Another Jazzy NYC weekend 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, Jovan Alexandre, saxophone, and Josh Bruneau on trumpet.  ¶ 1:27 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Hartford International Jazz Festival 2008 Click here for the complete gallery of pics and videos for the events I attended.

Friday October 10
7:30pm - Spris
Jazz City
Jonathan Chatfield - piano
Jovan Alexander - tenor sax
Stephen King Porter - bass 
Jason Williams - drums


10PM - The Society Room (formerly Jack Blacks)
Badal Roy Quartet and Special Guests:
Badal Roy - Tablas
Kenny Wessel - Guitar
Steve Gorn - Bamboo Flute
Daniel Moreno - Percussion
Special Guests:
Dave Liebman - Sax
Michael Henderson - Bass


Saturday October 11
11:00 PM - Fengs
Mario Pavone Sextet
Mike Di Rubbo - Alto and Soprano Sax
Lauren Sevian - Baritone Sax
Kris Allen - Alto Sax
Michael Musillami - Guitar
Mario Pavone - Bass
Curtis Torian - Drums



Sunday October 12
7:30PM - City Steam
Wallace Roney Quintet
Wallace Roney – Trumpet
Antoine Roney – Saxophones & Bass Clarinet
Rashaan Carter – Bass
Aruan Ortiz – Keyboards
Kush Abadey – Drums


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  Live jazz at 55 bar 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 duck to get out of the way of his guitar. I shot a video and posted it on YT.



also, a few days before Sep 25 caught Conference Call at Willimantic’s beautiful Capitol Theater.. Conference Call is: Gebhard Ullmann (bass clarinet, bass flute, tenor and soprano saxophones); George Schuller (drums); Joe Fonda (bass); and Michael Jefry Stevens (piano).  ¶ 10:04 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Bamboozled Bailout 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 DJIA, despite agreements on a bailout bill. Perhaps the notion that just giving this windfall Xmass gift to the investment banks, will not induce any change in there irresponsible reckless risk-taking, and we are just throwing good money after bad. Isn't it ironic that free-market capitalism is hailed as the engine of economic prosperity, but when it all turns south, those same capitalists right away ask for the government to step in and bail them out with Federal dollars (a socialist move).

And how about the silly notion that taxpayers will actually make money on this deal. The assumption that the treasury siphoning off these risky, sub-prime, poorly secured mortgages will be good investments is ridiculous. If there was money to be made on these lousy mortgages, these investment firms would not be asking us to unload them at taxpayer expense!

Does anyone actually trust Treasury secretary Paulson (ex CEO of Morgan Stanley), or the top management of these investment firms not to repeat the reckless, greedy excesses of the past? What indications are there that they have changed their ways? Their proposal was to fork over $700 billion dollars without any oversight or condition. Any thought of limiting executive pay, or US equity in these firms would 'discourage' participation in this bailout. If that ain't a recipe for letting the foxes guard the hen-house. That is simply the height of arrogance and entitlement, that we should blindly trust these goons that brought us into this mess to also lift us back to prosperity.

How about using half of that $700 billion dollars to directly help Main Street. Can you imagine how $350 billion dollars to create alternative energy related jobs in the US would help our economy and work towards relieving our dependence on foreign oil? What if that money were used to provide government issued small-buisness loans, healthcare subsidies, auto-industy assistance to retool for hybrid car production. Wouldn't that be a shot in the arm for our economy and solve many pressing issues that directly affect Main Street?

I have not heard anything in this bailout bill that contains significant reform to prevent the excesses of the past from continuing in the future. Instead, we are providing more corporate welfare to the greedy irresponsible investment firms that have failed our economy while lining their own pockets with billions.  ¶ 10:54 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Live music Lots of live music lately. I want to start journaling these as to not forget them... in my old age.

Wed, Sep 10
Chris Potter (ts) w/Adam Rogers g, Craig Taborn ep, Nate Smith d - CP Underground. No bass. Regatta bar Boston

Fri Sep 19
Insight featuring Zaccai (p) and Luques (b) Curtis. Also Jovan Alexander ts. at Htfd Polish home.

Sun Sep 21
Dave Holland (b) Sextet with Antonio Hart as, Robin Eubanks tb, Eric Harland d, Alex Sipiagin tp, Steve Nelson vb  ¶ 12:52 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Banished from Google
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 out. Over the course of a couple years I had implemented many techniques to improve my organic search rankings. I had improved my positions month after month till I came up second place when 'Jazz Podcast' is searched (only behind jazzpodcast.net). My podcast had become one of the most popular Jazz shows on the web. Page hits, podcast subscriptions, downloads and AdWord revenues were on the rise. All of this started to come crashing down in just a couple of weeks.

To try to find some resolution to the problem, I ended right back at Google and found Webmaster Tools. This site has a plethora of great information on how Google views your site, what phrases are returning the highest rankings and tips on improving your positioning.

While it gave me no clue as to why I had disappeared from Google, Webmaster Tools has a 'Reconsideration Form' that can be used to get Google to re-evaluate your site and place it back in the rankings. It took just a couple of days, and sure enough, my site reappeared... right back in second place where it belongs. A huge sigh of relief! I'm posting this info because it might be of help to others that find themselves in this situation.

When it comes to web traffic to your website, Google can giveth and can taketh away!!!  ¶ 7:52 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  It ain't always jazz 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 a great teacher, and has surrounded herself with some of the best local area musicians as seen here with David Stoltz (b), and Rob Gottfried (d).



I also worked on my YouTube Channel. Check out my videos and favorites here.
  ¶ 2:49 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Newport Jazz Festival 2008 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 influenced by African, Caribbean and Latin rhythms (as in Lionel Loueke, Esperanza Spalding, Sonny Rollins) or progressive hard rock electronics (Herbie Hancock, Chris Potter, Marco Benevento).  Yet it was all progressive, often hard driving and swinging jazz. As long as these artists are not selling themselves out for commercial popular appeal, the variety it brings to jazz music is very refreshing. At least the Sunday line-up that we attended did not have that smooth-jazz influence that has been pervading the genre as of late. Even Herbie's popular selections from River and Possibilities CD's were played in a creative and thoughtful way that you would expect from this master.   ¶ 8:30 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Jazz the way it should be 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 two killer tenor sax players. Coleman (71 yrs), one of the all-time masters of the tenor, who has played with the greatest jazz artists of all-time, including being a member of the Miles Davis Quintet (with the dubious distinction of being replaced by Wayne Shorter), Jimmy Smith, Dizzy, Lee Morgan, Max Roach, and more. Eric Alexander is one of the great young talents and powerful players on jazz scene today.

  ¶ 6:50 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  What you should know about John McCain

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--John McCain Votes to Filibuster Minimum Wage Hike - AOL News is highly ranked on John McCain, and the minimum wage increase was incredibly popular. 2--McCain housing policy shaped by lobbyist - This article emphasizes how corporate special interests have formed McCain's economic policy. If it becomes the top ranked MSNBC article, it will appear in the top ten searches for McCain nationwide. 3--Bush, McCain plug Social Security - Seniors are going to be the key swing vote in this election, and they hate Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. This is the best polling message against McCain of all, which isn't surprising since our victory on Social Security is how began to turn the tide against Republicans and conservatives three years ago. The headline alone ties McCain to Bush, and this article already ranks very high on searches for McCain Social Security. 4--McCain blasts Obama's and Clinton's attacks on NAFTA - This is a great article because it not only ties McCain to NAFTA, which is quite unpopular, but it also draws a contrast between McCain and Democrats on the issue. The LA Times is also in the top twenty searches for John McCain. 5--McCain in NH: Would Be "Fine" To Keep Troops in Iraq for "A Hundred Years" - McCain's "100 years" statement ha damaged him already, and this article has already been significantly optimized on Google. While Mother Jones is not an ideal news source, it is the top article for this quote, and appears in the top thirty searches for John McCain already. 6--McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion - This is my personal favorite. The headline just makes McCain look like an asshole, and ties him to Bush. Who is opposed to health insurance for kids? CNN also is in the top ten searches for McCain and John McCain A lot of people will see this one. 7--Senate passes expanded GI bill despite Bush, McCain opposition - While I am not thrilled about using Salon, since it isn't as well known, and since there is an advertising wall that hides the story, the title is damaging enough. McCain's opposition to the GI Bill really hurts him, and tying him to Bush is just as bad. This title does both in a clear, straightforward manner. 8--McCain says overturn the law that legalized abortion - Pretty straightforward, and extremely important. More than half of all women voters think that McCain is pro-choice. This will quickly change their minds. 9--McCain Defends Bush's Iraq Strategy - The classic McCain SEO, that still appears in top thirty searches for McCain and John McCain. It is also proof positive that this campaign will work, because it appears as the second CBS news article, but still on the front page in Google searches just below the CBS election center information on John McCain. That is all we need to do to get it on the front page of searches about McCain--optimize it against other CBS articles. Also, even though this SEO campaign was abandoned fifteen months ago, it still ranks in the top forty in McCain searches. If a fifteen month old campaign is still that effective, imagine what we can do with enough participation in this campaign.

  ¶ 9:02 PM 0 Comments Links to this post