I've been on a semi-pilgrimage to build a "near replica" of the 1964 Telecaster of the late Canadian jazz guitarist, Ed Bickert, who is definitely one of my favorite jazz guitarists. Many thanks to Roman Pokorny for sharing his photos with me of his visit with Ed and of Ed's Telecaster. You might notice I... Read More »

It's been an incredibly hectic week on all fronts, and I feel like I've been sprinting to keep up! I've been writing up my listening impressions for the Positive Feedback review of the new Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III phonograph cartridge from Peter Ledermann, and you should see that review published in the next week or... Read More »

I had a really nice visit to England and Wales over the last couple of weeks, and just got back. If you were wondering why I was slower than usual answering comments and emails, that's why, and I still might be a little slow catching up on answering email and messages as I'm really jet-lagged! If I... Read More »

After a couple cups of coffee this morning, I sat down and practiced my fingerstyle guitar lesson for about an hour. I'm enjoying working my way through a beginning fingerstyle guitar course book, in hopes that I'll become a better guitar player (it wouldn't take much! 😉 ). One of my goals in retirement has... Read More »

This last week was really a nice one of relaxation and getting out in nature with my friend Chad at his cabin on the shore of Lake Chelan in Washington State. We got in a bike ride in the village of Chelan, and did some sightseeing around the lake. There were deer everywhere, and at... Read More »

It's been a nice weekend of just kicking back, relaxing, and celebrating. To celebrate my Mom's majority Irish ancestry that we didn't know she had until after some recent DNA testing (oral tradition isn't always accurate), we celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Saturday with me cooking a traditional St. Patrick's Day feast of corned beef,... Read More »

I love jazz. I love guitars. I love to hear jazz cats playing jazz on their guitars! It makes me smile. 🙂 Blues Going Up is a nice jazz swing album featuring George Barnes (guitar), Duncan James (guitar), Benny Barth (drums), and Dean Reilly (bass), that was recorded live at Bimbo's "supper club" on April 17,... Read More »

Today's post was inspired by Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,  one of my favorite pointillist impressionism paintings, showing Parisians relaxing in a park on the banks of the Seine (below). In a silly oddio variation on a theme, you get my music, film, literature, and audio impressions while I'm relaxing... Read More »

It's crazy, I thought I'd have 9 or 10 hours more every day to get things done after retiring from my day job at the end of December, but that hasn't happened. If anything I've been busier than ever and the days whiz by, and before I know it the day is over! How can... Read More »

I've been thinking a lot about the guitar and guitarists lately, and after an almost four year hiatus of playing the guitar, I've picked back up my guitars, dusted off my mental cobwebs, and tried to make some progress in my playing again. The highlight of my week back before I laid down my guitars... Read More »

It was a long week of getting caught up at home and on the day job, and getting over jet lag! I love traveling but playing catchup is rough! But now it's weekend-eve, and it's time for a little music listening! Woo-hoo! First up was the new mono Buddy Holly reissue from Analogue Productions, remastered... Read More »

My Dad went through a sudden decline in his health after a serious fall about three years ago, and was not able to go home again afterwards. Our family is spread out about as far as it is possible to be while still living in the USA, and with no family local to where Mom... Read More »

It's always fun to get out and about for an adventure, particularly when it includes music! Friend and fellow Westminster owner, Leo, and I were in Seattle yesterday for a brief visit and stopped in at Jazz Alley to catch the Bob James Quartet's performance, and it was awesome! You might remember that multi-Grammy winning... Read More »

Christmas has come and gone, and I'm relaxing this morning drinking a little coffee and listening to some  'new' music that I thought you'd like to know about. Mom gave me a copy of A Night At Birdland with the Art Blakey Quintet for a Christmas gift (thanks, Mom!), featuring Art Blakey (drums), Clifford Brown (trumpet), Lou Donaldson... Read More »

I've had the good fortune to spend almost every Christmas Holiday with my Mom (Jaine) and Dad (Jack). Last year after a brief illness, at age 92, we lost Dad just before Christmas, so neither Mom or I were much in a Christmas mood in 2015. This year Mom and I celebrated Christmas together, and we... Read More »

I've picked up some new albums from Acoustic Sounds that I think you jazz cats will enjoy. First up is the 45 RPM Bill Evans Paris Concert Edition 1 from the Original Recordings Group (ORG), which was recorded live at L'espace Cardin in Paris, France, November 1979, about 10 months before Bill's death in September 1980. The album... Read More »

This has been a busy weekend for me, and I'm finally getting a chance to just sit down this evening and listen to music and relax, just for the fun of it. At this moment I have no reviews I'm thinking about, no listening impressions to record, no other duties of any kind, I'm just listening... Read More »

I just received my latest vinyl fix from Acoustic Sounds (and in case you are wondering, these aren't freebie samples, I buy them at full retail price just like you do). My order for this paycheck was Mobile Fidelity's 45RPM version of Rickie Lee Jones' first album, Rickie Lee Jones; Mobile Fidelity's 45RPM version of Miles Davis' Kind Of... Read More »

I always love the weekends, when I get a chance to cook up some fine food, listen to music, play hi-fi games, go for a bicycle ride, and just generally kick back and enjoy life! I invited my Mom & Dad over for dinner and some music listening (Mom's 90, and Dad's 92). I grilled... Read More »

It's been a hectic time, and I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like over the last few weeks, so I thought I'd tell you about a number of things at once to make up for lost time, like vintage Western Electric WE24GA wire, some delicious vintage phono cartridges, some music 'scores', and... Read More »

It was on August 15, 1965, that my Mom took me to see Louis Armstrong in a parking lot concert at the Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, Oregon. Exactly 50 years ago today. It made a huge impression on me, and I've loved jazz ever since. So today, 50 years later, we celebrated the good... Read More »

I like to bring my Mom & Dad over to visit on the weekend, fix them a nice dinner, and spend some time catching up. They've been through a hard time the last few years, starting with when my Dad took a bad fall at home, ended up in the hospital, then a skilled nursing facility,... Read More »

My friend Leo sent me a message yesterday saying, "I found some Johnny Smith albums, I thought I'd drop them by if you're around." What a great guy! My friend Leo knows how much I love those old Johnny Smith albums on the Roost Records label, and when he's out and about he picks them up for me when... Read More »