Roy Haynes;alive and druming

He’ll be 81 next month, he has played with Lester Young, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughn, Thelonious Monk, Satn Getz, John Coltrane, Chick Corea among others. On Friday night at Scullers his quartet which included Martin Berjerano; on piano, Marcus Strickland; sax and bassist John Sullivan whose combined ages probably don’t add up to 81 and with these young cats he did swing. I can’t imagine the second show because they gave all in the first one.

If they come your way, do yourself a favor.

Neil Young at the movies

If you enjoy watching music being played and even if you are not a Neil Young fan don’t miss “Heart of Gold”. It is by far one of the most beautifully done music movies you will ever see. Here are quality people (Spooner Oldham, Ben Keith, Emmylou Harris, etc) with Neil at the Ryman Auditorium making music together. And if you are a Neil Young fan you will enjoy the music. The Prairie Wind song cycle is featured followed by some of the older stuff. This isn’t Greenville this is a poignant, touching view of music being made.

Feeling much better now, Thank You!!!

Despite the mild winter I have been feeling a little blue lately. Many things perhaps contributed to my malaise; I haven’t held a fly rod in months, the Buffalo Bills didn’t win the Super Bowl again and I just was notified that after being named one of the ten finalists for 2006 Beer Drinker of the Year award I didn’t make the last cut to three (I must have finished fourth).

However I must confess the real reason for being a little down. The truth is I’ve been worried about “Tommy-Boy” Delay. I’ve been concerned about his well-being after he stepped down from his prestigious job in the house. But you know this is a great country! Today’s NY Times reported Representative Delay has been “rewarded” with a seat on the Appropriations Committee. This seat being vacant after Republican Representative Cunningham pleaded guilty to charges related to accepting 2.4 million in bribes. Good job Randy!

Now the kicker – how can one stay glum in this great land – Tom was also given a seat on the subcommittee overlooking the Justice Department. The Justice Department just happens to be investigating an influence-peddling scandal involving Jack Abramoff. I’m sure Tom will be able to provide valuable insights into this issue.

And I’ve been considering Portugal as retirement possibility.