38Tona Atoyaatl / Soriah & Ashkelon Sain (Atlan)
1:32Funky Kingston / Toots & the Maytals (best of)
1:32Theme from Shaft / Dutch Rhythm & Steel & Show Band (Soul & Steel Show)
1:24Slipping Into Darkness / War (best of)
1:21Green Onions / Booker T & the MGs (best of)
1:18Bacon Fat / Andre Williams (best of)
1:11 2001 / Deodato (Instrumental Classics)
1:07Fire on the Bayou / Meters (Funkify Your Life)
1:03Familiar Reality-Opening / Dr. John (The Sun, Moon & Herbs)

UPDATE:
I've been trying to piece together, in what's left of my brain, some other parts of the playlist. I will try to rebuild what I did as it comes back into memory. It may take a while.

For instance, I opened the show at 10pm with:
Keith Jarrett / Bop-Be / Bop Be / vinyl
Eric Dolphy / Hat and Beard / Out To Lunch
Gary Burton & Steve Swallow / Chelsea Bells / Hotel Hello

After I opened The Bar and played the Bettye LaVette tunes and the interview, I think it went something like this:

Tony Ozier / Aural Penetration
Liv Warfield/ Brother Man / Embrace me
Prince / Kiss / The Hits II

2009-08-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

While sitting outside at 1am on my old wicker, in the old courtyard of the old apartment building and listening to WWOZ from New Orleans. Pops is signing, "Cheek To Cheek" with Ella Fitzgerald….

I wish KMHD had a live over night DJ. Maybe I wish I was him.

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OPB BEING NICE TO THOSE OF US WHO WORK FOR FREE

On Monday, OPB threw a little party to let their staff get to know some of the KMHD jocks, or "On-Air Hosts" as we are officialy called now. Was nice to see old friends. In one month, they have given us more opportunities for DJs to talk to each other than we had in a year under the old regime.

They had thrown a party for DJ's on the day the station switched over from MHCC's studio to the new one at OPB.

They've gone out of their way to make us feel at home. I think it will spur everyone to do a better job. I started my first shift in the new studio with Oregon's version of Jim Pepper's Witchi-Tai-To from the Out of the Woods album…and on vinyl. I did my whole first set from vinyl.

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GUESSS WHO HAS THE LONGEST RUNNING GIG IN PORTLAND

Good guess. I don't know the answer, but I know which band has one of the longest and that's the Django-style band the Kung Pao Chickens at the Laurelthirst Pub. They've been playing every Monday night for free for nine years! Of course, you're supposed to throw something in the tip jar.

As you may remember, the Chickens were started by Pete Krebs. After he left town Jon Neufeld, Tracy Kim, Gary Guenther and Tim Acott made up the band. When Pete came back he joined in from time to time until he went away (what seems like) permanently (but who knows?).

They've always been a treat. These days, they've been joined by a large group of swing dancers who make Mondays even more fun. Would I rather watch girls swing dance or would I rather watchthe band? You figure it out.

Gary has been around forever and still sounds great whether he's playing clarinet, sax, flute or singing. Neufeld, for my,money is still the great undisovered jazz guitarist in this town. Tracy Kim, since he changed guitars to one which doesn't sound as much like Jon's stands out a lot better and is playing better than ever.

And ole Laurelthirst is as funky as ever.

Here's a story I did on them several years ago:

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PROBABLY THE BEST HANG OF THE SUMMER

Last Friday's CD release for Commotion was not only a great performance, but the hang was awesome.

I wrote about it for the O. Read it right here.

We were all sitting around outside Someday shooting the shit. Found out that Damian Erskine is putting the finishing touches on a new album which he says makes his last one (which was tremendous) look like a demo.

Joked with his wife, artist Courtney Erskine, about Mary Sue Tobin's brief obsession with the S.O.S. Band's Just Be Good to Me and how she had to listen to all those 80's songs (good and bad) when Ms Erskine was bartending in Chicago.

Was nice to see saxophonist Jason DuMars back in circulation after spending three years in Nashville. (What was he thinking?) Looking forward to his collaborations with Joe Janiga and others.

Was bittersweet to see drummer Drew Shoals, knowing he's going back east to Philly and law school. Now we're going to miss him all over again.

David Ornette Cherry talking to drummer Rod Nighingale who had to play after just having surgery on his leg. Dusy York and I talking about the Orioles.

A great evening.

Btw….Ohmega Watts opened and played with Commotion on their last tune. Ever seen this video of his?

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SPEAKING OF BEN DARWISH---NEW JAZZ SERIES AT THE MISSION!

He's booking FREE monthly indie jazz there every first Tuesday. Starts Tuesday Sept 1 with Trio Sutonic with Chris Mosely. He's calling it Notes from the Underground and will take advantage of the big screen. During breaks, on the first night they'll be showing Wynton Marsalis (with Branford Marsalis) in Poland - October, 1983, Joshua Redman Quartet in Switzerland - May, 2000, and the Sarah Vaughn Trio in Germany - November, 1969.

Andrew Oliver Sextet is scheduled for November. October is TBA.

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GRAB WHAT'S LEFT OF THESE SUMMER'S NIGHTS AKA SKIP ELLIOTT BOWMAN AT LIVING ROOM THEATERS

One of the nice things about summer is walking through that big open door (window?) at Living Room Theaters, into the bar while a band is playing.

The other nght when bassist Skip Elliot Bowman was playing was one of those nice nights. He was in a trio with guitar and drum/melodica. Not sure if he's coming back. Hope so.

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DAVID ORNETTE CHERRY'S SERIES COMING BACK TO CURIOUS COMEDY THEATER
It'll be returning monthly. Here's the sched:

September 19 Obo Addy/ David Ornette Cherry
October 17th The C4 InFluenz featuring Rod Nightingale
November 21th Quadraphonnes
December 19th Ron Steen Trio Featuring Toni Lincoln

David wll be my studio guest on KMHD on Saturday, August 29 in the 10pm hour.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, HERE'S MY PIECE ON THE TAHOE JACKSON SHOW AT WASHINGTON PARK

click on this thing.

Here's a hint: I liked it.

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SO WHAT IS IT ABOUT TEXAS? HUH? THE LACK OF RAIN?

Guitarist Chris Mosely and drummer Rod Nightingale are both moving to Texas. What's that about? I thought Teaxs was seceeding from the U.S. What're you gonna do then get a passport to come back and play?

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JAMES BOOKER SINGING PERCY MAYFIELD

Don't get much deeper in the blues than that:

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Hey I'm just keeping this space warm for when my real internet project gets rolling. You'll like it.

Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

Playlist from Saturday 8-8-09

2009-08-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

The playlist function on the KMHD website won't be working until we're broadcasting out of OPB on Monday. So here's what I'm playing tonight.....updated as I play the music.

10:00 Wayne Horvitz / Duke / Monologue
10:02 King Louie & Baby James / Mood Indigo / Around the World
10:07 Jessica Williams / Elaine / The Art of the Piano
10:13 Kid Ory / Oh, Didn't He Ramble / Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band / vinyl
10:16 Rahsaan Roland Kirk / Slipppery, Hippery, Flippery / Rip, Rig and Panic
10:26 Chris Mosely / ? / Semi Somnus / releases Sept 5
10:34 Commotion / Intencion Sexual / Commotion
10:42 Kelly Shannon w/ John Stowell / xxx /unreleased
10:49 Terrance Blanchard / Choices / Choices / vocal Dr. Cornell West
10:55 Melvin Gibbs Elevated Entity / Summer Breeze / Ancients Speak

11:03 Toumani Diabate / Cantelowes / The Monde Variations
11:10 Soriah / Tonacayotica / Atlan
10:16 Andrew Oliver Kora Band / Kaira / Just 4 U
10:26 Carla Bley / Awful Coffee / Appearing Nightly
11:31 Betty Carter / You're a Sweetheart / The Betty Carter Album
11:35 David Friesen / Within These Walls / Five & Three
11:43 Chico Freeman & Von Freeman / Lover Man / Freeman and Freeman
11:51 Arthur Lyman / Taboo / Taboo
11:54 Sydney Omar / All About Your Sign... / The World's Most Renowned Astrologer
11:57 Lorraine Bowen / Julie Christie / Far Out

THE BAR

12:08 Tom Waits / The Piano Has Been Drinking / Small Change
12:11 Roy Brown / Saturday Night / Complete Imperial Recordings
12:14 Little Esther / Saturday Night Daddy / Sleazy R&B Vol .1
12:16 Andre Williams / Jail Bait / best of
12: 20 Rosemary McCoy / Dippin' Is My Business / Sleazy R&B Vol. 2
12: 22 Champion Jack DuPree / Nasty Boogie Woogie / Bluse From the Gutter
12:25 Dirty Red / Muther Fuyer / Urban Blues Vol .1
12:28 Harry "The Hipster" Gibson / Who Put the Benzedrine In Mrs. Murphy's Ovaltine / best of
12:34 Kalyan / La La Jam Back / Kalyan
12:40 Mighty Sparrow / Martin Luther King / Solid Gold
12: 44 Exodus Steel Orchestra / Sugar Bum / Caribbean Steel Orchestra
12:52 James Brown / Make It Funky / Chartstopers Vol .1
12:54 Joe Tex / Loose Caboose / He Who Is Without Funk

1:02 Dr. John / Dis Dat or D'Udda / same
1:08 Neville Brothers / Ball of Confusion / Walkin' In the Shadows of Life
1:11 Funkadelic / One Nation Under a Groove / same
1:18 Meters / Funkify Your Life / Funkify Your Life
1:24 Hot Chocolate / You Sexy Thing / Non-Stop 70s Party
1:27 Isley Brothers / Harvest for the World / same
1:32 Solomon Burke / Down In the Valley / Solid Gold Soul Vol. 2
1:35 Eddie Holman / Hey They There Lonely Girl / Soul Hits of the 70s
1:38 Otis Redding / These Arms of Mine / Otis In Europe
1:43 The Spinners / Living Just a Little / Live
1:48 Allen Toussaint / Sweet Dreams / Connected
1:52 Rachel Taylor Brown / Giovanni Bernadone / Susan Storm's Ugly Sister

My KMHD playlist from last Saturday 8-1-09

2009-08-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday night is my last show from Gresham. KMHD starts broadcasting from our new studio at OPB 8/10 (my birthday) and my first show there is 8/15. Sweet, huh?

10:00 PM : Wayne Horvitz : Duke : Monologue
10:01 PM : Oscar Peterson & Roy Elddridge : Crazy Rhythm : Jousts : vinyl
10:07 PM : Jessica Williams : Esperanza : The Art of the Piano
10:10 PM : Dan Balmer : Greasy Kid Stuff : Thanksgiving
10:18 PM : Sun Ra : Drop Me Off In Harlem : Nuclear War
10:26 PM : Trio Subtonic : Kaleidocoping : Cave Dweller
10:31 PM : Commotion : Fiasco : Commotion
10:38 PM : Farnell Newton Marcus Reynolds Quartet : The Bluest Eyes : Sense of Direction
10:46 PM : John Surman, John Abercrombie, Drew Gress, Jack : Going for a Burton : Brewster's Rooster
10:52 PM : Jean-Luc Ponty : Is Once Enough? : Aurora : Vinyl
10:55 PM : Anachronic Jazz Band : Giant Steps : Blues to Bechet

11:00 PM : Anachronic Jazz Band : Giant Steps : Blues to Bechet
11:02 PM : Will Bernard : Blue Plate Special : Blue Plate Special
11:07 PM : Dr. John : I Ain't No Johnny Mercer : Mercenery
11:11 PM : Robert Moore & the Wildcats : Marche L'Idiots : Karla's Sermon
11:16 PM : Stebmo : Tough Luck : Stebmo
11:24 PM : Kevin Deitz : Uncle Ray : Skylines
11:29 PM : Steve Kuhn Trio w/ Joe Lovano : LIving Space : Mostly Coltrane
11:34 PM : Art Ensemble of Chicago : We Bop : Naked
11:39 PM : Beliss : Disclosure Project : The Bloomin of the Human Tree
11:46 PM : Esquivel : Mucha Muchacha : Latin-Esque
11:49 PM : Bonzo Dog Band : Mr. & Mrs. Mickey Mouth : Beast of the Bonzos
11:52 PM : Leon Redbone : My LIttle Grass Shack : Whistling In the Wind
11:54 PM : Captain Beefheart : Tropical Hot Dog Night : Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)

THE BAR

12:04 AM : Tom Waits : The Piano Has Been Drinking : Small Change
12:07 AM : Roy Brown : Saturday NIght : Complete Imperial Recordings
12:09 AM : Ernie K-Doe : Too Drunk to Drink : Jump and Shout
12:12 AM : Jimmy "T-99" Nelson : T-99 Blues : single
12:16 AM : Chubby "Hip-Shakin'" Newsome : Little Fat Woman with the Coconut Head : single
12:18 AM : Boogie Bill Webb : Drinkin' and Stinkin' : same
12:21 AM : Andre Williams : Bacon Fat : Rude Dudes
12:24 AM : Barrellhouse Annie : If It Don't Fit Don't Force It : Rude Dudes
12:27 AM : Lee Allen : Walkin' With Mr. Lee : Down On Burbon Street
12:29 AM : Little Richard : Burning Up withLove : Southern Child
12:32 AM : Chris Thomas Kiung : 21th Century Blues : 21st Century Blues
12:40 AM : Bob Marley & the Wailers : Trenchtown Rock : Live : vinyl
12:44 AM : Toots & the Maytals : Funky Kingston : Very best of
12:48 AM : Dr. John : Familiar Reality : The Sun, Moon & Herbs
12:54 AM : Papa Grows Funk : Big Wind : Shakin'

1:02 AM : Both Worlds : Fish Bait : Something Special Under the Sun WKTK : vinyl
1:04 AM : James Brown : Hot Pants : Charttoppers : vinyl
1:07 AM : Parliament : Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker : Best of
1:13 AM : Run D.M.C : It's Like That : 12" : vinyl
1:16 AM : Stephanie Schneiderman (Auditory Sculpture remix : First : single
1:04 AM : Run DMC : Sucker MC's : 12" : vinyl
1:22 AM : Ike & Tina Turner : Nutbush City Limits : Non-Stop 70s Party
1:30 AM : Jevetta Steele : I Am Calling You : Bagdad Cafe : vinyl
1:35 AM : Irma Thomas : I Need Your Love So Bad : Straight From the Soul
1:38 AM : Sam Cooke : Lost and Lonely : Night Beat
1:40 AM : Stylistics : Betcha By Golly Wow : The Stylistics
1:44 AM : Solomon Burke : It Don't Get No Better Than This : Soul of the Night
1:48 AM : Jackie Wilson : This Bitter Earth : Do Your Thing
1:50 AM : Allen Toussaint : Sweet Dreams : Connected

My Playlist from Last Saturday 7-25-09

2009-07-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

10:00 PM : Wayne Horvitz : Duke : Monologue
10:01 PM : Scotty Barnhart : Con Alma : Say It Plain : w/ Wynton Marsalis
10:10 PM : Elvin Jones : Someone's Rocking My Jazzboat : New Agenda
10:18 PM : David Valdez : Desert Flower : Desert Flower
10:27 PM : Commotion : Opening To The Show/ Hip Joint : Commotion
10:36 PM : John Surman/ John Aberceombie/ Drew Gress/ Jack : Slanted Sky : Brewster's Rooster
10:45 PM : Toque Libre : Marinela : Toque Libre
10:49 PM : Oregon : Frined of the Family : Violin : vinyl
10:54 PM : Bill Evans : Gary's Theme : You Must Believe In Spring

11:01 PM : Joe Zawinul : Introduction to A Mighty Theme/ Waraya : My People
11:08 PM : Miroslav Vitous Group w/ Michel Portal : Blues Report : Remembering Weather Report
11:13 PM : John Stowell : Friendly Giant : Solitary Tales
11:18 PM : Steve Kuhn Trio w/ Joe Lovano : Jimmy's Mode : Mostly Coltrane
11:28 PM : Gilbrto Gil : Louvacao : same
11:31 PM : Will Bernard : Frontwinder : Blue Plate Special
11:36 PM : Open Sky : Devotion : Open Sky : vinyl
11:45 PM : Jay McShann : Vine St Boogie : My Baby With the Black Dress On
11:51 PM : Takin' On : Italian Secret Service : Far Out
11:53 PM : R Crumb & the Cheap Suit Sereneders : Persian Rug : Number 2 : vinyl
11:57 PM : Camp Galore : Bill Bailey : Deco Disco

THE BAR

12:03 AM : Tom Waits : The Piano Has Been Drinking : Small Change
12:08 AM : Roy Brown : Saturday NIght : Complete Imperical Recordings
12:10 AM : Ike Turner : Tacks In My Shoes : Blues Roots
12:13 AM : Ted Taylor : I'm Just a Crumb In Your Breadbox of Love : Charly Presents
12:16 AM : Gladys Hill : Don't Touch My Bowl : Sleazy Rhythm & Blues Vol. 3
12:19 AM : Champion Jack DuPree : One Dirty Woman : CJD and his Blues Band
12:22 AM : Professor Longhair : How Long Has That Train Been Gone : Rock n Roll Gumbo
12:25 AM : Watermelon Slim : I've Got a Toothache : No Paid Holidays
12:28 AM : Champion Jack DuPree : Shim Sham Shimmy : Red Robin Presents
12:30 AM : Andre Williams : Mother For You : Greasy
12:36 AM : Toots & the Maytals : Reggae Got Soul : Very Best of
12:39 AM : Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings : Pick It Up, Lay It in the Cut : Dap Dippin
12:43 AM : James Brown : Mother Popcorn : The CD of JB
12:46 AM : Graham Central Station : The Jam : Ain't No Bout a Doubt It
12:54 AM : Neville Brothers : Papa Funk/ Can't Stop the Funk : Walkin' In the Shadow of Life

1:02 AM : Earth Wind & Fire : Shining Star / That's the Way of the World : That's The Way Of the World : vinyl
1:10 AM : Al Green : Truth In Time : same
1:15 AM : The Temptations (randy cantor mix) : I Can't Get Net to You : The Ultimate Remix
1:19 AM : George Cilinton : Do Fries Come With That Shake : 12"
1:23 AM : Sugar Hill Gang : Rapper's Delight : 12"
1:29 AM : Allen Toussaint : All of It : Connected
1:33 AM : Staples Singers : Pray On, My Child : Peace In the Neighborhood
1:40 AM : Otis Redding : These Arms of Mine : Live In Europe
1:43 AM : Al Green : L-o-v-e : Greatest Hits Vol 2
1:46 AM : Solomon Burke : Don't Give Up On Me : same
1:50 AM : Impressions : Keep On Pushin' : same
1:52 AM : Allen Toussaint : Sweet Dreams : Connected

I'm a WW Best People? Me? Oh, for THAT.

2009-07-23T00:59:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten that a young lady from Willamette Week nameded Whitney Hawke (Is that her porn name? Or her Storm name?) had called me up and asked me some questions about my days long-ago as a supermarket tabloid writer.

Then today their Best of Portland came out and I was named Best Tabloid Journalist in the Best People section. Scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll to get to it.

Or look at what they wrote here:

Best Tabloid Journalist

When you look at a rack of tabloids in the grocery store, do you ever wonder what sicko thought up stories like “Grandma Turns Pet Dog Inside Out Looking for Lost Lottery Ticket,” “Cult Uses Human Heads for Bowling Balls” or “Rabid Nun Infects Entire Convent”? Well, the answer is Portland resident Tom D’Antoni. The bearded and bespectacled D’Antoni wrote for The Sun—a national tabloid rag —while living in Baltimore in the mid-’80s, earning $25 for each salacious story he wrote. Plus another $10 if the story went on the cover.

D’Antoni describes the experience as being “fun at the beginning because it was a status symbol,” but the job quickly became a morbidly depressing gig. “I would get up in the morning and think of the worst things I could think of. Sometimes it would upset me so much I had to leave the house,” he says. D’Antoni compares the world of tabloids to so-called “professional” wrestling. The vast majority of people know it’s bullshit, but some kooks believe every bit of it without question.

Now a radio host on Portland’s KMHD 89.1 FM, a blogger for The Huffington Post and a freelance journalist for The Oregonian, D’Antoni has become a player in Portland’s local media scene. He’s tossed tabloid writing aside for now to focus on other projects, including one he says he “can’t even talk about yet, but will have a major impact on journalists in Portland.” So long as you don’t plan on using our heads for bowling balls, Tom. WHITNEY HAWKE.

Thanks WW.....I think.

Dis, Dat or D'udda

2009-07-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

While listening to my own KMHD show from last Saturday... Don't laugh. Ok laugh, but since I like all the stuff I play and since sometimes I don't remember what the hell I did, it's fun to listen to my own sets. I always get surprised.

Dave Chappelle will make a special appearance on this blog at midnight.

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UPDATE!! STORM LARGE VIDEO RELEASED. DID YOU KNOW THAT HER VAGINA IS EIGHT MILES WIDE?

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CATHEDRAL PARK, AT LEAST MY PART (SLIGHT RETURN)

Was a blast being on the air for four hours on Friday. Bill Rhodes Trio (w/Jim Miller and Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser was a study in blues intimacy and just right to begin the festival. Enjoyed interviewing Bill and Jim between and after their sets, especially making Bill do the legal KMHD ID (he has a lot of radio experience). It was very ecumenical of him to do it since he has a show on KBOO.

Somehow, while talking with Jim Miller, the conversation turned to sweeping up leftover endorphins off the stage.

Duffy Bishop followed and was Duffy Bishop. Took her (very high-heeled) shoes off and went out into the audience to sing. I asked her about it and she said she likes to go out into the audience because it makes her less nervous. Hard to imagine Duffy getting nervous.

She's gone to SF for a few months to sing in the same cabaret show that took her away to Seattle for the previous several months. She had just a few Portland gigs in between. Glad I saw this one.

Missed the rest of the festival, but caught some of it on radio. No big names to draw but a very nice festival. I go to that park just to sit and look at the river sometimes. My favorite PDX park.

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……AND PIGNOLI COOKIES, TOO!!!

This just in from Andrew Oliver:

Mary Sue Tobin and Andrew Oliver are proud to announce a new series in partnership with DiPrima Dolci Italian Bakery and Restaurant: Jazz Bakery @ DiPrima. The series will take place on the First and Third Thursday of the month beginning July 23

This Thursday will feature the High Mountain Quartet:

Chad McCullough, trumpet and flugelhorn (Seattle)
Andrew Oliver, piano (Portland)
Eric Gruber, bass (Portland)
Tyson Stubelek, drums (Boston)

The High Mountain Quartet performs original music alongside repertoire from across the jazz tradition. Their music emphasizes jazz improvisation as a medium of communication, both between the band and the audience and between the band members themselves. Their musical dedication is evident in the intensity of their performances and their intuitive group interaction.

Long-time musical associates and friends Tyson Stubelek and Andrew Oliver began playing with Seattle-based trumpeter Chad McCullough at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in 2009, where they were all participants. The musical chemistry was immediately evident and upon Tyson and Andrew’s return to Portland, Chad was invited down from Seattle to augment their long-standing trio with Eric Gruber into a quartet.

I like to stop there and pick up some pignolis after breakfast at Beaterville. I don't know any other place to get them. Do you?

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DREW SHOALS COLLECTIVE REUNION

At Mizz Pizz last Friday playing tunes from Drew's The Greatest Haven't Been Born Yet album. The band who played on half of the tunes on that album was there. John Nastos on sax, Ben Darwish on keys and Damien Erskine on bass. Damien played that amazing solo from Lux but extended it.

If there was any doubt about Drew, having spent more time over the past year in New York, dealing with helping offenders than playing drums, you'll be happy to know he is better than ever.

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DAHLIA DAHLIA DAHLIA

Jay Bozich (King Fader) posted this video of them from 2006. I ran into Jen at the Dave Chappelle party at the square last week. Says she's trying to give up music and become a writer.

Sigh.

This is called Mad World

Dahlia Mad World

Cover Song Footage from Pi-Rem in Portland, Oregon 08-25-06 Created by Vance Malone of Food Chain Films

Btw…I stood in the back of East the other night with Keith Schreiner while he watched Oracle do a gig that was a rehearsal for a House of Blues show in L.A. Yes, he wrote the tunes, etc. DJ Izm sat in for him because he will be at a FOLK FESTIVAL with Stephanie Schneiderman. Cracked me up. Keith at a folk festival? He told me he was gonna be like Dylan at Newport.

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LOOSE CABOOSE MANIA

I started playing the Joe Tex song because of the constant urging of Adam McIsaac of Int'l Male to play more Joe Tex during The Bar portion of my radio show (12m-2am). Now it has become a phenomenon. They threaten to teach the whole audience how to do it.

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OK FORGET THAT THIS IS A STANDARD FOR A MINUTE

…..and just listen.

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OR MAYBE YOU NEVER HEARD OF URI CAINE

Now you have

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WHEN COOL WAS WELL-DRESSED

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HOW TUTS WASHINGTON'S JUNKER BLUES BECAME PROFESSOR LONGHAIR'S TIPITINA ACCORDING TO THE TWO OF THEM

….plus Allen Toussaint. Am I in heaven?

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There's more but I got real work to do.

Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 7-18-09

2009-07-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

We start broadcasting from the new studio at OPB on August 10. My first show from there is August 15.
DJ training on the new gear starts this week!

10:00 PM : Wayne Horvitz : Duke : Monologue
10:01 PM : Willie Ruff/ Dwike Mitchell : Passon Flower : Strayhorn : vinyl
10:07 PM : Oscar Peterson/ Dizzy Gillespie : Mozambique : Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie : vinyl
10:14 PM : Drew Shoals : Lux : The Greatest Haven't Been Born Yet
10:23 PM : Trio Subtronic : Subtronix : Cave Dwellers
10:28 PM : Andy Shepherd : International Blues : Movements In Color
10:33 PM : Allen Toussaint : Winin' Boy Blues : Bright Mississippi
10:40 PM : Dr. John : That Old Black Magic : Mercenery
10:45 PM : Kyle Eastwood : Rue Perdue : Metropolitain
10:50 PM : Mahavishnu Orchestra : Meeting of the Spirits : Inner Mounting Flame
10:57 PM : Stanley Clarke Trio : Sicilian Blue : Jazz in the Garden

11:04 PM : Carla Bley : Real Life Hits : Songs With Legs
11:13 PM : Bridge Quartet : Isfahan : Night
11:23 PM : Oregon : Cry of the Peacock/ Coral : Our First Record : vinyl
11:29 PM : Joe Venuti : Limehouse Blues : S'Wonderful 4 Giants of Swing
11:37 PM : Broun Felinis : Botticelli's Roommate : Real Moments
11:46 PM : Danieele Luppi : La Nudista : Far Out
11:49 PM : R Crumb & the Cheap Suit Sereneders : Home : Singing In the Bathtub
11:52 PM : Lorraine Bowen : Julie Christie : Far Out
11:56 PM : The Bobs : Never Marry a Musician : Get Your Monkey Off My Dog

THE BAR
12:04 AM : Tom Waits : The Piano Has Been Drinking : Small Change
12:08 AM : Roy Brown : Saturday Night : Complete Imperial Recordings
12:10 AM : Duo-Tones : Shake a Tail Feather : Savage Catfish Kick
12:12 AM : Big Jay McNeely : All That Wine Is Gone : Atomic Cocktails
12:15 AM : Ruth Brown : I'll Wait For You : Sleazy R&B Vol. 2
12:18 AM : Delores Brown : You Played My Piano : Sleazy R&B Vol. 1
12:21 AM : Jimmy Reed : High and Lonesome : Charly Sampler : vinyl
12:23 AM : Champion Jack DuPree : Drunk Again : Red Robin Presents
12:26 AM : Rene Hall : Twitchy : single
12:30 AM : Lee Michaels : Do You Know What I Mean : 5th
12:34 AM : Neville Brothers : Ball of Confusion : Walkin' In the Shadows of life
12:41 AM : Joe Tex : Loose Caboose : He Who is Without Funk (Cast the First Stone)
12:47 AM : James Brown : Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine/ Cold Swe : Live In Zaire
12:56 AM : Isley Brothers : The Heat Is On : best of

1:01 AM : Graham Central Station : My Radio Sounds Good To Me : same : vinyl
1:06 AM : Sly & the Family Stone : In Time : Fresh
1:12 AM : Mar-Keys : Last Night : Classic Soul Instrumentals
1:16 AM : S.O.S Band : Just Be Good To Me : 12" vinyl
1:23 AM : Black Stalin : Hard Hard Hard : Rebel Soca
1:28 AM : Kalyan : La La Jam Back : Kalyan
1:33 AM : Mighty Sparrow : Martin Luther King : Sings True Life Stories etc
1:42 AM : Ooh Child : The Five Stairsteps : Soul Hits of the 70s
1:44 AM : Del-Fonics : Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time : Soul Hits of the 70s
1:47 AM : Al Green : Belle : Belle
1:52 AM : Anita Baker : Soul Inspiration : Compositions

My Playlist from last Saturday 7-11-09

2009-07-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't put up the last few playlists. You don't want to know. You can find them here.
Click on "Playlists" (duh) and then search the date and time, if you absolutely can't live without knowing what I played.

Saturday, July 11

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monolgue
10:01 Chico Hamilton/ First Light/ Twelve Tones of Love
10:06 Steve Kuhn Trio w/ Joe Lovano/ Song of Praise/ Mostly Coltrane
10:14 Kyle Eastwood/ Hot Box/ Metropolitain
10:23 Bridge Quartet/ Strode Rode/ Night / Premiere
10:31 Scotty Barnhart/ Say It Plain/ same
10:39 Drew Shoals/ Maternity Warden/ The Greatest Haven't Been Born Yet
10:43 Miroslav Vitous/ Variations on Wayne Shorter/ Remembering Weather Report
10:49 David Friesen/ Within These Walls/ Five & Three
10:57 The Loose Marbles/ Ballin' the Jack/ The Royal Rousers

11:02 Betty Carter/ I Can't Help It/ The Betty Carter Album
11:05 Stan Bock/ Ain't Nothin' New/ Your Check's In the Mail
11:11 John Scofield/ A Go-Go/ same
11:17 Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble/ From an Old Diary/ unreleased Live at Community Music Center
11:26 Andy Shepherd/ We Shall Not Go to Market Today/ Movements In Color
11:32 Sun Ra/ Enlightenment/ Jazz In Sillhouette/ me reading Ra poetry
11:38 Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber/ making Love to the Dark Ages B/ Making Love to the Dark Ages
11:41 Beliss/ Disclosure/ The Bloomin' of the Human Tree
11:49 Martin Denny/ Jungle Fever Boat/ Exotica Vol. III / vinyl
11:52 Conjure/ Medley: General Science-Ish-Papa La Bas / Cab Calloway Stands In for the Moon
11:57 Captain Beefheart/ Ashtray Heart/ Doc at the Radar Station

THE BAR

12:04 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:08 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:10 Calvin Boze/ Looped/ Atomic Cocktails
12:12 The Four Gators/ Wine-o-Wine/ Black Rock n Roll Vol. 1
12:15 Chick Webb/ Wackey Dust/ Reefer Songs
12:18 Mighty Sparrow/ Martin Luther King for President/ Sings of Life, etc
12:24 Kalyan/ La La Jam Back/ Kalyan
12:28 Mighty Sparrow/ Good Morning Mr. Walker/ Hot and Sweet
12:33 Exodus Steel Orchestra/ Sugar Bum/ Carribean Steel Orchstra
12:39 Gary US Bonds/ Dear Lady Twist/ Very Best of
12:41 CJ Chenier/ Man Smart, Woman Smarter/ Too Much Fun
12:46 William DeVaughn/ Be Thankful for What You Got/ same
12:51 Tony Ozier/ Hope f/ Neco Redd & S.U.N./ Aural Penetration
12:57 Dr. John/ Let's Make a Better World/ Desitively Bonneroo
1:01 Solomon Burke/ None of Us are Free/ Don't Give Up On Me/ w/Blind Boys of Alabama
1:07 Angelique Kidjo/ Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)/ Very best of
1:11 Ton Loc/ Funky Cold Medina/ 12"
1:28 Regen Fykes & Ohmega Watts/ ? /single
1:31 LaRhonda Steele/ Northwind/ Artistic Differences
1:38 Bootsy Collins/ Ahh, the Name Is Bootsy/ Bootsy's Rubber Band/ vinyl
1:41 Joe Tex/ Loose Caboose/ Let He Who Is Without Funk (Cast the First Stone)
1:48 Gary US Bonds/ Not Me/ Very best of
1:51 Vagbond Opera/ Goodnight Moon/ The Zeitgeist Beckons.

Blues Festival Aftermath.

2009-07-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

While listening to Chris Thomas King's remix of his own 21cb…that's Twennty-first century blues to youse…from Dirty South Hip Hop Blues. I know he makes more money singing Delta blues but it's about time for a follow-up in this style.

I don't give a damn what the purists say/ They wouldn't know the blues if it bit 'em anyway/ This is the blues of the 21st century/ And I don't give a damn if you can't get with me.

Amen.

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BIG FUN, ETC AT THE BLUES FESTIVAL

Where to start…..

1. Big Sam's Funky Nation

As good as he was at the festival, he was even better the following night at Roseland. Why? I was wondering myself till I was talking to Tony Ozier who was also on the show. He was hanging in the green room with Sam and company. Sam and the trumpet player were raving to him about the new mouthpieces they had gotten earlier in the day from David Monette.

They found out that Monette's horns and mouthpieces really do make you sound better!

I had great fun channelling the legendary R&B radio DJ Hot Rod during my intro to Sam at the festival. Yeah, that's some of The Real Zeal Zod coming out when I do The Bar on KMHD.

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2. NW Blues Pianorama

David Vest, Janice Scroggins, D.K. Stewart and Steve Kerin were all different even though they all play in the blues tradition. I MC'd this one. They each did one fifteeen minute set and then played together at the end.

It was jaw-dropping. One after another. What was unspoken was that they all knew they had to be at their best. They were. I hope somone recorded it.

I hate to single out any one of them (cuz they were all wonderful and I'm liable to get hit) but Janice's (nearly) solo performance in the second set of the night was sublime…jazz, blues, ragtime and swing. She told the story of American music in one beautiful solo.

She gets my vote for most influential musician at the festival. She was everywhere playing with everyone. I lost count. Her gospel set with Linda Hornbuckle, Between Friends with Linda and Duffy Bishop, LaRhonda Steele and others, Sonny Hess' NW Rhythm and Blues Women….I know there's more.

Speaking of which….

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3. The Return of Sheila Wilcoxson

She stopped singing locally years ago, and altogether a while back. She did a Koko Taylor tribute during Sonny Hess' set and knocked everyone out, as she always has. Major props to Sonny for persuading her to come back.

Sheila tells me she got some home recording gear and just may be surprising us with her own material before long.

Welcome back. She was a major talent around here.

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4. Note to Karl Denson's road manager.

I MC'd for Karl. He and the guitar player were a little bit late taking the stage so Stage Manger Jim Miller took his time introducing me. I took my time introducing Karl. At one point Karl's road manger tapped me on the shoulder and gave me the universal sign for "wrap it."

Only he didn't mean it. He thought he was telling me to stretch it. I started to rev it up to kick off the set but somebody stoppped me again. They weren't ready. So I stood there and pulled shit out of my ass for another 3 or 4 minutes in front of 20,000 people while Karl plugged in.

By then I was taking my cues from Karl. It was pretty funny. Nobody got mad. Usually when I'm talking to 20,000 people I don't get to see them. Of course I enjoyed it.

See, when you want someone to stretch you………….oh never mind.

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5. Among other smiles at the festival
One of my favorite images of the whole festival was in the nearly-backstage area at the Miller Stage during Sharon Jones

electrifing set….all in a line were Tahoe Jackson, Mary Sue Tobin, Leah Hinchcliff, Deborah Katz and Lauren Sheehan grooving to the music.

While onstage, Sharon had lined up some women from backstage.

Yes, that's Liv Warfield on the end of the line. At this moment she's in France singing with Prince at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Our Liv!!

********

Thanks to LaRhonda Steele, who also sang with Ken DeRouchie on Thursday, for an advance copy of her exciting new album. I got it on the air Saturday night, of course.

********

Ran into musician/artist Ron Rogers. Told him he needs to make coffin art for Michael Jackson like he has for all those blues and soul people. Could make a lot of dough. He wasn't enthusiastic. He did tell me somone used a tune of his on a music video up on YouTube. This one. They don't let you embed it for some reason.

*********
David Vest played a couple of hot sets on one of the cruises with Jimi Bott and Don Campbell.

David at the Workshop Stage

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One of my favorite discoveries at the festival was the Loose Marbles, a traditional jazz band from New Orleans. Tres cool. On Friday, they played at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

They played all over town for swing dances, too.

*********

The folks who run the backstage operations are a lot of fun and always friendly. I would name them all but I know I would leave some out.

Congrats to Peter Dammann, Jean Kemp-Ware and all the others who pulled off a great festival, made the dough the Oregon Food Bank and brought just enough music to make everyone happy in a time when festivals are cutting back drastically or just plain going out of business.

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I need a nap. Too much fun. Too tired to put in all the URL's. I figure you know how to Google. And I gotta go make some money.

Before I go....When Max Roach died no news channels covered it. Bastards

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

NEW GUY AT KMHD, BLUES FESTIVAL STUFF, NEW SCHNEIDERMAN REMIX,, LOTSA STUFF

2009-06-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

While listening to a radio station from Port of Spain, Trinidad. It's WACK, the best call letters for a station since I tried to get a rich drug dealer to buy a station in Baltimore so I could re-name it WRAT.

I found it last night and got hooked. I wish there were some Trinidadians in Portland, they throw awesome cabarets. If you hear of any, please let me know. When I lived in Baltimore,I hung out with some guys from Trinidad who had a real steel band. Yes, of course I did a story on them. They let me sit in one night. They were very nice to me. Didn't even laugh.

I found the station here via my friend Art Levine. You can listen to stations from all over the world. Now that's real world music.

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OPB FINDS A COOL GUY TO MANAGE KMHD!

I'm not going to get in trouble and spill all the beans before they make a public statement but I got wind of their choice last week. I visited the site of his current station and did a big WOW!! I thought, this is going to be fun!

If he does the things here that he's doing there, we're in for a great ride. Found out he's heard my show and likes it, too. So I'm hoping The Bar stays open.

He gets to town in three weeks.

Can't wait to meet him. I'll have more to say when they make it official. But maybe I've said too much, haven't said enough.

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BLUES FESTIVAL WEEK!!!!!!!!!

I don't know about you but I've been finding that people are more excited about it this year. Maybe it's the crappy economy, or the Oregon summer, but I'm glad to see it. Spirits seemed to be a little bit down. Not this year.

When I posed the question on FB, Int'l Male's waggish Adam McIsaac said, "More people have the blues this year." Others said things like "totally pumped!!!"

Tip of the hat to KINK and KMHD's Steve Pringle who has the difficult job of assigning the (unpaid) MC's. Everybody wants to MC for their favorites. I am thrilled to get to intro Big Sam's Funky Nation on Sunday.

I'll also be introducing Ken DeRouchie, who will have the spectacular LaRhonda Steele singing with him, also Sonny Hess's all-star NW Blues Women, AND Karl Denson.

If you haven't gone to the Candlelight to see LaRhonda's regular Thursday nights, you're missing out. I mean, where else can you hear somebody sing a Spinners song and mean it!

David Vest axed me to MC the NW Blues Pianorama show at the Marriott on Thursday night at 10….part of the Festival but separate admission. They've got FOUR piano players this year…David, DK Stewart plus Janice Scroggins and Steve Kerrin who lots of people haven't heard yet.

I'm looking forward to seeing Loose Marbles. I wrote abut them in the tabloid the O gives away at the Festival. I've been playing them on the radio….including Postage Stamp from their album The Royal Rousers.

See you there!

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ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU WANT TO KEEP A SECRET SO YOU CAN STILL GET IN THE DOOR

Tony Ozier's Wednesday nightfunk/soul jam at a new (and little) club called Calabash in the 800 block of SW 2nd Ave is absolutely the coolest thing in town. It's like you stepped into a different town. Reminds me of clubs I've been in n the East Coast. Very diverse crowd. That means there are Black folks there. Felt like home. The stage takes up half the space. The whole thing rocks.

I ran into a lot of Portland's best musicians there, who just came to dig it and sit in. Liv Warfield was there. She's about to go back out on the road with Prince…she told me the Montreux Jazz Festival is part of the tour. She had to cancel a gig at Jimmy Mak's to do it. Not that there was any question.

Rod Nightingale was there, too. Just ran across a new video from Madgesdiq and Rod's C4Influenz band performing "Love is The Key" when they opened for K'Naan at Berbati's Pan.

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KEITH SCHREINER AKA AUDITORY SCULPTURE IS BACK AT EAST

…on Thursday nights. He gave me some new stuff he's done and some remixes of the Stephanie Schneiderman album. You can download them on his MySpace page.

Here's the remix of Dangerous Fruit, the title tune. Knocked me out.

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JAZZ AT THE MISSION?
Between sets at Jimmy Mak's the other night, Ben Darwish told me that things are looking good for weekly jazz Tuesday nights at The MissionTheater. How about that? Dinner, music and a movie under one roof! Daters take note.

btw….Drew Shoals is coming back to town! Watch for gigs.

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Nuff for now. OK, one more thing…Dinah Washington singing Bessie Smith.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

The Longer the Days, the Shorter the Blog, Seems Like

2009-06-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Taking vacation time this week. Just means I'm not doing the blog this week. Still, a few things:

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DREW SHOALS DROPPED ME A LINE

We miss him around here, big time.

He said:

I s(aw) saxophonist/composer John Ellis over the weekend here in New York. He wrote a Tim Burton-esque jazz opera called "The Ice Siren" about a dream-like, after life love story brought to life (or death) by a string quartet, tuba, vibes, percussion, guitar, tenor sax, and a couple vocalists. The best music I've heard in New York so far.

Nuff said.

Wonder when he's coming back to town and running for mayor?

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AND KEITH SCHREINER SAYS, LESS PERSONALLY

Hey guys I wanted to invite all of you out to my first tuesday night back out in the world. I have hidden in the studio for 2 years and its time now to get back out on a regular basis, but I did not want to deal with the cityiots or the brianless masses on fridays and saturday nights, so I opted for a locals kinda night where I dont have to cater to idiots, SO.... every Tuesday night starting on June 16th thats next tuesday, I will be down at east from 8:30pm-12:30am doing what I do, I hope some of you come thru for the first one, it would be great to see you guys and catch up.
Also john Plummer told me there will be happy hour prices or some kind of good deal on drinks as well.....Much rejoicing

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FIND GREAT CONCERTS ONLINE RIGHT HERE

Thanks to Art Levine for this.

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ENJOY

Trombone Shorty

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 6/6/09

2009-06-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

10:00 PM Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monolgue
10:00 PM Jaco Pastorius/ Opus Pocus/ Jaco Pastorius
10:05 PM Jimmie Lunceford/ For Dancers Only/ For Dancers Only
10:08 PM Allen Toussaint/ Blue Drag/ The Bright Mississipi
10:12 PM Robert Moore/ Marche L'Idiots/ Karla's Sermon
10:18 PM Bill Henderson/ Royal Garden Blues/ Live at the Vic
10:25 PM Darcy James Argue's/ Secret Society/ Transit Infernal Machines
10:32 PM David Friesen/ Every Other Time/ Five and Three
10:42 PM David Murray/ Jug-a-Lug/ same
10:50 PM Cecilia Frioni/ La Cose Semplici/ Papillon
10:52 PM Thelonius Monk/ Brilliant Corners/ same

11:03 PM Gil Evans Orchestra/ 1983 A Merman I Should Turn To Be/ Plays Jimi Hendrix
11:10 PM Jaco Pastorius/ Kuru/Speak Like a Child/ Jaco Pastorius/ piano Herbie Hancock
11:18 PM Lester Young/ June Bug/ Blue Young/
11:20 PM Tony Malaby/ Lucedes/ Paloma Recio
11:30 PM Mike Doolin & David Martin/ Prevarication/ Reflection
11:36 PM Billy Harper/ Oh...If Only/ BLueprints of Jazz/ that was Amiri Baraka
11:42 PM Astor Piazzola/ Libertango/ Double Best Collection
11:47 PM Edmundo Ros/ Bess, You Is My Woman Now (Baion)/ Porgy and Bess and Show Boat
11:50 PM Bobby Hammack/ Powerhouse/ Cocktail Mix Vol. 2
11:51 PM Pizzicato Five/ Girl From Ipenema/ Pink Panther's Penthouse Party
11:55 PM Swingin' Singles Orchestra/ Je T'Aime (Mon Non Plus)/ Music for a 90s Bachelor Pad

THE BAR

12:04 AM Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:08 AM Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:10 AM Buddy Guy, Junior Mance, Junior Wells/ Talkin' Bout Women Obviously/ Buddy & the Juniors
12:22 AM Al Green/ Take Me To the River/ Greatest Hits Vol. 2
12:25 AM Al Green/ Belle/ The Belle Album
12:30 AM Al Green/ Tired of Being Alone/ Gratest Hits Vol. 1
12:33 AM Al Green/ Love and Happiness/ Greatest Hits Vol.2
12:38 AM Al Green/ Truth N' Time/ same
12:49 AM Robert Moore/ Your Molecular Structure/ Karla's Sermon
12:59 AM Funkadelic/ One Nation Under a Groove/ same

1:06 AM The Clinton Administration/ Flash Light/ One Nation Under a Re-Groove
1:12 AM Joe Tex/ Loose Caboose/ He Who Is Without Funk (Cast the First Stone)
1:19 AM James Brown/ Ain't It Funky Pt. 1/ Instrumentals
1:27 AM The Dells/ Stay In My Corner/ There It Is
1:33 AM Marvin Gaye/ Everybody Needs Love/ Here, My Dear
1:39 AM Mavis Staples/ Security/ Only For the Lonely
1:42 AM Jerry Butler & the Impressions/ For Your Precious Love/ The Sweetest Soul
1:46 AM Irma Thomas/ I Need Your Love So Bad/ Straight From the Soul
1:50 AM Rachel Taylor Brown/ Susan Storm's Ugly Sister/ same
1:53 AM Vagabond Opera/ Goodnight Moon/ The Zeitgeist Beckons

Friesen Radio Interview, R.I.P. Koko, Dig Terry Evans

2009-06-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

While listening to a very strange version of I Say a Little Prayer by Al Green on Truth N' Time his last "secular" album….well, before he started making them again. The title tune is my favorite on the album, tho. Yes, I bought the vinyl. Uh oh, now I'm in a vicsious cycle of listening to that title tune over and over. Good thing it feels good.

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HERE'S THE DAVID FRIESEN INTERVIEW, AS PROMISED

I wanted to have David come to the studio and spend some time talking on the air but he had to go to Los Angeles to play in a tribute gig for Bud Shank. So he called. The clip starts with a tune from his wonderful new album Five and Three which is a 2CD set featuring a quintet of him, John Gross and Rob Davis on saxes, Charlie Doggett and Gary Hobbs on drums and Dan Balmer on guitar. The trio is David, Rob Davis and Greg Goebel on piano.

Enjoy:

Dropped in to Jimmy Mak's last Friday to have praised heaped upon me for heaping praise on Friesen and band…having encapsulated their album into about 150 words in the O. I accepted graciously. I need all the props I can get.

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HERE COMES THE BLUES FESTIVAL
BLUES FESTIVAL!!

They've begun selling early bird tickets….bargains, you know. Click on the link above to find out.

I'll have a lot more to say about it as we get closer. I have a meeting this week to see what the O wants outta me. So till I find out what I'm selling and what I'm giving away, I wanted you to hear Terry Evans, whom I have never seen. After hearing this clip I can't wait. Hope you feel the same way.

It's called, The River from his album Come To the River

Speaking of which, it's a shame that Koko Taylor died this week. There's a great vid of the young Koko with Little Walter:

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PAUL NEWMAN AND MILES DAVIS IN THE SAME THEATER ON THE SAME NIGHT

At Cinema 21 on Saturday night you can see The Hustler and a Miles Davis concert film from 1991. Yeah, I know nobody liked what he was doing then, but in the intervening years, I'm pretty curious to see what became of him. I'll be on the air. Oh well. I expect reports.

It's a new print of The Hustler. In the lobby Brian Casey and Brett White, a bass/trumpet duo will be playing. All starts at 9:30.

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MARCHING UNDER AND OVER THE BRIDGE

The Lions of Batucada will be playing a set under the Hawthorne Bridge on Sunday, June 7 and then leading a parade to the Terry Shrunk Plaza as part of the "United For Oregon" rally….about state budget cuts that will eliminate many services now provided for seniors and kids. (Bastards)

Starts at noon. In case you need a reminder:

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NEED SOME SOOTHING?

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It's too nice to keep typing, and you've gotten your money's worth.

Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 5-30-09

2009-06-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Oregon/ If/ Prime
10:08 Oregon/ An Open Door/ Prime
10:14 David Friesen/ You and You Alone/ Five & Three
10:26 Flora Purim/ Queen of the Night/ same
10:30 David Vest/ Follow That Ark/ unreleased Live @ Duff's Garage, Portland 5-22-09
10:32 David Murray Octet/ New Life/ same
10:40: Allen Toussaint/ Singin' the Blues/ The Bright Mississippi
10:46 Carla Bley/ Real Life Hits/ Songs With Legs
10:54 Nancy King & Fred Hersch/ Ain't Misbehavin'/ Live at the Jazz Standard

11:02 On Ka'a Davis with Famous Original Djuke Music People/ Voodoo Ultralux/ Seeds of Djuke
11:07 M. Nahadr/ Starlight/ EclecticIsM
11:10 Rahsaan Roland Kirk/ Bright Moments/ Kirkatron/ vinyl
11:14 John Abercrombie/ Vingt Six/ The Third Quartet
11:24 Garaj Mahal/ 7 Cows Jumping Over the Moon/ Woot!
11:29 Melvin Gibbs Elevated Entity/ Summer Breeze/ Ancients Speak
11:33 Herbie Hancock/ Rockit/ Future Shock
11:38 John McLaughlin/ Time Remembered/ same
11:41 Milt Bucker/ Cute/ Milt Plays Chords
11:47 Leo Addeo and His Orchestra/ Dancing Tambourines/ Stereo Action! Unlimited/ vinyl
11:51 Lorraine Bowen/ Julie Christie/ Far Out: Swinging Bachelor Pad Music
11:53 Edmundo Ros/ I've Got Plenty of Nuthin'/ Show Boat and Porgy & Bess
11:56 Captain Beefheart/ I Love You, You Big Dummy/ Lick My Decals Off Baby

THE BAR

12:03 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:08 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:10 Lil Johnson/ Take It Easy Greasy/ Rude Dudes
12:14 Otis Blackwell/ Fever/ These Are My Songs!
12:17 Nathanial Mayer/ I Want to Dance With You/ I Just Want to be Held
12:21 Big Sam's Funky Nation/ We Got It/ Peace, Love and Understanding
12:27 Dr. John/ Can't Git Enuff/ Desitively Bonneroo
12:29 Bonerama/ Big Fine Woman/ single
12:35 The Clinton Administration/ Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)/ One Nation Under a Re-Groove
12:40 Graham Central Station/ The jam/ Ain't No Bout A Doubt It
12:53 Joe Tex/ I Gotcha/ best of
12:55 Otis Redding/ I Can't Turn You Loose/ In Person at the Whiskey A Go Go

1:00 Soul Vaccination/ Souled Out/ Live at Jimmy Mak's
1:04 James Brown/ Get On the Good Foot/ same
1:11 Isaac Hayes/ Shaft/ best of
1:16 Al Green/ I'm So Tired of Being Alone/ greatest hits vol. 1
1:18 Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings/ Got a Thing On My Mind/ Dap-Dippin
1:21 Major Harris/ Love Won't Let Me Wait/ My Way
1:27 Johnny Adams/ Your Love Is So Doggone Good/ Soul of the Night
1:32 Stevie Wonder/ Golden Lady/ Innervisions
1:37 Jackie Wilson/ This Bitter Earth/ Do Your Thing
1:44 Irma Thomas/ Thinking About You/ Simply Grand
1:48 Mary Flower/ When I Get Home I'm Gonna Be Satisfied/ Bridges
1:50 Vagabone Opera/ Goodnight Moon/ The Zeitgiest Beckons.

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 5/23/09

2009-05-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Chick Correa & Hiromi/ Windows/ Duet
10:09 Charles Mingus/ Canon/ Mingus Moves
10:13 David Friesen/ Sunset Blue/ Five & Three (World Premiere)
10:21 The Tiptons/ Laws of Motion/ same
10:27 David Friesen/ In My Heart/ Five & Three (World Premiere)
10:35 David Friesen Interview
10:54 Davie Friesen/ The Last Goodbye/ Five & Three (World Premiere)

11:07 Allen Toussaint/ Winin' Blues/ The Bright Mississippi
11:13 Kenny Wheeler/ Hotel le Hot/ The Widow in the Window
11:22 Nina Simone/ Plain Gold Ring/ In Concert
11:30 Dusty York/ the 3rd or 4th day of spring/ blood + ink
11:36 Vagabond Opera/ Tango Till You're Sore/ The Zeitgiest Beckons
11:41 Sun Ra/ Sometimes I'm Happy/ Nuclear War
11:46 Art Ensemble of Chicago/ Flash 1 / Naked
11:52 Challenger/ Be Bop a Lula/ Far Out: Swinging Bachelor Pad Music
11:54 Joy & the Spider/ You Are My Sunshine/ Upstairs at Larry's: Lawrence Welk Uncorked
11:59 Leon Redbone/ Play Gypsy Play/ Up a Lazy River

THE BAR

12:07 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:10 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:12 Big Joe Turner/ Juke Joint Blues/ best of
12:19 Champion Jack DuPree/ Junker Blues/ single
12:21 Bull Moose Jackson/ I Knew Who Threw the Whiskey (In the Well)/ Big Fat Mamas are Back In Style
12:24 Nathaniel Mayer/ I Found Out/ I Just Want to Be Held
12:29 Hound Dog Taylor/ Make It Funky/ Beware of the Dog
12:34 Rufus Thomas/ Funky Robot/ Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky
12:38 James Brown/ Super Bad/ Soul 1972
12:42 Sharon Jones the Dap-Kings/ A Fish In My Dish/ Naturally
12:45 Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy/ B Funk/ Avant-Pop
12:49 Firesign Theater/ Polar Pro/ Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death
12:53 Dr. John/ Dis Dat or D'udda/ same
12:58 Lee Dorsey/ Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley/ Yes We Can

1:01 Chris Kenner/ I Like It Like That/ best of
1:02 Huey Smith & the Clowns/ Well I'll Be John Brown/ best of
1:04 Frankie Ford/ Alimony/ Ooo-Wee-Baby
1:07 Albert King/ We All Wanna Boogie/ New Orleans Heat
1:10 Toots & the Maytals/ Sweet & Dandy/ The Harder They Come
1:13 Johnny Guitar Watson/ A Real Mother For Ya/ same
1:18 The Counts/ Soulful Strut/ Jan Jan
1:20 Staples Singers/ Respect Yourself (live)/ Stax O Soul Sampler
1:25 Curtis Mayfield/ Mighty Mighty (Spade and Whitey)/ Live
1:33 O'Jays/ Back Stabbers/ The Sound of Philadelphia
1:35 Anthony Hamilton/ They Don't Know/ Southern Comfort
1:41 Excellent Gentlemen/ Get Down Baby/ Just Say Yes
1:43 Thievery Corporation/ The Numbers Game/ Radio Retaliation
1:47 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes/ If You Don't Know Me by Now/ Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits
1:53 Vagabond Opera/ Goodnight Moon/ The Zeitgeist Beckons

2009-05-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

While listening to Tim Buckley's Blue Afternoon and remembering the sweaty passion involved when it came out.

Women who like men who sweat are a rare find…but worth the search.

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MY VISIT TO OUTER SPACE

David Vest packed them in at Duff's last Friday for what turned out to be more blues and boogie-woogie than Sun Ra, but there was just enough to keep the patrons wanting more. I was sitting at the bar, awaiting my turn to read some of Ra's poetry with the
band when a lovely, long-haired woman told me how much she loved the Ra David played at the Paul deLay Scholarship Benefit and that she couldn't wait to hear more.

I didn't ask her if she liked sweat.

David gave them just enough to keep them wanting more. He had given me three to read but when it came time, he told me to read only parts. You don't argue with the band leader. You just do it. I ended up doing more than I thought I would as David directed me to keep reading. I took lines out of order and mixed them all up while David played his "space keys." On This World Is Not My Home the band repeated each line after I read it.

There's supposed to be a recording of it someplace. If you see it below, I got it. If you don't I'll get it. Meanwhile, here is the full text of the Ra poems, including the parts I did not read.

"This World Is Not My Home"
by Sun Ra

Is this a planet of life?
Then why do people die?
This is not life, this is death.
Can't you understand?

You're only dreaming.
You're not real here.
You're only dreaming
you did all the things
you did before you died

You're asleep.
Wake up before it's too late
and you die in a dream.

This world is not the real world.
It's all illusion. It's not real.
Can't you feel that this world is not real?
Someone cast a magic spell
on the people of planet Earth.

If you do right they put you in jail.
If you do wrong they put you in jail.
You can't win.
You got to do something else.
You got to get away from here.

You make death your master.
You're not free.
If you're free, why do you bow to death?
Is that what you mean by liberty?
Stop bowing down to your master called death.
If you're free, prove it.

Here's what it sounded like:

Cosmic Equation

Then another tomorrow
They never told me of
Came with the abruptness of a fiery dawn
And spoke of Cosmic Equations:
The equations of sight-similarity
The equations of sound-similarity
Subtle Living Equations
Clear only to those
Who wish to be attuned
To the vibrations of the Outer Cosmic Worlds.
Subtle living equations
of the outer-realms
Dear only to those
Who fervently wish the greater life

If I Told You

If I told you , “I am from outer space”,
You wouldn’t believe a word I said,
Would you? . . . Why should you?
You have lost your way . . . . . .
You should have nothing to say!
In some far off place
Many light years in space
I'll wait for you
Where human feet have never trod
Where human eyes have never seen
I'll build a world of abstract dreams
And wait for you

And yes, I introduced him as the Original Boogie-Woogie Starchild. Now what I want to seem is a full Ra set in somplace like Jimmy Mak's or the Goodfoot.

btw...He had me read this to the audience:

There will be things played on this piano tonight that no human being can play
You will hear sounds that could only have come from a different order of being
Some of you may actually experience being carried bodily into another dimension through the miracle of trans-molecurization
Some of it will seem strange, some of it may seem familiar -- and there is nothing stranger than the familiar.
You should be very cautious about looking directly into his eyes.

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BYE BYE SPOTTED CAT

It was a club up on Frenchman in New Orleans. I heard Washboard Chaz there for the first time. It closed not long ago and got a New Orleans funeral as a tribute.

Watch the Treme Brass Band:

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DAVID FRIESEN'S NEW DOUBLE CD OUT THIS WEEK

The great bass player's new album is called Five and Three...a quintet and a tro. He'll be at Jimmy Mak's with the quintet and Woodstock Wine and Deli this Friday and Saturday nights.
I'll have the radio interview I did with him on next week's blog.

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WE'RE ALL HANGING ON BY OUR FINGERNAILS, AND I BITE MINE

This just in from Artichoke Music. I'll let them tell the tale:

Yesterday we received a surprise in the mail from Judith Cook the founder of Artichoke Music. The package contained a large framed picture of the original Artichoke Logo and this photo of Judith in front of the original Artichoke Music store circa 1971.

This gift couldn't have come at a better time. It serves as a reminder of how far we've come and how incredibly important this place really is.

From the beginning of our time here we have felt a huge sense of responsiblity to be good stewards of this place we call Artichoke Music. In recent months we have had serious doubts if we were going to be able to keep the doors open. The combination of record breaking snows at Christmas and the economic downturn nearly brought us to our knees.

We are not out of the woods yet but are feeling a bit more optimistic. We have taken steps to help insure the survival of Artichoke. Last month we moved all of the operations of the school and the concert space back into the store. The non profit, Artichoke Community Music, is now a foundation. You won't experience anything different as a result of these changes but we believe this will help the store survive and will give us an even better way to expand on the non-profit mission of "preserving and promoting the folk music tradition".

Speaking of the Artichoke family, Kate Power and Steve Einhorn are doing Tuesdays at Airplay Café...a Happy Hour and Singalong. They warm up the audience with a happy hour set 6:30 and then the Singalong starts at 7:30. The house band is provided by Kate & Steve and friends…harmonica to strings, Players are welcome to play along from their seats.
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I DON'T WANT TO BORE YOU WITH IT BUT I'M HACKING AND HACKING AND HA-A-AKING

Yeah, the bug is still with me so here's something I played to make myself feel better.

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IF I SEEM DISTRACTED, I AM

I'm working on something big and I can't say what it is. Meanwhile, the rate of O assignments has gone up. Wish I could spend more time on this but………

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SO IN THE MEANTIME

While you're waiting for the Rose Festival to end and Spring to begin,listen to Joni sing Mingus:

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LOOKING FOR A WEEKLY SHOT OF MICKENS, CREATURE & COMPANY?

They've found a weekly home at Dante's and they're calling it Sideshow Speakeasy and subtitling it Bizarre Cabaret Revue. They say they are presenting Vaudevillian Freaks from Beyond the Barricades of Normalcy.

To wit, this week (and in their own words):

This week's guest stars…..recently seen as Tweedledum and Tweedledee in The Wonderland Circus
Russell Bruner and Scott Maxwell
THE MIGHTY MIGHTY ACROBATS!

and, representing The Portland Freak Underground:

ballroom burlesquers
SWINGTEASE
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.myspace.com/swingtease

prima contortionista
JACQUELINE C
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.myspace.com/huckleberryj

and
DINGO DIZMAL
clownhouse of ill repute
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.shmanarchy.blogspot.com

hosted by
WILLIAM BATTY and MR. CREATURE
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.myspace.com/noahmickens
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.myspace.com/nickthecreature

with our loyal house band
THE JUAN PROPHET ORGANIZATION
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.juanprophetorganization.com

Come Early For our
AMATEUR HOUR TALENT CONTEST
8pm - 9pm
Show us your stuff - it's an audition, an open mic, and a free gig
rolled into one!
All Performers Are Encouraged To Apply!

and Stay Late for a Freakshow Dance Party
spun by

DJ JIMME JAMMA
(Sick, Sissyboy, Delicious)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.myspace.com/jimme_pdx

And that's just this Wednesday.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

The Return of the Blogger, Kleenex In Hand

2009-05-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Cough cough hack hack sniffle grump growl. Somebody tell my body I've had enough of the flu, already.

How bad? I had tickets to Third Angle last Friday. I was sitting with a friend during a rare few moments out of the house in the past couple of weeks. She said, "You can't go, you're sick." I said ok, and coughed.

Monday I met with Lynne Clendenin, head of OPB radio. She's having one-on-ones with all the KMHD DJs prior to the move from Mt. Hood Community College. After the meeting, I went downstairs to say hello to my friend Spud Berry who took one look at me and said, "You look like shit."

That's how bad.

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IT'S OFFICIAL KMHD MOVES TO OPB IN JULY

Last week the Mt. Hood Community College board voted to take the deal. As of July 1, KMHD will be operated by OPB. Things got a little ugly toward the end, with a few disgruntled MHCC employees trying to fight the deal, and not doing a very good job, given that everyone knew their arguments were self-serving.

OPB is working out the details and hiring someone to run the station on a day-to-day basis. There is a newly built studio with a new-er board. It's still up in the air whether enough work will be done enough in the next seven weeks to actually begin broadcasting from OPB on July 1, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was sitting in the new studio on Saturday July 4. Unless they decide to not include me. Hey, it's broadcasting.

I know I speak for 90% of the DJs when I say that we all hope that Calvin Walker is included in the management of the station. There's no question that he was always on the side of common sense.

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Cough cough

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THE RETURN OF DAVID VEST---FRIDAY

David Vest, who you have read about and heard on this blog will be at Duff's Garage on Friday, May 22 with the Willing Victims and the Mythocratic Transformation Horns
plus special guest Chris Miller on guitar (formerly with Marcia Ball & Irma Thomas)
and other surprise guests!

Yes, doing some Sun Ra!

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TRY THIS WITH NEW EARS
I got hired at KCET TV in Los Angeles not long after this tune came out. I may have been the first guy to use it as a show theme. Subsequently, it got overused. Over and over and overused. Now it's a cliché. Listen tho, with new ears, and re-discover why everybody liked it.

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3 LEG TORSO AT CANNES

The 2009 short film "Walter Ate a Peanut," conceived and directed by Robin Willis (that's Willis not Williams)—and with an original score by our own 3 Leg Torso—has been accepted into the Short Film Corner at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It's also one of 10 finalists in two of the competitions within the festival: Amazon and The Film Board of Canada.

They tell me:

Based on a short story by Darrell Williams, "Walter Ate a Peanut" explores the complexity of relationships, the notion of truth, abuse, codependency and the strengths and liabilities of the family structure and generational resonances and patterns. It is, of course, a comedy.

Wanna see it?

The Legs will also be at Tony Starlight's (say what?) on Saturday, May 30. Everybody attending will get a free download of one song from their upcoming album. You boys.

Note to Courtney. How come I'm not playing it on the radio?

They'll also be playing with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony at its 35th Anniversary Concert at the Schnitz called It Came from Outer Space, featuring Gustav Holst's "The Planets" and a world premiere orchestral work composed and arranged by 3 Leg Torso artistic directors Courtney Von Drehle & Béla Balogh. 3 Leg Torso joins the MYS Symphony Orchestra for the premiere piece and other 3 Leg Torso symphonic arrangements.

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BAD OLD MOVIE, GOOD NEW SOUNDTRACK---LIVE

Take one really bad movie: Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space, one we never wanted to see again.

Delete: The audio

Add: A live performance of the soundtrack music by the Classical Revolution PDX string quartet and Sugar Short Wave.

Also add: Dialogue dubbed in the orchestra pit by a cast of voice actors from Willamette Radio workshop with sound effects and foley by Heather Perkins.

And you've got:

FILMUSIK: Plan 9 From Outer Space
May 27th and 29th, 7pm
Hollywood Theatre
www.filmusik.com

The result: I'm going.

Plus: On June 3 & 4 they'll be doing the same thing to Missle to the Moon

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Cough, cough. Pass the codeine, please.
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CATCHING UP
Next year I'll go to Jazzfest. Or die.

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CONGRATS BILL ROYSTON

He was nominated as a finalist in the 2009 TEXT Jazz Awards in the Events Producer of the Year category.

Winner announced in mid-June.

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DRAGGIN MY SICK ASS TO THE SECRET SOCIETY WEDNESDAY

Reporting on a story for the O on photog Brandy Kayzakian-Rowe as she shoots a recording session with Reggie Houston.

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BELATED HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY TO PETE SEEGER

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Cough, cough. Sniffle. Blow. Fall asleep at the computer. So I will soothe myself with some Ralph Towner

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playist from last Saturday Night 5-16-09

2009-05-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 McCoy Tyner Quartet/ Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit/ Live
10:10 Lisa Forkish/ Waiting/ Between You and Me
10:13 Art Ensemble of Chicago/ Tobago Tango/ Naked
10:25 Kenny Wheeler/ My New Hat/ It Takes Two!
10:33 David Ornette Cherry/ The Voice of Silence feat Don Cherry Pocket Trumpet sample from El Corazon/ Organic Journey
10:41 John Taylor/ Tramonto/ Rosslyn
10:48 Toque Libre/ Que Rico/ Toque Libre
10:51 M Hahadr/ Blue Morning Sunday/ Eclecticism
10:56 Allen Toussaint/ West End Blues/ The Bright Mississippi

11:04 Tim Wilcox/ Falling Down/ Sound Architecture
11:10 David Vest/ They Dwell On Other Planes & Love In Outer Space/ Live at the Paul deLay Scholarship benefit at the Aladdin unreleased
11:13 Burn Sugar The Archestra Chamber/ Love To Tical/ Making Love To the Dark Ages
11:19 Melvin Gibbs Elevated Entity/ Os Aguas-The Waters/ Ancients Speak
11:31 Janic Scroggins-Linda Hornbuckle/ Thirties Interlude/ Sista
11:40 George Russell/ Au Privave/ The Outer View
11:47 Harey Bauer & Orchestra/ Mr. Tambo & Mr. Bones/ Per-cus-sive Vaudeville
11:50 Montifiore Cocktail/ Tequila Bum Bum/ Far Out: Swinging Bachelor Pad Music
11:54 Rithma/ Champagne Time/ Upstairs at Larry's

THE BAR

12:06 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:10 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complee Imperial Collection
12:12 Dirty Red/ Muther Fuyer/ Urban Blues Vol. 1
12:14 Nathaniel Mayer/ I Wanna Dance With You/ I Just Want To Be Held
12:18 H-Bomb Ferguson/ Rock H-Bomb Rock/ best of
12:19 NW Blues Pianorama/ Lil Queenie/ unreleased
12:16 Champion Jack DuPree/ Shim Sham Shimmy/ Red Robin Presents
12:28 Johnny Otis/ Shake It Lucy Baby/ Rock N Roll Revue
12:36 Firesign Theater/ Unconcious Village/ Give Me Immortality Or Give Me Death
12:38 Curtis Mayfield/ Love Me (Right In the Pocket) Got To Find a Way
12:45 Greyboy All-Stars feat Sharon Jones/ Got To Be Love/ best of
12:48 Excellent Gentlemen/ Vote for Love/ Just Say Yes
12:52 James Brown/ Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine/ Essential Funk
12:55 MFSB/ TSOP/ best of Gamble and Huff

1:03 Firesign Theater/ Ralph Spoilsport's Going Out of Body Sale/ Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death
1:04 Pointer Sisters/ Betcha Got a Chick On the Side/ best of
1:11 Stevie Wonder/ Supersitition/ Talking Book
1:15 Tabu Ley Rochereau et M'Bilia Bel/ Loyenge/ Loyenge
1:23 Marvin Gaye/ Stubborn Kinda Fella/ Every Great Motown Hit
1:25 Albert King, Steve Cropper, Pops Staples/ Trashy Dog/ Jammed Together
1:28 Spinners/ Living Just a Little, Laughing Just a Little/ Live
1:34 OV Wright/ Gone For Good/ Gone For Good
1:37 Percy Mayfield/ Please Send Me Someone To Love/ Walking On a Tightrope
1:39 Luigi Tenco/ Quello Che Conta/ Cante Morricone
1:42 Ennio Morricone/ Love Theme/ Cinema Paradiso
1:46 Stephanie Schniederman/ Dangerous Fruit/ same
1:50 Anita Baker/ One To Blame/ Compositions
1:54 Sam Cooke/ Lost and Lookin'/ Night Beat
1:56 Ennio Morricone/ Maturity/ Cinema Paradiso

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 5/9/09

2009-05-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

My regular weekly blog post will resume next week.

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Mark Hanson / Brother Can You Spare a Dime/ Great American Songbook for Guitar
10:06 Cynthia Jones/ Slave To Love/ Cynthia Jones & the West Coast Nightlights
10:11 Miles Davis/ Mood/ E.S.P.
10:20 Allen Toussaint/ Beautiful Mississippi/ same
10:27 Randy Porter/ Thirsty Soul/ same
10:31 John Hassell/ Courtals/ Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In the Street
10:37 Damien Erskine/ Mirage/ Trios
10:46 Gary Burton/ Vibrafinger/ Psychedelic Jazz & Soul
10:53 Wayne Horvitz Sweeter Than the Day/ Love Love Love/ Live at Goodfoot Lounge 1/31/09 unreleased

11:02 M. Nahadr/ I Don't Know Why/ Eclecticism
11:07 Leon Thomas/ Bag's Groove/ The Leon Thomas Album
11:10 Vagabond Opera/ Russian Jazz Waltz/ The Zeitgeist Beckons
11:16 Chicago Jazz Philharmonic/ Vice Versa/ Collective Creativity
11:27 Venissa Santi/ Tender Shepherd and Little Girl Blue/ Bienvenidos
11:31 Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber/ Thorazine & 81/ Making Love to the Dark Ages
11:40 Nina Simone/ Take Me to the River/ High Priestess of Soul
11:42 Art Tatum/ All God's Children Got Rhythm/ The Shout
11:47 Lorainne Bowen/ Julie Christie/ Far Out: Swinging Bachelor Pad Music
11:50 Camp Galore/ Bill Bailey/ Deco Disco
11:53 Esquivel/ Jesusita en Chihuahua/ Latin-Esque
11:56 Monkey Bars/ Baby Elephant Walk/ Upstairs at Larry's

THE BAR
12:07 Tom Waits/ The Piano has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:10 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:12 Fascinators/ Fried Chicken & Macaroni/ Getting Silly
12:14 John Lee Hooker/ I Don't Want Your Money/ Blues For Big Town
12:18 Champion Jack DuPree/ Bad Blood DuPree/ Blues from the Gutter
12:22 Chris Kenner/ Don't Pin that Charge On Me/ best of
12:25 Cow Cow Davenport/ Cow Cow Boogie/ Roll Em Boogie Woogie
12:28 Speckled Red/ The Dirty Dozen No. 1/ Rude Dudes
12:31 Wynonie Harris/ Wasn't That Good/ Risque Rhythm
12:33 Big Jay McNeely/ All That Wine Is Gone/ Atomic Cocktail
12:36 Buster Brown/ Fannie Mae/ best of
12:36 Henry Gray/ Don't Start That Stuff/ same
12:52 Bonerama/ Hard Times/ single
12:59 Excellent Gentlemen/ Get Down Baby/ Just Say Yes

1:03 Ruffin & Kendricks/ It's a Family Affair/ Ruffin & Kendricks
1:07 Isley Brothers/ Who Loves You Better?/ Harvest for the World
1:13 New Orleans Social Club/ Lovin' You Is On My Mind/ Sing Me Back Home
1:18 Chi-Lites/ Have You Seen Her?/ For God's Sake
1:23 Del-Fonics/ La La Means I Love You/ best of
1:29 James Brown/ My Part—Make It Funky Pts 3&4/ Get On the Good Foot
1:34 Bar-Kays/ Soul Finger/ Instrumental Funk
1:36 Ike & Tina Turner/ Nutbush City Limits/ Non-Stop 70s Party
1:41 Quadraphonnes/ Glass Saxophone Quartet Mvt 1/ Music To Watch Girls By
1:47 Phillip Glass/ Forgetting/ Songs for Liquid Days
1:55 Rachel Taylor Brown/ Giovanni Bernadone (St. Francis)/ Susan Storm's Ugly Sister

The Flu Done Got Me

2009-05-12T13:37:00.001-07:00

Be back next week---5/20

Out Sick This Week

2009-05-09T21:36:00.001-07:00

Sorry.

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 5/2/09

2009-05-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Red Holloway/ I Like It Funky/ Go Red Go
10:07 Venissa Smith/ Wish You Well/ Bienvenida
10:11 Ben Darwish/ Ode To Consumerism/ same
10:19 Allen Toussaint/ Egyptian Fantasy/ Bright Missisippi
10:28 Mike Doolin & David Martin/ 3 Up 3 Down/ Reflection
10:34 David Vest & the Willing Victims/ They Dwell on Other Planes—Love In Outer Space/ unreleased Live at Paul deLay Scholarship Benefit
10:38 Burnt Sugar/ Love To Tical/ Arkestra Chamber
10:44 M. Nahadr/ Pass It On/ Eclecticism
10:51 Quardraphonnes/ Tango Suite Mvt. II/ Music To Watch Girls By

11:02 Belinda Underwood/ Blue Gardenia/ Greenspace
11:06 Jessica Lurie Ensemble/ Anthem/ Street of Wild Dreams
11:12 Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra/ Viper Song/ We Are MTO
11:20 Benny Carter/ Ruby/ 3,4,5 The Verve Small Group Sessions
11:28 Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy/ Blueberry Hill/ Avant-Pop
11:33 Andrew Oliver Kora Band/ Kaira/ Just 4 U
11:38 Phillip Glass & Foday Musa Suso/ Spring Waterfall/ Jali Kunda
11:45 On Ka'a Davis w/ Famous Original Djuke Musicians Playing/ Yea Yea/ Seeds of Djuke
11:52 Esquivel/ Mucha Muchacha/ Latin-Esque
11:54 Italian Secret Service/ Take On/ Far Out: Swinging Bachelor Pad Music

THE BAR

12:03 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:06 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:09 Barrellhouse Annie/ If It Don't Fit Don't Force It (his key)/ Rude Dudes
12:11 The Five Royales/ Women About to Make Me Crazy/ Anthology
12:14 Champion Jack DuPree/ Drunk Again/ Red Robin Presents
12:17 Bob Dylan/ My Wife's Home Town/ Together Through Life
12:22 Paul Oscher/ Dirty Dealin Mama/ The Deep Blues of
12:27 Ruth Brown/ Hello Little Boy/ Step It Up and Go
12:29 Hunter & Jenkins/ Lollypop/ Rude Dudes
12:36 Soul Vaccination/ Will It Go Round In Circles/ Souled Out at Jimmy Mak's
12:40 Tower of Power/ What Is Hip?/ Tower of Power
12:45 George Soule/ Take a Ride/ Southern Soul Sound
12:48 Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings/ Pick It Up, Lay It In the Cut/ Dap Dippin'
12:52 Parliament/ Give Up the Funk/ (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)/ greatest hits
12:55 The Meters/ People Say/ Live at Jazzfest 2005

1:12 Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk/ Scrape/ Live at Jazzfest 2005
1:29 The Meters/ Cardova + medley/ Live at Jazzfest 2005
1:33 Neville Brothers/ Tell It Like It Is/ Live at Jazzfest 2005
1:37 Dr. John feat Mavis Staples/ When the Saints Go Marching In/ Nawlunz: Dis Dat or D'udda
1:45 Isley Brothers/ Harvest For the World (Pts 1&2)/ same
1:51 Vagabond Opera/ Goodnight Moon/ The Zeitgiest Beckons

Lots To Look At and Listen To, Not Much News...Amuse Yourself

2009-04-30T13:00:00.001-07:00

Stop me if you've seen this before. I mean it's only been seen nearly ten million times, but just in case you haven't:

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HERE'S A TRACK FROM THE NEW VAGABOND OPERA ALBUM

I have a story in the O next Friday. Their CD release is next Saturday, May 9 at Mississippi Studios.

The album is The Zeitgeist Beckons. This is Eric Stern's Goodnight Moon

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THE SEWICKLEY'S ROBBERY STORY…ACCORDING TO JEN LANE

I was standing around outside the Mt. Tabor during the Bridgetown Comedy Festival's opening schmooze. I'll go anywhere for free pizza. BarFly Magazine's Jen Lane was there to help Andy Wood be organized. She told the story of the recent robbery at one of her favorite bars, Sewickley's.

Apparently the ex-cleanup guy hid in a closet after the bar closed so he could rob the place. He waited till the doors were locked and he thought the place was his but when he came out of the closet, he found that the gambling machines he wanted to robbed were gone. So the crowbar he wanted to open them with was no good.

What's a robber to do? Just then he noticed the current cleanup guy was sitting at the bar. My memory is a little fuzzy on the rest of the details, except for the fact that he came into the same bar the next day. The management, having been told that he had been in the place to rob it the night before, called the cops. The poor schmuck still had the tools on him.

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INDUSTRIAL JAZZ GROUP'S STIMULUS PROGRAM MUSIC

And now, Andrew Durkin with the news:

We actually introduced this at our New Year's Eve show this past December. What can I say? The real-world context has become more dire in the ensuing months, and so I ended up putting together something that has a certain melodramatic flair. Not sure if that's good or bad.

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SEEN:

Belinda Underwood (singer/bassist/composer/sister to Melissa) vampy but not trampy at the Heathman with Steve Christofferson.

Norweigan avant-smashers The Thing at Backspace reminding me of being in a dirty Manhattan bar in 1986 and watching John Zorn's sonic screaming.

Little-known sax player Malcolm Lewis leading a soul/jazz/funk/hip-hop band at The Report and carrying it off. Here he is practicing with E-Li-Jah:

Malcolm Lewis, E-Li-Jah OkeeDoke Sax Prt.

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A COUPLE GO SEES

David Friesen and Greg Goebel Friday May 1st 9pm Camellia Lounge

Goodfoot All-Stars James Brown Tribute Show at Goodfoot Lounge, Saturday, May 2 at 10:00pm

Pass the Mic…local pros and up and coming performers at Kennedy School Thursday April 28…free and all ages.
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DON CHERRY AND SONNY ROLLINS

52nd Street Theme just for the hell of it:

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FULLA VIDS THIS WEEK, IN LIEU OF REAL ITEMS

John Stowell & Tim Lerch playing in Seattle on the 17th. The tune is Gentle Rain.

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SORRY SO SHORT AGAIN

Couldn't be helped.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 4/25/09

2009-04-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monolgue
10:02 Cynthia Jones/ Up from the Skies/ Cynthia Jones & the West Coast Nighlights
10:04 Damien Erskine/ Steps/ Trios
10:10 McCoy Tyner/ Blues on the Corner/ Guitars
10: 16 Bill Henderson/ Never Make Your Move/ Live at the Vic
10:24 Thara Memory/ Drum Suite: Little Girl Blue
10:29 Jm Pepper &Mal Waldron/ Good Bait/ Me Art of the Duo
10:36 Allen Toussaint/ Winin' Boy Blues/ The Bright Mississippi
10:46 Marco Benevento/ Golden/ Me Not Me
10:51 Jacob Fred Jazz Oddesy/ Earl Hines/ Winterwood
10:58 Ken Ollis/ Respite March/ Confluence

11:04 David Ornette Cherry/ Organic Music Society/ Organic Journey
11:06 Ali Jackson/ Wheelz Keep Rollin'/same
11:13 Dr. Michael White/ London Canal Breakdown/ Blue Crescent
11:16 Graj Mahal/ Upstairs at Tipitina's/ Woot!
11:23 John Scofield/ Something's Got a Hold On Me/ Piety Street
11:32 Tony Malaby/ Obambo/ Paloma Recia
11:37 Reptet/ Chicken or Beef?/ same
11:48 China Boy (Go Sleep)/ Lenny Dee/ Cocktail Mix Vol. 1
11:51 Esquival/ Anna/ Infinity In Sound Vol .2
11:54 Leon Redbone/ Up a Lazy River/same

THE BAR

12:03 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/Small Change
12:07 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:09 Andre Williams/ Pass the Biscuits/ single
12:11 Champion Jack DuPree/ Cut Down On My Overhead/ CDP & his Blues Band
12:14 Howlin Wolf/ Moanin' At Midinght/ Howlin Wolf Album
12:18 Charles Brown/ Hard Times/ Lieber & Stoller Story
12:21 Sunnyland Slim/ Recession Blues/ Chicago Ain't Nothin but the Blues
12:23 Andre Williams/ Bacon Fat/ single
12:27 Clarence Reid/ Give Me Back My Money/ Dancin with Nobody But You Babe
12:29 Jerry McCain/ My New Next Door Neighbors/ Boogie Is My Name
12:32 Del Raney's Umbrellas/ Can Your Hossie Do the Dog?/ single
12:34 Louisiana Red/ Sweet Leg Girl/ Back to the Black Bayou
12:42 James Brown/ You've Got the Power/ Think
12:45 Tina Britt/ A Hawg For You/ Blue All the Way
12:48 The Mirettes/ Sister Watch Yourself/ Whilpool
12:51 Ruffin & Kendricks/ It's a Family Affair/ Ruffin & Kendricks
12:56 Joe Tex/ Skinny Legs & All/ best of

1:01 Don Byron/ (I'm A) Road Runner/ Do the Boomerang
1:04 Thievery Corporation/ Numbers Game feat Chuck Brown/ Radio Retaliation
1:07 Betty Wright/ It's Hard to Stop Doing Something When It's Good/ Hard To Stop
1:11 Meters/ A Message from the Meters/ best of
1:12 Meters/ Do the Dirt/ best of
1:15 Meters/ Look-a-Py-Py/ best of
1:18 Allen Toussaint/ Louie/ Voodoo Soul
1:21 Lee Dorsey/ Sneakin' Sally Thru the Alley/Yes We Can
1:24 Albert King/ We All Wanna Boogie/ New Orleans Heat
1:27 John Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen/ Let the Gentlemen Do Their Thing
1:35 Mavis Staples/ Endlessly/ Only for the Lonely
1:41 Jill Scott/ Love Rain feat Mos Def/ Collaborations
1:46 Same Cooke/ It's Allright & Sentimental Reasons/ Live
1:51 Vagabond Opera/ Goodnight Moon/ The Zeitgeist Beckons

How We Get Money for the Arts...My Bad Boy DJ Night,....and not much else.

2009-04-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

While listening to Ace of Base singing It's a Beautiful Life

OK, I'm kidding.

In '96, just before I came to Portland, when I was living in Baltimore and the career wasn't doing well, I had taken a job as a wedding/corporate/party DJ. I needed the dough so I put up with the humilation of having to wear a polyester tux and red bow tie and cumberbund. I had also grown my hair to my shoulders.

Among my duties included teaching the Macarena and leading the Chicken Dance. It's a Beautiful Life had just come out and of course, I had to play it…and act like I was enjoying it.

I was playing a house party in somebody's mansion and set up in a balcony overlooking the swank living room. I made the mistake of taking my new gf with me on the gig. We were at the can't-keep-your-hands-off-each-other stage and naturally we couldn't keep our hands off each other.

In addition, I found later, the customers below could see more than I thought they could see and apparently were Ace of Base fans. This fact alone would have been enough for me to act up. Remember, by that time I had had my work in front of millions of people, and here I was playing shitty pop tunes for rich assholes.

The fooling around was bad enough, but when I played It's a Beautiful Life, perhaps the nadir of that kind of song, I performed a hilarous lip-sync of the song for my gf. The gf got hysterical.

The DJ boss called me on Monday and told me he had to refund the money and wouldn't pay me for the gig. He kept me on tho.

Such a dream, whoa-ah-ohh-ohhh
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THE FUTURE OF ARTS FUNDING IN THE PORTLAND METRO AREA, FOR REAL

The Mayor, several politicians, arts organization heads and Thomas Lauderdale were on stage at PCS last week for a couple hours of talking strategy with a full house. What's most shocking is how little public funding the arts gets here in comparison with other states.
There is plan for fixing that. Here's the whole hearing. I wish I could have had the oppourtunity to FF through the dull parts, but you do.

Creative Capacity Town Hall from Mayor Sam Adams on Vimeo.

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ONE OF THESE DAYS PORTLAND IS GOING TO LOOK BACK AT THESE PRODUCTIONS, MARVEL AT THEIR EXCELLENCE AND WONDER JUST HOW THE HELL THEY DID IT

You know what, this doesn't need any embellishment from me. Just go.

The Wonderland Circus
A mad tea-party spectacle relating the adventures of Alice. Fridays and Saturdays
April 24th & 25th & May 1st & 2nd at The Bossanova Ballroom

To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said
‘I’ve a sceptre in hand, I’ve a crown on my head;
Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be,
Come and dine with the Red Qeen, the White Queen, and me!’

With a Cast of the Finest Acrobats, Jugglers, Dancers, and Musicians Any World Has Ever Known with live musical score by The Trashcan Joe Orchestra featuring Shoehorn, And, Representing the Wanderlust Circus:

JESSICA HOAGE as Alice, KAZUM as The Card Army, The AWOL DANCE COLLECTIVE, LEAPIN' LOUIE LICHTENSTEIN as The White Rabbit, SID SIMPATICO , J'MIAH , & SCARLETT ROSE of March Fourth Marching Band,CHERRY as The Queen of Hearts, CHARLIE BROWN as The White Knight and The Walrus, HENRIK BOTHE as The Red Knight and The Carpenter, SADIE LaGUERRE as The Red Queen, TANA THE TATTOOED LADY as The White Queen, J LIEBER as The March Hare, TOMMY TWIMBLE as The Doormouse, MR. CREATURE as The Caterpillar, KEPH SHERIN as The Cheshire Cat,

and
WILLIAM BATTY (Noah Mickens) as The Mad Hatter

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. MINGUS

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PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOU'RE MUSICAL PLEASURE IS

Ben Darwish writes:

I have new info regarding Progression, the session I host every last Sunday at Someday Lounge. I started it because I wanted a place for musicians to culminate and play new and improvised music; a departure from "standard" jam sessions. We've had some really good nights but the last couple months have been thin as far as turnout goes. Progression only happens once a month-- not every week like most jam sessions. That's why we always need a good turnout and an enthusiastic group of people willing to make this commitment. If the turnout this month is short of spectacular, we won't be able to continue the session! So mark your calendars for April 26th and keep the scene alive!

If you've never been, please come and watch before you ask to sit in. The music is sometimes very advanced and while I will give everyone a chance, they may not always be invited back. This is not meant to discourage you from coming, but rather a way to motivate you to get better.

This is not only an event for the performers but also for the music enthusiast. So come hang out and enjoy the music!

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ATTENTION ROOTS ROCKERS

Artist/musican Ron Rogers' band the Atonements will be playing the Aladdin Theater Friday April 24th at 8PM, doing an opening set for Texan James McMurtry and theHeartless Bastards. James is an award winning Americana artist and songwriter. In 2007 he won best album, Childish Things, and song, We Can't Make It Here, at the Americana Music Awards in Nashville.

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APPOLOGY :

Sorry this is so short. Once I'm able to tell you about the project I'm working on, you'll know why.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 4-18-09

2009-04-21T14:30:00.001-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Venissa Santi/ Talkin' To You/ Bienvenida
10:05 Straight No Chaser feat Jimmy Ford & David Vest/ Anthropology/ unreleased
10:11 Andrew Oliver's Kora Band/ Fanta Theme/ Just 4 U
10:17 Fly/ Sky & Country/ same
10:28 Bill Henderson/ Royal Garden Blues/ Live at the Vic
10:32 Mike Doolin & Davie Martin/ Sumb Thumb/ Reflection
10:37 World Sax Quartet/ You Don't Know Me/ Breath of Life
10:45 Quadraphonnes/4951 Walnut/ Music to Watch Girls By
10:52 Toque Libre/ Creame/ unreleased
10:56 Rachel Taylor Brown/ Bruce Wayne's Bastard Son/ Susan Storm's Ugly Sister

11:00 John Hassell/ Last Night the Moon Came…/ same
11:09 Diana Krall/ Quiet Nights/ same
11:13 David Ornette Cherry/ Pick Up My Life/ Organic Journey
11:25 Sound for the Organization of Society/ Thirty Sox/Ode to 69/ Poem of the Underground
11:32 Industrial Jazz Group/ Theme from the City of Angles/ City of Angles
11:36 Amadi & Miriam/ Ja Te Kipfe/ Welcome to Mali
11:41 Conjure/ Minnie the Moocher/ Cab Callaway Stands In for the Moon
11:45 Bob Thompson/ Early-Bird Whirly-Bird/ Cocktail Mix Vol.1
11:48 Edmundo Ros/ Old ManRiver (Mambo)/ Porgy & Bess & Showboat
11:56 Esquivel/ Speak Low/ Other Worlds, Other Sounds

THE BAR
12:04 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:08 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:10 Champion Jack DuPree/ Under Your Hood/ CJD & his Blues Band
12:14 Doctor Red/ Boogie Disease #2/ Savage Kick
12:17 Andre Williams/ Mother Fuyer/ Greasy
12:18 H-Bomb Ferguson/ Bookie's Blues/ Blues Again
12:10 Travis "Moonchild" Haddix/ Problem With That/ Milk & Break
12:23 Shirley Johnson/ Take Your Foot Off My Back/ Blues Attack
12:32 James Brown/ Think/ same
12:34 Joe Tex/ I Gotcha!/ greatest hits
12:36 AWB/ Pick Up the Pieces/ Instrumental Hits
12:39 The Meters/ Pungee/ Fundamentally Funky
12:42 Thievery Corporation feat Chuck Brown/ The Numbers Game/ Radio Retaliation
12:46 Brass Construction/ Movin' On/ Instrumental Hits
12:49 Ike & Tina Turner/ What You Don't See (Is Better Yet)/ Nuff Said
12:52 Sly & the Family Stone/ Let Me Have It All/ Fresh
12:58 Isley Brothers/ Liquid Love/ Family Funk

1:03 Impressions/ Keep On Pushing/ same
1:06 Al Green feat Anthony Hamilton/ Lay It Down/ same
1:10 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes/ If You Don't Know Me by Now/ 1972
1:13 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell/ Ain't No Mountain High Enough/ Ultimate Motown Remix Project
1:22 Isaac Hayes & Dionne Warwick/ Medley/ A Man and a Woman
1:36 Gnarls Barkley/ Crazy/ St. Elsewhere
1:43 Vagabond Opera/ Welcome to the Opera/ The Zeitgeist Beckons
1:46 Raymond Scott/ Space Mystery/ Manhattan
1:47 David Byrne & Brian Eno/ America is Waiting/ My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
1:51 Tom Waits/ Heart Attack & Vine/ same
1:56 Rachel Taylor Brown/ Ambush/Reduviidae/ Susan Storm's Ugly Sister

Blues Festival's Headliners, Hear Phil Baker 's Interview and a Track from Rachel Taylor Brown's New Album

2009-04-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

While listening to Tina Britt from her long lost album Blue All the Way from 1968. Very little info on her. Nobody seems to know where she is. Appears to have been spotted in the recent past at age 67. Even Wikipedia and Allmusic.com have virtually nothing. Nice soul album tho.

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ETTA JAMES AND SHARON JONES TO CAUSE WILLAMETTE TSUNAMI AT THE 2009 WATERFRONT BLUES FESTIVAL

If your heart can take it, those two will be among the headliners at the summer's party at the rive, July 2-5. Johnny Winter, Magic Slim and the Teardropw, Sonny Landreth, Robben Ford, Geno Delafose and many others….despite not having the resources it had before the crash.

I will be in the front row….unless I'm MCing for (hint hint)… the Battle of the Bones, two New Orleans bands dominated by trombones (duh). Mark Mullins and Bonerama AND Big Sam's Funky Nation. Sam used to be with the Dirty Dozen.

I'll never forget seeing Bonerama at Tipitina's and Big Sam at the Funky Butt on Rampart St. (he used to own that club with his sister).

Don't forget, it's a benefit for the Oregon Food Bank.

Can it be tomorrow, please

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RACHEL TAYLOR BROWN IS GOING TO BLOW YOUR MIND….AGAIN

Her new album, Susan Storm's Ugly Sister and Other Saints and Superheroes won't be out till June but I thought you'd like to hear a track from it. BTW, Susan Storm is the superhero, not to be confused with Portland's superhero Susan Storm Large.

Rachel says, "june 7, mississippi studios: me & my band plus extra special backup guests, roxy consort & oregon renaissance band...and filling out the bill most excellently, ages (tim perry's new band) and leigh marble. there will be chairs! chairs for every bottom! and also $5 cds."

Here's Gionvanni Bernardone (St. Francis):

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE DAY

Saturday is Music Millennium's 2nd Annual Record Store Day and they say it will be more fun that last years! They're going to have over 100 special limited releases for sale including Dylan, Blitzen Trapper, Pretenders, Leonard Cohen.

They will be giving a free gift bag of music to all who attend plus free refreshments. We love that free thing. Queensryche will be signing at noon and there will be a preview of the new Bob Dylan at 2pm. Mary Flower and Lloyd Jones perform live for the first time at 3pm. Paula Sinclair celebrates the release of her new CD with a performance at 5pm.

What's not to like? 10am till 10pm.

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THOMAS LAUDERDALE WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW THAT PM'S BASSIST PHIL BAKER DID NOT SPILL A SINGLE BEAN ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM ON MY KMHD SHOW

But you can hear what he did say right here:

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YOU WON'T FIND ANY BETTER PLAYING THIS WEEKEND THAN THIS

Gordon Lee's Rough jazz and Andew Oliver's Sextet will be at Jimmy Mak's on Friday. And just 10 bucks. Trust me on this. Get reservations.

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NOTHING NEW ON THE KMHD FRONT BUT………..

I know I was taking a chance writing about how dysfunctional the station has been, and I hesitate to say this, but I'm very grateful for the comments, emails, tweets, facebook messages and face-to-face conversations (they still happen). Not a single one has been negative. Thanks for your support of the issue. I am especially grateful for the musicians who have come up to me and shaken my hand and thanked me for writing it.

People really care about this stuff.

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WHY THE SPIRIT OF NEW ORLEANS WILL NEVER DIE

The description: Glenn David Andrews leads friends in an open jam. If you had a drum. you would have been invited to play.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 4/11/09

2009-04-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

10:00 PM Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 PM Jarrett, DeJohnette, Peacock/ Shaw Nuff/ Yesterdays
10:05 PM Drew Shoals/ Friendly Fire/ The Greatest Haven't Been Born Yet
10:12 PM Phil Baker/ Tippin'/ After Hours
10:17 PHIL BAKER INTERVIEW
10:22 PM Pink Martini/ Cante e Dance/ Hey Eugene!
PHIL BAKER SET
10:33 PM Joni Mitchell/ The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines/ Shadows and Light
10:38 PM Wayne Shorter/ Lilia/ Native Dancer
10:46 PM Weather Report/ In a Silent Way/ 8:30
10:49 PM Miles Davis/ In a Silent Way/ In a Silent Way

11:11 PM Andrew Oliver Kora Band/ The Funnell and the Vaccuum Cleaner/ Just 4 U 11:16 PM Salif Keita/ Madan/
11:21 PM Toque Libre/ Marinela/ ReverbNation/ unreleased
11:29 PM Oregon/ Catching Up/ 1000 Kilometers
11:37 PM Imogen Heap/ Hide and Seek
11:42 PM Vagabond Opera/ Tango Till You're Sore/ The Zeitgeist Bekons
11:50 PM David Carroll/ Hell's Bells/ Cocktail Mix Vol.1
11:53 PM Esquivel/ Spellbound/ Exploring New Sounds in Stereo
11:56 PM Smitty/ Blue Velvet/ Upstairs at Larry's

12:08 AM Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:10 AM Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:12 AM Bull Moose Jackson/ Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me/ Big Fat Mamas are Back in Style
12:15 AM Wynonie Harris/ Shake that Thing/ Gabes Dirty Blues
12:18 AM Champion Jack DuPree/ Shim Sham Shimmy/ Red Robin Presents
12:20 AM The Toppers/ (I Love to Play the Piano) Let Me Bang Your Box/ Risque Rhythm
12:23 AM Freddy King/ Use What You Got/ Gabe's Dirty Blues
12:25 AM The Swallows/ It Ain't the Meat/ Risque Rhythm
12:28 AM Eddie Vinson/ Featherbed Mama/ Battle of the Blues
12:31 AM Bull Moose Jackson/ Big Fat Mamas are Back In Style Again/ same
12:34 AM Franie Ford/ Roberta/ best of
12:39 AM The Beginning of the End/ Funky Nassau Part 1/ Heavy Soul
12:43 AM Fabulous Counts/ Dirty Red/ Jan Jan
12:44 AM Tina Britt/ Sookie Sookie/ Blue All the Way
12:48 AM Betty Wright/ If You Think You Got Soul/ Hard To Stop
12:50 AM Brothers Johnson/ Get the Funk Out My Face/ best of
12:52 AM Andre Williams. The Dealer, ThePeeler and the Stealer/ Black Godfather

1:00 AM Liquid Soul/ Soul/ Evolution
1:03 AM James Brown/ Super Bad/ Soul 1970
1:07 AM Grandmaster Flash/ The Message/ same
1:13 AM Parliament/ P Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)/ Uncut Funk
1:19 AM People's Choice/ Do It Anyway You Wanna/ Best of Gamble and Huff
1:23 AM Gap Band/ Oops Up Side Your Head/ Essential Funk
1:26 AM Meters/ Keep On Marching/ Fundamentally Funky
1:29 AM Marvin Gaye/ Got to Give It Up (Pt. 1)/ Every Great Motown Hit
1:33 AM The Spinners/ Mighty Love/ Spinners Live
1:43 AM Phillip Glass/ Changing Opinion/ Songs from Liquid Days
1:53 AM Rachel Taylor Brown/ Giovanni Berardone (St. Francis)/ Susan Storm's Ugly Sister

A Few Thoughts on My Last Post on KMHD

2009-04-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

First of all, thanks for all the emails and calls and comments about the last KMHD post.

I wanted to add that there are reasons why the KMHD DJs kept this in the family. Believe me, many times I've wanted to write the last post but I didn't for these reasons:

ONE:

I didn't want to jepardize the station fund raising. Around 75% of the operating funds for KMHD come from listeners. If I had blown the whistle on the scandal of how the music was not getting to us, I was afraid that listeners would stop pledging.

Since the DJs were taking care of business on our own (many of us deal directly with labels and distributors), any reduction in funds from our listeners could have seriously harmed the existence of the station.

Once OPB takes over operations, not only won't that be a concern, but I believe the good things that OPB brings to the station will actually help fund raising.

TWO:

At the Mt Hood Community College board meeting last Wednesday, several DJs spoke out about how badly the station was run, how the paid staff (with the exception of Calvin Walker) was incompetent, disrespectful to and and at odds with the DJs.

This seemed to shock those in the room who were unaware of the situation at the station. The college president and JoAnn Zahn knew and, although I can't confirm it, I'm pretty sure it's why they took the station in the direction of OPB.

So now that the DJs publicly opened the door to the issue, I proceeded with the story.

Even though one KMHD DJ, commenting on my last post, said that this wasn't news and that everybody already knew it, he is dead wrong. When I told several music industry insiders in Portland about it, people who know what's what, they were shocked.

Should we have raised these issues before. Maybe, maybe not. Since at least two of the staff jobs are union protected, and two former general managers were unable to oust Gomez, most likely nothing would have been done to fix the problem.

It was risky on my part to write that last post, but I think you expect that from me.

The Shocking KMHD Story You've Never Heard

2009-04-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks I've hinted around about KMHD's "toxic assests." Now I will let you know why the vast majority of KMHD DJs are in favor of the move to OPB.

The number one toxic asset is Greg Gomez, KMHD's music director, often called "music preventor." His job is to have a good relationship with labels worldwide and musicians here in Oregon; to make sure he gets everything that's released in the jazz and blues world, listen to it and then make available to the DJ's the new albums he deems the station should play. After a suitable period in the "New Releases" shelves in the studio, his job is to add albums to the station studio library and the computer database so DJ’s can find them on the shelves.

These things he has not done.

Two of his biggest failures are keeping the station library stocked with music and not just having poor relationships with jazz labels, but having hostile ones.

The fact is that over two years went by without Gomez adding even ONE album to the station library.

I know that sounds unbelievable. Believe it. Below you will read his own admission of that fact.

When I started at KMHD in April of 2007 I assumed that when he removed albums from the "New Releases" shelves a percentage of them would be added to the library, at least the ones deserving. For instance, Portland trombonist Stan Bock had a wonderful new album in the new release shelf when I arrived at KMHD. After a month or so, it disappeared and never showed up in the main library. I kept wondering why.

Not long after I got there I was unable to find a lot of albums I knew had come out in the past year or so. I never understood why. I searched for the Grammy-nominated album by Portland's Nancy King and pianist Fred Hersch. It wasn't in the library…a year after its release. After talking with several DJs, I found out that there had been no new additions since 2006.

Yeah, it blew my mind.

A DJ told me, "Oh, I think he just keeps them in his office."

Just before last year's Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, I found Gomez had put some festival-related albums for airplay in a box in the studio. When I went through it , I found the Nancy King album, with the new release sticker still on the cover.

I began to inquire why it was in that box and not in the library and available for us to play

There is a KMHD email listerv, pretty much the only way KMHD DJs can communicate since, with the exception of Calvin Walker, Gomez and Mary Burlingame kept their distance, never communicating on any meaningful level. On August 6, 2008, I sent this:

Is there a good reason why the Nancy King/Fred Hersch album was not available to us for nearly two years and then suddenly showed up in the MHJF box? It was released in 2006, and according to your email, after three months was locked away in your office and unavailable for us to play.

I think we're interested in how your department works.

I don't have to go into detail about what a treasure Nancy King is, or how wonderful the album is. Is the fact that it has never been added an indication that you do not agree that it is worthy?

Many times, I've perused the library on a Saturday night wanting to play Nancy's album only to find it not there. I wondered if it had been stolen. I assumed it had been stolen because it's inconceivable to me that it wouldn't have been added to the library. When the original NR copy, with the playdate sticker on the front, turned up in the MHJF box I was astonished. I remain astonished.

Is Stan Bock's fine album also locked in your office? What will become of Thara Memory's? What others are also unavailable?

You have not addressed why this and many other albums are locked in your office, and why so few have been added to the library.

Is there a list of those albums released in the past couple of years which you placed in NR but which have or have not been added to the library?

On August 9, Gomez wrote this astounding reply:

We’ve all heard the term multi-tasking and I think it’s great that people can do this. At times I find myself even doing two or three things at once, but rarely, because I am more of a prioritizing kind of person. Please understand that in the entire seventeen plus years that I have been working here at KMHD there has never been a shortage of things to do in the area of music. To be a Music Director at a radio station and to be an employee of a radio station the size of KMHD (and please realize that some stations of similar size enjoy a much larger paid staff, thus the work gets spread out so that one person is not singly responsible for the flow of work) means that one will never be truly caught up with all the work. Also, to work in radio is to realize that priorities will change on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. There’s nothing like starting the day thinking you’re going to dive into this project or that project and then you receive an email or phone call asking for your immediate attention on something entirely new.

What this means is, about two years have passed since a new release has been added to the library. Clearly, adding CD’s to the permanent library has not been high on my priority list. (emphasis mine) Please understand this is not a slight to you or anyone else. I will be adding CD’s to the library. Please look for them in the coming weeks and months.

So Gomez admitted that his main job as music director, placing music in the hands of KMHD DJs to play, was not high priority.

And then he told us where all those albums were.

He wrote:

My usual time frame for keeping a CD in the new releases library is roughly 3 months. When a CD is removed from the new releases library it is stored in my office until I am able to process it for inclusion in the permanent MCR library.

Which was never.

He added this nearly-as-astounding coda to his email of 8/9/08. I can only assume he was being ironic, although it comes out of nowhere:

Will Nancy King be in this batch, I’m not sure…never heard of her. There are a million young sirens out there trying to break into this business. Before she gets too far into the music business, if you know her, tell her to ask the advice of a veteran artist who has been around the block. Someone that got her start singing with her late husband’s band or someone that’s been down heartbreak’s road a time or two and is only now getting her due public recognition for her artistry after years and years of being a “musicians musician.” Someone that is recognized for her scatting ability, her ability to wrap her voice around a lyric to the point that you feel as if she wrote and/or lived every single word she is singing….and probably has. Yeah, help this Nancy King kid out a little bit and tell her to keep her day job. However, if you say she’s good, then I guess so......

That paragraph looks more suspicious in light of something he posted on the listserv this week in one of his infrequent postings about new releases…something he never did before we started raising hell about his lack of competence.

Ben Darwish: Ode To Consumersim (sic)
Ben is a Portland based musician….I believe. Recorded live at Jimmy Mak’s, check out tracks 6, 7 & 8.

I believe? Is he being cute or does he not know?

Something else he wrote in his post of 8/9/09 brings up another problem. First what he said:

There have also been instances where a CD is available at retail but it hasn’t yet been serviced to a radio station. I don’t control when a label/promoter/artist decides to send a CD to KMHD. Another thing to keep in mind when you’re finding out about new releases, even though a label/artist/promoter has shipped the CD to radio and it’s in our grubby little hand’s, there are times when they will ask you to hold off on playing the CD on-air until a certain date has passed for their promotional campaign purposes.

Albums are never available for retail before they're serviced to stations. It just doesn't work that way.

In reality, many label reps have stopped servicing the station because of Gomez' incompetence. Recently, according to one KMHD insider, "Several reps from record companies have written Dr. Ski (President of MHCC) about Greg. Very powerful criticism too." Previously, they’d written and called Doug Sweet, while he was station GM, about the situation. The same source told me that other public radio stations who play jazz told have asked, "What's wrong with KMHD?"

The music director, among other things.

For instance, the 2009 Portland Jazz Festival was built around the 70th Anniversary of Blue Note Records. Here's another shocking example of Gomez incompetence from another KMHD DJ:

Back in February, I was the first on air host to interview Bill Royston, the creative director, for the PDX Jazz Festival, regarding the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records and the tie in to the festival. The station had arranged for several interviews with Mr. Royston to promote the event and for KMHD to derive some underwriting revenue made possible by the fabulous development director Calvin Walker.

I brought all the new and relevant Blue Note CD's from my personal library into the studio as a back for air play, in case Bill did not any or part of the collection with him. Bill was impressed, but I told him they were mine and the station did not have them available for the DJ's to play.

At that point Calvin Walker, the Development Director entered the studio and noticed what a good collection I had assembled for the interview. I said they were mine and KMHD did not have any in the studio. Calvin said that KMHD should be doing that and providing the Blue for all the DJ's, since the Blue Note 70th was so important to KMHD and for the station to out reach to the community. Blue Note chose Portland over ALL others to kickoff this national celebration!

We both shrugged our shoulders knowing the music director was not doing his job. It was reminiscent of communist Russia years ago when on vacation and hearing the same type of futile sighing remarks from the people about their dysfunctional government "not being able to food on the table."

Another example of what the volunteers face on a daily basis at KMHD.

A loyal KMHD On Air Volunteer

At one point, while Gomez was away during the festival and he had still not put out any extra Blue Note albums, two staff members took those much needed albums from Gomez' office and put them in the studio.

Upon his return, he took the box back into his office and locked the door.

One of the interesting things about the MHCC Board meeting on Wednesday was that when some of those concerns were aired, that news seemed to surprise many in attendance.

You might ask why the last two KMHD GMs have not been able to make Gomez do his job. The answer is that the paid KMHD staff does not answer to the GM, but rather have union protected jobs. Don't get me wrong, I'm a strong a union supporter as you'll find, but in this case, the inability of the GMs to either control or fire Gomez (and I know at least one dearly wanted dearly) has materially harmed the station.

JoAnn Zahn, Director, Fiscal Operations, Budget & Auxiliary Servies, who has been caretaker GM of the station since last summer, has done her best, but she is not a broadcast professional. At least she made an effort to interact with the DJs. She listened.

Gomez has been a cancer on the station for many years. After all the hell we raised about the music library, he has put a pitiful couple hundred albums in there over a seven month period. He has never added the Linda Hornbuckle/Janice Scroggins album which came out in July and which I had been playing since June. Terry Robb, the label owner and producer of the album had dropped off at least five copies to Gomez. I emailed Gomez about this repeatedly. Linda and Janice have helped the station many times over the years, number one. And number two it's a great album. Yet Gomez never added it. Who knows why?

When Mary Flower, who has played at KMHD sponsored events, released her latest album, I had to raise holy hell to get Gomez to add it. Eventually it found its way to the blues library shelves, but not without a fight.

Leaving Gomez at MHCC, where he is guaranteed employment, is perhaps at the top of the list in improving the station when it moves over to OPB.

David Vest on Sun Ra....MHCC Hears Public on the KMHD Deal Weds Night. Peeps On a Pole? Bob Dylan on the Prez!

2009-04-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

At the meeting of the Mount Hood Community College Board Wednesday night, they did not approve the transfer of KMHD operations to OPB…but they hadn't planned to. They heard from around 20 speakers including OPB's Steve Bass and the head of the OPB board. Approval may come at their next meeting. Insiders say it may be a done deal already. Not a bad thing.

I will have a full report tomorrow...I'm just behind.

BUT

I wanted to mention the pathetic on-air outcry from one of KMHD's "toxic assests." In real broadcasting, if someone is going to have their show taken away, they are not allowed to be on the air after they find out.

I was doing network talk a while back and the guy who was on before me was notified that it was to be his last show. Unfortunately, management let him know before he did his show. He wailed and weeped and dissed management and begged listeners to save his show. Of course, it was futile and humiliating.

A similar thing happened to me when I was doing a talk show on 620am before it was KPOJ. Luckily, the GM knew I was a pro and wouldn't be dumb enough to jepardize my future in broadcasting, so he let me continue to do the show FOR THREE MONTHS after I knew I was going to be replaced by free network programming.

I did it, signed off with some dignity and that was that. That's what pros do.

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DAVID VEST VEST AND SUN RA…BOOGIE-WOOGIE STARCHILD AND KING OF THE UNIVERSE, TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME

Below you will find the first couple hours of my KMHD show from last week. As I have mentioned before, David has become totally immersed (might say obsessed) with and in Le Sun Ra, Sonny Blount, the man who….well listen and let David tell you.

While his appearance at the Paul deLay Scholarship Benefit show at the Aladdin last Sunday wasn't exactly like the premiere of Rite of Spring there were moments of "WTF IS this?" when he was playing Ra.

The most astounding moment of the evening came when he started Ra's Love From Outer Space and morphed into Champion Jack DuPree's Shim Sham Shimmy. Positively heart-stopping, brain-confounding and at the same time making you (well me) laugh right out loud.

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AND ON THE THIRD DAY THERE WAS REV. TONY

Yes, Jesus Presley is doing their annual Easter show this year, at Dante's on….Easter Sunday. Tony says he'll have a "marshmallow peeps eating contest, bobbing for Easter eggs, a visit from the Naughtiest Easter Bunny in the history of Easter, and an evening of music performed by Jesus Presley and Charlie Girl and the Big Package.

Yes, that's a peeps doing a pole dance:

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THIS JUST IN…..ANOTHER NEW BAND WITH ANDREW OLIVER IN IT

High Octane Quartet made its debut last night at Mizz Pizz. I wish I could have gone. Tom Garcia is a new saxophonist in town and Ingo Deul was up from L.A. to play. Here's why I wanted to see them. Garcia says:

The High Octane quartet is the coalescence of four very volatile musicians. Whereas some groups form for the sake of creating a homogeneous mass, the High Octane Quartet specifically seeks to emphasize the personality of each musician. While surprise and exploration are key elements of this band, the one thing you can be certain that you will get is the total commitment of these musicians. Buckle up, turbulence is certain.

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DIY HEADLINE….MAKE UP YOUR OWN BOB DYLAN LYRICS REF AND MATCH IT UP WITH BARACK OBAMA

In case you missed it, the Dylan had some stuff to say about the Prez and he wasn't messing around too much:

Bob Dylan on Barack Obama

Bill Flanagan: In that song Chicago After Dark were you thinking about the new President?
Bob Dylan: Not really. It’s more about State Street and the wind off Lake Michigan and how sometimes we know people and we are no longer what we used to be to them. I was trying to go with some old time feeling that I had.
BF: You liked Barack Obama early on. Why was that?
BD: I’d read his book and it intrigued me.
BF: Audacity of Hope?
BD: No it was called Dreams of My Father.
BF: What struck you about him?
BD: Well, a number of things. He’s got an interesting background. He’s like a fictional character, but he’s real. First off, his mother was a Kansas girl. Never lived in Kansas though, but with deep roots. You know, like Kansas bloody Kansas . John Brown the insurrectionist. Jesse James and Quantrill. Bushwhackers, Guerillas. Wizard of Oz Kansas . I think Barack has Jefferson Davis back there in his ancestry someplace. And then his father. An African intellectual. Bantu, Masai, Griot type heritage - cattle raiders, lion killers. I mean it’s just so incongruous that these two people would meet and fall in love. You kind of get past that though. And then you’re into his story. Like an odyssey except in reverse.
BF: In what way?
BD: First of all, Barack is born in Hawaii . Most of us think of Hawaii as paradise – so I guess you could say that he was born in paradise.
BF: And he was thrown out of the garden.
BD: Not exactly. His mom married some other guy named Lolo and then took Barack to Indonesia to live. Barack went to both a Muslim school and a Catholic school. His mom used to get up at 4:00 in the morning and teach him book lessons three hours before he even went to school. And then she would go to work. That tells you the type of woman she was. That’s just in the beginning of the story.
BF: What else did you find compelling about him?
BD: Well, mainly his take on things. His writing style hits you on more than one level. It makes you feel and think at the same time and that is hard to do. He says profoundly outrageous things. He’s looking at a shrunken head inside of a glass case in some museum with a bunch of other people and he’s wondering if any of these people realize that they could be looking at one of their ancestors.
BF: What in his book would make you think he’d be a good politician?
BD: Well nothing really. In some sense you would think being in the business of politics would be the last thing that this man would want to do. I think he had a job as an investment banker on Wall Street for a second - selling German bonds. But he probably could’ve done anything. If you read his book, you’ll know that the political world came to him. It was there to be had.
BF: Do you think he’ll make a good president?
BD: I have no idea. He’ll be the best president he can be. Most of those guys come into office with the best of intentions and leave as beaten men. Johnson would be a good example of that. Nixon, Clinton in a way, Truman, all the rest of them going back. You know, it’s like they all fly too close to the sun and get burned.

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WATCH THE REVOLUTION BEING TELEVISED ON THIS BLOG

For the hell of it, here's Gil Scott-Heron:

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FREE MOVIES AT THE NEW MISS!!

They tell me each night will have food and "possibly drinks that have something to do with the movies shown." Sunday they're showing CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat. Maybe they should serve a Blackhattan.

Full schedule here.

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REPTET'S NOTES FROM THE ROAD

We did our part to save the economy by doing a west coast tour last month, and as I write this, the DOW is up over 200 points! Coincidence? I don't think so. I believe we've turned a corner here folks. But to make sure we don't get weak kneed and lose faith in our capitalist paradigm, Reptet will be doing a brief east coast tour in early May (gigs listed below).

Sandwiched between these two tours we will be doing a show with punk rock legend and founder of SST Records, Greg Ginn! Mr. Ginn is the founding member of Black Flag - he also was their guitarist & wrote most of their songs. In other words, Henry Rollins would be a nobody without Gregg Ginn. He is also the owner of SST Records (a la The Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Sonic Youth, Husker Du and many others), one of the most influential indie labels EVER. He still owns SST, but is now more of a jazz player and his band is called JamBang...kind of a punk/jazz/jam band kinda deal (check em' out here).

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Hey, I have more but time is running out and I've got to get ready to go to the MHCC Board meeting. Plus I'm working on a project that will blow your mind. More in the near future.

Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 4/4/09

2009-04-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Enrico Rava/ Lady Orlando/ New York Days
10:07 Quadraphonnes/ Monk-Tuno/ Music To Watch Girls By
10:10 David Ornette Cherry/ Going My Way/ Organic Journey
10:16 David Vest/ Monklite In Vermouth/ unreleased

DAVID VEST INTERVIEW (see above post)
10:23 Sun Ra/ Big City Blues/ The Singles
10:36 Sun Ra/ Enlightenment/ Sun Ra's Greatest Hits
10:46 Sun Ra/ Blue Delight/ Blue Delight
10:49 Sun Ra/ Take the A Train/ Solo Piano Recital
11:00 Sun Ra/ Chopan Prelude in A Major Opus 28/ Pleiades
11:13 Sun Ra/ Beautiful Love/ Hours After
11:21 Paul deLay Band/Life Is Just a Struggle/ Last of the Best
11:25 Northwest Blues Pianorama/ I Gotta Love You/ unreleased

11:37 Mary Flower/ Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me/Bywater Dance
11:44 Esquivel/ Whatchamacallit/ Exploring New Sounds In Stereo
11:48 Kaskade/ String of Pearls/ Upstairs at Larry's
11:53 Dick Schory's Percussion & Brass Ensemble/ Hernando's Hideaway

THE BAR

12:03 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:06 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:08 Wynonie Harris/ Wasn't that Good/ Gabe's Dirty Blues
12:11 The Five Du-Tones/ (Bend Over Let Me See You) Shake a Tail Feather/ Savage Kick
12:13 Bull Moose Jackson/ I Want a Bow-Legged Woman/ Gabe's Dirty Blues
12:16 Julia Lee/ My Man Stands Out/ Risque Rhythm
12:18 Champion Jack DuPree/ Walkin' Blues/ Gabe's Dirty Blues
12:20 Upsetters/ The Strip/ Las Vegas Grind
12:23 Mar-Keys/ Last Night/ best of
12:25 March Fourth Marching Band/ Space Hole/ 5th Anniversary Live
12:31 Big Chief Bo Dollis and Rebirth Brass Band/ Shoo-Fly/ Louisiana Spice
12:39 King Floyd/ Groove Me/ Heavy Soul
12:41 Albert King/ Steve Cropper/ Pops Staples/ Opus de Soul/ Jammed Up Together
12:47 Sam & Dave/ I Don't Need Nobody (To Tell Me About My Baby)/ best of
12:49 Marvin Gaye/ That's the Way Love Is/ Every Great Motown Hit
12:53 Brothers Johnson/ Takes One to Be Alone/ best of
12:57 Brook Benton/ Shoes/ Heavy Soul

1:02 Soul Vaccination/ Souled Out/ Souled Out at Jimmy Mak's
1:06 Parliament/ Aqua-Boogie (etc)/ Uncut Funk
1:11 Tabu Ley Rochereau/ Gange, Gange, Perdu, Perdu/ Loyenghe
1:18 Toots & the Maytals/ Sweet and Dandy/ The Harder They Come
1:21 Electric Light Orchestra/ Daybreaker/ Instrumental Classics (a mistake)
1:25 Four Tops/ Gira Gira (Reach Out I'll Be There)/ Motown in a Foreign Language
1:28 Otis Redding/ These Arms of Mine/ Otis in Europe
1:31 Percy Mayfield/ Please Send Me Someone To Love/ Walking on a Tightrope
1:34 Ray Charles/ I Want a Little Girl/ best of
1:37 Percy Mayfield/ Walking on a Tightrope/ same
1:40 Stylistics/ You Are Everything/ Stylistics
1:44 Albert King/ The Very Thought of You
1:47 Anita Baker/ Soul Inspiration/ Composition
1:53 Stevie Wonder/ All In Love Is Fair/ Innervisions

Cherry Pickings, Nightmares at Mt. Tabor, Liv and Prince, Latest from KMHD/OPB

2009-04-02T18:02:00.001-07:00

While listening to David Ornette Cherry's new album….not out yet, but I'll play some of it on my KMHD show on Saturday night. You'll be surprised, very very happily surprised!

Sorry I'm late with this week's blog. You don't want to know.

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SPEAKING OF MR. C

He was out of town on one of his world journeys for a few months. Since he's been back he's been busy. His CD release is Thursday, April 16 at Jimmy Mak's and he has booked a late Saturday night jazz series called "Round Midnight" from 11:30pm to 1:30am at the Curious Comedy Theater.

A portion of the $8 admission fee will support jazz and art programming at Jefferson High School, where David teaches after school on Mondays and Wednesdays.

He says, "When I was first running around Portland, I realized that every club that had live music was just closing down around 11:30 p.m., except for the bars. This is an alternative for late night cats who want to interact with live music at a performance spot with a positive vibe."

This means I'll never get to hear any of it but ………

April 18: Impressions of Energy, featuring pianist and internationally traveled jazz composer David Ornette Cherry with special guest drummer Ron Steen. David, who has been groomed by some of the great jazz artists of our time, including his godfather Ornette Coleman and avant-garde trumpeter and father Don Cherry, the inventor of “world music,” writes, arranges and improvises music that blends the thick, sweet textures from David’s rich jazz, classical, African, and world music background.

April 25: Farnell Newton Project, featuring trumpeter Farnell “Bleek” Newton, who performs regularly with Klezmocracy, Mel Brown, Thara Memory, Cana Son, Johnny Polanco, Ricardo Lemvo, Conjunto Allegre and Darrell Grant to name a few. Farnell recently recorded his debut CD, co-led with pianist Marcus Reynolds.

He has bands booked through the end middle of June. This is very exciting. He's got some of the best players in town, and a wide variety of styles. David is a jewel, an asset to Portland that I hope more people appreciate.

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MORE LIVE JAZZ YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT

Right under our noses, one of the best and least publicized spots for hearing excellent playing is at the Three Degrees at the RiverPlace Hotel on the waterfront south of the Hawthorne Bridge. It's spsonsored by the Portland Jazz Festival, it's FREE and it's called, oddly enough PDXJazz@RiverPlace...from 8-11pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

It's a fine mix of ages and styles. Gordon Lee is there Friday and Dan Balmer Saturday. Next weekend it's Ben Darwish on Friday and a rare appearance by the Michelle Medler Trio on Saturday. (She's a Quadraphonne.) They're booked thru the middle of June, too.

So don't you tell me you can't go hear great music in Portland. I mght slap ya.

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THE NEWS FROM KMHD/OPB REMAINS THE SAME

OPB CEO Steve Bass hosted a group of KMHD DJs on Thursday night in the TV studio at OPB. Although he fleshed out some things, what I reported last week remains the same. They don't want to blow up the station. They want to keep the station pretty much intact with some tweaking. Tweaking is welcome.

Although the boards of Mt. Hood Community College and OPB have to approve the deal, believe me….it's a done deal. OPB is building the new KMHD studio and even has sign on the studio window saying, future home of KMHD

The three current paid staff at KMHD are likely to stay at MHCC. Two of the three are toxic assets and nobody is unhappy to see them go.

KMHD appears to be headed for a renaissance.

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DON'T FORGET "REMEMBER ME" THE PAUL DELAY MEMORIAL CONCERT ON SUNDAY

....at the Aladdin with all kinds of great bands and most of the people who played in Paul's bands.

Headlining the celebration is award-winning bluesman, James "Icepick" Harman. Over his 40-plus year career, Harman has released nearly 30 recordings, earned multiple Blues Music Awards, and performed with many of the world's greatest blues artists. Harman was a friend of and frequent collaborator with deLay on Mark Hummel's Harmonica Blow-off tours. Harman will be backed by former Paul deLay Band members Peter Dammann on guitar, Dave Kahl on bass, and Jeff Minnick on drums. The concert also features a stellar lineup of local blues talent, including Janice Scroggins, Linda Hornbuckle, DK Stewart, Lloyd Jones, and Franck Goldwasser. They will be joined by organist Louis Pain, drummer Kelly Dunn, bassist Don Campbell, and The Heart Attack Horns. Curtis Salgado and Alan Hagar will perform as a duo. Former deLay Band pianist, David Vest, who has relocated to Victoria, British Columbia, will perform with The Willing Victims.

David Vest is going to be a guest on my KMHD show Saturday night. He is going to play some Sun Ra at the concert. I can't wait to hear that...and see the expressions on the faces of the audience.

Proceeds are going to establish a scholarship in Paul's name at Ethos.

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DIANE RUSSELL'S PORTRAIT OF GATEMOUTH BROWN INSTALLED ON HIS GRAVESITE

….on Tuesday in Orange, Texas. She says, "The headstone is made of black granite, and stands over five feet tall with the shape of Gate's signature Firebird Guitar in the center. The 8x10 ceramic inlay of my painting is just to the right, along with a quote by Gatemouth. " Find out more here.

She has a show up at The Pines Tasting Room in Hood River and she'll be showing at the Silverton Jazz Festival, May 9, the Mt. Tabor Art Walk, May 17-17 and the Lake Oswego Art Festival, June 26-28.

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BYE BYE, I'M LEAVING. WAIT, NO I'M NOT

Torch singer Karen Maria Capo, often heard at Tony Starlight's was going to move to L.A. She even played her farewell gig. And then…..

You've heard the rumors; I was offered a great new job in Los Angeles! And I thought ... hmmm, I have no job, I have no man, and I just lost my house, so I'm already packed! A no brainer!
Then, I got offered a really good job here! Not as good as the one in LA, but ...it's here! hat to do, what to do .....
Then so many people came out to my show at Tony Starlight's and showed me love.
And those who couldn't be there called and emailed and showed me more love, and my massage clients begged me not to leave them and I knew I had to stay!

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BOGVILLED MY MIND

One benefit of being late with the blog this week is that I can tell you that the preformance of Bogville at Mt. Tabor Pub was spectular. I didn't need to go to sleep to have a nightmare, the play/musical/performance was a living nightmare. In the good way.

It was set in the town of Bogville, some sort of turn of the 20th Century hamlet of zombies and cruelty. It had elements of what you could only call Victorian, maybe Elizabethan Butoh. The costumes were spectacular, the music discordant and also zombie-like. The song celebrating madness at the end of the first act was enough to set off long dormant drug flashbacks.

Most surprising was the singing of Noah Mickens. I've never heard him sing like that before…almost operatic. Not to say he hasn't before, but it was new to me. His crimson hair I've seen before. He played the cruel (mayor?). I dunno.

Ran into Erick Stern of the handlebar moustache and Vagabond Opera outside during the break between acts. They have a new album coming in May which he promised to get to me so I can play it on the radio. While we were talking, Soraiah, Portland's favorite Tuvan throat singer, walked up to us more as Enrique than Soriah. Always nice to catch up with him.

What's funny is that all these artists who perform dark works are mostly really nice people. I'm not sure they want you to know that, but I hope they do.

I hear that Bogville may come back again. Don't miss it.

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YOU WEREN'T LOSING YOUR MIND, THAT WAS LIV WARFIELD ON LENO SINGING WITH PRINCE

Let's hope this is the big break she deserves.

Watch it:

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BOIDS AND BLUES

This weekend on the coast, there will be the Pacific City Birding and Blues Festival sponsored in part by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Workshops from whale watching to bird photography and guided hikes are part of it.

Lloyd Jones, Rob Richter and the Ty Curtis band are playing.

More here.

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IN CASE YOU NEVER SAW HIM….HERE'S RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK

Just for the hell of it.

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KEEPING UP YOUR RESOLVE DURING THESE TOUGH TIMES

Made me think of an old 50s piece of schtick.
Eddie Lawrence the old philosopher:

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My Playlist from Last Saturday Night 3-28-09

2009-03-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

10:00 PM Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 PM Esperanza Spaulding/ If That's True/ Esperanza
10:09 PM Chick Correa & Hiromi/ Windows/ Chick & Hiromi
10:17 PM Quadraphonnes/ 4951 Walnut St./ Music to Watch Girls By
10:26 PM John Scofield/ Chicken Dog/ A Go Go
10:33 PM Sound for the Organization of Society/ Poem of the Underground/ same
10:45 PM Nancy King & Fred Hersch/ Little Suede Shoes & Day By Day/ At Jazz Standard
10:53 PM Wayne Horvitz Sweeter Than the Day/ Disingenuous Firefight/ live at Goodfoot Lounge Portland 1/31/09 unreleased
10:58 PM Gary Burton & Michael Gibbs/ In the Public Interest/ same

11:08 PM Carla Bley/ Appearing Nightly at the Black Orchid/ Appearing Nightly
11:36 PM Andrew Oliver Kora Band/ The Funnel & the Vacuum Cleaner/ Just 4 U
11:40 PM John Stowell/ Laughing River/ Solitary Tales
11:45 PM Various/ Introduction & Balancing Signals/ This is Stereormama/ vinyl
11:47 PM Esquivel/ That Old Black Magic/ Other Worlds, Other Sounds/ vinyl
11:50 PM Ray Martin/ Shadrack/ Dynamica
11:52 PM Quadraphonnes/ Who Loves You Pretty Baby/ Music To Watch Girls By
11:56 PM Felix Slatkin/ I Get a Kick Out of You/ Cocktail Mix Vol. 1

THE BAR

12:05 AM Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:08 AM Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:10 AM Prince La La/ She Put the Hurt On/ Me Itchy Twitchy Feelings
12:13 AM Champion Jack DuPree/ Nasty Boogie Woogie/ Blues from the Gutter
12:16 AM Dinah Washington/ Big Long Slidin Thing/ Risque Blues
12:19 AM Dave Bartholomew/ Who Drank My Beer While I Was In the Rear?/ Classic New Orleans
12:22 AM Wine-O-Wine/ Willis Jackson/ Atomic Cocktail
12:24 AM H Bomb Ferguson/ H Bomb Rock/ H Bomb Rock
12:26 AM Bobby Hendricks/ Itchy Twitchy Feeling/ same
12:29 AM Northwest Blues Pianorama/ Little Queenie/ live in Seattle (unreleased) David Vest, DK Stewart, Kenny Blues Boss Wayne
12:38 AM Archibald/ Stak A Lee/ Spirit of New Orleans
12:45 AM Ray Charles/ What'd I Say (Pts 1&2)/ Atlantic Collection
12:50 AM Ike & Tina Turner/ I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine/ Itchy Twitchy Feelings 12:53 AM The Meters/ Good Ole Funky Music/ Fundamentally Funky
12:59 AM Labelle/ What Can I do For You?/ Nightbirds

1:03 AM Albert King, Steve Cropper, Pops Staples/ Trashy Dog/ Jammed Up Together 1:07 AM Bar-Kays/ Soul Finger/ Instrumental Classics
1:11 AM George Clinton/ Flash Light (Groovemaster's Mix)/ 70s Party
1:17 AM MC Hammer/ U Can't Touch This/ Platinum
1:21 AM O'Jays/ Love Train/ Best of Gamble & Huff
1:24 AM Marvin Gaye/ Let's Get It On (futuro mix)/ The Ultimate Motown Remix
1:28 AM Watts 103rd St. Band/ Express Yourself/ Soul Years 1970
1:32 AM Stevie Wonder/ Love's In Need of Love Today/ Songs In the Key of Life
1:41 AM Paul deLay Band/ Could We Just Shoot Your Husband/ The Last of the Best
1:44 AM Phillip Glass/ Forgetting/ Songs from Liquid Days/ by Laurie Anderson voc: Linda Ronstadt & the Roches
1:52 AM Quadraphonnes/ Glass Saxophone Quartet Mvt. 1/ Music to Watch Girls By

QUADS INTERVIEW, SOME VIDEOS, A LITTLE NEWS AND NOTHING NEW FROM OPB/KMHD

2009-03-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

While listening to a very out very exciting Cooper-Moore play "All Up In It" and remembering how much fun I had talking with him for a story last fall and how much fun it IS to meet and get to talk with talented creative people and how I can't stop doing it even if it means I have to invent my own place in which to do it…..

Which has nothing to do with the news about KMHD. There's nothing new to report and I'm going to hold for another time what will be a lengthy and pretty shocking story about how that place has operated in the recent past.

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AS PROMISED, THE QUADRAPHONNES INTERVIEW FROM MY SHOW LAST SATURDAY NIGHT

Mary Sue Tobin and Chelsea Luker made the long trek to Gresham to be on KMHD with me. It sounded something like this. Actually, it sounded exactly like this.

And then I got this note on my Facebook "How bout giving Quartette Barbette some ink too! LOL" And there you have it.

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BURNSIDE RECORDS THROWS UP……A BUNCH OF COOL VIDEOS.

Interesting videos of Portland musicians including this one of the Acoustic Guitar Summit.

See the rest here.
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A NOTE TO THE PORTLAND BAND "METH TEETH"

I will never go see you with a name like that. I have easier ways to induce vomit.

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BRAZIL AND PIZZA IS NOT THE NAME AN ART FILM

You can get some of both, however at Mizz Pizz on Saturday night, March 28 when z'Bumba and Vou Vivendo play while you eat. Don’t let them see you eating. It's not good for the creative process.
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BONZO DOG BAND….NEED I SAY MORE?

Click if you must. I got this from a Bonzo fan. I know for a fact that Mississippi Studios' Jim Brunberg and Music Millennium's Terry Currier are huge Bonzo fans, as am I.

Here's the problem. I periodically coorespond with two women who are into the Bonzos. It's fairly unsual for women to like them. Don’t' ask me why. When I asked where they had discovered the Bonzos they both said they had been turned on to them by their dads when they were kids. Oh great.

Here's a version of Canyons of Your Mind I had never seen.

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I WILL BITE YOU, BUT ONLY IF YOU'RE IN COSTUME

This Friday, March (I'm really tired of March) 27 at the Bossanova Ballroom, Avant-Emperor Noah Mickens will throw The Vampire Masqurade Ball Official Meet and Greet Party starring The Deadly Ensemble, Soriah, plus aerialistFaegann Harlow, The Sick DJs Burn, Megadeth, and Jimme Jamma, experimental cellist Uxe Mede and Bogville featuring NagaSita and Eyerish Heather Collins.

As you may realize by now, I swear by all things Mickens but you may not get to read too much of his writing. For instance:

The 7th Annual Vampire Masquerade Ball is drawing the Transylvanian diaspora from across the Globe to celebrate their common heritage March 28th in Portland Oregon.

Those Night Owls who are able to make it to town one day in advance will be treated to a very special Meet-and-Greet party at The Bossanova Ballroom, where the spotlight moon will illuminate the Works of two of our most revered artistic practitioners: the cadaverous cabaret of The Deadfly Ensemble and throat-singing ritualist Soriah.

Framed by DJs and brief performative turns from the dark fairytale musical review Bogville, we offer an opportunity for the very oldest of friends and Family to quench their thirst in the company of their peers, and make themselves ready for the evening to come. Housed in the vintage 1930s grandeur of The Bossanova Ballroom, and organized by the creative minds behind The Wanderlust Circus and Societas Insomnia, our Meet-and-Greet party draws out the unique magick of The Vampire Masquerade Ball to fill an entire weekend. Or at least, the half of the weekend during which the sun is down.

The ball itself is Saturday night. All the details are here.

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R.I.P. EDDIE BO

New Orleans R&B, soul, funk and jazz pianist Eddie Bo died last week. In case you never got to see him, here's a tiny tiny taste.

At the Louisiana Music Factory on Decatur St. in New Orleans in 2007

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IF YOU'RE READING THIS WEDNESDAY EVENING YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO GO

Downtown Pala Lounge has been around for a few years. It opens on the weekends and is best known as the home of House. There's something for Portland Electronic Music Lovers tonight. It's the lastest Underground Rising @ Pala! featuring DJs DJF and Superfunkdiculous as well as resident Tronic on the decks. Music will feature house, funky house, techno and progressive.

Plus there will be live painting by Abztrakt Synergy. If I put my radio show on in my office, think Ab will paint it while I'm Djing?

If you absolutely must dance on a Wednesday night.

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JAZZ AT CINEMA 21, LIVE AND OTHERWISE

A monthly combination of live jazz and jazz on the screen begins at Cinema21 Friday, March 27 at 9pm with Paul Newman in Paris Blues,"the 1961 Martin Ritt-directed study of two jazz bohos (Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier) gigging in Paris and juggling love affairs. From the novel by Harold Flender, "Paris Blues" is an "American New Wave" artifact--rolling in romantic existentialism--featuring Louis Armstrong as Wild Man Moore, with a Duke Ellington score (Newman does a great horn-synch to "Mood Indigo"). Preceded by two concerts: live on German television in 1963--the Thelonious Monk Quartet, and a house party filmed in Finland in 1970 of the Bill Evans Trio."

Mike Horsfall and Craig Snazelle Duo, on vibes and bass will play in the lobby.

On Saturday, April 25 they'll be showing Hud along with 1974's Headhunters and Return to Forever with Herbie Hancock and Chick Correa, duh. O's Shawn Levy will introduce the movie and preview his new book on Newman.

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I AM NOT A MONGRELLLLLLLLL

Seattle's Mark Graham and Orville Johnson, aka Kings of Mongrel Folk will be at blues/roots singer/instrumentalist Laruen Sheehan's birthday party at the Muddy Rudder Public House, 8105 SE 7th Ave. on Saturday, March 28.

In case you need some filling in, These mighty personages are the Kings of this universally loved music that holds within it the realms of folk, blues, country, jazz, and the odd bits that they make up themselves.

Lauren plays the Rudder every week.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

KMHD UPDATE! Things looking promising for current programming!

2009-03-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

A source who has been in consultation with decision-makers at OPB, responsible for the decision to take over the operations of KMHD told me a few minutes ago that although OPB doesn't know exactly what they want to do with the station, KMHD will remain a jazz and blues station with much of the current programming intact.

This is not set in stone, but it is a much more optimistic reading of the situation than the one presented to me by a source at KMHD this morning.

It just makes sense. The KMHD audience is around 125,000 at the moment, a 10,000 listener increase in 2008. And it has a loyal group of members.

To be honest, many KMHD DJ's, me included, welcome a jolt of professionalism and competence in the KMHD front office. Former GM Doug Sweet made great strides in expanding the sound of the station, bringing in DJ Santo, Mississippi West, Lynn Darroch, Stephen Cantor and me. He's been gone since last summer and in his place there have been no radio pros running things.

I will expand on the sad, mad conditions of what's been the state of KMHD, but let me say one thing. Development director Calvin Walker has been the lone voice of common sense and sanity for quite a while now.

Wouldn't it be ironic if I went back to OPB to do my Saturday night show?

ADD AT 8:33pm

It is also the understanding of my source that the music library, including shelving, also including the untold number (hundreds? thousands?) of albums which never made it out of the "Music Director's" office (more on that later) will go to OPB.

OPB to Take over KMHD....end of KMHD as we know it? Source says YES!

2009-03-24T11:39:00.001-07:00

KMHD as we know it will end on July 1, according to a Mt. Hood Community College/ Oregon Public Broadcasting Media release today which said that OPB will be absorbing the station (although not the licence).

A source at KMHD told me that none of the current DJ's or paid KMHD staff will be retained, although that is unconfirmed from OPB.

This has been in the works for quite a while. We KMHD DJ's figured something was up when an email came down a few weeks ago from JoAnn Zahn, who has been caretaker GM since Doug Sweet resigned last year. It said that the search for a new GM had been halted.

What will be retained is jazz programming. What Portland might lose is the variety of music and personalities found on the station right now. That is unconfirmed by OPB, however.

Stay tuned. This has just been announced this morning and things are still developing. I will have more about it as things develop.

Here is the release and the Q&A which came along with it.:

Mt. Hood Community College Proposes Partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting to Operate Jazz Station KMHD

GRESHAM, Ore.—Facing a significant budget shortfall due to state funding reductions, the Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) District Board of Education will consider a proposal to transfer the operation of Portland’s only all-jazz station, KMHD (89.1 FM), to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) effective July 1. Under the proposal, MHCC would continue to own the station, while OPB would take over programming, operational and fundraising responsibilities.

MHCC President John J. “Ski” Sygielski said the board of education will give serious consideration at its April 8 meeting to this proposed partnership with OPB. A decision is expected at the May 13 board meeting. “This partnership would give KMHD the best opportunity to thrive in the future,” Sygielski said. “OPB’s intention is to continue to operate KMHD as a jazz station. With a current audience of about 100,000 listeners, we believe that the station can attract an even wider audience through increased promotion and higher visibility to OPB’s 1.5 million viewers and listeners,” said OPB’s president and CEO, Steve Bass. No changes in programming or on-air hosts are planned before July 1. “At this time, we expect to receive at least $4 million less from the state in 2009-10, with further cuts anticipated beyond next year, so transferring KMHD’s operations to OPB is one of the areas where we can reduce costs without compromising a music institution that is important to the College and the community,” Sygielski noted.

Sygielski, who became MHCC’s president in July 2008, has expanded the College’s outreach and visibility.

Q&A IN SAME MEDIA RELEASE:

Why is this happening?
A mutually beneficial partnership between Mt. Hood Community College and Oregon Public Broadcasting is being considered by MHCC’s Board of Education. If the proposal is agreed upon, OPB would begin operating the MHCC jazz radio station KMHD on July 1, 2009. MHCC would continue to own the station and OPB would be responsible for all programming,operating costs and fundraising. This arrangement would preserve KMHD’s unique music service for the benefit of more than 100,000 listeners in the Portland metro area. Arrangements like this are becoming increasingly common between colleges and independently-governed public broadcasting stations.

Why is MHCC considering a partnership with OPB to operate KMHD?
MHCC faces a formidable budget shortfall due to likely cuts in state funding. Because operating a radio station is costly and requires specialized expertise in order to succeed, the partnership will guarantee a brighter future for KMHD, while allowing MHCC to focus its resources on education. No changes would be made in the short term. OPB is committed to the jazz format and to providing the best music service possible to KMHD’s listeners. Finally, OPB and KMHD would promote Mt. Hood Community College and music events in the nearby community of Gresham.

Will KMHD stay a jazz station?
OPB’s intention is to continue to operate KMHD as a jazz station.

Why does OPB want to operate another station in this tough economic climate?
The current economic climate is the driving force for this arrangement. Because of OPB’s expertise in operating public broadcasting stations, OPB will be able to operate KMHD more economically than currently possible. Operating efficiencies will allow OPB to invest more in music programming and community outreach, elements that are essential for a strong public radio station in today’s environment.

Portland is fortunate to have three strong public radio stations with distinctly different formats (OPB offering news, KMHD offering jazz, KBPS offering classical music). This arrangement between OPB and KMHD will maintain and even enhance this strong public service. And because of the economies of scale that OPB already possesses (particularly in fundraising and engineering), KMHD’s current level of revenue will be sufficient to fully support its operation.

How will KMHD be funded?
KMHD will be supported in the same manner as OPB – largely through individual contributions and corporate underwriting. OPB’s operation of KMHD will not require any financial support from Mt Hood Community College. The capital costs for moving KMHD’s operations to OPB are minimal, due in large part to the transition of KOAC operations to OPB (we will be using much of the equipment in Corvallis to operate KMHD).

What changes will OPB make? When will these changes take place?
There will be no changes in KMHD’s programming, on-air hosts or operations prior to July 1 when OPB would begin operating the service. Over the coming months (and provided the MHCC board approves the arrangement), OPB will evaluate KMHD’s programming and on-air sound to determine what, if any, changes would improve the station’s public service.

How will OPB work with the local music community in operating KMHD?
As in our work on opbmusic, we will work collaboratively with local musicians, music venues and presenters in the greater Portland area to support the music and creative community. We anticipate to enhancing partnerships with the local jazz community so as to heighten awareness of Portland’s unique cultural assets.

What will happen to the current KMHD staff and volunteers?
KMHD’s current staff will be offered other employment opportunities within the college. We hope that KMHD volunteers will stay on to continue working with the station during the transition. OPB also expects that many KMHD volunteers will want to continue working for KMHD after the transition to OPB.

Where will KMHD be housed?
We are fortunate to have available studio space in our main building. KMHD will be co-located with opbmusic in the space previously occupied by the Golden Hours radio reading service.

What will happen to KMHD contributors?
From audience research, we know that about one-third of KMHD’s listeners also listen to OPB. Current KMHD members will be granted a membership in OPB for the duration of the time before their renewal date. Anyone who contributed during KMHD’s March on-air fund drive will be considered to be an OPB member from July 1 until March 2010.

How will the station be identified?
The station will continue to be identified as KMHD and its city of license as Gresham. It will be integrated into the OPB brand in some manner (but we haven’t yet determined how).

How will we handle on-air fundraising?
We don’t know yet. There are many issues to be worked out such as the timing of on-air membership campaigns. We haven’t yet determined whether KHMD on-air drives would be simultaneous with current OPB drives or not. Stay tuned.

How will staff be affected?
We anticipate that between 3 and 4 positions will be created to support the operation of KMHD. These positions will be focused on improving programming. We don’t anticipate that staffing will need to be increased in areas such as fundraising, engineering, or administration to support the station.

What is the timeline for the transition?
The MHCC board of directors will discuss this proposed partnership at its next meeting on April 8 and will likely make a decision at the May 13 board meeting. The partnership is only a recommendation of the MHCC Administration unless or until the board of MHCC formally endorses it.

Who’s responsible for making decisions about KMHD?
Please contact Lynne Clendenin, VP of Radio Programming, at. lclendenin@opb.org

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 3-21-09

2009-03-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monolgue
10:03 Joshua Redman/ Un Peu Fou/ Compass
10:08 Fly/ Sky & Country/ Sky & Country
10:14 Chicago Jazz Philharmonic/ An Afternoon with Mr. Bowie Pt. 2/ Collective Creativity
10:17 Quadraphonnes/ Georgia On My Mind/ Music to Watch Girls By
10:21 Quadraphonnes Interview ---- Listen on my Wednesday post.
10:33 Quadraphones/ Cry Me a River/ Music To Watch Girls By
QUADRAPHONNES GUEST SET
10:45 Rebirth Brass Band/ Trouble/ 25th Anniversary
10:51 Sun Ra/ Plutonian Nights/ The Nubians of Plutonia
10:56 Steve Grossman/ Time to Smile/ same
11:04 Frank Zappa/ Zombie Woof/ Apostrophe

11:13 Sound for the Organization of Society/ Constanence/ Poem of the Underground
11:19 Madeliene Peyroux/ Our Lady of Pigale/ Bare Bones
11:25 Marco Benevento/ Seems So Long Ago Nancy/ Me Not Me
11:30 March Fourth Marching Band/ Tora Bora Hora/ 5th Anniversary Live
11:39 Carla Bley/ Death of Superman/Dream Sequence #1 Flying/ The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu
11:48 Rolley Polley/ Blue Rhumba/ Cocktails Vol. 1
11:52 Al Jazzbo Collins/ Goldilox & the Three Bears
11:56 Rithma/ Champagne Time/ Upstairs at Larry's

12:05 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:09 Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Complete Imperial Recordings
12:11 Big Boy Groves/ You Can't Beat the Horses/ single
12:12 Jimmy Witherspoon/ Barfly Blues/ Atomic Cocktail
12:15 Roscoe Gordon/ Booted/ single
12:18 Dirty Red/ Mother Fuyer/ Urban Blues vol. 1
12:21 Sam Cooke/ Somebody Have Mercy/ Live at Harlem Square

EDDIE BO TRIBUTE
12:30 Eddie Bo/ Check Mr. Popeye/ New Orleans Popeye Party
12:34 Eddie Bo/ Dinky Doo/ Get Back Up Again
12:37 Eddie Bo/ Hard Times/ Rounder Lousiana Collection
12:40 Eddie Bo/ I'm Through Dealing/ Keys to the Crescent City
12:43 Eddie Bo/ Hook & Sling/ same
12:46 Art Neville/ Another Blues Stringer/Keys to the Crescent City

COSIMO MATASSA SET
12:54 Little Richard/ Rip It Up/ Cosimo Matassa Story
12:58 Roy Montell/ Every Time I Hear that Mello Saxophone/ same
1:00 Roy Baldhead Byrd (Professor Longhair)/ Rockin' With 'Fess/ same
1:03 Lee Allen/ Rockin' at Cosimo's/ same
1:05 Royal Kings/ Teachin' and Preachin'/ same
1:07 Smiley Lewis/ Shame Shame Shame/ same
1:09 Eddie Bo/ I'm Wise (Slipppin' and Slidin') same
1:11 Little Richard/ Heebie Jeebies/ same

1:17: Tom Waits/ Saving All My Love For You/ Heart Attack and Vine
1:20 Gianluigi Trovesi/ Tocatta/ Profumo Di Violetta
1:23 Stephanie Schneiderman/ When You Touch Me/ Dangerous Fruit
1:28 Quadraphonnes/ Tango Suite #2/ Music to Watch Girls By
1:32 Pink Martini/ Everywhere/ Hey Eugene!
1:35 Ennio Morricone/ Secrets of the Sahara/ Soundtrack
1:39 Savara Nazarkah/ Peace Song (Iraq)/ Lullabyes from the Axis of Evil
1:44 Rickie Lee Jones/ We Belong Together/ Pirates
1:49 Gavin Byars/ Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet/ same
1:55 Staples Singers/ Got To Be Some Changes Made/ Soul Folk In Action

R.I.P. Eddie Bo

2009-03-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

New Orleans piano legend Eddie Bo dies at 79
Posted by Keith Spera, Staff writer, The Times-Picayune March 20, 2009 6:40PM
Categories: Breaking News, Obituary, Top News

RUSTY COSTANZA / T-P ARCHIVE
Singer-pianist Edwin Joseph Bocage, known simply as Eddie Bo, works the crowd at last year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. He died Wednesday, March 18, at 79.
Eddie Bo, a potent, eclectic New Orleans pianist, singer, songwriter and producer who inspired a dance craze with his 1962 hit "Check Mr. Popeye" and later directed fans to "Check Your Bucket, " died Wednesday, March 18, of a heart attack. He was 79.

A prolific artist, Mr. Bo adroitly distilled an excitable synthesis of rock 'n roll, rhythm & blues, jazz and funk.

"He was one of the last great New Orleans piano professors, kind of a bridge between Professor Longhair and Allen Toussaint, " said New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival producer Quint Davis. "Everyone now has to remember to check their bucket on their own, without Eddie to tell us."

Born Edwin Joseph Bocage, Mr. Bo grew up in Algiers and the 9th Ward. He was heavily influenced by the piano style of Professor Longhair; he also gravitated to the jazz phrasing of George Shearing, Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum.

After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, he served in the Army. Upon his return to New Orleans, he studied arranging and composing at the Grunewald School of Music, a training ground for scores of professional musicians.

He fronted various bands and wrote and released singles for the Ace, Ric, Apollo and Chess labels. In addition to "Check Mr. Popeye, " which was inspired by the cartoon character, his hits included 1969's "Hook and Sling, " which reached No. 13 on Billboard's R&B chart.

Other artists fared well with his songs. Little Richard adapted Mr. Bo's "I'm Wise" as "Slippin' and Slidin." Etta James scored a 1959 hit with his "Dearest Darling." He is credited with writing Oliver Morgan's signature "Who Shot the La La."

In 1975, Mr. Bo semi-retired from music and left New Orleans after the failure of both his marriage and a North Rampart Street club, El Grande, in which he had invested heavily. He said he "couldn't make ends meet spiritually" as a carpenter.

Neither his retirement nor exile were permanent. By 1989 he was back in New Orleans following seven years in Miami, where he studied at the Yahweh Institute. The institute, he said, "teaches men that we should seek love and distribute love, and seek to be moral." It was around that time that Mr. Bo started wearing a turban-like diadem on his head.

By the early 1990s, he was touring Japan and Europe, appearing on albums with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and George Porter Jr., and holding down an evening solo piano gig at Margaritaville. A German label issued his funk album "Shoot From the Root" in 1996. In 1998, he released "Nine Yards of Funk" on his own label.

He also busied himself with non-musical pursuits. He briefly operated a club, the Check Your Bucket Cafe, and ran a health food store with his sisters.

In 1999, an electrical fire destroyed the Tulane Avenue building that housed the health food store. Mr. Bo also lived in the building. The fire claimed his two keyboards, along with master tapes of unreleased and previously released recordings, musical charts he had painstakingly written over the years, and a collection of his own classic 45s.

Scores of musicians -- contemporaries as well as younger musicians influenced by him -- volunteered to perform at a benefit concert in the wake of the fire. "It gives me a deep, deep feeling of not really knowing how people care, until you have to experience something like this, " he said. "Then you really know who your friends are."

His most pressing need, he said at the time, was to replace his keyboards. "I'll try everything I can to get another keyboard, " he said, "because I'm lost without something to play."

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Here's a wonderful story on the funeral of Antoinette K-Doe who died on Mardi Gras morning.

As Promised: What I Would Have Told the City Council

2009-03-20T12:53:00.001-07:00
The Portland City Council recently had a hearing at which the Regional Arts and Culture Council presented their "State of the Arts" report. You can see the whole thing here.

I was unaware that I could have signed up to add my two cents. Here's what I would have said:

Mr. Mayor and members of the Council, I'm not a part of an arts organization. I don't have a 501c3 or a 401k. I am a writer and broadcaster who has spent a long time documenting music and musicians and artists working in other disciplines here and elsewhere. I am also a published author outside of journalism. And I'm speaking only for myself.

This Council session is devoted to the question "What is the state of the arts?" There are several answers to that question. Without any reservation I can tell you one thing you already know...we have a startlingly vibrant roster of writers, film makers, musicians, painters…all manner of expression. So the state of the arts when it comes to the arts themselves is pretty thrilling.

What's not so thrilling is that because of the current economic crisis there is a major breakdown in how the rest of the public gains information about us. The Oregonian is incredibly shrinking. While I am envious of the good folks there who still draw a weekly paycheck, I know that they care passionately about the arts and are not happy with the way things are going, and that they chafe under the cutback in pages and space for stories. Likewise at Willamette Week.

Creative people communicate with other creative people on the web and there are many avenues to take in order to do that. But what about the rest of the public, the consumers, the people for whom we make our work? How do they know what's going on? Who is working on what? And where are the profiles of our creative people to be found?

We have not begun to feel the effects of all this yet. Well, I have. Assignments have dried up. I can tell you from experience having worked in TV, print and radio, when work in one of those media has been slow, there has always been another to turn to. That is no longer the case…in the arts.

When it comes to buisness, techincal, health or a few other areas, there is work, but not in the arts.

When the word about who is making art can't get out there, consumers don't know about that work and can't buy it. If consumers don't know who is playing where or who has a new album out or is working on something new or can't learn about that work in articles longer than 400 words, then they can't…consume.

And so clubs are emptier, music goes unsold and work dries up. This is beginning to happen now. It will only get worse under current conditions.

A wise head of one of our best organizations once said to me, "We're all playing to the same ten thousand people." That may be true. But there are a million other people in the region.

We're not organizations Mr. Mayor and members of the Council. We're just people with something to express. Where's our bailout? What do you propose? Without us there are no arts. We are the arts. And our state is fearful and not optimistic.

There is a new organization called CAN: the Creative Advocacy Network which is a step in the right direction. It is a little disappointing to see that there is no representation from our music community on their board. Still, you should check them out and do what you can...so to speak.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

What I Would Have Said at City Council...Hear the new Quadraphonnes here!!....Rob Scheps interview....Darwish at the Keys.

2009-03-17T13:43:00.000-07:00
WHAT'S THE STATE OF YOUR ART?

While dreaming I'm sitting in Cosimo Matassa's studio on Rampart Street in New Orleans in 1957…..

I went to last week's Regional Arts and Culture Council's State of the Arts presentation. If I had realized I could have signed up to speak, I would have. I had to leave a little early, but I didn't hear anyone from the music community or the writing community talk about how truly tragically crappy things are right now.

I would have told them what it's like to have words and music to create and be alone in the forest with no one to hear them.

I will post what would have been my words to the City Council and the Mayor next time.

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HEAR ROB SCHEPS TALK ABOUT HIS BIG BAND, ETC.

On a brighter note... Since I'm writing this on Wednesday afternoon and the concert is tonight, all I can tell you is what he told me on the radio last Saturday night…which was a lot. Of course it was a lot….it was ROB SCHEPS!

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HEAR A TUNE FROM THE NEW QUADRAPHONNES ALBUM!

I have this image of the four of them blitzing every possible location all at the same time to get the word out about their new album Music To Watch Girls By" The CD release is Friday, March 27 at Jimmy Mak's.

I went nuts and played 3 or 4 tracks from the album last week on the radio and I'll have Mary Sue Tobin and Chelsea Luker on the show at 10:20pm this Saturday. The first time I listened to the album, this tune jumped out at me and gave me a kiss…An Astor Piazzola Tango Suite.

They told me I could let you in on it:

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THAT WOMAN YOU SEE TAKING PICTURES AT JAZZ AND BLUES CONCERTS ALL THE TIME

.....is Brandy Kayzakian Rowe who runs the Wandering Gypsy Soul Studio at 625 NW Everett St #109.

Here's one she took of Ben Darwish at his recent CD release at Jimmy Mak's

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SOME PEOPLE HAVE ALL THE LUCK

Not only is trombonist Stan Bock going get to go to to Hawaii next week, but he's landed a bunch of gigs there too. Talk about having your cake and eating it.

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THIS JUST IN FROM AUSTIN

Ace publicist Alex Steineger reports, "I have six clients playing SxSW this year:

Blind Pilot:An exemplary bit of minimalist melancholy . . . . the album is a new favorite around here - working in the same areas as the Shins or Death Cab for Cutie, but with a more homespun, folk feel." - iTunes (Song of the Week 7/8/08)

The Lonely H "The achingly epic vocal and lead piano belongs in a stadium full of bell bottoms and lighters raised heavenward." MSNBC
"Taut live shows swirled with swank three-part vocal harmonies earned the band a 'don't miss this' reputation." SPIN
"Truly infectious old-school rock n' roll." The New York Post
"Talk about overachievers." CMJ

The Slants: Chinatown dance-rock

Sweet Water: Clear the Tarmac" is the band's first record in nine years, and fifth full-length overall. A collection of ten new songs, Sweet Water proves they haven't slowed down or lost their ability to play loud and hard, all while showcasing their growth and diversity. Creating a record that is as much guitar-rock as it is psychedelic, Brit-pop, and power-pop influenced: think big hooks, charged melodies, plenty of rock momentum, and a wiser, more emotional lyrical bite.

Hillstomp: Drawing heavily from north Mississippi trance blues, a bit from the hills of Appalachia and stealing energy from punkabilly, Portland, Oregon duo Hillstomp create a raucous hill country blues stomp with a fiery youth and vigor. It comes clanging and tumbling out of an assortment of vintage mics, buckets, cans and BBQ lids drenched in rambunctious slide guitar.

And Two Cow Garage:

Ok Alex, we're expecting a full report…or what you can remember.

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JEFF LORBER IN TOWN THIS SATURDAY WITH PATRICK LAMB
PATRICK LAMB

Lorber has a lot of fans and he doesn't get to town very often. Patrick is psyched about the gig. It's Saturday, March 21 at Jimmy Mak's

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I REALLY DON'T MEAN TO MENTION ANDREW OLIVER IN EVERY FCKN BLOG BUT…..

….but he has a new band ever single week, seems like. He writes:

Well, it's Spring Break which means that Tyson Stubelek is back from Boston for a week, just enough time for another live incarnation of Red Fish::Blue Fish, our experimental electro-groove jazz-pop project. Two people, lots of instruments, a tablecloth I picked up in Sierra Leone, and a loop station! Don't miss it, Tyson won't be back in town until June. More info here.

TYSON STUBELEK: drums, cymbals, vocals, percussion, loop station ::::
ANDREW OLIVER: keyboards, cello, trumpet, harmonium, kora, backup vocals, backup percussion, loop station. Saturday, March 21, Mizz Pizz.

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"24/7": 24 CONCERTS IN ONE DAY TO MARK SEVEN YEARS OF WAR

This is very special and very free. 24 hours of live music at Weiden + Kennedy Auditorium featuring dozens of Portland musicians from 7pm Saturday March 21 to 7pm Sunday March 22.

The list of musicians is breathtaking. Do NOT MISS THIS.

Find out all the info here.

Since I get off the radio at 2am Saturday (ok Sunday), and since I'm always still wired I hope to see you at 2:40am for :

2:00 a.m. -- Michele Mariana, jazz vocalist with Reece Marshburn, piano

3:00 a.m. --Portland Cello Project, Doug Jenkins, artistic director

4:00 a.m. -- Thomas Lauderdale program

Thomas Lauderdale at 4am. Think about that for a moment.

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FOR STRUMMERS ONLY

Kate Power and Steve Einhorn are holding a Song Circle class…four Mondays beginning April 13.

Here's what some people who took previous classes actually said about them, "It unlocked the mysteries of making music for me." "The setting is so welcoming and non-threatening. It was nice being treated like a peer even though I'm new at this." "I loved the warm-ups, exercises and learning techniques." "Learning to listen in new ways brought balance into my music making." "Learning about dynamics and phrasing transformed my singing." "I liked stretching and learning new songs with the group." "I was out of my comfort zone and LOVED every minute of it!" "Suddenly I'm writing songs. That's a first!" "This class changed my life."

Geeze.

$50 per session (4 classes). Limited Seats! Email folks@qualityfolk.com or call 503-331-1994.

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AND IF YOU WANT TO BLOW IT ALL OUT AND GET IN FREE…..

Saturday, March 28 at Rotture they're throwing Hard Times, a free dance party with Rude Dudes, Girfriend and Lifepartner.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 3-14-09

2009-03-15T14:30:00.000-07:00
10:00 PM Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 PM John Butte/ At the Foot of Canal Street/ same
10:07 PM Bobo Stenson/ Olivia/ Contaldo
10:14 PM Jazz Code/ Traneing In/ In the Moment
10:22 PM Rob Scheps interview….see next blog post for audio
10:42 PM Quadraphonnes/ Tango Suite (Tango No. 2)/ Music to Watch Girls By
10:47 PM Sound for the Organization of Society/ Darrell's Eclipse/ Poem of the Underground
10:52 PM John Stowell/ House of Doolin/ Solitary Tales

11:06 PM March Fourth Marching Band/ Gospel/ 5th Anniversary Live
11:10 PM Medeski Martin & Wood/ Queen Bee/ Best of Blue Note
11:15 PM Randy Crawford & Joe Sample/ Respect Yourself/ No Regrets
11:21 PM Soul Vaccination/ Souled Out/ Souled Out at Jimmy Mak's
11:29 PM Marco Benevento/ Golden/ Me Not Me
11:34 PM Quadraphonnes/ Bemisha Swing/ Music to Watch Girls By
11:39 PM John Zorn/ Sicilian Clan/ Naked City
11:45 PM Les Baxter/ Mood Tattooed/ Cocktail Mix Vol. 1
11:47 PM Leon Redbone/ When Dixie Strs Are Playing Peek-a-Boo/ Up a Lazy River
11:50 PM Dex Dubious/ Bubbles in the Wine/ Lawrence Welk Uncorked
11:54 PM Jack Constanzo/ Inch Worm (From the Garden of Eden Ballet/ Cocktail Mix Vol .1

12:01 AM Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:05 AM Roy Brown/ Saturday Night/ Best of
12:08 AM Albert King, Steve Cropper, Pops Stables/ Trashy Dog/ Jammed Up Together
12:11 AM Sam Burns/ Tiger Man (King of the Jungle)/ Sun Records Vol 1.
12:14 AM Howlin' Wolf/ Tail Dragger/ Howlin' Wolf Album
12:19 AM The Soul of John Black/ Slippin n Slidin/ Good Girl Blues
12:23 AM Albert King/ I Got the Blues/ New Orleans Heat
12:37 AM Soul Vaccination/ Love Maker/ Souled Out at Jimmy Mak's
12:40 AM Ramsey Lewis & Earth Wind & Fire/ Sun Goddess/ Intrumental Classics
12:43 AM Temptations/ I Can't Get Next To You/ Ultimate Remix Project
12:47 AM Brass Construction/ Movin' On/ Instrumental Classics
12:51 AM Sly and the Family Stone/ In Time/ Fresh
12:58 AM Parliament/ P Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)/ greatest hits

1:07 AM Billy Preston/ Outta-Space/ Instrumental Classics
1:10 AM Whistle/ (Nothing Serioius) Just Buggin'/ Rap's Greatest Hits
1:15 AM Menahan Street Band/ Tired of Fighting/ Make the Road By Walking
1:18 AM Rubberneck/ Gimme Da Funk/ El Nino
1:23 AM Gap Band/ Oops Up Side Your Head/ 70s Party
1:42 AM Quadraphonnes/ Saxophone Quartet (Mvt. 1) Phillip Glass/ Music to Watch Girls By
1:46 AM Cavallareia Rusticana Intermezzo/ Pietro Mascagli/ Raging Bull Soundtrack
1:49 AM Betty Carter/ We Tried/ The Betty Carter Album
1:55 AM Mary Flower/ Columbia River Rag/ Bridges

Hey! Leave the Cultural Trust Money Alone! Hear new March Fourth and Soul Vaccination tunes! Reptet's radio interview....Fishy on Mississippi

2009-03-11T11:45:00.000-07:00
While finding myself having come back to Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo for solace and inspiration…..

In last week's blog I was wondering where was the stimulus program for writers and musicians? Not only isn't there one, but the Oregon Legislature has decided to try to fill the budget deficit by dipping into the Oregon Cultural Trust funds, funds that were voluntarily DONATED by contributors. This isn't taxed money. It's voluntarily DONATED money.

Read more here and here.

The Oregon Cultural Advocacy Coalition has an easy way to let your legislator know how you feel. Find it here

For some reason money can be found for a profession soccer team, run by Merritt Paulson, the son of Henry Paulson, former Secretary of the Treasury. Henry was the man who allowed Leahman to fall, precipitating the current financial meltdown. Like father like son? Dad has a stake in the operation here, too. Run away very fast from this one.

I don't think any of Oregon's money should be going to either soccer or Paulson (Henry is a minority partner). Especially at the expense of money we voluntarily DONATED for support of the arts.

Yes, yes yes. I know one is a state and the other is a Portland only issue. Guess what? I don't care. Both are wrong. The city should be bailing out the arts and not a rich soccer baron.

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DON'T MISS REPTET TOMORROW NIGHT AT MIZ PIZ

I had John Ewing, their drummer, on my radio show last Saturday….was a lot of fun. He was setting up for a gig in Seattle when he took out time to call me, so he was all psyched and ready to play.

Begins with their tune, Reptet Score! and then John explains the rest.

EWING INT

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NEWMARCH FOURTH ALBUM PREVIEW!

I didn't have it in time to post last week, but I did premiere their 5th Anniversary Live on the radio, and now you get to hear a track! It's Benny Morrison's Limp Imp Parade. Enjoy.

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R.I.P WILLIE KING

Sometimes it takes their death to make us discover their music. I bet you'll feel that way when you listen to Willie King. The NYT obit said:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Willie King, a renowned Alabama blues singer and guitarist, died Sunday near his home in the rural community known as Old Memphis, Ala. He was 65.
His death was announced on his Web site, willie-king.com.
He died suddenly of a heart attack, said Rick Asherson, who had been playing keyboards with him for several years.
With a voice reminiscent at times of Howlin’ Wolf and a style similar to John Lee Hooker’s, Mr. King appeared at blues festivals here and abroad. He first came to prominence outside west Alabama with his critically acclaimed 2001 CD, “Freedom Creek,” on the Rooster Blues record label. He brought an understanding of history and contemporary subject matter to songs like “Second Coming,” which invoked John Brown and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Mr. King started the Freedom Creek Festival in 1997 on his farm on Freedom Creek in Pickens County, Ala., near the Mississippi state line. Since then, it has attracted top blues musicians and bands. It is scheduled for May 29 and May 30 this year. Mr. Asherson said there were hopes of keeping the festival going as a memorial to Mr. King.

David Vest had some Willie King video in his blog.

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THE RETURN OF BIG ROB SCHEPS' BIG BAND

On Wednesday March 18 at the Downtown Portland Hilton Grand Balltoom Rob's rockin' big band will play a benefit the Beaverton Arts and Communications Magnet Academy’s (ACMA) Jazz Music Program

A few times a year, saxophonist Rob Scheps blows back into town and somehow his big band appears as if out of thin air. For a while he had the territory pretty much to himself what with Carlton Jackson and Dave Mills big band not playing. Now with bands like the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble and the Portland Jazz Orchestra in the game, I'm sure Rob knows he's not the only game in town.

Not that it changes anything. If there was any musician who was sure of himself, it's Rob.

In the band this time around:

ROB SCHEPS - CONDUCTOR, TENOR/SOPRANO SAXES, FLUTE

SAXOPHONES/WOODWINDS:
GARY HARRIS
SCOTT HALL
WILLIE MATHEIS
KIRT PETERSON
--------------------
TROMBONES:
STAN BOCK
TOM HILL
DAVE BRYAN
--------------
TUBA:
JAT'TIK CLARK
------------------
TRUMPETS:
RICH COOPER - LEAD
PAUL MAZZIO
GREG GARRETT
CONTE BENNETT
------------------
PIANO/KEYBOARDS - RAMSEY EMBICK
BASSES - TIM GILSON
DRUMS - WARD GRIFFITHS

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SPEAKING OF DAVE MILLS

His Soul Vaccination band has a new album, Souled Out at Jimmy Mak's and a CD release gig on Saturday night, March 14 at Jimmy Mak's. And yes, Mary Sue Tobin is in this band too, along with Louis Pain, Leah Hinchcliff and a lot of very hot soul players...with lots and lots of horns, of course.

As I was sitting here typing this (no shit) Dave Mills walked into the bagel shop to drop off a copy. I asked him if I could put up a tune here to give you a preview.

He said yes. I thought he would. This is Lovemaker featuring Gigi Wiggins on vocals.

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SOMETHING'S FISHY ON MISSISSIPPI

It's the Pisces Ball Friday night at 2410 N Mississippi Ave. with Mr. Creature as your host. It's a Wanderlust Production so you know to expect everything.

Here's what they tell me about the headliners (caps are theirs):

Vibesquad (Crunkadelic Basstraveler) Boulder, CO
Vibesquad is dedicated to making music that vibrates POSITIVITY, LOVE, and LIGHT... w/ ridiculous amounts of BASS & a nasty-ass beat of course ;)

Propatingz (aka BreakbeatBuddha) Oakland, CA
PROPATINGZ (aka BreakBeatBuddha) is responsible for some of the biggest dancefloor bangers to emerge from the west coast scene in recent years, deftly fusing UK bass music, Dubstep and Dirty South Crunk. This is a special PDX appearance where he will previewing tracks off his EP release "SOUNDBWOYZ WARPATH" which has been claiming the spotlight and receiving international acclaim for the UK bass/glitch maestro.

I am espeicially psyched to see Dangerruss & the March Fourth Drummers who is "making the move" they tell me to "jazz glitch dubstep and breakbeat," whatever that means. A niche inside a nice inside a niche…more like those dolls inside dolls inside dolls. I stopped dealing in those things a long time ago. I just want to hear the music. Especially this music.

They also tell me that there will be edible delicacies from The Open Heart Café and Live Body Buffet by Cherry! Enjoy delicious Piscean treats served on beautiful human platters for your enjoyment!

You had me at Live Body Buffet

Btw….it's $18 at the door but $15 dressed as your favorite animal. My favorite animal is still Claudia Cardinale. Do NOT expect to see me dressed as Claudia Cardinale, but if you look like her, I'm the older gentleman in the hat. Say hello.

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GET DISTRACTED FRIDAY NIGHT

Good things don't stop, they just take longer between occurrences. So if you haven't had your Johnny and the Distractions fix for a while, you can get as much as you need, as John Koonce brings the 2009 version of the band to the Aladdin on Friday night.

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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!
Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 3/7/09

2009-03-09T15:14:00.001-07:00
It was pledge again and there are holes where the music would have been.
Listen to my interview with John Ewing of Reptet in the regular Weednesday blog post.

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:06 Belinda Underwood/ Bass Blues/ Greenspace
10:11 Gordon Lee/ Tobacco Monkey/ Live at Jimmy Mak's
10:22 Betty Carter/ I Can't Help It/ The Better Carter Album
10:24 Reptet/ Reptet Score!/ Chicken or Beef?
10:29 Reptet Interview with John Ewing
10:38 Reptet/ Go Bears/ Chicken or Beef?
10:51 Madeleine Payroux/ Instead/ Bare Bones

11:00 March Fourth Marching Band/ Space Hole/ 5th Anniversary Live
11:06 Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra/ Paducah/ We are MTO
11:20 Andew Oliver Kora Band/ Bina Na Ngai Na Respect/ Just 4 U
11:25 Bridge Quartet/ Angel Street/ Day
11:34 Oregon/ Pepe Linque/ Prime
11:48 March Fourth Marching Band/ Limp Limp Parade/ 5th Anniversary Live
11:56 Flora Purim/ Nuvem Cigana/ Sings Milton Nascimento

The Bar

12:05 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:08 Lee Allen/ Walking with Mr Lee/ Down on Bourbon Street
12:11 Lloyd Glenn/ Rampart Street Jump/ After Hours
12:14 Ray Charles/ A Fool for You/ Live at Newport
12:20 Amos Milburn/ Let Me Go Home Whiskey/ Aromic Cocktail
12:23 Champion Jack DuPree/ Drunk Again/ Red Robin Presents
12:26 Lee Dorsey/ Sneakin Sally Through the Alley/ Yes We Can
12:28 Wynonie Harris/ Whiskey & Jelly Roll Blues/ Atomic Cocktail
12:36 Andre Williams/ Jail Bait/ Greasy
12:36 Big Jay McNeely/ All that Wine Is Gone/ Atomic Cocktail
12:43 Smoove feat Jess Roberts/ Cominb Back/ Soul Divas
12:49 Bootsy Collins/ Funk Express Card/ Blasters of the Universe
12:55 Sugar Hill Gang/ 8th Wonder/ 8th Wonder

1:01 MFSB/ TSOP/ Instrumental Classics
1:06 Mar-Keys/ Last Night/ Instrumental Classics
1:09 Ike and Tina Turner/ Nutbush City Limits/ 70s Party
1:13 O'Jays/ Love Train/ Best of Gamble & Huff
1:15 Hot Chocolate/ You Sexy Thing/ 70s Party
1:18 James Brown/ Get on the Good Foot/ Get on the Goodfoot
1:23 Chris Kenner/ Land of a 1000 Dances/ 32 Greatest Hits
1:26 Johnny Guitar Watson/ A Real Mother For Ya/ same
1:31 Isley Brothers/ The Heat Is On/ Best of
1:37 Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings/ Pick It Up, Lay It In the Cut/ Dap Dippin'
1:44 Anthony Hamilton/ They Don't Know/ Southern Comfort
1:49 O'Jays/ Backstabbers/ Best of Gamble and Huff
1:56 Stylistics/ Betcha By Golly Wow/ Stylistics

March Fourth on March Fourth

2009-03-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

See this picture? That's what it really felt like to be at the Bossanova Ballroom Wednesday night for the last of four shows the band staged to celebrate March Fourth's 6th birthday. I would usually say anniversary but they called it birthday.

It was impossibly crowded, full of impossibly dressed people making more noise and having more fun than you would think possible.

Chervona, the Russian wild-men opened the show.

They were followed by the Lloyd Family Players (I called them something else in the original post due to some false information provided in the middle of that crowd...and who sounded like a mini-Lions of Batucada.

Ok, look. It was also impossible to get good photographs. If I had wanted to fight through the crowd and make an asshole of myself, I would have. If I were getting paid, for instance.

March Fourth has become much more than a group of pretty good musicians having a lot of fun. Their tunes and arrangements have gotten more complex without losing the irrisistable edge they've always had.

We love the stilt-walkers, we love the acrobats, we love the fire dancers, we just love the March Fourth Marching Band. Don't you?

Yes, of course the incomparable Noah Mickens was there,

looking smashing and handing out post card ads for CREEPSHOW...a funhouse fetish freakout...from the dirtiest back lot of The Big Top Revolution... at the Bossanova on Saturday, March 21.

Cave Closing...and other things less depressing.

2009-03-03T13:18:00.000-08:00
While waiting for a stimulus program for writers and musicians…we're not shovel-ready and we're not tied to sustainablity programs but as far as writers go, times have never been worse…never ever ever. And the next time I hear somebody with a staff job whine about their situation, I'm gonna slug um.

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Keep this in mind:

Times of music and no money will get you through better than times of money and no music!

….and that's the truth.

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THE CAVE IS CLOSING

Like we needed more news of this kind.

That little precious jewel of a pure jazz club has to close and it's not because of bad business…it's the goddamned fire marshal.

Alan Jones says:

By order of the fire marshal, The Cave and the Green Onion must close their doors. Ironically, one of the very things that made The Cave so warm, inviting, atmospheric, and acoustically fantastic is also the thing that caused the fire marshal to cringe... the low, exposed beam ceiling.

We are working now to find a space to re-locate and will keep you updated on when and where, as well as musical events that we are involved with in the meantime.

It's all of you who have participated in the music, the food, the wine and the atmosphere that have made The Cave such an inspiring and valuable experience for everyone.

In the 10 months The Cave has been open, it's been our mission to invite the most innovative, original and simply great musicians there are, to create art in front of us. In this I believe we have been staggeringly successful.

Are you feeling the same, and increasingly (nearly daily) anger and disappointment and frustration as I am? It used to be that we all could go back to day jobs when times got lean and nobody was buying our words or hiring us for gigs. Now there aren't even any day jobs. I wish I had some answers.

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AND IF THIS WEREN'T ENOUGH…VIRGIN MEGASTORES CLOSE UP SHOP.

Rolling Stone reports:

Last week’s news that Virgin Megastores in New York’s Union Square and San Francisco were closing was evidently the tip of a very sharp iceberg. Billboard.biz reports today that the multi-media chain’s only three remaining stores in Denver, Orlando and Los Angeles will also be shuttered by this summer.

In a move that almost predicated the closures of the Virgin chain, Virgin Entertainment Group North America was acquired by a pair of real estate companies in 2007, Vornado and Related Cos., mostly because those companies were interested in Virgin’s prime locations. The music stores were paying well below-market value per-square-foot for their locations, according to Billboard.biz. For instance, the Times Square location was paying a mere $54 per square foot when the actual location could command $500 if leased by another retailer.

In a similar situation, the U.K.’s Zavvi music chain, which was created after buying out Virgin Megastore locations in 2007, also announced earlier this year that they too would be going out of business. The Virgin Megastores in all locations are expected to announce liquidation details shortly.

Go hug Music Millennium today!

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I'm going to March Fourth's 6th Birthday party at the Bossanova Wednesday night…I'll post pics and stuff on Thursday

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I'll have much more on this later, but by next Monday the Quadraphones new album will have been mastered and ready for airplay. The title will killa ya, "Music to Watch Girls By." Is that funny, or what?

They're doing their own compositions plus some Thelonious Monk, Azymuth, Duke Ellington, Paquito D’Rivera, Average White Band, Astor Piazzolla and Philip Glass.

Their CD release is at Jimmy Mak's on Friday, March 27th. Playing with them will be Leah Hinchcliff (Soul Vaccination, Morgan Grace, Sandy Dennison Quartet and Trio, Portland Jazz Singers Showcase, Swamp Mama Johnson, Nicole Campbell, Mark Bosnian and Voodoo Barbeque) and Brandy Keehn (Zeitgeist and Morgan Grace)
Special Guests: Janice Scroggins (Grammy winning pianist), Lily Wilde (of LW Orchestra Fame, vocals), Susie Jones (head of the Mt. Hood Jazz Dept, alto saxophone).

That is going to be one special night. Get reservations early, like today.

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GET YA SOME BLUES ON ST. PATTY'S DAY

In case you're wandering the streets on St. Patrick's day (and night) and you feel the need to hear some blues, a club not known for blues has got Eddie Turner and a bunch of Portland bands on Tuesday, March 17 at Dante's.

Promoter Rose Allen sez:

Turner has amassed a wide variety of experiences as guitarist, singer and songwriter, having performed with numerous artists, from The James Gang and Deep Purple to Otis Taylor. Guitar Player Magazine describes Turner as: “Otherworldly atmospherics lend a decidedly cosmic ambience to Taylor’s sound.” Taylor tours the U.S. and Europe extensively. This will be his only Portland appearance.

Also appearing: Rollie Tussing, Sassparilla Jug Band (awaiting confirmation) and Kolvane.

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A NEW REGULALR GIG FOR KING AND BABY

One piece of good news is that it's nice to see Tony Starlight's booking King Louie and Baby James on a regular basis. They'll start on Wednesday, March 25.

Sweet Baby James Benton has made quite a comeback over the past 7 or 8 years. When I did this story which focused on SBJ and Cleve Williams, he was just at the beginning of it. The Original Cats didn't even have a name yet.

Watch:

Speaking of Tony's, I premiered a new album by Lavonna Zeller-Williams on my radio show last week. Her CD release is at Tony's Thursday night. She's got Pete Peterson on sax, Ed Pierce on drums, among others.

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TOM PETTY TRIBUTE

If the wan rocker is your cup of tea, run down to the Fez on Saturday night because Pilar French has put together the same kind of tribue that worked so well last year when she did one for Lucinda Williams.

Joining her are Reina Collins and Kate Mann plus Justin Jude, Scotland Barr, Lewi Longmire, Michael Jodell and Matt Brown, James Low, and Rob Stroup.

This is a great time to see Pilar. Try to catch her here or at other gigs where she's doing her own stuff. She's been in the recording studio in the past couple of weeks laying down new songs and she's all excited about it.

They're also doing a teaser at Music Millennium at 4 on the same day.
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DO YOU SING ON THE JOB?

I don't mean if you're a working musician. I mean so other people can hear you. Or maybe just sing in public (without Mickey Mouse ears). A while back I did a story on two such people in Baltimore. Let me know if you do this or something like it (not busking). I'd like to write about it.

Watch:

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Leave a comment!!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight!

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday 2/28-09

2009-03-01T16:03:00.000-08:00
Hey everybody KMHD is having a membership/pledge drive right now. One of the premiums is "30 Minutes of Fame." For contributing $250 to KMHD, you get to come out to the station and do a half hour of whatever you want to play on my show! For $450 you get "60 Minutes of Fame"...a whole hour on the air. I'll give you a CD of what you did, too!

You can either do it in the jazz part of the show (10pm-Midnight), or you can take over as bartender at Midnight and open The Bar!

Go to the KMHD website to make your pledge!

10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Carla Bley's Remarkable Big Band/ Awful Coffee/ Appearing Nightly
10:08 Casandra Wilson/ Gone with the Wind/ Loverly
10:24 Ben Darwish Trio/ Ode to Consumerism/ same
10:32 Lavonna Zeller-Williams/ Forbidden/ Breathe
10:40 Andrew Oliver Kora Band/ Just 4 U/ Just 4 U/ releases April
10:45 Madeleine Payroux/ Love and Trechery/ Bare Bones
10:50 Joshua Redman/ Round Reuben/ Compass

11:06 Jacques Voyemant Septet/ Paradigm Shift/ Arrival
11:13 Milton Nascimento Jobim Trio/ Tudo Que Voce Pdea Ser/ Milton Nascimento Jobim Trio
11:17 Jarrett/ Peacock/ Dejohnette/ You've Changed/ Yesterdays
11:30 King Louie & Baby James/ I Don't Want No Woman/ Live at the Waterfront Blues Festival 2005
11:35 Ken Ollis/ Bum Song/ Confluence
11:40 John Hassell/ Light On Water/ Last Night the Moon Came Over…..
11:48 Paul Bley/ Oljos Del Gato/ Plays Carla Bley
11:57 Henri Rene & his Orchestra/ Hansel & Pretzel/ Cocktail Mix Vol. 1

12:04 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:08 Sam Cooke/ Lost and Lookin'/ Night Beat
12:10 Jackie Wilson/ This Bitter Earth/
12:12 AC Reed/ These Blues Is Killin Me/ I'm In the Wrong Business
12:16 Champion Jack DuPree/ Goin' Down Slow/ Blues from the Gutter
12:19 Ray Brown/ Love Don't Love Nobody/ Old King Gold Vol. 10
12:21 Red Prysock/ Crying My Eyes Out/ Red Robin Presents
12:24 Big Mama Thornton/ Ball and Chain/ Ball and Chain
12:35 Anthony Hamilton/ How Did It Go Wrong/ Ain't Nobody Worryin'
12:39 All In Love Is Fair/ Innervisions
12:42 Alicia Keys/ Why Do I Feel So Sad/ Songs In A Minor
12:46 Al Green/ What More Do You Want from Me/ Lay It Down
12:51 Otis Redding/ Pain In My Heart/ same
12:53 OV Wright/ Gone For Good/ same
12:55 Jerry Butler/ For Your Precious Love/ The Sweetest Soul
12:58 Manhattans/ Men Cry Too/ same

1:12 Anita Baker/ Lonely/ Compositions
1:15 Take 6/ Can't Keep Goin' On and On/ Join the Band
1:19 Gnarls Barkely/ Crazy/ St. Elsewhere
1:23 Johnny Taylor/ If You Take Your Love Away/ Taylored to Please
1:26 Bobby Womack/ If You Don't Want My Love (Give It Back)/ Across 110th St.
1:30 Spinners/ Living a Little, Laughing a Little/ Live
1:34 Mary J. Blige/ Be Without You/ Soul Is Forever
1:39 Raphael Sadiq/ Never Give You Up/ The Way I See It
1:43 Stevie Wonder/ Isn't She Lovely/ Songs In the Key of Life
1:49 Ennio Morricone/ Secrets of the Sahara/ same

Good Portland Jazz Festival Shows, Bad Festival Vibes, Marching All Over Town, Cycling Thru the Snow,

2009-02-25T20:00:00.000-08:00
While wearing my Zulu 100th Anniversary Mardi Gras beads, a kind gift from Jonathan and Tanya Scott who run the Orleans Candle Company and who threw a great Mardi Gras party last Saturday…they cooked for days…and gave away the food!

Ran into Lisa Lepine and Tom Hale and the incomparable Spud Berry (who was on a hunt for a turntable). There's almost nobody I'd rather get an email from than Spud.

Here's me and Tanya:

I'm making the mistake of trying to write this on Mardi Gras Day. I'll seeya tomorrow.

Now it's tomorrow. Time flies when you're wearing Mardi Gras beads. No, I didn't have to show anybody anything to get them.

In my head, I'm here:

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PORTLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL : GOOD TIMES DEPT.

Well, almost. Before I get to the wonderful music I heard last week, I have to say that since Bill Royston and Co. apparently hate my guts or just discount me completely as a jazz writer, TV producer/reporter and DJ I have to pay to get in to any events, unless I go through the musicians themselves. The festival has refused to send me media releases even when I've asked to receive them…even when I was at Oregon Art Beat. I never understood why they ignored Art Beat.

Despite my obvious visibility in the scene and my many friendships with musicians and club owners and promoters…and even after having interviewed Royston for PDX Magazine a couple of years ago…they seem to think I don't exist…or they hate my guts. Either way, I don't react well to disrespect. I'm Italian, remember?

Having said that, and as I mentioned in a previous post, I hit three thrilling shows.

Chronologically:
1. The Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble

The Old Church was the scene of yet another example of the current coming-of-age of the generation of Portland jazz musicians formerly referrred to as "young." I tried to put a stop to that last week in my A&E piece on the new Ben Darwish album (which does not appear on the paper's website, for some reason).

The point is that people like Ben (who is not in PJCE) and co-leaders Andrew Oliver and Gus Slayton need not be called "young" anymore. Not because they're old (mostly under 30) but because they have crossed the line into the arena where they can be judged with everyone else.

The evening was filled with original compositions by this tight-knit community of like-minded players. Not all the pieces were written by folks playing in the ensemble. The group onstage comprised:

On trumpet: Mike Hankins, Paul Mazzio (who killed) and Tree Palmedo
Andy MC'd, conducted and played piano
On reeds: Gus Slayton, Mary Sue Tobin, Willie Matheis and Mieke Bruggerman
Trombones: John Moak,Lars Campbell & Doug Peebles, bass trombone
Kyle williams guitar
Bill Athens, bass
Kevin Van Geem, drums
Galen Clark organ

They played:
The Arctic Messenger by Dan Duval
The Sandwich Maker by Eric Allen
Et Tu, Tutu? by Andrew Durkin who also conducted.
Right land Turns Right Ahead by Oliver
A Crack In the Wall by Ken Ollis
Contanece by Chris Mosely and arranged by Oliver
Lodgepole Pine (It'll Be Alright) by Kyle Williams
Crane by Reed Wallsmith
Someday Mt Heart Will Find a Home by Sam Howard

This was a very important gig in the musical life of this town. Perhaps more important than all the Blue Note gigs you could ever imagine. You should google every single name above…and go out and hear them!

UPDATE:
Here's something funny that one of the band members found online on someone's blog after the Kora Band show. It's not a bad thing to google yourself.

During intercession XX and I had the requisite “girl talk” - we decided that we wanted to have a son like the keyboardist (the grinning curly-haired cute boy is like an adorable puppy - he stirs up all your maternal instinct), marry the bassist (he looks like “good husband material” - despite his Spock haircut - plus I am a sucker for dimples), have a dramatic, intensely romantic, but ultimately failed, love affair (before the marriage of course) with the kora player (he looks like the tragically artistic type, even though he reminds me of Joe in Lipstick Jungle), have the drummer as your best guy friend, and… we don’t know what to do with the trumpet player. Not that we would ever even go up the stage to talk to any of them, but it was harmless fun to let loose for once and “objectify” guys.

2. Master Musicians of Jajouka, Everyone Orchestra, Skerik with Marco Benevento at Roseland.

Intoxicating in every sense of the word. You mean you didn't see the people swimming in the air on Burnside after the show? Was I dreaming? Was I swimming? If music is supposed to take you out of one reality and into another…..

Here are the MMJ:

3. Ben Darwish Trio and the Andrew Oliver Kora Band at Jimmy Mak's.

This wasn't really a Portland Jazz Festival event. Apparently Jimmy doesn't need to be in Royston's big tent. If you noticed only one JM's event was listed in the PJF lineup. Word has it that Jimmy is still waiting for Royston to throw him a national act during the festival. Otherwise, Jimmy doesn't need it. He had his best January ever ever EVER. And I don't just mean in the new club, I mean ever. And in this economy.

Take THAT all you journalists who turn your nose up at jazz. Also, KMHD has had an increaese of TEN THOUSAND LISTENERS over the past year.

One reason for all this is the explosion of great new bands like Ben's and all of Andrew's. I'll be writing about his Kora band in the paper, and also later on here as we get closer to their album relesase. I can't wait to hear them at the new Mississippi Studios when that happens.

THE 2009 PORTLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL: BAD TIMES DEPT.

I got an email from a prominent Portland musician who wanted to remain anonymous. The person had serious complaints about Bill Royston. Another musician also emailed me in a similar vein. Everywhere I go I hear the same thing. I am not repriting any of them because I have not given the subject enough investigative time. Investigavitve reporters get paid. I do not get paid for this. If somebody wants to pay me to investigate the finances of Royston or the festival, please come forward.

I won't be repeating unproven alligations here, no matter how much I feel they're right-on in my gut.

I know I teased more last time but the subject is too important for a cursory look. Sorry to disappoint you but even I have standards.

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I KNOW, BUT IN WINTER?
First of all, Malcolm Rollick is female. See?

Second of all she's getting ready to tour. Not unusual until you find out she's going out for eight months alone on a bicycle. Her kickoff gig is on Sunday, March 1 at the Alberta St. Public House.

She says, She's not an athlete, just a kid who knows how to take her time. She'll be on the road for eight months, seeing the sights and sharing her own uncommon breed of indie-folk with whoever crosses her path. Come see her off, catch some tunes, and get inspired.

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KEEP ON MARCHING!

Both of Portland's famed marching bands, March Fourth and the Lions of Batucada have wonderful upcoming gigs. It's March Fourth's 6th birthday and they've gone back to the Bossanova Ballroom for a series of five shows in four days beginning on Sunday, March 1 and ending on Wednesday, March 4 with a show which includes The Loyd Family Players from Oakland, Portland's Russian Chervona and DJ Global Ruckus.
Find out more about it here.

The Lions are having their Carnaval show on Saturday, February 28 at the Crystal Ballroom. They'll be in full costume and will alternate sets with Grupo Saveiro from Brazil via NYC.

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Please pass this blog around!!
…..and leave a COMMENT!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight!

You can hear my political talk show, "D'Antoni & Levine" with DC-based reporter Art Levine live on Thursdays at 2:30pm PT and then archived thereafter. Listen here.

Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 2/21/09

2009-02-22T14:25:00.000-08:00
I've changed the order of things (on this blog anyway). The news portion will appear on Wednesday afternoons. My KMHD playlist will appear either Sundays or Mondays.

MY MARDI GRAS PARTY

10:00 Professor Longhair/ Go to the Mardi Gras/ New Orleans Party Classics Vol. 1
10:04 Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five/ Struttin' with Some Barbeque/ Offbeat Festival 2000
10:07 Sidney Bechet & his New Orleans Feet Warmers/ Preachin' Blues/ Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens
10:10 Joe Venuti & Louis Prima/ Basin Street/ Hi-Fi Lootin'/ Vinyl
10:16 Olympia Brass Band/ Muskrat Ramble/ New Orleans Preservation
10:20 Rebirth Brass Band/ Blackbird/ The Main Event: Live at the Maple Leaf
10:31 Dirty Dozen Brass Band/ Kid Jordan's Second Line/ The New Orleans Album
10:34: Los Hombres Calientes/ New Second Line (Mardi Gras 2001) Vol. 2 New Congo Square
10:41: March Fourth Marching Band/ Slow Press/ Live
10:44 New Birth Brass Band/ Mardi Gras In New Orleans/ D-Boy
10:51 Dr. John/ Mac's Boogie/ Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack
10:58 Snooks Eaglin/ I Went to the Mardi Gras

11:03 Snooks Eaglin/ Can You Hear Me/ The Way It Is
11:08 Snooks Eaglin/ Travelin' Mood/ Live In Japan
11:15 Snooks Eaglin/ I Been Around the World/ The Way It Is
11:21 Art Neville/ Another Blues Stringer/ Keys to the Crescent City
11:26 Dr. John/ My Indian Red/ Goin' Back to New Orleans
11:32 Wild Magnolias/ New Suit/ They Call Us Wild/ vinyl
11:37 The Meters/ Mardi Gras Mambo/ Fire On the Bayou
11:40 Professor Longhair/ Big Chief Pt. 1/ New Orleans Party Classics
11:42 Cyrile Neville & the Uptown All-Stars/ Big Chief/ The Fire This Time
11:47 Leo Nocentelli/ Say Na Hey/ Say Na Hey
11:52 The Meters/ Hey Pocky-A-Way/ Rejuvenation
11:56 Wild Magnolias/ Handa Wanda/ They Call Us Wild

12:06 Jessie Hill/ Ooh Poo Pah Doo/ New Orleans Rhythm & Blues/ vinyl
12:09 Eddie Bo/ Check Mr. Popeye/ New Orleans Popeye Party
12:15 Huey Smith & the Clowns/ Don't You Know Yokamo/ best of
12:17 Ernie K-Doe/ A Certain Girl/ Crescent City Soul
12:20 Al Johnson/ Carnival Time/ Doctors, etc
12:23 Professor Longhair/ Crawfish Fiesta/ same
12:26 Fats Domino/ Jambalaya (On the Bayou)/ Crescent City Soul
12:28 Neville Brothers/ Valence Street/ same
12:33 John Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen/ Ain't Nuttin' Nice/ Pin Your Spin
12:37 Galactic/ Black Eyed Pea/ Late for the Future
12:41 Rebirth Brass Band/ Let's Do It Again/ Hot Venom
12:54 Papa Grows Funk/ Shakin'/ same

1:06 Ivan Neville/ Scrape/ Live at Jazzfest 2005
1:11 Neville Brothers/ Congo Square/ Live at Jazzfest 2005
1:21 Charmaine Neville & Reggie Houston/ ? / Live at Jazzfest 2006
1:28 The Meters/ Welcome to New Orleans/ Live at Jazzfest 2005
1:32 Big Chief Monk Boudreaux/ Sky Keeps Cryin'/ Live at Jazzfest 2006
1:43 Dr. John/ Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya/ Gris Gris
1:47 Neville Brothers/ Tell It Like It Is/ Live at Jazzfest 2005
1:52 Allen Toussaint/ Sweet Dreams/ Connected
1:58 Fats Domino/ When the Saint's Go Marching In/ New Orleans Party Classics

R.I.P. Snooks Eaglin

2009-02-21T11:12:00.000-08:00
As we head toward Mardi Gras day, it is with great sadness that we will have not have Snooks Eaglin in the world to help us celebrate it. He died on Wednesday. Snooks had been in failing health, battling prostate cancer. He died on his mother's birthday.

Read more here.

Here's Snooks and George Porter, Jr. at the Rock N Bowl:

And another:

And another:

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 2/14-09

2009-02-18T19:49:00.000-08:00
10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Art Taylor/ Cookoo and Fungi/ A.T.'s Delight
10:08 Gross, Frishberg, Doggett/ Mr. George/ Strange Feeling
10:13 Ben Darwish Trio/ Bass Intro, Longview/ Ode to Consumerism
10:29 Ken Ollis/ Highway/ Confluence
10:?? Madeliene Peyroux/ (Looking for the) Heart of Saturday Night/ Half the Perfect World
10:36 Andrew Oliver Kora Band/ Just 4 U/ same
10:41 Wayne Horvitz/ Love Love Love/ unreleased live at Goodfoot Lounge 1/31/09
10:53 Bill Evans/ A Time for Love/ Alone
10:58 Dianne Reeves/ My Funny Valentine/ Songs for Lovers

11:04 Pink Martini/ Cante e Danse/ Hey Eugene!
11:08 Arild Andersen/ Prelude to a Kiss/ Live at Belleville
11:16 Betty Carter/ We Tried/ The Betty Carter Album
11:22 Jim Hall/ My One and Only Love/ Comittment
11:27 Gianuligi Trovesi/ Eurodice/ Profuma di Violetta
11:35 The Tiptons/ Anthem/ Laws of Motion
11:38 Marco Benevento/ Sing It Again/ Me Not Me
11:41 Particular Vernacular/ Particular Vernacular
11:49 Bob Thompson/ Star Fire/ Cocktail Mix. Vol. 1
11:52 Monkey Bars/ Baby Elephant Walk/ Upstairs at Larry's
11:56 David Carroll/ Hells Bells/ Cocktail Mix. Vol. 1

THE BAR

12:05 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:07 Gene Phillips/ Rock Bottom/ Joan's #13
12:10 TT Tribble/ Half Pint of Whiskey/ TT Tribble
12:12 Roscoe Gordon/ Sit Right Here/ Just a Little Bit
12:14 Don & Dewey/ Babby Gotta Party/ Bim Bam
12:17 OV Wright/ A Nickel and a Nail/ Gone for Good
12:20 Staple Singers/ You're Gonna Make Me Cry/ I'll Take You There Vol. 2
12:25 Jackie Wilson/ This Bitter Earth/ Do Your Thing
12:27 Isaac Hayes & Dionne Warwick/ I Just Don't Know What To Do with Myself/ A Man and a Woman
12:35 Allen Toussaint/ With You In Mind/ Collection
12:39 Irma Thomas/ River is Waiting/ Simply Grand
12:46 Linda Hornbuckle & Janice Scroggins/ Gospel Medley/ Sista
12:52 Staple Singers/ On My Way/ I'll Take You There Vol. 2
12:58 Meters/ Keep On Marching/ Fundamentally Funky

1:03 Rickie Lee Jones/ We Belong Togetherr/ Pirates
1:09 Betty Carter/ You're a Sweetheart/ The Betty Carter Album
1:13 Solomon Burke/ For You/ Soul of the Night
1:18 Big Mama Thornton/ Your Love is Where It Ought to Be/ Ball and Chain
1:22 Garnet Mims/ It's Been Such a Long Time/ Warm and Soulful
1:23 Stephanie Schneiderman/ Twenty Slivers/ Dangerous Fruit
1:28 Al Green/ Love and Happiness/ Greatest Hits vol. 2
1:33 TSOP/ Love is the Message/ same
1:40 O'Jays/ Darlin' Darlin' Baby (Sweet Tender Love)/ best of
1:44 OV Wright/ This Hurt is Real/ Gone for Good
1:49 Bettye LaVette/ Let Me Down Easy/ Let Me Down Easy In Concert

ON A WINTER'S DAY: A LITTLE NEWS AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF

2009-02-16T16:59:00.000-08:00
Having just watched the Industrial Jazz Group's video of their tune Jazz-Pop Jerkoff, the music of which is taken from a gig in Yakima in September of 2008, according to Andrew Durkin IJG's musical director. The video is taken from several locations, including Mizz Pizz.

Andrew says: …featuring Cory Wright, Lee Elderton, Evan Francis, Ward Baxter, Mary-Sue Tobin, Mieke Bruggeman (reeds); Dan Rosenboom, Steph Richards, Ian Carroll, Nelson Bell (brass); Dan Schnelle, Oliver Newell (rhythm section); Jill Knapp, Tany Ling (vox), and me (compositions and scowling).

Watch it:

He adds: What is a "jazz-pop jerkoff"? Beats me. I suppose it's a metaphor for the inevitable intersection of the "art music" and "music industry" worlds. None of us is immune to this intersection, really -- even of the most "serious" (i.e., thoughtful, committed, talented) musicians still have to deal with the whole publicity / marketing / business side of things. That's such a common observation these days (not so much when I was growing up) that it hardly bears repeating. But that doesn't make the situation any less absurd. And we all know how I love absurdity.

We know. Btw….that's my buddy Spud Berry crossing in front of the camera…one of many crossing in front of the cam… a great touch.

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NOT EVERYBODY THINKS THE JAZZ FESTIVAL IS SO HOT

Not the music, but how it's run. I received a very disturbing email from a very prominent Portland musician blasting Bill Royston and how he runs the Portland Jazz Festival. I'm gonna sit on it for another week and find out some stuff.

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PAUL DELAY MEMORIAL MOVES ACROSS THE RIVER

This year's Paul deLay Memorial show is moving from the Portland Art Museum to the Aladdin. It'll be on Sunday, April 5 and will be a benefit for a music scholarship at Ethos in Paul's name. David Vest, Paul's last piano player has been on a Sun Ra binge lately and combined with some solo jazz piano recordings he made when he was living in Houston. He's been talking about playing with some horns at the April show.

Here's one of those Houston tunes, Streetcars of New Orleans:

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SF BLUES FESTIVAL DIES

As the economy crumbles, so does our culture. The San Francisco Blues Festival has shut its doors. Known as the country's oldest blues festival, it goes away after 36 years.

“The combination of rising production costs and lack of sponsorship support leaves me no choice but to cancel this year’s show,” said founder Tom Mazzolini, who has also been the show’s sole producer since the first festival in 1973. “I’m sad to say this, but we may well have seen the last San Francisco Blues Festival.”

Makes you fearful for festivals everywhere. There's one here (not the Waterfront Blues Festival) which is in the process of deciding whether or not to continue to operate. I'll let you know when I can release that info.

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MIZ KITTY…CATNIP FOR THOSE WHO LOVE GOOFY ENTERTAINMENT

That's a compliment.

Her monthly Miz Kitty's Parlor is going strong at the Mission Theater and will present another evening of Vaudeville and fake eyelashes on Saturday, Feb 21. Here's the lineup:
BLAIR ST. MUGWUMPS: Vintage Raggity Blues!

BRITTANY: Amazing & Graceful Contortionist!

CARAVAN GOGH: Swing, Funk, Jazz & Mysterioso!

MALDON MEEHAN & FRIENDS: High Steppin' Irish Dancers with Live Music!

JAMES CLEM: Fingerstyle Blues, Sure to Please!

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ATONING IN THE CREEK

Artist/musician Ron Rogers' roots rock band, the Atonements, are playing at Rock Creek Friday, Feb 20th, 9 to 12.

If you never saw my story on Ron and his art, see it now:

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OLD, OLD NOAH

Noah Mickens, who I dubbed The Impressario of the Avant-Garde a few years ago, is turning THIRTY-FIVE YEARS OLD this week. Please help him across the street when you see him, and try to make it to the Fez on Sunday night for his Birthday Dance Party featuring several DJ's but, according to the aging man with the Top Hat, no bands, no art, no circus.

It's free. You must read what may be an excerpt from his forthcoming autobiography, but also serves as part of the media release for the event:

Embroiled since well before puberty in an arcane series of creative and criminal enterprises, Mickens has achieved numerous overlapping degrees and qualities of notoriety in various cities throughout the Union, leading to an internally-contradictory body of verbal mythology that has considerably outgrown the vessel of its origins. Nevertheless, the meat-and-bone entity known as Noah Mickens continues to this minute upon the labrynthine Work which drives his steps through all perplexity and disenchantment.

As he stumbled close to his 35th year of being, Mickens spontaneously came to detest the trappings of so-called "art" and "music" that had defined his being since the earliest memories left to him, and chose to celebrate the occasion by hosting a crazed dance party at his favorite nightclub and inviting everyone and their 18-year-old intern to attend for free.

Get with it, pussies.

You are instructed to dress cool.

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ISAAC SCOTT POTHUSMAS BLUES CD RELEASE AND MARDI GRAS PARTY

Norman Sylvester's good friend, the late Isaac Scott, known as "King of Seattle Blues," died a while ago but his new album is having a Portland release on Friday, Feb 20 at Trail's End Saloon, a great dive in Oregon City. Norman's band plus the Robbie Laws Band with Charlene Grant from Scott's band will play. Any place Mr. S is on Mardi Gras weekend is a good place to be.

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THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSIC BUT……

If you weren't offended by the new HBO series Eastbound & Down, you're not trying. In an upcoming episode, Ashley Schaeffer, the Will Ferrell character will do his own TV car commercial.

Ashley Schaeffer Motors Commercial - watch more funny videos

This reminded me of my own vile piece of work. The filthiest car commercial ever written (I'm proud to say). DO NOT PLAY THIS AROUND THOSE WITH TENDER EARS!!! You've been warned.
I had taken a job at an ad agency that specialized in screaming car commercials and after about 10 days, had mastered the art. I don't know what took me so long but I guess I was in shock. Anyway, we had a recording session to make some spots for a St. Louis dealership. I thought, You want an aggressive car commercial? I'll give you an aggressive car commercial.

Hence:

I warned you.

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Please pass this blog around!!
…..and leave a COMMENT!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight!

You can hear my political talk show, "D'Antoni & Levine" with DC-based reporter Art Levine live on Thursdays at 2:30pm PT and then archived thereafter. Listen here.

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 2/7/09

2009-02-11T08:50:00.000-08:00
10:00 PM Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 PM Betty Carter/ I Can't Help It/ The Betty Carter Album
10:04 PM Ben Darwish/ Ode To Consumerism/ Ode to Consumerism
10:12 PM Enrico Rava/ Improvisation 1/ New York Days
10:17 PM Everyone Orchestra/ Water Conductor's/ Choice Vol.1
10:22: Matt Butler Interview
10:37 PM Matt Butler/ Joy/ The Redwood Project
10:42 PM Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble/ From An Old Diary/ unreleased written by Eric Allen
10:49 PM Andrew Oliver Kora Band/ Blue and Hope/ Just 4 U

11:01 PM Wayne Horvitz Sweeter Than the Day/ Inference/ unreleased/ Live at the Goodfoot 1/31/09
11:07 PM Marco Benevento/ Seems So Long Ago Nancy/ Me Not Me
11:12 PM Urselle/ Purple Rain/ Jazz and 80s
11:16 PM Jacob Fred Jazz Oddesey/ Earl Hines/ Winterwood
11:24 PM Lee Morgan/ City Lights/ City Lights
11:30 PM Irma Thomas/ Somebody Told You/ Simply Grand
11:33 PM David Vest/ This Is Not a Waltz/ unreleased
11:35 PM Gary Burton/Michael Gibbs/ In the Public Interest/ The Start of Something Familiar
11:42 PM Dex Dubious/ Bubbles In the Wine/ Upstairs at Larry's
11:49 PM Dave Harris and the Powerhouse Five/ The Penguin/ Cocktail Mix Vol.1
11:53 PM Raymond Scott/ Ripples (Montage)/ Manhattan Research Inc.

THE BAR
12:03 AM Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:06 AM Lovers Island/ The Blue Jays/ Answers to Answers
12:08 AM Joe Liggins/ I Ain't Drunk/ Answers to Answers
12:10 AM Doctor Ross/ Boogie Disease #2/ Savage Catfish Kick
12:12 AM Champion Jack DuPree/ Tee-Nah-Nah/ Champion Jack DuPree and his Blues Band Feat Mickey Baker
12:14 AM Sunpie Barnes/ Sunpie's Romp and Stomp/ Putamayo American Blues
12:19 AM Bill Doggett/ Honky Tonk Pt.2/ Old King Gold Vol. 2
12:21 AM Joe Louis Hill/ She Might Be Yours But She Comes To See Me Somtime/ Sun Records Vol.3
12:23 AM Champion Jack DuPree/ Shim Sham Shimmy/ Red Robin Presents
12:30 AM Deodato/ Also Spach Zarathustra/ Funk Intrrumentals
12:34 AM Alvin Cash & the Crawlers/ Twine Time/ Funk Instrumetals
12:35 AM Andre Williams/ The Dealer, the Peeler and the Stealer/ The Black Godfather 12:42 AM Jimmy Castor Bunch/ E-Man Boogie/ Butt of Course
12:46 AM Ike and Tina Turner/ Nutbush City Limits/ 70s Party
12:49 AM Joe Tex/ I Gotcha!/ best of
12:51 AM Bar-Kays/ Soul Finger/ Funk Instrumentals
12:54 AM George Clinton/ Da Mothership Connection (Starcrossed Fully Equiped mix) Funk Essentials

1:03 AM Marvin Gaye/ Sexual Healing (Original vocal only)/ The Sexual Healing Sessions
1:10 AM Maya Azucena/ Junkyard Jewel/ same
1:14 AM Stylistics/ Betcha By Golly Wow/ best of
1:17 AM Mary J Blige/ Be Without/ You Soul Is Forever the Remix Album
1:23 AM Del-Foncs/ Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time?/ best of
1:29 AM The Meters/ Love Slip Up On Ya/ Fire on the Bayou
1:35 AM Anthony Hamilton/ Baby Boy Baby Girl (feat Mint Condition)/ Dou You Feel Me
1:37 AM Lamont Dozier/ Can't Get Off Until the Feeling Stops/ Right There
1:40 AM Trish Andrews/ You Know What You Do to Me/ These Five Words
1:45 AM Ty Causey/ Your Love/ True Love in Motion
1:50 AM Carl Stalling/ Porky in Wackyland/ Music from Warner Brothers Cartoons 1936-58
1:56 AM Vivian Stanshal/ Rasp, Gasp Yelp Bellow etc/ Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead

PORTLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL AND JESSE JAMES

2009-02-09T16:42:00.000-08:00
While listening to Steve Reich's Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ…..I know it drives some people crazy. Me, it soothes….

THE 2009 PORTLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL.

You haven't forgotten that it almost didn't happen have you? Remember this scene?

A news conference at which Alaska Airlines was introduced as the sponsor that saved the festival. Not that Bill Royston would ever let you forget that (nor should he) but I thought you might have. So I reminded you. It was just a noodge.

I know this year's festival revolves around the 70th Anniversary of Blue Note Recods, and I'm all for it, even though I don't find myself pulling out a lot of vintage Blue Note and listening. I suppose it may have something to do with the didactic nature of the old-jazz-garde who refuse to move past 1964 in their taste, but I try to break through my prejudice against people who are stuck in the past.

So when it came to playing some Blue Note last Saturday night on the radio, I picked out a home-boy, trumpeter Lee Morgan of Baltimore, Maryland and as soon as the first ten seconds were over, I realized what a terminal fool I must be for discounting any of the vintage Blue Note works.

In case you've never heard Lee Morgan, here he is as a member of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. That's Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons and Jymie Merritt, too.

Having said that, what excites me about this year's festival happens outside the sphere of Blue Note. For my money the best musical experience of the whole Festival comes on Thursday, February 19 at what usually passes for the Roseland Theater but which that night will be turned in to what the promoters are calling

Morocco's Mater Musicians of Jajouka will perform. Multi-instrumentalist/composer/conductor Matt Butler's ad hoc infrequently-seen Everyone Orchestra will also. Opening will be everyone's favorite mysterious saxophone player Skerik who will bring a trio and add keyboardist Marco Benevento (see last week's blog).

The Everyone Orchestra's set will incorporate the Masters as well as Skerik's band. If you've never even heard of, let alone seen the EO, here's an interview I did with Matt on the radio last week:

Also playing with EO is Eric McFadden (EMT, George Clinton's P-Funk), vocalist Jans Ingber (Motet, Charlie Hunter, Norah Jones, Ivan Neville), and baritone saxophonist Steve Berlin of Los Lobos.

Other Best Bets:

Don't get me wrong, there are some enormous talents coming to town. You should check out the website and you could close your eyes, and touch the screen (if your hand isn't dirty) and not go wrong. My KMHD cohort (and writing competitor) Lynn Darroch has a fine guide to the Festival on the home page.

But here are the more hidden gems.

Friday, February 20: Ben Darwish's CD release. His new album Ode to Consumerism is…is…is…is…..well you'll have to read all about what I have to say about it in the O's A&E section that day but here's a hint. I love it.

Opening for Ben is the amazing Andrew Oliver Kora Band. I'm not saying Andrew is amazing, I'm saying the band is. He is too but don't tell him I said so, I don't want him getting a big head. Ok he can, he has earned it. Anyway the Kora is a West African harp-like instrument of great beauty which AO has fallen in love with and has built a whole band around even though he doesn’t play the Kora in the band, somebody else does. They have recorded an album coming out in April which AO laid on me and I've been playing on the radio. I'll give you a taste in later weeks.

Both AO and Ben will be playing other festival related gigs around town during the run.

Friday, February 13 The Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Trombone Shorty plus Big Sam's Funky Nation at the Roseland. Just in time for Mardi Gras, you will not be able to find anything funkier than this show. Period. Big Sam used to be in the DD. Jimmy Mak's, even though I love the place, was the wrong place for them. Roseland is the right place at the right time.

UPDATE:
Here's Big Sam and the band live in New Orleans at Voodoo Fest.

Saturday, February 14, Robert Moore and the Wildcats at the Tugboat Brewery. Even if it was just trumpeter/singer Robert Moore by himself, there would be a pack of wildcats on stage. He is one wild cat.

Sunday, February 15, Greyboy All-Stars with Bill Kreutzman (of the Dead) at the Crystal Ballroom. No, they can't out-funk the Dirty Dozen, but they're worth the ticket.

Tuesday, February 17, Portland Jazz Composers Orchestra at the Old Church. One of the signature events in the life of this emerging ensemble co-led by Andrew Oliver. (How many more mentions will he get in this?)

That is a very brief bunch of tips. I've left out a lot of others go here to find out all of the other local events.

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DAN GAYNOR A GONER

Pianist Dan Gaynor, last seen playing better than he ever has before, especially when he was backing up Nancy King has up and moved to New York!

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NIAYH AND ACOUSTIC MINDS TOURING TOGETHER

The boys on the bus and the Price twins, Amanda and Jenni aka Acoustic Minds are kicking off a tour with a show at the Fez on Wednesday, February 11. Marv Ellis is also on the gig. The bus boys took some time off after living on the bus for several months and rolling through the U.S. Here's what they wrote in January:

Right now we're writing to you from a secluded beach on the coast of Oregon where we're working on new material for our next set of shows. The Rhenburgs have been kind enough to let us use their beach cottage so we can finally rehearse - yet again the universe provides for us. The coast is cold and blustery but often completely clear without a cloud in the sky. We can look out the window of the rehearsal room to see the waves crashing not more than 50 feet away. Yesterday we attempted to conquer the sea on two inflatable rafts. Predictably, this experiment ended in numbness and smiles.
Fall tour 2008 really took a lot out of everyone, despite how great an adventure it was. We feel so lucky to have been able to see so many new places and, above all, to have met many of you! After nearly 3 1/2 months on the road we parked the Wally at Ty and Chelsea's in Portland and split up to take some much needed time off for the holidays.

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VALENTINE'S DAY MASSCRE OF LOVE

From the people who brought you the White Album Christmas show (Noah Mickens is one) there will be what they're calling, Cirque L'Amour Friday and Saturday nights, February 13 & 14. They say it will be A classic tale of love beneath the big top and a gourmet meal to share with your Valentine. Featuring Portland's finest acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, magicians, and more! …with a live musical score by the Stolen Sweets at The Bossanova Ballroom and Supper Club.

You don't need to know any more than that to buy a ticket.

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THE SPACED-OUT BALLAD OF JESSE JAMES

In case you never saw Keith Schreiner do this live (he still hasn't released a recording of it), here it is. When he does it as part of Jazztronica, it's even better, if you can believe it. Yes the video and audio suck, but it's an amazing experience to hear it performed live.

To give you some perspective, here's how it was done on Hee-Haw. Really.

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Please pass this blog around!!
…..and leave a COMMENT!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight!

You can hear my political talk show, "D'Antoni & Levine" with DC-based reporter Art Levine live on Thursdays at 2:30pm PT and then archived thereafter. Listen here.

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday night 1-31-09

2009-02-04T13:00:00.000-08:00
Scroll down for this week's Music News Blog.

10:00 PM Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 PM Jarrett, Peacock, Dejohnette/ Sleepin'/ Bee Yesterdays
10:11 PM David Vest/ Streetcars of New Orleans/ unreleased
10:12 PM Jacob Fred Jazz Oddesey/ Oklalhoma Stomp/ Winterwood
10:19 PM Marco Benevento/ Now They're Writing Songs/ Me Not Me
10:29 PM Ben Darwish/ Ode To Consumerism/ Ode To Consumerism
10:34 Marco Benevento Live Interview
10:45 PM Marco Benevento/ Seems Like So Long Ago Nancy Me/ Not Me
10:52 PM Enrico Rava/ Lulu/ New York Days

11:02 PM Sun Ra/ Zip A-Dee Doo Dah/ Second Star to the Right (Salute to Walt Disney)
11:07 PM Tom reads Sun Ra piece
11:15 PM Sun Ra/ Space Is the Place/ The Antique Blacks
11:25 PM John Martyn/ Solid Air/ Solid Air
11:32 PM Thelonious Monk/ Brilliant Corners/ Brilliant Corners
11:38 PM Leon Thomas/ Come Along/ Leon Thomas Album
11:45 PM Irma Thomas/ What Can I Do?/ Simply Grand
11:49 PM Gianluigi Trovesi et al/ "Pur Ti Miro"/ Profumo Di Violetta
11:53 PM Jessica Lurie Ensemble/ Anthem/ Shop of Wild Dreams

THE BAR
12:04 AM Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:07 AM Boogie Bill Webb/ You Can't Tell My Business After Dark/ Drinkin' and Stinkin'
12:11 AM Johnny Young/ Money Taking Woman/ Chicago Blues The 1950s
12:13 AM The "5" Royales/ Monkey Hips and Rice/ Anthology
12:15 AM Sunnyland Slim/ Recesssion Blues/ Chicago Ain't Nothing But a Blues Band 12:18 AM Bettye LaVette
12:24 AM Gnarls Barkely/ Who's Gonna Save My Soul/ The Odd Couple
12:27 AM India.Arie/ Ready for Love/ Acoustic Soul
12:31 AM Marvin Gaye/ What's Going On/ What's Going On Deluxe Edition
12:35 AM Cameo/ Word Up/ Essential Funk
12:39 AM Menahan Street Band/ Tired of Fighting/ Make the Road By Walking
12:42 AM Brothers Johnson/ I'll Be Good To You/ best of
12:47 AM The Spinners/ Love Don't Love Nobody/ Live

1:00 AM Ike & Tina Turner/ Nutbush City Limits/ 70s Party
1:03 AM Chakachas/ Jungle Fever/ Funk Intstrumentals02-01-2009
1:06 AM David Shire/ The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3/ The Score
1:09 AM Brass Construction/ Movin'/ Funk Instrumentals
1:12 AM 007/ Desmond Dekker and the Aces/ 20 Reggae Classics
1:15 AM The Meters/ Fiyo on the Bayou/ Fire on the Bayou
1:20 AM Lou Donaldson/ Everything I Do Is Gonna Be Funky/ best of
1:29 AM Dr. John/ (Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away/ Desitively Bonaroo
1:35 AM Allen Toussaint/ Night People/ Best of
1:37 AM The Dominos/ 60 Minute Man/ Risque Rhythm
1:40 AM Buster Brown/ Fannie Mae/ Best of
1:43 AM Upsetters/ Mama Loochie/ The Upsetters
1:46 AM Jerry McCain/ My New Next Door Neighbor/ Boogie Is My Name
1:48 AM Ray Charles/ Night Time Is the Right Time/ The Genius Sings the Blues
1:52 AM Sam Cooke/ Mean Old World/ Night Beat
1:54 AM Slim Smith/ Everybody Needs Love/ 20 Reggae Classics

Buy-in, Turn-on, Drop What You're Doing and Hear Marco Benevento... and Watch Dancing Tramps

2009-02-02T13:29:00.000-08:00
While watching Laurel and Hardy dance to the Gap Band…….

Let me know if you woke up yesterday with Sonny and Cher singing I Got You Babe on your radio alarm clock.

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Monday was Portland's Music Millennium Buy-In Day

Got there after lunch. The place was full.

Owner Terry Currier, happy with the turnout, talked to KOIN news.

Ran into Promotion Queen Lisa Lepine and bluesman Russ Finley.

They're in the middle of a weekorso-long Groundhog Day Johnny Cash Swimsuit Singalong. If you arrive in a swimsuit and cowboy boots and sing a Johnny Cash song, you get 25% off your purchase. So far, they've had a girl in a bikini...more are promised for Monday evening, including a full band. Not sure if they'll be in swimsuits. Wish I could have been there for it.

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Composer/keyboardist Marco Benevento will be at the Goodfoot on Saturday, 2/7. He's got a hot new album called Me Not Me full of electronics, interesting covers (Beck, Leonard Cohen and My Morning Jacket for example) and his own stuff. I could tell you more, but you'll find it more fun to listen to my interview with him from my Saturday night show on KMHD. He was a little late calling in but I was glad to hear from him. He was calling from NYC.
Listen here:

He'll have the trio from the album, Reed Mathis on bass and Andrew Barr on drums. The album came out Tuesday of this week. I've been playing it on the radio for two weeks. How cool must I be?
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Looking for a roundup of pretty much all the music news you'd ever want, especially if you're a pro...player or broadcaster or journalist? Check out Buzzsonic. I got stuck in there on Sunday and when I came up for air, I thought a month had passed.
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Look for my Portland Jazz Festival preview here on Thursday. Here's a taste of the Andrew Oliver Sextet, one of my favorite bands, playing Friday, February 13th at The Cave. That's Andrew Oliver on keys, Eric Gruber on bass, Keven Van Geem on drums, Dan Duval on guitar, Willie Matheis and Mary Sue Tobin on saxes in the video playing an Oliver tune called Mixolydia, from their Otis Stomp album.

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Singer Rosalie Sorrells is up for a Grammy this year. She'll be at the Aladdin on Saturday for the annual Winterfolk concert, once again benefiting Sisters of the Road. This year's show is a tribute to Utah Phillips who died last year. She has an album out of his songs, and her own.

I'll never forget sitting in Lisa Lepine's living room a few years back, when she had Rosalie over after a gig. Somehow the subject turned to Percy Mayfield who we both worship (as should you.)

Want to hear what Utah called the funniest story he ever heard?

Lisa also sends this piece of news along:

Long an underground Northwest favorite and the inspiration for events like Daisychain Music festival, hat maker extraordinaire and twisted songwriter Corona Hats (imagine Dylan as a woman) recorded a her first full length album at the studio of Billy Oskay in the Columbia Gorge.

Corona's songs were captured "Field Recording" style and features the talents of Portland blues songster Lauren Sheehan, Felix Manz of the Kitchen Syncopators, and Eugene drum scorcerer Kenny Sokolov (Ras Cloud, Mapate Diop, Thomas Mapfumo, Ferlin Husky) plus Klaus Heyne, a bassist who just happens to customize high-end microphones for folks like Neil Young, Natalie Cole, Phil Collins & Usher among many others!

This illustrious ensemble came together for 2 days and left with 12 songs including a cover of Antonia Stampfel's Jeannine's Dream - a song made famous by the Holy Moly Rounders. Stampfel who lives in a nursing home in Florida, cried when she heard the recording played for her over the phone.

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Speaking of that part of the music world, you heard it here first that Arlo Guthrie will be in town on Thursday, April 2 to perform at Congregation Beth Israel for a fundraiser as part of their 150th Anniversary celebration and the Guthrie Center, a non-profit social service, - spiritual and cultural center located in western Massachusetts. Hardly seems like anything in Oregon is that old, but maybe it's later than I think. Oh wait, you tell me Oregon itself is 150 years old…this year? And Beth Israel, too? It's becoming clearer and clearer.

Arlo will have an 8 piece band. I'm glad he isn't with the symphony this time around. Bad ideas should be allowed to die a merciful death.
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Duff's Garage is going to be rocking this Friday. D.K. Stewart's band will feature the Heart Attack Horns with legendary English saxophonist Chris Mercer who has played with Dr. John, Bryan Ferry, Bob Marley and lots of others. Duff's is always fun.
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I'm going to be writing about the Curious Comedy Theater in the O, but how does this sound?

A new kind of mad performance art! Two delightful, musical maids will dazzle you with their bizarre, hilarious stage antics. Shoshinz is anglicized Japanese for "shy, timid people," but Shoshinz are maids who are subservient to nothing and no-one. These two maids never speak any words, but they sing and dance and make a variety of sounds with their bodies. They can communicate deeply with each other with their sounds and voices and hearts. Watching them, your imagination will soar, and will remember what your most precious treasure is.

Runs Thurs-Sat, February 5-7.

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Please pass this blog around!!
…..and leave a COMMENT!!

I've updated my YouTube channel. Look for newly posted stories of mine at www.youtube.com/tdpdx

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight!

You can hear my political talk show, "D'Antoni & Levine" with DC-based reporter Art Levine live on Thursdays at 2:30pm PT and then archived thereafter. Listen here.

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 1/24/09

2009-01-27T23:21:00.000-08:00
10:00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock/ Jack Dejohnette/ Shaw 'Nuff/ Yesterdays/ premiere
10:07 Enrico Rava/ Thank You, Come Again/ New York Days/ premiere
10:14 Ben Darwish Trio/ Out Comes Grim/ Ode To Consumerism
10:24 The Cooltrane Quartet/ Like a Virgin/ Jazz and 80s
10:27 John Hassell/ Light On Water/Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in/ premiere
10:38 Bill Frisell/ Probability Cloud/ History Mystery
10:43 Marco Benevento/ Seems So Long Ago Nancy/ Me Not Me
10:47 John McLaughlin & Jon Surman/ Hope/ When Fortune Smiles
10:54 Milt Buckner/ Pick Yourself Up/ Milt Plays Chords

11:01 David "Fathead" Newman/ Keep the Spirits Singing/ same
11:07 Herbie Hancock/ River/ same/ Luciana Souza
11:12 Reptet/ Fish Market/ Chicken or Beef?
11:20 Pete Krebs Trio/ Katyn/ Pete Krebs Trio
11:27 Bobby Hutcherson/ Ummh/ Home Cookin'
11:34 Medesky Martin and Wood/ Queen Bee/ Best of Blue Note
11:39 Conjure/ Medley: General Science/Ish/Papa La Bas/ Cab Calloway Stands In for the Moon
11:44 David Byrne/Brian Eno/ Mea Culpa/ My Life In the Bush of Ghosts
11:48 Captain Beefheart/ Hot Head/ Doc at the Radar Station
11:51 R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Sereneders/ My Gal Sal/ Singing in the Bathtub
11:54 Rolley Polley/ Blue Rhumba/ Cocktail Mix Vol. 1

12:02 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:06 Tabby Thomas/ Hoodoo Party/ Louisiana Swamp Blues
12:08 Andre Williams/ Jail Bait/ Greasy
12:13 Five Duo-Tones/ (Bend Over Let Me See You) Shake a Tail Feather/ Savage Kick 4
12:15 Ray Brown/ Saturday Night/ Best of
12:17 Frankie Ford/ Alimony/ Ooo-Wee-Baby
12:19 The Meters/ Good Old Funky Music/ Fundamentally Funky
12:24 Jimmy Castor Bunch/ Bertha Butt Boogie/ Butt of Course
12:30 Ike and Tina Turner/ What You See Is What You Get/ Nuff Said
12:35 Gap Band/ Oops Up Side Your Head/ Essentially Funky
12:39 Papa Grows Funk/ Doin' It/ same
12:48 Commodores/ I Feel Sanctified/ Essentially Funky
12:50 Bar-Kays/ Soul Finger/ Soul Instrumentals
12:52 George Clinton/ Flash Light (Groovemaster's Mix)/ Essentially Funky

1:00 TLC/ Creep/ Best of
1:06 Gnarls Barkely/ Crazy/ St. Elsewhere
1:09 Young MC/ Busta Move/ Raps Greatest Hits Vol. 2
1:13 MC Hammer/ Can't Touch This/ Platium
1:17 Amadou& Miriam/ I Follow You/ Welcome to Mali
1:22 Gil Scott-Heron/ Work for Peace/ Spirits
1:28 Gianlugi Trovesi et al/ Profuma De Violetta/ same
1:30 Sam Cooke/ You Got To Move/ Night Beat
1:35 Al Green (feat Corinne Bailey Rae/ Take Your Time/ Lay It Down
1:40 Major Harris/ Love Won't Let Me Wait/ My Way
1:43 Stylistics/ You Are Everything/ Stylistics
1:48 Staples Singers/ Pops' Instrumental/ Soul Folk In Action
1:50 Clifton Chenier and his Red Hot Band/ Mardi Gras Zydeco/ Live at Grant St.
1:54 Vivian Stanshall/ Gasp, Rasp, Yelp Bellow, etc/ Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead

No Mo Jazz at the Benson, Bob Hope Turns In His Grave, Andre Williams Preaches to Sam Adams

2009-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00
While listening to a Don Cherry/Krysztof Penderecki album called Actions and wondering when David Ornette Cherry is coming back from his long tour and will perform at Goodfoot again….

As the mood was lifting for all of us last week, as we watched President Barack Obama take office and Bush go away, the hard facts of making a living playing music, writing or doing anything creative kept smacking us in the face.

In a Facebook exchange, bassist Dennis Caizza, one of the most comfortable and friendly guys you'd ever want to sit and talk with, and a fine bass player, put this up:

Unfortunately for us all, the Benson Hotel, after 40 years of live jazz, has cut all musicians from their budget. They gave us one day notice which means the last day is (was) this Saturday, January 24th.

It's been my fortune and honor to work with the great musicians who were in-house on Friday nights, Neil Masson, Lee Wuthernow and Jed Wilson; also Tuesdays once a month with Bill Beach.

Actually the Benson by contract was supposed to give us a month's notice before dismissal, but I guess decided to not bother. Funny, they would of made some dough for the jazz festival and if they let all know it was their last chance to boogie…

Blues player Russ Finley commented,

In just the last couple months Halibuts, Tupelo Joes, Steamers, The CI have all either ceased having music or closed altogether. Probably not all due to the smoking ban necessarily but a real eye opener for us musicians and music listeners. Aaaaaaaaaaaaccckkkkkk. There may be more I'm forgetting or don't know about as well!

I'm about to cut a CD (and get a new demo off of it) so I can start trying to get gigs again and I'm seriously wondering why I am bothering? It's kinda grim.

Greg Johnson, President of the Cascade Blues Association and maybe the most knowledgeable guy in town on the blues scene, also commented:

Halibuts only went on a hiatus with music because of the economy. Dave has booked a handful of acts for February and has intentions of more in the future. The CI, Steamers and Tupelo Joe's never took the time to report their acts to the BluesNotes. The only time they did have a listing was if the act themselves reported it. Plus Tupelo Joe's owner was not the easiest person to work with and left a bad taste with many

The situation regarding venues closing is not just specific to Portland, it is happening everywhere. Portland still offers a lot more blues than you'll find in most cities. Places close, others open. It's an on-going cycle. Lefty's in Salem will become Roxxy and will offer blues, though not exclusively. The Coyote Bar & Grill in Hillsboro is having blues acts on occasion and a handful of smaller places as well. They're out there, they just need to be discovered.

And a few days before that, a friend of mine (well, I consider him my friend) wrote me about the upcoming pay-in day saying:

I don't want to get into how lame it is that Portland has just now realizing that Music Millennium is on its way out, that NW 24th store was an ice age ago. One day ain't gonna do it. Tell your readers to go to Obama's web site, Moveon.org etc, and appeal for some bail out money. MM is a cultural icon and Terry does more for the music community here than anybody I see out there. Or why don't you start a web site to raise money to keep it in business. Obama showed us all what $5 donations can do. Just an outsider lookin in.

The economy is making artists of us all…when we find out (or rediscover) what it's like to do what we do for its own sake. Having said that, it is very discouraging, but somewhat less discouraging than it was before last Tuesday.

Speaking of which, how about one last musical farewell to the chimp?

Tanks In My Memory

This could be something special. Thursday night at The Goodfoot a new "improv quartet" Go Anywhere will be hitting the ground running for a fun, funky, and virtuoso night of flamboyant show-off-ery. The extra-ultra-mega Damien Erskine will be on bass, Asher Fulero on keys, Chris Mosely on guitar and Russ Kleiner on drums. EO-staple painter Lang Schwartzwald and his friend Aubrey Jangraw will be collaborating on live improvised art during the show.

Also, you will be sorry if you miss Wayne Horvitz' Sweeter Than the Day band at The Goodfoot on Saturday, January 31.

Here's a note from the road from guitarist Dan Balmer to me:

Wanted to let you know; on my world tour with Diane Schuur (13 countries, so I hope that counts), I've finally written a lot of new music which I've been rehearsing and will present tonight at Jimmy Maks, and hope to be working it into my gigs on future Mondays.

I attended the noon rally in support of Sam Adams last Friday. I wasn't asked to speak (sniff), but if I had I would have said that until or unless it is proven that Sam messed around with Mr. Breedlove before 12am on his 18th birthday, it is not a crime to think with your dick. Nor is it a crime to lie during a campaign. Should every politician who has ever lied during a campaign be held to the same standard that some are putting on Sam, there would be 95% unemployment in elective offices in the United States. Come back to work, Sam!

The most telling argument was posited by Thomas Lauderdale who read an editorial from the Oregonian concerning Bill Clinton. It pointed out that despite all of Clinton's transgressions, he should not resign. End of argument…..except to suggest to those who may be similarly infatuated that they should watch this video of Andre Williams singing his immortal song, Jail Bait….with a truncated ending...he has recorded a much longer and shocking end to that song but this'll do.

DO NOT MISS the Andre Williams documentary Agile, Mobile and Hostile: A Year with Andre Williams on Saturday night at the Northwest Filom Center's Reel Music Festival.

Please pass this blog around!!
…..and leave a COMMENT!!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight!

You can hear my political talk show, "D'Antoni & Levine" with DC-based reporter Art Levine live on Thursdays at 2:30pm PT and then archived thereafter. Listen here.

Obama and Sun Ra (the Connection), JR at the Dry Cleaners, Puked on at Someday

2009-01-22T22:51:00.000-08:00
While listening to some singles done by Sun Ra when he was in Chicago…and thinking about what Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts (and buddy to President Obama) brought with him to his office, having been the son of saxophonist Pat Patrick, a life-long member of Ra's band….

Yeah, think about that one.

After staying up all Monday night, watching the inauguration all day, I didn't have much left to party with but I went to one at the "dry cleaners" at the Ace Hotel where I found March Fourth at the end of a set playing one of my favorite March Fourth tunes. Didn't get a chance to talk to any of them but waved a lot.

JR Pella took over as DJ. I was hoping he would be singing. I always hope he is singing. He should never stop.

Pretty good day, huh?

I know nothing about Sonny Smith or the Evolutionary Jass Band, but if you haven't been to Disjecta's latest space, Friday might be a good time to discover all three. They say Smith…

is like a reincarnation of the old musical apparition called a troubadour. His songs are radically straightforward yet endlessly lyrical and poetic. He captures the movements and intonations of his surroundings like a playwright (and he is) daring the audience to see themselves in the show. And it's all still brilliantly melodic.

He'll be in residence for a few days to record songs for a new album, too.

Composer/pianist….he plays a lot of other instruments too…Andrew Oliver is playing an interesting gig. He writes:

Saturday, Jan. 25, Sarah Phillips, a great improviser and ianist (who plays with me in Sound for the Organization of Society) will be in town from Los Angeles. We'll be playing with Tom Garcia (another recent Portland transplant!) on saxophones, Chris Mosley on guitar, and Jonathan Sielaff on clarinets at the Tugboat (711 SW Ankeny) from 9-12. The music will feature Sarah's compositions and improvisational frameworks as well as some free improvisation for the stylistically open minded among you. Also no cover for this

Rachel Taylor Brown has finished recording a new album called Susan Storm's Ugly Sister & Other Saints & Superheroes.. She says, I think--I hope--it's interesting, and also fun! Even though it's about vengeance and killing, it is also about love!

But Rachel, is it about Susan Storm Large? I mean, those are her first two names? And how soon do I have to wait to play it on the radio? Huh? Her Trio Aorta is playing the Press Club on Saturday. The other two of three are Ben Landsverk and Chris Robley. It's free. I'll be on the radio, missing it as usual.

She'll show up with Ben and Chris at Doug Fir the next night with Roxy Consort and members of the Portland Cello Project for a fascinating classical/folk/pop crossover show, "Cellos & Choirs, she says.

I'd make this longer, but I have two deadlines and it's already 10:30 at night.

I'll have stuff to tell you about Ed Forman next time…..well maybe a time after that, after the story runs in the O.

BTW…..Oracle with Keith Schreiner turned Keith Schreiner
Someday into a winter oasis last night. The crowd was dreary and some young drunk puked nearly on my shoes, but other than the vomit, the band kept my attention on the poorly lit stage. Could use a little work on presentation at Someday…other than the puke I mean.

UPDATE! This just in from Rachel Taylor Brown:
....nooooooo, not our susan storm (large), but the invisible woman from the fantastic four (marvel comics)! well, not her, but her fictitious ugly sister. i also violate galactus (the world eater, also marvel and part of the fantastic four/silver surfer series), bruce wayne, and ambush bug/reduviidae (d.c. comics, the two latter). oh, yeah--and some saints. i'll get you a copy soon as i have one!

Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight!

You can hear my political talk show, "D'Antoni & Levine" with DC-based reporter Art Levine live on Thursdays at 2:30pm PT and then archived thereafter. Listen here.

My KMHD Playlist from Last Saturday Night 1-17-09

2009-01-21T12:21:00.000-08:00
Two premieres, a Best of the Bar and the final "Yes We Can" set:

10:-00 Wayne Horvitz/ Duke/ Monologue
10:02 Chick Correa/ Sometime Ago/ Return To Forever
10:09 Steve Bernstein/s Millennial Territory Orchestra/ Paducah/ We Are MTO
10:15 King Louie & Baby James/ 'Till the Next Thing Comes Along/ Around the World
10:21 Chicago Jazz Philharmonic/ West End Blues – Weatherbird/ Collective Creativity
10:25 Eartha Kitt/ Lilac Wine/ The Collection
10:34 Ben Darwish/ Drum Into – Ode To Consumerism/ same/ premiere
10:43 Marco Benevento/ Golden/ Me Not Me/ premiere
10:50 Sarah Vaughn/ Lover Man (Jazzelicious remix)/ Nu-Jazz Sensations/ request
10:55 Industrial Jazz Group/ Losing Proposition/ City of Angles

11:00 Gene Harris/ Listen Here/ Home Cookin'
11:07 Jessica Lurie Ensemble/ Shop of Wild Dreams/ same
11:13 Kenny Wheeler/ Little Fella/ Flutter By, Butterfly
11:20 Reptet/ Swanni/ Chicken or Beef?
11:26 Madeliene Peryroux/ (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night/ Half the Perfect World
11:32 Allan Hawkshaw/ Blarney's Stoned/ Good Juice
11:34 Mark Ribot/ Marlene/ 17 Hippies Play Guitar
11:38 David Byrne & Brian Eno/ Help Me Somebody/ My Life In the Bush of Ghosts
11:42 Olympia Brass Band/ Muskrat Ramble/ New Orleans Jazz Preservation
11:47 Lloyd Glenn/ Old Time Shuffle/ After Hours
11:50 Dr. John/ When I Lay My Burden Down/ New Orleans Dis Dat or D'Udda
11:54 Robert Maxwell, His Harp and His Orestra/ Accidental Slip On an Oriental Rug/Cocktail Mix Vol. 1

The Bar

Best of The Bar Set
12:02 Tom Waits/ The Piano Has Been Drinking/ Small Change
12:06 Christine Kittrell/ Sittin Here Drinkin'/ Drinkin TNT & Smokin' Dynamite
12:10 Stix McGhee/ Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee/ Atomic Coctail
12:13 Champion Jack DuPree/ Shim Sham Shimmy/ Red Robin Presents
12:15 Dirty Red/ Mother Fuyer/ Urban Blues Vol. 2
12:18 Gone All-Stars/ 7-11/ Best of
12:20 Jimmy Liggins/ Drunk/ Drinkin TNT & Smokin' Dynamite
12:23 Dave Bartholomew/Who Drank My Beer When I was In the Rear?/ Atomic Cocktail
12:26 Jimmy Witherspoon/ When I Been Drinkin'/ Jazz Me
12:29 Champion Jack DuPree/ Drunk Again/ Red Robin Presents
12:32 The Party Boys/ We Got the Party/ More New Orleans Party Classics
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12:39 BarKays/ Soul Finger/ Instrumental Classics
12:41 Billy Preston/ Outta-Space/ Instrumental Classics
12:45 George Clinton/ Da Mothership Connection/ Essential Funk
12:52 Andre Williams/ Herr Ya Dance/ Can You Deal With It?

YES WE CAN SET
1:01 Lee Dorsey/ Yes We Can/ same
1:04 Curtis Mayfield/ Mighty Mighty, Spade and Whitey/ Live
1:11 Staples Singers/ Long Walk to DC/ Soul Folk In Action
1:13 McFadden & Whitehead/ Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now/ McFadden & Whitehead
1:20 Stevie Wonder/ Signed Sealed Delivered (Obama version)
1:23 Curtis Mayfield/ Amen/ Anthology
1:26 Lee Dorsey/ Yes We Can Pt. 2/ Yes We Can
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1:31 Anita Baker/ Soul Inspiriation/ Compositions
1:37 Al Green/ Love and Happiness/ Greatest Hits
1:42 Raphael Sadiq/ Staying In Love/ The Way I See It
1:45 Storm Large and the Balls/ I Want You to Want Me (Auditory Sculpture remix)/ Vasectomy
1:50 Dave Van Ronk/ Maple Leaf Rag/ Sunday Street
1:52 Mary Flower/ Columbia River Rag/ Bridges