A lot has been going on in Jazz this year, and I'm having a hard time keeping up with it. For starters I just noticed PDX Jazz Founder and Artistic Director Bill Royston has retired. I'm sure the fest will be in good hands with the board and Don Lucoff. I wish Bill the best. I have gotten to see Ornette Coleman, Lou Donaldson, Bobby Hutcherson, Pharoah Sanders, and The Bad Plus thanks to his curating.
_____________
All ECM albums are on sale at Music Millennium:
Please take advantage of this special offer from Music Millennium - and ECM Records of 20% off all ECM titles from now until the end of June.The first place I worked when I moved to Portland was Music Millennium in NW Portland (up until it closed). I was a floor supervisor and oversaw the Jazz collection. Let me tell you, they have an impeccable collection of ECM titles. Although this sale could be dwindling their stock fast. Music Millennium is in Portland on East Burnside and 32nd Ave. You can also shop online.
_____________
It has been 50 years of enjoying Impulse! Records. Some nice releases are/will be available to commemorate this milestone.
_____________
I've been enjoying a lot of Destination:Out recently. They have been providing some notable articles on Sun Ra and George Lewis (and here).
I haven't had a whole lot of time to get into some new music. I've been listening to a lot of Braxton Montreux/Berlin Concerts, and an extreme amount of Don Cherry. Particularly his Blue Note sessions and the ESP-Disk' Café Montmartre volumes. Which offer beautiful, low produced clones of segments of his suites from those Blue Note recordings.
As far as Braxton, put him with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, alongside either Kenny Wheeler or George Lewis and my day instantly gets better.
_____________
