AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Ahhh!!!! This morning , I woke up on the right side of the bed, & saw the most unusual thing.... maybe it's side- effects from the medication my doctor gave me.. noseis-aflaris..........

The challenger accepts his own challenge~~~

Picture 1- Sylva's lamp; scapular at the top...

#2- Catherine Smith's rocking chair...

#3- Drafting table... a mess, yes~~~

#4- Footstool that used to be located in front of the fireplace...

Eleven Things:

1. Reinvent your interests

2. Be all that you wish to be

3. Surround yourself with..........

4. Don't forget to enjoy yourself

5. Rejuvenate often

6. Stay in motion

7. Encourage others

8. Show by example

9. Create something, anything

10. Be patient, but don't procrastinate

11. Don't forget to dream~~~~

May peacefulness find you daily!!!

Is this working???

Wow, I made it !!!

Christopher just taught me how to post things on this blog!!! Thanks 1st Godson!!! I'm in the loop...I'm in the loop...I'm in the loop !!! :) Aunt Ivan

This is funny, but painful... Simon and Isaiah in their glory

What Happens With Procrastination

I had to read 1984 as my chemistry book report. It is a great story, but the book report that followed it was about enough to shove a gun in my mouth... not literally. All I can say is Big Brother is watching.

Merry Christmas from the NICHOLS Family!

Best Laid Plans

Kathleen, John, Paul and I went to Cornwall, Ont last night to see a speaker, author Matthew Kelly. I read one of his books and it was very useful and inspiring. Of course, the boys were less than enthusiastic, but Kathleen and I bulldozed ahead, drove to Cornwall had dinner with the boys and went to the General Vanier auditorium in the company of about 2000 other eager enthusiasts.

To give you an idea, this is what we were supposed to hear:

Instead, a brave lady took the stage and explained to the throng that Mr. Kelly would not be coming -- immigration, you know -- and thus, no Matthew Kelly. John visibily moved his body and head as if to say, "I told you so... This was a bad idea from the get-go." I think John and Paul were of the mind that this is what happens to parents who force their kids to go to "lame" events.

Instead, the Bishop of the area, Paul-Andre Durosher, gamely, on an hour's notice, came to talk. Candidly, he said that he'd had a rough day and had just laid down to take a nap, questioning whether he'd even go to the talk when he got a call to give the talk. He did a bang-up job and it was fun.

Kathleen and I are off to Quebec City, Que. 25 years married. See you later.

25 Years of LOVE

Today, we celebrated Mom and Dad's 25th wedding anniversary. 25 YEARS! Wow. And what a couple. They eloped on December 17, 1984 in Notre Dame Church. Uncle Jay, Paul and Tom heard from a little bird that they were planning to get married and showed up to the wedding to be their witnesses. This morning after mass they renewed their vows.

Later this afternoon we picked out the perfect Christmas tree. It was a beautiful day.

To celebrate, Mom and Dad are going to Quebec City. They leave this Wednesday. Say a few prayers for them today, and this year. Personally, I have never met a more beautiful couple.

A Fox May Steal Your Hen, Sir

A fox may steal your hens, Sir,
A Whore your health and Pence, Sir,
Your daughter rob your Chest, Sir,
Your Wife may steal your Rest, Sir,
A Thief your Goods and Plate,
A Thief your Goods and Plate.
But this is all but picking,
With Rest, Pence, Chest, and Chicken,
If ever was decreed, Sir,
If Lawyer's Hand is fee'd, Sir.
He steals your whole Estate,
He steals your whole Estate.

This tune was used in the comedy Love for Love by William Congreve (1670-1729) as A Soldier and A Sailor. The music was by John Eccles (1668-1735). John Gay wrote these words to the Eccles tune for The Beggar's Opera (1728).

The tune is sung by the fence Peachum, who has learned that his daughter Polly has wed the highwayman Macheath. He determines to turn Macheath in - to gain the reward and so that he can protect his daughter's dower.

Yet, as so often is the case, the dig at the lawyer is the punch-line, even though the darn play wasn't even about lawyers at all. Such is the injustice visited upon my profession...

Here's Something:
More than one-hundred and fifty thousand books were published in 2009. Three centuries ago in all of the British mainland colonies of America, only thirty-one books were printed (if you discount a handful of broadsheets, proclamations, and volumes of laws). The pickings are slim—and grim—but here are the Top Ten Books of 1709:
1. Daniel Leeds. “The American Almanack.” All but three books published in 1709 were religious tracts, printed in Boston, and nearly all of them have to do with the day of judgment. Leeds’s almanac, printed in New York, is the only truly secular publication of the year, which fact alone makes it a stand out. It also boasts some wonderfully bad doggerel: “His neighbours Horse that over his fence doth neigh / Will make his owner, for’s presumption, pay.” At least the horse isn’t dead.
2. Thomas Doolittle. “A Prospect of Eternity.” For its cheering message about the importance of “weaning our hearts of this world.”
3. “An Appeal of Some of the Unlearned.” An anonymous response to a treatise called “An Appeal to the Learned.” There were no book reviews in 1709 (the book review was invented around 1750) and this exchange is as close as American letters gets, that year, to a back-and-forth. It’s not as cheeky as it sounds, though; the debate was theological, and the unlearned demurred: “we are not Contentious. We only Enquire.”
4. Cotton Mather. “The Cure for Sorrow.” Nine of the books printed in 1709 were written by Mather, a Boston minister, and two more by his father, Increase, who was, at the time, the president of Harvard College, which makes it hard to leave them off the list. Their literary efforts account for more than a third of the year’s books. This one has got the best subtitle: “An Essay Directing Persons under Sadness What Course to take, that they may be no more Sad.”
5. Increase Mather. “Solemn Advice to Young Men Not to Walk in the Wayes of Their Heart and in Sight of Their Eyes; but to remember the Day of Judgment.” The most popular book of 1709, it was already in its second edition, and saw a third before the year was out.
6. John Fox. “The Door of Heaven Open and Shut.” Fox, a lesser Doolittle, in my view, was better known for his earlier treatise, “Time and the End of Time,” which his Boston printer hawked on the title page (as in, “Fox, author of the bestselling End of Time!”).
7. Cotton Mather. “The Golden Curb for the Mouth.” A sermon against swearing: “O Sottish and Monstrous Impiety!”
8. Bathsheba Bowers. “An Alarm Sounded to Prepare the Inhabitants of the World to Meet the Lord in the Way of His Judgments.” The only book that year written by a woman, it’s twenty-two pages long, and Bowers spends a good three of them apologizing for having written it.
9. “The Massachusetts Psalter.” A book of psalms, translated into Algonquian, and set into type by a Nipmuck Indian named James Printer, whose printer’s fonts were, last year, discovered during an archaeological dig in Harvard Yard.
10. I’m holding this place for Benjamin Franklin, who was born in Boston in 1706, began his apprenticeship at his brother’s print shop in 1718, and became the scourge of the Mathers three years later, when he broke upon the literary stage in the guise of a fictional character whose name was a parody of two of Cotton Mather’s more dreadful sermons, “Silentiarius” and “Essays to Do Good.” In 1721, the sixteen-year-old Franklin, who would help topple the Puritan theocracy and change the course of American letters forever, by making our books better, introduced himself to the world: "I am courteous and affable, good humour’d (unless I am first provok’d,) and handsome, and sometimes witty, but always, Sir, Your Friend and Humble Servant, SILENCE DOGOOD."

Here's Somthing Else:
Here is the Current Best-Seller's List for Non-Fiction:
1 GOING ROGUE, by Sarah Palin. (Harper/HarperCollins, $28.99.) A memoir by the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate.
2 HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom. (Hyperion, $23.99.) A suburban rabbi and a Detroit pastor teach lessons about the comfort of belief.
3 OPEN, by Andre Agassi. (Knopf, $28.95.) The tennis champion’s autobiography.
4 SUPERFREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $29.99.) A scholar and a journalist apply economic thinking to everything: the sequel.
5 ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others. (Mercury Radio Arts/Threshold Editions, $29.99.) The case against big government. (†)
6 TRUE COMPASS, by Edward M. Kennedy. (Twelve, $35.) The late senator’s autobiography.
7 A SIMPLE CHRISTMAS, by Mike Huckabee. (Sentinel, $19.95.) Christmas memories from the former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential aspirant. (†)
8 WHAT THE DOG SAW, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) A decade of New Yorker essays.
9 THE IMPERIAL CRUISE, by James Bradley. (Little, Brown, $29.99.) In 1905, during a diplomatic journey organized by Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft negotiated secret agreements with several Asian countries.
10 OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed, from the author of “Blink.”

Dad/Mom and their 11 children...

Dad and Mom and their 11 children

...replied the following when asked to say the first word that popped into

their head to describe their child as young children (asked separately).

-Denise

(Interviewing Mom and Dad)

Uncle Luis and Uncle Joe II

Many years ago, I was with the British National Security Services, and a larger, fatter Uncle Luis, (Aunt Cindy made him lose all sorts of weight after he served his time in prison), was bent on destruction through his unquenchable desire to have gold. It is amazing, that Uncle Luis and I were able to establish a cordial and loving relationship after this.

When They Were Young...

A lot of the younger kids would not remember, but I sure remember when Theresa and Al were in the moving pictures.

It is astonishing to me that Theresa and Al simply walked away from this promising career, but they did want children. Oh the summers that they had...

-- Joe

"If you ever get a second chance in life for something, you've got to go all the way." --Lance Armstrong

I ran a marathon in Venice, Italy last weekend. 26 miles. 42 kilometers. Not only was it a physical triumph, but an emotional, spiritual, mental feat. We began about 10kilometers outside of Padua, Italy and ran through little Italian towns until we ended up in St. Mark's Square in Venice. Throughout the run, people from the towns came out to the streets, cheering and encouraging the runners. Local bands played music about every 5 kilometers. For the past few years it has always been one of my life goal's to run a marathon. I can't wait to run the next one. The human body is amazing. We have all been wonderfully and fearfully made!

http://mysports.tv/default2.asp?e=VE09M&l=IT&n=NICHOLS%20CLAIRE&r=F901&player=1&ct_s1=09:35:10&nt_s1=&ct_s2=10:09:32&nt_s2=00:38:30&ct_s3=11:26:04&nt_s3=01:55:02&ct_s4=12:21:04&nt_s4=02:50:02&ct_s5=12:54:40&nt_s5=03:23:38&ct_s6=13:42:59&nt_s6=04:11:57&ct_s7=14:24:40&nt_s7=04:53:38&ct_s8=15:02:42&nt_s8=05:31:40&ct_f=15:27:25&nt_f=05:56:23&player=1&random=1840&k=finishbefore&index=2&index=5&cct=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000&player=1

This is my second semester studying in Austria. I was here two years ago in the Fall of 2007. I have been extreamly blessed to return here again. It's been incredible. I am growing as a person, as a woman, daily. I am done with school in December and this has been the perfect ending to my undergrad experience. Not only do I absolutely love the classes I am taking and the material I am learning, but I also love the places I have been able to travel to and the wonderful people I have met. Every day I grow. There is nothing like being able to say "I am a new, better person" at the end of each day.

She is the Victim of Cruel Poverty and Ignorance -- Atticus Finch

Collin Wilcox died yesterday. She was seventy-four. She was also one of the best actresses that everyone saw, but no one knows. Here she is when she uttered her most famous line:

Then, of course, that led to one of the best legal orations done by anyone since Abraham Lincoln, and then, by an actor portraying a fictitious attorney:

That, of course, led to my two favorite actors sharing the stage:

One of her television performances that continues to be seen today in reruns was in a 1964 episode of “The Twilight Zone,” titled “Number 12 Looks Just Like You.” Ms. Wilcox played a plain-looking 19-year-old woman in a society of the future who resists a ritual “transformation” procedure to make her physically beautiful (she can choose from among standard models) and give her a longer life. You can watch her here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaVo2xifmSw

It is worth pondering now and again all of the "supporting actors" that make it possible for the main actor to pick up the award. It was nice to see that Gregory Peck genuinely thanked all those people when he picked up his award. And, of course, it is worth pondering and thanking those people who support us throughout the days, weeks and years for making it possible for us to do a lot of things.

-- Joe

None But the Lonely Heart

Stephen Hough is a graduate of the Julliard School of Music. He is, other than Lang Lang, the hottest property going insofar as pianist are concerned. He played this piece recently at the BBC Proms in London at the Royal Albert Hall. Tchaikovsky wrote this little "throw away" piece that is seldom heard, but perhaps one of the most beautiful solo pieces you'll ever hear.

Veronica and I had a great time in Montreal. We drove up yakking all the way. We then went to an Italian food kiosk and had some great pasta and bread, palled around and then watched the Symphony perform Brahms Double Concerto.

Kathleen is over jet lag. Paul was born with jet lag, so one can never tell the difference. But Paul is right back into the routine after his travels with the "old ladies" to France -- a top of France to bottom of France tour both figuratively and literally. You'll have to ask them...

Tom Sauvageau is forty. So is the anniversary of the first moon landing. Paul and Marcy came calling while Kathleen and Paul were away. Before visiting us, they saw some spitting snow in the Adirondacks, climbed Mount Jo, and had a fine old time.

Claire is doing well at school and met up with Joan, Kathleen and Paul at Lourdes, France for a couple of days. She had two big body guards with her so her trip through the heartland of Europe was made safe.

John is busier than all of us put together. He is doing tremendously at school, but also is finishing up cross country, is in the Model U.N., has a week long leadership conference in Washington, D.C. in November.

Magdalene has a cold so keep her in your prayers. She and Veronica are pushing hard at school, with their friends, with piano, and on and on...

Maureen is busy keeping her charges in order and intelligent.

That is Malone... And France.... And Austria...

--Joe

Heredity is what sets the parents of a teenager wondering about each other. ~Laurence J. Peter

He is now sixteen

Flinstones, Meet the Flinstones...

Talent and Fun

I know that on this blog that I write a lot about music. Other than being with family, my favorite moments have been going to all sorts of concerts, from the Montreal Symphony with ALL of my children and many of my friends, and most especially with Kathleen, to seeing Opera in London with Maureen, the Vienna Symphony with Claire in Vienna, Jazz at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, The Who in Buffalo, BB King with Kathleen, Yes in Rich Stadium, 10 Years After in Niagara Falls, Blues in Chicago with Al and Theresa and, yes, even Liberace with my parents many years ago at Kleinhans, Greg Lake in Buffalo with Kathleen, Beethoven with Paul and Jeff Beck with John Diana Krall with Kathleen, Veronica and Mag, Patricia Barber with Joan and Claire and Maureen, and and on and on and on. Don't judge me as being an old man when I say that the canned music of today, with its misogynist lyrics is -- well, plain dull and sometimes outrageously offensive and demeaning. But here's a challenge: Name the best concert that you have ever been at. Best means: most fun.

Having said all that here's three guys having a lot of fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99kjFdLFjH4&feature=fvw and also,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDtcidMR_6I

It Is Hard To Forget

There was a time, before they were married and had children and then went on to excel in their respective careers, that Uncle Luis and Uncle Joe had a very, very intense and negative relationship. It affected the entire Universe. Click here to see what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRnSnfiUI54

a quick fix

I was presented with an opportunity to get a ride two hours away from Niagara Falls (Erie, Pa) - I accepted immediately.

So this past Friday I left Chicago at 1pm and drove to Erie with a friend and his son. We got into Erie at 10:10pm and I picked up my rental car. I was at Joanie's by midnight. It was so nice to be with her!!!! We chatted and fell asleep looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

On such short notice I was hoping to get to see everyone.

Saturday morning just as I was finishing my run, Phil pulled up to Joanie's and we had a chance to visit. The time was short - but very precious to me.

Joanie and I went over to Mom and Dad's - I was able to surprise mom (she did not know I was in town) we had a wonderful relaxing visit. Her new dear friend Fodumo (I'm sure I have not spelled her name correctly) came for a visit and I am so happy that I could visit with her, she is a delight and her children only want "Anna" to stay with them when their parents are not home.

Dad came home from his errands with a basket of the most perfect peaches I have had this year, there is nothing like tasting western New York produce!!!!

Natalie, Sandy, Phil, Jay with cousin Mike Smith, and friend Paul all were at mom and dad's. Wow!!!! Thank you all for stopping by.

I was invited to join Phil and Sandy to their friend's Diane and Craig for dinner - yum it was so good. After dinner we headed to downtown Niagara Falls for a free concert by Rusted Root. The weather was perfect and the music was fabulous. They played for two hours and an encore. We went back to Diane and Craig's to finish what was left from dinner. Lots of laughs and good stories. I was back at Joanie's by 1am.

The next morning mom was at the door just after 7am, Tom jumped into the kitchen and soon after that Dad was with us and we had a great visit before I left.

I was on the road by 8:14am Sunday, met my friend in Erie at 10:30am and we were in Oak Park by 5pm Chicago time.

My visit was such a treat for me - thank you to everyone for sharing your time with me this past weekend. I wish I could get "home" more often and stay maybe a little bit longer, but it was a good quick visit and I look forward to getting back soon.

Theresa

APAWS FOR THE CAT, PLEASE!

The cynics who hold that new music is meaningless may feel vindicated by Lithuanian composer Mindaugas Piecaitis's CatCerto. But, for the rest of us, the combination of cuteness and creativity compels congratulations.
Nearly 700,000 YouTube visitors have already watched the June performance by Nora, the talented tabby, and her accompanists, the Klaipeda Symphony Orchestra, with the composer conducting.
Enjoy:

Speaking of trees Speaking...

I recently had my own awe-inspiring tree experience. Last week I and five of my friends backpacked through the backcountry of Yosemite for three nights, with one day of campground-camping on either end. We got off the trail with plenty of daylight left to explore a few of the more "touristy" things the park had to offer. Our first stop off the trail was a grove of Giant Sequoias. Let me tell you, if you have never seen these trees, there is nothing that can really prepare you for them. They are big, bigger than you think, bigger than I can make you think. To put it in biblical terms (it's always bigger when it's biblical) they were big when Jesus was a born, and I don't mean that there were also Giant Sequoias in the time of Jesus Christ, I mean that the same tree I was looking at last week was about 1000 years old when he was born. They are the largest living things on the planet, but they are neither the tallest nor the oldest. It wasn't their size that did it for me however, I'm not sure what word to use to describe what these trees were making me feel about them, but the words "majesty," "awe," "reverence," and others that I associate with being in the presence of something divine, or much greater than myself.

This is how they start out.

This is what they look like when they die.

For scale.


A live one!!

God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, "Ah!" -- Joseph Campbell

You can hug them, climb them, get shade under them and you can PLAY them.

The musical fun shown below reminded me that all things have what is called a "natural frequency." Tap it, shake it, blow on it or rattle it and you have Music. I found a cool and clearly written lesson on the physics of resonance and standing waves, if you want to know more, (I promise you won't get a headache from reading it). In musicians' terms, the lesson is this: You can't use not having a symphony orchestra in your backyard as an excuse for just listening to cicadas.

Here is Italian-born Burbank, Calif.-based sound designer/composer Diego Stocco's "Music From a Tree":

-- Joe

Double - Hibakusha

Just after 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, then a 29-year-old ship engineer with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was walking to the company shipyard in Hiroshima. Right then, "Little Boy", the world's first strategic atomic bomb, detonated in midair less than two miles away from Yamaguchi. The blast knocked him unconscious, burst his left eardrum and burned his upper torso. But Yamaguchi did not live in Hiroshima. To recuperate, he went home -- to Nagasaki. Three days after his injury, back home in Nagasake, Yamaguchi was recounting his story to a skeptical boss when "Fat Man", the second strategic atomic bomb, exploded all over that city, also less than two miles away. The shock wave tore off Yamaguchi's bandages. On August 15, 1945, when Yamaguchi was home, recuperating from his injuries, burns and high fever, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender. "The reason that I hate the atomic bomb is because of what it does to the dignity of human beings", he recently explained to the London Times.

The very real argument is simply put: was the use of the Atomic Bomb, which killed 120,000 people instantly, a proper use. The answer is either, yes, because it saved American soldiers' lives who would have slogged through at least another year or two of war in the continent of Asia, or the answer is no, because in inhumanely targeted civilians and military indiscriminately. Whatever the answer, Mr. Yamaguchi cannot afford to be too judgmental. The Mitsubichi plant that he worked at made the planes, tanks and ships that devastated Pearl Harbor, China, and most of southeast Asia, the South Pacific, in a murderous rampage. Mr. Yamaguchi should probably read "The Rape of Nanking" to inform his opinion about what Japan's army and military-industrial complex did to the "dignity of human beings."

Still, a very interesting debate. Our former neighbor, Tom Immerman, God rest his soul, lost an eye on Guadalcanal. When I first moved in next door, he saw that I drove a Toyota. All he said to me is something I cannot print. He was a great guy. Years ago, when I was a kid, my grandfather was in a bar downtown in Niagara Falls with some WWII veterans. Japanese tourists walked in the bar and asked for directions to the Falls. One of the men at the bar looked at the unfortunate tourists and said, "Go to Hell. You had no trouble finding Pearl Harbor." The feelings still run deep...

For a fascinating re-enactment of the drop of the bomb, (if you have about ten minutes to spare) follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rHrV2QhArA

Here a Barber there a Barber Everywhere a Barber

Claire, Joan, Luke and I went to the Jazz Fest on July 10th to see Patricia Barber. It was an early concert so I picked another concert for 9:00 p.m. and, it turned out to be a young lady at the Club L'Astral, (where we saw The Bad Plus), by the name of Jill Barber.

This is about the fourth time I've seen Patricia Barber. And for once, she left me a bit cold. I love her voice. Moreover, she is one of the best jazz pianists around. But she has developed a bit of a coldness about her. She has over-developed the Keith Jarrett-like grunting while she plays. Her mouth now contorts into a circle when she is playing. But there is still the voice and the playing that comes through all the time. Sadly, throughout the concert, Patricia seemed more intent on playing the piano than on singing. But when she did sing, all sins were forgiven. After an hour and twenty minutes she said something like, "Well this went faster than I thought", excused herself and then came on for two more encores. One was of her own composition, "Snow" which is on her "Mythologies" disc. Don't get me wrong, it was a very, very good concert, but was one devoted to "Cole Porter Mix" her most recent album and I've never really been a Cole Porter fan. Now, having said that, one of the best concerts of my life was seeing Patricia Barber at the Spectrum in Montreal with Joan, Maureen and Claire when she did a version of Modern Cool and then sang the Beatles' Norwegian Blue. I guess everyone can have an off night. But, maybe you can see what I mean about what I saw when you see this video:

It is always nice to discover someone that you have never heard of before. Every year we seem to stumble into someone we had never heard of, but who is so fun that you become an instant fan. This year, it was Jill Barber.

She comes from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is a jazz singer, western swing singer, composes her own songs and just blew us away. We were fortunate enough to have all had to go to the bathroom after the show, which delayed us. As we exited, Claire bumped into Jill Barber and as a result we hung in there and got her to sign three copies of her new album, Chances.

You should get the album, listen to it, and go see it.

Even, Even, Even More Jazz Fest

I'm a glutton for Pink Martini. China Forbes, four months after giving birth, was in great form and voice. Wow. There was barely enough room for all 51 musicians to squeeze onto the stage. The Montreal Jazz Fest Orchestra and Pink Martini gave us the best show of the Festival which is saying so much. Martini's Thomas Lauderdale was front and centre at the grand piano making it sing almost as prettily as vocalist China Forbes. Having a child becomes her and how. She was stunning in a pale aqua chiffon gown that flowed around her as she did high kicks in silver stilettos. Now that's impressive! Her crystal clear voice rose above the swell of the orchestra as though sweeping us up in a warm salty wave filled with violins and French horns. Is it lounge or is it swing? Is it world music or is it classical music? Is it jazz or is it samba? The band's three albums — Sympathique, Hang on Little Tomato and Hey Eugene! — show mastery of all kinds of music It is what fun and music is all about. Pink Martini is like a romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or 50s. They Bring melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something which beautiful and fun. Call it Jazz or World Music or whatever you want, but they are brilliant musicians with brilliant tastes in material. The whole concert was conceived and based upon their as of yet unreleased album. Thankfully, yet again, I can give you actual video from the concert that we attended. John, Claire, Kathleen and I went and had a riot.

The Portland, Oregon-based ‘little orchestra’ was founded in 1994 by Lauderdale, a Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist, to play fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and public broadcasting. In the years following Pink Martini grew from four musicians to its current twelve, and has gone on to perform its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Canada and the United States.

Lauderdale met China Forbes, Pink Martini’s “diva next door” lead vocalist, when the pair was at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying painting, English literature and theatre. Late into the night in their college dormitory on the Harvard campus, Forbes would sing Verdi and Puccini arias while Lauderdale accompanied her on piano, and their creative collaboration blossomed. Three years later, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write music and lyrics together for the band, and their first song “Sympathique,” or “Je ne veux pas travailler” (I don’t want to work) became a huge hit in France.

If you have the time, here's a link to an hour long concert that is well worth the time.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14951432

There were some great moments at the concert. One song, "Splendor in the Grass" hit Kathleen and I right between the eyes. Another moment was when China Forbes started conversing with a woman holding a newborn in a genuine display of the love of motherhood, China Forbes having a four month old child.

Even, Even More Jazz Festival

Joshua Redman. After Rockin' and Rollin' or whatever you can call it, with Jeff Beck, the boys and I went to see Joshua Redman. His new album Compass was the feature, and the band consists of one saxophonist, two bass, and two drummers. The idea of a double trio -- with Joshua Redman as the spearhead of two rhythm sections -- might suggest some kind of minimalist battle of the bands. In fact the concert Monday was much more than I or Steve, Luke, Elliot orJohn thought it would be. It also clocked in as one of my best fest experience so far. The songbook was mostly Redman, from the album Compass, with some input from stage-left drummer Greg Hutchinson. While the players have only recently developed a repertoire, the array of colour and feeling was vast enough, from earthy and angular to soft and cosmic. Rhythms were precise, also fun. Reading from charts in no way inhibited the energy of the evening. As democratic as it all was, with unpredictable entrances and exits, I had my favourites. Reuben Rogers was a splendid double bassist, with creative impulses, hands of steel and a perfect ear. He collaborated periodically with Larry Grenadier (who is the bass player in Brad Meldau's band -- no slouch there!) in pizzicato duets -- the only source of harmony save for the saxophone. Brian Blade was a subtle drummer, as adept with his fingers as with his sticks. Poor guy had nothing but trouble with his kit, though. At one point his foot pedal set came apart. At another point one of his drums almost flipped forward it was so loose. At the centre was Redman, athletic and indefatigable, knees rising stork like in a kind of ritual dance. Handsome as his tenor work was, he looked like a snake-charmer on soprano saxophone and was very memorable in a modern number titled Ghost. Near the end there was a surprisingly respectful treatment of the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and a virile fantasy on Gil Evans’s Barracuda. A good-humoured guy, Redman told the eventually rapturous crowd that this was the fifth gig for his double-trio quintet. Maybe the last, he added with a self-deprecating chuckle. I doubt it. At least I hope not. Here is a sample of what we saw and you can tell it was great. John and Elliot and Luke were in the fifth row, and Steve and I were midway back.

One of the more surprising things about Montreal during the Jazz Fest is that there is a dearth of restaurants in the immediate area. Kathleen and I found one on Friday night, right at the Place Des Arts. However, the jazz fest outdoors area has some real stinkpots. For example, Steve, Luke and the boys and I went to a "Bistro" outside near the Rio Tin stage which is the major stage there. We had goat cheese, other cheese and wine that tasted like cheese. I am so bound up as a result that I have not seen a toilet since I ate there! Seriously, I wish they could have some real nice places nearby rather than the St. Hubert or Eggspectation places that seem to sprout up like weeds, like Starbucks does. There is, though, a nice crepe stand that has been there for all of the years that I've been going. Great Crepes.

Our next concert was Pink Martini: Arguably the best concerts I've ever been to have been the Pink Martini concerts. That's not just my opinion. But, more on that later.

Even More Jazz Fest -- Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck. I've been wanting to see Jeff Beck live ever since I was in junior high school. Finally, I was able to see him at the Jazz Fest. John and I went along with Steve Vanier, my partner, his son, Elliot, and Luke came along, too. Steve is not just a very fine partner, he's also a musician. He and some old, old friends have a band, "Slab City", and Steve is a saxophonist, pianist, guitar player, among other talents. And he had a question. "Is what Jeff Beck plays, jazz?" Fair enough. Some might call it "fusion", but it is really just rock. But if Jackson Browne can play at the Jazz Fest, (Saturday Night), then why can't Jeff Beck. Now, Jeff Beck is all over the place. He just released an album, "Jeff Beck -- Live at Ronnie Scott's". Maureen and I saw the club, (the show was sold out that night so we didn't go in the club), in London. It is a great album.

The show was sold out. So was the next one scheduled later that evening. Sure, people filled Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts last night to see the legendary British guitarist, who had received the Montreal International Jazz Festival Guitar Show’s first Tribute award earlier in the day. And during the show, they relished every sustained note, tremolo lurch and outburst of controlled feedback from Beck’s Fender Stratocaster. There was a big six foot and more fat old man who -- after every single song -- stood up shaking his fist and yelling "YEAH MAN". It made me feel old, because I wanted to do the same thing, but John and his friend Elliot were both there.
Still, it’s hard to imagine that anyone left without expressing some amazement at the work of drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, who can be flashy and swing at the same time. Nor would it be easy to downplay the shadings and harmonies of keyboard player Jason Rebello.
But aside from the boss, the show-stealer was bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, who, at 23, has played with Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, among others. Although she’s more like a second lead guitarist, she can also shadow Beck’s lines or anchor the quartet as needed. She looked like she was a kid. Well, even Beck looked like a kid with his black hair and solid figure.
The set closely mirrored the selection on last year’s live disc from Ronnie Scott’s club. The group opened with Beck’s Bolero, as the man of the hour slid into the high registers, making his guitar squeal and scream. As the evening moved on, whether he was spraying clusters of growling low notes, as on the reggae scorcher Behind the Veil, taking the Beatles' A Day In the Life to strange and wonderful places or winding down with the lonesome Where Were You, Beck demonstrated why, in the world of rock guitar gods, he pretty much can’t be touched.

Luckily, some video was downloaded by the Montreal Gazette of the concert the boys and I attended:

Much discussion between the boys as we waited for the next show as to who the greatest guitarist was. Sadly for Steve and I when we mentioned Clapton, Hendrix, Beck, Page, Howe, McLaughlin, DiMeola, and others, the only one they had ever heard of was Jimmy Page. Oh, the staying power of Led Zepplin. We followed that gig up with one dearer to the boys' hearts: Joshua Redman, the great saxaphone player. Elliot and John are both in the band and both play the sax. More on that one, later...

The Yardbirds. On the left is Jeff Beck. The fourth from the left is Jimmy Page. With Beck, the Yardbirds embarked on their first US tour in late August, 1965. There were three more US tours during Beck's time with the group. A brief European tour took place in April, 1966.
The Beck-era Yardbirds produced a number of memorable, groundbreaking recordings, from single hits like "Heart Full of Soul", Bo Diddley's I'm a Man, and Shapes of Things, to the Yardbird's album. Beck's guitar with fuzz tone, feedback, and distortion helped revolutionize British rock. In addition, the Yardbirds began incorporating, believe it or not Gregorian chant and world music sounds ("Still I'm Sad", "Turn Into Earth", "Hot House of Omagarashid", "Farewell", "Ever Since The World Began") and various European folk styles into their blues and rock. Beck was voted #1 lead guitarist of 1966 in the British music magazine Beat Instrumental, and his work during this period influenced musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and many, many others.

More Jazz Festival

Kathleen and I had a great time on Friday night, July 3rd, in Montreal. We started off with a beautiful diner at a new restraunt at the Place d'Arts in Montreal. Then, on to Eliane Elias. Not a lot of people who don't follow jazz as slavishly as I do will have heard of Elias. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Eliane Elias’ musical talents began to show at an early age. She started studying piano at age seven and at age twelve was transcribing solos from the great jazz masters. By the time she was fifteen she was teaching piano and improvisation at one of Brazil’ s most prestigious schools of music. Her performing career began in Brazil at age seventeen, working with Brazilian singer/songwriter Toquinho and the great poet Vinicius de Moraes who was also Antonio Carlos Jobim’s co-writer/lyricist. In 1981 she headed for New York and in 1982 landed a spot in the group Steps Ahead.
Her first album release was a collaboration with Randy Brecker entitled Amanda in 1984. Shortly after her solo career began, spanning over eighteen albums to date; fifteen on Blue Note Records and three on RCA Victor Group. In her work Elias has documented dozens of her own compositions, her outstanding piano playing and arranging, and beautiful vocal interpretations. In 1988 she was voted Best New Talent by the jazz critics poll of JAZZIZ magazine.
Together with Herbie Hancock in their duet, she was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Jazz Solo Performance” category for her 1995 release, “Solos and Duets” .This recording was hailed by Musician Magazine as “a landmark in piano duo history.”
In the 1997 Downbeat Readers Poll, her recording “The Three Americas” was voted Best Jazz Album. Eliane Elias was named in five other categories: Beyond Musician, Best Composer, Jazz Pianist, Female Vocalist, and Musician of the Year.
Elias just completed a new recording for Blue Note records. “Bossa Nova Stories” is a celebration to the 50th Anniversary of the Bossa Nova and features her vocals accompanied by a stellar rhythm section and strings recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London.

And we heard pretty much the whole album "Bosa Nova Stories" with a few gems like "Tangerine".

But she really remains unknown in non-jazz circles and that's too, too bad. Kathleen and I both noticed that she is a "muscular" player, that is, she really can play the piano with the best of any jazz musician. There are some, like Diana Krall, who can sing and play -- and Eliane Elias is arguably a much, much better piano player than Krall, (but Krall has a voice and presence and song selection that far outpaces anyone out there today) -- but Elias has to be counted as one of the top 10 piano players in jazz.

These are videos of the same band with Eliane Elias with three of the songs we heard. We were in the Theatre Jean Duceppe which holds perhaps 1000 people. There is not a bad seat, and we were in the fourth row.

And of course, just one more... The Girl from Ipanema" ("Garota de Ipanema") is a well-known bossa nova song, a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965 It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carolos Jobim.

Myth has it The Girl from Ipanema was inspired by Helô Pinheiro, then a fifteen-year-old girl living in Montenegro Street of the fashionable Ipanema district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Daily, she would stroll past the popular "Veloso" bar-café on her way to the beach, attracting the attention of regulars like Jobim. This is Helo Pinheiro some forty years later, (and perhaps various surgeries later?) on the left. Its a great standard and has a fun story behind it, as many songs do...

International Jazz Festival in Montreal 2009

It's that time of year again...

Paul, Luke and Luke's brother, Joey, and I went up to the big city on July 1st and had a great time. The Bad Plus came to town. L'Astral, the new venue at the festival site, was a perfect place for the band. Aside from seeing them play in your friend's garage (if that friend happens to have a 7 foot Yamaha lying around), I can think of no other festival venue I'd rather see them in than the new, elegant, not-too-small, not-too-big L'Astral.








The trio was born in Minneapolis in the early 2000s. Pianist Ethan Iverson, drummer Dave King, and bassist Reid Anderson had all grown up in the Midwest and had played together in the late '80s. But Anderson and Iverson left for New York - Iverson as the musical director of the Mark Morris Dance Group, Anderson as a jazz bassist becoming known for bold compositions and strong playing - while King stayed back in Minnesota straddling the indie rock and jazz scenes with his group Happy Apple. When they regrouped in 2000, it didn't take long for them to realize they had something special. Applying a rigorous standard of arrangement to the songs of their youth, they found a way of winking at both Bill Evans and Igor Stravinsky while covering Blondie.
In their rising recognition from 2003 to the present, the group has divided the jazz community. It seems you're either head over heels, or you're disparaging their "moronic backbeat" as jazz critic Bill Milkowski did when their second record, Give, came out in 2004 to critical acclaim. A new record, For All I Care - their fifth major release to date - is a departure. For the first time, they are joined by singer Wendy Lewis, a Midwest-based indie rock singer who has known drummer Dave King for years. "We could have met with a saxophonist or guitarist, but we decided to work with the human voice. Wendy's a natural - a strong musician who isn't afraid to mix it up with a challenging band," Iverson said.
It is clear that Lewis is a masterful musician. Singing with the Bad Plus is like catching waves moving in different directions - Iverson's often dense piano work feels like Pierre Boulez laughing at grunge rock - and she stays artfully afloat. On a tune like Wilco's Radio Cure, Lewis's rich voice swirls in the dark emotion of the lyrics. Relieved of carrying the song on their own, the band comes to life behind her with an artful improvisation that parallels the original tune. And their show last night at L'Astral was mostly what I had expected, which, when you're expecting a great show, isn't all that bad. But there were a few surprises.
First off, Dave King is an even more amazing drummer than I had imagined. His is the perfect balance between orchestrated drum work and bursts of improvised energy. Seeing his big smile behind the kit just before he plays some edgey off-kilter fill is priceless.
Second, they played a few songs I had never heard before.
The set started with their trio tunes--many from the new record, like the Stravinsky and Babbitt pieces that they re-invent. Once they invited Wendy Lewis on stage I thought they would simply play the remainder of the new record. But no, they had some new gems too. A tongue-in-cheek rendition of Blue Velvet was successful, even if it showed what great jazz players they are in a backwards kind of way. And the first encore, Heart of Gold, sung by Reid Anderson, was such a magical moment. The song ended with the four musicians singing the refrain of Heart of Gold ("Still searchin' for a heart of gold") singing in harmony without microphones. But it was their cover of "Comfortably Numb" that blew the four of us away It was so good, that Luke thought that they were every bit as good as E.S.T. You should get the album.

Check out the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdPGjRDgEN4&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fvideosearch%3Fsourceid%3Dnavclient%26rlz%3D1T4GGLR%5FenUS307US209%26q%3Dthe%2520bad%2520plus%2520comfortably%2520numb%26um%3D1%26ie%3D&feature=player_embedded

On our way out of the Bad Plus, while pushing through crowds at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, we stumbled past the Rio Tinto Alcan stage, where we were stopped in our tracks by an incredible sound: Uruguayan singer Inés Cánepa and her fabulous band. Cánepa sings what many would call "world music," but really she's just singing great songs in Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Accompanied by classical guitar, bass, drums and accordion, the engaging singer - sporting a floral-print sundress, despite the rain - danced, laughed, and sang her genre-bending songs, riddled with hints of R&B, folk and trip-hop.

We also got to hear a group called The Project from Mexico. It had a drummer who played guitar and base and who sang. Very Spanish/Mexican/French and a lot of blues.





Earlier in the evening there was some good old blues at one of the outdoor stages. We saw some drunks, some old people, (like me), some youngsters, something of everything.








Kathleen and I go again tonight to see Eliane Elias. More on that later.