The Clouds Part. We’re Back

Many thanks to artsjournal.com commander-in-chief Doug McLennan (pictured) for posting the previous item while Rifftides was in a digital shambles that rendered us incommunicado. The photo Doug used to accompany the announcement symbolized the chaos. As the problem got worse over a couple of weeks and we finally lost all contact, I spoke with countless Charter Communications technicians. Toward the end, we had visits from two—Jake, yesterday and Zach, today. Collaborating with an electronics wizard from Charter headquarters in St. Louis, Zach now has us back on the internet, and with one phone line in operation. There is more to be done, but we can post again, and those guys are the new heroes of the Rifftides staff.

But, post what? The annoyance of the breakdown was a preoccupation that consumed hour after hour, day after day. Nothing is ready. So I’m taking a logical way out and showing you a pretty picture from a recent pre-disaster bicycle expedition through the southern hills of the Yakima Valley. Let’s follow it with an appropriate piece of music.

From a 1960 Coleman Hawkins session, here is the man who adapted the tenor saxophone to jazz. Hawkins always encouraged adventurous musicians from younger generations, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie early in the bebop era. Here, he chose Thad Jones, trumpet; Eddie Costa, piano; George Duvivier, bass; and Osie Johnson, drums. The piece is “Cloudy.”