Wow, George Carlin. He will be surely missed. Tim Russert was the one that really affected me. I remember when Meet The Press first aired. I was hooked on watching that show because of unbiased journalism he brought to the table, and growin' up in DC, that was really needed 'cause for me, it was always one sided when either party(demorat or repub## hair)had their representative in office. There was a restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida I was playin' along with Tony Scozarro a while back when he mentioned to me that Tim was his brother-in-law. He was shocked when I told him how much of a fan I was of Tim's.

Tim Russert was a tough but respectful interviewer. He didn't seem to have an agenda, like others that are out there. He made them explain themselves and would not let them back peddle on what they said, or, deny that they even said it. He will surely be missed this election season.

I concur with what Mary said about Tim. I rarely saw Meet the Press, but I felt I got to know Tim through his interviews with the late-night talk show guys. He always seemed very pragmatic and not defined by "liberal" or "conservative" labels.

Lou had a message about this over at ContemporaryJazz.com.
Esbjorn Svensson (E.S.T.) dies in scuba accident
I only have one CD by his trio, but I was very impressed with the music. It was unusual in a way but still very straightforward, if that makes sense.

Everyone,

I don't know if this has been posted, but bassist Dave Carpenter died of a heart attack on June 23 at his home in Burbank, Calif.

Carpenter was a first-call bassist, playing mainly the upright variety.

He was 48.

Recently, Carpenter appeared on Tom Scott's Cannonball Adderley tribute ("Cannon Re-loaded") as well as Dave Koz's "At The Movies."

If Carpenter's name is familiar, he did appear on Benoit/Freeman Project 2, and his photo is featured in the liner notes.

Carpenter has also been highlighted on albums by Eric Marienthal, Harvey Mason, Mindi Abair, Marc Antoine, David Benoit, Lee Ritenour, Jeff Golub, Bobby Caldwell and Al Jarreau.

Before his death, Carpenter was on a fantastic trio project with pianist Alan Pasqua and drummer Peter Erskine. The album is called "Standards."

Rest in peace, Dave Carpenter.

Your bass work gave me hours of bountiful listening.

Signed,



Eric Viccaro

Two gentlemen in their respective fields lost their battles to cancer today:
Tony Snow to colon cancer at 53
Bobby Murcer to brain cancer at 62
May they rest in peace.

Tony Snow, what a great human being. So sad. 53 years young. On the surface he stayed strong, never complained or hinted how ill he was. Life is so precious.....

The last few times I saw him on tv or saw photos of him in the newspaper, he seemed strong and quite positive and I thought he might be getting better. So I was shocked when I read the news yesterday. A very brave and good man.

When I was 11 years old, I had a crush on Bobby Murcer. This is really sad.....

Didn't every one have a crush on Bobby Mercer? Even as a Met fan...very sad!