25 MILES TO GO……HUH?

During my recent running of the L.A. Marathon I remember just barely starting out and running through the streets of L.A. I then hear Edwin Starr's classic hit 25 Miles to Go. HAHA! Perfect! A great choice as SAXOMAN probably had about 25 miles to go. Oh man….25 miles to go I thought. Oh well, as you know SAXO persevered and the rest is history. So here is that classic song for all of you to enjoy!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - STANLEY TURRENTINE

This weeks long overdue Jazz CD Pick of the Week is my man Stanley Turrentine with the cd titled A Bluish Bag. Now I have to admit that I have a ton of Stanley cd's in my collection. When i saw this cd I wasn't quite sure if I had it or not. I asked the store clerk if I could return it if I already had it and they said no. Jeez…..what do you think, I'm going to download to iTunes and return it. Hmmmmmm……Anyway, recorded back in 1967 on the Bluenote label this gem was only recently released. Featuring more of a larger ensemble than Stanley normally works with. Featuring hip bossa novas, ballads, blues and jazz standards another treat from Stanley Turrentine. Anyway, check it out!

SAXOMAN RUNS THE L.A. MARATHON - WHAT?

Yep, you read right my many readers. SAXOMAN ran the L.A. Marathon! What? Yep, I kid you not! Last Sunday SAXO joined 30,000 others and ran from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica. 26.2 miles, oh yeah! Now I must say that this was my very first full marathon and quite a physical challenge. Starting in the wee hours of the morning we all converged on Dodger Stadium. Because we could sit anywhere in the stadium I took full advantage and went and sat behind home plate. Nice! Probably the only time I will ever be able to sit behind home plate but regardless it was very nice! Anyway, the hot day made the race even more difficult as the streets were lined with cheering fans who urged us on to the finish line. Several people told me cool ocean breezes were up ahead but I'm sorry to say there were no breezes to be found. As a matter of fact it was over 80 degrees in Santa Monica where it's supposed to be cooler. Oh well…..anyway, thanks to my brother-in-laws for meeting the wife and I at mile 13 for some much needed Gatorade and a quick snack. A special thanks to the Pasadena Pacers who had a cheering station at mile 20 where you could get about anything you needed. The photo here is my actual medal that was presented to me at the finish line. Now as I'm running this ungodly distance I'm thinking to myself I'm never, ever going to do this again. This will be a one and done experience for me. But now that the pain and soreness has gone away I'm sure I will sign up for another marathon and forget about the difficulty I had. Now I will probably have my eyes set on improving my time. HAHA!

SONG OF THE DAY - DUKE ELLINGTON

I was watching the recent movie American Hustle the other day. One of the songs featured in the movie was the song Jeep's Blues. This song is also featured at the end when the closing credits are rolling. Now I had really forgotten what a hip tune this really is. From the Duke Ellington album titled Live at Newport this is one great cd and a great tune. Now I must admit I used to have this cd but ended up selling it because the sound quality wasn't very good. I ended up buying the reissued two-cd set with greatly improved sound quality. After watching the movie I pulled out this cd again to re-visit it and it is even better then I remember. Not hip to jeep's Blues? Check it out and hip up!

A PIGS HEAD - HUH?

So on one of my trips to the market in Viet Nam I saw a pigs head sitting there for sale. Huh? What? A pigs head? What are you supposed to do with a pigs head I wondered? I dunno….I have no clue. How do you serve this? Cook this? What exactly are you supposed to do with a pigs head? Now I'm sure there are probably many ways to eat a pigs head but I personally have no clue whatsoever. Oh well….Because this definitely caught my attention I just had to take a photo for my many readers. enjoy! HAHA!

A SHAVE AND A CLEAN EAR - HUH?

Now I know many of my readers have been anxiously awaiting photos and comments from my recent trip to Viet Nam. So while I was in the city of Hoi An I would pass this barber shop every day. Hmmm…..an old fashion shave sounded interesting but I was just a little confused by the clean ear sign. I mean what do you get? what do they do? Do they clean your ear or just clean the shaving creme out of your ear? I dunno……all I know is I passed on the shave and clean ear. Maybe next time. HAHA!

REST IN PEACE - RUN RUN SHAW

While I was on vacation I was saddened to hear that Chinese film mogul Run Run Shaw had passed away. Now to be honest I didn't even know that he was still alive so it was a surprise to hear this news. At only 106 years old (what?), Run Run Shaw lived a long and prosperous life. The founder of Shaw Brother studios which turned out hundreds of movies and many Kung Fu classics like The One Armed Swordsman, Five Fingers of Death and countless more Mr. Shaw was a true legend. Now I have to admit that I probably have at least 100 (or more) of Shaw Brothers movies in my library. I'll have to pull out some of these classics and give them another watch. Rest in peace! Not hip to the Shaw Brothers movies? Check out the trailer for the classic Five Fingers of Death (aka King Boxer).

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SAXOMAN?

OK, now I have to admit it's been a while since my last post. Well the reason is that SAXOMAN has been away on vacation for the past three weeks. What? Another vacation? Yep, SAXO has been visiting Vietnam as well as a brief stop over in Cambodia. Enjoying the local sites and food as well as getting several massages I am finally back home. A good time with many blog posts and photos to follow so stay tunes!

REST IN PEACE - YUSEF LATEEF

I heard the news yesterday that jazz legend Yusef Lateef had passed away. Now I have always been a big fan of Yusef and have a whole lot of his recording in my library. One of the unique things about Yusef is that he not only played tenor sax and flute but also played the very difficult oboe. A triple threat musician who in my opinion never got the true recognition he deserved as a musician.   Yusef even had a brief stint with Cannonball Adderly and luckily several of these recording are available. Farewell brother Yusef, you will be missed. Not hip to Yusef Lateef. Here is one of his many great recording from the Eastern sounds cd titled Love Theme from Spartacus with Yusef on oboe. Enjoy!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK - MORNING SUNRISE

Now while most of you are tucked in bed sleeping like little babies SAXOMAN is on the road driving to work. Getting out of my car this morning I couldn't help but notice the sunrise and the beautiful color of the sky. I then pulled out my iPhone and snapped a photo to share with you all. Enjoy!