On Saturday, January 4, 2014, I published my 100th review here. As I have mentioned more than once, during the time leading up to and immediately following that auspicious occasion, I have been giving some serious thought to the future of this blog.
On the one hand, I truly love jazz, and I love writing about it and sharing with you jazz albums that I have found particularly enjoyable.
On the other hand, I also have more than a passing fancy for writing fiction, as well as other non-fiction that has nothing to do with music.
As a working stiff chained down to (and, in this economy, damn lucky to have) a 40-hour-per-week job with a commute that has in the last few years become 23 miles one way, finding the time to squeeze in all my different “wants” has been daunting.
Compounding the situation is the fact that I am also:
On the homeowners’ association board of directors for the condominiums I live in.
The condo’s webmaster.
Co-block captain of our neighborhood watch group.
A member of the City of Wood Village planning commission/design review board.
Owner and webmaster of a web site about Commodore 64 computers and ancient online services at www.qlinklives.org. I am woefully far behind on rebuilding said web site, mostly due to lack of time.
While none of these commitments comes close to equaling the time I devote to my day job, taken as a whole they do at times leave me feeling… a bit stretched.
To un-stretch myself, I have decided to at least temporarily cut back on the number of reviews I post here. I’ve hit on a pretty simple process that will work for me and, I hope, still hold the attention of most of you who visit here.
Beginning January 18, I will post a new review here every other Saturday instead of weekly. That means that this coming Saturday, January 11, there will be no review.
Like I said, simple.
A few months down the road I’ll take another look at things and decide whether I have made productive use of the Saturdays away from here.
If I have, then I’ll continue on with the every other Saturday schedule. If I have not, if I find for example that I have sat on my butt and played Quake III: Arena all day instead of writing, well, at that point I will have to give serious consideration to returning to doing weekly reviews.
“A few months down the road” is pretty vague. Let’s say the decision day will be the Saturday during Memorial Day weekend, April 26 May 24. [Yes, I really do know how to read a calendar. Sometimes.]
If you have any comments, please use the “Leave a Reply” box below. If you don’t want your comment made public, please tell me and I will not publish them. I may, however, state that someone wrote and said whatever it is you said, but I will not reveal your name or other info that might be used to identify you.
My old radio program, “Saturday Night Jazz,” was a labor of love for me. That is literally true, since it was a volunteer gig. In its absence, writing this blog every Saturday has helped fill the void in my life that developed after I left the radio station. And I can’t tell you how happy it makes me feel when I see the number of people who read these little weekly exercises growing larger, for the most part, with every passing week.
Thank you for reading this.
Al Evans
Wood Village, Oregon
Your comments about this article and/or the subject are welcome! Please use the “Leave a Reply” box below. Rude, abusive comments and spam will be deleted.
I would like to once again discuss newer releases here, as well as older, classic jazz. If you represent a jazz artist with an album you feel would “fit in” here, whether new release or old, please contact me at saturdaynightjazz@yahoo.com. I will provide you with an address you can submit a review copy.
Please note that acceptance by me of a copy of your album for consideration is no guarantee that it will be reviewed here.
Thank you! 
Copyright © 2014 by Al Evans. All rights reserved.
jazz for a saturday night 
Hi Al, this fortnightly schedule sounds like an excellent solution – and a simple one, as you say. Hope it gives you the time to unstretch and enjoy all that you’re doing even more.
Two small nits. Memorial Day is Monday, May 26, not April 26. So is your decision day going to be Saturday, May 24? Also, in the instructions for posting comments, I believe there is a typo in your e-mail address – yahho should be yahoo, yes?
Best wishes and stay jazzed!
Trudy
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Hi Trudy!
You are right on both counts. I don’t remember now how I got on the calendar page for April, but I did mean May 24 will be decision day. That error has been corrected, as has the misspelling of Yahoo in the email address in the Dave Brubeck review. When time allows I will try to go hunting to see how many other posts also have the same “Yahho” typo. That part of the reviews is from a template I have, and I shudder at the thought of how many posts may be involved. Still, knowing is better than not knowing. In the meantime, I can only hope people will figure it out on their own.
Thanks so much for pointing out those boo-boos, and for your other kind words! 🙂
Al
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