# downbeat — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover downbeat. Page: Feed: --- ## [The TUX Report: Why Do Bunnies Always Seem Busy?](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/the-tux-report-why-do-bunnies-always) _2026-08-19 · BlackPapers by Bill Black · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ Dispatches from Ankle Level ## [Downbeat: The Crow, the Eagle, and the Unlucky Sucker Fish](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/downbeat-the-crow-the-eagle-and-the) _2026-08-18 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ A quiet fishing day turns into a three-minute wildlife drama, with one unlucky fish and several birds who all believed lunch was negotiable. ## [Ask a Retired Guy](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/copy-copy-copy-blank-ask-a-retired) _2026-08-16 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ How do I talk to my spouse about aging without making it depressing? ## [Friday Takeaway](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/friday-takeaway-aed) _2026-08-14 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ The Doctor Portal Wants A Relationship...and other musings ## [The TUX Report: The Big Circle](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/the-tux-report-the-big-circle) _2026-08-12 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ Dispatches from Ankle Level ## [Downbeat: We Bought Something “Smart.” Now It Judges Us](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/downbeat-we-bought-something-smart) _2026-08-11 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ A gentle salute to the humble knob, the quiet appliance, and the modern machine that thinks it’s our life coach. ## [Ask a Retired Guy](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/blank-run-ask-a-retired-guy-fb3) _2026-08-09 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ Questions life forgot to answer ## [Friday Takeaway](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/friday-takeaway-571) _2026-08-07 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ The Gas Pump Has Too Many Questions ## [The TUX Report: The Ride Home](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/the-tux-report-the-ride-home) _2026-08-05 · BlackPapers by Bill Black · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ Dispatches from Ankle Level ## [Downbeat: Commercials Used to Know Their Place](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/downbeat-commercials-used-to-know) _2026-08-04 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ Remember when the show interrupted the commercials instead of the other way around? ## [Ship software peacefully (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/ITdjogzE8LCL) _2026-08-04 · **Sponsored**_ Connect your repo and deploy instantly — Railway handles config, scaling, and monitoring. ## [Ask a Retired Guy](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/copy-copy-blank-ask-a-retired-guy) _2026-08-02 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ How do you stay engaged without overcommitting your time? ## [Friday Takeaway](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/friday-takeaway-231) _2026-07-31 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ Reusable Bags Are Never Where I Need Them...and other musings ## [Road Signs](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/road-signs-85b) _2026-07-29 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ A Wednesday Porch Note ## [Downbeat: The Amazon Boxes Are Winning](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/downbeat-the-amazon-boxes-are-winning) _2026-07-28 · BlackPapers by Bill Black · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ I used to order things online. Now I run a cardboard removal service out of my garage. ## [Ask a Retired Guy](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/copy-copy-blank-hiker-ask-a-retired) _2026-07-26 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ Why does it feel like everyone else has retirement figured out better than I do? ## [Friday Takeaway](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/friday-takeaway-35a) _2026-07-24 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ The Printer Still Believes In Drama...and other musings ## [Porch Rules](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/porch-rules-a04) _2026-07-22 · BlackPapers by Bill Black · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ A Wednesday Porch Note ## [Downbeat: The Campsite That Looked Better in the Brochure](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/downbeat-the-campsite-that-looked) _2026-07-21 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ The best camping memories usually begin with the words, "Well...this isn't what we expected." ## [Ask a Retired Guy](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/blank-ski-ask-a-retired-guy-cdb) _2026-07-19 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ How do you stop overthinking simple decisions now that there’s more time to think? ## [Friday Takeaway](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/copy-friday-takeaway-3bf) _2026-07-17 · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ The Junk Drawer Has Legal Immunity...and other musings ## [Meet Claude, an AI assistant (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/kt4x4UlyZU8I) _2026-07-17 · **Sponsored**_ Chat with Claude at claude.ai — a conversational AI assistant. ## [Porch List](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/porch-list) _2026-07-15 · BlackPapers by Bill Black · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ A Wednesday Porch Note ## [Downbeat: The Married Version of “Getting Ready”](https://blackpapers.substack.com/p/downbeat-the-married-version-of-getting) _2026-07-14 · BlackPapers by Bill Black · BlackPapers by Bill Black_ When “I’m almost ready” means it is time to sit quietly with the car keys ## [R.I.P. James Blood Ulmer (February 8, 1940 – June 3, 2026): A Profile for Jazziz in 2007, an interview with Blood from May 16, 2007, and an interview with Vernon Reid from May 18, 2007 about producing “Bad Blood In The City”](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2026/06/10/r-i-p-james-blood-ulmer-february-8-1940-june-3-2026-a-profile-for-jazziz-in-2007-an-interview-with-blood-from-may-16-2007-and-an-interview-with-vernon-reid-from-may-18-2007-about-producing/) _2026-06-10 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ Jun 08, 2026 Lydia Liebman has sent a mass email with the information that the singular guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer transitioned on June 3. Lydia attached an obituary from the Ulmer family, which I’ve pasted below. It’s followed by a … Continue reading → ## [Buddy de Franco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) – Two biographical 1999 interviews and a 1999 feature article for Downbeat](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2026/05/11/buddy-de-franco-february-17-1923-december-24-2014-two-biographical-1999-interviews-and-a-1999-feature-article-for-downbeat/) _2026-05-11 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ This brief but informative oral history of Buddy DeFranco, who brought the language of bebop to clarinet expression during the 1940s, and made a series of excellent combo albums with during the first half of the 1950s with Kenny Drew … Continue reading → ## [Chicago Interviews, 1970s, Part 1: Leroy Jenkins (March 11, 1932 – February 24, 2007) – Transcripts of an in-person interview in September 1976 and a WKCR interview on Oct. 12, 1993](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2026/05/11/chicago-interviews-1970s-part-1-leroy-jenkins-march-11-1932-february-24-2007-transcripts-of-an-in-person-interview-in-september-1976-and-a-wkcr-interview-on-oct-12-1993/) _2026-05-11 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ The text contained herein comes from a series of oral history-ish interviews I did in 1976 and 1977, primarily with AACM musicians, for broadcast on the University of Chicago’s flagship station, WHPK. I was 21 at the time. I intended … Continue reading → ## [My Lecture in Heidelberg, at the international symposium, “Lost in Diversity: A Transatlantic Dialogue on the Social Relevance of Jazz” – At the Heidelberg Center for American Studies, November 2012](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2026/02/24/my-lecture-in-heidelberg-at-the-international-symposium-lost-in-diversity-a-transatlantic-dialogue-on-the-social-relevance-of-jazz-at-the-heidelberg-center-for-american-studies-novemb/) _2026-02-24 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ If you’ve read my work, you’ll know that my contributions to jazz scholarship, such as they are, have transpired outside the academy, in the context of my work as a freelance jazz journalist, for 26 years programming jazz and jazz-adjacent/creative … Continue reading → ## [For guitar master Kevin Eubanks’ 68th birthday, a profile in Jazziz from 2010](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/for-guitar-master-kevin-eubanks-68th-birthday-a-profile-in-jazziz-from-2010/) _2025-11-18 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ No master of hardcore jazz expression — not Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea or Keith Jarrett, not Pat Metheny or John McLaughlin, not Wynton or Branford Marsalis, not Joshua Redman or Brad Mehldau, not even Harry Connick, Jr. — boasts a … Continue reading → ## [RIP Jim McNeely (May 18th, 1949 – September 26th, 2025): An uncut Downbeat Blindfold Test from September 2015](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2025/09/30/rip-jim-mcneely-may-18th-1949-september-26th-2025-an-uncut-downbeat-blindfold-test-from-september-2015/) _2025-09-30 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ Social media is chock-a-block with testimonies and appreciations for Jim McNeely, a great pianist, a brilliant composer and arranger whose ideas influenced several generations, but also a gifted educator and treasured mentor. Go to these thorough interviews by Ethan Iverson … Continue reading → ## [For saxophone master George Garzone’s 75th birthday, a DownBeat profile from 2016](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2025/09/23/for-saxophone-master-george-garzones-75th-birthday-a-downbeat-profile-from-2016/) _2025-09-23 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ In 2016, DownBeat gave me the wonderful opportunity to spend almost a week in Xalapa, Mexico, covering a wonderful festival curated by the young saxophonist curated and organized by alto saxophonist Arturo Caraza Orozco, then 30, who taught locally at … Continue reading → ## [For Sonny Rollins’ 95th birthday, the unedited text of our Downbeat Blindfold Test in 2014](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2025/09/07/for-sonny-rollins-95th-birthday-the-unedited-text-of-our-downbeat-blindfold-test-in-2014/) _2025-09-07 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ My reaction? Well, it’s very interesting. Very fine musicians. A nice concept. Nice new concept, a way to move the music along from the way it was some years back. I like it. \[Any idea who was playing the tenor?\] … Continue reading → ## [Every Channel. One Login. (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/lNyiT1cCcHXh) _2025-09-07 · **Sponsored**_ 17,000+ live channels, movies and sports on any device. Free trial, no IP lock. ## [R.I.P., Vocalist Nancy King (1940-2025), WKCR Interview, May 11, 2006](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2025/08/06/r-i-p-vocalist-nancy-king-1940-2025-wkcr-interview-may-11-2006/) _2025-08-06 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ TP: Nancy King is not too often heard in the NYC area. KING: No. It’s taken 40 years really for me to get here, and actually be doing…in a big… I’ve been in shows here. About four or five years … Continue reading → ## [For guitarist-vocalist Lionel Loueke’s 52nd birthday; a 2018 profile in Jazz Times, a 2008 interview for www.jazz.com; a 2017 Downbeat profile with Chick Corea; a 2009 Downbeat Blindfold Test; and a 2005 short profile for Downbeat](https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2025/04/27/for-guitarist-vocalist-lionel-louekes-52nd-birthday-a-2018-profile-in-jazz-times-a-2008-interview-for-www-jazz-com-a-2017-downbeat-profile-with-chick-corea-a-2009-downbeat-blindfold-test-and-a/) _2025-04-28 · critic11 · Today Is The Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts_ Out of Africa For his latest album, Lionel Loueke takes on the subject of 21st-century migration and reckons with his own winding artistic path By Ted Panken “You don’t just choose to get on a boat because you want to … Continue reading →