No more posts about Cablevision June 12, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, TV.add a comment
I’ve decided to give up posting about my experiences with Cablevision. I have no confidence in any channels being added no matter how much we customers plead or demand. I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, but one way or another, I’ll get the channels I want, like Fox Business Network, even if it means moving and switching providers.
Thank you for reading my posts about Cablevision. I invite you to stick around for posts about other goings-on in my life, as well as concert recaps and album reviews. For example, next weekend, I’ll have a recap of Acoustic Alchemy’s concert at IMAC. And I’m bound to let you know about any albums I pre-order, buy, or listen to.
RnR concert recap June 7, 2008
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RnR Smooth Cruise recap: 8/4/10
Later today, I will recap last night’s RnR (Rick Braun and Richard Elliot) concert at IMAC in Huntington, New York. I attended the 7PM concert, sat in the first row for the third concert in a row, and straightaway center for the second time in three concerts (SJFS was the first).
Expect pictures and as much of the set list as I can identify or remember.
5:38 PM UPDATE: The recap will now be up by Monday at the latest. Please be patient.
6/8, 1:50 AM UPDATE: I have selected the pictures to use for the recap and cropped them. I hope to write the recap with those pictures later today.
6/8, 11:13 PM UPDATE: Here, finally, is the rest of the recap:
The band was comprised of Rick Braun on trumpet (with and without mute) and flugelhorn…
Richard Elliot on tenor saxophone…
Ron Reinhardt on keyboards…
Dwight Sills on guitar…
Nate Phillips on bass…
…and Ricky Lawson on drums.
The set list included, but was not limited to:
“Curve Ball”
This led off the show.
“Down and Dirty”
“Notorious” (Rick’s song from “Body and Soul”)
“People Make the World Go Round” (covered by Richard on “Metro Blue”)
Midway through, Richard tried to get as much growl as he could out of his sax.
“Cadillac Slim”
“RnR”
“Grazin’ in the Grass” (covered by Rick with Boney James on “Shake It Up”)
This was the last song before the encore.
“Use Me” (covered by Rick on “Kisses in the Rain”)
This was the encore. Rick encouraged the audience to sing the lyric “Until you use me up” as loud as possible.
And there you go. It was a very exciting concert. I can only imagine what the 9:30 crowd got.
SJFS reviewed at “SmoothViews” June 2, 2008
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Mary Bentley was another one of the attendees at this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert in Milford, Connecticut. She has a review of the concert, which I recapped here in the days that followed it, in this month’s SmoothViews internet magazine.
The SmoothViews homepage can be found in Jazz Links on the left part of the screen.
Pre-order update #3 May 31, 2008
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The release of the re-issue of “Soft Space” by The Jeff Lorber Fusion has been pushed back to June 24.
Wayman Tisdale’s “Rebound” comes out Tuesday. It will be shipped to me by Thursday at the latest.
David Benoit, “Heroes” May 29, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal.4 comments
I received “Heroes” yesterday, and after all the computer crashing craziness, I finally got around to listening to it early this morning. Here is my review per a thread on the Magic Island BBS:
Not only is [“Heroes”] a winner [as I referred to it in an earlier post], it is a grand slam! [David Benoit’s] covers are 1000x better than the original versions. Way to go, David…and also, David Hughes [bass], Jamey Tate [drums], Brad Dutz [percussion], Andy Suzuki [saxophone on “A Twisted Little Etude” and “Blue Rondo A La Turk”], and the Asia America Symphony [string quartet on “She’s Leaving Home”].
P.S. I prefer this “Heroes” over the namesake TV series. I’m sure some of you here [on the message boards] would beg to differ, but I digress.
Here are the tracks:
1. Mountain Dance (4:04)
Original artist: Dave Grusin
2. Human Nature (4:13)
Original artist: Michael Jackson
3. Your Song (3:49)
Original artist: Elton John
4. Light My Fire (4:00)
Original artists: The Doors
5. Never Can Say Goodbye (4:19)
Original artists: The Jackson 5
5/30 UPDATE: So far, I am hooked on this song.
6. She’s Leaving Home (3:36)
Original artists: The Beatles
7. Song For My Father (3:23)
Original artist: Horace Silver
8. You Look Good To Me (2:57)
Original artist: Oscar Peterson
9. Waltz For Debbie (5:03)
Original artist: Bill Evans
“Debbie” was originally spelled “Debby” by Bill. David also covered this on “This Side Up” in 1985.
10. A Twisted Little Etude (2:30)
Original artist: David Benoit.
This is the lone original track. It is a tribute to Dave Brubeck, which leads us to…
11. Blue Rondo A La Turk (5:00)
Original artist: Dave Brubeck
If I got any of the original artists wrong, let me know and I will make the necessary corrections.
New old laptop broken May 24, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal, Technology.add a comment
I broke the Toughbook last night trying to put in the 1 GB memory card. Since then, the computer will turn on, but won’t boot and is stuck on until the battery runs out. It ran out some time this morning. I e-mailed Panasonic customer support for their help, but what is more likely to happen is I will buy a new laptop from Dell. That was my original plan before my dad gave me the Toughbook.
P.S. Al Turner’s “Movin'” sounds great.
Pre-order update #2 May 22, 2008
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The release date for Nick Colionne’s “Off Limits” album has been pushed to July 8.
David Benoit’s “Heroes” comes out Tuesday and I should get it Wednesday or Thursday.
Yellowjackets’ “Lifecycle” sounds good so far. I’ll listen to Al Turner’s “Movin'” once I complete “Lifecycle.”
Pre-order update May 17, 2008
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For some reason, my copy of “The Jeff Lorber Fusion” was shipped early and I received it today. Having heard it, the audio quality is a big improvement over the LP. The bonus track, “Poppin’,” originally only available on a limited edition LP, was excellent.
My Al Turner and Yellowjackets CDs come out Tuesday and should be shipped right away.
5/20 UPDATE: The two CDs shipped today and will arrive tomorrow, as will that 7-port USB hub.
Lots of pre-ordering today May 10, 2008
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After browsing the Upcoming Jazz Releases page at allaboutjazz.com, I just pre-ordered a whole mess of CDs:
Al Turner, “Movin'” (5/20)
Yellowjackets, “Lifecycle” (featuring Mike Stern) (5/20)
Wayman Tisdale, “Rebound” (6/3)
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “The Jeff Lorber Fusion” (re-issue) (6/10)
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “Soft Space” (re-issue) (6/10)
Gerald Albright, “Sax For Stax” (6/24)
Nick Colionne, “No Limits” (6/24)
Eric Darius, “Goin’ All Out” (6/24)
Last April, I bought the original “Jeff Lorber Fusion” and “Soft Space” LPs on eBay, thinking it would be ages before those albums would ever be released on CD. When they came, I recorded the tracks on both from my turntable to my DAT (Digital Audio Tape) recorder. Then, I recorded what was on the DAT to my computer as WAVE files, which I also saved as high-quality MP3s. Now, they’re coming to CD on Wounded Bird Records. Go figure. At least the LP versions held me over for a year.
I pre-ordered David Benoit’s new album, “Heroes,” a week ago. That comes out May 27. Outside of that, I had no idea any of the other albums listed in this post were coming out. But I know now and look forward to hearing them.
P.S. Still bored and lonely.
David Sanborn concert recap May 4, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal.add a comment
As I feared, there was no meet-and-greet after tonight’s (technically, last night’s; it’s after midnight as I post) David Sanborn concert at IMAC. Initially, I was frustrated, but I’ve gradually gotten over it.
My seat was excellent. It was in the left section, first row, aisle. The band was comprised of David on alto saxophone; Ricky Peterson on keyboards, organ, and a vocal on “The Dream,” the encore of the night; Richard Patterson on bass; Nicky Moroch (“MorOCK”) on guitar; and Gene Lake on drums. Besides “The Dream,” the set list was “Comin’ Home Baby,” “Full House,” “Maputo,” “Tin Tin Deo,” “As We Speak,” “Benny,” and “Soul Serenade.” After “The Dream,” some of the crowd wanted another encore, but they didn’t get it. It’s just as well. I’ve been told that most single artist sets are 75 minutes, which is about how long the set was tonight. I wasn’t complaining, though.
Overall, it was great to finally see David in concert, even if this ends up being the only time.
I took around 30 pictures (without the flash). Here are the ones that stood out:
David Sanborn:
Ricky Peterson (the only shot I tried getting with his organ in the way):
Richard Patterson on two kinds of bass:
And Nicky Moroch:
Gene Lake was completely obstructed from my view.
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