Best of birthdays to the mother of us all, Carla Bley. Carla is 85 today.
A few years ago I wrote an overview for the New Yorker Culture Desk.
On DTM there’s an interview — this one is pretty great, if I do say so myself.
There’s always more to hear. Currently listening to the 1983 session Dreams and Stories by great guitarist Rodney Jones with a notable rhythm section: Kenny Kirkland, Marc Johnson, Jeff Watts. Kirkland and Tain get into it every piano solo.
DTM wins Blog of the Year from the estimable JJA. Also nice to see Kevin Whitehead win the Lifetime Achievement Award; he deserves it, and — for whatever it is worth — is certainly an influence on my own prose style.
RIP Curtis Fuller. A key presence on so many classic records. I know the work with Art Blakey best: Those Messenger records featuring Fuller are numerous and wonderful, a peak in the music, and deserve a serious critical overview. Many people like Free For All, but I grew up with Caravan. The best appraisal of Fuller that I’ve seen is in Mark Stryker’s Jazz from Detroit, which includes material from an interview. Stryker’s memorial thread on Fuller is excellent.
I live-tweeted the Joel Ross & Immanuel Wilkins duo set from the Village Vanguard.
DO THE M@TH 