HIV/AIDS has touched all of our lives.
We are still all in this together.
Whether it is in Africa or Alabama,
We have got to make a difference.
Let's start now!

Posted by at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Calalillies, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

I am on my way to sunrise service at church this morning. Don't tell anyone but I think I am only singing for one service at church today. It is the last day of my vacation so I want to get some rest. :)

I wish you all the best for this Easter holiday.

Posted by at 5:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Flowers, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

Yes, spring is here even though our rainy season is heavily upon us. I am a little behind on my music right now so as soon as I know the new jazz releases this spring, I will let you know.

I went to see the Christian McBride Band @ Yoshi's last Friday. There were excellent as always in spite of that bad joke that Christian told. They played a couple new jammin'' tunes from his upcoming release, Live at Tonic.

Speaking of Yoshi's, there is lots of good music coming up including Pat Martino, Rachelle Ferrell, and Carmen Lundy (who has a new double live CD.)

The Monterey Jazz Festival looks great this year. The lineup includes McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Dianne Reeves, Dave Brubeck, and Kurt Elling, who is this year's Artist-in-Residence. More to come.

Congratulations to vocalist Derek Lassiter on the release of his debut album, Witness. You will get to hear more about Derek real soon.

Big thanks to trumpeter Ian Carey for the write up on his blog and for letting me experiment with my new camera during his set at the House of Shields a couple of weeks ago. I promise to come back and take more photos. The Ian Carey Quintet recently released their debut album, Sink/Swim.

New York City....I will see you next week!

Posted by at 4:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Train tracks, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

Hope your new year has started well. I figured I had better peek my head in here so you did not think I had ran away.

How many resolutions have you broken already?

Me? I tend not to make any resolutions but I do think about things that I would like to do differently in the new year. Yeah, I think about the usual stuff but I also think about my creative goals. Each year I want to do more. 2005 was a spectacular year for me. Over the next few weeks, I will be radio blogging and talking about some of the music that moved my soul last year. It might even surprise you.

McCoy Tyner has begun his two-week residency at Yoshi's. Both weeks will be spectactular but the tickets are going very fast get yours very soon. The Jeremy Pelt Quartet will be at Yoshi's for one night on February 20.

I have been taking a lot of photos these past two weekends. This past weekend I roamed around Oakland on Saturday and roamed down Highway 1 on Sunday. The photo above was taken on the train tracks near the Bonnie Doon Beach in Santa Cruz, California.

Posted by at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before you start calling me and sending email, the banner will return real soon. I promise. I upgraded from MT 3.11 to 3.2 (the publishing software used to produce this wonderful site) and later found out that I had some corruption on my Berkeley DB. I decided to start from scratch with a new MySQL database and reload all my entries. The upside is all entries and comments loaded successfully. The downside is that I lost all my trackbacks. Also, if you were a trusted commenter in the past, you need to sign up again. I guess you just can't have it all. There are a lot of new features in MT 3.2 so I had to sacrifice my old template for now but I will gradually be putting back together.

SOS Gwen - Hook me up!

P.S. All this fun has also given way to a new site, simply j life, which will be devoted to my non-musical pursuits. Check it out when you get a chance. It has same basic look as this site for now but as soon as I learn how to use the stylecatcher plugin, lookout!

Posted by at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Not to worry, my blog will not slide away again. I am still here and feeling much better. I spent about a week battling a nasty flu/cold. I laid on the sofa and watched more TV than I have in a very long time. My old television, though begging to be replaced, was cooperative and gave me a full screen most days. I watched this show at length for my first time. It was definitely entertaining. I tend to watch more TV when I am visiting friends than when I am at home. I have gotten hooked on a couple of shows so I will see how long this lasts. My guess is that it will not be for long.

I have much writing to catch up on and many photos to share, as you can imagine. It will happen. I am also tossing some ideas around for a redesign of the site. It will be the first one since I started blogging in 2002 so it is time for a fresh coat of paint. Stay tuned.

There are lots of great concerts coming to the Bay Area in the next weeks. I got to see the Bobby Hutcherson All-Stars last week and I am definitely looking forward to seeing McCoy Tyner this week and next week. If you do not have your tickets for McCoy yet, hurry because they are selling out very quickly for both weeks this year.

I have not heard much about new music releases so if I am missing out on something really good, please let me know.

Posted by at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I hope that everyone had a very nice holiday season. Mine was busy as usual with concerts, singing, baking, and a few gatherings. I did not make any resolutions for the new year for they usually get broken within a couple weeks anyway! :)

I wish everyone much love, many blessings, and good music for the new year!!!

Posted by at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Today is World AIDS Day or maybe we should call it the day when the world stops for a moment to think about the plight of this terrible disease on our world. Every day is World AIDS Day and it will continue to be long after there is a cure. As I write, I can hear the hook of the classic house tune "It's Not Over" by First Choice playing in my head.

I was recently home for Thanksgiving in Chicago. I spent time driving around the city and looking at the changes in the communities. There are so many new buildings every time I come home. I walked around downtown and saw the beautiful Christmas trees and store decorations. I was heading back to the car when I passed the building where my best friend Michael worked and I paused for a moment. The building is being renovated but some of the marble from the old structure was saved. I almost cried when I thought about my old friend. It has been almost nine years since Michael left us but not a day goes by that I do not think about him.

Michael stood about 5'4" and probably weighed no more than 125 pounds. He would always joked about he looked like a shorter version of Ray Parker, Jr., complete with the shag haircut. Although he may have been short in stature, Michael was a mighty giant in my mind. He possessed the courage to take on any challenge including bungee jumping and his love of roller coasters. He was an avid bowler with a hook that was amazing. He took me to my first bowling tournament. We went to music concerts together and he could not have just any ole seats. He would either be the first in line when the tickets went on sale or he would go to the ticket broker to make sure we had the best seats possible. One of our many cherished memories was when Michael bought his first car. It was Renault Fuego with a manual transmission. I remember meeting him at his parent's house and we went for a ride in his car. He was just learning how to drive a stick so believe me, we had some great laughs stopping and starting around the city. A few months later, this experience influenced me to buy a car with a manual transmission as well. He even managed to get me to ride a few roller coasters which was no small feat for me.

He was 32 years old when he died. Our last time together was about a month before his death. I went to his favorite restaurant to pick a hot beef sandwich piled with grilled onions and peppers and dipped in gravy. We talked, laughed, and played Scrabble. There were so many adventures left unfinished and so many dreams unfulfilled yet he did so much in such a short span of time. He lived and loved life to the fullest and touched so many lives in more ways than he could ever imagine. The courage he instilled in me is always with me. I am sure we will meet up again some day. I will find him at the great roller coaster or bowling alley in the sky but for now I remember Michael in my heart. I know when I recently bowled a score of 204, he smiled. I encourage you to remember/encourage a friend or loved one living with HIV/AIDS every day for we are all in this together.

If we don't tell our stories, they will die like roses in the early frost.

Posted by at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Yeah, that pretty much describes me. Thanks to ej, bernie, j, and prime for this meme.

Posted by at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The official j-notes transportation!

One of biggest challenges of loving music is that people come to you often for recommendations.

"Who are you listening to?"
"Who are 20 greatest jazz artists of all-time?"
"What music goes well with baked Alaska?"
"What can I play at a dinner party that will not offend my guest?"

While these are all very good questions, I would turn to you and say, "Who do you like?" When in doubt, compilations are always good because they usually have two or three artists on there that you like and give you several new ones to explore. Of course, I have my favorites which I could spend days listing but I also find out about good music by people's recommendations. When I first started this site, I did a "Best of the Best for 2002" and it was quite challenging because some good music always gets left out. This time around, I am just naming an eclectic handful of my personal favorites. In turn, you can tell me a few of yours and we can share wonderful music together. Isn't that the way it should be anyway?

Patti Austin - For Ella
Shirley Horn - Here's to Life
Shirley Horn - Softly
Lizz Wright - Salt
Jeremy Pelt - Close to My Heart
Jeremy Pelt - Insight
Natalie Cole - Stardust
Carla Cook - Simply Natural
Ramsey Lewis Trio - Appassionata
Roberta Flack - Roberta
Dianne Reeves - A Little Moonlight
Vernell Brown, Jr. - A Total Eclipse
Cassandra Wilson - Glamoured
Oleta Adams - Circle of One
Andy Bey - American Song
Andy Bey - Shades of Bey
Andy Bey - Blues, Ballads & Bey
Wycliffe Gordon & Eric Reed - We
Milt Jackson - Reverence and Compassion
Ahmad Jamal - In Search Of Momentum
Various Artists - Girl From Ipanema: The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald - First Lady of Song Box Set
Sarah Vaughan - Live at Mister Kelly's
McCoy Tyner Trio - What the World Need Now - The Music of Burt Bacharach
Nancy Wilson - With My Lover Beside Me
Yellowjackets - Club Nocturne
Brenda Russell - Paris Rain
René Marie - How Can I Keep From Singing
Mark Turner - Ballad Sessions
Carmen Lundy - Self Portrait
Danilo Perez - Till Then
Ron Blake - Lest We Forget
Bobby Lyle - Straight and Smooth
Bobby Lyle - Ivory Dreams
Geoffrey Keezer - Falling Up
Eric Reed - Mercy and Grace
Onaje Allan Gumbs - Return to Form
Terrell Stafford - New Beginnings
Gerald Wilson Orchestra - New York New Sound
Joe Sample - Voices in the Rain
Jocelyn Brown - Moment of My Life - Jocelyn Brown Anthology
Regina Carter & Kenny Barron - Freefall
Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland

Posted by at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Lena Horne and Count Basie in the 40's.

Now before you ask, no, I did not take this wonderful photograph nor was I there when it was taken. I found this wonderful gem while surfing the web and wanted to share it.

I have not been blogging much these days. I am working on a big project for work that has taken much of my waking hours. Soon, I will be done and back to writing. In the meantime, I have been listening to some good music that I will tell you about real soon.

I went to see McCoy Tyner, Pharaoh Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Charnett Moffett, and Eric Harland in concert last week. It was great show. I found out yesterday that Eric Reed and Paula West are playing The Plush Room in San Francisco through Sunday. That is definitely a nice choice for the upcoming Hallmark holiday this weekend. :)

Be back soon!

Posted by at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Come on, just for a second you thought I was about to break out with tips on preparing your bird. I have only had the pleasure of cooking a turkey once and this one was not it. However, I did well on my first attempt.

Now this baby here is my own handiwork. It is an egg nog rum cake made in a cathedral bundt pan. Quite impressive if I say so myself. All it needs is a little powdered sugar or a lethal rum glaze to put it over the top. I am taking this cake to Chicago later today for dinner. My mommy will be quite proud.

Sending you much love and many blessings for a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Posted by at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)

Over the past few months, I have been having an ongoing discussion with a fellow blogger about the amount of personal information I put in my weblog. I feel that the my music and concert reviews are my personal thoughts. I would not want to cloud this with stuff like I went to the eye doctor on Monday and I am being evaluated later this month for contact lenses (really, I am.) If I were going to share this type of information with the world, I would do so on a separate blog. My fellow blogger feels the world needs to experience my sparkling personality online. I feel like if you want all that, call me at home or come see me in person and I will share my sparkling self with you. I realize this is kind of selfish because I definitely enjoy reading about everyone else's lives and I do share my personal viewpoints on various topics on their blogs. It's all about the music here and when things settle down a bit, I would like to start writing some entries on personal points of interests like the resurgence of the Hammond B-3 organ, Fender Rhodes, and electric piano in jazz which I think is quite fascinating. I hope I am not rambling too much here but I would like to ask the following question:

As bloggers, what and who determines if we are sharing enough or not enough information with the world? I know my girlfriend, A.J., will stop by and give her thoughts and wisdom.

By the way, I saw egg nog at the grocery store today so soon, and very soon, it will be time for this cake.

Posted by at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Music is powerful. On any given Sunday morning, music lifts people to a higher place but what about jazz tune?

Does it lift your soul and take you there?
Does it bring you to tears?
Does it knock you to your knees?
Does it bring a smile to you?

I ask you, what song has lifted your soul?

I was driving into work this morning and listening to the up-tempo "Barrio" track from George Benson's release Absolute Benson. I love this song not only because of George's masterful guitar playing and his slick crooning but the ladies on the background vocals lift you from the barrio to an island paradise with their breezy, soulful chants. For just a few minutes, the music took me away and I was full of emotion or was that just my hot chocolate?

We will be flashing back somewhere in time tomorrow and also lookout for the upcoming series on my musical adventures at last weekend's 46th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

Let the music move you...

Posted by at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by at 11:35 AM | Permalink

I know you have coming here the last few days and just wondering where's the news? Where's the reviews? What new music is out? What music got re-issued. Who is really running j-notes.com...LOL!!! Let's just say the past couple of weeks have been quite busy for me but I do hope to catch up a little over the next couple of weeks. I will even have this week's Flashback Friday entry posted on Friday morning. Thanks for the love and your continued support. In the meantime, enjoy your music.

Posted by at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It was rainy and cool here over the weekend. I was productive. I did some much needed work around the house, caught up on email, and listened to music. I managed to stay out of the record stores over the weekend which is a good thing. Saturday afternoon, I went to lunch, only to find out one of my favorite places for comfort food is gone. The Red Tractor Café in Oakland has closed its doors and they are already building a new restaurant in its former location. I really enjoyed their brunch and dinner and will definitely miss them in the neighborhood. Their only location now is in Dublin.

Friday night, we went to Ledisi's CD release party at Bimbo's 365 Club. The place was packed and there was standing room only. Bay Area artist Soul Folk opened for her. The highlight of his set was his duet with vocalist Sakai. I do not remember the name of the song but she saaaang! Ledisi and her band Anibade took the stage by storm. She opened with "Get Outta My Kitchen" and sang other songs from her new release, "Soulsinger - The Revival." She also treated us to her soulful treatments of the Isley Brother's classic "For The Love Of You" and The Beatles' song "Yesterday." Ledisi will be touring soon so she was very happy to be performing for her Bay Area family. She expressed her gratitude and thanked us for supporting her from the very beginning. The energy was high amongst the sold-out crowd as she sang "Take Time" and closed the set with "Good Lovin'." She also encouraged us to contact our local radio stations so we can hear her music on the radio. I will definitely do my part cuz I love her music.

j-notes in the news: An article from my niece's job's newsletter...

"J-Notes: where music gets its voice (www.j-notes.com) – This site, run by a former Chicagoan and self-proclaimed jazz enthusiast, provides album and concert reviews, listings of local jazz performances, recommended playlists, other jazz websites and more. The daily updates give insight on how jazz music can takes a listener on a spiritual journey of sound. Be sure to check out the “Friday Flashback” which pays homage to the great jazz influences of the past. (Thank you to Leslie!)"

I am a very proud uncle to have such a wonderful niece.

An interesting article from PopMatters on anti-war entitled "Real, Compared to What": Anti-War Soul. Thanks Dee!

Check out the artist lineups for the Bakersfield Jazz Festival, May 9-10 and the San Jose Jazz Festival, August 7-10.

Legendary bass player Ron Carter has a new website, www.roncarter.net. He has played on over 2500 albums including with Miles Davis, Lena Horne, James Brown, and Eric Dolphy. There is a plethora of information and full length sound clips from several of his albums.

Posted by at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

For the last 10 years, I have had the Stendig calendar above my desk. The Stendig Calendar was designed in 1966 by massimo vignelli and has become a classic. My friends usually tease me about the calendar because it is so large, 36" x 48" to be exact. In the old days, I used to be able to get the calendar for half price the day after Christmas at Crate & Barrel but in 2001, they made it a catalog only item. Of course, by the time I checked on-line for it, they were all sold out so to keep from having an empty space above my desk, I had to spend a few extra bucks and order the calendar from Unica Home. Last year, I ordered the calendar and it arrived as normal but this year was a little different.

I placed my order on 12/29 even though I did get a reminder email from the vendor in September to order early. On 1/8, I got a shipping confirmation letting me know I should be receiving the calendar in the next couple of days. On Sunday morning, as I was preparing for church, I got a voicemail from a neighbor saying he had received my calendar. Initially, I thought it was someone in my building but upon further listening, I found out he lived a few blocks away. He said that Fedex had delivered it in the middle of the night and he would leave it unprotected on his porch for me or someone to pick up. I finished getting dressed in my best choir boy/preacher attire and went cruising up and down his street before church looking for my calendar. I did not see it on any of the porches so I called him back for any exact address and I got his voicemail and left a message. He calls me back immediately and says he was screening his calls because he thought I may have been someone trying to sell him something. As I am driving to his house, out steps this long-haired man, barefoot man with my calendar. He looks like your average hippie and I look like your average preacher. He makes reference to the calendar and me being large in a non-harmful manner. I thank him for calling me about the calendar and as I am leaving he said, "I hope you are going to play jazz and not preach to the people about the ignorance of religion." I just smiled and walked away happy to have my calendar and knowing that I would be giving Fedex a piece of my mind on the way to church.

Have a blessed week!!!!

Posted by at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

About Whitney Houston-Brown. I rushed home from choir rehearsal on Wednesday to watch Diane Sawyer's interview of singer Whitney Houston. It had already started but I knew js was taping it so I could see the beginning later. I have sat in the shadows waiting for one of my blogging homies to post something that I could just comment on but maybe they are still silently mourning the interview as I am. I do not plan to say much because I know the comments posted to this entry will tell the real story. It saddened me to see her erratic behavior during the course of the interview. js and I chatted on the phone during commercial breaks and in most cases, we were saddened by what we had seen. The bright moments were seeing Whitney playing piano and the cameo appearance of her daughter, Bobbie Christina, who is a positive light in her life. I kept thinking to myself, "maybe Natalie and Chaka will come to her rescue, seeing they both have been down the road of bad drugs and bad men." I also wondered, "why was Bobby Brown sweating so much during his brief appearance when he spoke about being bi-polar and smoking a blunt every other day to keep him mellow?" I close with a favorite line from a classic Chaka song, "Even a blind man (or woman) can tell when he's (she's) walking in the sun."

Posted by at 7:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

This is the last week of my Essentials for Oracle Database Administrators course so I am finishing my assignments and exams. I attended the 3 nights of the San Francisco Jazz Fest over the weekend and had a great time. More to come. I will be attending a writer's workshop this weekend so I can stop splitting my verbs and consonants. Picked up an few new tunes including Gerald Albright, Heather Headley, and Kirk Whalum.

Funniest moment of the weekend: I played Diana Krall's "Live In Paris" on Friday and on Saturday morning I could not get my CD player to work. Could I have been cursed by the Krall? Much to my relief, it started working again when I put on some Joe Sample.

Also, check out the nearly completed j-notes logo on the about j-notes pages. It was designed by js and I am grateful to have such a talented friend!!!

Posted by at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Okay, I am not sure what inspired me to click on e-bay or half.com at e-bay but I did and oh, the music I found. Don't worry, I did not spend every cent to my name but I did find some gems.

Continue reading "j-notes meets e-bay and life will never be the same...." »

Posted by at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is no way that I could have gotten started without some help and love from ej, mesprime, tubba and the rush. Special thanks especially to ej for helping select the domain name, coaching, and answering as many of my questions as possible.

Posted by at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

First, there was an inspiration after being surrounded by wonderful music at the Monterey Jazz Festival 45th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival a few weekends ago. I have always thought about doing music reviews and providing music information. People have asked my take on music from time to time and I always wanted a creative outlet to provide this information. Well, here we are, a few weeks after Monterey and some hard work with a few good friends and now I am blogging. Thanks to everyone for putting up with me during my growing pains and stay tuned for the musical adventures ahead.

Posted by at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)