text:
We always enjoy it when Gerald Wilson "stops by" and brings along some of his music. The tune is Patterns and it features solos by pianist Jack Wilson, Carmell Jones on trumpet, Harold Land on tenor saxophone and Joe Pass on drums with Mel Lewis booting things along from the drum chair. You can locate our previous, two-part feature on Gerald in the blog sidebar.
Focused Profiles on Jazz and its Makers while also Featuring the Work of Guest Writers and Critics on the Subject of Jazz.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Grant Geissman: Studio Jazz Guitarist
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Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
"Grant Geissman's latest CD looks like a five-inch homage to the album-cover artist Jim Flora, with a cartoon of the guitarist serenading a bikini-clad redhead on the cover, and a collage in the center spread crammed with beatnik musicians, cats, birds and a pink elephant. The disc itself is designed like a vinyl record, complete with fake grooves.
Musically, Geissman takes a step into the past too, abandoning his smooth-jazz track record in favor of rootsy sound based in soulful hard bop, with a little New Orleans and upbeat melodies that still go down smoothly without the gloss.
From the Horace Silver-influenced title track to "Theme From Two and a Half Men," which gives the guitarist and Brian Scanlon (on soprano sax) a chance to blow over the sitcom theme, Geissman proves himself to be no wallflower when he puts his mind to it. But often tracks like "Bossa," with wordless vocals by Tierney Sutton, or "Wes Is More," with an excessive section of traded fours and twos with organist Jim Cox, come off more like bossa nova and blues without the necessary roughness."
- Mike Shanley Review of Grant Geissman's Say That! CD in JazzTimes APRIL 2006
"Grant Geissman's third in a trilogy of wildly eclectic outings once again has the versatile guitarist indulging in more than a few of his favorite things. From loping funk to boogaloo to earthy blues shuffles, with a haunting ballad, a beautiful samba and an urgently swinging post-bop romp thrown into the mix —along with touches of classical, flamenco and zydeco — he covers all the bases with authority on "Bop! Bang! Boom!
'It's all stuff I'm interested in and like to play, so it just comes out," says the San Jose native who is well known for his improvised guitar solo on Chuck Mangione's 1978 pop crossover hit 'Feels So Good* and more recently for co-writing the theme for the hit CBS-TV sitcom Two and a Half Men ("Men, men, men, men, manly men!*] 'I have eclectic tastes and the way I play and write follows that. And since this album is on my own label, I get to do what I want!'"
- Bill Milkowski, liner notes
"One of the reasons I created my own label, Futurism, was so that I could explore anything I wanted—which to me is what an artist is supposed to do."
- Grant Geissman
Like his counterpart, guitarist Lee Ritenour, who is affectionately known as "Captain Fingers" for his legendary ability to play any style of guitar at a moment's notice, Grant Geissman really knows his way around a recording studio.
Grant is a Pro's Pro: he brings it; he lays it down; it's perfect. No need for another take. It's done. Let's move on.
Given the amount of money that record producers have to spend to develop an album, Grant's ability to make it happen and to make it happen right the first time is why he's first call on most contractor's lists.
Grant also understands the technical aspects of the studio; he's savvy about the processes involved with making a recording. Whether it's the sound board, the mix, the use of electronics and synthesizers to create and enhance the music, Grant knows about this stuff.
More importantly, Grant knows enough about all of these elements of engineering sound so that he can make them subservient to the final product – good music.
Grant also surrounds himself with musicians who are at home creating Jazz in a studio environment.
In recent years, Grant has taken matters a step further with the formation of his own label - Futurism Records.
Beginning in 2006 with Say That! and following in 2009 with Cool Man Cool, Grant has offered eclectic Jazz stylings that appeal to a wide range on interests: some Smooth Jazz; some Latin Jazz; some straight-head Bebop – all infused with Grant's sophisticated studio sensibilities.
Bop! Bang! Boom!, the latest CD in the series, was released by Grant on
July 17, 2012
In addition to a whole host of special guest such as saxophonist Tom Scott, guitarist Larry Carlton and keyboard artist Russell Ferrante who join Grant on selected tracks, there is the bonus of the artwork of Miles Thompson that graces these CDs and is very reminiscent of the classic LP cover art that Jim Flora developed for many RCA and
classic Jazz LP's in the 1950s. Columbia
Here's what Michael Bloom Media Relations had to say about Bop! Bang! Boom!:
"[This CD] is the third album in a loosely fashioned trilogy that reflects Grant Geissman's shift to more traditional jazz expressions. The powerfully eclectic follow-up to Say That! and Cool Man Cool includes amped-up ventures into numerous genres that reflect Geissman's multitude of passions.
The key to making meaningful music for me is to not limit myself stylistically. I actually can't envision writing an album where every track sounds the same. One of the reasons I created my own label, Futurism, was so that I could explore anything I wanted—which to me is what an artist is supposed to do. I don't know what happens after Bop! Bang! Boom!, it might be completely different. But it's not about having a master plan, it's about writing and recording music that excites and inspires me."
Geissman co-wrote the Emmy-nominated theme (and also co-writes the underscore) for the hit CBS-TV series Two and Q Half Men. He also co-writes the underscore for the hit series Mike & Molly (also on CBS). As a studio musician, he has recorded with such artists as Quincy Jones, Chuck Mangione (playing the now-classic guitar solo on the 1977 hit "Feels So Good77), Lorraine Feather, Cheryl Bentyne, Van Dyke Parks, Ringo Starr, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, Joanna Mewsom, Inara George, Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello."
Here's a taste of the music on Bop! Bang! Boom! The tune is Un Poco Español on which Grant plays his mellow-sounding 1972 Hernandis nylon string classical guitar with Russell Ferrante featured on piano.
Posted by Jazz Profiles at 7:00 AM Links to this post
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Louis Stewart /Mundell Lowe. play Body and Soul. Duets#2
Put your feet up, grab a cup of coffee or tea and relax while listening to some exquisite guitar playing.
Posted by Jazz Profiles at 3:19 PM Links to this post
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Buddy DeFranco and Dave McKenna: Two for the Recording Studio
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Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
"Nobody has seriously challenged DeFranco's status as the greatest post-swing clarinetist, although the instrument's desertion by reed players has tended to disenfranchise its few exponents (and Tony Scott might have a say in the argument too). DeFranco's incredibly smooth phrasing and seemingly effortless command are unfailingly impressive on all his records. But the challenge of translating this virtuosity into a relevant post-bop environment hasn't been easy, and he has relatively few records to account for literally decades of fine work…."
Dave McKenna
hulks over the keyboard…. He is one of the most dominant mainstream players on
the scene, with an immense reach and an extraordinary two-handed style which
distributes theme statements across the width of the piano.
McKenna is that rare phenomenon, a pianist who actually sounds better on his own. Though he is sensitive and responsive in group playing … he has quite enough to say on his own account not to need anyone else to hold his jacket."
- Richard Cook and Brian Morton, The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 6th Ed.
In the 100+ years that Jazz has been in existence, it has been expressed in any number of instrumental combinations: combos, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, octets, tentets and big bands.
It almost seems that as the popularity, and with it, the fortunes of the music, waned, the smaller the groupings became.
The big bands of the Swing Era were replaced by combos after WW II and these would soon be reduced to piano-bass-drum trios. Sometimes locally-based trios served as pick-up rhythm sections for horn players who traveled the Jazz club circuit of major cities as guest soloists. It was cheaper for them to get booked into local clubs this way. Star alto/tenor saxophonist Sonny Stitt made his living this way for many years.
Throughout its history, Jazz has had a long association with night clubs many of whose owners were looking to pedal booze with the music serving as a convenient backdrop.
Jazz nightspots like The Lighthouse and Shelly's Manne Hole in southern California, The Blackhawk in San Francisco, the Jazz Showcase in Chicago and Birdland and The Village Vanguard, all of which featured the music as well as sold libations, have become few and far between since their heyday from 1945-65.
Not that these smoke-filled rooms were ever the best environment for the music let alone the musicians, but at least they gave Jazz fans venues in which to hear the music performed on a regular basis.
Duos have always been around the Jazz scene, but they were generally formed by a pianist or a guitarist backed by a bass player, in other words, an instrument to carry the melody while the other played rhythm to keep the swinging sense of metronomic time which is a key feature of Jazz.
This low-key approach was generally favored by some of the smaller rooms that offered Jazz and was usually easy on the wallet of the club's owner. Adding horns and drums to such an environment would overpower the patrons.
Not surprisingly, with the passing of time and the diminishing of its fans base, Jazz solo piano gigs also became ensconced in some clubs. Occasionally, a guitarist, or a trumpet player with a mute or even a saxophonist who could keep the volume down might drop by to sit-in with these solo pianists.
For many years, one of the best pianists in Jazz was a frequent performer as a solo pianist in clubs in the greater
area with occasional swings down to Boston and to Newport, R.I. for "the season." Florida
His name was
Dave McKenna [1930-2008] and he always
maintained that, "[ … because of his fondness for staying close to the melody],
I'm not really a bona fide jazz guy". Instead, he claimed, "I'm just a saloon
piano player." Regulars at the Boston's Copley Plaza Bar (now the Oak Room),
where Dave often performed, rebuffed this modest
remark by telling McKenna that he was 'just a saloon player' like Billie Holiday was 'just
a saloon singer.'"
Thanks to the late Carl Jefferson's patronage, many lesser known, but not necessarily less-skillful, solo pianists would have their work showcased on his Concord Records Maybeck Recital Hall [
] series which was issued in the 1980s and
1990s. Berkeley, CA
Richard Cook and Brian Morton of The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 6th Ed. had this to say about the DeFranco-McKenna collaboration:
threw a line to players of DeFranco's
sensibilities. The one to get … is the magisterial encounter with Concord Dave McKenna, still as fiercely full-blooded as
ever at the keyboard, and musician enough to have DeFranco working at his top
level. 'Poor Butterfly', 'The Song Is You' and 'Invitation' are worth the
admission price, and there are seven others."
Here's what Dr. Herb Wong had to say about the DeFranco-McKenna Jazz alliance in his insert notes to
Dave McKenna and Buddy deFranco: You Must
Believe in Swing [Concord
© -Dr. Herb Wong, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
"Though rare up until some 25 years ago, duos now occupy a pivotal niche in jazz. Their interest stretches beyond mere curiosity; two-instrument bands face the challenge of creating musical moments germane to their special environment which neither solo musicians nor conventional small combos can furnish.
Most duos highlight the beauty of musicians of similar styles and schools of thought playing with a preferred consonant sound. On the surface, therefore, the pairing of
Dave McKenna and Buddy DeFranco might seem
unlikely. "At first thought, Dave and Buddy may not be a perfect fit, since
they come from somewhat different directions," recalls Dr. Dave Seiler, Director of the . "But we watched them rehearse - the
way they communicated was incredible!" University of New Hampshire Jazz Band
The background trail leading to this unusual pairing is of interest. Born in the vision of one Joe Stellmach, a devout fan and good friend of both McKenna and DeFranco, this recording was inspired by the spectacular match-ups of DeFranco with super piano icons Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson back in the 1950s. The prospect of DeFranco's thorough mastery of the instrument (with his modern harmonic vocabulary and improvisational skills) brought together with the extraordinary pianism of McKenna (one of the most triumphant post-Tatum pianists) was Stellmach's dream.
"I was inspired to bring
Dave and Buddy together - specifically Dave as the third prodigious jazz pianist to be
coupled with Buddy," said Stellmach, who was the catalyst in gaining the
enthusiasm of Concord Jazz to make this recording. Less than a week after the
teaming was agreed to, a debut concert was organized by local piano great Tom
Gallant and the aformentioned Dr. Seiler for October 9, 1996 at as part of the Harry W. Jones, Jr. Jazz
Concert. Prior to this venue, McKenna and DeFranco hadn't really played
together other than brief jams at parties. A week later, they were in Portsmouth, New Hampshire recording this CD. New York
DeFranco's esteem for McKenna is markedly illustrated by this anecdote: "Two summer ago in
New England, a friend of Dave's asked me if I'd like to go hear him play
solo in a hotel by the coast. I had a plane to catch later on, so I decided to
catch one set and then fly home. I wound up listening to the entire three
McKenna is an anomaly in the world of jazz pianists; his two-handed style is so rhythmically powerful that he's essentially self-sufficient. Ace trombonist Carl Fontana, who has played with McKenna many times, simply said, "
Dave is
a band. You don't really need one when he's around!" Pianist Dick Hyman
agrees, "He's his own rhythm section. The left hand plays a 4/4 bass line,
the right hand plays the melody, and there's that occasional 'strum' in between
- like three hands." Check his right hand off-beat single notes, and
unpredictable spaces promoting accents that create ear-tugging reactions.
Reminiscent of Tatum, McKenna's arpeggios at times seem like they're 50 feet
Dave plays a different way - an orchestral
way," DeFranco elaborates. "Of course, Errol Garner and Oscar
Peterson had it too, but Dave has a bass line going on all the time. He has the orchestral
melodic part, and those exciting chord progressions, but somewhere he sneaks in
what might be 'brass figures,' and it's fascinating to wonder how he gets them
in. He inserts these figures while everything else is going on."
McKenna explains it quite simply: "I like to play a long line - like a horn player's single notes, which also equate to single notes on a bass. Well, sometimes I'll pause - take a breather in that line, and on occasion just throw in a chord or two." His predilection for single note lines suggests that he has listened a great deal more to horn players than he has to pianists.
Buddy DeFranco is the titan of the modern jazz clarinet who had taken his instrument to the peak of mastery decades ago and has maintained this preeminence internationally since the forties. He has pushed his digital precision to its technical boundaries, and early on merged his blazing, flawless execution with the vital force of Charlie Parker's harmonic approach. With his devastating speed and gorgeous, fluid tone, he improvises with emotional candor and blows nuclear ideas that explode with surprising hues and shapes.
An accomplished clarinetist himself, Seiler says simply "Buddy is a clarinet player's clarinet player." …
Speaking about DeFranco, McKenna said firmly, "It was a real pleasure working with him. Man, he's got it all! In a duo you have to be busy all the time. It's one of the hardest things to do, but with a great horn player like Buddy - that's something else! I really enjoy his musicality."
In a duo, each musician is truly half of what happens. It's a matter of the freedom to express and letting things happen with complete confidence — a process which shows the music is worthy of risk. There's an enchanting aura about the numeral "two". This duo reflects that mystifying magnificence. There is something pristine about combining a piano note and a clarinet note.
Dave McKenna and Buddy DeFranco share in tandem
a striking set of properties of integrity and musical character only mature
creative players experience. Their sophisticated knowledge and simpatico are
DeFranco said it well: "If it doesn't swing, it isn't happening!"
You can savor the duo delight that is
Dave McKenna and Buddy DeFranco in the following video tribute which
features their performance of Tadd Dameron's If You Could See Me Now. [Click on the "X" to close out of the ads
should they appear].
Posted by Jazz Profiles at 7:00 AM Links to this post
Saturday, November 24, 2012
© -
Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
's culture became a blend of native Indians, Dutch traders
and colonists, merchants and traders from other European countries, and West
African slaves. Musically, the city became a melting pot of styles similar to
that which had occurred in Paramaribo at the turn of the 20th
century. New Orleans
' culture was similarly a blend that was largely created by
the early, colonial French and Spanish Catholics, Creoles from the New Orleans West Indies and Spanish America, European white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants
and West African slaves.
Whether it concerns a rhythmic tour de force, a fun idea or a tearjerker, the quartet always sounds solid and the group members never cease to surprise each other. The changes and shifting times are whizzing past our ears.
With his ardent and passionate guitar playing the versatile and innovating Anton Goudsmit developed into a musical chameleon without losing his recognizable and characteristic style. His miscellaneous compositions are the base of poetic improvisations and flashy power performances.
A critic of the British 'Guardian' described Goudsmit as: 'the kind of musician that makes you wonder where the fire escape is'.
He graduated cum laude at the Amsterdam Music Conservatory in 1995 and today he can be reckoned as one of the most influential guitarists of the
. Netherlands
Jeroen Vierdag is a strong and creative bass player who lifts the band up to a higher level with his driving groove and great virtuosity, competing with his 6-string colleague. He's been around in the field of pop, jazz, Latin and Brazilian music.
Martijn Vink is an extremely passionate drummer with a peerless technique. One moment he raises the roof and the next he colors and refines with the subtlety of a musical box. He is the regular drummer of the internationally renowned Metropole Orchestra and collaborated with many jazz giants like Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock and John Scofield.
See what you think of Paramaribop as Anton, Efraim, Jeroen and Martijn perform their version of it on a tune entitled Boom-Petit which serves as the soundtrack to the following video.
Music by Anton Goudsmit, Efraim Trujillo, Jeroen Vierdag and Martijn Vink
A few years ago a friend in
sent me a radio broadcast of bassist Pablo
Nehar's tentet that was recorded in performance at the 1996 Jazzmarathon annual
festival which took place in October 13th in Holland , The Netherlands. Groningen
It was my first introduction to a style of Jazz that some refer to a "Paramaribop," which derives its name from blending "
," the capital of Paramaribo , with "Bebop." Suriname
By way of background,
is located in the northeast corner of Suriname South America and was for many years ruled by the Dutch
as Dutch Guiana.
Jazz would emerge from the interactions of these cultures in early 20th century New
. Orleans
Juan Pablo Nahar was born in
in 1952 and started the practice of music
at an early age. Paramaribo, Suriname
Eventually moving to
, he studied both privately and at
conservatories, and also spent some time in Holland studying Jazz with Frank Foster the
legendary tenor saxophonist and composer-arranger with the Count Basie
Orchestra. New York
Upon his return to The Netherlands, Pablo organized workshops at Bijlmer Park Theater in Amsterdam that resulted in concerts of the fusion music then being experimented with by musicians of Surinamese and Antillean origin who lived in that area of the city.
In 1981, along with drummer Eddie Veldman, Pablo co-founder the now legendary Surinam Music Ensemble which pioneered the development of "Paramaribop," a unique combination of Afro-Surinam Kaseko/Kawina rhythms and the abstract and more complex harmonies of Bebop.
A number of young, Dutch Jazz musicians worked in Pablo Nahar's groups and subsequently went on to become great supporters of Paramaribop.
Among them are guitarist Anton Goudsmit, tenor saxophonist Efraim Trujillo, bassist Jeroen Vierdag and drummer, Martijn Vink.
While all of these players have made a huge footprint on the Dutch Jazz scene in other contexts – the New Cool Collective, the Metropole Orchestra and Big Band, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, the Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra, Nueva Manteca, small groups headed by reed players Tinke Postma and Benjamin Herman - they formed a group in 2005 which has since become known as The Ploctones, which plays a style of music that has a deep allegiance to Paramaribop.
Nominally led by guitarist Goudsmit who was awarded the VPRO-Boy Edgar Prize for 2010 as the best Jazz musician in
, all four musicians are very skilled
players with technique and ideas to burn. Holland
In his Volksrant review of their first CD Live Op Het Dak [VPRO Eigenwijs–EW 0578],Koen Schouten described the group this way [please forgive the Dutch-English tone as an online translator was used]:
"A group with a rare solidity, determination and flexibility. A genuine four-headed monster.
Whether it concerns a rhythmic tour de force, a fun idea or a tearjerker, the quartet always sounds solid and the group members never cease to surprise each other. The changes and shifting times are whizzing past our ears.
With his ardent and passionate guitar playing the versatile and innovating Anton Goudsmit developed into a musical chameleon without losing his recognizable and characteristic style. His miscellaneous compositions are the base of poetic improvisations and flashy power performances.
A critic of the British 'Guardian' described Goudsmit as: 'the kind of musician that makes you wonder where the fire escape is'.
He graduated cum laude at the Amsterdam Music Conservatory in 1995 and today he can be reckoned as one of the most influential guitarists of the
Jeroen Vierdag is a strong and creative bass player who lifts the band up to a higher level with his driving groove and great virtuosity, competing with his 6-string colleague. He's been around in the field of pop, jazz, Latin and Brazilian music.
Martijn Vink is an extremely passionate drummer with a peerless technique. One moment he raises the roof and the next he colors and refines with the subtlety of a musical box. He is the regular drummer of the internationally renowned Metropole Orchestra and collaborated with many jazz giants like Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock and John Scofield.
Tenor saxophonist Efraim Trujillo stands out in hectic compositions as well as in a more ambient repertoire due to his open and dynamic playing. Because of his abundance of experience and ability to do anything with his instrument he renews and upgrades the music he plays and makes a concert of this group a special experience for the audience and the band members, time and again.
played with Courtney Pine, Benny Bailey,
Steve Williamson and Bootsy Collins among many others." Trujillo
Since 2010, the quartet has adopted a new name – The Ploctones – and you can learn more about them on their website – www.ploctones.com/
See what you think of Paramaribop as Anton, Efraim, Jeroen and Martijn perform their version of it on a tune entitled Boom-Petit which serves as the soundtrack to the following video.
One thing is certain, Paramaribop is sure to move your ears in a different direction.
Posted by Jazz Profiles at 7:00 AM Links to this post
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Gerry Mulligan: Part 5 - The Gordon Jack Interview
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Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
"Gerry … was enormously knowledgeable and skilled in harmonic structure and chord changes — all of that. He could solo in a very linear fashion as well, but he may have wanted to play in a more vertical way because we didn't have a piano. He played the piano sometimes himself, and although he wasn't a great pianist, he knew what he wanted to do on the instrument. On baritone he was amazing, but sometimes it was a little hard to play with him, especially on a double-time thing where he would blow so many notes that he would get behind the time. I would be scuffling along, trying to drag him with me, but that was because of that big, awkward horn he was playing. Unlike an alto or tenor, it takes a long time for the air to get through. I have great respect for him both as a writer and a player."
- drummer Larry Bunker as told to author
Gordon Jack
"… it was Gerry's inimitable presence that drove and defined the character and flavor of the group, and I loved working with it. I couldn't wait to get to work each night, because it was great being out there, totally exposed to the challenge of inventing melodically interesting bass lines, strong enough to eliminate harmonic ambiguity and simple enough to swing. I thrived on that challenge!
Of course Gerry's abilities as an accompanist were phenomenal, and he had that vast pool of ideas to draw upon, from all those years as an arranger. His forte was building spontaneous arrangements, because he was something of an architect. It was really exciting to walk a bass line and discover him moving along a tenth above, totally enhancing the whole effect. He always had his ears open and expected the same from his cohorts. With all due respect to the other guys, without Gerry's accompaniment, there is no Gerry Mulligan Quartet."
- bassist Bob Whitlock as told to author
Gordon Jack
"Mulligan was one of the quintessential jazz musicians of his generation. As much as the silhouette of Dizzy and his upturned trumpet, the image of bone-thin Mulligan, tall enough to dominate the baritone, his hair country-boy red (before it turned great-prophet white) had an iconic familiarity. … No musician in the postbop era was more adept at crossing boundaries. Though a confirmed modernist credited with spreading the amorphous notion of cool jazz, he achieved some of his finest work in collaborations with his swing era idols Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges; he displayed a photograph of Jack Teagarden in his studio.
Mulligan fashioned a music in which all aspects of jazz commingle, from Dixieland two-beats and polyphony to foxtrot swing to modern harmonies, yet he remained something of an outsider, set apart by his devotion to certain not always fashionable musical principles, including lyricism and civility. By lyricism, I mean an allegiance to melody that, in his case, was as natural as walking. …
By civility, I mean his compositional focus on texture. Mulligan was chiefly celebrated as a baritone saxophonist, for good reason. He is the only musician in history to win a popular following on that instrument, the only one to successfully extend the timbre of Harry Carney and develop an improvisational style in the horn's upper range. … the baritone best expressed his warmth, humor, and unerring ear for sensuous fabrics of sounds. Yet he insisted he was less interested in playing solos than an ensemble music— even in the context of his quartet. He was, as he proved from the beginning of his career, a master of blending instruments."
- Garry Giddins, Visions of Jazz
"Gerry Mulligan lived through almost the entire history of jazz. It is against that background that he should be understood."
Gene Lees
In compiling information from a number of highly regarded Jazz sources and configuring them into a five-part feature on Gerry Mulligan [you can locate the first, four pieces in the sidebar of the blog], it has been the intent of the editorial staff at JazzProfiles to create a broad outline for a comprehensive and critical [i.e.discerning] biography of Jeru and his music.
Over the span of this five-part feature, we have enlisted in the service of this cause, writings about Mulligan by such Jazz luminaries as [these are not listed in any particular order]:
Gene Lees, Garry Giddins, Nat Hentoff, Bill Crow, Ted Gioia, Doug Ramsey, Bill Kirchner, Ira Gitler, Bob Gordon, Gunther Schuller, Pete Clayton, Burt
Korall, Whitney Balliett, Michael Cuscuna, Dom Cerulli, Martin Williams and Alain Tercinet.
This listing is by no means exhaustive and no doubt excludes other important essays and articles about Gerry Mulligan.
Astoundingly and not withstanding the 100+ pages of manuscript contained in the five JazzProfiles Mulligan features and the fact that Gerry is the subject of a permanent exhibit at the Library of Congress, there remains no definitive book length treatment on the career and music of Gerry Mulligan!
Our thanks to
Gordon Jack for allowing us to use his interview with
Gerry in Part Five of our feature about one of the most influential figures in
the history of Jazz.
I'm sure you will agree with Bill's assessment after reading Gordon's interview with Gerry Mulligan, who reveals things about himself and his career that I never knew before reading their 1994 talk.
[We have refrained from populating Gordon's piece with photos as none were interspersed in the original chapter.]
Fifties Jazz Talk: An Oral Perspective [
: The Scarecrow Press, 2004, pp. 143-153]. Lanham, Maryland
© -
Jack/Scarecrow Press. Used with the author's
permission. Copyright protected, all rights reserved.
"Gerry Mulligan was born on
April 6, 1927, in City. By the time he was seventeen, he was
contributing arrangements to Johnny Warrington's band for their broadcasts on
WCAU, a local radio station in Queens, New York . Over the next few years his writing for
Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa, Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, and Stan Philadelphia Kenton showed him to be one of the best of the
young postwar generation of arrangers. Although he played in all those bands
except for Kenton's, he was far better known as a writer
than as an instrumentalist. It was not until his move to in 1952 and the formation of his first
quartet that he really started to develop as a baritone soloist. We met on two
occasions at his suite in California 's Ritz Hotel in May 1994, and we
concentrated on his career until the demise of the Concert Jazz Band in 1964. I
hoped to continue our discussion at a later date, but Gerry died on London January
20, 1996.
In the late forties I played in a group with Kai Winding, Brew Moore, and George Wallington, in clubs like
in Bop City . We also recorded quite a lot, and we
visited New York
in 1947, which is where I first met Bob Brookmeyer, when he sat in on valve
trombone. At the same time I was playing and writing for Elliot Lawrence, and
I was featured in a quintet from within the band, with Phil Urso on tenor. When
I wrote "Elevation" for Elliot, he claimed a joint‑composer credit, which was
the convention with bandleaders in those days, but it was my tune. A little
later that band became very good when he had Charlie Walp on lead trumpet with
Ollie Wilson and the Swope brothers on trombone. Those guys were known as the " Kansas
City brass section," and Herbie Steward was
there, too, on lead alto. I remember walking into a rehearsal when they were
playing one of my charts, with Tiny Kahn on drums, and it was the first time I
heard a big band make my things sound really great. The first time that
happened with a small group was Georgie Auld's little band, with Serge Chaloff
and Red Rodney. Washington
For the Miles Davis nonet I actually arranged seven of the twelve numbers that were recorded, although I have seen most of them credited to somebody else over the years. There were two other titles not included on the Birth of the Cool album, "S'il Vous Plait" and "Why Do I Love You?" which were John Lewis arrangements. You may have heard that Miles wanted another trumpet to play lead so that he could concentrate on soloing, but that is quite untrue. He didn't want to know about another trumpeter, and remember, if we had someone else on lead, they would have phrased the band into another area. Miles wanted to do it his way, and I wanted him to do it his way. If you were writing for him in that band, you knew exactly where you were, and I only wish I had written more for it.'
A lot of these things seem easy in retrospect, because in 1992 we went on the road with the "Rebirth of the Cool" band and worked with those charts. That's really why I did it, because I finally wanted an insight into those pieces, to see where we might have taken them. Before the tour I thought a lot about the instrumentation, because I didn't see any reason to be nailed to Miles's nine-piece. The Tentet arrangements I had from
, for instance, had mo trumpets and two
baritones, and I liked the idea of two baritones. You can have them playing
unison in the ensemble, and it's like a cello section, which is fun I really
wanted a baritone doubling clarinet, but finding somebody to do both became a
problem. California Ken Peplowski was supposed to be with us, and
he was a nice guy and a beautiful player, but I didn't want to push him into
switching from tenor to baritone. Unfortunately on the day of rehearsal, he
telephoned ill say that he'd been running for a plane at a small airport
somewhere when he slipped on the wet tarmac and broke his ankle. That's when I
got Mark Lopeman, who is a fine musician, and he had done a lot of the
transcribing for me.
Getting back to Miles's band, we originally wanted to have Danny Polo or clarinet, but he was on the road with Claude Thornhill all the time. During most of the years of Thornhill's success, he had two clarinets, Irving Fazola and Danny Polo, and they both had this great wood sound because they played "Albert" system. This was not "Benny Goodman" clarinet you know: we're talking about something much darker and richer, which were the timbres we were looking for. Anyway, Gil Evans and I decided not to me‑s,, around with the clarinet if we couldn't have Danny. Miles liked the idea Av having a singer, so he had his friend
Kenny Hagood sing a couple of number, one of
which, "Dam That Dream," was recorded. For the 1992 "Rebirth" tour I rewrote
that arrangement, although what I actually did was to finish it. because I
wrote it in too much of a hurry for Miles. The other ballad we featured on the
tour was "Good‑bye John," which I dedicated to Johnny Mercer.
Before I left the East Coast for California in 1951, I had already started experimenting with a piano-less rhythm section, using trumpeters like Don Joseph [tpt], Jerry Lloyd [tpt], or Don Ferrara [tpt], with Peter Ind on bass and Al Levitt on drums. It was actually Gail Madden who suggested the idea. She played piano and percussion, and as a matter of fact I've recently been trying to find out what happened to her. It was her experiments that helped me when I got to
, since I already had an idea of what would
and wouldn't work. The last record date I did before leaving L.A. was in September for Prestige, playing my
compositions with Allen Eager [ts] and George Wallington [p], among others.
Gail played maracas on some titles, but the atmosphere was spoilt by Jerry
Lloyd, who couldn't pass up the opportunity of making jokes about her boobs
bouncing up and down when she played. Jerry was an old‑guard male chauvinist
and couldn't help it, but after a while, I sent the band home except for the
saxes. I didn't want to do that thing with just Allen and me, but I had to
complete the album.' New York
I decided to leave
because the drug scene was a little out of
control and the work was rapidly drying up, so I sold my horns and Gail and I
hitchhiked to New York . I did a little work along the way, using borrowed horns,
mostly tenors, and I remember playing in a cowboy band outside California for a while. I was lucky, because I knew a
guy who was teaching at the university there, and he helped us keep body and
soul together. When we reached Albuquerque , I sold some arrangements to Stan L.A. Kenton, thanks to Gail, who arranged the
introduction through her friendship with Bob Graettinger. She was really
responsible for Graettinger's survival up to that point, because he was nearly
"done for" with alcohol, but when I met him, he was absolutely straight. I
liked him a lot, and he was in the thick of a reworked "City of ," and he was also writing a cello and a
horn concerto. As a matter of fact, I had heard the original "City of Glass " when they were rehearsing at the
Paramount Theater in Glass a couple of years before. New York
When I first got to
, I did some playing with Shorty L.A. Rogers at Balboa with Art Pepper, Wardell Gray,
Coop, and June Christy. Shorty was very good and always used me whenever he
could, and I remember Bob Gordon was around at that time, and I liked him a lot. I soon met Dick
Bock, who was in charge of publicity at the Haig, and I started working there
with Paul Smith, who was the leader on the off‑nights, when the main attraction
had a night off. We worked opposite Erroll Garner's trio, and when he left,
they brought in Red Norvo with Tal Farlow and Charles Mingus. That's when I
took over as leader on the off‑nights, using Jimmy Rowles until I got the
quartet together with Chet Baker, Bob Whitlock, and Chico Hamilton. I had
encountered Chet at jam sessions in the San Fernando Valley, so when it came time to put the group
together, I wanted to see how he would work out. Gail had already told me about
, who was just finishing a gig with Charlie
Barnet's seven‑ or eight‑piece band at the Streets of Paris down on Chico Hollywood Boulevard. Carson Smith took over from Bob later,
and being an arranger, a lot of the good ideas in the early quartet were his.
For instance the way we did "Funny Valentine," with that moving bass line
which really makes the arrangement, was 's idea. Carson thought of doing some a cappella singing
behind Chet on a couple of numbers, but Chet never sang solo with the quartet.
We played opposite Red Norvo for a while, then went up to the Blackhawk in Chico for a few weeks before returning to the
Haig, this time as the main attraction. San Francisco
Bernie Miller wrote "Bernie's Tune," but I never knew him. As far as I know, he was a piano player from
, and I think he had died by the time I
encountered any of his tunes. He had a melodic touch, and he wrote a couple of
other pieces that musicians liked to play. The recording company wanted to put
"Bernie's Tune" in my name but I refused, because I always objected to
bandleaders putting their names to something that wasn't theirs, so I wasn't
going to do it to Bernie Miller whether I knew him or not I told them to find
out if he had a family so that the money could go to his heirs. If he didn't
have one, I would have claimed it to stop it going into the public domain. A
few years later Lieber and Stoller wrote a lyric for it, which I thought was a
little presumptuous; I hated the damn thing. They were nice enough fellows, but
I really resented them doing that. Washington, D.C.
Very little of what we played was written, although my originals sometimes were. Chet and I often put the arrangements together driving to the Haig, which is how we did "Carioca," for instance. He used to like singing the parts as we drove from his house, and we worked out that arrangement by singing t. A lot of movie people used to come and see us at the Haig, and one of the most regular was Jim Backus (Mr. Magoo), who often brought his buddy David Wayne. Mel Ferrer and Anne Baxter also used to come, and in fact, Anne had the quartet over to play at her birthday party.
Some months after our first records were released, Stan Getz showed up, playing at the Tiffany club with Bob Brookmeyer and John Williams, who was a good piano player. Stan used to sit in with us at the Haig, and I remember a jam session at somebody's house, probably Chet's, where Stan, Bob, Chet, and I were the front line, and we worked really well, improvising on ensemble things that were great. Stan decided that we should all go out together as a group, only he wanted it to be his group. Musically it was too bad that we couldn't do it, but personality‑wise, I don't think it would have worked. Stan was peculiar; if things were going along smoothly, he had to do something to louse them up, usually at someone else's expense.
Early in 1953 we did the tentet album, and because I didn't think Chet wanted to play lead, I brought in Pete Candoli so that he didn't have that responsibility. In the event, Chet wound up playing most of the lead parts anyway, so I had Pete, who was a high‑note man, on second trumpet! Somehow this myth has grown that Chet couldn't read music, but people love myths. It's more fun that way. There are lots of myths about Chet and the gothic, romantic life he lived and died; it's grist for that whole "Dark Prince" mode.
Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond had recommended
Dick Collins as a good replacement for Chet when I was reforming the quartet at
the end of 1953, but he wasn't available. By this time I had become angry with anyway, so I telephoned Bob Brookmeyer in
L.A. and asked him to come out to New York for rehearsals, and bring some California musicians with him. Bringing guys from the
East was obviously expensive, but after rehearsals, we only had a couple of
dates booked before going back to the East Coast to work. He arrived with Bill
Anthony and Frank Isola, who had both been with Stan Getz. Before leaving town,
we did our one and only engagement with the tentet at the Embassy Theater in
downtown New York , and that was quite an experience. When I
looked through the curtains at , it seemed as though we had bombed out,
because there was hardly anyone in the house. We decided to get the show
underway when someone came backstage very excitedly telling w to wait, because
people were lined up around the block. Apparently, the newspaper advertisement
for the concert quoted the wrong time. We wound up with a full house, and it
really was quite an evening. It was so exciting that some fans stole a couple
of the books, including mine, and it was at that point that we started to be
more careful with the music. L.A.
I had a second baritone as well as the tuba in the tentet, because they do different things, although the baritone is used in today's big band setup as if it were a tuba, but it's not at all. However, I've finally realized that I don't need a tuba, because laying in all those bottom notes gets in the bass player's way. Later on, when I was organizing the Concert Jazz Band, I had intended to include a tuba, but at that point, there was nobody I could count on who could cut the book to go on the road with us. The third trombone was supposed to be a tuba, so
Alan Raph came in on bass trombone. What I
really wanted was Bob Brookmeyer, bass trombone, and tuba, which would have
given me a complete scale and palette, starting at the bottom and going
chromatically to the clarinet on top. I could have used flutes, but they
depended on amplification to be heard in that kind of band, and I didn't want
to mess with that. I would have liked to have a couple of clarinets or
possibly a soprano sax and maybe even C trumpets to sustain higher tones.
When the quartet reached
early in 1954, I replaced Bill Anthony with Red Mitchell, who was one of the
best bass players I've had. Frank Isola was with me for most of that year, and
his thing really was to play time and keep out of the way, which worked out
alright. Most of the drummers approached the quartet like that, which I accept.
I hired guys because I liked the way they played, and Frank's approach
established a precedent for the bard, whether I wanted it or not. It's not
quite what I wanted, because I would rather have had a little more activity or
aggression in the rhythm section. New
I had become used to playing with drummers like Max Roach, and when we were in Kai Winding's group, he was wonderfully considerate, thinking like an arranger by injecting melodic interest into what was going on. Very few drummers could do that. Most of them were aggressive but didn't add musical things that a writer would appreciate, and as a soloist, I didn't appreciate it either. Everyone should be working together, and if anything, soloist should dictate where the solo goes. If you were playing with Buddy Rich or Art Blakey, for instance, and they felt it was time for the soloist to be pushing and getting into something climatic, they'd start pushing, whether you were ready or not. Max didn't do that because he listened to the soloist and that is the kind of player I would have really welcomed.
That was one of the reasons why I always had problems with drummers, I needed somebody who was walking a thin line between playing the non-aggressive smooth thing that, say, Lennie Tristano wanted, where the drummer just kept time without any comments, but on the other hand, not dropping bombs all over the place. Even
used to do that, which is one of the reasons
I took his bass drum away from him. He did it in Charlie Barnet's band and I
said, "I'll kill him if he does that to me!" You have to remember that we were
a totally acoustic group, and getting a balance to include the bass in the
overall sound meant coming pretty far down in volume. I always needed a drummer
who thought in terms of the ensemble sound, which is why Chico Dave Bailey and Gus Johnson played the way they
did with the quartet. Now if a drummer has a way of doing that and being busy,
like Mel Lewis, for instance, that's fine. Mel never actually played with the
quartet, which is a pity, because he carried on that chattering conversation
underneath your playing which I always liked. There would be punctuations, and
it would relate in a way that meant something in the construction. Gus
Johnson's feel with the group was a lot different, but I had remembered how
polished he was from seeing him with Count Basie. He was fun, and he loved
playing brushes. As time went on, I was after drummers to play louder and use
more sticks, but I never really pressed the point.
Later on in 1954 I was between trumpets and trombones, since I needed a replacement for Bob Brookmeyer, and being in the East, I decided to try Tony Fruscella. Now Tony had that fuzzy, introverted tone that Chet had, although Chet's was more outgoing while Tony's was very inwardly directed. It sounded nice, but one concert at the Newport Jazz Festival was enough for me to realize that having Tony traveling with me and being onstage together night after night would have driven me crazy. He lived in a world of his own, and when someone is a real introvert, it can take all your strength just to survive. They seem to have a magnet sucking in your energy but nothing comes out, which is what shyness does to people. For the professional life of concerts in a band that works and travels, your energy has to be up for it, and you can't live in a world of your own because you have to deal with the real world. Having a guy like Tony meant I had to deal for myself and him too. It was too bad it didn't work out, because he was such a lovely player, but he just did that one concert with me.
It's funny because Stan
Kenton was the M.C. at that year, and he always had the amazing
ability of giving a speech that sounded so serious. You would be listening
attentively, until you suddenly realized that he's not saying anything! I don't
know how he did it, but it was all delivered with such oratorical sincerity
that you felt it was your fault for missing the point. Towards the end of that
year, I recorded some titles with John Graas and Don Fagerquist in Newport . I loved the way Don played, and he would
have been an ideal trumpeter for the quartet, but he wasn't available when I
needed him. At the end of 1954 I disbanded the quartet to go home to California and write some new music. New York
In 1955 I sometimes played as a guest in Chet Baker's group, and I seem to remember a date in
with him and Mose Allison. I also worked
at Detroit Basin
Street for a few weeks with Al Cohn, Gil Evans, George Duvivier, and Herb
Wasserman. Now Stan Getz was around the comer at Birdland, and he drove Al
crazy. Every time he was free and we were playing, he would come and watch Al
from the Peanut Gallery, staring up at him and making him feel uncomfortable.'
What he really wanted was to take Al's mouthpiece and have it copied over at
Otto Link's. Al kept refusing, but Stan pestered him for about ten nights until
he finally gave in. They met during the day, and Stan had it copied so that he
could get a sound like Al's.
Later on that year I formed the sextet, and initially Idrees Sulieman was on trumpet, but he just did a couple of dates with us because we had a hard time getting together on a style for the ensemble. I think he was an interesting choice, and the group would have sounded a lot different, but we weren't comfortable with each other, because our stylistic approach wasn't compatible. I have often wondered what the sextet would have sounded like if we had aimed it in that direction. We ran the group for quite a while, although I don't remember all the reasons for not continuing with it. Zoot Sims may have wanted to leave, because a soloist like that would have found it to be a strait-jacket after a while, and I certainly didn't try to replace him; Zoot was Zoot.
After the sextet I was "between groups," and "between everything" at this point. I was really at a low ebb, having had enough of being a bandleader for a while, because being the leader can be a pain in the neck. You have to lay out the focus of the thing, decide what to play, and arrange the transportation and hotels as well. There have been periods when I have been fed up and looked for somebody else's band to play with, which happened much later when I worked with
Dave Brubeck. I was just going to be a soloist
on one date; then we played in . One thing led to another, and I became
the saxophone player who came to dinner and didn't leave for about seven
years! In 1956 I did a little
campaigning for Adlai Stevenson, who was the Democratic nominee for the
presidency, when he ran unsuccessfully against Ike. The following year, I worked a little with
Mose Allison, and I think that Chet and I took a group out together, although
it was primarily his group. We a
recorded a couple of albums, but there was never any talk of us getting
together permanently. Over the next couple of years I did a lot of recording. I
remember a session with Manny Albam, which was a nice L.P. with a good group
musicians, and it was fun playing in the ensembles. [Jazz Greats of Our Time,
Vol. 1, Coral Mexico CRL 57173]
I did a date with Stan Getz which Norman Granz wanted us to do [Stan Getz Meets Gerry Mulligan in Hi Fi, Verve 849 392 2]. He was recording Stan, but you can tell from the material that we really didn't have anything prepared. The jam session idea is alright, but it has never been my bag, and it wasn't my idea to switch horns on some numbers; Stan or Norman suggested it. I liked Zoot's and Brew Moore's mouthpieces, but I never liked Stan's, and I didn't like the sound I got on it. I did an album with Monk, and having Thelonious as an accompanist was a challenge [Gerry Mulligan Meets Thelonious Monk, OJCCD 20 310-2]. We only played together a couple of times, but I remember a jam session I finally dragged him to, where we played "Tea for Two" and one other tune all night. He was trying to get us to play "Tea for Two" the way Tatum played it, where the progression goes up and then down in semi‑tones, and we had to try and follow him. In the mid fifties we lived near each other in
, hence my original "Good Neighbor Thelonious,"
because he lived on 63rd and I was on New York 68th Street near . Columbus
I also recorded with Paul Desmond, who always wanted to do the piano-less quartet thing, with the alto playing lead instead of trumpet [Gerry Mulligan-Paul Desmond Quartet, Verve 519-850-2]. Dick Bock produced an album with me, Lee Konitz, Al, Zoot, and Allen Eager, which he called The Mulligan Songbook, Volume 1 [CDP 7243 8 33575 2 9] although I told him that title was a little optimistic. I used Freddie Green on guitar, because I was always messing around with the rhythm section, trying to find out what to do with it, and I loved the idea of playing with Freddie. The Annie Ross date was Dick's idea, and although we hadn't worked together before, I liked her and the album came out well. My favorite record from the "Mulligan Meets . . . " series was the one with Ben Webster, Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar, and Mel Lewis [The Complete Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster Sessions, Verve 539-055-2]. We played quite a lot with that group, including a feature on the Dinah Shore T.V. show, and everybody could be called a co‑arranger because they all made a contribution. Jimmy Rowles was wonderful, and what he does is so deceptively simple, fitting things in so that they become part of the whole. Unfortunately he is now very ill with emphysema."
In 1957 I did a big band album which I didn't complete, and consequently it wasn't released until about twenty years later [Mullenium, Columbia CK 65678] I wasn't pleased with the way things were going, because on the fast numbers I couldn't get my rhythm section together. I had
Dave Bailey on one set of dates and Gus Johnson
on the other, and I realized that I had to write more for them, because there
wasn't time for them to get to know the pieces like they would in a small band.
It created a problem which I couldn't overcome, and George Avakian, who was the
A and R man for CBS, said to postpone everything until later. He then left CBS,
and it wouldn't have come out at all if it hadn't been for Henri Renaud. I
remember Don Joseph played beautifully on "All the Things You Are."
When I formed the Concert Jazz Band in 1960, Norman Granz's financial input was pretty extensive. He paid for a tour in the States to prepare us for a European trip, but I paid for everything else, which is how I always ill‑spent any profit I was able to make; I've always been a sucker that way! Judy Holliday did an album with us, although she never sang live with the band [Judy Holiday with Gerry Mulligan DRG Records
SLI 5191]. She should have done, because she
would have been more comfortable when we got into the studio. Judy always
joked, but it was only half‑a‑joke, that her way of going to work was to go to
the theater, heave, and then start to get dressed. Recording for her was worse,
but as she got to know the material, her sound would evolve, so it would have
been good if she could have sung with the band at some point. Phil Woods didn't
record with us, but he was a regular in the band whenever we could get him. He
was always pretty busy, but he played quite a lot with us at Birdland. Later
on, in the seventies, I formed another big band, and although I never really
dropped the name, the Concert Jazz Band was a particular band and
instrumentation in my mind.
After the CJB I went back to the piano-less quartet with Bob Brookmeyer. until we finally disbanded the group in 1965. Later that year I played with Roy Eldridge and Earl Hines in
Europe. I would have loved to play more with , but they booked the tour in such a
ridiculous way, I wound up getting flu or something and I gave the whole thing
up. The sixties were turbulent years. Roy
I have always played a
baritone, but in the early sixties I used
a Selmer for about a year. Jerome Richardson was funny, because when I started
playing the Selmer, he said, "You sound peculiar. Why don't you get your Conn back and sound like you're supposed to.
That sounds awful! Eventually the Selmer got damaged, so I went back to the Conn , and Jerome came into the Vanguard one
night and said, "Finally you've got your Conn and everything's back to normal." I never
did like the Selmer anyway, because of the way it was balanced, with the short
neck on it. Conn
Coming right up to date, in January 1994 I was elected to the Down Beat "Hall of Fame." Somebody said, "What took so long?" and it's true, things do seem to happen slowly for me, but I guess I'm not considered to be a fashionable elder. Popularity polls can be strange, because I started out as at arranger and always think of myself as one, but I don't show up in that category at all, which used to bug me. Have you noticed in the Down Beat polls that nobody ever votes for my present quartet? If I don't have a piano-less quartet, it's as though I don't have a quartet at all. You know, these things are fun to talk about, but I'll have to stop, or we'll be here all night."
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The photos for this Slow Roasted Asparagus were definitely not horrible compared to some of my older ones, but I decided to update them because (in my humble opinion) nothing beats early spring asparagus when it's simply coated with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then slowly roasted so the vinegar slightly caramelizes. And I think this is just the BEST way to cook asparagus in the spring, especially when you might want to have it be sharing the oven with something else for an easy meal.
Slow Roasted Asparagus
(Makes 2-4 servings, depending on how much you like asparagus and what else is served with it.
Serving Suggestions:
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed, then cut on diagonal
2 T extra virgin olive oil (more or less to taste)
1 T best quality balsamic vinegar (more or less to taste)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Take one piece of asparagus and hold by both ends and snap. This will give you a guide as to how much woody stem of the asparagus needs to be cut off (usually about 2 inches). Trim the rest of the asparagus pieces to that size, then cut on diagonal into 2 inch pieces.
Put asparagus in large Ziploc bag, pour in olive oil, vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Manipulate bag until asparagus is well coated with oil/vinegar mixture, then pour into ceramic or glass baking dish. Cook asparagus 20-30 minutes, removing from oven when asparagus is still slightly crisp and firm. (Start to check after 20 minutes and remove when it's as done as you like it; I like it still slightly crisp.)
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This is a perfect side dish for any phase of the South Beach Diet or any other type of low-carb eating plan, including Whole 30 or Paleo.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Nutritional Information?
More Perfect Asparagus from Kalyn and Other Bloggers:
Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce ~ Simply Recipes
Lightly Steamed Asparagus with Basil Vinaigrette ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Roasted Asparagus with Gruyere and Smoked Paprika ~ Family Fresh Cooking
Barely-Cooked Asparagus with Basil Pesto ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
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Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series come to life in live-action TV series...
For a great selection of film, comic and TV action figures and collectibles, check out BigBadToyStore.com, Urban-Collector.com, BriansToys.com, DollsAmerica.com, ClarkToys.com, ToyWiz.com, VNCToys.com, PastGenerationToys.com, MonkeyDepot.com, RPMDiecast.com, HobbyLinkJapan.com, YesAnimation.com, and SuperheroToys.com.
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Fantasy fans who've been anxious to see Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth book series come to life can thank ABC Studios and producer Sam Raimi, who've brought at least much of the series' first book, Wizard's First Rule, to ABC in the TV series Legend of the Seeker.
While many die-hard fans of the book series have complained about the dissimilarities between the book and TV show (including the fact author/creator Terry Goodkind wasn't consulted during writing, casting, or directing), for fantasy fans who have yet to read the books or for those who have and can tolerate some changes, this is a decent fantasy series worth checking out.
The small screen burns bright with 22 episodes, which are now available on DVD. Legend of the Seeker follows the basic "hero story" of a young man - Richard Cypher - who must fulfill a 1,000-year-old prophecy by becoming the Seeker, a warrior destined to destroy the evil ruler of D'Hara named Darken Rahl. Though very Star Wars-ish in its composition, the show does a decent job of making the story its own. Cypher is of course joined on his journey by a wizard (and very Obi-Wan Kenobi-like character) named Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (or Zedd for short) who acts as his mentor and guide as well as a warrior-woman "Confessor" named Kahlan Amnell who has committed to defending the Seeker with her life.
While each character is similar to those found in other fantasy/sci-fi stories, these characters do at least bring with them their own issues - including family deaths, guilt, lost loves, and more. Thankfully, the dynamic between the three plays the most important role in the series and the writers do a decent job developing their trio's friendships and loyalties along the way.
Though sometimes down right cheesy in its production, Legend of the Seeker provides plenty of good action and amazing special effects. In fact, I was started to see the quality of CGI, make up, and production value brought to life on the screen. Likewise, while the actors are relative unknowns, they do a good job of capturing the attitudes and motivations of our band of heroes. The rugged Craig Horner plays Richard Cypher, the beautiful Bridget Regan plays Kahlan Amnell, and the charming Bruce Spence plays Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander. Again, none of these actors are well known, but for fans of this series, they help bring to life the characters extremely well.
Besides all 22 episodes of the first season, Legend of the Seeker: The Complete First Season on DVD brings with it a variety of special features, including Forging the Sword: Crafting a Legend, a behind the scenes featurette that takes viewers to the set of the show in New Zealand to see how the show is directed, produced, designed, and made and Words of Truth: A Conversation With Terry Goodkind, which gives viewers a chance to see what the book series' creator has to say about his epic and its new life on the small screen. A number of audio commentaries with producers and actors on a number of episodes are also included. Eight deleted scenes are also included.
Overall, Legend of the Seeker delivers solid production value with impressive special effects (gotta love fantasy on TV!), decent acting, a well written plot, and even an award-winning score.
Rated TV-14 for language, violence and some situations, Legend of the Seeker: The Complete First Season is available on DVD now wherever fine home video is sold.
- Jess Horsley


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Tech Security is very important to all of us. Whether it is on the web or the safety of our company's data. As IT professionals we need to implement security everywhere to protect information. Hackers and unauthorized users are working their way into the computer systems of major companies and retailers across the country. As the bad guys get savvier, identity theft has become more common. Last year, the number of incidents of identity fraud in the United States increased 22% over 2007, according to the most recent survey by Javelin Strategy & Research.
As consumers and employees we expect our information, whether personal or work information to be secure. Check out these two demos to see how Tivoli is working on corporate security. Let's create a smarter more secure planet through software.
Tivoli security user compliance management
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MINNEAPOLIS — Target is giving "Twi-hards" an exclusive way to experience the final installment of the "Twilight" series with its offering of a three-disc deluxe edition DVD and exclusive two-disc deluxe edition Blu-Ray. Available only at Target stores on March 2 and for preorder at Target.com now, the exclusive Target version features more than 50 minutes of never-seen-before bonus content giving Twilight fans a new way to experience the saga. Fans will receive an exclusive special edition poster free with pre-order at Target.com.
The bonus content explores the vampires' special powers, gives viewers an inside look at being Charlie Swan with actor Billy Burke and features interviews with cast members, filmmakers and author Stephenie Meyer. The bonus content also contains previously unreleased footage from the black carpet at the theatrical world premiere and a behind-the-scenes look at the Twilight stars visit to Comic-Con International 2012.
"'The Twilight' franchise has some of the most devoted fans in the world. We're honored to bring Target guests exciting content from the final film that they cannot see anywhere else," said Anne Stanchfield, divisional merchandise manager of entertainment, Target. "The dynamic bonus features found only at Target give Twilight fans a new way to experience the saga as the franchise comes to a close."


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How about Jeffers, Henderson and many others..... ...This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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How about Jeffers, Henderson and many others..... ...
... ...
Unfortunately in their eyes he was BPA..
image.jpgthis would look good in blue and gold
I wasn't trying to list every NBA player IU's ever had...
Well, they've had two #1 overall picks - Bellamy and Benson.
McGinnis would've been a third, but with the goofy underclassman rules and funny "regional" drafts that the ABA would concoct, he wasn't part of a regular draft process.
Scott May, Archie Dees and Isiah were each #2 overall picks.
Cheaney was a #6 pick, Buckner #7 overall. Bobby Wilkerson was #11 on the coattails of going 63-1 over two seasons.
Eric Gordon was #7, right?
Tom and Dick were both second-round picks. (FN*)
Bob Leonard was a second-round pick as well, #10 overall.
Jeffries was #11 (that wasn't a good idea, was it?)
I think that's the universe of top-12 picks.
Except that Landon Turner certainly would've been top-12. Have any other paralyzed players ever been drafted by an NBA team? Or is Landon the only one?
* Footnote. With only eight teams in the league, Dick was the #10 overall pick and Tom was the #11 pick overall. Also, in the fourth round (pick #24) -- or as we call it today, "late first round" -- from the same IU team was Jon McGlocklin. That was the same draft as future HoF'ers: Goodrich, Bradley, Barry, Sloan and Cunningham. Wowzers!!
Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you
full list of NBA players from IU: http://www.databasebasketball.com/pl...ana+University
Hall-of-Famers: Bellamy, Thomas
MVP: McGinnis (both ABA and NBA)
perennial all-star players: Dick and Tom Van Arsdale, Eric Gordon
long-time very solid NBA players: Woodson, Buckner, May, Benson, Henderson, Cheaney, Wittman
players some have falsely alleged to be NBA busts here:
Alan Henderson- picked 16th, probably had the 7th or 8th best career of anyone in that draft, played 12 years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_NBA_Draft
Calbert Cheaney- picked 6th, probably about the 8th best career in that draft, valued nearly right, played 13 years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_NBA_Draft
I can accept Benson and May being considered busts due to their draft position, despite their long careers, but others like Bailey, Haston, Alford, etc. were drafted low or in weak drafts anyway where there weren't many better alternatives when they were actually drafted. There might have been local hype to draft them, but on a national level they were in general not so well-regarded and played neither much worse nor much better than their draft selection slot would have indicated.
As for Victor, he would be a great "get" in the low lottery for his athleticism and work ethic, and a vastly improved shot. His mechanics are good so I see no reason for him to lose an ability to shoot in the NBA. If anything, better competition brings out his best performances.
The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).
I'm not disagreeing about Chumlee, but would you care to elaborate as to who who think was a better BPA at the #26 pick? The only 4 1sts drafted after Chumlee were
M Teague
Festus Ezeli
I had about 30 guys ranked ahead of Plumlee when we picked so take your pick..
Dude, no one was being defensive with you.
You probably did, but I'm interested in who grapher-ic feels was better.
I don't know if anybody was getting defensive but as a Hoosier fan it was highly entertaining to me. Fun facts are fun.
"There is a time to play and a time to win. It is what you do during winning time that differentiates the average players from stars."
~Ahmad Rashad~
Victor is a bit small for my liking at the 2 spot, but he does play good D and he is pretty darn good on the offense. I like his style of play. I want to see more before making a decision on anything of him being a Pacers. I do know this, I had no interest in him last season.
Garbage players get 1st round picks, (WTF)! All of the NBA must hate the Pacers! LOL
He's 6'5 with an above average wingspan. In today's NBA, that's plenty of size.
Are you kidding? Burke is a great defender and way quicker than Oladipo
Smothered Chicken!
Burke is not a great defender, and with the ball in his hands he's "way quicker" than Oladipo, but not on the defensive end.
Do you think Burke is better on defense than Oladipo? I just want to see exactly what we're dealing with here.
I'm not sure. I haven't seen enough of Oladipo. Burke is better offensively by far and quicker. We don't need a swingman anyways
Smothered Chicken!


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Reviewed By SHANE T (Honolulu, HI) Reviewed for a 1996 Jeep Cherokee —11/18/2014 10:19 PM
Header arrived in Hawaii in 1 day. Header looked high quality and fit almost perfect. Gasket was damaged but usable, gasket should have been protected better. No noticeable performance gain but nice sound improvement from engine. Direct replacement, header was installed during head gasket replacement so installation wasn't an issue.


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How Do You Say 'i Wanna Sex You Up' In Aini? Men T-Shirt
Product Color:
Product information
The Men T-Shirt How Do You Say 'i Wanna Sex You Up' In Aini? is our old-school favorite. Perfect for use in sports where you are bound to sweat and need wide range of movement. Short sleeves to let cool air in on those hot and sunny days. Also great for every day use and to show everyone your love for How Do You Say 'i Wanna Sex You Up' In Aini?.
This product is made of the finest combed jersey which feels soothing against your skin. Shoulder-to-shoulder taping guarantees long life and a good fit. Aini Men T-Shirt is available in 10 different color options. Heather Grey: 80% Cotton/20% Polyester. Remaining Colors: 100% Cotton.
Sku: TC1BL0000009951919190014FUWH00000


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HOUSTON - With a new stadium in the works, the University of Houston Cougars kicked off their last game at Robertson Stadium on Saturday.
When the season finishes out, officials said the 70-year-old stadium will be torn down and replaced with a state-of-the-art stadium.
Cougar fans said the news is bittersweet.
"We've been here during the downs, during the ups, and it's just nice to close out the stadium the right way and start a new era," said Tony Zamarripa, University of Houston class of 2005.
"It's sad. We've experienced a lot together as students. And then as we got older as alum. It's been an experience, so it's been nice," said Elio Longoria, University of Houston student class of 2004.
"What it means for us is all the experience we've had here as 20-year-olds, 19-year-olds, you know graduating just looking back and saying hey look how far we've come," said Sharon Galipp, a University of Houston alum.
The Cougars game Saturday against Tulane University kicked off at 2:30 p.m. Houston holds a 13-4 series lead over Tulane, including a 6-2 record at home.
The Cougars have won the last nine meetings between the two schools.
Officials said the new stadium will be set for play in the 2014 season.
Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Marine safety and boating authorities are trying to figure out how best to remove a 28-foot-boat that is lodged in the sand in Laguna Beach after it ran aground Sunday.
The owner was arrested on suspicion of operating a vessel while intoxicated.
Harbor Patrol's attempts to tow the boat from its spot at Cleo Street Beach were unsuccessful Monday morning due to the keel's lodging in the beach's sand and rocks, Police Capt. Jason Kravetz said. As of 12:30 p.m. Monday, Laguna Beach lifeguards were attempting to get the boat off the beach.
A crew was draining gasoline from the boat and planned to drag it to Main Beach with a tractor, Kravetz said. Whatever can be salvaged will be taken off the boat.
Stephen Michael Fryer, 47, of San Diego reportedly was intoxicated and unable to comply with lifeguards' directions to exit the boat on Sunday. He eventually was removed from the boat.
Because of damage to the boat, the owner no longer wants it. The keel is heavily damaged from the incident and from waves crashing onto it during the night.
Police received a call about the boat nearing shore at 3:38 p.m. on Sunday, and it ran aground soon after, Kravetz said.
It was listing to its right side in the surf zone with the engine running. Officials do not expect the vessel to break up, and there was no indication of oil or fuel leakage, Coast Guard Lt. Sean Arumae said on Sunday.
Vessel Assist will help salvage the boat, and the boater's insurance most likely will cover the costs, Coast Guard officials said on Sunday.
Police were at the scene Monday afternoon to keep people away from the boat.
Staff writer Mike Reicher contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: email@example.com


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Through the Looking Glass: Building Relationships with Retail Showroomers
November 14, 2012
According to this white paper from Aimia, the practice of retail "showrooming," in which consumers use traditional brick-and-mortar retail stores to evaluate products in person, then use their mobile devices to find the product at a lower price online, has become a common practice among Millennials and a hot topic for the industry.
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The Canadian LGBT news site Xtra is reporting that the bodies of two young lesbians have been found in a wooded area in Orangeville, Ontario after the two apparently committed suicide.
Girlfriends Jeanine Blanchette, 21, and Chantal Dube, 17, reportedly made "goodbye" phone calls to two friends, and left goodbye letters behind for family members. The friends immediately reported the calls to police, by Blanchette's family said didn't take the threat seriously enough or look hard enough for the two young women, choosing to believe instead that Blanchette and Dube had run away together and would come back home before long.
Police have said autopsy reports won't be available for several weeks, but one of Blanchette's family members said they believe the two young women deliberately overdosed on prescription medications. The families have also said they do not believe the girls' deaths had anything to do with their sexual orientation, according to a report in The Toronto Star.
The girls' bodies were found by a member of Blanchette's family. The family, frustrated over what they saw as a lack of response from police, contacted a psychic for help and then formed their own search party.
Xtra points out that these deaths come in the wake of suicides by six teenage boys in the past month who had been the victims of anti-gay bullying.


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Charles Forsman On Minicomics & Being Compared To Charles Schulz For His Work On 'TEOTFW' [Interview]
Charles Forsman's recently concluded 16-part miniseries The End of the F**king World (or TEOTFW in Fantagraphics's upcoming bookstore-friendly collection) is a rare bird, especially in today's near-completely Balkanized comic book market; a genuine crowd pleaser. I've worked in comic book shops since before I started high school, and what pains me the most consistently about the otherwise delightful years I've put in is how little comics communicates with itself. The way so many comic book readers retrace their footsteps every Wednesday to the same superhero comics they bought last week, or the same mini comics they bought last week, or the same "indie" comics, or whatever is most familiar. As a fan of comics the medium more than any one set of stylistic gestures, I always just wish that everyone would reach across the aisles and try a little bit of everything. Of course, the reading public is hardly to blame for walking around in the blinders clapped on by an industry more comfortable with rehashing the stories that played five years ago or cannibalizing the signifiers of so-called "nerd culture" than creating books that honestly appeal to a wide group of people.
For the past year and change, though, TEOTFW did exactly what I wish every comic had the ability to do: grabbed anyone who took a look and forced them into a deeply compelling story much easier to stay inside of than leave.


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Ridgeview stables
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Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand August 28th, 2012...
To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with Collectibles Insurance, the official insurance company of the Figures.com network. Say "Figures.com" to get 5% off your first term premiums.
To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, RedfordFilms.com, Toynk.com, PastGenerationToys.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and MonkeyDepot.com.
For action figures, statues and sculptures, go to CSMooreStudio.com.
An exhilarating campaign to save mankind unfolds on the high seas, in the skies and on land when Battleship comes to Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand August 28th, 2012, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Also available through Digital Download.
Against all odds, a daring young naval officer and his heroic crew launch an all-out military showdown against a superior alien force in this enthralling, thrill-ride that will have viewers holding their breath through the final gripping face-off. Blu-ray's high-definition picture and perfect hi-def 5.1 surround sound provide the ultimate showcase to experience the film's awe-inspiring special effects, non-stop action and ingenious weaponry. Almost two hours of exclusive bonus features including all-new featurettes, behind-the-scenes footage, filmmaker commentary and an exciting pre-visualization of an alternate ending make this a must-own disc for every movie fan.
Bonus Features Exclusive to the Blu-ray:
* Alternate Ending Pre-visualization with commentary by Peter Berg
* The Visual Effects of Battleship From ground-breaking water-simulation programs to cutting-edge motion capture, see how the team at Industrial Light & Magic pushes the boundaries of visual effects to bring the aliens to life.
* All Access with Director Peter Berg Join director Peter Berg as he gives fans an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie.
* USS Missouri VIP Tour Come aboard the historic Mighty Mo for an exclusive tour with director Peter Berg and actual Navy veterans as they reveal some of the coolest facts and amazing action that has graced the decks of this legendary ship.
* Commander Pete Watch as director Peter Berg energizes the cast and crew with his endless enthusiasm and relentless good humor.
* And with UNIVERSAL'S SECOND SCREEN, viewers canenjoy an innovative and interactive viewing experience, that allows them tocontrol, interact and explore Battleship with groundbreaking features right on a networked tablet or computer, in synchronization with the movie on the television screen! While the movie plays, experience features such as:
- Alien Tech 3D Model Turntable Explosions: During the movie, 3D models of the aliens and the shredder become available to the user to view at various angles. For instance, as the user turns the Regent Alien, the armor flies off in parts and then re-assembles. (Exclusive to Second Screen.)
- All Access with Director Peter Berg: Viewers get an all access look at the making of the film featuring interviews with cast and crew.
- Flick View: Interact with the movie, move content from the Tablet to the TV screen, and compare storyboards, animatics, and other executing content by Flicking them from on their tablet to their TV screen, simply by gesturing their fingers upwards on their tablets.
* UltraViolet
* Digital Copy
* pocket BLU App
Bonus Features on Both the Blu-ray and DVD:
* Preparing for Battle Hear how Hollywood teamed up with the US Navy to transform a beloved board game into a big-screen blockbuster.
* All Hands on Deck: The Cast Witness the actors getting into the military mindset and Navy veterans having their time in the spotlight in this salute to the people at the heart of the story.
* Engage in Battle
- Shooting at Sea Experience thecrew taking on the daunting challenge of shooting on the open ocean on theirsoundstage at sea.
- All Aboard the Fleet Cast and crew members share their experiences shooting on the ships, particularly the historic USS Missouri.


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VPX Sports, Zero Carb SRO, (SpiroFuse Reverse Osmosis), Serious Chocolate, 4.4 lbs (2 kg) (Discontinued Item)
- You earn loyalty credit for every order you place at iHerb!
- Loyalty credit is equal to 5% of the value of your order after discounts and credits applied, excluding shipping charges.
- Your loyalty credit will be applied towards your next order as soon as your current order has shipped.
- Your loyalty credits are valid for up to 90 days from the date of your last purchase.
VPX Sports, Zero Carb SRO, (SpiroFuse Reverse Osmosis), Serious Chocolate, 4.4 lbs (2 kg) (Discontinued Item)
Shipping Weight:?6.03 lbsSwitch to Metric units
- Product Code: VPX-01013
- UPC Code: 610764010131
- Package Quantity: 4.4 lbs (2 kg)
8.2 x 8.2 x 11 in, 5.1 lbsSwitch to Metric units
- New
- New SRO (SpiroFuse Reverse Osmosis) Whey Protein Isolate!
- Whey Protein Isolate by Reverse Osmosis SpiroFuse Filtration!
- Rich in Low Molecular Weight Bio-Active Protein Micro-Fractions!
- High in Di-Peptide & Tri-Peptide Isolates!
- MST Micro-Fraction Selection Technology!
- Awesome Taste Engineered by VPX Flavor Experts!
- 100% Whey Protein Isolate
- Dietary Supplement
- Natural & Artificial Flavors
- Fat Incinerating SRO
The Power of SRO
- 100% Whey Protein Isolate
- Microfraction Selection Technology
- Great Tasting Flavor
Zero Carbohydrates, Sugar or Dietary Fat
Zero Aspartame or Acesulfame K
Zero Corn Syrup Solids or Hydrogenated Oils
Zero Fat-Promoting High Glycemic Index Maltodextrins
Zero Caseinate, Ion Exchange or Other Old-School Proteins
Zero Estrogen Promoting inferior Soy Proteins
Zero Lactose - Generally Safe for Most People with Milk Allergies
The All New SRO Zero Carb Protein - SpiroFuse Reverse Osmosis
VPX is proud to bring you a cutting edge New Whey Protein Isolate called, SpiroFuse Reverse Osmosis or SRO! This invention is Whey Protein Isolate by Reverse Osmosis SpiroFuse Filtration or SRO. Roughly 10 years ago VPX was the first company ever to release a ceramic filtered Whey Protein Isolate called cross low microfiltration. This created quite a stir in the supplement industry because until that time, only whey protein concentrate (WPC) or low grade Ion Exchange WPI was available. As you can imagine there have been significant improvements in protein technology over the past 10 years. As a result of these superior scientific advancements, VPX is utilizing super high tech new membrane systems that produce isolated proteins that are 99%+ pure and are ultra rich in potent low molecular weight micro-fractions (LMWF). The SRO Zero Carb flavoring system is also new and developed by VPX flavor experts solely for your enjoyment. These new SRO potent proteins and flavor technologies are only available inside SRO Zero Carb Protein, Syngex Protein and other VPX protein products. VPX is creating the future of muscle science, bodybuilding and performance enhancement to allow you to achieve your fitness goals!
The most consistent and effective way to lose weight and unwanted body fat is by consuming a high protein/low carbohydrate diet (with moderate dietary fat intake). This is primarily due to the fact that protein has a spectacular three-phase assault on body fat: 1) protein causes the body to release a hormone called glucagon that frees up stored body fat to be used as energy, 2) protein builds muscle tissue and fat is burned inside of the muscle cell; consequently, more muscle equals greater fat burning capacity, and 3) to digest protein, the body has to expend a great deal of heat: this process is called the "thermic effect" of protein and results in the body burning additional calories even at rest.
While it is true that one of the keys to losing weight is to expend more calories than we consume, the most important secret for long term fat and weight loss is to control the hormone insulin. Insulin release is consistent with the amount and/or type of carbohydrates we consume. This hormone also causes our body to store fat and can prevent stored body fat from being utilized as energy. However, if we control insulin with a low carbohydrate diet, we also reduce our body weight and body fat. SRO Zero Carb Protein is the Carbohydrate-Free King of Proteins and can be utilized to supplement any type of low-carb diet. Many of the most successful weight loss programs have been based on low carbohydrate/high protein diets. Protein is unquestionably the single most important nutrient for dramatically redefining and improving your physique, and SRO Zero Carb Protein is the highest quality fat and carbohydrate-free protein supplement available. Do what many of the greatest professional athletes, bodybuilders and movie stars have done and make VPX an integral part of your supplementation program today!
Suggested Use
For a great tasting, delicious shake combine each scoop of the all new SRO Zero Carb Protein with 4-6 ounces of cold water (depending on personal preference for desired thickness). For added body, blend two or three ice cubes with SRO Zero Carb Protein. Use 2-3 servings daily. Always drink 12 to 16 ounces of additional water for each protein shake consumed.
Other Ingredients
Cold filtered Cross-flow quadrafiltration whey protein isolate proprietary microfiltration profile comprised of complete spectrum molecular weights for sustained protein absorption and increased nitrogen retention†, natural and artificial flavors, cellulose, carrageenan, guar gum, lecithin, potassium phosphate, tri-sodium polyphosphate, Sucralean brand sucralose, natural vegetable color, sodium chloride.
†When combined with resistance exercise and a sensible diet.
Contains: milk and soy (as a soy lecithin).
SRO Zero Carb does not contain soy protein.
Allergen Warning: manufactured on equipment which processes milk, egg, soybeans, wheat, tree nuts and peanut.
Keep out of reach of children. Store in a cool, dry place. Contents sold by weight not volume; some settling may occur.
Use only as a dietary supplement. Do not use for weight reduction.
|Supplement Facts
|Serving Size: 1 Scoop (23.5 g)
|Servings Per Container: 85
|Amount per Serving
|%Daily Value
|Calories from Fat
|Total Fat
|0 g
|Saturated Fat
|0 g
|Trans Fat
|0 g
|0 mg
|60 mg
|130 mg
|Total Carbohydrate
|0 g
|Dietary Fiber
|0 g
|0 g
|20 g
|Thiamin (Vitamin B1 as Thiamin HCl)
|700 mcg
|Riboflavin (Vitamin B2 as Riboflavin)
|30 mcg
|Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine HCl)
|1 mg
|Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin)
|2.4 mcg
|96 mg
|48 mg
|Magnesium (Magnesium Sulfate)
|14 mg
|*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
**Daily Value not established.
Not a significant source of vitamin A, vitamin C and Iron.


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Are you developing on the Windows RSS Platform? If so, you may want to check out the post on some improvements on the RSS team blog. Most notably the RSS Platform is now API complete. This means that, barring any serious bug that we must fix, applications written against the Beta 3 API will run unmodified against the final RTM release of the platform. Check them out.
Walter VonKoch
Program Manager


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Costa Rica's Million Dollar Gift of Happiness
May 22, 2013
Tourism advertising is a $504 million industry; Costa Rica's share of voice was just 0.3 percent of that amount. The business challenge was to increase visits to the country by 5 percent, and to gain a larger share of the conversation. Driven by consumer insight and validated by an international study, we leveraged Costa Rica's position as the happiest country on Earth to export happiness to North Americans.
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MONTVALE, N.J. A&P has announced the appointment of Tom O'Boyle to the new position of EVP, effective immediately. In this role, Tom will be responsible for leading the merchandising, marketing, supply and logistics departments to develop a cohesive synergy between these critical functions, reporting to president and CEO Sam Martin.
Martin said, "Tom is an expert merchant with a proven track record of aligning merchandising offers with exciting marketing programs to meet customers' needs. His appointment completes my dynamic executive management team which will lead our Company's turnaround initiative."
Prior to joining the A&P, O'Boyle was prresident and SVP food and drug for Sears. Before that, he was SVP merchandising and marketing for Albertson's.


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DelPro Farm Manager is a revolutionary herd management platform integrating all DeLaval milking, feeding and automation systems together in one centralized system. For the first time in the U.S, DeLaval demonstrated the system to visitors at World Ag Expo in Tulare, Ca.
The unique system monitors, records and analyzes data with a high level of consistency and reliability helping to simplify the day-to-day decision making process on dairy farms. Features include everything from the creation of automatic vet lists and herd and milking system summary reports to timed artificial insemination and feed ration calculations. DelPro Farm Manager also allows herd managers to customize their working protocols within the software program.
"We realize the hardships many producers have faced due to drought, high cost of feed and low milk prices. The ability to make sound business decisions has never been more critical. That's why we're introducing DelPro Farm Manager to help producers manage risk, optimize returns and improve efficiency," said Mats Stellnert, Marketing Manager of Capital Goods & Farm Management for DeLaval Inc.
The flexible system works equally well with DeLaval Voluntary Milking System (VMS) and rotary, stanchion, parallel and herringbone parlors. This means that farmers can change, add or upgrade their milking equipment without having to change farm management software, thus retaining their existing herd database.
DelPro Farm Manager can handle a large amount of data at very fast processing speeds making the system robust enough for extra-large herds. DeLaval will continue to make upgrades to the system adding functionality like co-existence where, for example, a dairy producer with two different types of DeLaval milking systems can manage both systems simultaneously making herd management easier and more comprehensive.
DeLaval will also introduce IDD (Interactive Data Display) a touchscreen designed to conveniently display herd data when and where it's needed like in the sort or special needs areas, a hospital barn or in the parlor. It's built to withstand the challenges of a farm environment.
DelPro Farm Manager will be available to customers in North America in quarter two of 2013. Customers currently operating with ALPRO software from DeLaval will be able to upgrade to the new system.
For more information, please contact: Mats Stellnert Marketing Manager, Capital Goods & Farm Management DeLaval Inc. email@example.com
DeLaval at World Ag Expo 2013
DeLaval will display its solutions and expertise with more than 7,000 sq ft of exhibit space at World Ag Expo. Its booth in the Farm Dairy Credit Center (#6725-30) will focus on consumable solutions like liners, tubes, teat dips and silage inoculants. In two adjacent outdoor buildings (DS93-96) the company will showcase the latest in milking and herd management technology, like its VMS (Voluntary Milking System), parlor and rotary automation, and an automated sort gate, calf feeder and heat detection system. DeLaval will also have a booth at the Hilvers Career and Education Center (#8004) to discuss professional opportunities within the organization.
To schedule a one-on-one interview with a DeLaval expert during World Ag Expo, please contact public relations representative Elizabeth Gibson firstname.lastname@example.com / 847-393-6766.
About DeLaval
DeLaval is a leading supplier of solutions that improve the performance of farms for professional food producers. We support our customers in reducing their environmental footprint while improving food production, profitability and the well-being of the people and animals involved. We offer products, systems and services for all steps of milk production. Our solutions are used by millions of dairy farmers around the globe every day.
DeLaval was founded more than 125 years ago in Sweden, when the visionary Gustaf de Laval patented the cream separator. Today, DeLaval has 4,500 employees and operates in more than 100 markets. DeLaval, alongside Tetra Pak and Sidel, is part of the Tetra Laval Group.


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no that would currently be West moving at snails paceThis quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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no that would currently be West moving at snails pace
I think Hansbrough plays better when he gets more minutes. I think we need to split time between him and West,
You just mean for tonight right? Tyler cannot shoot the ball. Plays like a runaway train and brings lots of energy but shoots it like a rock. Not good if you like to play pick and pop with Hill.
No way.....West, Mahinmi or Hibbert should not sacrifice any minutes for Hansbrough until he can consistently produce.
Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.
A Gerald Green fan who now finds himself rooting for the Suns.
At some point you have to decide if you're planning to invest in him or not. And that means minutes.
Nice feature on Stephenson there.
This space for rent.
If Roy went to the basket as hard a Tyler, he would be scoring 20ppg. Roy is a good FT shooter for a big man and could really up his production with some hard moves to the basket.
Hibbert got lucky there that was a foul.
The biggest indicator of Hibbert coming into his form for the season: smiling. I've noticed he's been smiling while playing the past couple of games.
I feel like we are playing against Carlisle.
Great D West.....
Nice pass, Lance!
This space for rent.
Damn it's dead in here. We need to get the ball to West some more, he is 5-6.
Paul George had a great drive there
Great run. Keep it up
Make that two great drive by PG there
Back court violation DJ he got lucky there
I really like what I'm seeing from PG.