JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - HENRY FRANKLIN

This weeks Jazz CD Pick of the Week is a great release by bass player Henry Franklin titled The Skipper. Released on the Black Jazz label this is one of several fine releases on this label. Now I actually remember this when it originally came out and am glad to add to my jazz library. Now a few years back I was in downtown Riverside checking out Christmas lights with the wife and we walked into the heavily decorated hotel in the downtown area. There was a small lounge and hearing some jazz I peeked my head in to see what was going on. To my surprise Henry Franklin was there performing with his group. My oh my! What a pleasant surprise. Anyway, for those of you not hip to "The Skipper", check it out!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE

This weeks coveted DVD Pick of the Week is a recent release with Jet Li titled Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. Now I must say that this brought back memories of the kung fu movies of the 80's and 90's with lot's of action, swordplay and people flying through the air! HAHA! My kind of movie. Anyway, here's the trailer for this fine piece of cinema. Check it out!

SPOON FED? NOT FOR SAXOMAN

One of the things that bothers my is when the wife and I are out eating. She will usually say "Mmmm, this is good, try it" and then proceeds to stick a spoon (or fork) of food towards my mouth for me to try. Now I don't know what it is but this is always very awkward for me and never seems to work out at all. Usually my mouth doesn't connect with the food and I end up spilling it on me or on the table. I twist my head trying to orient it in the proper location to get the mouth towards the spoon but usually it is with no luck at all. Like I said, it just never seems to work. Lately when the wife has tried to do this I have politely declined and said I will try it myself. My wife then just looks at me like I'm a weirdo or something. Anyway, call me a weirdo but I really don't enjoy being spoon fed. HAHA!

LATIN CD PICK OF THE WEEK - WILLIE COLON

I had seen this early Willie Colon cd (from 1968) many times in the past but didn't pick it up for some odd reason. I mean I'm a big fan of Willie and have a ton of his music. I especially like the things he did with vocalist Hector LaVoe. Anyway, this cd then went out of print and you couldn't seem to find it any more except for some ridiculously overpriced ones on Ebay. Anyway, my good friends at Fania records saw my problem and re-released this gem once again. My oh my! A classic cd I am glad I have finally been able to get my hands on. So this weeks coveted Latin CD Pick of the Week is Willie Colon with his cd titled The Hustler. Now there are classic uptempo salsa numbers as well as some classic boleros. One of these slow boleros is one that I never get tired off. Here is the haunting Que Lio. Check it out!

BRUSHING YOUR TEETH AND DRIVING - HUH?

OK, now I have to admit that I have seen all kinds of things while driving the freeways. I've seen guys shaving, girls putting on eye make up, people reading (What?) and people texting all the time! Now today I must admit that what I saw was a first. Today while driving to work I saw a guy brushing his teeth while driving! What? I stared in disbelief. I mean, who does this? Why would anyone do this in the car and not at home? Are you in such a hurry that you would do this while driving?Where do you rinse out your mouth and spit? I mean, I really just don't get it at all. All I can say is that driving the L.A. freeways is always an adventure.

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - SOUL POWER

This weeks DVD Pick of the Week is surprisingly not an Asian movie! What? Yes, during my recent shopping spree at Amoeba I had picked up a copy of the great dvd titled Soul Power. Now for those that aren't hip this is a documentary about the great concert given in Zaire, Africa as part of the classic "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Another great documentary regarding this fight is the dvd titled When We Were Kings. This dvd however focuses on the concert as well as all of the behind the scene struggles to make this concert a success. And what a success it was! Featuring The Spinners, Bill Withers, The Crusaders, B.B. King, Sister Sledge, The Fania All Stars and James Brown, this was a concert that is a must watch. Now I can only imagine the electricity in the crowd as these artist showed their stuff! A great concert and a SAXOMAN recommend dvd. Check it out! Now with all that being said I do have one major complaint. This was a three day concert event so where is ALL of the footage. I want the complete, entire, uncut concert! Come on now!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - BOOKER ERVIN AND DEXTER GORDON

I have been overwhelmed with my recent cd buying lately so I decided I should at least post a Jazz CD Pick of the Week. This recent purchase is a definite winner! Titled Setting The Pace this features two great tenor sax players, Booker Ervin and Dexter Gordon. My oh my. Oh, there's also the All-Star rhythm section of Jackie Byard, Reggie Workman and Alan Dawson. Although this cd only has four tracks they are all smoking'. Now I wasn't able to find any tracks from this cd I thought I would at least hip some of you to the fine sax playing of Booker Ervin. Here's Booker from another one of his great cd's titled The Trance. Check it out!

LOOKIN' HARD

Back when I was a young kid I used to practice what's known as looking' hard. I would try to look tough and mean. With a scowl on my face I gave the impression I was not to be messed with. I remember one day slowly walking home from school and as always I was looking' hard. An older gentleman watering his lawned looked at me with my sour face and said to me 'Hey, smile". I narrowed my eyes and gave him an even harder look! HAHA! What a clown I was. Now I'm sure many of you run across young people who walk around practicing the art of looking' hard. I just look at them now and shake my head. HAHA!