This is Alana and I at The Diamond Alumni Center at SFU right during our reception!

WILD YEARS - May 29th, 2007

I have listed ARTIST, SONG NAME, ALBUM NAME and RECORD LABEL and have provided links where possible.

1. TUBBY HAYES - 100% PROOF, 100% PROOF, UNIVERSAL MUSIC
2. HAROLD LAND - CHEROKEE, JAZZ @ THE CELLAR 1958, LONEHILL JAZZ
3. JIM ROTONDI - ON Y VA, PLEAURE DOME,SHARP NINE RECORDS
4. JIM ROTONDI - HUSH, PLEAURE DOME,SHARP NINE RECORDS
5. DAN PRATT - GRAPPLE WITH THE APPLE, SPRING LOADED, SUNNY SKY RECORDS
6. DAN PRATT - 20/20, SPRING LOADED, SUNNY SKY RECORDS
7. SONNY ROLLINS - WHY WAS I BORN, HERE'S TO THE PEOPLE, MILESTONE
8. MICHAEL ZILBER - SUITE MONTEREY, CROSSROADS,INDEDEPENDANT
9.MICHAEL ZILBER - SOULSTICE SONG, CROSSROADS,INDEDEPENDANT
10. HANK MARR - ONE FOR DADDY'O,ITS ABOUT TIME, DOUBLE TIME RECORDS
11. JEREMEY MANASIA - C'S SONG, WITCHERY CELLAR LIVE
12. GRANT STEWART - SOUL STATION, ESTATE, VIDEO ARTS MUSIC
13. JODI PROZNICK - ALL TOO SOON, FOUNDATIONSCELLARLIVE
14. IAN MCDOUGALL - IAN LEAPS OUT, NO PASSPORT REQUIRED,BARBARIAN RECORDS

Wedding

Well, I finally got hitched and the whirlwind weekend that was my wedding is over. It came and went so fast I can't even believe it. All in all it was a spectacular few days with very little drama to report and just a whole lot of fun. It was great having so much family and so many great friends there to celebrate our day. Im posting this from the COOP Radio computer so I don't have access to any pictures at the moment but I may post some a little later. Its amazing how much preperation there and then how quickly it all ends! Wow! Alana my wife did a wonderful job and everything came off without a hitch!

JIM DIGGITY

As an admitted freak for straight ahead swinging jazz I have to say that I have been really impressed with some of the great original music that has been coming from musicians in this city. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise and really it isn't but after doing my 3 hour radio show yesterday where I featured 100 % Canadian composed and performed music it inspired me. Following the show I went to the club where my good friend James Danderfer was debuting a brand new sextet as well as new tunes. I could only stay for the first set as I had to catch a bus back to Burnaby....did I just say that? Anyways what I heard in the first set was absolutely beautiful and Danderfer displays some very very beautiful writing chops. I have always given him a rough time for playing the clarinet but I really have to stop as he has really found his voice on that instrument and to be able to write successfully for a front line consisting of Baritone Sax, Trumpet and Clarinet is really something. Judging by what I heard from Chad (bari) and Brad (trumpet) they two were digging the music as they simply played their asses off! Joe Poole (drums), Paul Rushka (bass) and Chris Gestrin (piano and rhodes) really layed it down beautifully. You couldn't pay me enough money to try to improvise on Danderfer's tunes but these guys made it seem so easy. Danderfer writes complex tunes, with complex melodies and harmonies yet the average person still walks away humming the tunes! Great work and the album is going to sound really amazing!

A TRAIN - May 11th

Im subbing for Nou Dadoun today. 3 hours of jazz and not only that but all Canadian, all original music! Its SOCAN week which means the more CDN music I play the more royalties will go out to the musicians which is great! I could fill this three hours with quality music from people just in Vancouver but I'm gonna go nation wide!

I have listed ARTIST, SONG NAME, ALBUM NAME and RECORD LABEL and have provided links where possible.

1. JAMES DANDERFER - FREESIA, RUN WITH IT CELLARLIVE
2. JAMES DANDERFER - NYEVSKY PROSPECT, RUN WITH IT CELLARLIVE
3. IHOR KUKURUDZA - AS IT WAS, AS IT WAS, INDEPENDANT
4. DAVE ROBBINS - HUFF, AT THE MARK, INDEPENDANT
5. WILLIAM CARN - MALICE, OTHER STORIES, INDEPENDANT
6. OLIVER GANNON / CAM RYGA QUARTET - EVERYBODY'S SONG BUT MY OWN, MAXIMUM JAZZ PRESENTS CELLAR LIVE, CELLAR LIVE
7. JAKE LANGLEY - UPTOWN, MOVIN & GROOVIN ALMA RECORDS
8. ROSS TAGGART - SHORTER DAYS, THANKFULLYCELLARLIVE
9.JILL TOWNSEND - THE GIFT, TALES FROM THE SEA, PAGETOWN RECORDS
10. MIKE RUD - RB's LINE, LIVE FROM LOTUSLANDCELLARLIVE
11. YANNICK RIEU - WATP, "I" IS MEMORY EFFENDI RECORDS
12. NIGHT CRAWLERS - NO MANGO, NO MUSIC, PRESENTING "I" IS MEMORY EFFENDI RECORDS
13. ZAPATO NEGRO - FRANKNESS, ZAPATO NEGROCELLARLIVE
14. METALWOOD - 11 MINUTE MARGIN, LIVE, MAXIMUM JAZZ
15. PEGGY LEE BAND - MESSAGE TO LITTLE SHOE, THE PEGGY LEE BAND, SPOOL RECORDS
16. SANDRO DOMINELLI - IT WAS HIM, MEET ME IN THE ALLEY, SECOND STORY RECORDS
17. PJ PERRY/CAM RYGA - MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO, MUTUAL RESPECT, CELLARLIVE
18. BRUCE NEILSEN BAND - WAITING TO FALL, UP FOR THE COUNT, INDEPENDANT
19. MUHLEDY - ITOWN, ACTIVE SLEEP, CELLARLIVE
20. TILDEN WEBB TRIO w/FATHEAD NEWMAN - LADY J, CELLAR GROOVE CELLARLIVE
21. OLIVER GANNON QUARTET - , CELLAR GROOVE CELLARLIVE
22. BRAD TURNER QUARTET -, BY SUPRISE, INDEDPENDANT

Survived!

Well, I survived my stag. Barely...but I survived. Joking aside it was awesome. A great time was had by all and it was awesome hanging with friends. The day started out so great with me golfing my best round ever. An 85. It was great!

Picked up some great music over the last few days. THE CANNONBALL LEGACY BAND - Maximum Firepower led by powerhouse drummer Louis Hayes who of course played with Cannonball and Nat from 1959 to 1965. Its on Savant Records. Its a good record. It doesn't knock me out as a whole but there are definitely some really fantastically swinging moments on it. HIGH NOTE released a quartet date led by Billy Hart called 'Quartet' that got a ton of great press. I eagerly awaited it and am feeling a little luke warm about the whole thing but its strikes me as a record that is going to take a few listens to really get into. Another one that I was excited about was Medeski Martin and Wood's second release with John Scofield as the fourth member of the band. A GO GO which was the first one they did about 8 years a go or so was a great record. Definitely far from ground breaking but just collection of simple funk tunes that all had infectious grooves. On this record really hard to figure out exactly what the quartet is trying to accomplish. It doesn't seem to have much of a musical direction and at times is really really heavy. So much so that my girlfriend came in and said "what are you listening to? I didn't think you liked hard rock." I'm going to give it a few more listens though to see if this is one that will grow on me. When I took Joey Defrancesco and the trio down to Seattle, Joey hipped me to pianist Cecil Taylor's Jazz Advance. I think the recording date was 1956 and its a wonderful record by someone that I have never really checked out but its a a fantastic record and I learned a ton but just listening to it once. Its a bit tough to find but if you can find it and think you can remain open to what it has to offer its a good one.

As I'm writing this Im recording the Graham Shonwise (saxopohone) Quartet, Conrad Good on bass, Daneil Reynolds on piano and Adam Cormier on drums. What a great band. These guys are all first year college and they sound like they are a lot farther ahead than that. Jazz is in good hands, very good hands!

Im on A TRAIN this Friday from 2:30 to 5:30 on 102.7 CFRO subbing for Nou Dadoun. It is SOCAN week so Im dedicating the three hours to original Canadian music!