Jazz playlist

Just realized I haven't written a post about my Jazz playlist since Jan. I was in the mood of discovering more "new" albums and found a few good ones from the Downbeat magazine and the radio station KCSM.

I first wrote about trumpeter David Weiss last year for his big band release of Wayne Shorter's music. His 2014 album features a smaller ensemble yet equally enjoyable: "When Words Fail" which paid tributes to the jazz musicians and family members who passed away recently.

Speaking of big band, which I was not familiar with, I did listen to an impressive arrangement of "Emily" by Bob Florence Limited Edition (yes, that's the name of the band) on the 1997 release named "Earth" Interestingly, most of the reviews on Amazon praised the same piece! 

The next album is from another trumpeter named David (Dave Douglas), "Time Travel" from 2013. Very modern sounding but not hard to digest.

I saw saxophonist Melissa Aldana played at the famous Small's jazz club in the village in NYC 2 years ago. She played with the Crash Trio on this latest album. Her sound reminded me of Joe Lovano. That's a big compliment to any jazz musician!

Unlike Aldana, fellow female saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom has been a well-established voice in the scene for years. For beautiful sound of soprano sax, none could beat her 2013 release "Sixteen Sunsets." It's literally out of this world.

Last but not least, the prolific pianist Kenny Barron showed yet another side of his superb artistry in the Brazilian flavored 2013 release "Kenny Barron and the Brazilian Knights" The sound of the harmonica by one of the "knights", bossa nova master Mauricio Einhorn, fits perfectly with the mood of the album. Check out his 2007 album "Conversa de Amigos 2" for some tasty jazz played by the group he led.

Beethoven and movies

I was chatting with some friends on the topic of learning more about great artists/musicians.  My answer is simple: movies!

For Beethoven, it's easy: Immortal Beloved is critically acclaimed. The radio station WQXR actually came up with a list of Top 5 Beethoven (the composer, not the dog) centric movies.

For Jimi Hendrix, just wait til this September when "Jimi: All Is by My Side" comes out.

For Frida, obviously there is "Frida" starring Salma Hayek.

While researching this, I am surprised there's no biopic made for jazz giants like Miles and Coltrane! Well, you could always come talk to yours truly.

四個小生去Field trip之踩爆Guadalupe River Trail

週末一時興起決定和朋友由北聖荷西踩單車來回市中心的San Pedro Market Square。那段單車徑我並不陌生，當年新買Vilano Road Bike一到手就是由Alviso開始踩相連的單車徑試車，還記得有一段碎石路，顛簸得很。之後也曾用我的Downtube摺車踩過，由玫瑰園開始，在機場附近爆胎收場。今次舊地重遊，還帶了兒子，這個暑假開始和結束都讓他各踩一次「長途」（上次是18英里的溫哥華士丹利公園及獅門橋）起初7英里相當平靜，只見不少球迷前往附近新建的Levi Stadium，踩至機場，當然少不了和機場大樓那畫滿手的外牆拍照，還和大家提起上次爆胎一事。

不提由自可，一提就歷史重演！四架單車中有兩架爆了內胎，一架則是外呔破裂，結果唯有前往最近的單車舖La Dolce Velo，推車1.5英里說長不長說短也不短；換完後胎，幸好請師傅順便檢查一下前胎，才發現也被一小塊乾硬的具尖刺植物部份刺破，亦要更換。到達Market時已被原定時間遲了1.5小時，大家當然飽餐大喝一頓，Port Brewing Co的Old Viscosity Ale被評分100，飲完頓覺再辛苦也值得！回程時較大風及曬，加上友人又再爆胎，也花了好一段時間才完成全程，總之就是有驚無險！