November in February

A quick one, if you please.

Until my headphones broke a couple days ago, I was thrilling to November 1981 (seemingly order-able here or on emusic, though my browser never lets me access the latter site), the Bill Dixon classic that was recorded in December of 1985. (Just kidding.) Anyway, this is the spiritual predecessor to the classic Vade Mecum sessions of '93: Just Dixon, two bassists and a drummer. I'm a die-hard Vade fan, but the Nov '81 group really has something special and sensitive going on--this is probably the third or fourth epiphany I've had w/ this session. Not sure if I've ever heard the drummer Laurence Cook anywhere but here; he's a wonderfully nimble and delicate force. (The two-bass team of Mario Pavone and Alan Silva is no joke either.) And of course there's that wondrous, indelible cover:


















See what Taylor Ho Bynum had to say about November 1981 a while back. It was Bynum who sent me scurrying back to Dixon (I have phases where I listen to nothing but BD, but I had been too consumed w/ Confessor and Metallica of late to spin much jazz) with his recent post re: an upcoming Dixon CD/DVD on Firehouse 12. Cannot wait for that. I haven't loved all the recent Dixon efforts (I enjoyed Darfur, but couldn't really get into the Exploding Star Orchestra collaboration), but I'm very psyched that he's recording at such a clip.

Other items of note:

*Another old friend I'm catching up with is John Feinstein, who writes brilliantly, warmly and accessibly about sports. Have read a bunch of his books; right now I'm loving Tales from Q School, which is loaded with tales of triumph and heartbreak from the fringes of the PGA Tour. I know, I know--it probably doesn't sound too thrilling, but trust me.

*Lissy Trullie seems to be generating quite a lot of buzz, from The New Yorker and elsewhere. She hasn't released a lot of music, there are a few outstanding tracks on her debut EP, Self-Taught Learner. You can hear some of those tracks (including the exquisite "She Said") and read an article (w/ interview) I wrote about her over at the Time Out New York site.

*Like many others across this great nation, I'm a sucker for the strange phenomenon of remixes of celebrity meltdowns. Please, please, please--if you find profanity funny (and who doesn't?), check out the recently leaked Christian Bale on-set rant and its attendant remix. (I wouldn't click on this at work.) And I assume everyone's seen the Bill O'Reilly rage-a-thon ("We'll do it live!!!"), but if not, here's the original and, of course, the obligatory remix. I read once somewhere that any sample can be instantly transformed into a mantra or hook via a jammin' four-four dance beat. These examples prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. (Not to mention the fact that I find them to be unbelievably hilarious and and infectious.)