Playlist, Week of 2026-10-11

 

Aretha Franklin's not my favorite female soul singer by a long shot, but damn, this is a great album... Life goes on...

Playlist 2026-10-12:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 1)
*And Big Band: 2026-08-28 RVA (wav)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Nice Guys (side 2)
*Beatles: Something New (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Beatles VI (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (Special Edition) (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 "Comp. 96"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 3)
*Gerald Cleaver: Adjust
*Nels Cline: The Inkling
*John Coltrane: Giant Steps (side 1)
*Cream: Wheels of Fire (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 5)
*Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (side 1)
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 1)
*Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (disc 2)
*Goal Weight: Keep Telling Yourself That
*Alexander Hawkins/Sofia Jernberg: Musho
*Noah Howard: Patterns/Message to South Africa
*Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane
*Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet: Hear the Light Singing
*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra: Galactic Parables: Vol. 1 (disc 2)
*Ava Mendoza: Alive Alone, Alive Together
*OOIOO: Gold & Green
*Prince: Timeless
*Prince: Calabama EP
*Rova/Nels Cline Singers: The Celestial Septet
*Michael Sarian: The Sea, the Space, and Egypt, Vol. 1
*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song] (side 1)
*Sun Ra: The Universe Sent Me (The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 5)
*Sun Ra: Do the Impossible: Original Soundtrack to the Documentary (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Elliptical Orbits
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 3)
*UYA: 1995-03-02 Wet Bottom Slap (wav)
*Various artists: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest (disc 4)
*Dionne Warwick: Make Way for Dionne Warwick (sides 1, 2)
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (disc 1)
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life: The EP
*XTC: Apple Venus, Vol. 1 (side 2) 

Reading List, Week of 2026-10-11

Did I understand it any more than the other times? Maybe a little, but mostly: nah. Still fun to read? Hell, yeah, and I'll do it again... again!

Reading List 2026-10-12: 

*Bishop, John. Joyce's Book of the Dark, Finnegans Wake (reread/started)
*The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (transl. Glenn Wallis) (started)
*Harrow, Alix E. A Spindle Splintered (started/finished)
*Harrow, Alix E. A Mirror Mended (started/finished)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Sun Ra. The Immeasurable Equation: The Collected Poetry and Prose (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-10-04

Well, the new Stevie Wonder EP came out of the blue, and it's, uh, wonder-ful (sorry)... truly, balm for the soul... I can't help but wonder why on earth he didn't put these four songs on the original LP instead of the relatively lackluster ones he chose for the bonus 7-inch, but oh well... I'm certainly glad to have these now... he just sounds so damn good... 

Playlist 2026-10-05:

*Burt Bacharach: Reach Out (side 1)
*Beach Boys: Spirit of America (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Beatles '65 (sides 1, 2)
*Daniel Carter: Open Question, Vol. 1
*John Coltrane: The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (disc 3)
*Deerhoof: Divine Schism
*Bob Dylan: New Morning
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "The Nutcracker Suite"
*Duke Ellington: All American in Jazz
*Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Seattle Concert "Harlem Suite"
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Duke Ellington: …And His Mother Called Him Bill (side 1)
*Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (disc 1)
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1983-09-11 Santa Fe, NM (CDR) (disc 2)
*Andrew Hill: Compulsion (sides 1, 2)
*ILLnillaVice: Soundcloud selections (streaming)
*New Ting: 2024-08-04 "Merely a Rather Uninteresting Symbol" (wav)
*OOIOO: Armonico Hewa
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Hat and Beard
*Sun Ra: 1980-03-28 Rome (CDR) (disc 2)
*Weather Report: Heavy Weather
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life: The EP

Reading List, Week of 2026-10-04

...and again...

Reading List 2026-10-05:

*Sun Ra. The Immeasurable Equation: The Collected Poetry and Prose (reread/started)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (reread/in progress)
 

Some Recent Purchases

 

 

Nice to have these on vinyl...
 

Gone Fishin'...

 

...the blog will return at the end of the month. In the meanwhile, here's another walking/driving playlist from the Magic Jukebox:

1. Starlets - I Sold My Heart to the Junkman
2. Beach Boys - Long Promised Road (live)
3. Andy Partridge - I Defy You Gravity
4. Os Mutantes - Bat Macumba
5. Bill Robinson & the Quails - The Cow
6. Fela - Wadele Wa Robin
7. Squeeze - (This Cold be) The Last Time
8. Becker and Fagen - You Go Where I Go
9. Micro-East Collective - Oxygen Debt
10. Barbara & the Uniques - There It Goes Again
11. Beach Boys - Tears in the Morning
12. James Brown - I'll Go Crazy (live)
13. Ernestine Anderson - You're Not the Guy for Me
14. Sun Ra - Advice to Medics
15. Guided By Voices - Lucy's World
16. Sly & the Family Stone - Better Thee than Me
17. Duke Ellington Octet - Acht O'Clock Rock
18. Robert Wyatt - To Mark Everywhere
19. Art Ensemble of Chicago/Cecil Taylor - Nutty
20. Sun Ra - The Way You Look Tonight (live)
21. Carla Thomas - Let Me Be Good to You
22. Meters - Stay Away
23. Olivia Tremor Control - Gypsum Oil Field Fire
24. Judas & the Piledrivers - Bad & Rare
25. Circus Devils - Lice
26. Sparks - Suburban Homeboy ("Ron Speaks" Version live)
27. Buddy Guy - Hound Dog
28. Major Lance - The Monkey Time 
29. De La Soul - Breakadawn
30. Wings - Tomorrow
31. Billie Holiday - I Can't Get Started
32. Baby Washington - A Handful of Memories 
33. Chuck Berry - Let It Rock
34. Rascals - Nubia
35. Ornette Coleman/Prime Time - Bourgeois Boogie
36. Sun Ra - Velvet
37. Soft Machine - So Boot if at All
38. Beach Boys - Break Away (Demo)
39. Stock, Hausen, & Walkman - Broccoli
40. Beach Boys - Surf's Up (Piano Demo)
41. Pearl Woods - Right Now
42. Duke Ellington - It's Swell of You
43. Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
44. Sun Ra - El Is the Sound of Joy (live Detroit)
45. Jimi Hendrix - Lullaby for the Summer
46. XTC - Rip Van Ruben
47. Bob Dylan/The Band - Open the Door, Homer (take 1)
48. Gorgeous George - -Sweet Thing
49. Charlie Parker - Repetition (live)
50. Ahmed - Rooh (The Soul) [excerpt]
51. GOASTT - Xanadu
52. Bob Dylan - Moonlight
53. Duke Ellington - When You're Smiling
54. Olu Dara - Massamba
55. OOIOO - I'm a Song
56. Exciters - Do Wah Diddy iddy
57. Tape-Beatles - Pens, Pencil, Stationery
58. Dennis Wilson - Cocktails
59. Mar-keys - Philly Dog (live)
60. Weather Report - Man in the Green Shirt
61. Ivory Joe Hunter - This Kind of Woman
62. Ingrid Laubrock - Is Life Anything Like This
63. Deerhoof - The Trouble with Candyhands
64. Duke Ellington - Love Scene
65. Gang of Four - If I Could Keep It for Myself
66. Sam and Dave - You Got It made
67. Beatles - Rehearsal of Shakespeare Scene
68. Sun Ra - Outer-Reach Intensity Energy
69. Isley Brothers - Who's That Lady
70. Judith Hill - My People
71. John Coltrane - Untitled Original 11383 (take 1)
72. Pat Patrick & The Baritone Saxophone Retinue - East of Uz
73. Baby Washington - I Can't Afford to Lose Him
74. Beatles - Rain (stereo)
75. Swollen Monkeys - Baudaboo
76. Mothers of Invention - The Uncle Meat Variations
77. Nels CLine Trio - A Sudden Interest
78. Albert Ayler - Infinite Spirit
79. Guided By Voices - Request Pharmaceuticals
80. Elvis Costello & the Attractions - This Year's Girl
81. John Coltrane - Vigil
82. Naked City - Hammerhead
83. Burial - Shell of Light
84. Four Tops - It's the Same Old Song
85. Kid Koala - Bonus Materials on the Set of Fender Blender
86. David Torn - Them Buried Standing
87. Duke Ellington - Laura (live)
88. Cornelius - Bug (Electric Last Minute)
89. Beach Boys - Heroes and Villains (stereo mix) 
90. Supremes - Coke Commercial #2
91. John Coltrane - Brasilia
92. Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd - No. 1 (2006-12-28)
93. George Jones - Why Baby Why
94. Stock, Hausen, & Walkman - Aerosol
95. Dick Dale & the Del-Tones - Let's Go Trippin'
96. Asha Bhosle - Ae Naujawan Hai Sab Kuchh Yahan
97. Patsy Cline - Pick Me Up (On Your Way Down)
98. Lewis Taylor - Til the Morning Light
99. Shirelles - Tonight You're Gonna Fall in Love with Me
100. Henry Cow - Rapt in a Blanket 

 

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-09-13

I listen to a lot of jazz, but this week for some reason was very jazz-heavy... with lots of heavy jazz... I recommend this kind of listening!

Playlist 2026-09-14:

*And Big Band: 2026-08-28 RVA (wav)
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (New York) 1975 
*Anthony Braxton Quintet: 1976-06-05 Moers (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton/George Lewis: Elements of Surprise
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 "Comp. 45"
*Anthony Braxton: Six Monk's Compositions (1987)
*Company: Company 2
*Miles Davis: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions (disc 2) "Ascent"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 15 (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Girl's Suite/The Perfume Suite
*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris
*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra: Galactic Parables: Vol. 1 (disc 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell/Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Three Compositions "Quintet #9 for Eleven"
*Thelonious Monk Quartet: Misterioso
*New Ting: 2025-10-06 "Lofty News" (wav)
*Evan Parker ElectroAcoustic Septet: Seven "Seven-2"
*Bud Powell: The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2
*Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude "Contemplating Tranquility"
*Sun Ra: Disco 3000
*Sun Ra: 1980-03-28 Rome (CDR) (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 5)
*David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun Of Goldfinger

Reading List, Week of 2026-09-13

Reading List 2026-09-14:

*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (reread/started)
*Birkerts, Sven. The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age (reread/finished)
*Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-09-06

 

Do the Impossible, the soundtrack of the Sun Ra documentary, has a few unreleased nuggets, but very little of the voice of John Gilmore... to listen to it, you would never know the crucial role Gilmore played in Ra's music... oh well... In the meanwhile, been getting off on George Coleman with Miles Davis... he ain't Coltrane, but then again who else is?

Playlist 2026-09-07:

*And Big Band: 2026-08-28 RVA (wav)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Sirius Calling
*Albert Ayler et al.: New York Eye and Ear Control (side 2)
*Blood Incantation: Hidden History of the Human Race
*Anthony Braxton: For Alto (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton Creative Music Orchestra: RBN-3 degrees K12 [Comp. 25] "Unit F, Part II/Unit G"
*Anthony Braxton: Four Compositions (1973)
*Anthony Braxton: New York, Fall 1974 (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: News from the 70s
*John Butcher/Rhodri Davies: Carliol
*Circle: Early Circle
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: Aphelion "At Aphelion"
*Miles Davis: Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall (side 2)
*Miles Davis: Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963-1964 (discs 2, 3)
*Miles Davis: Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 1) "What I Say"
*Eric Dolphy: Out There
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 15 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Togo Brava Suite (Storyville) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Fire! Orchestra: 2018-11-18 Stockholm (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: So Many Roads (1965-1995) (disc 2) "Dark Star Jam > Spanish Jam > U.S. Blues"
*Grateful Dead: 1983-09-11 Santa Fe, NM (CDR) (disc 1)
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (disc 2)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2015-04-13 Musicircus, University of Richmond (CDR)
*New Ting: 2026-08-31 Osaka Smokehouse (wav)
*Prince: Timeless
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: The Magic City (remastered and expanded stereo version) "The Magic City"
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: My Brother the Wind Vol. 1 (Remastered and Expanded Ed.)
*Sun Ra: Do the Impossible: Original Soundtrack to the Documentary (discs 1, 2)
*Cecil Taylor: 3 Phasis (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 4)
*Gebhard Ullmann/Basement Research: Impromptus and Other Short Works
*Various artists: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest (disc 3)
*Alex Ward Item 10: Volition (Live At Cafe Oto) "Volition"

Reading List, Week of 2026-09-06

Reading List 2026-09-07:

*Birkerts, Sven. The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age (reread/started)
*Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen (reread/started)
*The Adventures of Jonathan Corncob, Loyal American Refugee (finished)
*Cook, Richard. It's About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress) 

 

 

 

 

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-08-30

 

With Miles Davis at the Blackhawk, not only do we get some of Miles' best playing ever, we also get Hank Mobley... Finally finished working my way through relistening to Sun Ra's historic stint in Detroit over the last days of December 1980... an amazing run with not much overlap of material (except for the space chants, which I'll likely skip in the future for now)... 

Playlist 2026-08-31:

*Cannonball Adderley/John Coltrane: Cannonball & Coltrane (side 1)
*And Big Band: 2026-08-28 RVA (wav)
*Anthony Braxton: The Complete Braxton 1971
*Anthony Braxton/Gino Robair: Duets 1987
*Daniel Carter: Makeshift Spirituals, Vol. 1
*Chick Corea: Circulus
*Miles Davis: Rare Miles (CDR compilation) (disc 6)
*Miles Davis Quintet: 1957-02-16 St. Louis (CDR)
*Miles Davis Quintet: 1957-02-23 St. Louis (CDR)
*Miles Davis/John Coltrane: The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961 (disc 3)
*Miles Davis: Someday My Prince Will Come (side 2)
*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963-1964 (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 2) "It's About That Time"
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (disc 4) "Calypso Frelimo"
*Duke Ellington: Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 (disc 3)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 14 (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: His Piano and His Orchestra at the Bal Masque (side 1)
*Funkadelic: 1971-09-12 Rochester, MI (CDR)
*Gentle Giant: Playing the Fool (side 4)
*Grateful Dead: Sunshine Daydream (Veneta, Oregon 8/27/72) (disc 2) "Playing in the Band"
*Lightnin' Hopkins: Dirty House Blues (disc 1)
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (disc 1)
*James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto
*Jimmy Lyons: Other Afternoons
*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 6)
*National Health: Of Queues and Cures (side 1)
*New Ting: 2018-09-24 "How Easily I Can Lie" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-10-07 "We All Answered" (wav)
*Soojin Suh: Prism of Existence
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (side 3)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 9)
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 8)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 3)
*Lennie Tristano: Intuition
*Alex Ward: The Trade
*Dionne Warwick: Here, Where There Is Love  (side 1)

Reading List, Week of 2026-08-30

Reading List 2026-08-31:

*The Adventures of Jonathan Corncob, Loyal American Refugee (started)
*Fletcher, John. The Tamer Tamed (started/finished)
*Gillen, Kieron et al. The Power Fantasy, Vol. 2: Mutually Reassuring Destruction (started/finished)
*Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises (reread/started/finished)
*Barker, Nicola. The Three Button Trick and Other Stories (finished)
*Birkerts, Sven. The Other Walk: Essays (finished)
*Gillen, Kieron et al. The Power Fantasy, Vol. 1: The Superpowers (finished)
*Tejaratchi, Sean. Liartown: The First Four Years (reread/finished)
*Cook, Richard. It's About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

A Lifetime of Listening

Sun Ra, Anthony Braxton, Duke Ellington, Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus... any -one- of these artists would provide a lifetime of listening... lots to do!

Playlist, Week of 2026-08-23

Returning again to Ingrid Laubrock's Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt was a delight... one of her most entrancing albums, somehow capturing the foggy ethereality of half-remembered dreamscapes... for some reason I associate it in my mind with Sun Ra's Heliocentric Worlds, Vol. 1... it's that sense that no matter how many times I listen to it, I feel like there's more to grasp that's just beyond my comprehension... music to return to time and again... Reading Richard Cook's It's About That Time is of course sending me back (not that I ever left) to Miles Davis... 

Playlist 2026-08-24:

*Cannonball Adderley: Somethin' Else
*Louis Armstrong: From the Original Okehs Vol. 5 1931/32
*Will Bryce/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2026-05-02 RVA (CDR) "Pear Tree"
*Nels Cline Singers: Initiate (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: The Mathematics of War
*John Coltrane: Live in Japan (disc 3) "Peace on Earth"
*Miles Davis/John Coltrane: The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961 (discs 1, 2)
*Miles Davis + 19/Orchestra under the Direction of Gil Evans: Miles Ahead
*Miles Davis: 1958-05-17 NYC (CDR)
*Earth Wind and Fire: Faces (selections)
*Earth Wind and Fire: Raise! (selections)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 14 (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: The Complete Fillmore West 1969 (disc 7) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1969-12-04 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1981-05-01 Hampton VA (CDR) (disc 3)
*Grateful Dead: 1990-09-20 NYC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Guided By Voices: Crawlspace of the Pantheon
*Alexander Hawkins: No Nation But Imagination
*Susie Ibarra: Flower after Flower
*ISM: Metaphor
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (discs 1, 2)
*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra: Galactic Parables: Vol. 1 (disc 1) "Free Agents of Sound"
*Ava Mendoza: Alive Alone, Alive Together
*Nicole Mitchell's Sonic Projections: The Secret Escapades of Velvet Anderson
*New Ting: 2026-08-17 "Golly" (wav)
*Paal Nilssen-Love Circus with The Ex Guitars: Turn Thy Loose
*Pauline Oliveros: Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961-1970 (disc 7)
*OM: Sudpol
*Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band: Stone Stone Stone
*Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy Studio Sessions (side 6)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Elliptical Orbits
*Sun Ra and His Space Arkestra: What Planet Is This? (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 8)
*Cecil Taylor: 3 Phasis (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye (sides 1, 2)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (discs 1, 2)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: This Brings Us To (side 1)
*Marta Warelis: Still Life with Lemons

Reading List, Week of 2026-08-23

Reading List 2026-08-24:

*Barker, Nicola. The Three Button Trick and Other Stories (started)
*Birkerts, Sven. The Other Walk: Essays (started)
*Gillen, Kieron et al. The Power Fantasy, Vol. 1: The Superpowers (started)
*Tejaratchi, Sean. Liartown: The First Four Years (reread/started)
*Fratricide Punished, or, Prince Hamlet of Denmark (transl. Horace Howard Furness) (started/finished)
*Kirby, Jack. The Hunger Dogs (started/finished)
*Ram V., Evan Cagle, et al. The New Gods, Vol. 1: The Falling Sky (reread/started/finished)
*Ram V., Evan Cagle, et al. The New Gods, Vol. 2: Edge of Darkness (started/finished)
*Iyer, Pico. A Beginner's Guide to Japan (finished)
*Vollmann, William T. The Ice-Shirt (Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes, Vol. 1) (finished)
*Cook, Richard. It's About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

And Big Band: Upcoming RVA Gig on Friday August 28, 2026

 

I will be playing in And Big Band this Friday... looking forward to it! 

Playlist, Week of 2026-08-16

 

I hope the lineup of Kim Cass's Levs proves to be more than a one-off... I really enjoy Charlie Parker on tenor... he's not as comfortable with it, and so his playing is less fluid... but it's still monstrously swinging... The Cecil Taylor big band music is endlessly nourishing... "If music be the food of love, play on"... Still continuing to be blown away by the majestic Sun Ra release Somewhere Over the Rainbow... especially all the new John Gilmore solos... 

Playlist 2026-08-17:

*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 4) "Number 2 - Quartet Version Take 7"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Kabalaba (pt. 1)
*Beatles: Something New (side 2)
*Beatles: Yesterday and Today (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum: Silence/Time Zones:  "Crossing (Dedicated To Roscoe Mitchell)"
*Kim Cass: Levs
*Frédéric Chopin: 24 Preludes Op. 28/Sonata No. 2, Op. 35/Polonaise, Op. 53 (Evgeny Kissin)
*Gerald Cleaver: Adjust
*John Coltrane: Giant Steps (side 2)
*Miles Davis: Complete Birth of the Cool
*Miles Davis: Collector's Items (side 2)
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 11)
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Grateful Dead: 1981-05-01 Hampton VA (CDR) (disc 2)
*Charlie Haden: Liberation Music Orchestra (side 1)
*Ingrid Laubrock: Monochromes
*Ingrid Laubrock/Kris Davis: Blood Moon
*James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto
*London Jazz Composers Orchestra featuring Anthony Braxton: 1988-03-25 Basel, Switzerland (CDR) (disc 2) "Unidentified Barry Guy Composition"
*Monstrance: Monstrance (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2027-07-27 "Horse for Au Pair" (wav)
*OM: It's About Time
*Tony Oxley Quintet: Angular Apron
*Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948 (disc 5)
*Soft Machine: Floating World Live
*Sun Ra and His Space Arkestra: What Planet Is This? (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 7)
*Sun Ra: Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1979-03-15 WKCR, NYC (CDR) track 1
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (discs 13, 14)
*UYA: 1995-03-16 Touch Module (wav)
*Various artists: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest (disc 2)
*Stevie Wonder: 1979-12-18 Secret Life of Plants Tour, Pasadena CA (CDR) (disc 1)
*Robert Wyatt: Shleep 

Reading List, Week of 2026-08-16

Reading List 2026-08-17:

*Iyer, Pico. A Beginner's Guide to Japan (started)
*Vollmann, William T. The Ice-Shirt (Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes, Vol. 1) (started)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 5: The Sinners (started/finished)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 6: The Last of the Innocent (started/finished)
*Kirby, Jack. Jack Kirby's Fourth World, featuring: Mister Miracle (reread/started/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (Arden 3rd ed., ed. Harold Jenkins) (reread/started/finished)
*Barker, Nicola. Darkmans (finished)
*Cook, Richard. It's About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-08-09

 

Secret Life of Plants is sadly underrated... unavoidable, really, coming as it did right after Songs in the Key of Life... I just love it.... Hardcore sax excitement from Mars Williams on Boneshaker's Unusual Words... Blues in Orbit is one of Ellington's best '60s albums... 

Playlist 2026-08-10:

*Boneshaker: Unusual Words
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Bass/Jaime/Isasti: Vi La Pampa Arder
*James Brown: The Payback
*Miles Davis: Filles de Kilimanjaro
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 3) "What I Say"
*Deerhoof: Custom Made
*Jack DeJohnette/Made in Chicago: 2015-07-11 Rotterdam (CDR) track 5
*Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra: The Ellington Era, Vol. 1: 1927-1940 (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Award Winners: Blues in Orbit (sides 1, 2)
*Fire! Orchestra: Arrival 
*Merzbow: Tauromachine (disc 2)
*Monstrance: Monstrance (disc 1)
*Eva Novoa: The Freedom Suite
*Ochibo No Ame: Studio Recording
*Maurice Ravel: Bolero (Lorin Maazel/Orchestre National de France)
*Ravi Shankar: Three Ragas
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Paradiso Amsterdam 1970 (side 3)
*Sun Ra: East Two + 7
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 6)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1966-10-16 Stuttgart (CDR) (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 12)
*UYA: Space Chunk (CDR compilation)
*Various artists: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest (disc 1)
*Mal Waldron: The Call (side 1)
*Kenny Wheeler: Deer Wan (side 1)
*Stevie Wonder: Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (discs 1, 2)

Reading List, Week of 2026-08-09

Reading List 2026-08-10:

*Cook, Richard. It's About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record (started)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 4: Bad Night (started/finished)
*Drnaso, Nick. Sabrina (started/finished)
*Birkerts, Sven. American Energies: Essays on Fiction (finished)
*Barker, Nicola. Darkmans (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)