tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23864512009-10-26T01:32:35.677-04:00Thoughts that flow through an ethernet cable connecting my brain to the World Wide Web.Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.comBlogger495125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-15073903886061168632009-09-10T11:28:00.010-04:002009-09-13T19:36:22.429-04:00

On September 6, 2009, I had the opportunity to sit down with the great bass player and composer Dave Holland before his performance at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. Dave's career took off after being invited by Miles Davis to come to the US from his native England. During that tenure, Dave worked on Miles' landmark recordings In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. From there Dave went on to

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-79373689590609239812009-08-11T17:03:00.021-04:002009-08-25T00:31:04.614-04:00

The Newport Jazz Festival founded by George Wein, 55 years ago holds a legendary place in the history of Jazz. This years festival was important for bringing such a diverse array of artists from old legends, to modern straight ahead hard-boppers, to bright young artists stretching the boundries of the jazz art form. The show is held at Fort Adams Park right on the New England shoreline. Its

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-65249014352347964312009-03-13T16:55:00.004-04:002009-03-15T09:02:22.066-04:00

Quote Jon Stewart, "I know you are trying to make finance entertaining... but it's not a fucking game."After you watch the interview segments below, I suggest that you check out this YouTube. You will never watch Cramer the same again.First Some Background.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-45560665932828688672009-02-26T08:27:00.002-05:002009-02-26T08:30:46.461-05:00

A cool site with some very eclectic and hip stuff. This would be cool hanging in my office. It's gotta be cool because my son David has a lot to do with this enterprise.

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-65817035859528733912009-02-16T19:23:00.003-05:002009-02-16T19:35:30.272-05:00

Gigapan image from the north press platform during President Obama's inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2009. It's made up of 220 images and the final image size is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels.

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-75465863116481600302009-02-07T11:37:00.002-05:002009-02-07T11:43:40.727-05:00

Friday night Feb 6, 2009; another night of hitting the jazz clubs in NYC7:30 Jazz Standard - Cindy Blackman Explorations: Cindy Blackman dr, Zaccai Curtis p, Marc Carey k, Antoine Roney s, Rashaad Carter b.10:30 Smalls Jazz Club - Seamus Blake Qnt - Seamus Blake s, Dave Kikoski p, Lage Lund g, Matt Clohesy b, Bill Stewart d.

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-62367869762211890712009-01-23T21:05:00.010-05:002009-01-27T11:37:43.345-05:00

 This is my tribute to the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. I have edited excerpts of Obama's historic inaugural speech with Sonny Rollins' landmark recording "Freedom Suite". Recorded in 1958 this was Rollins' musical protest of the state of race relations during the height of our segregation era. It also represents a new freedom in jazz composition and improvisation. Saxophone Collosus'

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-92156111637561178642009-01-08T12:56:00.002-05:002009-01-08T13:00:02.074-05:00

This new record "label" is a reflection of this digital age, a response to the state of the music industry, and the way music will be distributed in the future. From the Nu Jazz Entertainment website...All releases will be distributed solely via digital downloads, with no products sold through the traditional music retail outlets. This will allow for the music to go directly into the hands of the

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-55161313317125888252008-12-07T10:51:00.005-05:002008-12-07T18:33:33.106-05:00

Just got done listening to Barak Obama on Meet the Press. This guy is going to be a great president of historic proportions. How nice it is to listen to such an intelligent, focused, articulate man as our president. After the last eight years it is such a refreshing change. He has such a populist message, something we haven't heard in literally decades from the highest office in the land. He even

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-14318039481970113782008-12-06T12:33:00.002-05:002008-12-06T12:44:02.161-05:00

Monthy trip down to NYC. Dinner with Dave followed by set at Smalls Jazz Club. Great club. Literally a whole in the wall. Caught Mark Soskin Quartet featuring Joel Frahm (also Jay Anderson bass, Matt Wilson drums). Claire captured this video of a smokin' Joel Frahm performance.

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-12541854606103860052008-10-26T13:27:00.006-04:002008-10-26T21:42:08.026-04:00

Another night of Jazz and dinner with David Friday night.At Jazz Standard: Charles McPherson/Tom Harrell Quintet - Charles McPherson AS, Tom Harrell Trp, Ray Drummond Bs, Chuck McPherson Dr, Don't know on Piano (supposed to be Aaron Goldberg).Sunday night, right here in Hartford at the HJS Dinner at Black Eyed Sally's; Nat Reeves Quintet. Nat on Bass,Tony Reedus, drums, Anthony Wonsey, piano,

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-73551500722678685562008-10-11T16:01:00.017-04:002008-10-15T07:41:23.193-04:00

Click here for the complete gallery of pics and videos for the events I attended.Friday October 107:30pm - SprisJazz CityJonathan Chatfield - pianoJovan Alexander - tenor saxStephen King Porter - bass Jason Williams - drums10PM - The Society Room (formerly Jack Blacks)Badal Roy Quartet and Special Guests:Badal Roy - TablasKenny Wessel - GuitarSteve Gorn - Bamboo FluteDaniel Moreno -

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-55712922517463342162008-10-02T22:04:00.003-04:002008-10-02T22:21:09.944-04:00

Monday night Sep 30, on a whim, hopped a train NYC. Met up with son Dave and headed down to the Village to catch one of those great Mike Stern appearances at 55 Bar. How about $15 cover (which includes 2 drinks), and you get to see a world class giant of jazz/fusion guitar, Mike Stern (along with Kim Thompson (d), Tom Kennedy (b)). We were sitting so close to the action, I had to occasionally

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-37289154770500919042008-09-29T10:54:00.003-04:002008-09-30T10:15:34.436-04:00

Isn't anyone else skeptical about how this bailout is being jammed down our throats? Has anyone taken the time to analyze the effectiveness of $700 billion dollars of taxpayer money for corporate welfare? It seems to me that the market had already begun to stabilize last week without a bailout. As of this morning though, overnight markets and early trading has resulted in another tumble of the

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-85463007866004041142008-09-22T12:52:00.002-04:002008-09-22T13:02:10.517-04:00

Lots of live music lately. I want to start journaling these as to not forget them... in my old age.Wed, Sep 10Chris Potter (ts) w/Adam Rogers g, Craig Taborn ep, Nate Smith d - CP Underground. No bass. Regatta bar BostonFri Sep 19Insight featuring Zaccai (p) and Luques (b) Curtis. Also Jovan Alexander ts. at Htfd Polish home.Sun Sep 21Dave Holland (b) Sextet with Antonio Hart as, Robin Eubanks tb

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-89437685642750356432008-09-12T07:52:00.000-04:002008-09-12T15:26:15.109-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that traffic to my Jazz Podcast website had dramatically dropped. I was puzzled as to why this was happening as I hadn't really changed anything on the website. About a week ago, I Googled the page and noticed that no matter what search phrases I used, I could not get a hit to my Podcast home page. It seemed I had been banished from Google. Of course, I freaked

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-82415337071422719472008-08-24T14:49:00.010-04:002008-08-25T10:39:07.086-04:00

It was a blast to help out hosting a live broadcast of Desiree Bassett playing on the Fiat Flux, a Saturday morning show on WHUS. While engineering on the mixing board for part of the show, I also shot the little video clip below. This 15 year old girl is a killer rock guitarist, with a real appreciation for the best of the Classic Rockers (Hendrix, Dicky Betts, Satriani). She has good folks and

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-50746655619523736752008-08-13T08:30:00.014-04:002008-08-17T11:40:06.853-04:00

Just returned from a few days in Newport. The vacation was highlighted by the JVC Newport Jazz Festival, my first time at the renowned jazz event. I was most struck by the wide breadth of musical styles that jazz has transitioned to. The traditional quartet or quintet setting, playing bebop based compositions was present but very much in the minority. The music that was predominant was heavily

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-60720997561017106042008-07-01T18:50:00.006-04:002008-07-01T20:04:31.947-04:00

The best way to experience jazz music has to be live in a New York City jazz club. It just doesn't get any better. Live, up-close and personal. The Jazz Standard is just one of those places. Get there an hour or so early, and it is easy to grab a table a few short feet from the stage. Sunday evening, June 29 we experienced the George Coleman Quintet with special guest Eric Alexander. These are

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-72182488712492099932008-06-22T21:02:00.007-04:002008-07-02T12:13:17.686-04:00

Ed. note: This post is part of a conspiracy to link to articles critical of Sen. McCain. The more people link to these articles, the higher will be their Google rankings. Thus when folks Google McCain regarding these issues, they will be more likely to see these critical articles at the top of the list. It's not often I have the opportunity to be part of a conspiracy. I love a good conspiracy!1--

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-13046632221146753742008-05-31T11:58:00.004-04:002008-06-02T10:10:09.180-04:00

Saw Chop Shop opening at Real Art Ways in Hartford. A well crafted movie set at Willett's Point in Queens NY in the shadows of Shea Stadium. It is an area known for seedy auto repair shops, and the home of an underground culture, economy and lifestyle. It is that lifestyle that is portrayed using young non-professional actors playing themselves and filmed entirely on location that gives this film

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-4861340335632317072008-05-08T22:20:00.004-04:002008-05-28T08:18:36.220-04:00

Just go away, and take your husband with you. The pathetic pandering to your last best hope, white redneck middle america conservative leaning democrats won't get you elected. Watching you throw back shots and a beer, telling hunting stories about shooting of rifles with your Pa, or proposing silly gas tax holidays just makes you look phony and foolish. It's over. Bow out gracefully. Let the real

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-49158345979128461132008-04-16T11:11:00.004-04:002008-04-16T11:36:25.003-04:00

I've said this dozens of times now, but it keeps getting better. Hartford is getting to be an incredible Jazz town. Monday night jazz jam at Black Eyed Sallys is a wonderful thing to behold. This week, in celebration of Trombone wizard Steve Davis (Hartford's mentor for aspiring young jazz musicians) birthday, all the great jazz cats turned out. Many coming all the way from NYC. Dig this:Steve

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-2149062736467164882008-02-24T12:23:00.004-05:002008-02-24T12:44:59.535-05:00

I got a text message today 10:00AM from David. It simply said "Nader 08". Woa, he's doin' it again. My first reaction... Unless Obama turns out to be a real dope, I don't think I'll be voting for Nader this time around. Then I happen to watch Meet The Press, and there he was speaking to Russert. Single payer healthcare, fighting corporate ownership of American politics, increasing tax rates for

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386451.post-45323151468127752452008-02-09T15:19:00.001-05:002008-06-02T10:11:02.270-04:00

Nothing is more fun then hitting the jazz clubs in the Big Apple. Here is how it went down this Friday evening.4:00 PM book out of work a little early5:30PM Board Train from New Haven to Grand Central Station7:00PM Dinner with Dave9:00PM Take cab to Greenwich Village.10:00PM catch 2 late sets with great sax player and friend Bob Reynolds at 55Bar1:00AM catch cab back to Grand Central Station, and

Ken Lasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12828859773379284792noreply@blogger.com0