David Adler
JJA Conference, January 7-11
Check the schedule and location details, and register! I’ll be speaking on a panel January 8, 2-4 p.m.
Squeeze, “Tempted”
I’m having trouble embedding video here, so I’ll just link to the YouTube of me fiddling around with “Tempted” by Squeeze. I rarely find the time to do these things, so special occasions give me an excuse. Happy New Year, everyone! Update: here’s the embedded video.
New Ghost rescheduled
The show I posted about here was rescheduled on account of the snow. It’s Sat., Jan. 8 at 10 p.m. at The Triumph Brewery, 117 Chestnut St. in Old City, Philadelphia. I don’t believe Ottokar will be appearing.
The Village Voice Annual Jazz Poll, 2010
I merely participated. Francis Davis organized it, and did the hard, consequential work of extracting meaning from the results.
Assange and Shamir
I think it’s safe to say that political activists who compare themselves to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ought to be regarded with a high degree of skepticism. Alas, many on the left regard Julian Assange of WikiLeaks the way he views himself. Katha Pollitt of The Nation has written this very eloquent piece about the belittling of Assange’s rape charges.
On Trudy Pitts
My homage to the late organist/pianist Trudy Pitts, in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.
New Ghost & Ottokar
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: New Ghost & Ottokar Sun., Dec. 26, 9:30pm. $5. Tritone, 1508 South St. 215.545.0475 www.tritonebar.com Elliott Levin, shaggily bearded saxophonist and flutist, is a one-man Philadelphia institution — a creature of ’70s free jazz above all, but compulsively adaptable, playing every room in town with DJs, Balkan bands, performance artists and who knows who. Levin
The week on disc (83)
In case you missed the last one… Tim Motzer & Markus Reuter, Descending (1k) Aram Shelton Quartet, These Times (Singlespeed) Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly, Empathetic Parts (482 Music) Ken Thomson and Slow/Fast, It Would Be Easier If (Intuition) Andrew Rathbun, The Idea of North (SteepleChase) Phronesis, Alive (Edition)