The record this month is “The Score” by the Fugees. I’m not really a fan of hip hop music at all but do appreciate the creativity of Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. The covers of “No Woman, No Cry” and “Killing Me Softly” are very good and I like the two tone colored vinyl.
I received two other records to expand the small jazz section of my collection. “Chet is Back” by Chet Baker was originally released in 1962 and the sound quality is fantastic. His trumpet tone is really full and yet delicate, particularly on the ballads, “Over the Rainbow” and “These Foolish Things”. I’ve been playing this one every day for the last week and like it more each time.
The second is “Basin Street Blues” by Louis Armstrong. It does a great job of setting the mood for our trip to New Orleans for jazzfest 2016. This was recorded live with an audience in 1956 and so doesn’t sound as crisp as the Chet Baker. The sound quality is still remarkably good. What a great band with Trummy Young on trombone and Ed Hall on clarinet. The clarinet on “Tiger Rag” is excellent. “Basin Street Blues” and “Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?” are highlights.
piece by Ahmad Jamal and included on Miles Davis’ 1959 release “Workin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet”.
drink in the Library Bar at the Hudson Hotel – they made good Manhattans.
and snacks at Bar Centrale which is a speakeasy (bar/restaurant that doesn’t have a sign or indication that it’s there – just looked like a normal house) near Broadway.
Meanwhile, Keith explored Central Park. He walked about 8 miles up the East side across and down the West side. He found the statue of Robert Burns, the Guggenheim museum, and the huge reservoir on the North end of the park. He passed several baseball fields and children’s 
playgrounds throughout the park. The “Imagine” mosaic is a tribute to John Lennon in an area of the park called “Strawberry Fields”.
This was the day of the big Carnegie Hall performance. We sat in the fancy boxes on the first level up from the orchestra section. The band did an amazing job and the sound was fantastic. The call it the Stradivarius of concert halls and I can see why – you could hear every individual instrument perfectly and very clearly. Here’s the poster for the concert.
On Monday evening we met up with some friends who live in New York at Landmark restaurant. It was a very nice French restaurant and we were lucky enough to get one of the “Dome of Silence” tables which made it easier to talk. Excellent moules frites, lamb chops, and boudin noir. They brought green apple flavored candy floss after dinner. Here’s Diana’s Mom enjoying some and getting a chuckle out of it.
Here’s a picture of the gang. Diana, Keith, Mary, Chuck, Olga, and Clorinda. Teodor was taking the picture. It was a very memorable dinner catching up with old friends and introducing them to Clorinda.