Chicago Tribune Printers Row Article Corrected

I received word from the Chicago Tribune that a correction has been issued in today's edition on the use of the wrong titles in Elizabeth Taylor's column on best books of the year (Chicago Tribune Printers Row 12/5/09).  The correction appears on page 2 of the paper.

As I had previously blogged, Ms. Taylor had provided the wrong titles for both of her choices for best books of the year.  After trying to purchase the books at my neighborhood bookstore, I was amazed to find that Taylor's choices were both listed incorrectly.

I am glad to see that the errors have been corrected and am very appreciative of the Chicago Tribune's Amy Guth for following up.  I have to say I am a little disheartened by the lack of apparent response by others in the Chicago area.  I am hopeful that there are other "book-nerds" out there and I hope to connect with you all.

Merry Christmas to all!

Evanston Township High School Jazz Festival

Evanston Township High School has announced its Seventh Annual Evanston Jazz Festival. The event focuses on educating high school jazz students and showcasing their talents. The festival attracts more than 300 student musicians from school bands as far away as Winnipeg, Canada to as near as Chicago, Illinois, this year with more than 40 bands and combos from over 16 schools.

The Jazz Festival will be held Saturday February 6, 2010 at the Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Avenue, Evanston, IL.  The Festival will run from 9:00 am until 10:00 pm.  For additional information check out http://www.ethsjazz.com/.

Chicago Tribune Printers Row Book Section

I am still leading my one man crusade against the outrageous mistakes in this past Saturday's Literary Editor's column on the best books of 2009.

The Editor listed two books (written by her close, personal "friends") as best books of the year. The problem is that BOTH book titles are wrong. We are not talking little mistakes either. The titles are completely wrong with only ONE word correct in each. There still has been no retraction or correction by the Tribune.

Chicago Tribune Printers Row Out in Left Field

I went to the bookstore today to check out the two suggested Best Books of 2009 from the Chicago Tribune's Literary Editor, Elizabeth Taylor. However, the two titles she suggested ("Freedom from Fear" by Adam Cohen and "Half Life" by Maureen McLane) were BOTH incorrect. The bookstore reference person was dumbfounded. Both books were incorrectly listed in the Tribune article and they were not small mistakes. The thing that makes it particularly egregious is the little note by Taylor that the two authors are "friends" and she would read the ingredient labels on a cereal box if they were to write them.

Perhaps Ms. Taylor should stick to reading cereal boxes and let someone else write her column.

Sorry for such a grumpy post so close to the holidays. I am still getting acclimated to the Chicago scene and had thought the Trib was the more worthy of the local newspapers (the Sun-Times being the other option). I may need to rethink my options for accurate writing.

New, but Classic, Christmas Music

I stumbled upon a real Christmas gem on iTunes.  Check out Christmas Break: a relaxing classical mix.  It has many of the traditional Christmas tunes but they are low key -- great for the office.  There are some additional non-traditional Christmas songs but they fit the mood perfectly.

I also downloaded Darius Rucker's Christmas album -- Candy Cane Christmas.  You may recall Darius as "Hootie" from Hootie and the Blowfish.  Having spent time in Charleston, South Carolina, I became well-acquainted with the group's music.  He has chosen to head off into a country genre direction but I wish him well.

Fun for the Holidays

I consider this my "fun" blog, since it allows me to write about non-legal issues.  During the months of November and December I tend to listen to mostly Christmas music -- which should be obvious from my last.fm tags!  I enjoy the classics mainly and an occasional new version sung by a crooner.  I also greatly enjoy Handel's Messiah, though the purists will argue that it is technically an Easter program.

I was surprised to recently read, in The History of Jazz, that Nat King Cole originally began as an instrumentalist.  With his voice I can hardly believe that his origins weren't as a vocalist.  It is lucky for all that he went down that path to fame.  His version of The Christmas Song, in my opinion, cannot be beat.

Another holiday staple is Burl Ives.  My introduction to his sound came in the same way many of you may have been introduced to this oddly elfin-looking man; by watching and listening to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Come to think of it, I am not sure what Mr. Ives would have done if not focusing on holiday and folk music.  His sound is one that would be unsuitable for most other genres.

There are numerous other classic singers and songs that I hope to bring up during this festive season.  What are your favorites?

Engage with Grace Blog Rally

At the request of my good friend, Bob Coffield, I am joining the Engage with Grace blog rally to spread the word about end of life planning. Unfortunately, I had personal experience with this topic due to the death of my father a few months ago. It is a difficult discussion but one for which I admire my Dad a great deal. He made a decision and we all respected his choice. May you and your loved ones have such a thoughtful and dignified discussion when the time comes.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Diana Krall - What are your thoughts?

I have not listened a great deal to Diana Krall.  However, a few of my Christmas CD compilations include her holiday songs.  I can understand the attraction of her music -- she is attractive and has a sulky, seductive raspy voice -- but she only seems to blurt out lyrics in a rat-a-tat fashion.  She doesn't hold a note very long and if you focus on that fact while listening to her it only seems to get worse.

What are your thoughts on her body of work?  I would appreciate comments and ideas on song selection which would prove me right or wrong.

Chicago Jazz Philharmonic

The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic kicks off its 2009-10 season this Saturday November 14th.  The evening starts with an opening pre-concert gala reception at 5:00 pm and the performance, entitled "Strings and Things That Swing" begins at 7:30 pm.  The evening will be the premiere of the CJP's chamber group of 10-15 musicians.  Music will include works by the CJP's artistic director, Orbert Davis, and by Bill Russo, Gunther Schuller, and Daniel Schnieder.

The CJP will then travel to Poland and perform "Collective Creativity"  for one week.

Pick of the Week

Sorry for the delay, I thought I had swine flu! Anyway, this week my pick for an afterwork jazz escape is The Jazz Showcase in their new location with a quartet of Dave Schumacher on baritone sax, Eric Hochberg on bass, Kevin O'Connell on piano, and Y.L. Douglas on drums.  Sets are at 8 and 10 pm (sorry, nothing earlier but you can always start drinking right after work and by the time 8 rolls around....)

After Work Pick of the Week

This week's pick for an after work jazz treat is Katerina's on West Irving Park Road.  Nicole Kestler and pianist Brian Ohern are scheduled for Friday evening from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.  No cover.

I plan to make the After Work Pick of the Week a regular feature.  Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Best New Jazz Artists

Check out NPR's selection of best new jazz recordings.  Gretchen Parlato, Ben Allison, Stefon Harris, and Miguel Zenon, among others, are featured.  Another of my favorites not listed is Peter Fish with The Silver Apple

Countdown to Chicago Jazz Festival

With the arrival of September it is now only a few more days until the Chicago Jazz Festival.  One of my personal favorites, William Parker, will be performing Saturday - afternoon on the Jazz & Heritage stage and evening at the Petrillo music shell.

Chicago Jazz!

I am here in Chicago and enjoying what the Windy City has to offer. I have already visited Andy's Jazz Club and will be exploring other options in the weeks to come. Please note the new jazz events listings for Chicago.

Helge Lien

My new favorite Nextbop.com has a profile on Norwegian artist Helge Lien. The clips of music available for free play have me hooked. It also supports my view that the Scandinavian countries are on jazz's cutting edge.

The Jazz Police

No. they aren't out to put bad performers in jail. The Jazz Police is a website with links to Twin Cities' jazz venues like the Dakota and The Artists' Quarter. I discovered this great new website while perusing the AQ site this morning and thought I would bring it to your attention. I will be adding a link to the site as well.

Back and Better Than Ever!

I have returned from a job transition during which I was focused on the more concrete aspects of life and living. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time off with my children and wife but it is good to be back in the land of the living/working. Most of my energies have been turned toward professional development, including the Minnesota Health IT Blog which although somewhat light on content was not completely ignored.

I have found an excellent new source for the latest on jazz for the newbie. Check out Nextbop.com for the traditional and the avant garde. I am a little disappointed in my inability to access some of the content via the new iPhone 3GS but what the site has to offer via my laptop more than makes up for this shortfall (which may be entirely Apple's or my fault).

Also, since my new work digs will be in St. Paul, MN I plan to update readers on jazz happenings there (see The Artists' Quarter!) as well as continue to provide you with the latest goings on at the Dakota and other venues.

Twin Cities Jazz Festival

This weekend marks the return of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Although recent changes have prevented me from attending many events in the local jazz scene, I am hopeful that the upcoming year will result in a change in that lack of involvement. In addition, I am conflicted about attending events this evening as a friend and hockey teammate will be performing live with The Walleyes tonight at the Wild Tymes Cafe in St. Paul at 8:30. Check them out!

Barristers Cup International Hockey Tournament - 3rd Place Finish

The Barristers Cup International Hockey Tournament was held this past weekend. I played with the Ramsey County Bar Association team. Other teams compete from Hennepin County, Duluth, and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Thunder Bay fielded an excellent team again this year and won the Cup for the second year in a row. My RCBA team lost to Thunder Bay in the first game 3-0. However, we came back and beat Duluth for 3rd Place. The Duluth game was extremely close and went into sudden death overtime tied 1-1. After 10 minutes of overtime play, with the score still tied at 1-1, we went into a 3 player shootout. We scored on our first and second attempts and I was able to stop both of their chances for our victory.

Here are some photographs of the team and the game.

Barristers Cup International Hockey Tournament

It is that time of year again. I will be playing in the Barristers Cup International Hockey Tournament this Saturday, April 25th. Teams are organized by the Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Duluth, and Thunder Bay, Ontario Bar Associations. I will be playing goaltender for the Ramsey County team. As many of you may recall, this event was hosted last year in Thunder Bay. This year's Tournament is hosted by the Hennepin County team and will be held at the Maple Grove Community Center, at 12591 Weaver Lake Road, Maple Grove, MN 55369. Directions are here.

My team will be taking the ice at 10:00 am to take on the Thunder Bay team in a battle for the "Cane" which is awarded each year to the winner of the game between these two aged and decrepit teams. Since neither team will accept "ringers" the average age of the players has steadily increased (especially after it was decided that my 7 year-old son was not to be included in the computations). The winner of our first game will play at either 1:00 pm for Third Place or at 2:30 pm for the Championship and the Cup (you can probably guess which game we will be playing in...).

Many of you have asked about last year's Tournament, which I had announced but had not further commented on. There are very good reasons for that. First, a charter bus full of attorneys and Judges traveling together -- even across international boundaries -- can result in spontaneous bouts of delirium (chemically induced and otherwise). Second, we improbably failed to win either of our games. I lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of our team leader and combative defenseman, Judge Michael "Deke" DeCourcy, who seemed to be unable to prevent the opposition from approaching within 100 yards of the goaltenders, thus ensuring a goal would be scored. Coach/Judge Michael Fetsch was also ineffectual in his attempts to rally/revive the team. I would comment on the other members of the team but am concerned that immunity from defamation may not apply outside of the judiciary.

I am not going to guarantee a win this year but I can state that our team will be better rested (since there will be no bus travel and no pre-game "socials"). If you are interested in seeing some old guys play hockey and represent your and other bar associations, then this is an event from you. In addition, I will be playing in both games this year since our team's other goalie cannot attend. Because of my double-duty I may not be able to spend time conversing with you between games. However, please don't take this personally since I will likely be hooked up with an oxygen mask and receiving Red Bull intravenously.


What: Barristers Cup International Hockey Tournament
When: Saturday April 25, 2009, 10:00 am - 3:45 pm
Where: Maple Grove Community Center, 12591 Weaver Lake Road, Maple Grove, MN

Wycliffe Gordon in the Twin Cities!

The Twin Cities Jazz Society and the Northwestern College Music Department present “Jazz in the Heartland,” an evening of music featuring renowned trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. The evening starts out with a free master class by Gordon, followed by a concert by The Noteables (part of the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band) with special guest Gordon. The concert will take place Wednesday April 22, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. The master class starts at 5:00 p.m.

Wycliffe Gordon is one of the top jazz artists in the country. He is a frequent performer with Wynton Marsalis at the Lincoln Center and serves on the faculty of the jazz studies program at The Juilliard School.

The Noteables, part of the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band, is a jazz ensemble that presents exciting, uplifting music which inspires audiences to increased patriotism. The group has appeared in concert and on national television with Bob Hope, jazz trumpeter Bobby Shew, composer/arranger Frank Mantooth, former “The Tonight Show” band leader Doc Severinsen and pop singer Lee Greenwood.

The event will take place at Maranatha Hall, Northwestern College, 3003 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul, MN.

Al Grey

I have a new-found appreciation of trombone players after listening to some of Al Grey's work. His use of the plunger is unparalleled. For me, the combination of playing a trombone and combining it with the plunger is too difficult to fully comprehend. To be able to play such sweet music with such a combination is beyond words.

Wynton Marsalis

I truly enjoyed Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Saturday night in Minneapolis. The show started off very light-hearted with nursery rhymes, a rendition of "It Ain't Easy Bein' Green" with vocals and then moved to more serious jazz. Wynton did an excellent job of providing some narration by way of introduction to each song.

Here are a few photos from the show.

Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary Tour

Blue Note Records will be celebrating its 70th Anniversary with a tour which includes a stop in Minneapolis on March 29th. The engagement will feature Bill Charlap on piano, Peter Bernstein on guitar, Ravi Coltrane on tenor and soprano sax, Lewis Nash on drums, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Peter Washington on bass, and Steve Wilson on alto sax. Buy tickets for this event through Minnesota Orchestra.

Weekend!

At last the weekend is here. I have been swamped over on Minnesota Health IT blog with the rollout of the Federal Stimulus Bill and the new HITECH Act. See here for more information.

We were hit with a snow storm yesterday. Today is a picture perfect day here in Minnesota. Snow every where but sunny and clear.

The countdown to Wynton Marsalis continues. 8 days until the show I am attending at Minnesota Orchestra Hall. Front row, center, in case you want to stop by and chat...

The Bad Plus

NPR Jazz has a free download of The Bad Plus' twist on The Bee Gees' "How Deep is Your Love." The song is a collaboration with local vocalist Wendy Lewis. The new album, "All I Care" is filled with nuggets like this one.

Wynton Marsalis

I am counting down the days until Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra visit Minneapolis. I have managed to swing front row seats and look forward to a lively evening. I may even introduce a few photos to the blog for the first time.

In the meantime, check out Wynton and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor discussing jazz and the government.

Quiet

I apologize to any followers out there. I have been relatively quiet on the jazz front. The holidays, coupled with some other work items, have reduced my quality music time. I have been listening to some peppy Frank Sinatra to start my day.

I played in a charity hockey tournament Monday evening to benefit Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. The event was held at the XCel Energy Center -- home of the Minnesota Wild of the NHL. It is a treat to play on the professional ice but I can never get my bearings straight. Needless to say there was not a "Team of 18,000" to cheer us on so the empty seats seemed to eat up the sound of any yells, shots, or saves. My team finished second.

I have moved internal offices and now have a lovely view of Nicollet Mall. Each day I am greeted by the statue of Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat into the air. To you youngsters, that is the scene from a sit-com venued in Minneapolis from years ago. (No, not the black and white show, that was "Dick Van Dyke"!)

The Rest is Noise

I recently finished reading "The Rest is Noise" by Alex Ross. It is subtitled "Listening to the Twentieth Century". Ha! I gave up reading after the umpteenth reference to Schoenberg. Jazz gets short-shrift and bebop takes up all of 3 pages!

Do yourself a favor if you are jazz listener. Don't buy this book! It is a classical elitist rag. I enjoy The New Yorker but even great writing can't distract you from the biased approach Ross exhibits in his review. I would provide examples but I threw the book out.