On Getting Laid Off

When I was a kid, my mom would go on nightly walks around our neighborhood. Sometimes I’d go with her. We would talk, and I remember saying to her something like this: I think I’ll do some good stuff in this life if I live long enough. I was maybe 13 at the time, so … Continue reading On Getting Laid Off →

HIGH PRIORITY HI-FI SHOOTOUT

The thing nobody is talking about is what I'm up to tonight. I'm up late trying to write a spot for my employer. It has to do with coffee. I'm drinking Hop Butcher For The World and have had, frankly, too many. And, for reasons I can no longer recall, I'm engaged in a speaker … Continue reading HIGH PRIORITY HI-FI SHOOTOUT →

Explorations

The time has come. We need to talk about Explorations. I’m talking of course about the second of two studio albums Bill Evans made with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. Recorded in NYC, February 1961. Get that gauze out of there so I can hear the damn bass. I’m gonna say some things you might … Continue reading Explorations →

Evolution

The album we all need to be paying more attention to is Evolution by Grachan Moncur III. I won’t pretend to know how to pronounce the man’s name, but I sure as hell will tell you what I think about when I hear this record. The Soviet Union. The 1940s. Siberia. Rocky IV. Snow. Bombs. … Continue reading Evolution →

Stan Getz Night

It is Stan Getz night here at the Brawner International HQ, Evanston, IL. It didn’t start out that way. I thought it might be Bill Evans night. My brother texted me today that he had fallen into the seductive gravitational pull of EXPLORATIONS, and I thought...yes. Let’s listen to Sir William. I had been listening … Continue reading Stan Getz Night →

A Very Hank Mobley Halloween

Art Blakey in Heaven won't shut up about how he's the greatest and isn't it cool that he's listed right under Hank Mobley in the credits for Soul Station, not listed last like most drummers, but then D'Angelo and Jack DeJohnette stomp his goofy ass. Jesus, like the burned out prison warden he basically is, … Continue reading A Very Hank Mobley Halloween →

States

Apropos of nothing, a wine-colored rug. Toys everywhere. A book about spiders. Gunn-Truscinski Duo / Bay Head. Key track: Seagull for Chuck Berry. Outside, garbage trucks and men yelling. Unexplained helicopters overhead. Betty said she saw a purple school bus. There was no purple school bus. There is no purple school bus. The title of … Continue reading States →

Falling

It is September 10th. Spiders are making webs all around my house. It got dark tonight at 7:30. There are guns everywhere. Last year at exactly this time I went up north by myself and stared at a fire while listening to John Coltrane for three days. I fished for brook trout, colorful as the … Continue reading Falling →

Circle

I usually have a song taking up primary residence in my head. These days, it's "Circle," the Miles Davis song from 1967's Miles Smiles. As I said in my last post, I've been a little obsessed with Miles Smiles for a while now. The first three tracks are particularly addictive for me, and "Circle" might … Continue reading Circle →

Miles Behind

My brother and I were chatting about Miles Davis yesterday. I told him (my brother, not Miles) that if he ever finds a good copy of Miles Smiles on vinyl, he should buy it for me. I think I also told him I'd pay one million dollars for it. Part of the conversation revolved around … Continue reading Miles Behind →