Up at 6, left for school by 7. Read Kindley on the way up, finished and office, and wrote him about talking to his Ashbery class in April shortly after. Graded stray/late papers, just had time to check out a Sam Durant catalog from the library (for a Kevin Young essay). Taught - went well, though I had to rush on the last proof. Crossed paths w/ my officemate, caught 1:10 bus; long wait at White Plains station. Listened to the “contemporary” disc of a 3-disc set advertising the wares of peermusic (the successor to Ralph Peer’s Southern Music) circa 2011. They had a piece of Beyonce at the time; “Countdown” does jump out against the background of already-dated pop productions (Demi Lovato and the like, and multiple songs w/ Snoop features); did like something called “The Barn” by Family of the Year, for its loose group vocals. Put on a 5049 podcast w/ a new-music violinist. Read the last big of that little Giffin book somewhere in here - opaque, but I learned the word “foramen” (a hole in a bone). Too tired to stay in Manhattan ’til evening, came home from GTC, read W&P and just 10 p. of Brecht. Left 5:30, went to McNally-Jackson to buy a couple things I’d passed up last time: Hervé Guibert, The Mausoleum of Love (journals by a friend of Foucualt’s, blurbed by Kostenbaum), Kate Briggs, This Little Art (on translating Mallarme, it just looked good), and Chico Barque, Split Milk (on remainder). Reminds me that I should hear the recent Caetano Veloso album before I see him in April. Passed on the temptation of a fancy notebook. David Derby msg’d me about playing a show w/ Gramercy Arms in April. Had a coffee and started reading Scott DeVeaux, The Birth of Bebop, which Elizabeth Newton recommended. It looks like a great balance of the musical and sociopolitical - the intro talks back to Baraka a bit, but also Martin Williams and Rudi Blesh, all of which I appreciate. He starts the book proper by contextualizing Coleman Hawkins — got to p. 50 on the train (missed a stop) and waiting for a show at the Stone to start. Took a while, so opened Mark McMorris, The Book of Landings. Read about 40 pages (many of which have just a few lines, or single words in a grid of 12 boxes. Limnal, I guess? The introduction is very artists’ statement. Listened to a set by Ches Smith (d, nominal leader), Marc Ribot (g), Kris Davis (p), Leon Boykins, Devin Hoff (both b). Had been wanting to hear Davis for a while - she’s kind of amazing, a strategic and disciplined player. Ribot a bit loud. Don’t know how composed these pieces were, but the group wasn’t afraid of either tonality or a groove. Closed with a pretty fantastic workout on “Locomotive,” a less-played Monk tune that made a nice vehicle for Ribot’s riffing and Davis using more “jazz language” than the rest of the set. Listened to Sonny Still/Dizzy Gillespie on the way home, cool, somewhat recomposed version of “Sunny Side of the Street” w/ Diz’s hipster vocal 1/2 way through, after multiple solos, and a blues “After Course” that starts w/ a couple of great gutbucket low-resister piano chorus (though the player is slipping my mind). Home around 11, stayed up an hr, tried an English podcast about old postcards, very soothing. Lights out 12:30.