Sunday Music Muse Day - Jim Hall, Gary Peacock & Ralph Towner

We're having a period of rainy days starting today, my Sunday Music Muse Day, and continuing for most of the week.  I won't complain too much as my selections are perfect for this weather.  First up, Jim Hall Leader & Sideman - Three Classic Albums Plus. It's a two CD set featuring re-issue of three Jim Hall Trio albums and a Paul Desmond album with Hall as a sideman. These are a nice 50's era recording featuring guitarist, Hall, playing some tasty licks, leading solid groups.  Hall's playing with legendary alto-saxophone player Paul Desmond of the Dave Brubeck Quartet fame, before heading out on his own, is an added plus.

My second selection, keeps the mellow mood going, the duet of Gary Peacock and Ralph Towner Oracle CD.  This ECM recording is as excellent as you've come to expect from the label.  Towner switches between classical and 12-string guitars. Towner maybe the first to come to my mind, and finest 12-string player alive.  There will always room in my collection for another Ralph Towner CD. Gary Peacock is an excellent bassist, who appeared on many ECM recording as leader and sideman.

For my local friends, stay dry, and keep you spirits up with some good music. Enjoy.

Rebranding myself: Journeyman Artist and proud of it, or You don't know "Jack".

jour·ney·man

/ˈjərnēmən/

Learn to pronounc

noun

noun: journeyman; plural noun: journeymen

1. 1.

   a worker or sports player who is reliable but not outstanding.

   "a solid journeyman professional"
2. 2.

   HISTORICAL

   a trained worker who is employed by someone else.

   "a journeyman carpenter"

As I enter my 70s and I look back on my creative life and career in commercial art, I come to embrace the term: "Journeyman Artist" as a fair description of my career, my creative life's journey, with a sense of pride, not as an insult as some might view the term.  Considering that from that time in junior high school when I was asked by my guidance consulter to decide on a career path (they did that back then) I choose to pursuit my hobby of drawing and art as my career path, to become a commercial artist  (actually, astronaut was my first choice, but failure at math derailed that pipe dream).  I think I remember one book in the school library on commercial art, and it wasn't encouraging. Thinking back, I realized I had no back up career in mind.  So. I'm glad to say, all things considered, I achieved my goal in a round about way, with many starts and stops, and side trips, which didn't end when stepping away and retiring from the animation business in 2008. Making art is too much a part of me to totally abandon it.

 

Someone, I had once met, once referred to me as a "Renaissance Man" when he found out I was an artist (illustrator), played guitar (never above hobbyist) and wrote songs (again, nothing beyond a hobbyist).   Plus , I wrote stories (original comic book Sci-Fi adventures, at the time). I always liked that image of myself, as a Renaissance Man.  But, in my darkest moments of an introvert's self-doubt I'd think of it as being a "Jack of All trades..." and the lesser used ending of that saying "...and master of NONE". In any case, I'm hoping to continue pursuing my interests in all the creative areas of my life that have atrophied over time as I pursued a professional  career, which causes you to specialize in one area to be marketable, and into retirement.  I plan to use my Youtube channel and my blog to showcase my past, present ,and future endeavors.  Stick around, maybe "knowing "Jack" isn't a bad idea.

Here's the banner for my Youtube page:  https://www.youtube.com/user/DragonflyEnt

Sunday Music Muse Day - Brad Mehldau Trio, Julian Lage

On this sunny and warm Sunday Music Muse Day, it actually seems like spring has finally arrived. The grass is turning green, trees and flowers are blooming.  All in all, it's a good day to enjoy new music.  First up, Brad Mehldau Trio Live, a two CD set recorded at the legendary Village Vanguard in NYC, October 11-15, 2006.  With Mehldau on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drum.  Mehldau once came to my attention with his jazzy renditions of rock tunes, like Beatles' songs. He has esoteric style with a hint of avant-garde in his playing, but never too much to be off-putting, just adventurous.  Worth a listen.

Next up is Julian Lage The Layers. This EP  CD featuring the guitarist teaming with guitarist Bill Frisell on five of the six tracks, all six originals of Lage.  It's nice mellow affair, which could fall into the modern Americana music Frisell is known for, with lot of acoustic guitar playing by both.

I hope the weather is nice wherever you are, and you get to enjoy it.

For Robot Sunday - Pacific Rim Wooden Model

For Robot Sunday, I finally got around to building this wooden model kit my son gave me for Christmas. I just put on some music and dived in. It also took me away from Doom Scrolling on internet. I feel much better, now. I might paint it later.

Sunday Music Muse Day - Mike Melito, Ralph Towner

This sunny Sunday Music Muse Day, I'm happy to share two new releases I've been looking to. First, from friend Mike Melito To Swing is the Thing. The title says it all.  This is a swinging set by one of the hardest swinging jazz drummer you'll ever hear. Mike is a fan of my father's drumming, and I've told him after hearing him play many times, I can hear Sam's legacy in his drumming. Keep swinging, Mike. (P.S. Tom Cohn at the Bop Shop Records store, I bought the last copy of your CD, so he'll need more.)

Next is the new release by Ralph Towner At First Light.  This is a solo guitar recording on ECM.  Towner remarks in the liner notes how he met ECM founder Manfred Eicher in 1970, "...and to have done my first recording for ECM in 1972.  It is a rarity for an artist to remain with the same recording company for an entire career, and I am grateful to be one of them".  I'm truly grateful I discovered ECM and Ralph Towner in the 70's, also. Ralph is now 83 and still performing, and touring. Towner's playing and music has always been a favorite of mine. His playing was sort of a bridge between classic guitar and jazz for me. The ECM recordings were always had the feel to them. This is another wonderful addition to the Towner/ECM legacy.

It's Easter Sunday, and Passover, so to all who observe, I wish you peace, love, and joy.

Updated Superman - Dragonfly Toon Flip Book Youtube Video.

I finally got to post a HD quality video of my Superman Dragonfly Toon Flipz Book. A lot of my old original videos on Youtube have become almost unbearable to view. This is an adaptation of the entire Mechanical Monster Superman short, into my comic book/flipbook format. One of my Dime-A-Dozen idea that still sticks with me. Enjoy. If you can "like" and "subscribe", it could use the help.

Enjoy.

April Fools Day - Eternal Warrior Comic Book title expose'

I had a whole plan for a YouTube video of the exclusive expose’ on how I had the title “Eternal Warrior” first, before Valiant. Comics, and wanted to post it on April 1 to show it is more a tongue-in-cheek story than anything else. But, here’s a preview image.