Four games that defined my 2025:

Now listening: Charles Lloyd, Trios: Sacred Thread (featuring Julian Lage & Zakir Hussain)

It's really a Zakir album featuring Lloyd and Lage, with a number of tracks with vocals and the tabla leading the way on most songs. Appropriate for his final record with Charles Lloyd.

Now listening: Charles Lloyd, Trios: Chapel (featuring Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan

Such lovely, delicate music with that strong spark of liveliness that always comes through with Frisell. Lots of flute.

Wish I could have heard these three talking about the music or just what to have for lunch.

Now listening: Charles Lloyd, Trios: Ocean (with Anthony Wilson & Gerald Clayton)

At times meditative (The Lonely One), at times light and lyrical (Jaramillo Blues), at times moody (Kuan Yin). Going to listen to ask three Trios albums in a row.

Now listening: Wolfgang and Brian with Ambrose and Larry Grenadier, Rising Grace
Every bit as the lineup sounds. Dramatic, beautiful, with deep grooves and gentle lift.
My favoring of the ECM sound leads me often declare Eick and Henriksen my favorite trumpet players, but Ambrose is right there too

Now listening: Wolfgang Muthspiel, Scott Colley and Brian Blade, Tokyo
Nearly an hour of stellar music that starts off with a vintage Friendly Travelers tone, becomes really light and lovely, and then heavier and more out there. Especially dig "Strumming" and the fantastic bass on "Weill You Wait".

Now listening: Palle Mikkleborg, Marilyn Mazur & Jakob Bro, Strands: Live at the Danish Radio Concert Hall
A wonderfully spacey, nearly ambient performance that grows to buzzy discord and all kinds of strangeness.
Perfect fall afternoon listening. Love when Bro starts leaning on pedals.

Now listening: Kurt Rosenwinkel, Undercover (Live at the Village Vanguard)
Starts out beautiful and long form and steadily builds in intensity. Great stuff. Was lucky to be at one of the sets when this was recorded.

Was in that area in June.

He's the best.

Now listening: Midori Takada & Jakob Bro, Until I Met You
A gorgeously meditative acoustic ambient drift.

Now listening: Wayne Shorter Celebration Vol. 1
A great show from 2014 in Stockholm, with all the textures and pyrotechnics. They should release a new show twice a year!

Now listening: Jan Bang & Arve Henriksen's After the Wildfire
Begins atmospheric and floating but grows stranger and stranger.

Hammer Speech Last night, I got to stand up in front of the audience at the Locus Awards ceremony. I wound up presenting the Locus Award for Best Short Story (congratulations, Isabel J. Kim!) – but first, I deliver...

Last night, I had the privilege of delivering a keynote speech at the Locus awards. You can view the speech and read the full text here.

stone-soup.ghost.io/hammer-speech/

Grahame Lesh & Friends
Hudson River Music Festival
(For Pete's Sake)
6/14/25

Mason's Children >
Bertha
Half Step >
Cosmic Charlie
Roses
Doing That Rag
St. Stephen
He's Gone >
Other One >
Days Between
Music (first verses only; 3 minutes)

The Phil & Friends ethos lives on!

Sounds so good. Satisfying grooves.

English teacher, 6 & 8, NYC

I have been reading one Greenglass House book each year for the past couple years and recommending the series during our sixth grade December library visit...

Fareed!

It's all of them strung together in chronological order with the first verse from the first show and last from the last. It's pretty wild.

About an hour and a half in, Garcia and Lesh asking their own lines. Growls of organ come in, a threatening jungle of sounds.

Haven't done this in a long time, but I've just started the 11.5 hour Dark Star from 1972.
40 minutes in and coming out of a jangly weirdness.

Palm Sunday [Encore] YouTube video by Jerry Garcia - Topic

Happy Palm Sunday to those who celebrate. Only played live twice.
youtu.be/AWVHRkeKx9A?...
#jgb #JerryGarcia

Now listening: Phish 3/15/91 Gothic Theater.
Classic.

Yes when I find out it was a cover not too many years into my Deadheadiness

I love the use of the Netflix Daredevil theme in Born Again, just slipped in for a moment here and there at the end of an episode or when credits roll.

I really like all the interstitial City shots in Daredevil: Born Again.
They're just so true to life in New York.

Both sets were two hours long, not including the encore for set two.

Set II
w/ Grahame on bass

Mason's Children >
St. Stephen >
Good Times, Bad Times >
St. Stephen >
11 >
New Speedway Boogie
Terrapin Station >
No More Do I >
Viola Lee Blues
Unbroken Chain
E: Patchwork Quilt
Box of Rain

Set I
The Q w/ Grahame & Brian on bass

Jam >
Dark Star >
Viola Lee Blues
Passenger >
Birdsong >
The Wheel >
Viola Lee Blues >
Rock and Roll Blues
Liberty